There is no morning or two in the day, and time never comes again. In the blink of an eye, it has been more than a month since Zhu Ping'an joined Prince Yu's Mansion.
In more than a month, Zhu Ping'an successfully established a firm foothold in Prince Yu's Mansion. Not only did he get along well with his colleagues, but he also gradually won Prince Yu's trust and gained a pivotal position in Prince Yu's mind.
, and gradually entered the decision-making center of Prince Yu's Mansion.
The decision-making center of Prince Yu's Mansion is not a specific organization. The members are all appointed by Prince Yu. Prince Yu will consult their opinions before making decisions. In the end, Prince Yu will make the final decision. It is somewhat similar to the cabinet. It can be called Prince Yu's small cabinet.
.
The previous members of the small cabinet were Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, Yin Shidan, and an old Confucian named Gao Shiding.
Of course, there is also the newly added Zhu Ping.
However, Gao Shiding was older and in poor health. He took a temporary job and returned to his hometown in Chengdu, Sichuan to recuperate half a year ago. Zhu Pingan has not seen him since he entered Prince Yu's Mansion. Recently, I heard that Gao Shiding plans to resign and take care of his retirement.
Come on, Zhu Ping'an has no chance to see Gao Shiding.
At present, the actual decision-making center of Prince Yu's Mansion is Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, Yin Shidan and Zhu Ping'an.
Don't underestimate this small cabinet. Don't think that it is just a small cabinet of Prince Yu's palace now. When Prince Yu ascends the throne, it will become the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty.
After King Yu ascended the throne, Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, and Yin Shidan all entered the cabinet and became cabinet ministers.
It can be said that entering the small cabinet is equivalent to entering the cabinet in the future.
On this morning, Zhu Ping'an arrived at Prince Yu's Mansion early after having breakfast as usual, accompanied by Liu Dadao.
After arriving at Prince Yu's Mansion, Zhu Ping'an found that something was wrong with the atmosphere. Both the palace officials and the servants and maids looked like they were under a cloud.
"Master Zhang, what's going on?"
Zhu Pingan stopped an official named Zhang and asked curiously.
"Oh, it's Mr. Zhu, have you eaten?" Mr. Zhang stopped, raised his head and asked pointedly.
"I ate it. I ate it at home. Does it matter?" Zhu Pingan was even more confused.
"It's a good meal." Mr. Zhang said with some envy.
Well, it's just a breakfast, why do you put on such an envious expression? Zhu Ping'an was even more confused.
"My Lord Xiao Zhu." Seeing Zhu Pingan's confused look, Lord Zhang could not help but approach Zhu Pingan's ear and whisper softly, "You don't know, our house usually serves breakfast, even though it is just porridge and side dishes.
Steamed buns and eggs, but none of the public kitchens are open today. I asked the kitchen staff I know well, and it turns out that our palace does not have the budget to buy even the most basic ingredients."
Well
Prince Yu's Mansion is so poor that it can't open the door?!
Zhu Pingan was stunned.
I had known for a long time that King Yu was having a hard time, but he didn't expect it to be so hard, and he couldn't even lift the pot!
Fortunately, the salaries of all the officials in the palace are uniformly distributed by the central government. Otherwise, Prince Yu's life would have been even more difficult. A crisis of salary arrears would have broken out long ago, and the palace would have been unable to operate normally.
However, now King Yu seems to be at the end of his rope.
Don’t underestimate this breakfast.
People depend on food for their livelihood, and officials are no exception.
There were already official chefs in the Qin and Han Dynasties, but at that time it was just a special preferential treatment given by the court to outstanding ministers, and it was not widespread. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty established the great ambition of "can rule the world and be diligent in governing it"
In order to realize this ambition, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty often extended the time of court meetings, which caused many ministers to go to court hungry to work, which not only affected the efficiency of the work, but also left a reputation for being harsh on the ministers. In order to solve this problem, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty
He ordered the court to provide breakfast for the ministers. Unexpectedly, the ministers responded enthusiastically and praised it, and their work efficiency was greatly improved. Therefore, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty extended this experience to all parts of the country and ordered counties and counties across the country to
Wherever there is an official office, a public kitchen must be set up to provide breakfast for subordinate officials. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the prime ministers also held a meeting with the theme of "Preparing the Delicate Soup in the Political Hall" to discuss the standards for breakfast supply.
The breakfast meal in the public kitchen has developed to this day. It not only solves the problem of officials being full, but also has a very important meaning behind it.
For the palace, whether the palace breakfast is provided, as well as its richness, breakfast standard, etc., represent the trust and importance the prince attaches to his subordinate officials. The abundant breakfast proves that the palace values trust and care for subordinates, and the enthusiasm of subordinate officials is also high.
High; otherwise, or like today, if breakfast is not provided, two or three days a day will be fine, but if it goes on for a long time, people's hearts will gradually disperse.
"It seems that I have to have breakfast at home before coming back. Hey, I have to get up at least two quarters of an hour early."
Mr. Zhang shook his head and sighed, and glanced enviously in the direction of Prince Jing's Mansion next door to Prince Yu's Mansion. He heard that the breakfast at Prince Jing's Mansion was very rich, with delicacies from all over the world and no duplicates.
"Hey, Mr. Xiao Zhu, let's not talk about it for now. I'm going to go outside to find something to eat to fill my stomach." After complaining, Mr. Zhang said goodbye to Zhu Ping'an.
"Okay, Mr. Zhang, please go slowly." Zhu Ping'an returned the greeting and watched Mr. Zhang walking towards the outside of Prince Yu's Mansion.
Along the way to the office, Zhu Ping'an met several officials. During the greetings, several people mentioned the problem of cutting off the breakfast supply. Although it was not a complaint, it was obvious that they had some opinions.
Yes, Prince Yu's Mansion does not have many benefits compared to Prince Jing's Mansion next door. Light breakfast is one of the few benefits of Prince Yu's Mansion. As a result, even breakfast has been discontinued. I don't blame everyone for their objections.
It can be seen from the expressions of the servants and maids that their breakfast meals are probably cut off or severely reduced.
It shouldn't cost much money to provide a simple breakfast. If King Yu had any idea, he would probably not cut off the supply.
From this point of view, the financial crisis of Prince Yu's Mansion is already critical and imminent. Zhu Ping'an observed all the way and came to this conclusion.
Needless to say, Zhu Ping'an also knew that the crux of King Yu's current predicament was the annual gift. King Yu had not received the annual gift for three years.
Due to a series of reasons, Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son looked down upon King Yu and did not deal with King Yu, especially Yan Shifan. Yan Shifan ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs to withhold the annual gifts from King Yu and deny Prince Yu's annual gifts and other princely benefits. King Yu repeatedly
The Prince's Palace was asked to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to urge them, but every year they urged them. The Ministry of Household Affairs had excuses every year, and nothing was done every year. Prince Yu's Palace could not receive the annual gifts every year.
Prince Yu had no side business. He only opened a pastry shop with Princess Ning'an, but it was still losing money every month. He had no other income except annual gifts. All the expenses of the palace depended on the royal court's customary annual gifts.
God knows how difficult it is for King Yu, who has not received the annual gift for three years, to survive to this day with his previous savings, the subsidies from his mother-in-law Du Kangfei, and the princess's subsidies. He would like to break a copper coin in half and spend it.
.
However, even so, King Yu can no longer hold on anymore and is at the end of his rope.