Chapter seven hundred and twentieth seventh human experience
Where can I find the Prime Minister's ancestral hall? There are many trees outside Jinguan City.
The green grass reflects the spring color on the steps, and the oriole sings in the sky through the leaves.
Three visits have frequently disturbed the world's plans, and two dynasties have opened the hearts of veterans.
He died before he left the army, which made the hero burst into tears.
——"Prime Minister of Shu" Du Fu
…
It was also the first time for Bai Fu to come to "Jixianzhai". Seeing the important officials of the court busy eating by themselves, Bai Fu also felt a little embarrassed.
Bai Fu was thinking about which couch was suitable for him to sit on. Liu Yan, the Minister of Household Affairs and the Minister of Jing Zhaoyin, waved to Bai Fu to sit on the same couch.
Bai Fu breathed a sigh of relief and went happily.
As soon as Bai Fuxing sat down, a eunuch handed him two hot towels, one for his face and one for wiping his hands.
Another eunuch held up a menu with the dishes for today's breakfast on it, and asked Bai to choose what to order.
Bai Fu looked at the menu carefully. The names of the dishes were very fancy and he didn't know what they were. Bai Fu handed the menu to Liu Yan and said with a smile: "Master Liu, it's you who should do it."
Liu Yan squinted his eyes, glanced at the menu, and said to the eunuch: "There are new tricks? I got up early today." After that, he marked something on the menu.
With a smile on his face, the eunuch put away the menu and left, and soon brought the breakfast.
Bai Fu took a look at the meal and matched the name of the dish with the dish.
"Jinsu Pingzu" is a flat steamed cake with caviar spread like golden millet grains;
"Crystal Dragon and Phoenix Cake" is a cake made of glutinous rice. The surface of the cake is inlaid with dates in the shape of a dragon and phoenix. It is steamed over high fire until the glutinous rice explodes. After it comes out of the cage, the dates are as red as gems and the rice cake is as white as crystal;
"Yulu Dumpling" is made from dried bean flour, steamed with borneol, mint and other spices, condensed into frost powder, then mixed with molasses and cheese, pressed into carved wooden molds for printing;
"Han Gong Qi" is made of pastry made into two money-shaped chess pieces and boiled in water;
"Duck Flower Soup Cake" is a delicate pot of noodle soup. The noodles are made into the shape of a little duck, which is very cute.
"Maohua Yunmeng Pork" is made by rolling the marinated elbows firmly with cloth, wrapping them with hemp rope, boiling them in soy sauce, then slicing them and eating them cold;
"Tonghua Soft Beef Intestine" is a sausage made from sheep bone marrow put into beef intestine;
"Yu Huang Mu Rice" is a chowder rice bowl made by steaming fine yellow rice, pouring a layer of hot meat oil on it, and then layering it with a variety of dishes.
…
I don’t know how many times the palace breakfast is more exquisite than that of the folk. It’s just a few things, and Bai Fu is full of praise for the food. The Sichuan cuisine produced by the Bashu Guild Hall is also a famous dish in Chang’an. But when it comes to breakfast, the variety and variety are still better than those in the palace.
Quite monotonous.
After breakfast, the eunuch brought out a basin of water and green salt for the officials to rinse their mouths.
Finally, the tea brewed using Lu's Sencha method is brought up, and the foam on the tea is dexterously poured into each tea bowl. The tea foam is evenly thick and thin, and poured into various patterns.
Different from tea with the flavor of onion, ginger, pepper, jujube, cinnamon, orange peel, mint, and cheese, tea brewed using Lu's sencha method has a refreshing fragrance, dissolves oil and relieves greasiness, and refreshes the mind.
Liu Yan took out the money from his bag and gave it to the eunuch who was waiting beside him. He said, "Master Bai, I will pay the reward as well. Master Bai will come here often in the future, so you should give more snacks and serve him attentively."
When the eunuch saw that the reward was quite generous, he smiled happily, nodded and bowed in response: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, the Za family won't do anything else, they are good at serving people."
Bai Fu knew that you had to pay for meals here. Bai Fu thought to himself: "The imperial court is not rich either. Even a breakfast meal has to be charged to the officials."
After breakfast, we returned to the Rihua Gate. There were more courtiers waiting outside the Rihua Gate. Many of the courtiers had been standing for a long time, their legs and feet were sore, and they kept pacing in circles to stretch their muscles.
Bai Fu secretly asked: "Mr. Liu, we were eating and drinking in the Jixianzhai, while they were freezing and starving outside the palace gate. To be honest, I feel a little sorry."
Liu Yan smiled slyly and said: "The rules of the Ministry of Etiquette state that officials of the third rank can enjoy breakfast at the 'Jixianzhai'. Master Bai, do you know who made this rule?"
Bai Fu was stunned for a moment and said, "Can you 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 Etiquette."
"Oh?" Bai Fu was astonished. Taifu Xu was always simple and elegant, and he was more considerate of lower-level officials. How could he set such a rule of distinction between superiority and inferiority?
Liu Yan stroked his long beard and said: "Taifu Xu once said, 'The difference between superiority and inferiority is not necessarily a bad thing'.
A high-ranking official of the third rank is a member of the country. An important official in the imperial court occupies a high position. He is not only dignified and dignified, but also enjoys certain privileges, which makes the lower-level officials envious and eager to climb up to the high position as soon as possible and replace him.
In order to rise through the ranks and glorify the family, lower-level officials have the motivation to continue to be promoted.
It was precisely because of the ardent ambitions of the lower-level officials that the important officials in the imperial court worked diligently to keep their titles and salaries, and did not dare to sit back and live in a dignified manner.
I heard a story told by a fisherman in my hometown: when fish are raised in fish ponds and fed 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 that waits to be fed grows slowly and easily dies of disease. Once there are too many of them, the whole fish pond becomes lifeless. For this reason, fishermen have to stock this kind of fish nemesis in the fish pond.
When the nemesis comes, the fish in the fish pond see their natural enemies, rush left and right, dodge in all directions, and swim faster, which makes them live more vigorously.
For important officials in the imperial court, lower-level officials are their nemesis. Only by being prepared for danger in times of peace will they not rely on their old age to show off their abilities and remain stagnant.
…
Of course, there is a distinction between superiority and inferiority, but it should not be taken too far. We must avoid the situation where "the highest official level crushes people to death".
Otherwise, if the important officials of the imperial court say the same thing without any refutation, it will also cause the lower-level officials to be fearful and afraid to take on their responsibilities and actions.
Once an official is submissive, has no integrity, bows his head to the superiors, and obeys orders, he becomes a slave and cannot be used in a big way.
Small dining halls like the 'Jixianzhai' can widen the gap between superior and inferior officials, allowing them to differentiate between superior and inferior officials, and keep them in an orderly manner without exaggerating the privileges of important officials in the court. This is a wonderful idea.
Taifu Xu had an insight into human nature, and the rules he set seemed cold and inhumane, but in fact they were full of humaneness and sophistication.
Even when the courtiers go to court, the eunuchs and eunuchs who manage the palace have hidden secrets: how to send them, how much to send, who to send them to, who to send them to... all are particular.
There is no reasonable reason to give rewards at will, and the amounts of money given secretly vary... If the rules are broken, it will also breed the evil spirit of these eunuchs, take the initiative to extort, take bribes and bend the law;
Not sending it at all?
Although these eunuchs have low status, they are His Majesty's people.
They are most greedy for money. If they can't get any benefits, they will hinder you elsewhere. They will not care about the prosperity of their country and the life of the people, and use the most shameless means to ruin your major events.
For example, deliberately postponing an urgent memorial; regardless of priority, deliberately preventing you from seeing His Majesty...
By making the channels through which they make money public and allowing them to receive rewards in a reasonable and reasonable manner, the bad habit of secretly collecting money will be relatively eliminated.
After breakfast, the eunuchs will be rewarded with money according to the price of the dishes ordered and the attentiveness of the service. These are all the rules set by Taifu Xu.
The reason why these snacks and dishes are so delicious is because there is oil and water in them.
These eunuchs knew that this was an opportunity to make reasonable money, so they took it seriously and agreed with the chefs in the imperial kitchen to prepare some expensive palace dishes that were not available outside the palace.
When the courtiers are satisfied with their food, the rewards will be large, everyone gets what they need, and everyone is happy."
Bai Fu suddenly realized that he didn't expect that a breakfast meal should be so particular.
It can be seen that understanding of world affairs is knowledge, and understanding of human feelings is writing!
As soon as Liu Yan finished speaking, the Rihua Gate slowly opened, and the guards at the prison gate stood with halberds in their hands, looking mighty and majestic.
The eunuchs who served at home controlled the breakfast time just right, allowing the officials to eat and drink enough without delaying their appearance in court.
Liu Yan and Bai Fu looked at each other, laughed, and walked into the palace gate hand in hand.