Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

From Mizhou to Suzhou and Hangzhou by boat, even if everything goes well, it will take more than half a month at least.

Even if they stay under the bridge for one night every time they arrive in a state, they can also freely get on and off the boat and buy goods locally, but for such a long period of time, most of them still have to spend on the boat.

In this way, it is very important to have a good traveling companion who gets along well.

It's just different from Lu Ci who only spent half a day figuring out the situation on the ship, and then began to stay in the cabin, laying salty fish to pass the time by reading, Zhu said that everything is very novel .

He was holding a small book all the time, in which he recorded in detail the prosperous towns he saw along the river.Whether it is seeing thousands of lamps and stoves gathered in the shops at the dock when passing the bridge, or hearing the hustle and bustle of silk and bamboo mixed with shouting and buying from a distance, it can inspire him to write poems and lyrics, and he writes with spirit.

He is so obsessed with energy, it is inevitable that Lu Ci, who lives in the same room with him, will feel more pressure.

Zhu said that this state of overflowing inspiration lasted for several days, and finally Lu Ci couldn't lie down in the cabin, so he simply went to the deck to see the scenery along the river, and then found someone to chat with.

Although most of the guests on this merchant ship boarded from Mizhou Port, most of them came from all over the world, and not all of them went to Suzhou, and there were many people who disembarked midway.

Lu Ci's luck was obviously good.The chat partner he selected was not only about the same age as him, but also happened to have the same destination as him.

The strange thing is that today is sunny, but he looks preoccupied and depressed.

As soon as Lu Ci thought about it, he used some tricks in his words to set out some basic information about the other party.

This man's surname is Li, his name is Xin, and he is from Suzhou. His grandfather, Li Cheng, once worked as an official in Suzhou city, and because his ancestors were rich in business for many years, he simply bought a property in the local area and later built it into a manor. There are more than 20 tenants, large and small, in total.

Such a family background is supposed to be very happy and rich.

But the good times didn't last long, one day a flood broke out in the city, and Li Cheng was ordered to pay five thousand yuan in compensation because he failed to rescue the public property in time.

Even if he had some savings, how could he get them out in one go?

Faced with this unreasonable disaster, Li Cheng had to sell everything he could sell, leaving four thousand debts. He didn't want to sell his family's manor, so he had to owe the national debt.

Owing to the national debt is not a big deal, as long as there are no continuous natural and man-made disasters, Li Cheng can pay it off in more than ten years just relying on the rent collected from the tenants.

However, Li Cheng's luck was extremely bad. In the second year, he encountered the anger of the Emperor Tai|Emperor who severely punished him for taking funds from the treasury but failing to purchase the arrow shafts needed for the war as agreed.

According to the new edict issued by the government, anyone who owes the national debt will have their land property confiscated.

Li Cheng didn't even have time to sell the manor, so he became a fish in the pond. The manor, which can be estimated to produce [-] yuan, was confiscated.

He became seriously ill in a fit of rage, and soon passed away.

Hearing this, Lu Ci couldn't help frowning: "No matter how you look at it, this is an unjust case. After so many years, it's hard to find a solution to the case now, but it's not difficult. But why didn't I think about it at the time? appeal?"

The amount of money involved is so huge, and it is true that he has been wronged. If he can make a big mess, he may not be able to keep the manor.

"At that time, the officials were furious because of those daring people who deceived their superiors and concealed their subordinates. The prefectures and counties were afraid that it would be too late, so who would stand up for me, a small official?"

Li pining said with a smile: "I don't want to frown in front of my new friends and make people hate me, but I will tell you from Lu Lang that my mother is now seriously ill, and all she wants to do is to buy back that manor. I will take all my wealth out now. There is still no hope, and there is only one attempt.”

There is another reason he didn't say clearly, that is, among the mediocre officials, Li Cheng, whose family background is so rich, is obviously secretly hated.

Don't say that he stood up for his grandfather, he was afraid that he would see someone unlucky and busy making trouble.

Lu Ci was thoughtful: "Are you sure the government has announced the bidding at the 'Worthy Place'?"

"Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, it was an old friend who specially informed me. It's very reliable." Li Xin nodded and sighed, "It's just that I heard from others that the base bid for this year is [-] guan. There are five thousand guan more."

How can he buy it back if there are more than one time?

This is just the starting price!

Li Xin felt extremely distressed.

This time he was burdened with great hope, and he brought all the money in the family. He couldn't even sleep well on the way, for fear of encountering robbers or accidentally losing it.

But what he knows very well is that this trip is probably the same as the bidding in previous years, and he is doomed to run in vain—all he has is only more than 6000 coins, which is a huge sum of money for ordinary people, but for Buying the huge manor was useless, and it was so pitiful that it didn't even have half of it.

Lu Ci was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "The last time I bought it, was it a real seal or a clear form to add money?"

Li Xin replied: "It's a statement to add money. This time, it will be replaced by a real letter of investment, alas!"

"How come no one bids?" Lu Ci pretended to be puzzled and asked again: "Could it be that the Sun, Qin, and Zhang families haven't arrived yet?"

Lu Ci was not surprised that the confiscated manor could not be auctioned off, but the government was still there, and they were not in a hurry.

After all, the prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty had no actual chiefs at all, that is, county magistrates and governors, but only magistrates and magistrates.

The governor is only in charge.

As a result, officials' sense of belonging to the place and their sense of responsibility for their positions are pitifully low.They will turn a blind eye to the backlog and show a lack of interest in the disadvantages, so it is not difficult to understand.

This time the Li Family Manor will be re-discovered for auction, thanks to the blessing of a new official.

After thinking about it for a while, Li Xin replied truthfully: "There are people sent by the Sun family, but no one with the surnames Qin and Zhang has appeared."

Therefore, the matter was of great importance to him, and he remembered almost everyone present that day clearly.

Lu Ci nodded.

It is normal that there are no people surnamed Zhang and Qin present.

Because the two surnames of Qin and Zhang are completely the two surnames made up by Lu Ci who doesn't know the situation in Suzhou.

Li Xin was suffering in his heart, and naturally he was not interested in talking, so Lu Ci didn't want to force him to talk, so he politely said goodbye for the time being after revealing the most important information.

After returning to the cabin, Lu Ci got busy.

He concentrates on writing and drawing, and is no longer influenced by Zhu's words.

But Zhu Shuo, who had just put down his pen and was immersed in the wonderful state of emptying his mind, couldn't help staring at him.

Zhu said that his thoughts were delicate, and as soon as Lu Cifu entered the door, he was keenly aware that the other party had only been out alone for a while, but when he came back, he seemed to be in a very good mood.

After hesitating for a moment, he still asked, with a slight sourness that even he didn't notice in his tone: "Brother Lu just met someone?"

"That's right." Lu Ci replied in a good mood: "Just now I was lucky enough to meet Li Langjun who originally lived in Suzhou City, and learned an interesting story. It's a pity that Brother Zhu was not there at the time, but after lunch later, Brother Zhu If you are still interested, I would like to recommend one or two for you.”

Zhu said with a muffled "oh".

He also wanted to ask a few more questions, to see what they were talking about that made Lu Ci feel so happy.

But when the words came to his lips, he was afraid that this move would be too impolite, and that it would easily arouse Lu Ci's displeasure, so after struggling for a while, he silently gave up.

Lu Ci was a little awkward about what Zhu said, so he knew nothing about it.

His whole mind at the moment is focused on what happened to Li Xin's family who were wronged and confiscated their land, and now they can only watch the manor being auctioned.

And it's not just out of sympathy for the unlucky Li Cheng or Li Xin who met by chance, but because of a glimpse of the leopard, he noticed the intention of the Sun family to write a letter to call them back.

Lu Ci didn't know much about the situation in Suzhou. The only thing he knew was that although his grandparents' family wasn't rich, they were quite wealthy.

It is perfectly normal to be attracted to the big manor once owned by Li Xin's family.

In the first auction, the bid was [-] guan.Fifteen thousand guan is the government's valuation of the farm, and it is precisely because the valuation is accurate that it is not cheap at all.

At that time, although the Sun family could barely afford it, they still wanted to wait and see.After all, according to common sense, if it fails to sell for the first time, the government will lower the price as appropriate.

In this way, maybe you can pick up a leak.

Unexpectedly, the few families with the same financial resources as the Sun family also had the same idea.

But the government let this wait for a few years, and this year, the officials who presided over the auction did the opposite, increasing the price without reducing it, abruptly raising the bid price to [-] yuan, which made these people vomit blood and became anxious stand up.

The gap of [-] guan is neither big nor small, and there must be no shortage of bidders.The bidding method of sealing the tender form is even more troublesome for them.

They were afraid that they would not be able to take the land if they went too high, and they would not be reconciled if they missed it.

The Sun family regretted not being able to take it down decisively last time, but this time they were determined to take down the manor. First they raised the money internally, and after trying to borrow it around, they still didn't feel that they were [-]% sure. , So even the married woman who was treated harshly by them did not hesitate to think about it.

Even if Lu Sun couldn't spend much in the end, it would only take a letter to write anyway, and it wouldn't delay them.

Until the last moment of the bidding, who would know whether what the widowed sister brought would be a timely help or icing on the cake?

The Sun family's wishful thinking was rattling, and Lu Ci just didn't know from whom they got the news that Lu mother's life was not bad.

But that doesn't matter right now.

Seeing that Lu Ci was lost in thought, Zhu Shuo, who had been secretly staring at him, completely gave up the idea of ​​asking again. Instead, he tiptoedly fetched the teapot and served a cup of hot soup without disturbing his thoughts.

Perhaps it can be regarded as Li Xin's great fortune that Lu Ciyin has been preparing to purchase his own real estate for the past few years, so he naturally knows the government's purchase process very well.

Because of this, when Li Xin was at his wit's end, in Lu Ci's eyes, there was still a turning point.

He quickly came up with a rough plan.

Of course, how to implement it, you have to actually go to the place, check the situation of the manor yourself, and then make detailed plans.

Lu Ci smiled slightly.

Li Xin, who only brought more than 6000 guan, which is only a fraction, is of course uncompetitive in front of this group of wealthy gentry who are bound to win.

——Unless he helps Li Xin.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Along the canal:

"Song History Geography" includes nearly 50 cities with a population of more than 10, of which 15 are located along the canal

Along the entire Grand Canal, due to the navigation and transportation of the canal, markets such as catering, accommodation, storage, transportation, commodity trading, entertainment, and footwork services have been formed, thus giving birth to countless towns.In the fifth year of Song Shenzong Xining (1072), Cheng Xun, a Japanese monk who visited the Song Dynasty, took a boat from Sizhou to Bianliang along the Grand Canal. His diary recorded in detail the prosperous towns he saw along the river, such as the boat to Zhou, staying under the bridge, Cheng Xun saw "there are tens of thousands of lights and fires in the shops on the bridge, and the sound of music and music can be heard from afar";

2. The case of Li Cheng's manor has an original case in the history of the Song Dynasty, which was adapted by me.Not detailed here.

3. Weng Weng: the grandfather

Empress: Grandmother

4. Buying: Song people called bidding "buying" and "buying".Flutter means game and competition; buy means buying, selling, and trading.Taken together, "buying" means buying and selling by bidding.

There are two main types of buying bids: the sealed bid is an anonymous bid for a sealed wooden box within a certain period of time, and the highest bidder wins; the other is the open bidding that is almost modern, and the highest bidder wins.However, because the latter is easy to arouse people's anger, some people auctioned things at too high a price, so that they lost their fortunes. Later, the Song Dynasty government stopped this auction system and only used sealed votes.