The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 711
Where to look for the Prime Minister’s ancestral hall, Bai Sensen outside Jinguan City.

The green grass is reflected in the spring, and the yellow oriole has a good sound.

Three times to worry about the world, the two dynasties opened up the hearts of old officials.

He died before leaving the teacher, which made the hero burst into tears.

- "Shu Xiang" Du Fu

……

It was also the first time for Bai Fu to come to "Jixianzhai", seeing the important officials of the Manchu Dynasty busy with their meals, Bai Fu was also a little embarrassed.

Bai Fu was thinking about which Hu couch would be suitable for him to sit on. Liu Yan, Minister of the Household Department and Jing Zhaoyin, waved to Bai Fu to sit on the same couch.

Only then did Bai Fu heave a sigh of relief, and went happily.

As soon as Bai Fu sat down, an eunuch handed over two hot towels, one for covering his face and one for wiping his hands.

Another eunuch brought up the menu, writing down the dishes for today's breakfast, and let Bai check and order.

Bai Fu carefully looked at the menu, the names of the dishes were gaudy, but he didn't know what they were.Bai Fu handed the menu to Liu Yan and said with a smile, "Master Liu, you should come."

Liu Yan narrowed his eyes, glanced at the menu, and said to the eunuch: "There is a new trick? It's not in vain for me to get up early this morning." After finishing speaking, he sketched on the menu.

With a smile on his face, the eunuch put away the menu and retreated, and soon brought the breakfast.

Bai Fu looked at the meal, and then matched the name of the dish with the dish.

"Jin Su Ping" is a flat steamed cake surface, spread with caviar like golden rice grains;
"Crystal Dragon Phoenix Cake" is a cake made of glutinous rice.The cake surface is inlaid with jujubes to form a dragon and phoenix shape, and steamed in a basket over high heat until the glutinous rice bursts.After coming out of the cage, the jujubes are as red as gems, and the rice cakes are as white as crystals;

"Yulu Tuan" is dried with bean flour, steamed with borneol, mint and other spices, condensed into frost powder, then mixed with molasses crisp cheese and pressed into carved wooden molds for printing;

"Han Palace Chess" is to make pasta into double-coin-shaped chess pieces and cook them in water;

"Duck flower soup cake" is a pot of delicate noodle soup, the noodle slices are made into the shape of ducklings, which is very cute.

"Tianhua Yunmeng Meat" is rolled with cloth to firm up the marinated elbow, wrapped with hemp rope, boiled in sauce soup, sliced ​​and eaten cold;
"Tonghua soft beef sausage", a sausage made from sheep bone marrow stuffed into beef intestines;

"Yuhuangwangmu rice" is a mixed rice made of steamed rice with a layer of hot meat oil, and then covered with a variety of dishes.

……

The palace breakfast is many times more refined than that of the folk, and it can be eaten casually, and it is full of praise.The Sichuan cuisine produced by the Bashu Guild Hall is also a famous dish in Chang'an.But when it comes to breakfast, the varieties and patterns are still much more monotonous than those in the palace.

After breakfast, the eunuch brought out a water basin and green salt for the officials to rinse their mouths.

Finally, the tea brewed by Lu’s method of sencha is served, and the froth on the tea is deftly poured into each tea bowl. The tea foam is evenly thick and poured into various patterns.

Different from the tea with the taste of onion, ginger, pepper, jujube, cinnamon, orange peel, mint, and crispy cheese, the tea brewed with Lu's fried tea method has a fragrant fragrance, melts oil and greasy, and refreshes the mind.

Liu Yan took out the money from his bag, tipped it to the eunuch who was waiting beside him, and said, "Master Bai's reward, I will pay it together. Lord Bai will come often in the future, you should give more snacks, and the service will be considerate."

The eunuch saw that the reward was quite generous, he smiled, nodded and bowed quickly and replied: "Master Liu, don't worry, the miscellaneous family will not do anything else, and you are a good hand at serving people."

Bai Fu knew that he had to pay for meals here.Bai Fu thought to himself: "The imperial court is not rich, they have to charge the officials even for a breakfast meal."

After breakfast, return to Rihua Gate.There are more courtiers waiting outside the Rihua Gate.Many courtiers stood for a long time, their legs and feet were sore and numb, they kept pacing in circles, stretching their muscles and bones.

Bai Fu secretly asked: "Lord Liu, we ate and drank in the 'Jixian Zhai', and they were starving and freezing outside the gate of the palace. To be honest, I feel a little sorry."

Liu Yan smiled slyly, and said: "The Ministry of Rites stipulates that third-rank officials can have breakfast at 'Jixianzhai'. Lord Bai, do you know who made this rule?"

Bai Fu was stunned for a moment, and said: "Please sir, please give me some advice?"

Liu Yan smiled and said, "It was decided by your teacher Taifu Xu when he was in charge of the Ministry of Rites."

"Oh?" Bai Fu was taken aback.Taifu Xu has always been simple and elegant, and he is more sympathetic to lower-level officials. How could he set such a rule that distinguishes between superiority and inferiority?

Liu Yan stroked his long beard with his hands, and said, "Xu Taifu once said, 'There is no difference between superiority and inferiority, so it is not necessarily a bad thing'.

A member of the third rank, the backbone of the country.The important officials of the imperial court occupy high positions, not only dignified and decent, but also enjoy certain privileges, which make the lower-level officials envious, and wish to climb to the high position as soon as possible and replace them.

In order to be able to rise to the top and honor the family, lower-level officials have the motivation to continue to be promoted.

It is precisely because of the fiery ambitions of the lower-level officials that the important officials of the court work hard to keep the juelu, and dare not eat vegetarian food and pamper them.

I heard a story told by a fisherman in my hometown: when fish are raised in fishponds, after feeding for a long time, the fish lose their nature and no longer actively swim in search of food, but wait to be fed.

This kind of fish waiting to be fed grows slowly and is prone to disease and death.Once there are too many, the whole fish pond will be lifeless.For this reason, fishermen will stock the nemesis of this fish in fish ponds.

As soon as the nemesis came, the fish in the fish pond saw the natural enemy, rushed left and right, dodged in all directions, swam faster, and lived more vigorously.

For important court officials, lower-level officials are their nemesis.Be prepared for danger in times of peace, so that you will not rely on the old to sell the old, and stand still.

……

Of course, there is a difference between superiority and inferiority, and it should not be too much. It is necessary to avoid the situation of "the first-level official overwhelms people to death".

Otherwise, if the important officials of the court say that they are one-sided and cannot be refuted, it will also cause lower-level officials to tremble and dare not take responsibility and act.

Once the officials are obedient and have no strength of character, bow their heads and ears to Shangfeng, and obey their orders, they become slaves and cannot be used much.

The small canteen of 'Jixianzhai' opened up the gap between the superior and inferior officials, made the distinction between superior and inferior, orderly, without magnifying the privileges of the important officials in the court, it was a wonderful idea.

Taifu Xu has insight into human nature, and the rules he sets seem cold and unreasonable, but they are actually full of human sophistication.

Even when the courtiers go to court, the eunuchs who manage the palace have hidden secrets: how to send it, how much to send, who will send it, and who to send it to...all pay attention to it.

There is no reasonable reason to give rewards at will, and the amount of money given secretly varies... Not to mention breaking the rules, it will also breed the evil spirit of these eunuchs, actively extort, corrupt and pervert the law;
Not at all?
Although these eunuchs are humble, they are people close to His Majesty.

They are most greedy for money. If they can't get any benefits, they will trip you up elsewhere, and they will use the most shameless means to spoil your big business regardless of the rise and fall of the country and the life and death of the people.

For example, deliberately postponing the urgent memorial; regardless of priorities, deliberately preventing you from seeing His Majesty...

Making the channels for them to make money public and allowing them to receive rewards in a reasonable manner will relatively put an end to the bad habit of secretly collecting money.

After breakfast, according to the price of the dishes ordered and the thoughtfulness of the service, the eunuchs will be rewarded with money, which is the rule set by Mrs. Xu.

The reason why these snacks and dishes are so delicate is because there is oil and water in them.

These eunuchs knew that this was a reasonable opportunity to make money, so they took it seriously and got a share with the master of the imperial dining room, specializing in preparing some expensive court dishes that could not be eaten outside the palace.

If the courtiers are satisfied with their meals, they will be rewarded more. Everyone gets what they need, and everyone is happy. "

Bai Fu suddenly realized, he didn't expect that there are so many specialties in a breakfast meal.

It can be seen that the insight of the world is knowledge, and the sophistication of human feelings is the article!
As soon as Liu Yan finished speaking, the Rihua Gate was slowly opened, and the prison gate guards stood with halberds, looking mighty and vigorous.

The internal servants and eunuchs controlled the time of breakfast just right, so that the officials could eat and drink enough without delaying their promotion to the palace.

Liu Yan and Bai Fu looked at each other, laughed loudly, and walked side by side into the palace gate.

(End of this chapter)