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

Ningbo prefect Wen Yansheng and Zhenguo Prefecture’s deputy Japanese guards, Qi Jingtong, arrived in the capital.

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

Wen Yansheng seemed very calm about the capital and his entourage. He didn't have much desire. For him, the promotion of the title was like a cloud. In this life, it was enough for him.

As for Qi Jingtong, he was filled with emotion. Not long ago, he was a minister who was still a crime, but in a blink of an eye, he had become a minister who had become a meritorious. His identity was transformed too quickly. Therefore, he was excited when His Majesty summoned him this time, but he had a greater purpose in coming to this capital.

When the two entered the palace, it was already noon. Emperor Hongzhi was in the warm pavilion. Seeing them in the dusty weather, he looked them up and down and smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my dear friends."

He was very curious. In a blink of an eye, Ningbo Prefecture suffered from Japanese disasters and severe droughts one after another. But in a blink of an eye, the Japanese disasters had been relieved. Preparation for the Japanese Guards made great contributions. Ningbo Prefecture was also a great treatment. It is said that the people began to become rich.

The reason why Emperor Hongzhi did not call Tang Yin and Hu Kaishan was because these two people were related to Fang Jifan. In his opinion, the people trained by Fang Jifan were very good at it. On the contrary, there were too many things that he wanted to investigate in depth.

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

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Qi Jingtong and Wen Yansheng. Except for Wen Yansheng's a little obese, there seemed to be nothing special about them.

"Come on, give the two noble families a seat." Emperor Hongzhi seemed very gentle, and he had two faces to his son and ministers.

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

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the sky and said, "It's noon now. The two families have not had enough food yet. It's just right that I'm going to have some food." As he said that, he winked at Xiao Jing.

After a while, the eunuchs brought wine and food. This time, Emperor Hongzhi wanted to entertain two meritorious ministers, which was a delicious dish and delicacies.

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

Wen Yansheng was so tough that he was just a little bit of desire, so he just smiled slightly, took the chopsticks, first took a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and only pondered for a moment, then took another spoon, scooped a sip of the soup, took a sip, but put the spoon down.

When Emperor Hongzhi saw that he did not move his chopsticks again, he took a few bites and put his stomach on his stomach. He said, "Why don't the Wen Qing family eat it?"

He felt awe-inspiring. Perhaps it was because the imperial meals were too rich today. A scholar like Wen Yansheng advocated frugality.

This person...

Emperor Hongzhi felt this more and more. After all, the official uniforms worn by Wen Yansheng looked very simple and outdated.

When Wen Yansheng saw the emperor asking him, he spoke slowly and said: "Your Majesty, all the ingredients used for this imperial meal are rare, but... they are not suitable for the taste of me."

"Oh?" Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows and asked with a laugh: "Qing Family, this is cooked in the imperial kitchen, isn't it suitable for the Qing Family's taste?"

Wen Yansheng shook his head and sighed.

"It's really bad that such a good ingredients are used. This imperial meal only pays attention to the color and fragrance. All the patterns are placed on the appearance. They look good, and the colors are colorful and pleasing to the eye. Only in this taste is this duck. Duck is known for its oil. Such heavy ointment, you should first use charcoal fire to roast the skin, squeeze out the ointment, and then eat it with some light ingredients. The taste can only be put into the mouth. But this imperial chef actually did the opposite, stewing this greasy thing with the pigtails, which in turn has aggravated the oily fishyness. Too many ingredients, especially too many sauces, will make the duck lose its duck flavor. This is also a mistake, and it is really a waste of resources."

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

"If Your Majesty makes the process according to what I said just now, I can guarantee that such a good duck will never be fatty once it is released, but it will be crispy and fragrant. The meat is oily but not greasy. If it is accompanied by a green onion, it will be even more alive. It is a delicious food in the world and is indescribable."

Qi Jingtong was originally hungry.

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

But now, he immediately made a strange expression.

How to say it, he was hungry when he went north and was with Wen Yansheng. Whenever he arrived at an inn, the staff at the inn bought wine and food, but Wen Yansheng was not satisfied. He savored it and found that the wine and food were garbage.

Qi Jingtong was hungry, but when he heard this, he felt boring. At first, he ate very delicious, so he learned to savor as Wen Yansheng said. Oh, it was really garbage, and he didn't taste any taste, and he lost his appetite.

But along the way, when I saw the fish in the river while riding the boat, Wen Yansheng wanted to sigh, "What kind of fish is this? If this fish is like this, what will the taste?" Qi Jingtong was salivating, but he was going to rush along the way...

Today, I thought I could have a good meal, but the result is...

He also put down his chopsticks. He hated Wen Yansheng. Wen Yansheng improved his taste for food and became so picky that he would rather eat rice than eat food that looked extremely disgusting.

He sighed, speechless.

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he looked down at the imperial banquet and felt bored.

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

"Where, I can think about these things in my spare time." Wen Yansheng hurriedly said, "Your Majesty laughed."

Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows: "This delicacy is a mixed study after all, so why do you need to spend time on it? People can eat grains and grains to fill their stomachs."

Wen Yansheng shook his head and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I dare to make a statement, Your Majesty is surprised."

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned and smiled. He wanted to hear it very much. What is the reason for Wen Yansheng, so he asked with a smile: "I really want to hear it very much, the Wen Qing family's great opinions."

Wen Yansheng said solemnly: "I don't know how many ingredients there are in the world. If I don't know how to cook, it is a ingredient. The Ming Dynasty governed the world with filial piety, but it also advocated frugality. Your Majesty, think about it, if someone made the same ingredients and tasted like wax, making people tasteless, and some people simply abandoned them, then, is this a waste? But if the original ingredients are still cooked, it is a delicious food in the world. The military and civilians can not only use it to fill their stomachs, but also eat well and eat sweetly. Wouldn't this be the best use of the goods?"

"What I fear most in the world is thinking. Just like making tools, the same piece of iron, the sharp sword made by our Ming Dynasty can achieve twice the result with half the effort when killing the enemy. Is this a merit? But if you do it perfunctorily and make it shoddy, in the end, a knife may kill a person. Thousands of thousands of swords will kill thousands of people. If these thousands of people are killed, the army will be defeated, and the country will be in danger."

"The same is true for cooking. I think it is a big deal, study its characteristics, and study how to cook it. This food that cannot be eaten, and if you add other ingredients, you may be able to eat it. It is something that tastes the same as wax, but people love it. This... is the principle of using it for the best use, otherwise, it would be extravagant and wasteful."

Wen Yansheng became more and more excited as he spoke, and he began to talk endlessly.

"Just like this big table of meals, it looks very popular, but how many people eat it? Then, isn't this a waste? What I study the ingredients is exactly the principle of the saint's "gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and kind". The so-called frugality and love others is exactly this principle. If Your Majesty gave me the imperial meal today and used the method of the minister to cook, Your Majesty and the minister like to eat it, in fact, this is also a kind of frugality."

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

Finally, I laughed at you, you scholars are so amazing, you can tell a big truth in everything, but... what you said is actually very reasonable.

Emperor Hongzhi was actually convinced and asked with a smile: "What are the livelihoods of the people of Ningbo Prefecture now?"

Wen Yansheng couldn't help but speak seriously: "Ningbo Mansion, now I can't afford rice, so I have to eat big yellow croaker. Many people are tired of yellow croaker, so I changed to eating whale meat. A few days ago, I studied some methods of cooking fish and promoted it in Ningbo Mansion, which made everyone a little interested in big yellow croaker."

"..." Emperor Hongzhi was shocked again and stared at Wen Yansheng with his face held back.

Can't afford rice, do you eat fish?

When Wen Yansheng saw Emperor Hongzhi, he said again: "Now, the fishery industry in Ningbo Prefecture is booming. Most people make a living by selling fish, killing fish, and building ships. Life has improved greatly. Because of this, the high-priced rice is ignored. Many people use rice to convert and pay taxes. The rice in Ningbo Prefecture's treasury is already piled up like mountains, more than three times that of previous years."

three times……

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned and frowned deeply.

In fact, this is understandable. The rice price is high and no one eats rice, but what should I do? The government has to charge taxes? Since that is the case, I might as well use the official price to offset the tax on the rice that no one eats, so that I will not suffer any loss.
Chapter completed!