In the history of China, from the beginning of Yingzheng's self-proclaimed "First Emperor" to the overthrow of Emperor Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty, there were more than three hundred emperors with names and surnames, some famous for their power, some famous for their civil rule, some famous for their martial arts, and some famous for their fornication, but when it comes to the most dumbfounded emperor, I have to serve the Daoguang Emperor, who is famous for cutting doors.
People emperors don't all have to eat mountain treasures and seafood, put on a few large tables, even if you don't eat, you have to support the pomp, and this goods is a small table, four plates of dishes, but also basically vegetarian, the emperor as such, I am also speechless.
Look at what he wears, except for the dragon robe is good, the other clothes are all patches, one after another, like a sugar gourd, the emperor does not say gold wire trim, that must also be a brocade dress. And there is a more perverted rule, except for the empress dowager and the empress dowager, other concubines are not celebrating the New Year's Festival, and cannot eat meat! This is the royal palace, and it is clearly a nunnery. The women who desperately wanted to enter the palace, after entering, found that they had been pitted.
The Daoguang Emperor believed in "frugality and luxury", plus his father, the Jiaqing Emperor, was himself a frugal man. In fact, several Qing emperors before the Daoguang Emperor generally advocated frugality. Under the influence of his ears and words and deeds, the Daoguang Emperor brought his frugality to the fullest and reached the pinnacle of perfection.
How frugal was the Daoguang Emperor? In a word, "outrageous"! Let's first understand the Daoguang Emperor's frugality and see the emperor's style.
When the Daoguang Emperor was still the crown prince, he followed his father, the Jiaqing Emperor, to Guanwai to feel the hard and simple life of his ancestors.
I have to say that this trip with my father left a deep impression on Daoguang, and a seed of thrift and thrift took root in Daoguang's heart.
After returning to Beijing, Daoguang had people remove all the furniture in his house except for the bed, tables and chairs, and vowed to take his ancestors as idols and learn from them well.
Of course, what Daoguang had to learn was not Nurhaci's great achievements, but the hard life that his ancestors had to accept when they were outside the Guanwai. Like some people in modern times who like to masochistically, Daoguang is frugal and can not be soft on himself. However, this is not that Daoguang has any perverted tendencies, but that he just encountered the moment when the Qing Dynasty was going downhill, spending a lot everywhere, and the finances were tight, which forced Daoguang into a "frugality".
Soon after the Daoguang Emperor ascended the throne, he ordered that the harem concubine Gong'e's annual fat powder fee of millions of silver be cut.
Women below the harem concubine are vegetarian every day and are not allowed to eat meat without celebrations.
Concubines cannot be embroidered on their clothes, and brightly colored clothes are only allowed to be worn on festive days.
As a result, the concubines had to endure the pain of not buying new clothes all year round.
In order to reduce more tribute, the Daoguang Emperor will reduce the annual funds in the palace to 200,000 taels, in fact, such a large imperial palace has to spend at least 400,000 taels a year to count normal life, repeated reductions, has made life very difficult and difficult, tight days, even the emperor's own brush and Yantai are the most ordinary, not to mention eating, it is even more light, non-festive times can not eat meat, only the empress dowager and the empress can usually eat some meat, clothes are worn and sewn and patched, Concubines could not use makeup, and even the style of clothes Yang Zi had regulations, and the royal life was not good during the Daoguang Emperor period.
The frugality of the harem prevailed, and the former dynasty was naturally not "spared". Not only did he go to the court in his worn-out imperial clothes, but he also always said that the Minister of Education "must be frugal in his life." Under the leadership of the Daoguang Emperor, the ministers above the court were dressed in old clothes, and those who did not have old clothes went to buy them, and for a time the old clothes in Beijing were more expensive than the new clothes. A few officials could not buy old clothes, so they put holes in their clothes and stained them to please the emperor.
Everyone can make up for it themselves, an emperor dressed in "simple" clothes, with a group of ministers in tattered clothes, this is simply the "Gang elder assembly", and Daoguang is the "Gang Leader".
At that time, the national strength of the Qing Dynasty was no longer good, and it was enough for the emperor to eat something good. But the Daoguang Emperor just saved money between his teeth. Before he became emperor, he took his whole family to eat baked bread every day. When he became emperor, he was richer, but the standard of living really only rose a little. His usual meal is just a little dish and a little soup standard. It is reasonable to say that even if the usual food is light, even ordinary people will celebrate it in the New Year. But he just ate five dishes! Or the degree of stew of a cabbage in the meat. I don't know if those chefs in the palace have itched their hands because they haven't shown it for a long time?
Daoguang was so cruel to himself, the picture of him inviting guests to dinner was even more "beautiful", once the empress had a birthday, Daoguang made an exception to give her a birthday, feasted on the courtiers, but when it came time to eat, the ministers waited left and right, and finally waited for a bowl of brine noodles
Daoguang's "frugality" is not unreasonable, at that time the Qing Dynasty had declined, the Qing court was facing a financial crisis, Jiaqing also taught him to be frugal and self-disciplined from an early age, so that the Qing Dynasty could continue, but his father did not expect him to be so frugal, it was simply miserly
Daoguang Emperor wore a dragon robe, a wear is several years, even patched on it, if you heard that the minister's family banquet, must strictly handle this official, as the lord of the dynasty, Daoguang Emperor also personally asked the price of vegetables and meat and eggs, and asked where the dish is cheap, and finally let himself and the concubines only eat vegetarian vegetables, not allowed to eat meat, Daoguang Emperor felt that the price of chicken was expensive, and finally built a chicken farm in the palace, so that not only can you eat cheap chicken, but also eggs can be eaten, Once, the Daoguang Emperor invited the heroes of the rebellion to a banquet, but only a few small dishes were served, and then there was no follow-up, so he had to sit and wait for the feast to end.