A large group of soldiers rushed into the official headquarters.
Such a sudden change has never been experienced by the officials since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
"What are you doing? This is the official department, how can you break in?" Some officials pointed at the soldiers and glared at them.
But the soldiers didn't bother to pay attention to him at all, but they didn't embarrass him and just waved him aside, as long as they didn't do it in public.
"Be brave! This is an important place for officials. Anyone who dares to intrude without permission is so brave of you! Come on, let me blast you out..."
Before the official guards came forward, Han Du walked in under the protection of two teams of soldiers.
The official who was so arrogant just now suddenly felt bad when he saw Han Du. He quickly bowed his hands and said, "Greetings to the chief minister. I wonder why he led his troops into the official department?"
Han Du said with a smile: "According to the emperor's decree, I am here to thoroughly investigate the waste in the canteen of the staff department. Someone come!"
"The end will be here."
"The dining hall has been sealed by me. No one is allowed to enter or exit. I will conduct a thorough investigation myself."
"Yes." The captain replied neatly, then waved his hand suddenly and said: "A group of people are coming to follow my general to seal the dining hall."
The official saw a group of soldiers rushing straight to the dining hall. Although he didn't know what happened in the court hall, he knew that things were in trouble. But facing Han Du, he didn't even dare to fart. Instead, he was thinking in his mind about how to pick him clean.
Han Du glanced at him and ignored him, and walked towards the dining hall.
By the time Han Du arrived, the captain had already taken a general look at the dining hall.
Seeing Han Du coming, the captain hurriedly went out to greet him and said at the same time: "Sir, there are a lot of drinks stored inside."
"Oh? What kind of wine are they?" Han Du had an expected attitude.
"They are all drunk by gods!"
ah? Han Du couldn't help but be surprised when he heard the captain's words. He hurriedly walked in, and sure enough he saw a wall with a whole cabinet full of immortal drunkenness. With the high price of Shenxian Zui, if nothing else, these wines alone are worth a lot of money.
Perhaps it was Han Du's coincidence that he happened to have dinner with officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs at the same time. The table was covered with food, but no chopsticks had been touched yet.
These delicacies were so delicious and delicious that Han Du couldn't help but pick up his chopsticks and reach for the plate of bean sprouts.
Crispy and refreshing, even Han Du's eyes lit up after eating it.
"Get the cook."
Soon, a fat cook was dragged to Han Du by two soldiers.
The cook was frightened. He was trembling with fear and did not dare to raise his head.
Han Du smiled slightly and asked softly: "Here, tell me, who fried this plate of bean sprouts?"
"Yes, it's the little fry." The fat cook replied tremblingly.
"Oh?" Han Du pointed at the bean sprouts and said, "That's just right. Come and tell me how you fried the bean sprouts? I have never tasted such a crispy texture."
The fat chef's eyes flashed, and he stumbled and said: "That's it...it's just like that. It's so simple to stir-fry bean sprouts. Everyone uses the same way..."
Haha... The smile on Han Du's face disappeared, and his expression quickly darkened. The atmosphere that had just been harmonious and warm soon turned bitterly cold, making the fat cook couldn't help but shudder.
"Do you think I've never eaten fried bean sprouts, or what?" Han Du said sharply: "How dare you use such a ridiculous reason to deal with me, I think you have had enough. Come here, drag him out and chop him up. !”
"As ordered." The two soldiers who had just dragged the fat cook out now stepped forward again, grabbed his arms, and were about to drag him out.
"Spare your life, sir! Spare your life..." But no matter how the fat cook shouted, the two soldiers turned a deaf ear and continued to drag him outside.
"Hit, little one, I'll do it all... I'll do it all..." Under the crisis of life and death, the fat cook had no choice but to do anything else. Now he just wants to save his life, no matter how long it takes. One breath of life was worth trading for anything.
Han Du waved his hand slightly, and the two soldiers stopped immediately. Then he dragged the fat cook to the father-in-law again and threw him down.
The fat cook wandered around in front of the gate of hell, his legs trembling, and he instantly collapsed on the ground.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Han Du asked expressionlessly.
"Is such that......."
...
Zhu Biao gave Han Du three days, but Han Du found out everything in just one day.
The next day Han Du went to the palace with the memorial and asked to see Zhu Biao.
"Your Majesty, I have found out about the food expenses of the staff, and I am here to deliver my order."
Ever since this incident happened, Zhu Biao was in a bad mood. Now that Han Du was able to report in advance, he felt slightly better.
He nodded lightly and asked, "Tell me, what's going on?"
"Your Majesty, the staff purchased a large amount of wine. They discounted all the money they spent on these drinks on firewood, rice, oil and salt, which naturally resulted in an extremely exaggerated purchase amount."
"How brave! My father personally issued a decree prohibiting officials from drinking while on duty, but they dared to put alcohol into the ministry hall. It is really lawless!" Zhu Biao was furious.
When it comes to drinking, the imperial court did not completely ban officials from drinking. I just ask you not to drink while on duty. When you get home from your errand, no one will care about how you drink.
But the officials in the Ministry of Personnel couldn't even wait for such a moment, and insisted on drinking in the Ministry of Personnel, and also spent a lot of public funds.
"Not only that, there is only one kind of drink in the official department, and that is Shenxian Zui." Han Du continued.
"Shenxian Zui?" Zhu Biao knew the price of Shenxian Zui very well. This is the most expensive wine in the world today. If it weren't for the unlimited supply of Handu, Zhu Biao himself might not be willing to drink more if he had to buy it with money.
I didn't expect that the officials of the Ministry of Personnel would be so extravagant.
"Only Shenxian Zui? Are there any cheaper ones?" Zhu Biao still held a glimmer of hope in his heart.
Unfortunately, Han Du immediately dashed his hopes and replied categorically: "No."
"Okay, very good..." Zhu Biao gritted his teeth.
But the more serious thing is yet to come.
Han Du continued: "Not only that, does the emperor know how much it costs to fry a plate of bean sprouts?"
"Twenty Wen? Thirty Wen? It's just a plate of bean sprouts. How much can it cost?" Zhu Biao looked puzzled.
He had eaten bean sprouts at Handu House. They were tender and crunchy and suited his taste.
Han Du shook his head and sighed slightly, "Forget it, the emperor should ask the chef of the Ministry of Personnel himself."
Zhu Biao suddenly realized that things were not as simple as he thought. He pondered for a while and said to Han Du: "You brought someone here? Then pass it in."
The fat cook lowered his head and walked in timidly. He was so scared that he almost went crazy. He never thought that he was just a cook, how could he make such a big fuss and make trouble in the palace? I heard that I want to see the emperor? How could he, a common man, have the opportunity to meet the emperor?
"Are you the cook of the Ministry of Personnel?" Zhu Biao looked at the fat cook lying on the ground and frowned.
"Little... the common people are cooking in the Ministry of Personnel." The fat cook felt that his lips were not obeying his orders.
Zhu Biao asked calmly: "Then tell me, how much does it cost to fry a plate of bean sprouts?"
"It takes two coins to return to the emperor." The fat cook answered honestly.
"What?" Zhu Biao stood up in shock and said with disbelief: "That's nonsense. A plate of bean sprouts only costs twenty or thirty cents at most. How can you ask for two?"
This price is a hundred times more expensive than what Zhu Biao knew.
The fat cook was even more frightened. In order to survive, he quickly said: "The grass people...???????????????. The grass people are really not talking nonsense. Ordinary fried bean sprouts only cost 20 coins. Even ten coins are enough. But the stir-fried bean sprouts in the official department are different from the usual ones. It really requires two strings!"
"What's the difference?" Zhu Biao asked quickly. It’s just a plate of fried bean sprouts, why is it different?
The fat cook said with a cry: "Bean sprouts must be carefully selected. The thickest and strongest ones must be selected, and they must be straight in the middle, almost the same size and length. You may not be able to pick out just one or two of these bean sprouts out of ten pounds of bean sprouts." . And also use Jingjiang pork jerky, cut it vertically into shreds, and then thread the pork jerky shreds into the bean sprouts one by one. Do not break the pork jerky shreds, discard them if they are broken. The bean sprouts fried in this way , can it not be worth twice?"
It's okay that Zhu Biao didn't listen. After hearing this, he was shaking with anger and pointed at the fat cook angrily: "Tell me, apart from these bean sprouts, what other expensive dishes do the officials have?"
The fat cook didn't dare to hide it at all, and he exposed the extravagant and lustful side of the staff incisively and vividly.
In the end, Zhu Biao didn't even have the energy to be angry. He waved his hand and asked the fat cook to retreat.
He stared blankly in the direction of the officials, and after a while he murmured: "Han Du, you said that the Ming Dynasty only existed for more than thirty years. How dare they be so extravagant and lustful? What a waste of public funds, such a squandering of people’s fat and money!”
Zhu Biao's voice became louder and louder, and at the end it roared like thunder. The sound echoed in the hall one after another and lasted for a long time.
After Zhu Biao had vented enough, Han Du slowly spoke: "Actually, the crux still lies with Confucianism."
Zhu Biao was a little confused and didn't understand what this extravagant desire had to do with Confucianism.
Han Du smiled and continued: "Since the beginning of the sage, we have advocated 'never getting tired of fine food, never getting tired of fine food'. Later scholars felt that since the sages said this, then this is obviously right. As long as there is a chance, they will They will try their best to make the dishes more delicate. But what's the use of making the dishes more delicate? Dishes are for eating. No matter how fine they are, it will not make people feel fuller or make them eat a full meal. You can go without eating for ten days, but the dishes will be wasted. In order to eat a plate of bean sprouts, you spend dozens of kilograms of bean sprouts. This is not eating, it is committing a sin!"
After Zhu Biao heard this, he nodded fiercely and agreed with Han Du's statement. This is committing evil!
