Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 521 The New Dengzhou Military Camp

The next day, Liu Ye, still hungover, didn't get up until noon. Dong Xiaowan, who had been waiting by his bedside, immediately brought him a glass of water. Liu Ye was incredibly thirsty, so he drank it all in one gulp, licked his lips, and noticed a hint of honey sweetness and a touch of ginger spiciness. He casually asked, "What kind of water is this?"

Dong Xiaowan smiled slightly and said, "Honey and ginger water. Take three to five slices of ginger, a spoonful of honey, and mix with hot water. It can help with hangovers."

Liu Ye shook his head, wondering if it was just psychological, but he didn't seem to have the headache and nausea he usually felt after a hangover. He hadn't expected that Dong Xiaowan, after shedding her glamorous image, would serve people with more meticulous care and professionalism than his own maids.

Just then, his stomach started growling.

Dong Xiaowan said with concern, "Are you hungry? I saw that you didn't eat much while drinking with Governor Lin last night, so I guessed you would be hungry today. I didn't know if the food would suit your taste."

Liu Ye was indeed hungry. He went to the front hall and sat down. Dong Xiaowan soon brought out the dishes and served him rice. There weren't many dishes, one meat and two vegetable dishes, but they all looked exquisite, with excellent color, aroma, and taste. However, one of the meat dishes looked very familiar. Liu Ye examined it for a while and muttered, "Isn't this tiger skin pork?"

He had eaten this dish in his later life; it was a classic dish from the Jiangsu cuisine, made primarily with pork belly with skin and fresh vegetables. The skin was wrinkled, shiny, and smooth, resembling tiger skin, which suited his taste perfectly. However, he couldn't find anyone in his current time who knew how to make it, and he hadn't been able to eat it even after staying in Nanjing for several months.

Dong Xiaowan was taken aback: "Tiger Skin Meat, that's a fitting name. But I would call it Braised Meat."

Liu Ye picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and his eyes lit up. He praised, "It's fatty but not greasy, sweet and delicious, tender and mellow, truly authentic! Who taught you to make this dish?"

"No one taught me. I figured it out myself."

Liu Ye, who was stuffing food into his mouth, was stunned. Could the inventor of this dish be Dong Xiaowan herself? He recalled that in his later years, when he went on a business trip to Jiangsu, the local elders seemed to call this dish "Dong Rou". He didn't pay attention to it at the time, but now that he thought about it, was the "Dong" in "Dong Rou" the same as the "Dong" in Dong Xiaowan?

He put down his chopsticks and asked seriously, "Isn't your job to study music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? Why did you suddenly decide to cook? Guests come to appreciate your talents, not to eat your cooking. If you neglect your duties, will the madam scold you?"

Dong Xiaowan playfully stuck out her tongue: "I usually cook secretly so she won't find out. Besides poetry and embroidery, my favorite thing is cooking. I only went to the brothel to pay off my mother's debts, not because I wanted to. Welcoming and seeing off guests is not the life I want. If you like it, I'll cook it for you again next time. I also have a specialty dish—Fish (Yu) Belly (Du) White Chicken. I named it after three famous chefs, Yu Danxin, Du Caicun, and Bai Zhong. This dish uses a newborn hen, deboned and stuffed with soaked fish belly. After simmering it in a wok for a long time, the soup becomes clear as water, white in color, and has a rich flavor. The chicken is tender and the belly is sticky and chewy."

Liu Ye swallowed hard as he listened to her description. He hadn't expected Dong Xiaowan to have such skills and hobbies; he felt he had struck gold. What he didn't know was that besides being a famous courtesan, Dong Xiaowan was also one of the ten most famous chefs in ancient China, on par with Wang Xiaoyu, the renowned chef in Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Shidan" (隨園食單). Tiger-skin pork was indeed her invention.

After eating and drinking his fill, Liu Ye went to discuss something with Liang Xiaoming, only to be told that Master Liang had taken Li Xiangjun to see the sea. He thought about it and decided not to disturb Liang Xiaoming's romantic feelings, so he went to find Lin Tianming alone.

Since they were all on the same side, he got straight to the point and explained his purpose: "Uncle, I've come to escort Liang Xiaoming to take up the post of General of Dengzhou. I will then rebuild the Dengzhou army under this pretext. I will train the soldiers and provide their salaries. Dengzhou will only need to supply them with provisions. This way, I will have a military force that I can directly control in Shandong, and I can also become an assistant to you in governing Dengzhou and Laizhou."

Lin Tianming naturally agreed with the proposal. As the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, it would be difficult to achieve anything significant in this strategically important city without a reliable army. The original army in Dengzhou had long been decimated by the rebels, leaving only an empty shell. He had always wanted to rebuild it, but he lacked both capable generals and sufficient provisions for training. Now, Liu Ye's proposal perfectly matched his needs; it was like a godsend.

He said happily, "This is a good thing, and I fully support it. But who will train the troops? As far as I know, your brother is skilled in the strange and ingenious techniques of the Western barbarians, so military affairs are probably not his forte."

"Uncle, rest assured, Liang Xiaoming will only hold the title of General. I will appoint a capable subordinate as his deputy, named Su Hongtu. He assisted Zhu Dadian in training troops in Jinan before, so he is very familiar with the process. He will be in full charge of the training."

Lin Tianming was relieved and stroked his beard, saying, "That's very good."

“As for the military camp, I plan to place it outside the city,” Liu Ye explained. “The old military camp in the city is dilapidated and surrounded by residential houses. Not only can it not be expanded, but training is also a problem. It is impossible to build a firing range for testing artillery. Let’s just abandon the old military camp and build a new one outside the city.”

After conducting on-site inspections, Liu Ye selected a location three or four miles west of the city as the site for the new military camp. The terrain was flat, a small river flowed through it, and there were no other people for miles around, making it an ideal place for training and stationing troops.

A commander from Dengzhou Guard who accompanied Liu Ye to select a site suggested, "Lord Pingnan, the soil here is suitable for rammed earth walls. Why not build the walls with earth and use bricks, stones, and wood for the barracks inside? This way, it will be built faster."

Liu Ye thought it made sense and agreed to his suggestion. However, upon returning to the governor's office, he ran into Liang Xiaoming, who had accompanied Li Xiangjun back from watching the sea. After hearing that Liu Ye planned to cut corners on the building materials for the military camp in order to speed up the construction, he immediately expressed his strong opposition.

"Since you've given me the title of General of Dengzhou, you should consider my opinion on matters concerning the military camp. My idea is to directly transform the outer wall into a bastion structure, using concrete. This will allow for faster construction than ordinary city walls, thus combining the military camp and the fortress into one. It can be used for training troops, and in emergencies, it can also serve as a fortress for defense and attack. Furthermore, it can tie down enemy forces for Dengzhou, creating a pincer movement."

Liu Ye smiled wryly and said, "Mingzi, aren't you overthinking this? The rebels in Shandong have been wiped out. What enemy is there worth a major battle against? Besides, where would Shandong get cement?"