Du Gucun in the capital, upon receiving the news, almost vomited blood and rushed to the imperial palace overnight to beg for mercy.
"Your Majesty! Those disciples are merely from a collateral branch, unrelated to our main family. Punish them as Your Majesty sees fit, it has nothing to do with our main family!"
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "Although they are from a collateral branch, they are still part of the Du Gu family. You must make the common people believe. How about a small donation to support the Ministry of Weapons in forging armaments? Let the people know that Du Gu, your loyal minister, is innocent and has the nation in his heart!"
Du Guqun was almost suffocated.
Indeed, it was another shakedown!
"How much does Your Majesty think should be donated..."
"Five hundred thousand taels!" Xiao Qing said, pausing again, and smiling at Du Guqun, "It's not much, is it?"
Not much?
Xiao Qing's expression, so reminiscent of Liang Xiao, made Du Guqun feel like he was about to be consumed by rage.
Right now, Du Guqun only wanted to curse.
There was never any such thing as donating to express loyalty before. It was all Liang Xiao's precedent!
"This subject will mobilize the family to donate..."
After Du Guqun left, Ning Xuejun smiled, "The master and the驸马 are becoming more and more alike, like a married couple."
Xiao Qing pouted, "Granny Ning, you don't have to be so tactful. You just mean I'm becoming as shameless as him, and that's a good thing~"
"Du Gu family donates again! The reason for the donation: men will fall silent, and women will shed tears upon hearing it."
The next day, the Great Qian Daily published a supplementary report, bringing laughter to the entire city and a surge in sales.
Du Guqun finally fell ill in bed.
The first winter in Yan Province was already unusually cold, which made Liang Xiao even more vigilant.
According to Liang Xiao's plan, if there was any remaining strength after defeating the barbarians, the Great Qian soldiers could advance into the desert in early spring, strike while the iron is hot, and ensure that the barbarians would not dare to move south and herd their horses for years, or even decades!
This was also one of the reasons Liang Xiao had been stalling the Left Virtuous King and not rushing into battle. If they fought now, even if Great Qian won completely, winter would have arrived, making it unsuitable to enter the desert. Instead, it would give the enemy time to prepare for their return.
The armaments were also sufficient, but more was always better.
Due to the extreme cold, there were significantly fewer people on the streets than before.
When Liang Xiao returned home, he found Luo Qingxue and the others waiting, already dressed in cotton-padded clothes.
Fortunately, there were braziers and other tools for warmth nearby, so the house was quite cozy.
"Husband has been working too hard lately!"
Luo Qingxue affectionately held Liang Xiao's arm, and Jian Qinwan and the others also gathered around, looking concerned.
"It's not that hard, actually. I've even managed to write quite a bit in my spare time at the barracks," Liang Xiao said with a smile.
Liang Xiao also worked at night, preparing the documents needed for the day in advance. When he arrived at the barracks, besides inspections, he would handle some military affairs.
These military affairs were distributed to the others, and they were completed quickly, leaving him with occasional free time at the barracks.
As for marching formations and training, Liang Xiao had done everything he could. The rest depended on improvisation and which side, the two countries, could perform better in all aspects.
Therefore, as long as the Tianjiang River did not freeze, the two armies could remain at peace for the time being.
Winter was cold, and the people endured greater hardship than in other seasons. They could no longer live in constant fear of the barbarians at the borders of Yan Province.
Upon leaving the barracks, Liang Xiao had to show the people that he was calm, so that they could also feel at ease, even leisurely.
Of course, this was also Lu Yi's suggestion.
Looking at the worried faces of the young women, Liang Xiao smiled and said, "By the way, have all the ingredients I asked the household to prepare been gathered?"
Yue Lian replied, "They're all here. Since we're making it for everyone to eat, we sisters made it together and didn't ask for outside help."
Liang Xiao was surprised and delighted, "Tomorrow, my elder brother's restaurant in Yan Province will also open. I want to use hot pot to compete with the He family's business. I'll teach you how to make hot pot first, it's convenient!"
"Hot pot?" Everyone's eyes lit up.
They had heard Liang Xiao mention "hot pot" before, but they hadn't seen it. They were all waiting for Liang Xiao to demonstrate it himself.
An hour later, Liang Xiao and his wives, along with Zhen Mi, were gathered around a large table.
The center of the table had been hollowed out, with a hot pot set up, a charcoal fire underneath, and the clear broth in the pot emitting a unique aroma.
Around the pot were placed various ingredients: rice, vegetables, slices of various meats, deboned fish slices, corn kernels, potato slices, sweet potato balls...
"It's very simple, I'll show you all!"
As everyone listened to Liang Xiao's explanation, they couldn't help but marvel.
So simple, so casual?
The ingredients in the pot began to boil, and Liang Xiao encouraged everyone to start eating.
Jian Qinwan cautiously tasted a slice of fish and praised, "Although it's not as elaborate as what we usually make, it has its own flavor and is still very delicious!"
Christina also tasted a slice of meat. After swallowing, she exclaimed, "Unbelievable, how could my husband come up with such a simple hodgepodge, and it tastes so good!"
Liang Xiao was also tasting the meat slices, nodding with a smile, "In fact, one of the keys to hot pot is the preparation of the broth."
Chili was lacking here, but a clear broth pot would suffice. The Liang mansion still had the means to gather all the seasonings.
"Big demon, you should eat more~" Zhuo Xun, seeing that Liang Xiao liked meat slices, tenderly placed one on his plate.
The other women also put food on Liang Xiao's plate, and even Zhen Mi chimed in, "Brother Xiao, eat more!"
In the blink of an eye, Liang Xiao looked at the bowls of rice piled up half a foot high and fell into thought.
The courtyard was filled with laughter.
Even so, each person was provided with two pairs of chopsticks, one as serving chopsticks.
Liang Xiao strongly supported this practice, as there were no modern medical facilities here, so they could only improve their family's hygiene and safety awareness.
"Mi'er, don't just put food on brother's plate. You're so thin, eat more, grow up, grow fat, grow tall!"
Liang Xiao also used his own serving chopsticks to put some fish slices on Zhen Mi's plate.
Zhen Mi pouted, "Brother Xiao wants Mi'er to grow up quickly so he can marry Mi'er off!"
Liang Xiao was stunned and laughed, "Not at all! This is Mi'er's home. I can raise you until you're a hundred years old!"
Zhen Mi was finally satisfied. After swallowing a piece of fish, she cautiously asked, "Brother Xiao promised Mi'er before that if the person Mi'er liked didn't marry Mi'er, he would punish him, whip him with a small leather whip, and if he still didn't obey, he'd castrate him~"
Luo Qingxue and the others all looked at Liang Xiao with complex expressions.
"That's right, brother said it!" Liang Xiao said calmly.
Zhen Mi meekly asked, "What if he has a wife and children?"
Liang Xiao replied without hesitation, "Then ask his wife's opinion first, whether you can castrate him."
Jian Qinwan almost choked upon hearing this and couldn't help but cast a resentful glance at Liang Xiao.
Zhen Mi snorted, "Then if his wife is willing, but he is not, what should Mi'er do?"
Liang Xiao crossed his arms, his expression fierce, "Facing my Mi'er's pursuit, and still so unappreciative? I'll have the Sky-Piercing Guard bring him here, arrest him, and torture him daily. We'll arrange everything, like adding officials and tiger clamps. We'll let him endure the sun during the day and the wind at night, tickle the soles of his feet, and see if he's willing."
Joyful laughter erupted from the girls in the courtyard.
Liang Xiao pondered again and reminded, "However, Mi'er, no matter how much you like him, you are not allowed to be a concubine to anyone. Concubines have no status, and may not even have dignity. They can be summoned and dismissed at will. Brother Xiao will not allow you to be a concubine to anyone! You must be the main wife, or at the very least, a co-equal wife, but never a concubine, understand?"
Zhen Mi's face lit up with joy, "Ooh~"
The next afternoon, ten restaurants under Liang Xiao's cousin, Liang Feng, across Yan Province also opened on the same day, coincidentally introducing hot pot.
"This is the hot pot promoted by Marquis An Guo. Three days of discount, then original price!"
The hot pot quickly became popular throughout the city. Customers who used to frequent the He family's restaurant in the capital all became regular patrons of Liang Feng's restaurant.
The disciples of the He family in various parts of Yan Province were now like ants on a hot pan.