Section 10: Fen Wine or Apricot Blossom Village

  Bai Minghe bowed deeply to Jin Jie, who was stunned.

  A small eunuch, often slapped in the face, kicked and despised by scholars. Especially after his adoptive father was put under house arrest, he had a hard time taking a step in the palace, but surprisingly, a scholar gave him a big gift.

  It is only the gentleman who will die for one he has known.

  Similarly, Jin Jie, a young eunuch who hadn't read many books and only heard some stories, also learned from Bai Minghe's qualifications and bowed deeply. He said, "Even if I'm beaten to death by Grandfather's stick, I'll still hand it over."

  Jin Jie is going all out.

  "I know that as an official, you always have some means to get things done. Help me obtain the land deed. Don't worry if you're not well-read; this thing can at least help you advance one level in your position. But be cautious and don't seek quick gains. Only when the Emperor is in a good mood will your strategy be rewarded. Remember the situations I told you about, as well as the countermeasures for each situation."

  Bai Minghe carefully explained while organizing the plan book.

  Jin Jie carefully put away the things written by Bai Minghe, then urged the carriage to hurry up and get on the road. From here to the capital, there are still 130 miles. If nothing else goes wrong along the way, we can deliver the wine to the capital by tomorrow noon.

  Looking at Jin Jie's back, Bai Minghe muttered to himself: "Wealth and honor are in danger."

  Although Bai Menghu was confident in his heart, he was also quite nervous. He had already learned from Lord Lu that this emperor was newly enthroned and that the status of civil officials and scholars was extremely high in the Great Ming Dynasty, so Bai Menghu was also afraid of being beheaded.

  What's even more tense is that this Jin Jie and himself were strangers who had only met once, so would he really be able to help him?

  However, Lu Zhengqiu's words that Ming had a million eunuchs made Bai Menghua deeply believe that the power of eunuchs should not be underestimated.

  As they spoke, Jin Jie left and Bai Minghe rode his donkey back to Xiaquan Village.

  On the road, Sun Hu asked: "Brother-in-law, you are a scholar-official, how can you get along with your father-in-law. I haven't read books, but I've heard that this name is not very good."

  "Who said that?" Bai Minghe asked slowly with his eyes closed.

  "Is this what storytellers are like?" Sun Hu said with a full tone.

  Bai Minghe sneered, "You don't understand. Besides, can those storytellers really explain the troubles of these eight miles and thirty-two villages? So, don't think that what they say is necessarily correct. Remember, only what I, Bai Minghe from Guanzhong, say is reliable. Don't mention today's events to anyone when you go back, I'll teach you some skills later."

  Sun Hu thought for a moment, and it seemed to be reasonable too.

  The storyteller can't solve the troubles of these 32 villages, and even County Magistrate can't solve them. Only our Master Sun can solve them. Whose skill is greater? It's obvious!

  Bai Minghe didn't mention the matter between him and Jin Jie to anyone, this matter except for Sun Hu won't be known by anyone else. The relationship between scholars and eunuchs is taboo in itself.

  Back in Xiaguang Village, Bai Minghe didn't even enter his own home, but instead went straight to the Sun Clan Ancestral Hall.

  Of course, Sun Yuanjun was invited to come, writing such a great thing, naturally it is handed over to professional personnel to complete.

  "To the eight village heads, the first task is to gather manpower to cut wood, dig kilns and burn pottery! The pottery pipes are four feet long and one foot in diameter. Each section must have a sealed design, and we need eighty sections of flexible pottery pipes that can be bent. The location for cutting wood and burning pottery is at the mountain pass of Xiaguang Village, four miles into the mountains."

  "Husband, no need to explain how to use it?" Sun Yuanjun asked after finishing writing.

  "Even if I explained it to them, they wouldn't understand. It's just as well that we can also test whether they are truly willing to work together with us to solve this problem. This time, let's take note of the efforts made by each village. In the future, I will ensure that these 32 villages have an annual income of 1,000 taels!"

  Bai Minghe was confident, and Sun Jia's old man naturally had nothing to say, unconditionally supporting him, because this was his own brother-in-law.

  Sun Yuanjun wrote it well and checked it again. The signature was directly written as "Bai Sunshi's substitute brush", the reason for the substitute brush being that Bai Minghe had injured his hand and could not hold a pen.

  The next morning, each village sent a total of 800 young and strong men and 100 robust women. There were also 200 stones of grain, which was the sincerity given by each village. The robust women cooked in Xiaquan Village, and the young and strong men went to work in the mountains.

  The old hunter stood at the mountain pass, claiming to be Bai Fu, a steward of the White family.

  Bai Minghe had originally intended to direct them, but he didn't expect that this mysterious Bai Fu would arrange these people in an orderly manner and give orders in a well-organized way. A good commander can increase efficiency several times over.

  That night, the first batch of gunpowder for opening up the mountain had been delivered.

  Bai Fu took over and arranged for reliable members of Sun's clan to guard him day and night, while the others continued to cut wood and burn pottery.

  As for the two of them, Jin Jie brought the wine into the capital and completed his task.

  After returning to his residence, Jin Jie had calmed down, but in his heart, he was still pondering over Bai Minghe's words.

  This crane is a scholar, and it's a scholar who can see the value of eunuchs. Just because of this, Jin Jie has gained a few more points of trust in his heart, and this matter is a win-win situation, absolutely a good thing.

  It's just that one's own position is too low, and there are three possibilities to meet the emperor. The worst one is to encounter the emperor on the road that the emperor must take, but this risk is too great, in case the emperor is in a bad mood at the time, one can be beaten with sticks for obstructing the emperor's carriage, or even disabled, so this is not a feasible method.

  A better way is to get a trusted and powerful eunuch in the palace to help you out.

  This is a good idea, but for now, his adoptive father Jin Ying is under house arrest, and there are not many people who can help him. However, he can still visit his adoptive father and ask him to come up with an idea.

  The last one is the current opportunity.

  I brought back the wine on a windy and snowy day, as one of the over 100 eunuchs with a rank in the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty among more than 5,000 eunuchs. The unwritten rule is that if the emperor of the Ming Dynasty tasted the wine I bought in these few days, I would have an opportunity to present the wine to the emperor in person.

  This opportunity is a tacit rule that if the Ming emperor is pleased, he may give some rewards.

  Unless someone deliberately sabotages him, he won't miss this opportunity for reward and praise.

  Jin Ge was sitting in his own house, letting the little eunuch bring hot water to wash his legs. As he was lost in thought, he heard someone outside calling him, saying that the emperor had heard that the Quanjia Village's spring wine had arrived and asked for some to be warmed up and sent in.

  Jin Jie kicked over the bucket of hot water at once.

  That lowly eunuch was about to come over and assist, but was kicked aside by Jin Jie: "Stay there!"

  Quickly tidy up your clothes, hold the brocade box wrapped in a quilt, and run with your head down. At this time, the 23-year-old Emperor Da Ming was drinking with his concubines, talking about some romantic affairs, and he was in an extremely good mood.

  Jin Jie had once heard his adoptive father, Jin Ying, say that when great heroes, ambitious scholars, famous ministers and generals did things, they naturally received heavenly assistance. At this moment, Jin Jie felt that Bai Minghe was destined to be a great figure, otherwise why would he have the opportunity to meet the Emperor as soon as he returned?

  Originally thought that being able to see each other within three days was already a blessing.

  Wine was served, and on the dragon throne sat Zhu Qizhen, who was only 23 years old this year. As the emperor, he naturally had his own ambitions. At present, domestically, there were three top scholars in the imperial court, including Shang Lu. Internationally, there was Yu Qian, the Minister of War, who guarded the capital. The Ming dynasty was stable at home and abroad, with a trend of prosperity!

  When the emperor came this year, he cleared up Wang Zhen's party wings and struck down the evil disease of eunuchs in power. He appointed virtuous ministers, and the government was clean and clear. It was a time to unfold his grand plan, and naturally, he was full of vigor and spirit.

  Finishing his wine, Zhu Qiyan smiled: "Wine from Fen, but Xinghua Village is still better!"

  The eunuch in charge of the ceremony shouted from the side: "Wine vinegar face frame Jin Jiecai has made a contribution, reward."

  It was also Zhu Qiyin's good mood that at this time, someone would casually give some rewards and consider it a done deal. In Jin Jie's eyes, this was the help of heaven for the big man.

  Because of the dignified Emperor of Great Ming, Zhu Qizhen surprisingly opened his mouth and said: "The errand was handled quite well, what reward do you want?"

  What an opportunity! This is probably the best chance.

  Jin Jie didn't dare to speak, and knelt down to kowtow nine times, his forehead bleeding. Zhu Qizhen watched this with narrowed eyes, still smiling on his face. He must be seeking something, and since he's in a good mood today, he'll just consider it a small favor.

  Just as Zhu Qiyin was thinking, he saw Jin Jie take out the thick stack of paper from his arms and hold it high above his head.

  Jin Jie was trembling, he couldn't help but be afraid, if the emperor was not pleased, he would lose his current position. But amidst the fear, there was more excitement, he believed that this thing could bring him an opportunity for promotion.

  Once Grandpa Huang is happy, he will be promoted from the 8th rank to the 9th rank.

  Zhu Qiyan was stunned, staring at the thick stack of paper in a daze. What did this little eunuch want to do? The music from the silk and bamboo instruments nearby also stopped at this moment, and several concubines also ceased their chatter. The scene before them was truly too bizarre.

  Zhu Qiyu thought for a moment, since he was the emperor and had already spoken to let this little eunuch choose a reward for himself, then it would be better to take a look at it. If it didn't make him happy, he could just dismiss him without punishment. Thinking of this, he signaled the small eunuchs in the palace to bring the thing over.

  Ordinary paper, charcoal-written words

  It's neither an eight-legged essay nor a policy theory, but rather like everyday conversation.

  This passage is spoken with great logic and a clear hierarchy, one by one, as if afraid that the reader would not understand, with detailed explanations in many places.

  After reading the first few pages, Zhu Qiyu's face changed and became serious, putting down the wine cup in his hand. He had someone bring a large candle closer, bowing his head to quickly scan page after page, each page with about 60 or 70 words, this thick stack was probably no less than 3,000 or 4,000 words.

  He flipped through more than 20 pages in one breath, and Zhu Qiyu was no longer calm, suddenly slapping the table with force.

  At this point, the eunuch in charge of the imperial household immediately shouted: "Take this little beast away!"

  This shout scared Jin Jie so much that he almost shit and pissed himself, and nearly fainted.