The Ming Dynasty: Starting with taking Old Zhu on a journey to the future

In his entire life, he had only ever come into contact with local officials such as village chiefs and community leaders.

I have never seen an official with any rank.

I've heard that the highest-ranking official in the county is called something like Darughachi.

These positions are usually held by Mongols and Semu people.

As for anything further back, he had hardly ever heard of it.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "The title of Duke is not an official position, but a noble title. In the army, the title of Duke is the highest noble title."

"His status is second only to the emperor and the prince."

As they chatted...

Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the inner palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang introduced, "Father, this is where we sleep, it's called Qianqing Palace."

"Next door is where the Empress sleeps, called Kunning Palace."

"And over there, that's where the Crown Prince lives, it's called the Eastern Palace."

Zhu Wusi visited the Qianqing Palace and the Kunning Palace in succession.

The feeling these palaces evoked in him can only be described in one word.

Big.

He couldn't think of any other words to describe it.

As he spoke, Zhu Wusi looked at the East Palace not far away and asked, "Chongba, this Qianqing Palace is where you live, and Kunning Palace is where your wife lives."

"So this East Palace is where my grandsons will live, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

"Only one person can live in the Eastern Palace, and that is our eldest son."

"The future crown prince who will inherit our family business."

I didn't get to see my daughter-in-law.

Seeing my grandson would be nice too.

Zhu Wusi asked, "What's my grandson's name?"

Zhu Yuanzhang murmured, "Zhu Biao."

Because his father was illiterate, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately fell into the hands of Zhu Wusi.

The label was written.

Zhu Biao, what a fine name; it sounds like someone of great talent and ability.

We arrived at the entrance of the East Palace.

The eunuchs and palace maids serving the Eastern Palace all prostrated themselves on the ground.

Looking inside, Zhu Wusi asked, "Can I go in and see them?"

Zhu Yuanzhang simply stood at the entrance of the East Palace for a long time.

He said calmly, "Our Biao'er passed away last year."

When I learned that Zhu Biao had also passed away.

Zhu Wusi didn't know what to say to comfort Zhu Chongba.

For parents like them, this is the hardest thing to accept.

It is a case of the white-haired sending off the black-haired.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up and glanced at it.

"It's almost noon. We've already had the Imperial Kitchen prepare our meal. Let's go eat."

……

West Palace.

Step inside.

What comes into view is a table full of delicious food.

Zhu Wusi stared at the table full of food, his eyes filled with shock.

His gaze swept across the table.

I counted in my mind how many plates there were.

You don't know until you count them, and once you do, you're shocked.

There are actually twenty-four dishes here?!

Zhu Wusi unconsciously swallowed.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Wusi, who was standing there in a daze, and laughed, "Father, stop looking and do it."

Generally speaking, he sits in the main seat.

But today was different; his father was here, so he sat in the second seat.

Zhu Wusi suddenly found it difficult to move his legs, and only after sitting down did he realize that he was too weak to move.

The aroma of these dishes filled the air.

He had never even seen many of the dishes before, let alone eaten them.

Speaking of eating.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered that there was a Lan Chen in his study.

He then said, "Wang Sancai, go and wake up that kid Lan Chen."

Wang Sancai bowed and nodded: "Yes."

While waiting for Lan Chen.

Zhu Yuanzhang then introduced the dishes to his father, saying, "Father, these are pepper and vinegar shrimp, roast goose, braised sheep's head and trotters, goose meat slices, salted mustard sheep's tripe platter, five-spice steamed chicken..."

Zhu Wusi was completely bewildered by what he heard.

Seeing Zhu Wusi frown, Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment and explained, "In short, it's all chicken, duck, fish, lamb, and shrimp. The only differences are the side dishes, the parts of the animal to be eaten, and the cooking methods."

"We don't know if you'll like the food."

Zhu Wusi smiled and said, "I can eat it, I can eat it."

Being a picky eater is a bad habit that only wealthy people have.

"Father, if you're hungry, go ahead and eat. You don't need to wait for that brat Lan Chen."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wusi did not touch his chopsticks.

Once everyone has arrived, then we'll start eating.

It's not because he's particularly rule-abiding, but because these are the rules that are necessary.

If you don't wait for everyone to arrive, the plate will basically be empty by the time they do.

They are all farmers and need to work; how can they work if they don't eat?

Therefore, the food in the household was basically distributed evenly to everyone.

This is to ensure that no one works on an empty stomach.

Half an incense stick later.

Lan Chen arrived at the West Palace.

To be honest, he was quite surprised when he learned that the emperor wanted to invite him to dinner.

After all, he's been to the palace so many times.

I have never seen Zhu Yuanzhang invite me to stay for a meal.

Step inside.

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Wusi, who were already seated, Lan Chen bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at it and nodded: "Sit down."

Lan Chen didn't stand on ceremony.

He sat directly opposite Zhu Yuanzhang.

Looking at the table full of delicacies, he asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, is this all you eat every day?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "What? These aren't good enough for you?"

Lan Chen shook his head.

"No, I had only heard that His Majesty was frugal, but I never expected that His Majesty would eat so extravagantly."

I've heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was frugal.

Now it seems that Lao Zhu is not as frugal as he imagined.

But that's understandable.

He was an emperor, after all; he would at least have a daily intake of protein.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang ate so well every day, with a table of twenty-four dishes, eighteen of which were meat dishes.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes, his tone quite unfriendly: "Are you going to eat or not? If not, get out!"

Lan Chen reached out and broke a roast goose in half.

Then he put half of the food into Zhu Wusi's bowl and half into his own: "Grandpa, thanks to you, I can eat such good food. Eat up."

A roast goose.

That's how they got separated.

This kid isn't leaving himself anything.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't seem to care.

His lunch every day is of this standard.

Skipping a meal won't cause any major problems.

Zhu Wusi looked at the half roast goose in his bowl, broke off a leg, and put it into Zhu Yuanzhang's bowl.

I eat the bones myself.

Looking at this scene, Zhu Yuanzhang recalled scenes from his childhood.

The father gave the grain to his brothers, but starved to death himself.

There's also my mother and older brother.

Zhu Yuanzhang put the goose leg back into Zhu Wusi's bowl: "Father, we eat this every day, it won't matter if we skip one meal."

"Please eat."

"There are many dishes here, so don't just eat one dish."

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang picked up other dishes and put them into Zhu Wusi's bowl.

Zhu Wusi nodded repeatedly: "Zhongba, you eat too, don't just put food on my plate."

Zhu Yuanzhang only ate three bites of each dish.

I won't eat a single extra bite.

Seeing this, Zhu Wusi was very puzzled: "Chongba, this mutton is delicious, why did you only eat three bites?"

Zhu Yuanzhang explained, "We set a rule for ourselves: we can only eat three bites of each dish."

"This will result in a more balanced and healthier diet."

Upon hearing this reason, Lan Chen slowly raised his head.

A balanced diet? Isn't this to prevent being poisoned?

It seems that Zhu Yuanzhang even wrote this rule into the Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty.

This was to prevent the emperor from being poisoned.

In this era, the only way to poison someone and kill them is with a large quantity.

Obviously, if you only eat three bites of each dish, even if someone poisons you, it won't cause any serious harm.

Before Lan Chen could speak...

Zhu Yuanzhang then placed a piece of duck meat on Lan Chen's plate: "Eat more, don't be shy."

He didn't want his father to know the specific reason, so he wouldn't worry about him.