Daoguang was the most frugal emperor in Chinese history. According to historical records, Daoguang was emperor for 30 years and spent no more than 202,000 yuan per year. This made all officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs extremely poor and the people under his command had no money at all. Everyone complains.
But Daoguang’s saving effect may not be obvious.
Li said that Xuanzong once had a black fox hood with a slightly larger satin lining. Daoguang asked the eunuch to take it out and add leather around it. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that such a change would cost several thousand taels of silver. Daoguang was shocked and hurriedly said there was no need to change it. There was only one pair of pants on the road, and my knee was accidentally broken. Later, people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs put a round wire on it and called it "Clapping Hands." The ministers saw it and imitated it one after another. They also decorated a piece of round silk between their knees, which became popular for a while.
Daoguang once summoned the Minister of Military Affairs, just as Cao Cao was about to ascend the throne. When Daoguang saw his mark, he asked, "Do you also pat your pants?" Cao Zheng said, "It's too expensive to change it, so why not mend it." Wright asked, "How much do you want to spend on a high-five?" Cao Zheng said, " "Silver and three coins." Daoguang was shocked: "The things outside are cheap. The Ministry of Internal Affairs here said they cost five taels of silver." At this time, Daoguang became suspicious of the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and asked Cao Zhengwen: "How much do your eggs cost?" Cao Wen is a smart man. He was afraid of offending people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he said hypocritically: "I had gas disease when I was young and never ate eggs, so I don't know the price of eggs."
Fortunately, Cao didn't say anything. During the Qianlong period, during the first dynasty, Qianlong asked his minister Wang Wenrui, "You come so early, can you have some snacks at home?" Wang Wenrui replied: "My family is very poor. I only eat four eggs every morning." Long ate one. Shocked, he said: "An egg costs ten taels of silver. I dare not eat so much. How dare I say that I am poor when I eat four a day?" Wang Wenrui knew what the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were up to, but he did not dare to say it clearly, so he had to deal with it. He said: "The eggs sold outside are all inferior quality and cannot be compared with those supplied in the palace, so what I buy are cheap ones, only a few cents."
Li Daoguang is getting old. Just stingy. Palace delicacies follow the old practice. Daoguang sometimes wanted to eat something, but when he heard it was too expensive, he often resisted letting people in the palace buy it. Later, Empress Dowager Cixi was stingy, but she was stingy and liked to save money, while Daoguang's stinginess was not about spending money at all.
Daoguang's fasting caused headaches and complaints to people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, they still have ways to deal with Daoguang. One time, Daoguang wanted to eat some soup and asked someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make it according to the recipe he told him. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that if the emperor's plan was followed, another kitchen would have to be built and someone would be asked to take charge. In this case, please allocate more than $62,000 to handle the matter. In addition, you also need fifteen thousand taels in maintenance fees. After hearing this, Daoguang frowned and said, "I know there is a restaurant outside the front door that can make this kind of soup. It only costs 40 cents per bowl. Forget it, let the eunuch buy it every day from now on."
A few days later, people from the Internal Affairs Office reported that the restaurant outside the front door had been closed for unknown reasons. Sighing softly, "I have never wasted the country's money just for my appetite. I didn't expect that I am the emperor, but I can't even eat a bowl of soup. What a pity."
People from the Internal Affairs Bureau Actually looking for an excuse to build a kitchen so they can line their own pockets. In the end, the trick failed and Emperor Daoguang couldn't even eat a bowl of soup. Later, Emperor Tongzhi got married and wanted to buy a suitcase. The most on the market was only a dozen taels of silver, but the final reimbursement actually reached several thousand
Volume 1, and said that when Xianfeng was in power, he was as frugal as his father . Once, the door of the study room was broken, and the Internal Affairs Office asked for a new door. Xianfeng refused and said it could be used again after repairing it. Later, the door was repaired and the fee was 5,200. Xianfeng was furious and wanted to ask the relevant people what was going on. Seeing that Xianfeng was serious, the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs quickly said that the number was wrong, it was fifty-two, and the matter was settled.
Another time, Xianfeng had a new pair of Hangzhou yarn trousers, but accidentally burned a hole the size of a broad bean. The eunuchs said it was lost. Xianfeng regretted it again and again and said: "Although material resources are difficult, it is a pity to abandon it. Try to make up for it as much as possible." Xianfeng later found out that the people below actually reimbursed hundreds of taels of silver for this folk remedy. Xianfeng sighed, "It's not easy to be an emperor, let alone luxury goods?"
It is also recorded that when Yan Jingming was the Minister of the Ministry of War, he saw the Ministry of Internal Affairs taking over a hundred boxes, with the price of each box being sixty. Two silver coins. Yan Jingming was shocked, so he told the Empress Dowager Cixi: "When buying suitcases outside, you can only buy six or two at most. You can imagine the shortcomings of the Internal Affairs Department." The Empress Dowager Cixi shook her head and said, "I'm afraid it's not that cheap." After knowing the truth, Yan Jingming insists that this is the price. The Empress Dowager Cixi was also a stingy person, so she said: "In that case, try to buy me one hundred yuan within half a month.
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