The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Sir, what do you think the reason why scholars all over the world study so hard and take the imperial examinations is for?"

Wanli thought for a moment and said, "Fame, fortune and wealth."

Min Xi nodded: "That's right. The purpose of the imperial examination is nothing more than fame and fortune. Some people value fame, while others love fortune. My lord, which one is better, fame or fortune?"

Wanli thought about it carefully and said, "In my opinion, fame is better than wealth and honor."

Min Xi nodded: "Prosperity means wealth, which can achieve material enjoyment. This is the most direct reward for studying. And fame is obviously higher than the level of profit. It is a reflection of social status and honor, which belongs to the spiritual pursuit. Spiritual enjoyment has always been higher than material enjoyment."

When Wanli heard the term spiritual enjoyment and material enjoyment for the first time, he felt it was very new: "What are the so-called spiritual and material?"

Min Xi said: "Material things are things that can be seen and touched, such as tall houses, gold and silver jewelry, delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and silks and satins. Spiritual things are emotional things, such as people feel happy, happy and satisfied, which are positive emotions. There are also negative emotions, such as sadness, pain, anger, etc."

Wanli nodded: "I understand. You mean, Hai Rui pursues fame and fortune, that is, spiritual enjoyment?"

Min Xi found Wanli very smart. After going around in circles, he came back to the starting point and stayed on topic: "Young Master is very smart, that's true."

"So those corrupt officials pay more attention to material enjoyment," Wanli said.

Min Xi added: "In fact, people all focus on material enjoyment because it is basic human nature. Only after people have enough food and clothing will they consider other things. For example, studying is something that people will consider only after they have solved the basic problem of food and clothing."

"But all officials in the court, big and small, have salaries." Wanli's meaning was very clear. They have already solved the problem of food and clothing, so why do they still engage in corruption?

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Let me give you an example. A county magistrate of the seventh rank receives an annual salary of 90 dan of grain. According to the current rice price, it is equivalent to about 45 taels of silver. The county magistrate's family consists of seven people, so each person spends more than six taels of silver a year. If he relies solely on his salary, he can barely support his family. Should he buy a carriage and one or two servants? The children in the family have to go to school, and the expenses of tuition, writing brushes, inkstones, etc. are not cheap. With his salary, the county magistrate can support his family, but he cannot live a decent life, and may even live a tight life."

Wanli frowned: "You mean, the salary is too low, so they are corrupt and accept bribes?"

Min Xi said: "That is at least one of the reasons. For example, in Beijing, the housing prices are high. Officials of the third and fourth ranks cannot afford to buy houses with their salaries and can only live by renting. Prices are soaring, and the salaries of officials have not changed for many years. I heard that Lord Hai is penniless and extremely poor. The salaries given by the court are too low, at least they cannot allow those truly honest officials to live decently."

Wanli had no way to refute Min Xi's words: "In your opinion, should I increase the salaries of court officials?"

"If the treasury has a surplus, then it should be increased. If the salary remains the same, at least some subsidies in other areas should be given."

"The problem is that the national treasury is empty." Wanli sighed helplessly.

"So Lord Zhang and the Ministry of Revenue are trying to reform the tax system and collect all the taxes that should be collected."

Wanli was silent for a moment: "Then who should be dealt with?"

"In my humble opinion, those who do not do their job should be punished."

“Shouldn’t corrupt officials be punished?”

"We can also deal with one or two particularly bad ones to serve as a deterrent, but we cannot investigate them all. My lord, you must know that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, and if the person is too careful, there will be no followers."

Wanli smiled bitterly: "So this is why Hai Rui is disliked by his colleagues?"

"That's probably the reason. If all the corrupt officials are dealt with, there will be no one left in the entire Ming Dynasty."

Although Wanli knew that there were many corrupt officials, he still felt very uncomfortable when he heard Min Xi say this: "Is it really that serious?"

"Maybe it's not as serious as I said. But even if one-third of the people are found out, who will fill the vacancies? Who can guarantee that the officials who are replaced will not continue to be corrupt? For the common people, honest and upright officials are of course the best, but if they can do practical things for the people, such officials are quite rare." Min Xi said.

Wanli suddenly looked at Min Xi and asked, "If you become an official in the future, will you be corrupt?"

Min Xi was stunned, then shook his head: "I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not short of money."

Wanli asked curiously, "How come you don't need money?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "To be honest, sir, my brother and I made some overseas connections during those years we were living overseas. We traveled between Ming Dynasty and Europe on merchant ships and earned some wealth. Even if I am not allowed to do business after becoming an official, it is enough for me to spend."

Wanli suddenly realized: "It seems that doing business overseas does make money."

"Yes. In recent years, the industry and commerce of the Ming Dynasty have been very prosperous, and trade with overseas countries has been frequent. Merchants have gained a lot of wealth from it. So I think we can increase industrial and commercial taxes to fill the national treasury. This is to increase revenue." Min Xi said.

Wanli's eyes lit up, and he was obviously very interested in this proposal: "If what you said is true, the treasury is full and the salaries of officials are increased, will those corrupt behaviors be curbed?"

Min Xi nodded: "I think they will be more restrained. High salaries can keep people honest."

Wanli thought for a moment and said, "Today, the people from the Shenjiying Camp at the city gate ignored the lives of the people and rode into the city. They were so bold under the emperor's feet that they obviously did not take the court seriously. I saw this with my own eyes. I don't know how many similar incidents have happened in places I haven't seen. I will be unhappy if I don't punish them!"

Min Xi said: "It has always been difficult to clean up the bureaucracy, but if you are determined to do it, you can still do something about it."

Wanli nodded: "It seems that this journey of thousands of miles is right. I have just begun my journey of Wanli, and I have already learned a lesson."

Min Xixin thought that letting the young Wanli see the dark side of officialdom and society early on would arouse his fighting spirit, rather than making him disappointed with the Ming bureaucracy in advance. He hoped that this move was not a wrong one.

Of course, Wanli's ambition needed to be matched by Zhang Juzheng's iron-fisted approach. Min Xi hoped that Zhang Juzheng could live a few more years, at least to help Wanli clean up the bureaucracy, rather than Wanli feeling powerless in the face of a court full of mediocre officials who only knew how to abuse their power and completely giving up.

At noon, it was the first time they had eaten outside since their tour. After consulting Wanli, they decided to eat at a restaurant in a small town they passed by.

Wanli was looking forward to dining outside, wondering what ordinary people usually ate. Although Min Xi said that the breakfast in the morning was a commoner's breakfast, he also knew that Min Xi's cooking skills were definitely not at the commoner's level.

Except for Min Xi and Yun Ji, everyone else in the group was very nervous about the emperor's plan to eat outside. They were afraid that the food outside was not clean and the emperor would get an upset stomach.

After ordering the dishes, Min Xi went to the kitchen and personally checked the ingredients to make sure they were fresh and clean. Although this caused dissatisfaction among the shopkeeper and the kitchen staff, they still chose to cooperate in the face of money.

Min Xi went to the kitchen and removed two of the dishes they ordered, replacing them with ingredients that he thought were cleaner and fresher.

He ate the meal with trepidation. The chef in the restaurant was of average quality, and Wanli was just okay in terms of education. If something tasted bad, he would not pick up his chopsticks, and if something tasted good, he would eat a few more bites. In the end, he barely ate until he was about 60% full and stopped eating.

As soon as he put down his chopsticks, the others naturally didn't dare to eat anymore and dropped their chopsticks as well.

As soon as they left the table and before they walked out the door, the beggars who were guarding the door rushed in, each holding a broken clay bowl, and poured all the leftovers on the table into their own clay bowls.

The shopkeeper picked up a feather duster and chased after them: "You are the reincarnation of starving ghosts! The customers haven't even left yet and you're here to grab food. Are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?"

The group of beggars held their clay bowls tightly, scattered and fled out the door. The smallest beggar was small and weak, and when he tried to grab the leftovers, he only managed to grab half a steamed bun. In his haste when running away, he tripped over the threshold and fell on the steps outside the threshold. The half broken bowl broke into seven or eight pieces, and half of the steamed bun rolled to the ground. His teeth were knocked out and his mouth was full of blood.

He ignored the pain and tried to pick up the bun, but a dog came and snatched his bun away. The child couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

The shopkeeper chased after him and was about to hit him with a feather duster, but he was frightened by the crying and froze. He put down his hand angrily: "Why are you calling me that? I didn't hit you."

Min Xi and Yun Ji walked over at the same time. Looking at the beggar who was crying like a bereaved family member, Min Xi said, "Don't cry. It's just half a steamed bun. I'll buy you a few more."

Yun Ji took out a few copper coins from his purse and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, give this child a few more buns."

The shopkeeper took his copper coins and nodded quickly: "Okay, sir."

The child sobbed, looked at Min Xi, and cried, "My bowl is broken too."

Min Xi said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, give him another bowl. How much is it?"

The shopkeeper said, "I have a broken bowl in the kitchen. I don't want it anymore. Give him one."

"Thank you, boss. I hope your business is booming!" Min Xi said with a smile.

Soon, the shopkeeper took out five or six steamed buns from a bowl with a small hole in it and handed it to the little beggar: "Take it."

The little beggar saw the steamed buns that were still white and still steaming, and he was a little bit incredulous: "Is it really for me?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes, take it."

"Thank you, sir! You are the reincarnation of a living Bodhisattva and will surely live a hundred years!" The little beggar took the bowl and steamed bun from the shopkeeper and ran away happily.