"The imperial doctors checked the remaining part of the wine and found nothing abnormal. However... the emperor's vomit seemed to contain drug residues that conflicted with the wine."
After saying this, the six ministers looked at each other in confusion. Finally, the chief minister Wang Jiaping asked on behalf of everyone: "No one in the cabinet seems to have heard that the emperor has been ill recently. I wonder where this 'drug residue' comes from?"
Having said that, everyone actually has some guesses in their minds. Everyone knows about the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, especially the reason why the late emperor died. So if you compare it to others... is it possible that he also secretly took the medicine of tiger and wolf but was too embarrassed to let the outer court know? It seems very possible.
However, Chen Ju sighed and said: "The so-called 'drug residue' here is not because the emperor is not in good health, but because the emperor and the concubine saw that the emperor has been busy with state affairs recently, so she found some medicinal recipes from Guangdong and Guangxi. , and then ordered the Shang Food Bureau to purchase it and pay tribute to the emperor for his enjoyment."
Upon hearing that it was the medicated diet recipe provided by Concubine Zheng, Gao Pragmatic frowned slightly, Shen Yiguan was shocked, while Wang Jiaping's face was livid and he asked without hesitation: "The emperor has his own rules for diet, these recipes have not been verified." , how can you give it to the emperor for food at will! The people in the Shangshi Bureau are really bold. If it is found out that today's accident was due to unclean recipes, in my opinion, each of these people will be punished for their crimes! "
Zhao Zhigao didn't know whether he wanted to persuade Wang Jiaping to calm down his anger or something, so he quickly smoothed things over and said: "Yuan Fu, calm down. I'm afraid it won't be easy to find out this matter for a while, but it may not be the responsibility of the Shangshi Bureau. Shanglinyuan The supplies over there should also be checked.”
Well, it's a good thing you don't try to smooth things over. After all, it only involves one Shangshi Bureau. Now that it involves Shanglinyuan, it's not just a problem for the inner court, but also the outer court will be implicated! Where are you from?
Everyone, here we must explain the food supply system of the imperial palace in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the palace's imperial catering management was divided into two sets of yamen, namely internal and external yamen. The administrative agencies of the outer court include Guanglu Temple and Taichang Temple. In the inner court, there is a Shangshan Food Bureau belonging to the eunuch yamen, and there is a Shangshanshan bureau belonging to the female official yamen.
Since ancient times, the diet of emperors has been exclusively managed by some people who are good at cooking. This is something I have to say. Let me explain separately here. First of all, the responsibilities of Guanglu Temple mainly include sacrifices, banquets, wine, and meals.
Guanglu Temple has four departments: high officials, delicacies, fine wines, and palm miners. It is the matter of high officials providing sacrifices, palace meals, seasonal banquets, and banquets for Tibetan envoys; the matter of delicacies being provided to palace meals and delicacies; the matter of providing good wine and wine; Things.
The animals, fruits, and vegetables used in the imperial meals of Guanglu Temple were all taken from Shanglin Garden. If Shanglinyuan is not enough or does not have it, you can also buy it in the private market.
During the Hongwu period of the early Ming Dynasty, the minister of Guanglu Temple was Xu Xingzu. In the appointment document given to him by Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he said that "he has a long history of cooking Yun, and he has no fault or inferiority in the preparation of the five flavors. He can be said to be capable and good." It can be seen that the officials of Guanglu Temple who were in charge of royal diet in the Ming Dynasty sometimes chose people who were proficient in cooking.
Taichang Temple is mainly responsible for sacrifices, rituals and music. Taichang Temple is responsible for all dietary activities related to sacrifices, such as the preparation of sacrifices.
Both Guanglu and Taichang temples have many kitchen servants to prepare royal meals, various court banquets and sacrificial food. In terms of division of labor, the duty of the kitchen servants affiliated with Guanglu Temple is to "serve food", that is, responsible for the food in the palace and various court banquets; the duty of the kitchen servants affiliated with Taichang Temple is "to provide food for the guests". "For sacrifices", that is, the cooking of all sacrificial foods is the responsibility of the Taichang Temple cooks.
But here comes the key. The ingredients used in these two places are theoretically provided by Shanglinyuan.
In the Ming Dynasty, Shanglinyuan was in charge of gardens, gardens, livestock, tree species and other affairs. It consists of four departments: Liangmu, Fanyu, Linheng, and Jiashu. Liangmu is in charge of the raising of cattle, sheep and pigs; Fanyu is in charge of the raising of geese, ducks and chickens; Lin Heng is in charge of fruits, flowers and trees; Jiasu is in charge of growing vegetables and melons.
The area under the control of Shanglinyuan is also very large, stretching from Baihe in the east, Xishan in the west, Wuqing in the south, Juyongguan in the north, and Hunhe in the southwest. There are pastures, vegetable fields, etc. in Shanglinyuan. There is land for nurturing and planting to provide food for the palace.
Let's turn the topic back first. The high official of Guanglu Temple was in charge of the imperial kitchen, which originally had the rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty. But in fact, the Ming Dynasty’s imperial palace adopted a dual management method, that is, outside Guanglu Temple, the female officials in the palace and some supervisors and bureaus in the eunuch system also had the responsibility of managing or handling the palace’s food.
For example, there are six rounds for the palace ladies. Among them, the Shangshi Bureau was specifically responsible for bringing in the food and drinks for the emperor, and was in charge of the quality of the dishes. All food and drinks presented to the emperor had to be tasted by the Shangshi of the Shangshi Bureau first.
The Shangshi Bureau has four divisions: Food Division, Division of Brewing, Division of Medicine, and Division of Food and Drink. The Secretary of Food is in charge of cooking, frying, and mixing, the Secretary of Brewing is in charge of making wine and wine, the Secretary of Medicine is in charge of medical prescriptions, and the Secretary of Yi is in charge of making firewood. In addition, one thing should be made particularly clear: Shangshi Bureau also has a food doctor.
Speaking more broadly, the eunuch yamen of the Ming Dynasty had twelve supervisors, four divisions, and eight bureaus, and were known as the "Twenty-Four Yamen." Among them, the "Shangshan Supervisor" is in charge of the royal meal, food in the palace and banquets.
Under the Shangshan Supervisor, there is a member of the Admiral Guanglu Eunuch, who is responsible for coordinating and supervising the palace diet that Guanglu Temple is responsible for. The wine and vinegar noodle bureau governs the consumption of wine, vinegar, sugar sauce, noodles and beans in the palace. In addition to the twenty-four yamen, there is also the inner palace's supply storehouse. Among them, the imperial wine room, the imperial tea room, and the sweets room are all related to the imperial meal or palace diet.
All in all, the Ming Dynasty's supply of the emperor's food was not the so-called "imperial dining room" that appeared frequently in movies and TV dramas, but a system with a complex division of labor. As for what the emperor eats at a certain meal, it often depends on which department the emperor chooses to eat.
However, although the rules are complicated, the emperor is also a human being after all, and he will have his own preferences. Therefore, an emperor will often have the habit of making his own choices, which will actually lead to the emperor requesting meals from a certain yamen all year round.
For example, when it comes to Zhu Yijun, he rarely eats food from Guanglu Temple. He usually lets the Shangshi Bureau, which is run by the female officials in the palace, provide his own meals.
But let’s get back to it here. Although Shangshi Bureau provided the emperor’s meals, he did not prepare his own ingredients. Instead, Shanglinyuan provided them. The Shangshi Bureau usually writes a list of the ingredients needed for meal preparation one day in advance and sends it to Shanglinyuan. Shanglinyuan then selects the ingredients from all the ingredients he has to offer, or goes to the private market to purchase them in advance and then sends them to the palace. .
All in all, Shanglinyuan is responsible for providing the ingredients for what Zhu Yijun eats, and Shangshi Bureau is responsible for making it. Of course, as mentioned just now, the food for the emperor needs to be tasted by someone, so the imperial chef responsible for cooking and the specially appointed female official of the Shangshi Bureau must taste the meals that will be provided to the emperor in advance.
Recently, we have not heard that any of the royal chefs or female officials of the Shangshi Bureau were poisoned after trying the food. Therefore, Wang Jiaping cannot casually accuse the Shangshi Bureau of poisoning the meals provided to the emperor. At most, he can only suspect that the "recipes are unclean", and more likely The Shangshi Bureau was mainly accused of "violations".
The Shangshi Bureau was an inner court yamen and was headed by a female official, but in the final analysis it was under the jurisdiction of Si Lijian, the first yamen of the inner court. According to the Ming system, the inner court and the outer court were not subordinate to each other, so the biggest advantage of blaming the Shangshi Bureau was that it would not bring fire to the outer court.
There is a "fine tradition" in all dynasties in China, which can be regarded as a kind of ancient political correctness, that is, "it is always wrong to scold eunuchs when they make mistakes" - no matter what bad things happen in this country, it is always wrong to scold eunuchs. Even if you are wrong, it doesn't matter, because no one will be stupid enough to jump out and say that you are wrong.
Why? Because it is said in "The Book of Filial Piety: Kai Zong Ming Yi": "The hair and skin of the body are received by the parents and do not dare to damage them."
You eunuchs who "mutilate their bodies in order to gain wealth", even if they go to heaven, are still unfilial people in Confucian society. They are inherently despised by everyone. If not, who are you scolding? So scolding is in vain, just live with it.
This is called political correctness.
Wang Jiaping is neither a member of the Practical School nor a person of the Xin School. He is an adherent of traditional Neo-Confucianism. Therefore, in his cognition and practice, when faced with this kind of thing, his first reaction is to scold the eunuch first and then talk about it. .
However, Gao Pragmatic felt that Wang Jiaping's attitude was easy to understand, but Zhao Zhigao's reaction was strange.
We are all civil servants. At this time, it is a natural reaction to first frame the guilt in the inner court, but why did you drag Shanglinyuan into it all at once?
Shanglinyuan belongs to the outer court. Although its political status is basically dispensable in the eyes of the elders, if we talk about "bloodline", they are also serious civil servants... Are you afraid of Zhao Ge? Isn’t it true that Laohu painted it?
But something strange happened. Just when Wang Jiaping looked at Zhao Zhigao in surprise, Shen Yiguan also said solemnly: "Yes, what Brother Huyang said is absolutely true. I also think this matter is not trivial. There must be something in Shangshi Bureau It is to blame, but Shanglinyuan and even Guanglu Temple will also be investigated. Only in this way can things be considered fair."
Gao Pragmatic became more and more puzzled. Zhao Zhigao had been ill for a long time and it was possible that he was suffering from the disease, but Shen Yiguan was in good health and in good spirits. It was impossible for him to be suffering from the disease, right? Then we can only say...these two people are deliberately trying to muddy the waters.
Come and try it quickly. 】
The question is, why muddy the water? Could it be that Shangshi Bureau does have a big problem, and that the problem is related to them?
With this suspicion, Gao Pragmatic suddenly thought: No, no, the source of this matter does not lie in Shangshi Bureau, let alone Shanglinyuan or Guanglu Temple, but in the medicinal diet recipe provided by Concubine Zheng! Wasn't it the reason for the whole incident that Concubine Zheng gave this recipe to Shangshi Bureau? Therefore, when it comes to verification, the first thing to check should be the recipe, it is Concubine Zheng!
Gao Pangshi was suspicious, but he did not raise this point immediately. Instead, he thought further: The Xin School had always supported the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Changluo, so their relationship with Emperor Zheng's concubine was not good, and they could even be said to be on the same page. Water and fire, otherwise why would the Zheng family be so ill that they seek medical treatment and find me, Gao Pragmatic?
Since the relationship is not good, or even completely hostile, it is obvious that the root of the problem lies in the recipe provided by Concubine Zheng. As a result, both Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yiguan turned a blind eye to this suspicion, and even deliberately muddied the waters. He wanted to help Concubine Zheng cover up her fault. Why was this?
Could it be that... there is really some kind of tacit understanding between the Xin School and Concubine Zheng? Or even reached some kind of agreement?
Gao Jingshi took a deep breath and said to himself: Things have indeed gone in the worst direction I imagined... From this point of view, just now Chen Ju said that the emperor had woken up but did not agree to summon the six ministers immediately. There is also a bit of mystery.
The emperor is a smart man, and his political wisdom, both in terms of talent and due to my influence over the years, can be said to be very good now. Therefore, since he woke up but refused to summon his ministers immediately, there is obviously something wrong. of.
When they first heard about the emperor's reaction, everyone thought that the emperor was still weak and did not have the energy to summon the ministers immediately. But now Gao Pragmatic is keenly aware that things are not that simple.
It’s hard to say whether the emperor was weak, but at least he was extremely clear-headed and could even see at once that this matter might involve his most beloved Concubine Zheng.
Of course, the emperor might not have had time to come up with a perfect solution for Concubine Zheng to get out of trouble, so he had to use the drag trick to "fix" all the ministers in the cabinet outside the West Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and not allow the ministers to be allowed to leave. Ministers will immediately start arranging investigations when they have the opportunity.
But in this way, it becomes a bit difficult for him to be pragmatic. If this matter is not investigated, what the Xin School is secretly doing will not be revealed to the world. Then he will have to continue to secretly fight with the Xin School, but he will not be able to take this opportunity to stop their conspiracy by reasonable and legal means.
But what if we check? It’s not easy either. Zhu Yijun definitely wanted to protect Concubine Zheng to the death. Gao Pragmatic could figure this out with his toes - how Zhu Yijun treated Concubine Zheng in history, Gao Pragmatic knew better than anyone else.
How to put it... Gao Pragmatic felt that unless something outrageous like Concubine Zheng stabbed Zhu Yijun's chest with her own hands happened, Zhu Yijun would not give up on her.
Love makes people blind and desperate. This does not make any difference just because the person in it is an emperor, especially the emperor of the Ming Dynasty - think about the only one in Chinese history who only married one person. Emperor Ming.
Not only that, it is even possible that because the target is the emperor, once you get into trouble with this kind of thing, it will be even more difficult to extricate yourself.
The emperor's particularity has at least two manifestations here: First, it is very difficult for the emperor to have such a thing as "love". Once it does, it may be extremely intense. Secondly, the supreme imperial power gives the emperor the ability to protect the woman he loves, and he will not allow anyone or anything to harm her.
This is too tricky.
----------
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi" and "This year? How long?" for their reward support, thank you!
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
ps: I will be very busy starting tomorrow, but I will try my best to ensure normal updates. I estimate that making up for the outstanding debt will have to be postponed for at least a week. I'm sorry.
82 Chinese website
