Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 126 Touching small hands requires extra money
It's better now that Lao Zhu is in charge, but when the court became corrupted in the late Ming Dynasty, not to mention, the Jiaofang Division gradually became a tool for officials to enjoy themselves.

But this is not the end of the Ming Dynasty. With Lao Zhu here, these dog officials don't dare to be too presumptuous. When they heard Li Wei's words, Mao didn't... Bah!Mao Buquan was also afraid and had to let go.

Several other officials who were heckled at the scene also stopped their movements under the table and behaved themselves.

"Humph, you can do it, you can, just wait!" Mao Buquan glared at him fiercely, stood up and left.

There's no advantage anyway, and there's no point in just listening to plain music here.

However, before he could go out, Li Wei took a step forward and stopped him with his hand.

"What else do you want to do?" Mao Buquan stopped and glared at him and asked.

"You gave me the money and then left? Just hand over the money and then leave!"

Li Wei raised his head and pointed his nose at him and asked.

"Money? What money?"

"Of course it's money for listening to the music. How can you just listen to the music without paying for it? Come get the money!"

"you!"

Mao Buquan pointed his finger at him, and his face turned red with anger. He didn't expect that he was so unlucky that he took the time to come to Jiaofangsi to listen to music, and met such a stupid young man.

As an official of the Ministry of Etiquette, he is Li Wei's immediate boss. If he comes here to listen to music, even if Li Wei doesn't welcome him respectfully, he shouldn't contradict him like this. This is too unruly!

"I am the head of the Etiquette Department! Etiquette Department!"

Mao Buquan gritted his teeth and emphasized again, hoping that he would understand that he was his immediate boss and not be too disrespectful!

"Oh, even if you are the Minister of Rites, you still have to pay me today!"

Li Wei didn't give in at all. It was a joke. The head of the Etiquette Department was nothing. According to his ideas, even if Lao Zhu came, he couldn't listen to it in vain. The money he should give couldn't be less!

Mao Buquan was furious and yelled at him: "How much?!"

A good man does not suffer immediate losses, and the same applies to being an official. If you give the money upfront today, you will get back double the money tomorrow!

Li Wei paused for a moment. He didn't know how much he should charge, so he turned to look at the musicians on the side and asked, "How much did you charge before?"

At this time, the musicians, like the musicians, saw their new Shangguan quarreling with this high-ranking official of the Ministry of Etiquette, and they were so frightened that they became silent and did not dare to speak out.

Li Wei raised his voice and asked again, and the musician lowered his head tremblingly and replied: "Ten... ten cents?"

"Huh? So little?"

Li Wei's eyes widened in surprise. With such a small amount of money, could he support people like Jiaofangsi?

The musicians looked bitter and felt bitter in their hearts. Of course ten cents was not enough to support people like them, but if the officials who came to listen to the music paid according to the rules and they sang more, they could still have something to eat.

But these officials don't even give them this little money. They rely on their power to force prostitutes for free, which makes their lives even more difficult.

Li Wei didn't care about this, turned to Mao Buquan and said: "Fifty coins!"

"What? Why?"

Mao Buquan opened his eyes wide and asked angrily.

"If you touch someone's little hand, you have to pay extra!" Li Wei said matter-of-factly. Just listening to the music is the same price, so it's only natural that you'll pay extra for touching someone's hand!
"I didn't touch it! If you don't believe me, ask her!"

Mao Buquan directly denied it, and as he spoke, he turned to glare at the little girl. She was so frightened that she quickly lowered her head, trembling slightly and not daring to speak.

When Li Wei saw this, he didn't ask her. He stretched out his hand and said, "Okay, I haven't touched a hundred coins, so give me the money!"

Mao Buquan looked at him in disbelief: "Why did you ask for a hundred coins instead of touching it?"

"If you don't touch it, I won't go and play with you. Isn't it worth a hundred coins?"

"You, you are blackmailing!"

Li Wei sneered: "You didn't touch it, why should I blackmail you? By the way, did you touch it?"

Mao Buquan's face changed. He understood clearly that if he didn't give the money today, this thief would not let him leave like this. If he left by force and turned around, he would definitely be impeached. If he really caused trouble to His Majesty, then Trouble.

After hesitating for a moment, he still chose to give in temporarily and deal with this stupid young man later.

"Okay, I didn't touch it, I'll give you a hundred cents!"

Mao Buquan took out a hundred-dollar banknote from his sleeve, slapped it hard on Li Wei's hand, then snorted, tossed his sleeve and left.

“Welcome to visit us next time!”

Li Wei proudly put away the treasure banknotes, and did not forget to shout at Mao Buquan.

After Mao Buquan left, several other officials also stood up and prepared to leave.Due to the lessons learned from the past, these officials did not hesitate anymore. They all paid the money honestly and did not fight with this stupid young man.

After a while, the musician standing next to him collected a few bucks of money, which he had never dared to imagine before, but at this time, he couldn't be happy at all because the money was too hot.

Even though Li Wei is proud to have collected so much money now, the officials in charge of the Ministry of Etiquette will come looking for trouble in the next day.

Li Wei is different from them. Anyway, he thinks that the money collected is reasonable, and he will be justified in whoever comes!
Li Wei casually handed the hundred coins in his hand to the musician, and then Li Wei asked him to take him and continue walking inside.

Arriving at the back hall, the musicians informed the stewards of the Jiaofang Department and they all came to pay homage to the newly appointed chief.

The musician prepared a chair for Li Wei, and everyone else gathered together to stand, but Li Wei didn't sit down because his buttocks were injured, so he just stood in front of everyone.

"The lower official is paying homage to your lord. The lower official is Feng Jingchun, the deputy envoy of the Jiaofang Division. These two are the left and right Shaowu, and these two are the left and right Sile."

Feng Jingchun, who was standing in front, introduced them one by one, and the two men and two women behind him immediately followed and saluted: "Meet your Excellency."

There are two women, Shao Wu, and a man, Si Le. Five of them, including Feng Jingchun, were all promoted in Lehu. Only Li Wei was the ambassador who was demoted from above.

Li Wei looked at the people in front of him and couldn't help but be disappointed.

Except for the five people in front of them, the other maidens of the temple all wore monotonous soap-colored dresses. Although they were quite pretty and pleasant, their faces were sallow and thin due to malnutrition. They were not as charming as he imagined. Miss Jiaofangsi is very different.

Speaking of which, this is a rule set by Zhu Yuanzhang, the housekeeper. Female musicians are not allowed to wear red or purple, and can only wear soap-colored clothes. Male musicians are even worse. They have to wear a green scarf on their head, which is the prototype of the legendary cuckold. .

Because of the rule that good men and bad men cannot intermarry, these male musicians often marry these female musicians nearby. And the female musicians, even those who sell their skills but not their bodies, have a bad reputation. Wearing green ornaments gradually evolved into what later generations meant.

"Hey, the artistic development of Ming Dynasty still has a long way to go!"

Li Wei couldn't help but sigh in his heart, it seems that he can't eat ready-made food, he still has to spend a lot of effort to train these female musicians... Bah!Cultivate yourself into a great artist.

Just work harder, it's all for art!

Li Wei cheered up and said: "Hello everyone, I am your new chief officer Li Wei. I know that everyone's life was very difficult before, but now that I am here, this situation will change! Food! There will be money, and there will be money. As long as everyone works hard, I will definitely lead everyone to live a good life, and make our Jiaofang Division a true art palace of the Ming Dynasty!"

Li Wei was drawing cakes and shouting slogans at the same time. He clenched his fists and raised his hands when he got excited. Unfortunately, these people's reaction was mediocre.

Everyone looked at the newly appointed ambassador and was stunned. They didn't know what art was and what was not. They just hoped that the new chief official would be more honest and not bully them too much.

Li Wei glanced awkwardly, and Feng Jingchun quickly said: "Sir Li, what you said is so good, we will definitely follow your teachings!"

"We will definitely follow your instructions!"

A group of men and women followed, and the leader spoke. It didn't matter what he said, as long as it was right.

"Uh, hehe..."

Li Wei laughed awkwardly twice and slowly lowered his excitedly raised hand.

It seems that without a few practical moves, these people will not believe him.

After thinking about it, Li Wei asked everyone to retreat, leaving Feng Jingchun alone.

Li Wei got straight to the point and asked: "Deputy Ambassador Feng, I'm new here. Please give me a general introduction to the Jiaofang Division."

Feng Jingchun bowed his head and said yes, and said respectfully: "Our Jiaofang Division currently has more than [-] musicians, including more than [-] female musicians and less than [-] male musicians. In addition, we manage [-] music households..."

Feng Jingchun introduced it in detail.

The Jiaofangsi itself now has about [-] musicians. Its main job is to be responsible for the dance and music performances of the outer dynasties, both elegant and popular. It also cooperates with some large-scale sacrificial activities in Taichang Temple, and the inner court sometimes calls the Jiaofangsi to participate. Palace performance.

There is a bell and drum department in the inner court, which is headed by eunuchs. However, these people are also taught by the Jiaofangsi. Sometimes the Jiaofangsi who perform better will be transferred there.

The main source of income of Jiaofangsi is the rewards from various performances. In addition, officials usually come to listen to music, but most of them rely on their power to force prostitution for free, unless an official is happy and occasionally gives a tip.

This is not the worst thing. The worst thing is that even if they manage to earn some rewards, they will be asked back by the officials of the Ministry of Rites in the name of management fees. No wonder people like Jiaofangsi look miserable and malnourished.

In addition to these, the Jiaofang Division also has jurisdiction over more than a dozen brothels, responsible for managing the happy households, that is, prostitutes, teaching dance music and collecting taxes. These brothels are real government-run brothels.

However, the official camp belongs to the official camp, but it is not used to receive officials. On the contrary, officials are prohibited from entering and only merchants and common people are received.

These brothels are quite profitable, but the money is only for looking at, and they can't keep a penny.

Li Wei frowned and said nothing after listening. In the final analysis, it is still a question of money. Now the Jiaofang Secretary can't get rid of the pot. He can't even eat enough. He doesn't even have the money to buy new clothes for the young ladies, let alone development. Art!

Poverty is the main obstacle to the development of art!

In fact, it’s not like the Jiaofangsi can’t make money, just like those officials who prostitute themselves for free, all of them are in debt!
Li Wei thought about it, and it seemed that the first thing he did when he took office was to collect the account!

　Will update another chapter later this afternoon

　　
　
(End of this chapter)