Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

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It was snowing heavily, and the border town in the north was in a hurry, but at this moment, two people came to Beijing hand in hand.

Wen Yansheng, the prefect of Ningbo, and Qi Jingtong, the deputy of Beiwowei of Zhenguo Prefecture, Qianhu Qi Jingtong, arrived in the capital.

They first reported to the Ministry of Rites, and then an eunuch came and summoned the two to meet.

Wen Yansheng seemed to be in a very calm mood towards the capital and his party. He didn't have much desire. To him, being promoted to a higher rank was like floating clouds. In his life, it was enough for him.

As for Qi Jingtong, he was full of emotion in his heart. Not long ago, he was still a minister who treated crimes, but in a blink of an eye, he has become a minister with meritorious service. This status change is too fast. Therefore, he is certainly excited to be summoned by His Majesty this time. But he has a bigger purpose for coming to the capital.

When the two entered the palace, it was already noon. Emperor Hongzhi was in the Nuan Pavilion, saw the two people busy, looked them up and down, then smiled and said: "You two lovers have worked hard."

He was very curious. In the blink of an eye, Ningbo Mansion went from being in dire straits to suffering from Japanese plagues and severe droughts one after another. But in a blink of an eye, the Japanese plagues have been alleviated. The Japanese guards have made great contributions. Ningbo Mansion is also under great rule. It is said that the people have begun to become rich. .

The reason why Emperor Hongzhi did not call Tang Yin and Hu Kaishan was because these two were related to Fang Jifan. In his opinion, the people trained by Fang Jifan were of a very high level, but Qi Jingtong and Wen Yansheng had There are too many places that make him want to delve into it.

How did they cooperate with Tang Yin and others? What responsibility do they have?

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Qi Jingtong and Wen Yansheng. They seemed to have nothing special about them except that Wen Yansheng was a little fat.

"Come, give the two gentlemen a seat." Emperor Hongzhi seemed very gentle, and he had completely different faces towards his son and ministers.

The eunuch brought Jindun to the two, and Wen Yansheng and Qi Jingtong sat down.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the sky, and said: "It's noon now, the Qing family, you haven't eaten yet, just in time, it's time for me to eat too." Saying that, he winked at Xiao Jing.

After a while, the eunuchs brought food and wine. This time, Emperor Hongzhi wanted to entertain two meritorious ministers. Of course, they were delicacies, delicacies from mountains and seas.

Qi Jingtong looked up at Emperor Hongzhi, a little cautious.

Wen Yansheng just smiled slightly, took the chopsticks, first took a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, only pondered for a moment, then took the spoon, took a sip of the soup, took a sip, but put the spoon down again .

Seeing that he didn't move his chopsticks anymore, Emperor Hongzhi ate a few mouthfuls to fill his stomach, and said, "Why didn't Wen Qing's family stop eating?"

He felt awe-inspiring, perhaps, because the imperial meal was too rich today, and a scholar like Wen Yansheng advocates frugality.

This person……

Emperor Hongzhi felt this more and more. After all, the official uniform worn by Wen Yansheng was simple and old-fashioned at first glance.

When Wen Yansheng saw the emperor asking himself, he said calmly: "Returning to Your Majesty, the ingredients used in this imperial meal are all wild game. They are really rare, but... they don't suit my taste."

"Oh?" Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows and asked with a broken smile: "Qing's family, this is cooked in the imperial dining room, isn't it to the taste of Qing's family?"

Wen Yansheng shook her head, feeling emotional.

"It's such a waste of such great ingredients. This royal meal only pays attention to the color and aroma. All the tricks are placed on the shape. It looks good. The color is also colorful and pleasing to the eye. Only this taste, let's say this Duck, duck is famous for its rich oil. For such a heavy ointment, you should first use charcoal fire to roast its skin, squeeze out the ointment, and then eat it with some light seasonings. Going the right way, stewing this greasy thing with the tail of the dolphin will only increase the oily smell. Using too many ingredients, especially too much sauce, will make the duck tasteless. This is also a mistake. .”

As he spoke, he paused for a while, and secretly glanced at Emperor Hongzhi. Seeing that Emperor Hongzhi was not displeased, he continued.

"If your Majesty cooks according to what I just said, I can guarantee that once such a good duck comes out of the oven, its skin will never be greasy, but it will be crispy and delicious, and its meat will be oily but not greasy. If it is accompanied by a green onion, it will be delicious." It's even more alive, it's really delicious in the world, it's too wonderful."

Qi Jingtong was hungry.

It's just that in front of the emperor, I dare not be presumptuous.

But now, he immediately made a strange expression.

How should I put it, on the way to the north, with Wen Yansheng, he was always in a state of hunger. Every time he arrived at a post station, the staff at the post station bought food and drinks, but Wen Yansheng was not satisfied.

Qi Jingtong was hungry, but when he heard it like this, he found it tasteless. At first, he ate it deliciously, so he tasted it like what Wen Yansheng said. Hey, it really is rubbish. It has no taste at all. lost appetite.

But along the way, when he was on a boat, he saw fish in the river, and Wen Yansheng wanted to feel a lot of emotion, what kind of fish is it, what kind of fish it is, and what kind of taste it will be. ...

Today, I thought I could have a good meal, but...

He also put down his chopsticks, he hated Wen Yansheng, Wen Yansheng improved his taste in food, and became picky, so that now he would rather eat plain rice than those disgusting looking foods.

He sighed, speechless.

Emperor Hongzhi heard this

, looked down at Yushan, but also felt dull.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned and stared at Wen Yansheng, and couldn't help asking: "Wen Qing's family is so proficient in food?"

"Where, when I am free from official business, I can think about these things." Wen Yansheng said hurriedly: "Your Majesty is laughing."

Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows: "This delicacy, after all, is miscellaneous, so why bother to pay attention to it, people eat whole grains, as long as they can fill their stomachs."

Wen Yansheng shook her head, and said very solemnly: "Your Majesty, I am astonished by your boldness to speak up."

Emperor Hongzhi was taken aback, then smiled, he really wanted to hear what Wen Yansheng had to say, so he asked with a smile: "I really want to hear, Wen Qing's good opinion."

Wen Yansheng said solemnly: "There are not many ingredients in the world. If you don't know how to cook, it is a waste of ingredients. The Ming Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, but it also advocated frugality. Think about it, Your Majesty, if the same ingredients, Some people make it, it tastes like chewing wax, making people tasteless, and some people simply throw it away. So, is this a waste? But if it is still the original ingredients, it is delicious in the world, soldiers and civilians, not only Being able to use this to satisfy our hunger, and to eat well and taste delicious, isn’t this the best use of everything?”

"The most feared thing in the world is thinking about it. It's like making a weapon. The same piece of iron can make a sharp knife, so that when my master Da Ming kills the enemy, he can get twice the result with half the effort. Is this... a meritorious service. But if it is perfunctory and shoddy, in the end, one knife may kill one person, and thousands of knives may kill tens of thousands of people. If thousands of people are killed, the army will If it is defeated, the country will not be guaranteed."

"The same is true for cooking. I think about it as a big thing, study its characteristics, and study how to cook it. This inedible ingredient may be edible if you add other ingredients. This is People love to eat things that taste like wax, this... is the principle of making the best use of everything, otherwise, it would be extravagant and wasteful.”

Wen Yansheng talked more and more vigorously, and began to chatter endlessly.

"Just like this big table meal, it seems that the ostentation is very big, but how much can be eaten? Then, is this a waste? I studied the ingredients, and what I found was the saint's "gentle, courteous and frugal" The so-called thrifty and loving people is exactly the same. If your majesty gave the imperial meal today and cooked it with the method of the minister, both your majesty and the minister would like to eat it, in fact, this is also a kind of thrift."

"..." Emperor Hongzhi was a little dazed, and looked at Wen Yansheng in surprise.

In the end, I smiled, you scholars are really good, you can tell a lot of truth about everything, but... what you say is actually very reasonable.

Emperor Hongzhi was actually persuaded, and asked with a smile: "What is the livelihood of the people of Ningbo Mansion now?"

Wen Yansheng couldn't help but seriously said: "Ningbo people can't afford rice now, so they have to eat large yellow croakers. Many people are tired of yellow croakers, so they eat whale meat instead. I studied some of them a few days ago. The method of cooking fish has been popularized in Ningbo Prefecture, so that everyone has a little interest in big yellow croaker."

"..." Emperor Hongzhi was shocked again, staring at Wen Yansheng with a suppressed face.

Can't afford rice, do you eat fish?

Seeing Emperor Hongzhi's astonishment, Wen Yansheng said: "Nowadays, the fishing industry in Ningbo Prefecture is booming, and most of the people make a living by selling fish, killing fish, and building boats. Their lives have been greatly improved. Because of this, the prices are higher. Many people use rice to convert and pay taxes, and the rice in the treasury of Ningbo Prefecture has piled up like a mountain, more than three times that of previous years."

three times……

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned, deeply frowning and thinking.

In fact, this is understandable, the price of rice is high, no one eats rice, but what to do with rice, isn’t the government taxed? .

The government is also willing to do so, so now in Ningbo, rice has only become a grain that people use to pay taxes. For example, if someone wants to sell yellow croakers, taxes are collected along the way. But the government doesn't like to collect fish, and the traders don't want to take the fish out to pay taxes, so it's better to convert it into rice. The official price of rice is high, and the government doesn't need to deal with the post-processing of fish, and the people are happy to do so.

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