It's not easy to make a sumptuous banquet. Although the ingredients are all ready-made, these 'cooks' are not even half-skilled. Each one counts as a meal, but you can do it yourself
It was literally costing my life.
Zhang Yanling recalled the delicacies he had eaten, the dishes cooked by Axiu and other people in the family, and the process. But it was obvious that the Duke of Guo could not hold so many things in his mind. In this regard, he was by no means a good person.
genius.
Chen Shiyi and the other two personal guards were obviously not geniuses in this area. The four of them were busy working in a hurry, and Zhang Yanling wanted to give up several times.
Zhang Yanling tentatively named a few dishes that he could remember. After cooking such a messy meal, he still managed to produce a few dishes.
Whether the food is delicious or not is secondary. The key is that the presentation should be exquisite and the colors should be well matched. Zhang Yanling, who is well versed in the art of sharing dishes in the circle of friends, has a deep understanding of this. After carefully arranging these dishes in the shape of flowers and birds, it doesn’t matter.
It really looked like it. When it was brought out, Miss Helena exclaimed with joy and admiration.
Helena tasted it herself and frowned.
"This plate of fish seems a bit salty. It doesn't taste very good." Helena said.
"Didn't Miss Helena want me to cook authentic Ming Dynasty dishes? People in the Ming Dynasty have a saying called 'salted fish with light meat'. When cooking fish, it must be salty. That is the authentic Ming Dynasty taste." Zhang Yanling said plausibly.
said.
"Although this plate of fried chicken looks lifelike, it seems to be undercooked." Helena pointed at the plate of chicken that was spreading its wings and was about to fly, frowning.
"Miss Helena, what are you talking about? This dish is called Yunjin Chicken. It needs to be cooked to medium rare, just like you Francois eat grilled steak. It's best to be bloody. Although it tastes
It seems to be undercooked, but in fact the taste is just between the pulling and pulling, as if it is cooked but not yet cooked. After eating, the fragrance of chicken pieces is lingering between your lips and teeth. Because you have to chew for a long time, you can taste the chicken itself.
Delicious place.”
Zhang Yanling kept talking about cheating, but Chen Shiyi and two personal guards almost believed him.
Helena was stunned by his deception. She pointed at the can of soup and said, "This soup is turbid and black. Could it be that it was made this way on purpose?"
Zhang Yanling glanced at the soup with too much soy sauce, nodded and said: "On purpose, on purpose. Don't look at the turbid and black soup. It's actually... to imitate... the sea. Yes, to imitate the sea. You see
, the sea is dark and deep blue. This floating
Do the oil beads look like whirlpools and waves on the sea? Do these mint leaves look like boats in the sea? Do the exposed bones and stubble look like isolated islands in the sea? This pot of soup has a name: Dark Sea Makes Waves
, an isolated island hangs on the sea, life is like the tide, and I ask the sky about wine."
After saying these few sentences, Zhang Yanling admired his ability to talk nonsense. He was able to make quick wits out of a hurry and speak in a coherent manner.
Helena said blankly: "So there are so many things to pay attention to. I understand, the taste of this soup is sour and astringent, which symbolizes the various flavors of life, right?"
"Yes, yes, that's what I mean." Zhang Yanling pointed her finger and praised.
"I think that by making this soup, which is a metaphor for the sea, you are praising my father for his battles at sea. Is this also the intention?" Helena said.
"Yes, yes, Miss Helena is very clever. You have guessed all my little thoughts. You are really a close friend. You know, I cook, and not many people can understand what I mean. I really met a close friend."
Big thumbs up." Zhang Yanling burst out laughing, very happy.
Helena also giggled and felt a little proud.
Chen Shiyi and others looked on. Apart from finding it funny, they all thought in their hearts: "Is this girl from the Folangji Kingdom a fool? Can you believe this? You've really seen a ghost."
Helena was no longer picky. The four cooks had been busy all afternoon and had put so much effort into making these dishes. She was really touched. Moreover, every dish was filled with deep meaning, which showed their seriousness.
However, I cannot praise the taste of this dish. I wonder if my father likes it. If my father doesn't like these dishes, it will be a waste of effort. However, this kind girl couldn't bear to be rude and secretly stuffed bread and steak into the food when she went out.
In the food box, just in case.
What the cooks thought was that Commander Almeida didn’t know what he was capable of, so he shouldn’t be so picky if he could eat the food cooked by the Duke of Ming Dynasty himself. Besides, they didn’t come here just to make people happy.
Almeida ate happily. Their purpose was just to sneak into the naval port and cause internal sabotage.
Helena ordered the housekeeper to hitch two carriages. She took one, and Zhang Yanling and others crowded into the other carriage. The carriage came down the hillside road, went around all the way, and went straight to the military port.
In the carriage, Zhang Yanling and others discussed the next action in low voices.
"My lord, let me tell you, why should we go to such trouble? In fact, we should add some spices to the food. Since this foreign girl's father is the warship commander of the Franco Kingdom, wouldn't it be wrong to poison him to death?
Is it all right?" Chen Shi asked.
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "Poison? Where did the poison come from?"
Chen Shi said: "That's true, we don't have poison. That won't work. Otherwise, we can just take this foreign girl and force that commander to submit. Wouldn't it be better?"
Zhang Yanling glared at Chen Shi and said, "Why are you thinking of such despicable means? Targeting women and children? Who are we?"
Chen Shiyi scratched his head and smiled bitterly: "It's true that it's a bit dirty. However, it's not very honorable for the Duke to deceive this foreign girl."
Zhang Yanling was extremely angry, and this was exactly what was on his mind right now. Although this Miss Helena was Almeida's daughter, she could also be considered an enemy. But she was innocent, lovely, lively and cheerful, charming and charming, and kind-hearted.
Using her to do things that were detrimental to her father was already very disgraceful. Zhang Yanling had to persuade herself with righteousness before she could convince herself. Chen Shiyi's words belonged to whichever pot he was talking about.
"So, our target is the ship, not the person. We should act with a bottom line. Although I took advantage of her, I will not hurt her father tonight, let alone her. After entering, I will directly find an opportunity to burn
How many ships can be burned?" Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
"Okay. It's a pity that our muskets and some firearms are too heavy to carry on our backs and the targets are too big, so we left them in the woods to the east of the city. Otherwise, we could just throw a few golden melons into the cabin of each ship and everything would be over." Chen Shi
One way.
Zhang Yanling said: "It's the same with fire. If you light the sails, you can destroy the ship. Centipede ships have several sails, and they can't be extinguished if they are lighted. After a while, the ships that found the wind outlet were lighted and went into the fleet.
One prick. Then we'll leave. Whether it succeeds or not, that's all. In short, safety comes first, I don't want to die here."
Everyone nodded.
When the two carriages arrived at the military camp checkpoint outside the port, it was already dark.
At the checkpoint, there were soldiers from Folangji who stopped the carriage and shouted questions.
Helena got out of the car and said a few words to them. When the guarding soldiers saw Helena, their eyes immediately lit up and they were extremely respectful.
However, they still checked the carriage of Zhang Yanling and others. When a bearded soldier from Folangji who was holding a lantern lifted the curtain of the carriage and peeked in with a furry face, he saw four dull faces with smiling faces.
face. Since they were the entourage brought by Miss Helena, although it was strange that these four yellow locals were brought in by Miss Helena, how could they dare to offend the daughter of the commander-in-chief. They only gave a few warnings.
The sentence was released.
As the carriage entered, it was obvious that it was already going downhill to the bay. Through the gaps in the car window, one could see patrolling soldiers and horses, and the French soldiers on the watchtower were coming and going. Only those responsible for security patrols
, there were hundreds of people. And these guys were all carrying firearms. Franco's muskets were already very popular.
I went through two more inspections on the way, but with Miss Helena around, I passed these checkpoints easily.
Finally, the carriage stopped. Helena jumped off the carriage and came to the carriage behind. She raised the curtain and said to Zhang Yanling and the other four: "We're here, but I have to go to the military camp first to see if my father is back. You are here.
Wait first. Remember, don’t run around. This is a wartime situation here and it’s very strict. If you walk around, you can easily get into trouble. Remember, don’t run around."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Don't worry, Miss, we will be waiting for you in the carriage."
Helena smiled and nodded: "Okay, Mr. Zhang, then I'm going to see my father. I'll introduce you to him later."
Zhang Yanling cupped her hands and said, "Thank you, Miss Helena. It's a pleasure to meet you today. If I offended you in any way today, I hope that Miss Helena will forgive me."
Helena smiled and said: "How can you offend me? You saved me. You also helped my father cook food and asked me to fulfill my filial piety. I am grateful to you before it is too late."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Some trivial things are not worth mentioning. What I mean is, if I offend you, I hope you can forgive me. I haven't offended you before, and maybe I will inevitably offend you in the future. So let me tell you in advance."
Helena smiled sweetly and said: "That's okay. From now on, we are friends. If there is any offense between friends, we should be tolerant. Don't worry, you don't have to be so polite."
Zhang Yanling smiled, nodded, and cupped her hands again.
Helena said: "Is everything okay? Then I'll go find my father first. Don't run around. I may have to trouble you later to help me deliver the food."
"Okay, Miss Helena, goodbye." Zhang Yanling smiled.
Helena lowered the car curtain, turned around and left quickly.
It was dark in the carriage. Chen Shi smacked his lips and whispered: "This foreign girl is very kind. She seems to have a good rapport with the Duke."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "What nonsense are you talking about? Get ready to take action."
Chen Shiyi looked solemn and quickly stopped talking.
Zhang Yanling lifted the car curtain and looked outside. He saw a group of Franco soldiers surrounding Helena towards a house with lights on. There were also many Franco soldiers walking in twos and threes from the direction of the dock.
Everyone looked exhausted. They must have been training for a day and were very tired.
"Let's go!" Zhang Yanling lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.
Chen Shiyi and three others also quickly got off the carriage. The four of them wore bamboo hats and headed towards the dock against the flow of people.
This is a risky move. It is very dangerous to pass by the soldiers of Folangji in a big way. But Zhang Yanling believes that this is the safest way. If these soldiers are soldiers who have returned from training on the warship, they should not go
They are responsible for the security issues at the port. They have been tired for a day now, and they probably don’t want to do anything else. They just want to return to the military camp and rest as soon as possible.
Zhang Yanling's gamble was successful. A large number of Franco soldiers disembarked from the dock and passed by Zhang Yanling and others, but no one even asked who the four people were. They just talked to each other and complained.
After hard training, I wanted to go home quickly, take a hot bath, eat a good meal, and then have a good sleep.
The four people arrived at the seaside pier very smoothly. Looking around, they saw dark warships moored in rows on the pier. There were many sails, like a dark cloud, and there was no end as far as the eye could see.
Last night, I was extremely shocked when I saw it from a distance on the hillside. Now, standing next to these tall warships, I felt even more powerful. Dozens of giant ships gathered together, and the scene was extremely impressive.
Zhang Yanling breathed a sigh of relief, and the four of them stepped onto the gangplank and quickly boarded a centipede ship. Then, their figures disappeared among the many masts and ship buildings.