Therefore, in order to make his little wife happy, on the exact evening they arrived at the boundary of Cangzhou Prefecture, Zhu Junyang gave the order to have the ship dock. The two people…no, that’s not right, plus Su Ran, so it should be three people, changed into ordinary people’s clothing and came off of the ship without a single servant along with them.
The docks had a seafaring ship docked there. Although the harbor in Cangzhou was a bit more simple and crude compared the newly constructed one in Tanggu, it still had a decent amount of lodging and eateries in the area.
That night, there were a lot of vendors of snacks open. Although many of them were located in crude looking shacks, they could smell delicious aromas wafting out of them.
“Donkey burger! This is the authentic donkey burger from Hejian County!!” One particular shack had someone bawling out an advertisement in a thick dialect accent and Xiaocao’s attention was immediately caught by it. She followed the direction of the voice and was instantly mesmerized by the savory fragrance that came out of the eatery.
“Uncle, give us three donkey burgers and make sure to add extra meat please!!” Xiaocao ordered from the forty year old man who was selling the food.
“Alrighty ah! Three donkey burgers coming right up! Please wait for a moment!” The man skillfully grabbed and portioned out some dough before pulling each portion into a long strip. After brushing on some oil and sandwiching them together, he placed it on a hot, flat bottomed pan. After the griddled bread was cooked, he then placed them into the stove to make the outsides crispy and flaky.
“Miss, please choose a piece of meat! I’ll give you whichever one you want!” The man pointed at the donkey meat inside the pot.
Xiaocao picked out a piece of meat that had equal proportions of fat and lean parts alternating through it. The man sliced it into thin pieces and then seasoned it with some green chili peppers before adding some seasoned savory sauce to it. The most important ingredient was the sauce and that often determined whether the donkey burger would be tasty or not!
“Miss, eat it while it's hot as that’s when it tastes best! This one will now make some for your two older brothers!” The man had clearly misunderstood the relationship between the three people. However, Xiaocao wasn’t in the mood to correct him because——the donkey burger was seriously too delicious!!
As the proverb said, ‘In the Heavens there is dragon meat, while on earth there is donkey meat’, the donkey meat within the donkey burger was tender and soft. It was a bit more delicate compared to beef, wasn’t as fatty as pork, and didn’t have a strong odor like mutton. It was very unique and incredibly tasty!
Xiaocao ate the crispy and flaky donkey burger in large bites. The luscious donkey meat filled her mouth with flavor and a satisfied expression surfaced on her face. When she saw that the two burgers for the men had also been cooked, Xiaocao asked what the bill was and gave the vendor thirty copper coins. The three of them strolled along the docks as they ate.
After they made a big circle around the harbor, the three of them then tasted the famous mutton intestines from Cangzhou Prefecture. The broth that came with the intestines was milky white and glistened brightly. The mutton intestines were fatty without being greasy and had an aroma that mesmerized people. It didn’t have a bit of fishiness to it and instead seemed to have a slight sweet taste instead. The more a person ate, the more addicted they would become and the more they loved the dish.
From the vendor’s description, the mutton intestines soup had a warm character so it was able to dispel asthma and stomach colds. Furthermore, sheep’s head soup had the effect of nourishing the brain and eyes and it was suitable for the elderly with dementia symptoms to drink. Sheep’s tongue soup could strengthen and nourish the body as well. It was a suitable food for those recovering from a serious illness. Then there was mutton tripe soup…
Yu Xiaocao tried a few bites of everything and made sure to remember the taste and properties of these dishes. She was planning on writing them all down when she got back to the ship and send a letter back to the Medicinal Cuisine House in the capital. That way, Yangliu could develop these dishes into new ones for the restaurant and increase the variety of foods offered there.
Xiaocao, who had eaten and drunk to her fill, also bought some local bacon to bring back to the ship. She was planning on adding it to the noon meal tomorrow. She also bought a few jars of Cangzhou’s preserved dried vegetables.
Cangzhou’s preserved dried vegetables had a distinctive flavor and unique style. The vegetables were golden yellow and had a fragrant odor to it. It had a sweet, salty and slightly spicy taste and the combined flavors delighted the palate with all four major flavors. It could be used as a side dish for the meal or it could be stir-fried or added to soup to add flavor. It could also be cooked together with winter bamboo shoots and make a famous dish in Cangzhou called ‘two winter stir-fry’. This dish was crisp and tender with a fresh and sweet aroma…
After they got back to the ship, the maids, servants and imperial bodyguards, who had alternated coming and going, except for Wutong and Hou Xiaoliang, had all come back. Another quarter of an hour passed and the two of them finally came back, joking along the way. Hou Xiaoliang’s two hands were full of bags as he was carrying snacks and curiosities that couldn’t be found in the capital.
The ship rested at the dock for one night and, the next day at dawn, set sail again. The next area they were going to pass by was Dezhou Prefecture. When Xiaocao thought of Dezhou’s pulled chicken, she felt her saliva pool in her mouth again.
However, Official Wu risked death to have the ship only briefly pass by. Xiaocao could only sigh and think of the pulled chicken.
Official Wu almost wanted to cry at this point, ‘Great Imperial Envoy, you’re not here to sightsee and taste food, so can’t you take your official duties seriously? Farming doesn’t wait for anyone!! The several hundred mu of experimental fields in Jinling are waiting for you! Can’t we just travel all day and night to get there faster? The local delicacies won’t run away. On the return trip, you and the two important imperial guards can eat and relax as much as you want then! Alright ah??’
When Wutong gave Official Wu’s proposal to her mistress, Xiaocao finally remembered that she was an imperial envoy now and couldn't fool around too much. Thus, she didn’t try to make things difficult for the old official who only worried about the empire and its people.
Following that, other than docking to resupply itself, the ship didn’t stop temporarily anymore. As they left the border of Cangzhou, the canal became more narrow and the speed of the water increased. There were towering mountains and cliffs on both sides of the canal and they were now in an uninhabited region of land. It looked like a good place for murderous bandits and pirates to hang out.
When Xiaocao told her thoughts to her husband as a joke, Zhu Junyang had a solemn look on his face as he stated, “You’re right! There are often pirates who prowl around this area. The ships that pass through here either have to pay up a protection fee to avoid getting attacked or they end up losing some goods. However, as long as the ships don’t resist, these pirates will only take goods and not hurt any people.”
Just as they were talking, a few swift boats showed up and aggressively headed in the direction of their official ship. Behind them also appeared similar looking boats and they were now pincered between these two fleets. These ships pressed on towards their vessel and the coxswain hastily ran over and bowed towards Zhu Junyang, “Your Highness, pirates have appeared and we’re surrounded by them!”
“Are you sure they’re pirates?” Zhu Junyang narrowed his long phoenix eyes. Most pirates would only try to attack ordinary merchant ships. Their ship was obviously on governmental business, so pirates should be fleeing at the sight of them. Why would they come towards them instead? There was definitely something odd about this scenario!
The coxswain also realized that there was something off about this and said, “The markings on the ships really are the markings of pirate ships…it’s reasonable to say that most pirates wouldn’t dare to directly attack a government ship. Could it be someone else pretending to be pirates to attack us?”
The coxswain was also one of Zhu Junyang’s subordinates, and he was in charge of trade between the northern and southern parts of the country. Because he was very familiar with the canal and was experienced in guiding ships, he had been appointed to this trip.
Zhu Junyang lightly waved a hand and gave an order, “Ready the cannons at the front and back of the ships, then fire a couple of warning shots. If they continue on attacking us foolishly, then let them come ah!”
The coxswain grinned broadly and excitedly said, “Yes! This subordinate will follow your orders! Time to make them see what we’re made of! Everyone, begin to light the ‘guns’ ah!”
“Okay ah!!” More than a dozen sailors appeared on deck and the sound of their assent thundered across the ship.
Xiaocao found all of this quite interesting and smiled, “My Lord, the people serving beneath you are all very clever. When it's time to battle, they all become extremely energetic!”
“Some of these people are retired soldiers from the army, so their warlike tendencies have been engraved into their bones. Some of the others are some bandits that I tamed. Although they’re called bandits, they’re mostly people who had been forced into that life out of dire circumstances. Not a single one of them is a coward!” In the past ten years, as Zhu Junyang himself matured, he not only consolidated his power at court but also found some capable subordinates among the people to help him do tasks!
Bang——Bang——Bang——Yu Xiaocao could only feel the deck tremble a bit. After a few guns finished firing, she heard the sailors cheering, “We hit, we hit!”
Hou Xiaoliang appeared out of nowhere and revealed two rows of sparkling white teeth, “Leader, Old Cai and the others are pretty good at using the cannons. They sank two opposing ships!”
Yu Xiaocao leaned against the side rails of the ship and went up on her tiptoes to look in the distance. There were two opposing ships that had stopped moving now as they slowly sank deeper into the water. The remaining ships, however, didn’t seem deterred by this and continued to sail towards them. Clearly, they had come prepared!
The coxswain directed the battery of cannons at the bow to fire a few more shots at the opposing fleet. Another two ships were hit and gradually sank. The battery at the aft also destroyed two other ships. The opposing fleet’s ships were too fast and when the distance between them closed, the cannons could no longer be used!
“Brothers, it’s time to fight!!” The coxswain bellowed loudly as he took off his outer, more restrained jacket, revealing a short-sleeved jumpsuit. His arm muscles bulged menacingly. At this time, a large and long hatchet had also appeared in his hands. The sailors on the ship all revealed their own weapons.
The opposing ships threw up hooks towards their vessel and they swooshed through the air. Zhu Junyang pulled back his curious little wife and gently pushed her in the direction of the inner rooms of the ship as he said, “Be good ah! Go hide in the rooms for now and it’ll be over very soon. Chunhua, make sure to carefully protect the princess consort…”
“That ah…I can help too!” Yu Xiaocao waved the firearm in her hands as she had been previously complimented as a natural in using one.
“Be good! In a moment, it will be very chaotic here and I don’t want you to become splattered with blood!” Zhu Junyang helplessly tried to convince her. His wife was too brave and that made it hard for him.
Yu Xiaocao pouted a bit and then reluctantly said, “Alright ah——you be careful too.”
With Chunhua and Wutong protecting her at both sides, Xiaocao headed towards the rooms on the ship. Suddenly, she saw a head wrapped in a black cloth appear on her right at the side of the ship. She excitedly bounced, “Chunhua, quickly slap this fellow away for me!”
As she spoke, her eyes roved around and she spotted the bamboo pole, which was as thick as her arm, that had been used previously to fish a few days ago. She hurriedly holstered the gun onto her waist, grabbed the bamboo pole with both of her hands, and forcefully smacked a pirate who had just appeared on deck.
That unfortunate pirate screamed and fell face first into the water. The pirate behind him saw this and became a bit more cautious. When the bamboo pole headed his way, he grabbed onto it and stopped it from hitting him.
When Xiaocao saw that the pole had been grabbed, she tried to pull on it but was unable to move it. She stopped trying to fight force with force and took out the gun from her waist with her right hand. She stepped forward and aimed at the pirate who was only a couple steps away from her.
“Hey!” When that pirate just about thought he had succeeded in boarding the ship, Xiaocao waved her left hand at him as her right hand steadily aimed the gun at him. The smile on her face was bright and brilliant. The pirate stared down the black barrel of the gun with alarm and seemed to have realized what this object could do.
