The First Yamen of the Great Song Dynasty

The popularity of Taihu stone has a lot to do with Hua Shigang's bad reputation.

The reason is that Zhu Xi took all the benefits himself, and the people who donated the stones were not only out of luck, but were exploited instead, which led to complaints.

However, Gao Ming did not exploit the people, but benefited those who really donated stones, so he won unprecedented support.

The Taihu stone beauty pageant and the "Story of Taihu stone and I" essay competition complement each other.

Because there is no limit to the content and subject matter, Gao Ming found that the content of the manuscript was a perverted accusation of Zhu Miao's evil deeds of extortion and extortion.

It is equivalent to another form of apology.

For example, "The story between me and Taihu Stone is full of blood and blood, and Zhu Xi ruined my family." Content like this appears frequently.

However, Gao Ming silently put away all such content.

There are new articles posted on the bulletin board every day, but due to time constraints, from the first article to five or even ten articles every day.

Around this bulletin board, many things happened.

For example, a scholar with a fragile heart hears that his writing is not very good and he should not be shortlisted. He is so excited that he wants to jump into the river and is stopped by his friends.

However, some articles were so well written that everyone quietly suspected that a certain literary big glove had entered the competition, and there was a lot of discussion about it.

The bulletin board has always been very lively, and there is no need for Gao Ming to worry about the traffic.

-

Before the official registration, Gao Ming, considering that it was inconvenient to carry the stone, asked the people from Yingfeng Bureau to come and register. As long as the stone met the competition requirements, he would register.

The people in the bureau did not dare not listen to Gao Ming's words, but they all made up their minds in their hearts to be passive and sabotage their work. If they could complete the registration in one day, they would give him ten days to grind.

"My official has decided that if you register five people before the end of the month, you will be paid one and a half times the monthly salary, and if you register ten, you will be paid three times the monthly salary, and so on." Gao Ming threw it again. Come out with big decisions.

In the Yingfeng Bureau, those who can eat and get cards are those with power at the top, and most of the errands at the grassroots level are still paid. After hearing Gao Ming's words, some showed excitement on the spot and were eager to try, and some showed disinterest and indifference of.

As a result, the next day, everyone found that those who were indifferent were not far behind, and even brazenly attacked the "clients" of their colleagues.

Sometimes, even when someone just arrived at Yingfeng Bureau and said that he wanted to register for the competition, two small officials got up at the same time and wanted to go with him.

Soon, the registration work will be done.

On Gao Ming's side, he formally met with Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng.

When the three of them met, they couldn't help but think, so it was you.

Gao Ming looked at Li Qingzhao in a complicated mood. It was you who gave us so many "dictionary writing and reciting the full text" almost 1000 years later.

Now he can think of Li Qingzhao like a conditioned reflex, named Yi'an Layman.

Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng also looked at Gao Ming, so you are Gao Yanei, younger than you imagined.

Gao Ming first bowed his hands to Li Qingzhao and said, "I have admired him for a long time."

These four words are not abrupt, because Li Qingzhao has already become famous at this time, and can be called one of the female traffic in the Song Dynasty cultural circle.

Li Qingzhao was not restrained, and said to Gao Ming: "When my husband and I were in Qingzhou, we heard about Mr. Gao's deeds. We can see him today, and his reputation is indeed well-deserved. Mr. Gao can turn decay into magic. Now the Taihu Stone in Hangzhou City is not for everyone. Talking about it has turned into an ominous thing, and it has become a treasure that everyone is scrambling for. This is the new situation Mr. Gao mentioned in his letter."

Gao Ming said with a smile: "When I wrote to you, it was actually just an idea. I don't know if it can be successfully implemented in Hangzhou City, and the current situation can be achieved, thanks to the cooperation of the people." After speaking, he said to the couple: "The patronage is talking, hurry up and take your seat."

The couple politely let Gao Ming sit first before taking their seats.

Zhao Mingcheng had a good impression of Gao Ming, because he seemed to have no pretensions, "Master Gao, I heard people on the road that the Taihu stone beauty pageant is priced by experts. That's why you invited my wife here Bar."

Gao Ming nodded, and said with a wry smile: "I did plan this way, but now I find that there are not enough experts. Do you know any friends? You can ask him to help, and I will pay for it. The jury is currently planned to consist of five people. There are former officials in charge of Huashi Gang, a senior businessman who specializes in selling Taihu stones, and an ordinary citizen, and the rest is you, Mr. Yi An, so there is still one spot left."

Li Qingzhao heard this, and said with a smile: "Then can we not avoid relatives?" He said, looking at her husband.

In Li Qingzhao's eyes, her husband's talent and learning are quite good, and it is no problem to select a Taihu stone.

Zhao Mingcheng had concerns, "I've been appointed as the general judge in Hangzhou, I'm afraid..."

Gao Ming didn't think there was anything wrong, "It's the job of every yamen in Hangzhou to buy flowers and stones for officials. Besides, you all agree on your talents and learning, and Layman Yi An said so."

Just listen to your wife.

Seeing his wife's eyes full of support for him, Zhao Mingcheng smiled and agreed.

It was just after the talk, Gao Ming was in a good mood, "You guys are here, the stone in my heart has finally landed. If you don't mind, I have prepared bouillon, and I invite you two to show your respect. By the way, I brought Shoumei from Tokyo. , shall we have a taste?"

Li Qingzhao's eyes lit up, "Is it from Fengle Building?"

Fenglelou's self-brewed wine, she hadn't drunk it since she left Tokyo and moved to Qingzhou.

Gao Ming smiled and nodded, "That's right, you also like drinking?"

Zhao Mingcheng laughed as soon as he heard it, Mr. Gao really doesn't know, her wife not only likes to drink Fenglelou's Shoumei, she also likes to taste other good wines in Tokyo, and has a deep research on all kinds of wines.

Li Qingzhao nodded, followed Gao Ming to the back hall of Yingfeng Bureau, and chatted about the famous home-brewed wines of various restaurants in Tokyo on the way, and suddenly felt that the distance was much closer.

"I think Qianchunlou's fairy wine is delicious, but the quality of his home is not stable. Sometimes it is good, and sometimes it is slightly sour."

Li Qingzhao said with a smile: "So his house hasn't been improved yet? It was like this when I left."

Talking and laughing, they entered the back hall where the food and wine were prepared, and sat down one after another to taste the wine and eat the food.

Gao Ming opened up the chatter box, and said with a smile, "I heard that Lay Yi An not only fills in the words well, but also has research on playing horse cards? It just so happens that I recently got a game similar to playing horse cards. I wonder if you are interested?"

Li Qingzhao likes to drink and gamble, but these two things are popular in this dynasty, and they are regarded as popular favorites.

But it turns out that smart people are professional in everything they do.

After Li Qingzhao traveled to the South, she summed up her gambling experience in the first half of her life, and wrote a professional book "Horse Playing Tujing" introducing various gambling games.

Introduced in detail the various gambling games she had played, no less than dozens of them, and commented on them one by one.

She is more fond of playing horse cards, which has many changes. In addition to luck, she also has certain skills.

The way of playing horse cards is very similar to the mahjong of later generations.

Moreover, Li Qingzhao claimed in her book "Da Ma Tu Jing", "Yu Xing likes to be rich, and those who are so-called rich are obsessed with it, and they forget to sleep and eat day and night. But it's just a person who can't make progress with the number of people in his life."

At the end of the day, I like to gamble, no matter what kind of gambling I am addicted to, I don’t eat or sleep to play, but I play around, no matter how much I gamble in my life, I always win, why, because I play OK.

So facing such a high-end player, before Li Qingzhao came, Gao Ming asked someone to make a mahjong according to his design, and introduced it to Li Qingzhao at the wine table.

Gao Ming and Li Qingzhao couldn't be literary friends, so it might be a good choice to be poker friends.

Of course Li Qingzhao was interested, "Is it a new game? How is it different from playing horse cards?"

Gao Ming asked someone to bring up the mahjong box and opened it for Li Qing to take care of. "The playing method is similar to playing horse cards. You can learn it as soon as you hear it. There are four participants, and one is indispensable. If one is missing, the game cannot be played. As for the playing method, it is Such……"

The way of playing mahjong varies from place to place. Gao Ming introduced a style that he is familiar with. As for the other styles, he believed that Li Qingzhao would develop them himself.

Li Qingzhao, as a person who has deep research on various gambling methods, knows it as soon as he hears it, and already understands that it is more fun than horse cards and has more changes.

Seeing his wife looking at the mahjong tiles with great interest, Zhao Mingcheng knew that he would definitely not sleep tonight and would play all night.

The husband and wife have similar hobbies. Although he is not as addictive as his wife, he also likes to play a few games. "If you want four people to play, add me."

Gao Ming said: "Counting me, there is still one missing, but people are easy to find, ask my followers to join in, and play two rounds in a while."

After eating, I found a table, spread a blanket, and started rubbing hemp.

Three missing one, Gao Ming called Shi Qian over, and sat down to play cards together.

After shuffling the cards, everyone drew their own cards.

In the first round, Gao Ming gave a demonstration and answered questions. After everyone understood, the second round started with everyone playing their own cards.

Gao Ming felt that the current scene was very magical.

To describe it in one sentence, it is: I played mahjong with Li Qingzhao in ancient times...

Li Qingzhao asked Gao Ming with a smile while counting the tiles, "Master Gao, where did you learn how to play mahjong? It is indeed much more fun than horse tiles."

"This will be kept secret, but I also learned it from others." Gao Ming said with a smile, "Who should play cards?"

Shi Qian stared at the expressions of these three people, and then he shot eight shots, and then he heard Li Qingzhao say: "It's made!"

Shi Qian scratched his forehead vigorously, and pushed the cards, "Forgive me, my lord, I can't play anymore, if I play again, I'm afraid I won't be able to bear the old problem."

If he continued to play, he would resort to his stealth skills to cheat.

Gao Ming nodded, "That's fine, you go outside the door and ask someone to come in."

Shi Qian went out, and not long after, someone was sent in.

This person is also Gao Ming's subordinate, he usually likes to play poker, when he saw this poker game, he sat down quickly, learned it after a few strokes, and joined the rubbing.

Shi Qian watched from the side, looked at Gao Ming's card for a while, shook his head, looked at Li Qingzhao's card for a while, nodded slightly, then looked at Zhao Mingcheng's card, frowned, and finally closed the card for his colleagues My eyes are so bad I can't watch it.

In the third watch, Gao Ming couldn't hold on any longer, "Let's stop here today, I have to rest." Then he looked at the energetic Li Qingzhao, and he had to sigh, "Okay, let's do it again."

It was the fourth watch after this dozen, Gao Ming said again: "Go to sleep."

Li Qingzhao persuaded with a smile: "It will be dawn soon, why not sleep overnight."

Zhao Mingcheng tried his best to straighten his eyes, "Yes, Mr. Gao."

"Okay then. Don't regret it, I will win all your money in this last lap."

While shuffling the cards, Li Qingzhao smiled without saying a word.

It was dawn, Gao Ming's hair was heavy, the soles of his feet were fluttering, he walked out of the chess and card room with an empty money bag, returned to his room, and threw his head on the bed.

There is only one thought, never play mahjong with Li Qingzhao again.

-

The most beautiful Taihu stone competition was held as scheduled.

With his rich experience, Gao Ming can get twice the result with half the effort in organizing and organizing the competition.

Tickets are still required to enter the venue, because Taihu Stone is big, and there is no need to buy stepped seats, and it can be seen clearly from a distance.

Many people bought tickets to come in simply to watch the excitement, and just wanted to see what the royal family loved so much about the stone.

However, the stones on the stage are all covered with red cloth, and the selection has not started, so you can't see what it looks like.

It was a hot spot, and at the beginning it was a speech by the parties involved in "The Story of Taihu Stone and Me".

An old scholar told how he fled back from Fangla's ruled area, which can be described as thrilling, and everyone listened with gusto.

"Fang La is really bad, Hangzhou is better." Someone expressed a simple sigh.

"Hush—the experts are here."

"Eh? Why is there a woman?"

"I heard it's a poetess? I don't know."

Some people don't understand, but some people understand Li Qingzhao's status very well. As a loyal supporter, they gave them a blank look, "If you don't understand, just shut up and understand!"

"Hey, talk about me, what do you care about me?" A quarrel was about to start, but at this time, an important person appeared on the stage in front of him, and it was none other than Zhu Xie's younger brother Zhu Xu.

As his brother's right-hand man, he often rushes to the front line of extortion and extortion, and many people know him.

Everyone didn't dare to speak loudly, and instead murmured, "Why is he here?"

However, in terms of choosing Taihu stones, whoever has the most experience should be Zhu Xi, but Zhu Xu is not bad either.

The reason why he came to be a judge was because Gao Ming told him that he would set a price for the Taihu Stone based on the average score of the judges.

This is a good opportunity to trip Gao Ming, how could their family miss it.

It was difficult for Zhu Xi to show his face, so he sent his younger brother to show up.

Besides Zhu Xu, Li Qingzhao and his wife, there was also a businessman dumping Taihu stones, and an... audience.

This audience was randomly generated, and the people who were selected were dumbfounded, "I don't know what kind of rock I am, I just came in to watch the fun, you choose someone else."

Seeing that he didn't go up, some people in the crowd were eager to try, and hurriedly raised their hands, "I'll come, I'll come!"

"Then you come up."

This move made the audience whisper, "Is this possible, so rash? Who is going up to estimate the price?"

Zhu Xu sneered in his heart, this is obviously nonsense, a cat or a dog can come to estimate the price, isn't this purely waiting for a joke.

Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng didn't quite understand Gao Ming's actions, were they too hasty?

Originally Gao Ming said he was an ordinary person, and thought he was the kind of scholar who had done his own research but was not well-known, but who knows, this is simply a random passer-by.

However, all the judges were selected, and the official opening began.

The host introduced several judges one by one, and when he introduced Lay Yi An, he heard women's screams coming from below.

Gao Ming took a look, it turned out that they were the singers from the Qinlou Chuguan, who disguised themselves as men to watch the fun, but unexpectedly saw the famous lyricist Yi Anjushi, who was able to meet idols, so naturally he didn't care so much, he was happy shouted.

Li Qingzhao's lyrics are quite popular, and if she doesn't know how to sing her lyrics, there are only two words: outdated; three words: no taste.

Of course, more people know that her and her husband's talents are not limited to this, so they said loudly: "I have a jade at home, can you help me appreciate it?"

"My house has them too, please help me take a look."

Someone nearby shouted: "The appreciation fee is 100 million guan, and you can't get it out? Don't interrupt! Then yell at the people from the Feng Bureau to fork it out for you."

Seeing the not-so-friendly officials around him, he didn't dare to interrupt him anymore.

After the host introduced everything that should be introduced, he said, "Then, let's take a look at the first stone for the election, the West Lake beauty presented by Li Jiayuanzi."

The host took down the tarpaulin, and everyone saw that the stone was riddled with holes, tall and slender, and looked like a beautiful woman standing and bowing her head at first glance.

The standard of Taihu stone is "thin wrinkled and leaky".

This stone is perfect in all three points, but it is almost "wrinkled". The curvature of the folds is not very natural, and there are faults.

In the end, Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng sold 17 guan and the other 18 guan, while the Taihu Stone merchant sold 13 guan, which is in line with the businessman's usual style of lowering prices.

But when everyone saw the price of Zhu Xi and the audience, they couldn't help being uproarious.

Because what Zhu Xu gave was 100 million guan, and the audience who was selected just now was guan.

Isn't this purely a disturbance?

Unexpectedly, the host saw it, but smiled calmly and said: "Now the price is out, remove the highest price of 100 million guan, remove the lowest price of guan, keep the middle price of the three, and the final price is 16 guan."

Everyone was startled, especially Zhu Xu, who glared at Gao Ming, only to see Gao Ming curl his lips at him with a smirk.

As if to say, stupid?Didn't expect that?

The audience didn't expect to deal with it like this, but then they suddenly realized, "That's right, this is only fair, so as not to cause trouble. By the way, the troublemaker above, hurry up and replace me, I am more fair than him."

There was no need for officials to drive them out, and the troublemakers were coaxed down by the audience.

As for Zhu Xu, if it wasn't for his family's influence, he might have coaxed him too. Because he didn't dare to speak out, everyone at the scene looked at him coldly.

Zhu Xu had never seen so many stares before, and his bid just now was directly ruled out, so he immediately quit, "Master Gao, I feel dizzy and want to go home."

Originally, the Zhu family's reputation was not very good, but now that they failed to make trouble and had to run away, the people at the scene gave Zhu Xu another look.

Don't dare to curse, roll your eyes and no one cares.

Zhu Xu "ran away" amid all kinds of supercilious looks.

Li Qingzhao and his wife also understood that after removing the highest estimate and the lowest estimate, it was their couple who played the leading role.

Zhu Xu ran away, and Gao Ming took his place, "He's gone, so let me be the judge."

Anyway, the highest price and the lowest price will be removed, and the prices of Li Qingzhao and his wife will not differ too much, so the median is guaranteed to the greatest extent.

As for the audience, it doesn't matter whether they make trouble or not. Let them participate to ensure the fun and avoid no one buying tickets.

In fact, Gao Ming had expected that Zhu Xu would abstain halfway through, and he was here to sabotage, and when he found that the sabotage was impossible, he would definitely leave.

Therefore, Gao Ming had already made preparations. As one of the organizers, he had already grasped the inside story, and he knew the approximate price of which stone.

-

As soon as Zhu Xu got home, he complained to his elder brother and told him what happened just now. He thought his elder brother would help him scold Gao Ming, but unexpectedly, his elder brother sighed at him, "You have fallen into the hands of the villain Gao Ming." trap."

"what?"

"Originally, I said I was sick and didn't want to be a judge. It's not good to say it. You ran away, but he became a judge instead. How will he write about it in the official memorial?"

A layer of cold sweat dripped from Zhu Xu's forehead, "Gao Ming would say that our family deliberately did not contribute to the official's Hua Shigang, and he became a loyal minister who did his best."

Zhu Xi nodded with a solemn expression. The current situation looks like the Zhu family doesn't bother with the official's Hua Shigang and makes excuses.

Zhu Xu worried: "Brother, what should we do now?"

"Forget it, let's ask Gao Ming to make a fuss. He will leave soon, and Hangzhou is still our world. Let's not do anything for now, so as not to make too many mistakes." Zhu Xi said: "He is just a cloud that floats over and falls a little. It’s just rain, sooner or later it will drift away.”

Zhu Miao completely ignored Gao Ming, because he really didn't know what move he would make next, and he only prayed that he would finish his tossing quickly and go back to where he came from.

Thanks to Zhu Xi's good wishes, the selection of the most beautiful Taihu stones at Gao Ming's side is in full swing.

Gao Ming found that many successful people are full of energy, such as Li Qingzhao, who often stays up late at night rubbing hemp and works as a judge during the day, just like a normal person.

He couldn't stand it any longer, he had withdrawn from Li Qingzhao's circle of poker friends, and only played a game occasionally.

At this time, he received a reply from Huarong.

The letter is very short, just four lines.

"We have sent troops to Runzhou, and we think we can attack Fangla's lair by the end of the year. You should purchase Huashigang in Hangzhou, and the most important thing is to settle this embarrassment."

"Is this gone?" Gao Ming scanned the letter over and over several times, and made sure it was just these four lines.

There were two important pieces of information in the letter. Huarong and the others had already left Nanjing and sent troops to Runzhou. Also, he knew he was in Hangzhou.

Indeed, it is impossible for him not to know that he has made such a big noise in Hangzhou.

Gao Ming guessed that the reason why he spoke so coldly in the letter was that he was afraid that others would open it and peek at it. After all, Hangzhou was the territory of the Zhu family.

Suddenly, Gao Ming seemed to have noticed something was wrong, he scanned the beginning of each sentence one by one, contacted to read it again.

I miss you.

Gao Ming's face became hot, and he quickly closed the letter. He looked around and made sure that there was no one there, so he picked it up again, and read it again as if to verify.

Confirming that he was not dazzled, he snorted and said, "Hua Rong, Hua Rong, you have learned this too."

Wait a minute, are you thinking too much?Huarong didn't realize this at all when he wrote it, it was just a coincidence.

But is it such a coincidence?

No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a coincidence, and the last sentence "the most important thing to settle this embarrassment" seems to be forced together.

After Gao Ming's repeated demonstrations, the final conclusion is: Hua Rong understands what he is writing, and it is definitely not a coincidence.

"Really, even if he misses himself, what's the big deal." Gao Ming muttered, stuffing the letter back into the envelope.

The number of times he and Huarong expressed their miss to each other bluntly before, there were eight times if not ten times.

Hey, it's not worth the fuss at all.

Putting the letter away, Gao Ming went out to be a judge at the Taihu Stone Competition.

When the people around waited for him to walk over, they all couldn't help asking: "Is there any happy event for Mr. Gao today? You look so good?"

"Maybe it was praised by the officials."

-

Gao Ming was figuring out how to reply to Hua Rong's letter, and muttered to himself under the lamp, "Why don't you write him an acrostic poem... er... flower... flower... Forget it, let's write something ordinary and express it directly. Chest is the best."

Gao Ming couldn't hold back the acronym, so he gave up readily, without even struggling.

Pick up a pen and write on the paper, "Everything is fine for me in Hangzhou, maybe it's God's blessing..."

After thinking about it, I felt that the writing was not good, so I rolled up the paper and threw it away.

Just as he was closing his eyes and speaking, there was a sudden burst of chaotic footsteps outside the door, followed by Shi Qian's panicked knock on the door, "My lord, it's not good."

"Come in!" When Shi Qian came in, Gao Ming asked calmly, "What's wrong? How bad is it?"

Generally, the most fearful thing about running a competition is that the participating items will be stolen, but the tonnage of the Taihu Stone is so large that it is impossible to steal it, and it is related to the officials, unless they are crazy, they come to destroy it.

Shi Qian was visibly anxious, and wiped the sweat off his face: "The prefect of Hangzhou asked for an interview. He said that Fang Tian was going to lead people to attack Hangzhou City, and they will be there soon. He told you to evacuate immediately."

Gao Ming's scalp went numb for an instant, "Fang Tianding? Fang La's son?"

"It should be. It is said that they have brought a lot of people, and the enemy army is about to arrive. The magistrate told you to leave quickly, and you will not be able to leave when you are surrounded."

Gao Ming's heart skipped a beat, and the imperial army set off to attack Fang La's hometown, Runzhou. Fang La took a surprise turn and sent troops to attack Hangzhou.