It snowed heavily, and the border town in the north was in a hurry, but at this moment, two people went to Beijing together.

Wen Yansheng, the prefect of Ningbo, and Qi Jingtong, the deputy of the Zhenguo Mansion, arrived in Beijing.

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

Wen Yansheng seems to be very calm about this Jingshi and his party, he doesn't have much desire, for him, adding an official to a knight is like a floating cloud, in this life, when it comes to his part, it is actually enough.

As for Qi Jingtong, he was full of emotion in his heart, not long ago, he was still a minister of sin, but in the blink of an eye, he has become a meritorious minister, this identity transformation is too fast, therefore, this time His Majesty summoned him, although he was excited, but he came to this Jingshi, he had a greater purpose.

When the two entered the palace, it was already noon, and Emperor Hongzhi was in the warm pavilion, and after looking them up and down, he smiled and said: "The two Aiqing have worked hard." ”

He was very curious, in the blink of an eye, Ningbo Mansion from the dire water, successively encountered the Japanese plague and the great drought, but in the blink of an eye, the Japanese plague has been alleviated, Bei Wei has made great contributions, Ningbo Mansion is also a great rule, it is said that the people began to become rich.

The reason why Emperor Hongzhi did not call Tang Yin and Hu Kaishan is because these two people are related to Fang Jifan, in his opinion, the people trained by Fang Jifan are very passable, but this Qi Jingtong and Wen Yansheng have too many things that he wants to study deeply.

How did they collaborate with Tang Yin and others, and what responsibilities did they have?

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Qi Jingtong and Wen Yansheng, these two, except that Wen Yansheng was a little obese, there didn't seem to be anything special.

"Come, give the two ministers a seat." Emperor Hongzhi appeared very gentle, and he was completely two faces to his son and to his ministers.

The eunuch took the brocade pier for the two, and Wen Yansheng and Qi Jingtong sat down.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the sky, and then said: "It's noon at this time, the two Qing families, you haven't eaten yet, it's just right, it's time for me to eat." As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Jing.

After a while, the eunuchs brought wine and food, and this time Emperor Hongzhi was going to entertain two meritorious ministers, which were delicious and delicacies.

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

Wen Yansheng had no desire, so she just smiled slightly, took chopsticks, first took a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, only sighed for a moment, then took another spoon, scooped a mouthful of soup, drank it gently, and put the spoon down.

When Emperor Hongzhi saw that he didn't move his chopsticks anymore, he ate a few bites by himself, cushioned his stomach, and said, "Why didn't Wen Qing's family eat it?" ”

He was awe-inspiring in his heart, perhaps, because today's imperial meal was too rich, and a scholar like Wen Yansheng advocated frugality.

Person......

Emperor Hongzhi felt more and more like this, after all, the official uniform worn by Wen Yansheng was very simple and outdated at first glance.

When Wen Yansheng saw the emperor asking himself, he said slowly: "Back to Your Majesty, the ingredients used in this imperial meal are all delicacies and game, which is really rare, but...... But it is not to the taste of the minister. ”

"Oh?" Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "Qing family, this is cooked in the imperial dining room, is it not in line with the taste of the Qing family?" ”

Wen Yansheng shook her head and sighed.

"It's really bad to practice such a good ingredient, this imperial meal, only pay attention to the color and fragrance, all the tricks, are put on the appearance, look good-looking, color, also colorful, pleasing to the eye, only this taste, just say this duck, duck is known for its oil, such a heavy ointment, when the charcoal fire, roast its skin, squeeze out its ointment, and then use some light ingredients to eat, the taste can be entered. But this imperial chef actually went the opposite way, stewing this greasy thing with the tail of the dolphin, which aggravated the oiliness, and used too many ingredients, especially too much sauce, which made the duck lose its duck flavor, which is also a mistake, it is really a violent thing. ”

As he spoke, he paused for a moment, secretly glanced at Emperor Hongzhi, and saw that Emperor Hongzhi was not displeased, so he continued.

"If Your Majesty concocts it according to what the minister said, the minister dares to guarantee that such a good duck, once it is baked, its skin is not fatty, but crispy and fragrant, its meat is oily but not greasy, if it is accompanied by a green onion, it will be more alive, it is really delicious in the world, and it is wonderful."

Qi Jingtong was originally hungry.

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

But now, he immediately made a strange expression.

How to say it, all the way north, with Wen Yansheng, he was in a state of hunger, every time he arrived at a post station, the staff of the post station bought wine and food, but Wen Yansheng was not satisfied, and after a taste, it turned out that this wine and food were garbage.

Qi Jingtong was hungry, but when he heard this, he felt tasteless, and he ate quite fragrant at first, so he learned what Wen Yansheng said, eh, it was really garbage, and there was no taste at all, and the whole person lost his appetite.

But this way, when he saw the fish in the river when he took the boat, Wen Yansheng wanted to sigh, what kind of fish is this, what is this fish, what will it taste......

Today, I thought I could have a good meal, but it turned out to be ......

He also put down his chopsticks, he hated Wen Yansheng, Wen Yansheng improved his taste for food, and people became picky, so much so that now he would rather eat white rice than eat food that looks disgusting.

He sighed, speechless.

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he looked down at the imperial meal, and he felt that it was boring.

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

"Where, when the ministers are on official business, they will ponder these things." Wen Yansheng hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is smiling. ”

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

Wen Yansheng shook his head and said very solemnly: "Your Majesty, the minister has the courage to speak, and Your Majesty is surprised by this. ”

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned for a moment and smiled, he really wanted to hear what Wen Yansheng had to say, so he asked with a smile: "I really want to hear it, Wen Qing's high opinion." ”

Wen Yansheng said solemnly: "I don't know how many ingredients in the world, if you don't know how to cook, this is a bad ingredient." The Ming Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, but it also advocated frugality. Your Majesty, think about it, if someone makes the same ingredient and tastes like chewing wax, making it tasteless to eat, and some people simply discard it, then is it a waste? But if it is still the original ingredients, cooked, but it is a delicacy in the world, the soldiers and civilians can not only use this to satisfy their stomachs, but also eat well and sweetly, isn't this the best use of things? ”

"In the world, what I am most afraid of is pondering. Just like the creation of a weapon, the same piece of iron, the sharpness of the knife made, so that when my Ming Wang Shi kills the enemy, he can get twice the result with half the effort, which is ...... Is it a credit. But if it is perfunctory and shoddy, in the end, a knife may kill a person, and thousands of knives will kill thousands of people, and if these tens of millions of people are killed, the army will be defeated, and the country will not be protected. ”

"It's the same with cooking, the minister thinks about it as a big thing, to study its characteristics, to study how to cook it, this ingredient that should not be eaten, add other ingredients, maybe you can eat it. It's a thing that tastes like chewing wax, but people love to eat it, this ...... It is the principle of making the best use of things, otherwise, it is not extravagant and wasteful. ”

The more Wen Yansheng spoke, the more energetic he became, and he began to talk endlessly.

"Just like this big table meal, it looks like a big show, but how much can you eat in your stomach? So, isn't this a waste? The minister studied the ingredients, and what he agreed with was the principle of the sage's 'gentleness, courtesy, and frugality', and the so-called thrift and love for others was also the same reason. If the imperial food given by His Majesty today is cooked in the way of the ministers, His Majesty and the ministers love to eat it, in fact, this is also a kind of frugality. ”

"......" Emperor Hongzhi was a little stunned when he heard this, and his eyes looked at Wen Yansheng in surprise.

Finally, I laughed, you scholars are so good, you can tell a big truth about anything, but ...... It makes a lot of sense.

Emperor Hongzhi was convinced, and asked with a smile: "How is the livelihood of the people of Ningbo Mansion now?" ”

Wen Yansheng couldn't help but say seriously: "Ningbo Mansion, now can't afford to eat rice, so they have to eat big yellow croaker, many people, for yellow croaker, has been tired, so change to eat whale meat, a few days ago, the minister studied some ways to cook fish, in Ningbo Mansion to promote, only to reluctantly make everyone, and have a little interest in big yellow croaker." ”

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

You can't afford to eat rice, you eat fish?

Wen Yansheng saw that Emperor Hongzhi was surprised, so he said: "Now, the fishing industry in Ningbo is booming, and the people are mostly selling fish, killing fish, and building ships for a living, and their lives have been greatly improved. ”

Thrice......

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned, frowning deeply in contemplation.

In fact, this is understandable, the price of rice is high, no one eats rice, but what about rice, doesn't the government want to collect taxes, in this case, simply use the official price of rice to offset taxes, and do not suffer losses.

The government is also happy to do so, so now rice, in Ningbo, has only become a grain that people use to pay taxes, for example, someone wants to sell yellow croaker, and the tax is drawn along the way, according to the Ming law, the tax system of one out of ten is adopted, but the government does not like to collect fish, and the traders do not want to take the fish out to pay taxes, so it is good to convert rice, the official price of rice is high, and the government has eliminated the problem of post-processing of fish, and the people are also happy to do so.