As the most upright official in the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng was really a man of integrity. Apart from the rewards and salary from the court, he had no income, but he had to support the entire Wei family, and his life was not comfortable.
Fortunately, Fang Xuanling's order was not exaggerated.
If Fang Xuanling lets go, it will undoubtedly make Wei Zheng's poor life even worse.
"well!"
"well!"
When the waiter who served the food went down, Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling looked at each other and sighed in unison.
Fang Xuanling asked: "Master Wei, you must be looking for me because of Du He's gift of money, right?"
Wei Zheng nodded: "I feel that Du He's gift of money to us is probably related to the articles the two of us wrote at the Laiguo Duke's Mansion."
"It's not a probability, it's a certainty. Don't you know? Du He sent me four hundred guan, which is 100 guan more than you. The reason is that I wrote twenty articles, and you wrote There are sixteen chapters." Fang Xuanling explained.
Wei Zheng asked: "Du He, this guy, is famous for his money, he only gets in but not out. Now that he is giving me money, I feel uneasy..."
"Me too!"
"What should I do?"
Fang Xuanling rolled her eyes: "How about we return the money?"
Wei Zheng shook his head: "I know Du He's temper. No one can stop what he wants to do. I'm afraid it will be easy for us to collect the money, but it will not be easy to send it back."
Fang Xuanling nodded with deep understanding.
The two of them sighed.
"Master Wei, I respect you!"
"Master Fang, three more drinks!"
The only way to relieve worries is Du Kang.
After going back and forth, the two of them got drunk.
…
Early in the morning.
A new day has begun in Chang'an City.
Several scholars from Yangzhou walked out of Pingkangfang and were about to return to the inn where they lived. Suddenly they heard someone discussing on the roadside.
"The new books sold by Datang Bookstore cost a lot of money."
"What kind of book is so expensive?"
"I heard it was a book written by the imperial censor and prime minister of the dynasty!"
"It's impossible. The imperial censor is Mr. Wei, and the prime ministers are Prime Minister Du and Prime Minister Fang. How could they do such a dirty thing to make money?"
Several scholars became interested and asked the people discussing where the Tang Dynasty Study House was.
Those people explained that Datang Study was in Hu County, and if you wanted to buy books, there were many bookstores in the city selling books from Datang Study.
Several scholars hurried to the nearest bookstore.
Far away, I saw a long queue forming at the door of the bookstore.
On the roof of the bookstore, a huge piece of paper hangs.
It says:
"On Politics"
Wei Zheng, the imperial censor at that time, and Fang Xuanling, the prime minister, co-authored it, all based on personal experience.
Recommended by Manchu Wenwu!
If you don’t read it, you will regret it for the rest of your life!
The way to be an official, the way to study, and the way to be a human being are all in it.
Are you still worried about the strategy for the scientific examination? The imperial censor and the prime minister will teach you how to make the strategy step by step.
Do you want to witness the elegance of the most powerful man in the Tang Dynasty?
Do you want to know how to enter and exit the general phase?
Do you want to know how the imperial censor spends his day?
…
There was a huge piece of paper hanging over it. There were a lot of words, and they were extremely exaggerated. They were all written in vernacular. Even illiterate people would know what they meant when they heard others read them.
Several scholars from Yangzhou were dumbfounded.
Is this...selling books?
It's simply unheard of and unseen.
Someone said: "You don't know something about this. This "Argument" was printed by Datang Study. Datang Study belongs to the Dream Group, and the Dream Group belongs to Prince Consort Du. It is difficult to understand that others do such things. But if it’s Prince Consort Du, there’s nothing surprising about it.”
After hearing this, several scholars hurriedly queued up, saying that they must buy a copy of "Argument", otherwise their trip would be in vain.
…
Wei Mansion.
door.
There was a short, fat hawker, carrying a box on his back. Dozens of people gathered around him, three floors outside and three floors inside.
They are all from the Wei Mansion.
There are relatives of Wei Zheng.
There are servants from the Wei family.
The hawker held a book of "Argument" in his hand and said eloquently: "Everyone, you have to think clearly... Half of the articles in this book were written by Mr. Wei, and Mr. Wei is the master of the Wei Mansion. Think about it carefully. , you have worked in the house for many years, why are you not seen as a steward, why are you not appreciated by Mr. Wei, and also, Mr. Wei's relatives, why does he control you very strictly and prevent you from going out to do business..."
His words were echoed by many people.
"Yeah, why?"
The vendor smiled slightly: "Now, your opportunity has come. As long as you buy this book, go back and study it carefully, you will be able to understand what Mr. Wei is thinking. The most important thing is that Mr. Wei sees that you all bought the book. , I will naturally be happy in my heart, and when I am happy, I might even look at you favorably."
The first person to be tempted was the cook of Wei Mansion. He couldn't even write his own name. He hurriedly asked: "How much does it cost? I want to buy a copy and go back and read it carefully."
The hawker held out two fingers: "Two pieces of money."
"Liangguan? Isn't it the same everywhere else?" Someone asked.
The hawker spoke eloquently: "That's wrong. Others can buy it for one thousand dollars. It's better for you to buy it for two dollars. Books have a price, but Master Wei's articles can't be measured by Kaiyuan Tongbao. You spend two dollars to buy them." Now, Mr. Wei, it’s not too late to be happy after hearing this.”
The cook nodded: "That makes sense, I want two copies."
"I want one!"
"I also want!"
For a time, everyone was excited.
In a short time, all the books in the hawker's box were sold out and replaced by a box full of money.
He looked at his father's door and said with a smile: "Huama Du and Young Master Fang are right. The most important thing about sales is to mobilize people's needs."
After saying that, he carried the box and walked away.
…
Inside the Wei Mansion.
backyard.
Wei Zheng opened his eyes and realized that it was already the afternoon of the next day.
He rubbed his head and couldn't help but said: "Drinking will cause trouble!"
He walked out of the house.
Only to find that the butler had been waiting for a long time.
Wei Zheng asked: "How do you feel about what I asked you to inquire about yesterday?"
The butler replied: "Master, I have already inquired about it. The money sent by Datang Study Room yesterday had a strange name. It was said to be the master's royalties... Today, Datang Study House has printed a batch of books called "On Politics" contains articles written by Master Fang and Mr. Fang. I heard there are thirty-six articles in total, and they have been sold throughout Chang'an."
Wei Zheng suddenly realized.
No wonder Du He wanted to give money.
This guy is actually making money from my articles.
It's really insulting to gentlemen.
However, I can accept that money with peace of mind.
Wei Zheng thought to himself, if he had known this, he would not have invited Mr. Fang to dinner.
Thinking that he had just earned 300 yuan, he was in a good mood.
The housekeeper asked: "Master, are you not angry?"
Wei Zheng said with a smile: "What's there to be angry about? Although Du He's actions are insulting to politeness, through Datang Study, more people can see my articles, so why not? Go and have a look! "
When the housekeeper saw Wei Zheng's smile, he felt uneasy in his heart.