Don't help me, I can sit up by myself

One thousand, four hundred taels, tsk tsk.

The annual salary of a first-grade official is only one hundred taels.

The emperor regretted that his intestines were green: "I shouldn't have moved the things out of the inner treasury. But it doesn't matter, there are still a lot of things in the inner treasury. There are always 3000 or [-] pieces. I can still afford the compensation."

Gao Rang was worried. Your Majesty, you are so optimistic. You won’t know if you don’t check the inner treasury. If you check, you will be shocked. You are still enjoying yourself here.

The emperor saw Gao Rang's worry: "Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"The accounts from the inner treasury have just been presented. Does your Majesty want to see them?"

The emperor nodded.

Since his succession, he can barely count the number of concubines in the harem, and it is hard to say how much gold and silver there is in the inner treasury. However, the emperor is very optimistic. The late emperor often told him that the country of Chen is rich and powerful, the people are strong, and the inner treasury is abundant. The country he has built, Enough for Min Jian to spend two lifetimes.

The emperor decided to take a closer look at the inner treasury list to see how rich Chen Guo was.

The list was not as long as he thought, which meant that there might not be as much in the inner library as he thought.

What is written on the list is the balance of the internal library:
2000 taels of gold
11 taels of silver
In addition, there are some utensils and porcelain ornaments.

For example, the red coral tree, the treasure plate, the jade Ruyi, the ivory bed... But the total number of pieces is less than a thousand.

The emperor's heart skipped a beat.

As far as he knew, Nei Ku shouldn't be so poor. Wasn't it enough to squander two lifetimes?
The late emperor was not a spendthrift, nor did he have any prodigal hobbies. Since he came to the throne, he had not been extravagant and wasted wine and meat. Where did the money go?
Yes, his brother Min Qi has been stationed abroad for many years with tens of thousands of soldiers. From time to time, there are some frictions with the border. The food and drink expenses of tens of thousands of soldiers must be arranged, which can be as little as tens of thousands taels a month.

The salary and monthly salary of each of the officials in the imperial court, concubines in the harem, princes, emperors, marquises, and county lords is not a small amount.

It would be good if Chen Guo was in peace, but if there was an earthquake in any state or county, or if hailstorms reduced harvests, rivers overflowed, and tens of thousands of victims would be affected, the capital would also need disaster relief funds.

Although the internal treasury is large, it cannot stop the consumption.

Countless amounts of money come out of the inner treasury every day, like running water.

Although the country was prosperous and the people were strong, and the tax revenue was high, the late emperor fought several fierce battles with the foreign tribes on the border and drove the foreign tribes hundreds of miles north, frightening them to live in the freezing frontier for 20 years. Invasion, this battle was fought with blood flowing like rivers, and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were spent. Speaking of which, money was accumulated in every battle.

In addition, the late emperor had a large harem, many princes and counts outside the palace, the late emperor was kind, and the welfare of the late emperor was good. The salary and monthly salary allocated to the subordinates every year was no less than 3 taels.

During the late emperor's reign, there was no rain in the western prefectures and counties for several months. In May and June, there was no wheat harvest, and the farmers were miserable. In autumn, there was still no drop of rain, and the autumn harvest was even more hopeless. There was no harvest in the fields, and farmers were without food. , tens of thousands of people came out to beg for food with their families. In order to stabilize the situation, the late emperor allocated 30 taels of silver from the inner treasury for disaster relief, but it was still not enough. In the end, according to statistics, thousands of victims died of starvation.

Although the late emperor's dynasty was prosperous, this prosperity was also built with money.

Without money, you cannot raise troops, and without troops, the country will be unstable.

Without money, the salary cannot be paid. Who would be willing to work hard for the emperor? Love cannot generate electricity.

Without money, if the Chen State encounters an emergency, the lives of the people will be hanging by a thread. The people will be uneasy, the court will not be able to live in peace, and the emperor will not be able to sit still.

The late emperor often said that the internal treasury is sufficient and he is right.

But the internal treasury is abundant, and a lot is spent.

When it comes to Fujian bamboo slips, the internal treasury is no longer what it used to be.

That's right, raise soldiers, officers, wives, and people. After the late emperor passed away, he granted amnesty to the world and exempted the world from taxes for a year.

Now the internal treasury is stretched thin.

It is estimated that any corrupt official's family must have more money than the inner treasury.

The inventory list in my hand is so thin, only a few pages.

The emperor held these few thin pages, feeling deeply uneasy in his heart.

There are 2000 taels of gold, 11 taels of silver, and there are tens of millions of people in Chen State. This small amount of silver is not even enough to drink the northwest wind.

He actually lost 400 taels in a trap with his concubines.

A prodigal.

The emperor closed the inventory list and fell into deep thought.

With such little money, if Chen Guo encountered any crisis, he would not even be able to fight a war.

He could still sleep even if the family accounts were not settled clearly, but once they were settled, the emperor would toss and turn with worry.

Du Jiyan was guarding the heavy money cabinet, and suddenly felt like he had entered a deep palace and became a rich woman.

With capital, I can continue to live a healthy life.

I turned on the system at night and bought two cookbooks.

Chen State is an ancient feudal country. Although there is an imperial dining room in the palace, the food in the imperial dining room is always limited, but the recipes in the system bring together the essence of China for 5000 years. Throughout the dynasties, as long as you eat it, you will be full of praise. Cuisine is all included here, including Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, and Cantonese cuisine, and the records are very detailed.

The people in the palace are rich.

In addition to fighting for the emperor, people in the palace also compete for food and clothing.

Eating is a very important part.

The cook at Yongfu Palace is good at frying and frying, and Du Jianyan has the recipe.

It hits it off.

Du Jiyan spent five taels of silver to stock up on a batch of vegetables.

When shepherd's purse, dandelions, malantou, wild bamboo shoots, wild ducks, pheasants, etc. were carried to Yongfu Hall, many people watched.

Shepherd's purse is green and shiny, with water droplets hanging on it. It is hard to find shepherd's purse in winter. Although the taste is not as good as that in spring, it is rich in flavor. Whether it is making soup or cooking, the fragrance is unforgettable.

There are also yellow flowers hanging on the dandelions, which grow in the greenhouse where flowers are grown over there. They only weigh more than one kilogram in total.

The texture of wild duck and pheasant meat is firm, and the stewed soup is rich in aroma and most nourishing.

The people in the palace eat very carefully, and the rice used for cooking must be divided into several types, not to mention the vegetables. Most of the vegetables they eat are carefully selected tender vegetables, such as shepherd's purse and dandelion, which are more rough. rare.

A pampered lady like Shi Jing has never seen such a battle. She has never picked up the legs of big fish or chickens since she was a child. She can't even name the baskets of green things. They said they were all wild vegetables, but Shi Jing thought it was because Du Jiyan couldn't think of it: "I thought that if you were short of money, I have a lot here to help you at any time. You are not short of money recently, why do you think of eating wild vegetables? Wild vegetables are rough and difficult to eat. Swallow, this is what is recorded in the book, I can’t eat these things no matter what.”

Du Jiyan first asked the cook to make shepherd's purse and egg dumplings according to the recipe, and then made dandelion, squab, and red date soup. When the shepherd's purse and egg dumplings were brought to Shi Jing, Shi Jing ate eighteen of them in a row: "Well, they taste really good. I didn’t expect that there are such delicious things among the people, I just found out about it today.”

Du Jiyan had already thought of a way in his mind.

When she went to Jingren Palace to pay her respects, she brought fresh shepherd's purse, dandelion, pigeon and red date soup in a food box.

The queen is the role model for the harem, and the queen must be given a taste of these things.

The empress comes from a rich family and has been rich and noble since she was a child. Not to mention eating these wild vegetables, she has never seen them.

The shrimp and pork dumplings, grilled lamb, ginger duck, and ginseng stewed venison made in Jingren Palace's small kitchen were all greasy, and the queen couldn't even eat them.

Du Jiyan opened the food box, and a refreshing fragrance hit his face.

"I'm not hungry." The queen held her head, with a sad look on her face. She spent too little time in the palace every day, so she got hungry slowly. "Queen, please have a taste. They are all newly made in my concubine's small kitchen." Du Jiyan handed the silver chopsticks to the side.

The queen tasted a dumpling, savored it carefully, and couldn't help but pick another one.

I ate four dumplings in one go.

Du Jiyan had already served the warm squab and dandelion soup.

The queen drank a bowl and was still unsatisfied.

She had no appetite before, couldn't eat anything, and felt weak. The food Du Jiyan brought opened the queen's taste buds, and she couldn't stop eating with her chopsticks.

The kitchen of Jingren Palace was afraid that the queen would not have enough nutrition. In addition, the queen's salary was large, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent many things. According to the queen's specifications, every meal was indispensable with large amounts of fish and meat.

It was the first time for the queen to eat such a light and nutritious thing.

The concubines smelled the aroma and swallowed silently.

"No wonder Du Chang is here and he has already sent meals to the queen. There is nothing in the queen's Jingren Palace. Is it still missing these two dumplings? It's really conspicuous." Meng Yuzhu snorted coldly.

"We can't learn these methods no matter what." Tian Lingyue smiled silently.

"Don't talk if you can't learn." Shi Jing snorted coldly: "It's rare for the Queen to have some appetite, and she still has to listen to Tian's promise to make noise here."

Tian Lingyue blushed.

The attitude of several other people towards Du Jiyan was much more relaxed.

After all, Du Jiyan's carpentry work has won many hearts.

"Du Chang is good at carpentry and cooking. It's strange that he can win the favor of the emperor. This is what he deserves."

"Yes, I can smell the fragrance of the dumplings Du Chang is making. It has a different smell from those made in the imperial kitchen."

The queen ate about ten dumplings before she stopped using her chopsticks. She also drank two bowls of pigeon soup and couldn't help but burp.

Meng Yuzhu curled her lips and half covered her face with a handkerchief.

"Du Changzai, what kind of filling are these dumplings? Why are they so tender?"

"Back to the Queen, this is stuffed with shepherd's purse."

"What is shepherd's purse?"

The system screen lit up: "Shepherd's purse, the name of Chinese medicinal material. It is the whole root of the cruciferous plant Shepherd's purse. Harvested from March to May, washed and dried. The main functions are: harmonizing the spleen, diuresis, hemostasis, and improving eyesight. .Cure dysentery, edema, gonorrhea, chyluria, hematemesis, hematochezia, hemorrhage, menorrhagia, red and painful eyes."

Xiaodian is really professional.

But these queens certainly don’t understand.

Du Jiyan tried his best to explain it in an easy-to-understand manner.

"Shepherd's purse is a wild vegetable that mostly grows in spring and is a common food among the people."

"The emperor likes folk things the most." Wei Zhaoning said: "I heard that the emperor has not had a good appetite these days, so I just sent some wild food for the emperor to try. Maybe the emperor will have an appetite. Queen, why don't you let Du I often go back and make these two again and send them to me."

"Is this good?" The queen thought to herself. There was no delicious food in the Palace of Supreme Harmony. If Baba went to deliver food to the emperor, would the emperor think that she was up to no good? Such a pretentious invitation to favor, the queen was a little reluctant.

"The Queen is considerate of the Emperor and has good intentions. I will go back and make another dumpling and one soup."

Queen
When the dumplings and soup were delivered to Jingren Palace, the queen directly rewarded Du Jiyan with five taels of silver: "You did a good job, these five taels of silver should be used as a reward."

Du Jiyan held the silver in his hand and said, "The queen is so polite. If you need anything from now on, just ask."

When the queen took Wei Zhaoning to deliver the food to the Palace of Supreme Harmony, the emperor was looking at the books in a daze. The accounts in the inner treasury were getting smaller and smaller, which made the emperor very worried.

The imperial dining room has already prepared fine meals, and the roasted venison and stewed mutton are already cold.

Gao Rang didn't dare to persuade him, he just stood quietly outside the curtain and waited.

The emperor was a little surprised when he saw the queen arriving with a food box: "You know that there is not enough food in my palace to eat, so you brought a food box to pack it?"

Queen
The emperor's words made the queen choke.

The queen, who was not good at words, looked at the table full of soup, barbecue and snacks, and said awkwardly: "The imperial kitchen is really rich in food. Look at the plate of vegetarian beef, it's just like the real thing."

"That's real beef." The emperor sat down and rubbed his forehead.

Wei Zhaoning took the next step. He opened the food box, put the dumplings in, and added a plate of vinegar, a plate of soy sauce, a pickled radish and a pickled cabbage.

The sour taste is strong and the dumplings are fragrant.

The emperor's stomach growled unconsciously.

"This is specially made for the emperor. I don't know if it suits the emperor's taste. Please give it a try." Wei Zhaoning was blessed.

"Yes, yes." The queen smiled.

"What kind of stuffing is it? If it's stuffed with meat, I don't want to eat it now."

"It's stuffed with shepherd's purse and eggs. I heard that the emperor doesn't like greasy food these days. This shepherd's purse is a folk game grown in the greenhouse. It has the most fragrant aroma. Garnished with eggs, the dumplings are not greasy at all. They are paired with two pickled sauerkraut. The last thing is to serve the meal. Your Majesty will have a taste." "Yes, yes, yes." The queen smiled.

The queen was very satisfied with her sister as a spokesperson.

She has a stupid mouth and can't always say what's on her mind.

Wei Zhaoning is still slightly better.

"Your Majesty is having dinner. I have composed a new song here. It is fresh and elegant, and I am here to show off my humiliation."

"Yes, yes, Zhao Ning, please play a piece, the emperor loves to hear you play." The queen agreed.

Wei Zhaoning placed the guzheng she had brought outside the curtain. She closed and unclenched her fingers. Her slender fingers were as white and tender as bamboo shoots after the rain. The sound flowed from the guzheng. It was indeed a fresh and elegant piece of music. It's like being in the jungle in spring. After the rain, the bamboo leaves are mottled, the grass is green as deep as the soles of the boots, the rocks are covered with moss, and the long stream flows down, dripping to the bottom of the waterfall. Under the waterfall is a deep pool with water. The quietness makes people's hearts calm down.

The Queen couldn't help but nod and beat the time.

Seeing the queen enjoying herself, I really don’t know how to feel sad.

The emperor had no choice but to eat a dumpling, and a fresh taste exploded in his mouth.

What a divine taste this is, it couldn’t be better.

The imperial dining room has also made dumplings, some with pork and mushrooms, some with venison and celery, some with tomatoes and eggs, or some with coriander and chicken. These shepherd's purse flavors are really unique. Paired with some sauerkraut, the more you eat, the better. Hungry.

A plate of dumplings was eaten by the emperor.

The emperor also drank the dandelion pigeon soup.

The emperor was happy and praised the queen and the noble guard for their hard work. The reward arrived the next day. The queen was given a night's sleep and the noble guard was given two jade hairpins.