During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Qin State swept through the six kingdoms, attacking the Xiongnu in the north and the barbarians in the south, unifying all the countries and establishing the prestigious Qin Empire. So here comes the question. In the backward transportation environment in ancient times, the Qin army started from Shaanxi, east to southeast Shandong, to Hainan and north to Liaoning. What did the hundreds of thousands of Qin soldiers eat on expedition after expedition?

This is the dry food that is still loved by Shaanxi people - pot helmets. Shaanxi pot helmets can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. King Wen of Zhou Dynasty had already used it as military rations when he conquered Zhou Dynasty. Guokui is kneaded with wheat flour to make a dough. After fermentation, it is rolled into a round cake and slowly baked in a pot. Even in the summer, it will not go bad for a long time, similar to today's compressed biscuits.

The pot helmets made by the Qin people are large and thick. The diameter is about 50-60 cm, and the thickness is about 15 cm. One weighs five or six kilograms. There are two holes drilled in the pot helmet and tied with ropes. Two of them form a group of Qin soldiers, one on the front and one on the back. The special carrying method acts as armor. Later, the soldiers of the Qin Army called this kind of military ration "guokui".

The pot helmet is so hard that it can withstand bows and arrows and be used as armor, so it must be difficult to chew in the mouth. So it is easier to eat with soup.

Qin soldiers broke the pot helmets into small pieces and put them into the boiling beef and mutton soup. This is where another delicacy, beef and mutton steamed buns, comes from. The Qin army, which was well fed with delicious food, was even more powerful. It went on the battlefield and swept the six countries with great heroism.