Chapter 39 Internal Conflicts among the Aristocracy

Yuan Xi looked at the expressions of the three people in front of him and chuckled inwardly.

In this era, most members of the gentry class, although somewhat reserved and arrogant, were still relatively simple and honest.

For Yuan Xi, who had seen all sorts of people on construction sites, including the unscrupulous behavior that arose from various motives, the gentry of this era probably hadn't experienced it yet.

A young maidservant came forward, cleaned up the shattered wine glasses on the ground, and quietly retreated.

Only then did Yuan Xi smile and say, "I accidentally startled you all, I hope you don't blame me?"

Yuan Tan's old face flushed red, and he coughed dryly, "How could we? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, hahaha."

At this moment, more maids came up, placing pots of braised pork knuckles, cooked until soft and tender, in front of everyone, drizzled with a shiny and rich sauce.

The heat from the knuckles mixed with the aroma of the meat rose slowly, entering everyone's nostrils, making their appetites stir.

Yuan Tan, Xun Chen, and the others picked up their wooden chopsticks, and seeing that it was clearly pork knuckle, hesitated for a moment.

At that time, the method of castrating pigs was not yet widespread, and pork often had a fishy and gamey taste.

Even in the Song Dynasty before the emergence of Dongpo pork, the cooking of pork was quite a headache.

Gao Lan hesitantly picked up a piece of pork knuckle with skin, chewed it a few times, and suddenly his eyes widened, exclaiming, "Good meat!"

Seeing this, Yuan Tan and Xun Chen also put the meat into their mouths, carefully tasted it, and were also surprised.

Although they didn't know what method was used, the strange taste of this pork had been greatly reduced, and with the soy sauce seasoning, the taste was extremely delicious.

Compared to the meat they had eaten before, this pot of knuckles far exceeded their expectations!

Soy sauce had already appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, but food was mostly steamed or boiled.

Although many spices had been introduced from the Western Regions, they were not as widely used in cooking as in later generations, and were mostly used for sachets and other personal items.

Fortunately, Yuan Xi found some rare spices among the wealth he seized after killing Liu Bao this time.

When he made this knuckle dish, he roasted it over a fire, blanched it several times, and added several spices, elevating the taste of the originally difficult-to-handle pork to a whole new level.

No wonder Yuan Tan and the others were so surprised.

Yuan Xi smiled and pointed to the dozens of dancing and music-playing young women below, saying, "These women were all civilians abducted by the Southern Xiongnu during their rebellion in the Chang'an and Luoyang areas."

"They were forced to go north, suffering all kinds of abuse along the way."

"At that time, I was confronting General Zhao Zilong, who was still in Gongsun Zan's army.

Seeing those barbarian dogs treat our Han daughters like this, I felt indignant, so I temporarily joined forces with him and killed those barbarian dogs, rescuing them."

Hearing this, the women in the hall all knelt down and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Young Master, for saving our lives, we will never forget it."

Yuan Xi waved his hand, and the women resumed their music playing.

He said to the three, "These women's families were all killed by the barbarian dogs, and they have nowhere to go.

However, it is not easy to settle them in the city, so I have temporarily kept dozens of them who are skilled in musical instruments and cooking."

"But this is not a long-term solution.

If any of you are short of maids or servants at home, please do me a favor and take them back to settle in your mansions."

At that time, it was extremely common for aristocratic families to give each other maids and concubines, so Yuan Xi's words were not outrageous.

Hearing this, Yuan Tan smiled and said, "Since Second Brother is so thoughtful, then I, as the eldest brother, will accept it without ceremony.

Can they all make the knuckle dish from just now?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Of course, not to mention cooking this knuckle, each of them can make a dozen dishes that are no less delicious than this."

As soon as these words came out, even Xun Chen seemed moved, and his eyes began to size up the maids, chuckling, "Maids who are proficient in both elegant musical performances and the mundane art of cooking are extremely rare.

I am very interested."

At this time, Xun Chen's evaluation of Yuan Xi was even higher.

During the banquet, the three of them had been led by the nose by Yuan Xi, and they had not asked about the truth of the conflict with the Xiongnu tribes at all.

However, as soon as Yuan Xi spoke, he shifted to the righteousness and offered concubines, making it difficult for Xun Chen to speak again.

Seeing that Yuan Tan and Xun Chen both showed signs of interest, which was within his expectations, what surprised him the most was Gao Lan's reaction.

Although Gao Lan's eyes had never left those maids, for some reason, he had not opened his mouth to ask for one until now.

This was not right!

It should be known that strategists mostly came from aristocratic families, with noble status and deep family backgrounds.

What they sought were positions like civil officials who were content to stay in the rear.

But military generals were different.

Most of them came from humble backgrounds.

Compared to the gentry who could read and write, they had very few choices and could only take up the position of military generals who licked blood on the edge of a knife.

This was also why most military generals were looked down upon by strategists and civil officials.

Family background.

Therefore, many military generals could only improve their status slowly by attaching themselves to and befriending aristocratic families.

Because the gentry were not only landlords but also powerful figures who monopolized land and knowledge.

They also monopolized public opinion, and the so-called "Monthly Criticism" was a representative of this.

Without the recognition of the gentry, it would be difficult to do things, and the results would be half the effort.

Dong Zhuo was like this.

He was born in Yingchuan Commandery, but his family had declined, and he was not comparable to a large clan like the Xun family of Yingchuan.

Therefore, he chose the path of chivalry and established his own reputation.

Even so, he still couldn't squeeze into the circle.

Even after fighting in Liang Province for many years and accumulating many military exploits, he was only a mid-level official with a salary of several hundred piculs.

But after he attached himself to Situ Yuan Wei, he was appointed as the Governor of Bing Province and the Prefect of Hedong Commandery, and his salary rose to two thousand piculs at once.

Liu Bei was also like this.

After joining Gongsun Zan, he was recommended as the Chancellor of Pingyuan with a salary of two thousand piculs, rising to the sky in one step.

But Liu Bei at least had the status of an Imperial Uncle.

Dong Zhuo was not so lucky.

Even after he became Grand Tutor, he tried his best to befriend the gentry and employed a large number of scholars, but many people still looked down on him because of his background.

In a society of aristocratic families, no one who rose to power solely through military exploits without a noble family background had ever successfully entered the imperial court and ended well.

There were the Green Forest and Red Eyebrows before, and Hou Jing and Dong Zhuo after, all of whom were like this.

Dong Zhuo's death, of course, was due to his perverse and cruel actions, but even if he treated people respectfully, he would not go far.

Because civilians controlling the imperial court was the gentry's shame.

Dong Zhuo was like this, and so were Lu Bu and Sun Ce.

Therefore, they were all ruthless people, doing things that broke the bottom line time and time again, just to gain the recognition of the gentry.

Yuan Xi was very fortunate to be reincarnated in this life and extremely lucky to have an identity that did not require him to consider the differences in family background.

If he had been born into a commoner's family, he really would not have had the confidence to achieve anything in this chaotic world.

Therefore, now that he was a member of the gentry, even if he took action against the gentry and killed the gentry of Beixin City who were hoarding grain, Yuan Tan and Xun Chen would not be able to criticize him too much.

After all, this was considered an internal conflict among the gentry?

If Yuan Xi were a commoner, it would be considered a rebellion.

This was truly a logical closed loop.

Yuan Xi was now staring at Gao Lan.

Gifting concubines was originally a common occurrence in the gentry circle.

Yuan Tan and Xun Chen were accustomed to it and were not opposed to it.

But Gao Lan, as a military general, should have been emulating elegance, but now he did not say a word, indicating that he had something on his mind!