"I heard from the person in charge of the ceremonial department that there is a saying in the outer court: 'Give a dragonfly some water at a banquet, and pretend to be a big banquet'. So I guess you must have eaten nothing just now." In the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yijun smiled and extended his hand. Pointing to the table of wine and food that had been prepared, he said: "No, I will specially open a small stove for you to fill your stomach, and drink a few drinks with me by the way - as a celebration."
The emperor specially gave people a small stove, which was an incredible treatment. However, Gao Pragmatic guessed that Zhu Yijun was in a very good mood today, and joked with him, saying: "I have heard of a saying among the people, "The name of the capital is inconsistent with its reality. 》The entry is called "Articles of Hanlin Academy, Swords and Guns of the Arsenal; Tea Soup of Guanglu Temple, Prescriptions of the Imperial Hospital", which is a mockery of the name and it is not true - this small stove of the emperor is not at the level of the monks of Guanglu Temple, right? "
"Your cooks are naturally good. They can't be compared to the monks and chefs of Guanglu Temple. But this small stove is made by the in-house cook, so it's not much worse." Zhu Yijun really didn't care that Gao Pragmatic despised the most authentic restaurant in name. "Yu Shan", instead he smiled and said: "Besides, although Yu Shan is not good, Yu Jiu is always good... Come on, come on, sit down and talk."
In the Ming Dynasty, there was no institution called "Imperial Kitchen", and the place where royal meals were cooked was called Shangshanjian. Its relationship with Guanglu Temple is a bit interesting. Guanglu Temple is responsible for purchasing and deciding the menu, while Shangshang Supervisor is responsible for cooking. There is also another organization called Shangshu Bureau, which is responsible for serving food. However, the three of them do not belong to the same group. a system. Among them, Guanglu Temple is an external court institution and is a formal state unit. Shangshan Supervisor and Shangshi Bureau belong to the internal supervision system and are under the leadership of the Secretary of Ceremonies.
At the beginning, the presence of Guanglu Temple was still very high, because Guanglu Temple was not only responsible for cooking for the emperor alone, but also had many other things to be busy with.
For example, all kinds of banquets in the palace are handled by Guanglu Temple. Whenever there is a Zhengdan, Holy Festival, Winter Solstice, or auspicious banquet, all kinds of food, wine and wine must be provided by Guanglu Temple. Guanglu Temple is also responsible for the food and wine given to ministers after the sutra banquet and daily lecture. In addition, Guanglu Temple is also responsible for organizing sacrifices, offering "blessings" and "blessing wine" at various sacrificial ceremonies, and "displaying sacrifices" to the tombs of the former emperors...
In addition, on certain festivals, Guanglu Temple will also prepare different foods to give to the ministers: spring pancakes at the beginning of spring, Yuanxiao Yuanzi on the first day of the first lunar month, Buluojia on April 8th, rice dumplings on the Dragon Boat Festival in May, and rice dumplings on September 1st. Eat cakes on the Double Ninth Festival, eat wax noodles on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month...
Therefore, whether the food at Guanglu Temple is offered to the dead or served to the living, whether it is raw or cooked, the work has political significance. Tributes from various places, such as tea leaves, new bamboo shoots, dried fish, and dried meat, are also collected and processed by Guanglu Temple. Therefore, the functions of Guanglu Temple and the "imperial kitchen" in the eyes of later generations do overlap, but they are not directly equivalent.
The emperors of the Ming Dynasty in the early Ming Dynasty basically ate the food cooked by Guanglu Temple, so Guanglu Temple was indeed a fertile place, as the ingredients donated from all over the country passed through it.
However, in the late Ming Dynasty, the emperors gradually no longer liked eating from Guanglu Temple. Why? Because it tastes terrible! For example, Xie Zhaozhe said: "Nowadays, the diet of high-ranking officials has no special taste, except for fish and meat, which are roasted and brewed thickly."
What does this mean? This means that the "royal meal" prepared by Guanglu Temple for the emperor is nothing more than big fish and meat, which are then grilled, boiled and seasoned.
Think about it, everyone, isn’t this thing just a hot pot dish in the cafeteria? What are you talking about? How could the emperor be treated like this? Hey, don’t believe it, just take a look at the menu of the celebration banquet after the suburban sacrifice in the second year of Yongle and you will know that this statement is very true:
Serving: five kinds of wine, five kinds of fruits, five kinds of tea and food, five kinds of roasting, three kinds of soup, double steamed buns, horse meat rice, and five kinds of wine. Middle table: Four kinds of wine, four kinds of fruits, three kinds of soup, two steamed buns, rice with horse, pig, mutton, and five kinds of wine. The accompanying general: Drink the same amount of wine as usual, make soup with rice noodles, eat steamed buns, pork rice, and drink for an hour.
Look at these dishes. Are they very different from the "imperial meals" that you readers think of delicacies from the mountains and sea? Not to mention the royal meal in my mind, this seems to be worse than the workplace canteen in modern society-except that it generally does not serve drinks.
What Gao Jingshi just said, "The name of the capital is inconsistent with the four principles" is also true. It can be seen that the food of Guanglu Temple is famous throughout the capital.
Therefore, under the influence of various factors, some systems have also changed. For example, the banquets originally prepared by Guanglu Temple for the lecturers who participated in the sutra banquets and daily lectures were cancelled, and instead the banquets were directly converted into silver taels and given to the lecturers - this happened just last year, and was personally ordered by Gao Pragmatic This project was highly supported by the Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu, and no one in the cabinet even opposed it.
Guanglu Temple is not good at cooking, and the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty cannot be easily changed, so what should the emperor do when he eats? Of course, it's the same old method: bypassing the ancestral system - here, it's directly handed over to the eunuchs.
Let’s take a look at the record in "Zi Zhong Zhi": "The meals that the saints eat every day are handled by two or three people who are in charge of the seals and pens of the ceremonial supervisor and the director of the East Factory. In recent years, this supervision has been changed (here Referring to the Supervisor of Food), he also saved his time. In the thirteenth year, he returned to the command of the Secretary of Ceremony and took charge of the factory. He followed the previous rules and took turns serving meals every month, still abiding by the ancestral system."
This is a big departure. In addition to the "regular canteen" in the palace, the Superintendent of Shangshan, is it possible that the eunuch of the Superintendent of Ceremonies, the chief eunuch, and the admiral of the East Factory are also required to cook for the emperor? Readers with good memories may be able to recall one thing right now. Meng Chong, the eunuch who was the eunuch in charge of the eunuch when Gao pragmatic followed Gao Gong to Beijing more than 20 years ago, was a chef and started his career as a baker, right?
However, what was said above did not actually allow the eunuchs in charge of rituals to cook for the emperor in person, but the chefs under the eunuchs - this is the "internal cook" the emperor just mentioned.
Think about it, these eunuchs hold great power, have no descendants, have money and leisure, how do they spend their time? Then you have to spend a lot of money on your appetite, so eunuchs are often the most pursuing food.
As the saying goes, "When people are sitting together and eating, they will definitely get rice to eat, and they will eat together to be full, and they will eat their bones... If a vegetarian practices good practice of chanting the Buddha's name, he will also list fruits, drink tea and sit for a long time, or even When striving for excellence and winning, most people don’t regard eating from a basket and drinking from a ladle as a beauty.”
This is a bit like the so-called French feast in the minds of ordinary people in later generations. It means that eating can't just be eaten, but also has to be done with style. It can also be seen that by this time, the Ming Dynasty had evolved from the simplicity of the early Ming Dynasty to vanity.
However, being pragmatic does not exclude the luxury of drinking, he only rejects large-scale extravagance and waste. Because food itself is also culture, and it is also an important carrier of cultural inheritance. The longer and splendid a civilization is, the more colorful and elaborate its food will be. This is the precipitation of history and the crystallization of civilization.
Only the kind of extravagance and waste represented by Yangzhou salt merchants is firmly opposed by Gao Pragmatism. For example, killing hundreds of sheep, only taking one or two of the most delicious meat from the sheep for cooking, and throwing away the rest directly. This was something Gao Pragmatic severely criticized, and he himself never allowed the Gao family to behave like this.
The emperor said, "Sit down and we'll talk." Gao Pragmatic was really rude. He sat down first, and then started to say: "It can be seen that it is better to spend the palace's money on things in the palace, and it will be easier to handle them without involving each other inside and outside." appropriate."
Zhu Yijun picked up a pot of Zhuyeqing brewed in the palace, poured himself a cup, then shook it towards Gao Qingshi and asked: "Is it still Bambooyeqing?"
"Is there Qiu Lubai?" Gao pragmatically asked.
"Yes! There are green bamboo leaves, white autumn dew, lotus stamens, cold pond incense, and golden stem dew. However, Taixi white seems not to be enough this year." Zhu Yijun stood up and said: "Wait a minute, I'll get it."
Gao pragmatic stood up with a smile and said: "I'd better do it by myself...but at the same place?"
"Yeah, I've always been in the same position as ten years ago." Gao Yingshi didn't look like a good guest, and Zhu Yijun didn't look like a good host either. He casually raised his finger and said at the same time: "You know, I People miss the past.”
Of course Gao Pangshi could hear the implication of these words, but it was not until he took out a pot of Qiu Lubai from the cabinet at the bottom of the bookshelf and came back that Shi Shiran said: "That's why the emperor insisted on granting a title to me today, even at the expense of Are you going to fight against all the opposition for this?"
"Against everyone's opinions? When did I fight against everyone's opinions?" Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows slightly, took a sip from his Bamboo Leaf Green, and said, "Have you seen anyone here today who disagrees?"
Gao Pragmatic smiled, shook his head and said, "That was a clever design by the Emperor, who took advantage of all possible advantages. Naturally, no one could object to it at that time, but this does not mean that they also agreed in their hearts."
"Do I need their approval from the bottom of their hearts? What a joke! When can anything in this world be unanimously approved by everyone from top to bottom in the court? Is there such a thing? No, and it will never happen! "
Gao Pingshi laughed and said, "Is your Majesty now accepting your minister's 'dialectical theory'?" He looked very happy and took the rare initiative to pour himself a drink.
Zhu Yijun was a far better drinker than him, and upon seeing this, he immediately took the initiative to raise his glass. Gao pragmatically picked up the wine glass, slightly lowered the rim of the glass, touched it to him, and drank it down in one gulp.
Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "Don't ever use that trick of yours again - say you're drunk after having a few drinks. I don't want to act like that today. You are now the Marquis of Nanning, and you really share weal and woe with me." Now, you have to stay with me as long as I drink. If you want to leave halfway, I won't agree."
Well, Zhu Yijun has now developed the ability to switch between "I" and "I" at will.
Gao pragmatically said: "Have a drink and enjoy yourself. As long as the emperor is not a sea drinker, I will accompany you. However, after all, the emperor is the supreme king of the world. Although the enemy is at peace now, the world is still troubled, and I, the emperor, can not relax yet." A time to be vigilant.”
"Okay!" Zhu Yijun said sternly: "Since you are talking about business, let's talk about business so that you don't have to tell us why a king should not lose his ambition by playing with things."
Zhu Yijun paused, slowly suppressed his smile, and said: "Now the imperial court is facing three major events: the riots of the Cao Army in the south of the Yangtze River, the rebellion of the Yang bandits in Bozhou, and the Japanese pirates sweeping North Korea. These three major events are not easy to handle. You have what idea?"
Gao Pragmatic said very simply: "First get rid of the troubles in Jiangnan, secondly put down the rebellion in Bozhou, and then put an end to the rebellion in Korea."
"What's the reason?" Zhu Yijun frowned and said: "The news I heard now is that North Korea was completely defeated. More than 200,000 troops were beaten by the Japanese pirates and retreated all the way. I look at it, if it continues like this, it won't be a few days. I’m afraid even Seoul will be lost.”
Gao pragmatically said calmly: "What if Seoul is lost?"
Zhu Yijun was obviously startled when he heard this, and said in astonishment: "Seoul has been lost, how can Li Hao, the king of North Korea, still be able to survive?"
"The emperor said he can do it, and no matter how hard he can't do it, he can still do it; the emperor says he can't do it, and no matter how hard he can do it, he still can't do it." Gao pragmatic smiled slightly and said: "This has nothing to do with who is in the hands of Seoul for the time being. What does it have to do with it?"
Zhu Yijun smiled bitterly and said: "I know what you mean, but what I am worried about now is the war - yes, even if Li Hao fled to the Ming Dynasty alone, as long as I insist that he is the king of North Korea, he can always be the king of North Korea. However, the homeland of North Korea You can’t just leave it to the Japanese pirates, right? If I really insist on letting Li Huo be the king of Korea, won’t I have to find a way to get his Korean homeland back for him?”
He paused for a moment, with a flash of murderous intent in his eyes, and said: "I heard that Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan has great ambitions, and conquering the dynasty is just a small test. What he wants is to conquer the Ming Dynasty."
Gao Pragmatic nodded and said: "I received a warning from the Sea Trade Alliance about this news not long ago, but at the time I thought this... was too far-fetched to talk about, so I didn't take it seriously. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"It turns out that this guy has done something strange a long time ago? Okay, he did it carefully, so he can't let it go easily." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said: "But you can't say that you are not guilty here, like the Japanese country. Xiaobang, who would believe that he has such ambitions? Even if it were me, North Korea has already been completely defeated, and I still don’t believe this is true."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Gao Pingshi took a sip and said, "However, although the Japanese Toyotomi Hideyoshi will eventually be severely punished, things have to be prioritized. Although the Japanese pacification is a big matter, we cannot rush for success. Your Majesty, Jiangnan is the wealth of our dynasty. There is no room for failure in this important land. Although the Cao Army and the Nanbing Army are only facing each other at a distance and have not engaged in combat, their threat is still the greatest among the three major events and must be resolved first."
Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, frowned and asked, "Do you feel that there is something wrong with the Cao Army incident?"
"Your Majesty has seen thousands of miles, and there is indeed a big problem here." Gao Yingshi took out a note from his arms and handed it to Zhu Yijun, saying: "This is the investigation report of Jinghua Ningbo Port Director Wu Xun. Your Majesty can take a look at it. This man is the son of Wu Ge Lao. He has always been talented, but unfortunately he lacks some talent in writing, so it is difficult for him to apply for an official position. Therefore, I can use him in business, so I can use his talents to the fullest."
Zhu Yijun nodded and did not comment further. He just opened the article and read it. After just a few glances, Zhu Yijun became obviously serious. After a few more glances, his face turned livid. After reading the full text, Zhu Yijun took a deep breath, slapped the article on the table, and asked bitterly: "How sure are you of this matter?"
"I cannot guarantee it, but I am willing to hand over all the existing evidence and clues to the emperor. As for the next matter, the emperor can secretly send factory guards to investigate carefully. If there is a mistake, the person can be cleared; if there is no mistake, then... …”
"So what?" Zhu Yijun picked up the wine glass and said coldly: "It's hard for you to say, I'll do it for you - if you want to get rid of the outside world, you must first settle the inside. If I don't cut off a few heads, some people really don't know what the surname is in this world. Whose name is that?"
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