Chapter 21 Mang Zi Confidence
As we all know, if you ask people to do things first, you must play with them. Only when you play well can things be easier to handle.
And this iron law was effective even in the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, when Wang Mang arrived at Gu Yong's place, he did not directly explain his intention, but instead went to play with him first.
The ancients had very few ways of entertainment, but they still enjoyed it.
After Wang Mang and Liu Xin arrived at Gu Yong's house, they had nothing to say, so at Gu Yong's suggestion, they started playing pot throwing.
The game of throwing pots is one of the common entertainment activities of the ancients. It was popular before the Qin and Han Dynasties, especially when nobles were drinking and having fun.
Of course, there are also more exciting cockfighting and horse racing. However, Liu Xiang and Gu Yong are both long-established elegant people. Games like cockfighting and horse racing that are labeled as playboys are obviously not in line with their identities.
Symbol.
Therefore, the traditional and simple game of Touhu is naturally loved by elderly nobles such as Liu Xiang and Gu Yong.
Gu Yong said: "Today we are throwing pots for a show. Many of the ones who hit will get this beautiful jade! Those who didn't hit will drink the cup full!"
In order to enjoy the game to the fullest, Gu Yong also dedicated a piece of beautiful jade as a lucky draw.
Wang Mang and Liu Xin, as the juniors accompanying them, naturally had no objection, and both of them bowed: "Here!"
Then Gu Yong arranged for his servants to bring out the tools for throwing pots.
A round, pot-bellied lacquerware with a spout the size of a bowl was placed far away from the entrance of the main hall, about ten steps away from everyone.
After the servants had finished preparing everything, Gu Yong said with a smile: "You two will vote first."
Wang Mang and Liu Xin bowed again: "Here."
Then Wang Mang and Liu Xin made some concessions, and finally decided that Wang Mang would vote first.
Wang Mang stood at the designated position, held the feather arrow used for throwing the pot between his fingers, and carefully aimed at the mouth of the pot ten steps away. After Wang Mang shook it for a few times, he felt that it was almost done, and suddenly threw the feather arrow directly with force.
The feathered arrow drew an arc in the air, and there was a clang, and everyone laughed. As expected, the feathered arrow fell outside the mouth of the pot.
Gu Yong looked at Wang Mang and said with a smile: "Quick, quick, drink this cup."
Wang Mang smiled bitterly, returned to his seat and drank a full glass of wine.
After Wang Mang finished drinking, it was Liu Xin's turn to take action. Liu Xin got to the position of throwing the pot. He looked much more relaxed and casual than Wang Mang. He just glanced at the mouth of the pot in front of him and decisively threw the arrow.
Before Wang Mang could react, there was a crisp sound, and the feather arrow steadily entered the mouth of the pot.
As soon as Liu Xin hit the target, everyone cheered: "Good luck!"
Liu Xin smiled modestly, returned to her seat and looked at Wang Mang proudly.
Wang Mang was stunned by Liu Xin's move. With such a long distance and such a small spout, it was much more difficult than the darts played by later generations. How could he hit it with one hit?
It seems that the ordinary life of the ancients was very boring. They were so good at such a game that tests their skills and patience. It is really amazing!
After Liu Xin's proofing, Liu Xiang and Gu Yong did not lag behind. Both of them have been playing pot throwing games for a longer period of time than Wang Mang and Liu Xin.
Therefore, it is even more simple and casual for the two of them to throw pots.
As a result, in this round, only Wang Mang missed.
Then the second round began, and Wang Mang stood in the pot throwing position again. This time he learned from the failure of the last time, and also seriously studied the pot throwing skills of Liu Xin, Liu Xin, Gu Yong and others.
Therefore, Wang Mang's confidence doubled this time. After taking a deep breath and feeling certain that he would hit the target, Wang Mang threw the arrow decisively!
There was another bang, and everyone laughed happily again.
Wang Mang also smiled awkwardly. Apparently, not only did he miss, the arrow also strayed further.
At this time, Gu Yong said: "The game of throwing pots depends on your feelings. You are too nervous."
Wang Mang bowed and said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Gu, for your advice. I am humble and dull and rarely play, which makes Mr. Gu laugh."
Gu Yong and others also laughed after hearing Wang Mang's words. Isn't the game of pot throwing just about hitting or missing? If everyone can win, what fun would there be in this game?
Next, Liu Xin, Liu Xiang, Gu Yong and others voted again. This time, in addition to Liu Xin, Liu Xin and Gu Yong also missed.
Both of them followed the arrow and landed outside the mouth of the pot, sighed, and finally drank a cup.
Wang Mang looked at Liu Xin and said with a smile: "It seems that Brother Zijun is going to take the lead."
Liu Xin showed a smile on his face and said: "There are still eight arrows, it's too early for Jujun to say anything."
In the next few rounds, except for Wang Mang, the remaining people all won each other's pot.
With this round of throwing, the joy of throwing pots has entered the stage of fun for both host and guest.
Everyone had a few drinks, and the relationship between them became extremely happy and harmonious as the rounds of pot-throwing games progressed and cups of wine were drank.
By the last round, Wang Mang had drunk nine times the full amount. Although the alcohol content of the wine of the ancients was not high, Wang Mang's body was still that of this era, and his resistance to alcohol also followed the trend of this era, so
, after nine glasses of wine, Wang Mang was inevitably dizzy.
Wang Mang once again stood in the position of throwing the pot. This time, Wang Mang was drunk and his confidence doubled! He held the feather arrow and said confidently: "This arrow will definitely hit!"
After hearing Wang Mang's drunken talk, everyone laughed happily. At the same time, they were all looking forward to Wang Mang's move.
Wang Mang once again aimed at the mouth of the pot seriously, trying hard to stabilize his body and stop shaking. Finally, he raised his heart and released his strength, and the arrow flew out immediately!
Ding!
This time the voice changed. By coincidence, Wang Mang's arrow hit the mouth of the pot and entered the pot.
Seeing this scene, Wang Mang laughed and said: "I'm in the middle! I'm in the middle!"
With the sound of the ding, everyone was stunned, and then they all burst into cheers: "Cai!"
Hearing everyone's joyful laughter, Wang Mang was extremely happy, "This time I finally don't need to drink."
After Gu Yong and others heard Wang Mang's words, they smiled again. At this moment, they felt as if the arrow had been hit by them, and they were sincerely happy for Wang Mang.
Next, Liu Xin and others cast again, and finally counted the number of winning pots. As expected, Liu Xin lost three of seven and won the jackpot!
Gu Yong was also happy to keep his promise and gave Liu Xin his first prize of beautiful jade.
After Liu Xin took the beautiful jade from Gu Yong, he said, "Thank you, Mr. Gu."
After the pot throwing scene was over, the rest of the time became much more relaxed. Everyone still stayed at the table and continued to chat about other topics.
At this time, Wang Mang also began to express his intentions.
After resting for a while, Wang Mang's drunkenness dissipated a lot. Wang Mang bowed to Gu Yong and said, "Mr. Gu, Mang has something to offer to Mr. Gu. I hope Mr. Gu will accept it."
In fact, Gu Yong already knew what Wang Mang was going to offer, and Liu Xiang had already told him when he arrived early in the morning.
Therefore, Gu Yong did not refuse at this moment and asked Wang Mang to offer it.
Wang Mang waved to the servant who was waiting outside the hall holding toilet paper. After the servant saw Wang Mang's signal, he immediately leaned down and lowered his head, walked into the hall in small steps, and placed the toilet paper next to Wang Mang.
Wang Mang held up the toilet paper again and said: "Mr. Gu, this is called clean and soft paper. It can be used for daily household use. It is not only convenient and versatile, but also low in value. It is suitable for storage by young officials. It can be used to give places and collect money for servants."
Treasury. Please take a look at it, Mr. Gu."
Gu Yong looked at the clean and soft paper Wang Mang was holding, and curiously stretched out his hand to touch it, feeling the beauty of this paper.
After Gu Yong put these papers in his hands and tried the cleaning and water-absorbing effect of the paper, Gu Yong's eyes lit up.
As an official of the Shaofu of the Han Dynasty, he controlled the wealth gathering and expenditure of the Han Dynasty. His sensitivity to property was higher than anyone else. He understood the advantages and disadvantages of this paper as soon as he tried it.
If the Shaofu can really obtain this wonderful thing and spread it across the country, although the benefits obtained will not be as good as that of salt and iron, the advantage of this thing is that it is easy to consume and sell quickly, and it will definitely be able to gather more financial resources for the Shaofu!
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This is a great achievement for Gu Yong! It is a step for him to go further!
Chapter completed!