A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 972 Ruining the place

Chang'an,

Pingkangfang, Fanlou.

The first month of the tenth year of Zhenguan was especially lively, with lights and colorful decorations everywhere, especially in Pingkangfang. Every Caimen restaurant was packed with guests.

The blond and blue-eyed Persians, Fulin, Franks, Goths and other barbarians are also the Sogdian Hu merchants from the nine surnames of Zhaowu in the river, as well as the Turks who have long been common in Chang'an, as well as the Kunlun people from the South China Sea, and the great people of the Western Regions. Cannibals, Dongyi from the Haidong countries.

Fan Lou is now known as one of the top ten restaurants in Chang'an.
Those who come to Beijing from out of town must come and experience it if they have the conditions.

In the New Year, in addition to the barbarian envoys and Hu merchants from all over the world, Chang'an also had a large number of local officials who came to Beijing to gather information, as well as students and scholars who came to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination, and now more and more candidates.

According to the new system of the imperial court, those who are selected and awarded will be met in Mengdong every year for thirty days. The candidates go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for selection, and the selection is divided into Chang'an and Luoyang. They go to the province from October 1st to March 30th. Every year, these candidates go to the two capitals for selection, which is very lively. moon.

Tens of thousands of candidates,

The team of these candidate officials is very large, including civil and military tributes, students from the two halls, students from the Imperial College, three guards, prison chiefs, marriage officials, accountants, etc., many people compete for one official.

Those who are eligible to be candidates must have a minimum status of a foreign official or a government student. These people have good spending power.

Chaoji envoys began to leave Beijing and return one after another in February. It would not be until March, when the selection process was over, that the whole of Chang'an would slowly return to normal.

Just sat down,
Then a young woman came in with a group of girls, all of them were young and beautiful, each with their own characteristics, they looked like they were rich, but there was no trace of affluence.

A group of young people came to the third floor and entered the elegantly decorated Tianzi Pavilion.

Of course, consumption is also very expensive. There are more than 300 kinds of wine in Fanlou. A drink of top-notch famous wine costs 10,000 yuan, and a drinking competition of 3,000 yuan is not enough to make the top ten.

"I made a reservation for the Tianzihao Pavilion on the third floor."

Starting from October, Fan Lou has to book in advance, otherwise there will be no seats at all.

"Young master, it's easy to understand. The wine we brew at Fan Lou is of the highest quality, no matter the grape varieties selected, or the color, aroma, and taste."

"Brother Li has some connections. He can get up to the Tianzi Pavilion on the third floor of the west building of Fan Tower."

It's a bit better than those girls in Pingkangfang Nanqu who only perform arts.

From October to March, for half the year, Chang'an will be very lively. Various restaurants and other entertainment venues are also in peak season, especially during the New Year month. It is like robbing money. Many Chang'an people can rely on Make money by renting out your house or doing some business.

Downstairs, the hall, courtyard, door, bed and horse path are accessible to the common people, while the elegant rooms and pavilions upstairs are for high-end consumption.

The famous princes and rich men went upstairs to sing, dance and have fun, which was called mountain climbing.

These eight wine bottles are treasures.

"What would you like to drink, Master?"

Tianzi Pavilion's low-end spending costs 180,000 yuan a night. This is a high-end game, so the girls accompanying the banquet on the third floor are all carefully selected. Not only do they have to be good-looking, but the key is to be good at communication.

The people who came to attend Mr. Zheng’s wine bureau today were all Mr. Zheng’s buddies. None of them had ever seen the world, but they were still surprised when they saw these eight bottles of wine.

Sure enough, there are eight different colors.

Another said, "Everyone, during the New Year period, it is difficult to find a room in the entire Fan Tower."

"The eight-color wine that the young master mentioned is the best and most expensive wine in our family. The name of the wine is Chang'an,"

Eight bottles in total,
Packed in a crystal clear bottle, you can clearly see the different colors of the wine in the bottle.

Mr. Zheng asked everyone to choose a girl.

"Can you order drinks?"

"That's natural," Wu Gong once said in a poem. "Looking at the green duck's head in the Han River from a distance, it's just like the first fermentation of grapes."

The five three-story Fan Buildings integrate eating, drinking, playing, entertainment and shopping. The West Building, the largest among the five buildings, has high, medium and low-end dining tables. The whole building can accommodate 500 tourists at a time. Drink and dine.

"Isn't wine all red? How come you have eight colors?"

For many people who come here for the first time, especially those from out of town, it is like entering a fairy palace by mistake.

There are banquet girls in the corridors who are ready to be summoned, commonly known as flower-ordering cards.

Mr. Zheng said, "I remember that your Fan Lou wine is made from mare's milk grapes from your own vineyard. The best wine among them is said to be a series of eight colors?"

The waiter was secretly surprised by the wealth of this young man. The Tianzihao Pavilion on the third floor of the West Building of Fan Tower is the most expensive private room. It must be reserved at least half a month in advance. In fact, if you don't have a good relationship, you can't make a reservation.

The first batch of selected candidates begins to go to the province in October, which is also the time when local officials from prefectures and prefectures come to Beijing to gather in court. It is also at this time that envoys from all directions come to Beijing one after another.
After the Zhengdan Dachao meeting, there is the imperial examination in February. Although not many people are admitted, such as the Jinshi subject, generally only ten, twenty, twenty or thirty are admitted, but with the addition of Ming Jing, Ming Dharma, Ming Su and other subjects, they are still occasionally held. In the Xiucai Department, there are still thousands or more students and tributes coming to Beijing every year.

"A few days ago, I asked someone to book a loft, and I couldn't book a loft in the west building. Let alone a loft on the third floor, I couldn't even book a loft on the second floor."

"This wine bottle is so crystal clear. Is it a glass bottle, a jade bottle, or a crystal bottle?"

The leader, a young man, said to the waiter who came up to him, "Take the best girl and let my friends order flower cards."

"Two jars of the best wine first."

The minimum purchase here is 188 guan.

A group of richly dressed young men went straight to the west building.

"That's natural,"

Green, red, white, gold...

"Gentlemen, these are the most talented girls in our Fan House. They all possess unique skills and are proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting."

The wine will be delivered soon,

"This is a glass wine bottle, which is more transparent and precious than a glass bottle. Each piece is a work of art made by a master."

"Open the wine." Mr. Zheng felt very proud when he saw the surprised expressions of all the young men, even though it was actually the first time for him to see the wine and the bottle.

"Gentlemen, this wine comes in eight colors and is sold in a set of eight bottles. Each bottle contains one liter of wine."

Mr. Zheng was a little dissatisfied with the beautiful woman, "Are you afraid that I can't afford a few bottles of wine?"

"Young Master misunderstood," the woman said with a charming smile.

But the price of this wine is really expensive. A bottle costs 10,000 yuan, and a set of eight bottles costs 80,000 yuan. Moreover, the bottles cannot be taken away.

Mr. Zheng was actually a little shocked when he heard about the 10,000 yuan a bottle.
People say that ten dollars for a fight of wine is already extremely expensive, but your bottle of wine, which only costs one liter, costs ten thousand dollars.

You can't even take a wine bottle with you.

"I quite like this wine bottle. I'll buy it for how much."

"Normally, it is not for sale. If the young master really likes it, the glass wine bottle is worth eight thousand, and the young master can keep it as a souvenir."

A group of young men have become a little numb.

These families are known as the Five Surnames and the Seven Sects, and they all belong to aristocratic families that have been in the family for hundreds of years. No one is a big landowner. Not to mention that all of them are wealthy, but they are certainly not short of money. No matter how much Fan Lou sells the gold cave, they can still afford it.

But a wine bottle costs 8,000, a bottle of wine costs 10,000, and the bottle and wine cost 18,000?
This always feels like being ripped off.

It’s not that I can’t afford it, it’s just that it’s a bit ruthless.

But when I think about it, a night of shopping here costs 180,000 yuan, and suddenly it feels normal.

But some people can't help but make a calculation in their hearts. Although their family has a lot of land, a bushel of rice in Chang'an is only sold for five yuan now. Even if an acre of land can produce two stones of rice, it will only cost one hundred yuan at most. In fact, if you want to produce two shi of rice, you have to harvest at least three shi of rice.

And these three stones also require a lot of labor and other costs.
Even if calculated in other aspects, a piece of silk is now worth only 200 yuan, a cattle is worth only five pieces of silk, and an ordinary walking horse is only worth about 2,000 yuan.

A bottle of wine costs 10,000, and a bottle costs another 8,000.

How much rice does this cost, or how many cows and horses is it worth?
It is worthy of the famous Gold Selling Cave in Chang'an.

But Mr. Zheng is a direct descendant of the Zheng family in Xingyang. How can this year's imperial examination candidates be looked down upon by other princes of the same family with the same fifth surname?

"One more group. I want the glass bottles from both groups. I will give two to each of my friends as souvenirs later. There are exactly eight of us, two for each of us."

"Thank you, Brother Zheng,"

"Xie Dalang, I will break wintersweet branches and put them in this glass vase later. I will put them in the study. It will be very elegant."

The cork at the mouth of the glass bottle is opened,

The wine is poured into the same crystal clear tall glass,

Several gentlemen couldn’t wait to taste it.
They have all drank wine, but they have never drank a bottle of 18,000 bottles.

This bottle has one liter, and you can take at most twenty mouthfuls. Then one mouthful is worth at least fifty yuan, and one mouthful is one stone of rice. If you include the bottle, one mouthful is worth two stone of rice.

For ordinary people, these two stones of rice would be enough for a family to eat for a month.

"This green wine tastes really good,"

"This golden one tastes good too,"

The eight young masters expressed their admiration and even began to write poems and praise it.

"Have you heard that the clan chronicles have been compiled?" said a young man from the Zhengzhou Fang of the Cui family in Qinghe.

The tall and lanky young master, who was born in the Li family of Zhao County, said, "The imperial clan has been compiling the clan chronicles for several years. Instead of asking my uncle to take charge, Gao Shilian and Cen Wenwen were placed in charge. It's inhumane."

Mr. Zhao's great-uncle Li Shousu was once one of the eighteen bachelors of the Prince of Qin's Palace. He served as an agent for Cao Cao of the Tiance Palace to join the army. However, his most powerful skill was that he was good at genealogy, and he was known as the meat genealogy.

Within and outside the Manchu Dynasty, only Li Yan, the governor of Weizhou, could compare with him in genealogy.

But the imperial court asked Gao Shilian and others to take charge of compiling the clan chronicles.

"I guess Prime Minister Gao and the others just rearranged the names according to the previous county surnames."

These young masters all come from five surnames and seven clans. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, they have all had county surnames. They are high-ranking families. No matter how they revise their genealogies, their families will always be high-ranking.

Not that anyone took this matter to heart.

"I heard the news that this newly compiled clan annals is different. It contains 293 surnames and 1,651 families, divided into nine levels.

The royal family is the first, followed by the concubines, then the three princes, the prince's young master, the first rank, the left and right servants, and then the second rank civil and military ministers, the prime ministers involved in political affairs." Mr. Cui picked up the glass and took a big sip, a little dissatisfied. He said, "We Shandong nobles have been severely suppressed this time.
There are forty-four families in five surnames, seven clans, and the one at the top is Cui Qian, the second family member of Boling Cui family."

"Boling County Duke Cui Qian, the governor of Songzhou, is he ranked second?" Master Zheng asked.

Mr. Cui shook his head.

"Cui Qian is ranked third, and he is still at the end of the third class."

"We have five surnames and seven families, most of them are in the fourth and fifth grades."

"Ah? How is this possible? In terms of family status, who can be higher than our Shandong nobles? The six surnames of Guanlong or the major noble families of Jiangnan and Daibei?"

"No, it's not them who are weighing on us."

"This time, the clan annals compiled by the imperial court are based on officials, instead of determining the family rank based on the previous county rank, only based on the official title of the current dynasty.

Do you know that the samurai Yu who used to sell wood was actually ranked first class?

As for his nephew Wu Huaiyu, who was born as a Taoist priest, his ancestors were either sheep sellers or tofu sellers for several generations. His results were also first-class, and he was ranked very high, only behind the royal family, the third empress' family, and the second queen. "

"There is also Ma Zhou. He also comes from a poor family. He used to be just a poor scholar. Now he is ranked second as the Prime Minister and Duke."

Mr. Zheng was stunned.
"Do you have this clan chronicle in your hand?"

"There is a manuscript, but I didn't take it with me."

"Then do you know the rank of my family?" Mr. Zheng asked.

The name of Mr. Zheng is Zheng Chongsi. His grandfather, Zheng Shanguo, was the son of Zheng Cheng, Duke of Kaifeng in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. In the Sui Dynasty, he served as Duke of Wude and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Later, he returned to the Tang Dynasty. He was promoted to Crown Prince Zuo Shuzi and was granted the title of Duke of Xingyang. He was appointed Minister of Dali Temple in charge of the school. He also serves as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

He almost entered the central government as prime minister, but unfortunately Jiancheng died in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Jiancheng's crown princess, Zheng Guanyin, was from their Xingyang Zheng family. Because the Zheng family supported Jiancheng at the beginning, the two brothers Zheng Shanguo and Zheng Yuanzhen, who were in the court of the Zheng family during the Zhenguan period, were demoted.
In the third year of Zhenguan, Zheng Shanguo died of illness while serving as the governor of Jiangzhou.

Zheng Chongsi's grandmother came from the daughter of Cui Yanmu, the Duke of Dongjun in Zhengzhoufang of Cui family in Qinghe.

Due to being implicated by Jiancheng, the Zheng family has been in decline over the years. Zheng Shanguo was demoted several times and finally died of illness before taking up the post of governor of Jiangzhou. His father was also implicated and is now only the magistrate of Wuxi County.

He, the eldest son of the Zheng family, could only take part in the imperial examination, hoping to become an official through the Ming Dynasty.

Mr. Cui looked at Zheng Dalang and said, "Your family, the Qin family, is ranked ninth in the clan annals and is at the bottom."

Zheng Chongsi's energy and blood surged, and his face turned red.

"What, my family has been a prominent official for generations, and the house with the surname Zheng in Xingyang among seven dignified families with five surnames is actually ranked at the bottom?"

"Your great-uncle Zheng Yuanxuan's family is ranked third and last."

But Zheng Chongsi still couldn't accept it.

His family is the direct descendant of the clan and has the surname Fang.

"How did you make this up? Are you making it up?" Zheng Chongsi was angry. "My family has been ranked last in the county for hundreds of years, but the tofu and wood seller can be ranked first?"

"I, the Zheng family, are ashamed to be included in this clan annals, and ashamed to be listed with those people."

The more he scolded Zheng Chongsi, the angrier he became, "It's a shame that I came to his Wu family's Fanlou to have a banquet in the pavilion. I would be so angry that he would kill me."

Mr. Zheng flipped the table angrily and started making a fuss.

He felt that his family was ranked at the bottom of the ninth class, but the Wu family was ranked first. This must be the fault of the Wu family's treacherous villain. He even thought that the Wu family had robbed his family of their position.

He was so angry that he didn't care, and started smashing the private room in the attic.

How can seven families with five surnames tolerate such cowardice?
Is the Taiyuan martial arts family worthy?
(End of this chapter)