When we mention the "Prosperous Era of Kangqianyong", we will think of the three emperors of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. During the reign of these three emperors, each person's work characteristics were different, Kangxi had been fighting wars, Yongzheng was obsessed with daily office, and Qianlong liked to play in the mountains. According to relevant records, Qianlong went down to Jiangnan six times. In 1751, when Qianlong went down to Jiangnan, the big salt merchant hired a chef to make famous dishes, but after Qianlong tasted it, he shook his head repeatedly.
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In 1751, Qianlong prepared to tour Jiangnan. Before the emperor went out, the officials would arrange the itinerary in advance, and send special personnel to be responsible for the front station, and the bridges and houses along the way would be properly repaired, giving people a sense of national peace and security. When everything was ready, Qianlong led a large number of people and horses to the south.
From the accompanying team, we can see concubines, painters, royal cooks and other people, Qianlong is clearly under the guise of inspection, going to Jiangnan to play. Before the large contingent arrived in Yangzhou, the local Cheng Da salt merchants received news that he wanted to take the opportunity to curry favor with Qianlong and gain some benefits.
As we all know, the Qianlong Emperor was very fond of tasting food, and every time he went to a place, he would definitely punch in local specialties. Such as squirrel cinnamon fish, called flower chicken, stone pot fish, these delicacies have qianlong has a special fate.
When Cheng Dayan learned that Qianlong liked good food, he immediately sent his men to pay a lot of money and invited the best local chef to make a table of authentic Huaiyang dishes for the eunuchs to give to the Qianlong Emperor to enjoy. However, Shang Chengming waited for the left and the right, and Qianlong did not summon him for a long time, which meant that this table of Huaiyang dishes was not recognized by Qianlong. After Qianlong left, Cheng Da salt merchants were very disappointed, what exactly was wrong with the dishes, did they not meet Qianlong's taste?
Six years later, Qianlong went south again, and Cheng Dayan decided to enlarge the move, and he must take down Qianlong's appetite. This time, cheng da salt merchant did not put the eggs in the same basket, he invited ten chefs, let each make two of the best dishes. Before officially cooking for Qianlong, Cheng Da salt merchant asked the chefs to make a portion for himself first, and he had to taste the taste, whether it was to the extent that he was satisfied.
After constantly trying and improving dishes, Cheng Da salt merchants became full of confidence, but they never expected that the results of this time would be exactly the same as the last time. In order to find out the truth of the matter, Cheng Dayan spent money to buy a small eunuch in charge of serving dishes around Qianlong, and when he raised his own questions: Why did the delicacies prepared with heart not be recognized by the emperor, the little eunuch could not help but laugh out loud, he looked left and right, found that there was no one around, and came forward to say mysteriously: You are still worried that the dishes are not delicious, we are afraid that the emperor likes the dishes you sent.
Everywhere they went, someone would bring food to Qianlong, and the eunuch who served the food had already been bribed by the imperial chef, and they would add a large spoonful of white sugar to the dish, and no matter how delicious the food was, it would be destroyed. The main purpose of the act was to prevent Qianlong from liking a certain dish and then bringing the cook back, so that the position of the imperial cook would be threatened.
When Cheng Dayan heard the words of the little eunuch, he was shocked, no wonder the emperor did not summon him, and the dishes that were put with sugar were delicious. After hearing the little eunuch's explanation, Cheng Da salt merchant understood that Qianlong, who was high above, was not the best to eat.
Qianlong was the king of a country and had supreme power, but in the process of touring the south of Jiangnan, he was blinded by the little eunuchs, thinking that the world was peaceful and the people were living happily. Although Qianlong was a Ming Emperor, there were also times when he was in the dark, and after a long time, if the Qing Dynasty did not withdraw from the stage of history and go into decline, it would be a living ghost.