Chapter 282 Troublesome inside and outside the palace (87)
"The imperial doctors checked the remaining part of the wine and found nothing abnormal. However... the emperor's vomit seemed to contain drug residues that conflicted with the wine."
After saying this, the six ministers looked at each other in confusion. Finally, the chief minister Wang Jiaping asked on behalf of everyone: "No one in the cabinet seems to have heard that the emperor has been ill recently. I wonder where this 'drug residue' comes from?"
Having said that, in fact, everyone has some guesses in their minds. Everyone knows the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, especially the reason why the late emperor died. So if you compare this... is it possible that the current emperor also secretly accepted Hulang?
But he was too embarrassed to let the foreign court know about the medicine? It seems very possible.
However, Chen Ju sighed and said: "The so-called 'drug residue' here is not because the emperor is not in good health, but because the emperor and the concubine saw that the emperor has been busy with state affairs recently, so she found some medicinal recipes from Guangdong and Guangxi.
, and then ordered the Shang Food Bureau to purchase it and pay tribute to the emperor for his enjoyment."
Upon hearing that it was the medicated diet recipe provided by Concubine Zheng, Gao Pragmatic frowned slightly, Shen Yiguan was shocked, while Wang Jiaping's face was livid, and he asked without hesitation: "The emperor has his own rules for diet, and these recipes have not been verified."
, how can you give it to the emperor at will! The people in the Shangshi Bureau are really bold. If it is found out that today's accident was due to unclean recipes, in my opinion, each of these people will be punished for their crimes! "
Zhao Zhigao didn't know whether he wanted to persuade Wang Jiaping to calm down his anger or something, so he quickly smoothed things over and said: "Yuanfu calm down, I'm afraid it won't be easy to find out this matter for a while, but it may not be the responsibility of the Shangshi Bureau. Shanglinyuan
The supplies over there should also be checked."
Well, it's a good thing you don't try to smooth things over. After all, it only involves one Shangshi Bureau. Now that it involves Shanglinyuan, it's not just a problem for the inner court, but also the outer court will be implicated! Who are you?
Side?
Everyone, here I must explain the food supply system of the imperial palace in the Ming Dynasty. The management of royal food in the Ming Dynasty was divided into two sets of yamen, the inner and outer yamen. The management agencies of the outer court were Guanglu Temple and Taichang Temple. The inner court belonged to the eunuch yamen, Shangshan.
Bureau, Youshang Food Bureau belonging to the female official yamen.
Since ancient times, the emperor's diet has been exclusively managed by some people who are good at cooking. This is something I have to explain separately. First of all, the responsibilities of Guanglu Temple mainly include sacrifices, feasts, wine, and meals.
thing.
Guanglu Temple has four departments: high officials, delicacies, good wines, and wine. The high officials provide sacrifices, palace meals, festival banquets, banquets for Tibetan envoys; provide delicacies to the palace, and prepare fine wines.
It is the matter of offering wine and sweet wine; it is the matter of offering glutinous rice, oil, glutinous rice, sauce and salt in palm wine.
The animals, fruits, and vegetables used in the imperial meals of Guanglu Temple are all obtained from Shanglin Garden. If Shanglin Garden is insufficient or unavailable, they can also be purchased in private markets.
During the Hongwu period of the early Ming Dynasty, the minister of Guanglu Temple was Xu Xingzu. In the appointment document given to him by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, he said that "he has a long history of cooking Yun, and he has no fault or inferiority in the preparation of the five flavors. He can be said to be capable and good."
It can be seen that the officials of Guanglu Temple who were in charge of royal diet in the Ming Dynasty sometimes chose people who were proficient in cooking.
Taichang Temple is mainly responsible for sacrifices, rituals and music. All dietary activities related to sacrifices, such as the preparation of sacrifices, are responsible for Taichang Temple.
Both Guanglu and Taichang temples have many kitchen servants to prepare royal meals, various banquets for the court, and the cooking of sacrificial foods. In terms of division of labor, the responsibilities of the kitchen servants affiliated with Guanglu Temple are to "
They are responsible for the food in the palace and various court banquets; the kitchen servants who are affiliated with Taichang Temple are responsible for "providing food for sacrifices", that is, the cooking of all sacrificial foods is the responsibility of the Taichang Temple kitchen servants
.
But here’s the key, the ingredients used in these two places are theoretically provided by Shanglinyuan.
In the Ming Dynasty, Shanglinyuan was in charge of gardens, gardens, livestock, tree species and other affairs. It was divided into four departments: Liangmu, Fanyu, Linheng, and Jiashu. Liangmu was in charge of raising cattle, sheep, and pigs; Fanyu was in charge of geese,
The raising of ducks and chickens; Lin Heng is in charge of fruits, flowers and trees; Jiasheng is in charge of growing vegetables and melons.
The area under the control of Shanglinyuan is also very large, stretching from Baihe in the east, Xishan in the west, Wuqing in the south, Juyongguan in the north, and Hunhe in the southwest. There are pastures, vegetable fields and the like in Shanglinyuan. There is land for nurturing and planting.
, to provide food for the palace.
Let’s turn the topic back first. The high officials of Guanglu Temple were in charge of the imperial kitchen. Originally, there were rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty. However, in fact, the imperial palace in the Ming Dynasty adopted a dual management method, that is, outside of Guanglu Temple, the female officials in the palace and
Some supervisors and bureaus in the eunuch system are also responsible for managing or handling the food in the palace.
For example, there are six bureaus for the female officials in the palace. Among them, the Shangshi Bureau is responsible for bringing in the food and drinks for the emperor. It is responsible for the number of dishes and delicacies. All food and drinks are presented to the emperor, and they must first be handed over to the Shangshi Bureau.
Food tasting.
The Shangshi Bureau has four divisions: Division of Food, Division of Brewing, Division of Medicine, and Division of Yi. The Division of Dining is in charge of cooking, frying, and drinking, the Division of Medicine is in charge of medical prescriptions, and the Division of Yi is in charge of making food.
Regarding the firewood matter, one thing should also be made very clear: the Shangshi Bureau also has a food doctor.
To put it more broadly, the eunuch yamen of the Ming Dynasty had a total of twelve supervisors, four divisions, and eight bureaus, known as the "twenty-four supervisors". Among them, the "Shangshan Supervisor" was in charge of royal meals, palace food, and banquets.
Under the Shangshan Supervisor, there is a member of the Admiral Guanglu Eunuch, who is responsible for coordinating and supervising the palace food that Guanglu Temple is responsible for. The Wine, Vinegar and Noodles Bureau is in charge of the wine, vinegar, sugar sauce, noodles and other foods consumed in the palace. In the second
In addition to the Fourteenth Yamen, there is also the imperial palace's supply storehouse. Among them, the imperial wine room, the imperial tea room, and the sweets room are all related to the imperial meal or palace diet.
All in all, the Ming Dynasty's supply of the emperor's food was not the so-called "imperial dining room" that appeared frequently in movies and TV dramas, but a system with a complex division of labor. As for what the emperor ate for a certain meal, it often depended on the emperor.
You choose which department provides meals.
However, although the rules are complicated, the emperor is also a human being after all, and he will have his own preferences. Therefore, an emperor will often have the habit of making his own choices, which will actually lead to the emperor requesting meals from a certain yamen all year round.
For example, when it comes to Zhu Yijun, he rarely eats food from Guanglu Temple. He usually lets the Shangshi Bureau, which is run by the female officials in the palace, provide his own meals.
But here we come back to the topic. Although the Shangshi Bureau provides the emperor's meals, the ingredients are not prepared by oneself, but are provided by Shanglinyuan. The Shangshi Bureau usually writes down the ingredients needed for meal preparation one day in advance.
The good list was given to Shanglinyuan, who would then choose from among the ingredients he had to offer, or go to the private market to buy them in advance and then send them to the palace.
All in all, Shanglinyuan was responsible for providing the ingredients for what Zhu Yijun ate, and Shangshi Bureau was responsible for cooking it. Of course, as mentioned just now, food for the emperor needed someone to taste it, so Shangshi Bureau was responsible for cooking the dishes.
As well as the specially set up food ministers, they all had to taste the meals that would be provided to the emperor in advance.
Recently, we have not heard that any of the royal chefs or female officers of the Shangshi Bureau were poisoned by the food they tasted. Therefore, Wang Jiaping cannot accuse the Shangshi Bureau of poisoning the meals provided to the emperor. At most, he can only suspect that the "recipes are unclean", and more often than not,
The main reason for blaming Shangshi Bureau is "violation of regulations."
The Shangshi Bureau is an inner court yamen and is headed by a female official, but in the final analysis it is under the jurisdiction of the Si Li Jian, the first yamen in the inner court. According to the Ming Dynasty system, the inner court and the outer court are not subordinate to each other, so the biggest advantage of criticizing the Shangshi Bureau is that it will not spread the fire outside.
On the head of the court.
There is a "fine tradition" in all dynasties in China, which can be regarded as a kind of ancient political correctness, that is, "it is always wrong to scold eunuchs" - no matter what bad things happen in this country, it is always wrong to scold eunuchs. Even if it is true.
It doesn't matter if you are wrong, because no one will be stupid enough to jump out and say that you are wrong.
Why? Because it is said in the "Book of Filial Piety: Kai Zong Ming Yi": "The hair and skin of the body are received by the parents, and they dare not damage them."
You eunuchs who "mutilate their bodies in order to seek wealth", even if they go to heaven, are still unfilial people in Confucian society. They are inherently despised by everyone. If I don't scold you, who are you scolding? So scolding is in vain.
Just live and endure it.
This is called political correctness.
Wang Jiaping is neither a member of the Practical School nor a person of the Xin School. He is an adherent of traditional Neo-Confucianism. Therefore, in his cognition and practice, when faced with this kind of thing, his first reaction is to scold the eunuch first and then talk about it.
.
However, Gao Pragmatic felt at this time that Wang Jiaping's attitude was easy to understand, but Zhao Zhigao's reaction was very strange.
We are all civil servants. At this time, it is a natural reaction to first frame the guilt in the inner court, but why did you drag Shanglinyuan into it all at once?
Shanglinyuan belongs to the outer court. Although its political status is basically dispensable in the eyes of the elders, if we talk about "bloodline", they are also serious civil servants... Are you afraid of Zhaoge?
Isn’t it true that Laohu painted it?
But something strange happened. Just when Wang Jiaping looked at Zhao Zhigao in surprise, Shen Yiguan also said solemnly: "Yes, what Brother Huyang said is absolutely true. I also think this matter is not trivial. There must be something in Shangshi Bureau
It is the responsibility of Shanglinyuan and even Guanglu Temple to be investigated. Only in this way can we be considered fair."
Gao Pragmatic became more and more puzzled. Zhao Zhigao had been ill for a long time and it was possible that he was suffering from the disease, but Shen Yiguan was in good health and in good spirits. It was impossible for him to be suffering from the disease, right? Then we can only say...
These two people are deliberately trying to muddy the waters.
Everyone, please go and try it soon.]
The question is, why muddy the water? Is it true that there is a big problem with the Food Bureau, and that the problem is related to them?
With this suspicion, Gao Pragmatic suddenly thought: No, no, the source of this matter is not the Shangshi Bureau, let alone Shanglin Garden or Guanglu Temple, but the medicinal diet recipe provided by Concubine Zheng! The whole thing
Could it be that the cause of the matter was not Concubine Zheng who gave the recipe to the Shangshi Bureau? Therefore, when it comes to verification, the first thing to check should be the recipe, it was Concubine Zheng!
Gao Pangshi was suspicious, but he did not raise this point immediately. Instead, he thought further: The Xin School had always supported the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Changluo, so their relationship with Emperor Zheng's concubine was not good, and they could even be said to be on the same page.
Water and fire, otherwise why would the Zheng family be so ill that they seek medical treatment and find me, Gao Pragmatic?
Since the relationship is not good, or even completely hostile, it is obvious that the root of the problem lies in the recipe provided by Princess Zheng. As a result, both Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yiguan turned a blind eye to this suspicion, and even deliberately muddied the waters.
He wanted to help Concubine Zheng cover up her fault. Why was this?
Could it be that... the Heart School and Imperial Concubine Zheng really reached some kind of tacit understanding? Or even reached some kind of agreement?
Gao Jingshi took a deep breath and said to himself: Things have indeed gone in the worst direction I imagined... From this point of view, just now Chen Ju said that the emperor had woken up but did not agree to summon the six ministers immediately.
There is also a little mystery.
The emperor is a smart man, and his political wisdom, both in terms of talent and due to my influence over the years, can be said to be very good now. Therefore, since he woke up but refused to summon his ministers immediately, there is obviously something wrong.
of.
When they first heard about the emperor's reaction, everyone just thought that the emperor was still weak and did not have the energy to summon the ministers immediately. But now Gao Pragmatic is keenly aware that things are not that simple.
It’s hard to say whether the emperor was weak, but at least he was extremely clear-headed and could even see at once that this matter might involve his most beloved Concubine Zheng.
Of course, the emperor may not have had time to come up with a perfect solution for Concubine Zheng to get out of trouble, so he had to use the "drag" trick to "fix" the cabinet ministers outside the West Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and not allow the ministers to be allowed to leave.
Ministers will immediately start arranging investigations when they have the opportunity.
But in this way, it is a bit difficult for him to be pragmatic. If this matter is not investigated, what the Xin School is doing secretly will not be exposed to the world. Then he will have to continue to secretly fight with the Xin School, but
We cannot take this opportunity to use reasonable and legal means to stop their conspiracy.
But what if we investigate? It’s not easy to handle. Zhu Yijun must protect Concubine Zheng to the death. This is something that Gao pragmatic can think of with his toes - how Zhu Yijun treated Concubine Zheng in history, he was more pragmatic than anyone else
clear.
How should I put it... Gao Pragmatic felt that unless something outrageous like Concubine Zheng stabbed Zhu Yijun's chest with her own hands happened, Zhu Yijun would not give up on her.
Love makes people blind and desperate. This does not make any difference just because the person in it is an emperor, especially the emperor of the Ming Dynasty - think about the only one in the entire history of China who only married one person.
The Emperor of Ming Dynasty.
Not only that, it is even possible that because the target is the emperor, once you get into trouble with this kind of thing, it will be even more difficult to extricate yourself.
The emperor's special nature has at least two manifestations here: first, it is very difficult for the emperor to have the so-called "love". Once it occurs, it may be extremely intense. Second, the supreme imperial power allows the emperor to
Having the ability to protect the woman he loves, he will not allow anyone or anything to hurt her.
This is too tricky.
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ps: I will be very busy starting tomorrow, but I will try my best to ensure normal updates. I think the matter of making up for the outstanding debt will have to be postponed for at least a week. I'm sorry.
