Since Emperor Wanli had Liu Haojia help him make money, both the internal treasury and his own small treasury have become very full, so naturally he will not treat himself badly! In particular, the harem concubines, including the queen and Wan Guifei, all set up small kitchens in their palaces to provide Emperor Wanli with some exquisite dishes, hoping that he could stay a few more times, so his taste It also improved very quickly!
And they don’t like the food in the palace not because it’s not cooked well, but because it’s too disciplined! According to the rules handed down from the palace, things supplied to the emperor must not violate the season first! This is to prevent the emperor from eating things that are easy for him to eat. He should eat autumn food in spring and winter food in summer! So much so that the local expenses are too high! Another point is that Chinese medicine emphasizes eating at any time to maintain health, so the dishes provided are very limited!
Furthermore, the dishes made according to the rules should not be too salty, not too sweet, not too spicy, and not too bland! In short, the irritation cannot be strong, it must be neutral and peaceful! In other words, it means bland and tasteless!
Then there's the temperature. These dishes made according to the rules are all prepared before the meal, just to prevent the emperor from eating in advance without preparation! So after these dishes are made, they are put into a large pot filled with hot water and then taken out when it is time to eat!
And the food boxes carried by the eunuchs are also very particular. They are not like those on TV. When you open the lid, you will see that the huge box only contains a plate of vegetables! In fact, the food box is divided into two layers, the upper layer is for vegetables, and the lower layer is for hot water!
The purpose of this is still to use the temperature of hot water to keep the dish from cooling down. Because the kitchen is often far away from where the emperor is, without this layer of protection, the dishes delivered might get cold without being eaten! After this treatment, the dishes are basically lukewarm when served! It’s neither hot nor cold, and it’s far less comfortable to eat than hot meals!
And the most annoying thing is that such dishes often show signs of softening after being stored for a long time, and finally have no toughness in the mouth when chewed! If you keep it for a long time, it will be like chewing snot in your mouth, so people who like delicious food will not be able to eat it!
Fortunately, both the master and the disciple were not thinking about eating, so the two of them could only finish their lunch hastily. After Zhang Jia brought the tea, the master and apprentice chatted for a while before Wanli Emperor finally got to the point!
He said: "Sir, I actually invited you to lunch today. I actually have something I want to tell you, but I just haven't figured out how to say it!"
Zhang Juzheng took over the conversation naturally and said, "If your Majesty has something to do, just give him your instructions. I will do my best!"
When Emperor Wanli heard what he said, he walked down the slope and said: "In that case, let me ask you to see something first!"
After saying that, he waved and Zhang Jia sent over a thick stack of confessions! When Zhang Juzheng first saw that the confession was sent, he thought that one of the ministers had done something wrong again, so he thought that if it was harmless, he would follow the emperor's wish and punish some ministers as it should be!
But when he opened the confession, he realized something was wrong. The first one was actually a confession from a water bandit! It records in detail how the salt merchant contacted them and intercepted the caravan! Moreover, the subsequent confession also records many cases caused by water bandits working for salt merchants! There are even more details about which officials the salt merchants bribed, etc.!
At this time, Zhang Juzheng had realized that Emperor Wanli was already preparing to attack the salt merchants! But due to the delay in information, he didn't know that low-priced salt had already opened up the market in Jiangnan! And annihilated the two main forces of Salt Owl! So he felt that Emperor Wanli wanted to ask him to come forward!
So he smiled secretly in his heart and decided to take the matter next and take the credit for the whole thing on himself and all the civil servants! But when he looked down, he found something was getting more and more wrong! Because the time shown on the confession is what happened in the past few days! So he began to outline the situation in Jiangnan based on the confession!
So he turned the pages of the confession faster and faster, almost turning the pages at a glance. Zhang Juzheng himself has a talent for reading and has been familiar with official documents for many years. He could read these confessions at a glance and quickly reached the end! It's just that he was a little surprised at this time!
If what is stated in the confession is true
If so, the low-price salt market in Jiangnan may have opened up! In other words, in addition to the power of those salt merchants to bribe the government, their power in other aspects has been greatly weakened, and they can no longer resist the invasion of low-priced salt!
At this time, Zhang Juzheng can conclude that it won't be long before low-priced salt spreads across Jiangnan, and those salt merchants will no longer be able to resist! So now he is starting to wonder if it was too late for him to intervene!
By the time he had read through all the confessions and was about to speak, Zhang Jia had already placed two more confessions in front of him! Zhang Juzheng glanced at Zhang Jia before slowly picking up the two confessions. ap.
Because he knows that these two confessions are probably very important! And he also noticed that all the confessions were signed by Dongchang. And the eunuch in front of him is the one who controls Dongchang. In other words, these people are already under Dongchang's control!
So he opened the confession with complicated thoughts, but he was almost shocked on the first page! Because the identity of the confessor written on the first page is Liu Shouyou’s personal servant!
Zhang Juzheng immediately glared at Zhang Jia fiercely, but Zhang Jia always bowed her head in front of him, so she didn't see him at all! The reason why he glared at Zhang Jia was because he felt that Zhang Jia was cooperating with Emperor Wanli's plan to capture Liu Shouyou's servants, and then beat them into submission!
But after he read these two confessions, he no longer thought so! Because these two confessions are seamlessly connected with all the other confessions! And he figured it out too! Is it possible that Liu Shou allowed two servants to disappear for nearly two months without searching for them? It means that he must know where these two people are! Otherwise, he would have gone out looking for it with great fanfare! This can only mean one thing, that is, the confession is true, and these two people are in the hands of Dongchang!
At this time, Emperor Wanli saw that Zhang Juzheng had read all the confessions, and said slowly: "Sir, the promotion of low-price salt is a good thing that benefits thousands of people! But these people blocked it for their own selfish purposes, and even We also formed gangsters to fight against the official army! Now the evidence is conclusive, so I want to deal with them. By the way, I also want to ask Mr. to promote low-price salt to the whole Ming Dynasty, so that the people of Ming Dynasty can feel the favor of the imperial court! And As the leader of all officials, you should naturally do things like this!"
