The fourth time, how much is a bottle of Maotai worth?
After hearing this, the county magistrate paused and retreated from the court, asking, "What else does the warrior have to do?"
"Sir, I see that the profiteer Zhang Chengduo is dissatisfied with what happened today, and many people in the restaurant saw it. I am afraid there are rumors that are not good for you. I have a plan to put an end to this." Liu Ming said respectfully.
said.
To be honest, the county magistrate doesn't care about the rumors of taking bribes. After all, even the emperor took the lead in betraying his official position and taking bribes. It is common for officials in the world to take bribes. His behavior is nothing, but after all, he has been studying for many years and he is still happy to have a good reputation. Zhu asked
: "Oh, is the plan coming out?"
"Sir, everyone only knows that the village chief gave you a bottle of good wine. I don't know that the villain has another bottle in his hand. Your Excellency can summon the squires and say that you don't want to accept the gift. In order to satisfy the villain, you can get money to buy land. Auction this wine at a price of
The higher one gets it." Liu Ming said calmly.
The county magistrate said in his heart: Originally, he asked me to help him sell wine. However, this way he fulfilled his reputation, and the gift he gave was not light, and he just wanted to see how much this bottle of wine could be sold for, so he helped me.
Let him. Thinking of this, the county magistrate said: "Okay, I will help you this time. Come on, invite the squires in this city to come to my house tonight to get together with me and retreat."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ming not only did not thank him for preserving his official reputation, but also asked him to help him. Liu Mingxin said: Master, I still underestimated the ancients. People know this about me, and I am not afraid of a false reputation. I am really noble.
.
Liu Ming and Houde followed the yamen servant to the clerk's office to complete the naturalization procedures. They returned to the inn and had dinner and chatted until the evening.
After a detailed discussion, Liu Ming realized that although it was the Han Dynasty, it was not a prosperous age. The government taxes were as huge as a hair, and the people were struggling to make ends meet. Although the land tax was relatively light, with only thirty taxes per year, there were oral tax, accounting tax, household tax, corvee tax, and more tax per capita tax.
But the tax is extremely heavy. If you have money, you can buy an official position and get a exemption. Ordinary people can still live in peacetime. If there is a slight natural disaster or man-made disaster, you can only sell your land when you are sick. It is common for the government to collect taxes and the people to resist the taxes. The tribesmen just listen.
The clan leaders, tenants, and tribes only listen to their masters. This is why Houde dared to confront the government officials just now. Moreover, the officials of the imperial court have to pay commission money when they take office, just like the prime minister of Anxi County has to pay three million yuan when he takes office.
. And his monthly salary is no more than Qian Qianqian, Mi Jiuhu. In addition, officials are appointed in a different place and they have to give gifts to their superiors to support them. Therefore, when officials take office, they usually take people's wealth and take bribes. Otherwise,
What if the county magistrate is not afraid of official reputation? It turns out that he is like this, but he is overestimated. Besides, the yamen servants in the third class and six wards are only responsible for food and not giving money. After becoming a yamen servant, they are not allowed to become officials within a few generations, and the yamen servants do not
Due to the restriction of being an official in a different place, it is hereditary and has its own method of scraping money, which is passed down orally. That is to say, changing officials does not change officials. County officials are not as good as the current ones.
The two were chatting happily when a government official outside recently called them to the county government office.
Liu and Ming came to the county government office and waited for a while. Four people arrived one after another. Seeing that everyone had arrived, the government officer asked the county magistrate to come out.
The county magistrate came in and clasped his fists at everyone: "Everyone has been waiting for a long time. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"I don't dare, I don't dare. We've just arrived." Everyone had finished their salutes and the guests and hosts sat down.
The county magistrate inspected everyone and said: "I invite you all to come here today because the traitor Zhang Cheng has robbed Liu Ming, a strong man from Lusang Village, of his exquisite wine. Although I have decided to return the wine to Liu Ming, Liu Ming is afraid of attracting traitors again."
Please ask me to recommend a buyer. I have the beauty of an adult, and I know that all of you are well-off and solid elders, so I invite you to come together to enjoy the wine and make it a happy event." He turned to Liu Ming and said:
"Liu Ming, these four people are Master Zhang, Master Liu, Master Huo, and Master Li. They are all rich gentry in this city. You can get some wine and watch them with everyone."
After Liu Ming had finished greeting everyone, he took out Maotai, poured a small cup, and handed it to the county magistrate.
Four wealthy gentry were attracted by the aroma of wine when they opened the lid of Maotai. When everyone saw the wine, the aroma was fragrant, clear and transparent, pure and flawless, the wine was flowing, viscous and textured, and they couldn't help but be amazed. Huo
The owner of the village said loudly: "It has been said in ancient times that the wine of the Immortal Family is called Qiongjiang Yuye. Today, this wine is well-deserved for its name."
"Yes, yes. What Brother Ma said is very good. It's an eye-opener for us to have a look at this wine today. It's a worthwhile trip," Master Li said next to him.
Everyone praised and declined, starting from the county magistrate. They all expressed their feelings again. Liu Ming was secretly happy at the side: The ancients really had never seen anything good.
Liu Ming saw that everyone was conquered by the wine and intoxicated. He shouted loudly: "Everyone, everyone. This wine is a gift from my master. Because it is not easy to brew, this bottle in the world is the first time I have come here. Because
I don't have the money to buy the land, so I have no choice but to sell this wine. Now I want to exchange the wine for a hundred taels of gold. Which village owner is willing to make it happen?" After Liu Ming finished speaking, he was secretly proud: Yes, I have read the novel and the movie in vain. I have only been in ancient times for two days.
It sounds almost like them.
After everyone heard what Liu Ming said, the owner of the village, Huo, reacted first and said loudly: "One hundred taels of gold, I want it." After saying that, he asked for the wine.
"Wait a minute!" Master Liu saw that Master Huo had taken the lead and quickly stopped him. He said to Liu Ming: "Even a strong man underestimates this wine. I am willing to pay two hundred taels of gold to buy this wine."
"Old Liu, what do you mean? I can definitely buy this wine. What are you disturbing?" Master Huo was angry at Master Liu.
"I can't bear to see you taking advantage of Liu Zhuangshi. Besides, since the county magistrate invited the four of you and me here, of course the one with the highest price will get it. How could you buy it just as you said?" Zhuangzhu Liu replied rudely.
road.
"That's right, it belongs to the one with the highest price. I am willing to pay 500 taels for this fine wine." Owner Li also reacted and interjected from the side.
"Master Li is indeed the richest man in Anxi. He is a generous man." Liu Ming patted him briefly and stirred everyone's emotions at the right time.
As expected, everyone except Master Li, who was very proud, snorted after hearing this.
"Such a fine wine, fine nectar and jade liquid is not an exaggeration. How can it be compared with only 500 taels? Brother Li is too petty. I am willing to pay 800 taels of gold to match this wine." Zhang Zhang said loudly.
.
"I'll pay you one thousand taels."
"I will pay one thousand one hundred taels."
"One thousand three hundred taels."
"One thousand five hundred taels."
"One thousand, seven hundred taels."
While everyone was comparing quotations, someone outside the door shouted: "Liu Zhang, the son of Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou, has arrived." (Liu Yan never served as the governor of Youzhou in history. He once served as an official in Luoyang under the name of the governor of Yizhou, and later bribed ten people.
Chang Shi seeks Yizhou Mu. Due to plot requirements, the description is described in Gu'an's Romance. If there are similar plots in the future, there will be no further explanation. They are all plot requirements^_^)
Following the announcement at the door, a young man walked into the hall. Liu Ming saw that this man had beautiful features and a fair face without beard, which made everyone feel close to him.
"I am the son of Liu Yan, the prefect of Youzhou, after Prince Gong of Hanlu. I am also the one who made the imperial mausoleum to Liu Zhang. I am passing by here today to visit my father, and I would like to stay overnight. I don't want to disturb everyone's gathering. I forgive you, I forgive you." Liu Zhang said to everyone.
He saluted and said very politely.
When everyone heard that the son of the governor of Youzhou had arrived, they stood up to greet him. Seeing that Liu Zhang was polite in speech, elegant in behavior, and saluted everyone, they all returned the greetings with sincerity. The county magistrate said respectfully: "Young Master is a descendant of the Han clan, and it is really great to visit this small county.
It makes the humble house shine brightly. We did not come to greet you from afar because of business, so we are disrespectful and disrespectful."
"No, no, I'm being presumptuous." Liu Zhang was polite to everyone, and then asked: "I wonder what you are talking about when you gather at the county government office?"
The county magistrate replied: "It's all because the strong man Liu Ming sold a bottle of peerless wine. Everyone wanted to buy it, and they bid against each other. They couldn't compete with each other, which made the prince laugh."
"Can you take a look at such a fine wine?" Liu Zhang asked curiously.
When Liu Ming saw the big man speaking, he quickly poured some Maotai and lowered it.
"Thank you very much." Liu Zhang took the wine. Liu Ming commented in his heart: This man's appearance and tone of voice are both good, and he looks like a kind and honest person.
Liu Zhang brought the wine and looked at it carefully for a while, then smelled it, and finally took a sip, smacked it to taste, and said after a while: "This wine is crystal clear in color, full and delicate in aroma, fragrant but not bright, elegant.
Pleasant, with a hint of soy sauce after a careful sniff, the wine is pure and thick-bodied, soft and rich, with a long aftertaste that lingers in the empty cup. It is a hundred times better than the grape wine from Huliangzhou. It is worthy of being a peerless wine."
When Liu Ming heard this, he said in his heart: I'm convinced. This master is definitely a gourmet in modern times. His brothers have drank Maotai so many times, and several others who have drank it in ancient times know that it tastes good, but at most it is a peerless wine.
Yeah, it's a fine wine, but it's not as detailed as this master said, and he said it in his heart. But how can Liangzhou do anything right? And now there is wine?
After hearing what Liu Zhang said, everyone praised him.
"That's great." "That's wonderful." "Young Master is indeed a learned man." Such voices are heard all the time.
Liu Zhang waited for the crowd's praises to subside, and bowed his hands to everyone and said: "I met you all for the first time today, and I have been wrongly loved by you. Now I have the audacity to ask you for help. I wonder if you think so?"