Han Du took a few steps forward and bowed in front of this man.
"Your Majesty, Han Du, has met with you."
He is of the seventh rank, but he is only of the eighth rank. In terms of official position, it is not wrong for Han Du to address him as Lord Zhou County Magistrate.
Of course this is just a general situation.
Han Du is a Beijing official, and the Baochao Promotion Department used to be directly under the Zhongshu Province. It can be said to be an agency under the direct control of the emperor. Although the rank is not high, it is extremely powerful. Although the Zhongshu Province was later abolished and the Baochao Promotion Department was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, it was still an yamen under the direct control of the Ministry of Revenue, and its power was still not low.
As the saying goes, when officials from the capital go out to the third level, what's more, those who inspect the censors are only in the seventh rank. When they go to the local level, even the third-rank officials must obey them.
There is that shameless third-grade official who calls himself a subordinate to these seventh-grade inspection censors.
Therefore, if Han Du wants to put on airs and be equal to or superior to County Magistrate Zhou, Magistrate Zhou has no choice but to show his displeasure.
It's just that Han Du wanted to ask for the Zhou County Magistrate today, so naturally he would not look down on him in a domineering manner, but would treat him according to normal grades.
County Magistrate Zhou was surprised when he heard this.
First, he was surprised by Han Du's youth. Originally, Han Du and Xiong Shi were standing together, and he thought Xiong Shi was Han Du. After all, Xiong Shi is much older than Han Du in terms of age, and is more likely to be the chief officer. But he never expected that the person in front of him who was about the same age as his son was Han Du, the chief official of the Treasure Note Promotion Department and the eighth-level official.
"This Han Du is too young, he looks no more than fifteen or sixteen years old." County Magistrate Zhou couldn't help but murmured in his heart.
Second, he was surprised that Han Du was so polite to him. As mentioned before, Beijing officials are at the third level of Beijing University. This is not only a folk rumor, but an unwritten rule formed in the officialdom. Even if Zhou County magistrate Di belongs to Yingtian Mansion in the capital, it is a good idea for a yamen chief like Han Du to at least treat him as an equal, not to mention being higher than him. But he didn't expect that Han Du would lower his attitude so low.
"Lord Han, you are serious, you are serious..." County Magistrate Zhou quickly supported Han Du, who was bowing and saluting. He did not want to really accept Han Du's courtesy, lest others say he was arrogant.
However, Magistrate Zhou was still very happy that Han Du could lower his attitude towards him.
The two held each other's hands, chatting and laughing all the way to Magistrate Zhou's study behind the county office.
The maid serves fragrant tea.
Magistrate Zhou picked up the tea cup and motioned to Han Du, "Master Han, please have some tea."
"Please." Han Du responded politely and took a sip.
"Mr. Han is really young and promising. I don't know when Mr. Han took up the post of Baochao Lisi. I remember that the previous one was Mr. Li. Of course, if Mr. Han thinks that I am presumptuous, don't say anything. No problem." Magistrate Zhou asked curiously.
Han Du smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Zhou is serious." Han Du paused, "Thanks to the emperor for not giving up, I just took office a few days ago. The former Mr. Li has been promoted and left."
"Oh, that's it. Thank you Mr. Han for clarifying my doubts," County Magistrate Zhou saw that Han Du really didn't mind, and he relaxed a little more when he spoke, without the restraint he had just now.
He asked again, "Seeing that Mr. Han has served as the chief officer of a department at a young age, he must be a scholar."
"Yes, the lower official is the person who has been elected in the thirteen years." Han Du answered all questions.
"Mr. Han is actually still promoting people?" The county magistrate was really surprised this week. Originally, when he saw that Han Du was the chief officer of the treasure bank promotion department at a young age, he thought he had come from someone else's family. Really? He had never thought that Han Du would be a member of the Juren family. He originally thought that Han Du was the son of a prince from that family in the capital.
In the eyes of County Magistrate Zhou, there was no way he would even consider such a lucrative job as the Baochao Licensing Department without sufficient strength. Just like him, although he is the seventh-rank county magistrate, he still needs someone to support him if he wants to hold the official position of treasure banknote promotion department, the eighth-rank official.
For a moment, Magistrate Zhou was shocked and could not recover.
Han Du looked calm and drank tea silently.
After County Magistrate Zhou came to his senses, he smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sorry, I'm so disrespectful. I didn't expect Master Han to be famous for his achievements at such a young age." He sighed and continued to ask, "Since Master Han is so talented, , Your Excellency, why don’t you wait until you are named on the gold medal list, and then become an official after being a Jinshi in high school? Why rush? Your Excellency, do you know that there is a huge difference between the background of a Juren and the background of a Jinshi..."
Magistrate Zhou couldn't help feeling sorry for Han Du.
It's a pity, it's such a pity. Han Du was able to pass the examination at a young age, and it would not be surprising if he would be a high school Jinshi next year. Even if there is no high school next year, even if it takes another three years, it will not be a loss.
As the saying goes, a Jinshi at the age of fifty.
This means that even if you are a Jinshi at the age of fifty, you are still considered a young person among the Jinshi.
Of course, the actual situation is not so exaggerated. Moreover, it is the year of Hongwu, and the world has just emerged from the war less than 20 years ago. The difficulty of getting a Jinshi is not that high, and the content of the exam is not like the later imperial examinations that required Zhu Neo-Confucianism, but the content is relatively Very broad.
And how old is Han Du now? Even if he had to wait three years to pass the Jinshi exam, he would still be under twenty years old.
The Jinshi, who was less than twenty years old, was also a man of extraordinary splendor, capable of astonishing everyone.
Therefore, Magistrate Zhou felt sorry for Han Du.
Han Du didn't care. If he hadn't come out to be an official, he might have died by now, and there would still be time for him to pass the Jinshi exam.
Of course, there was no need for Han Du to explain these details to County Magistrate Zhou.
He simply said, "The Emperor's holy will cannot be violated." Then he removed it.
"It turns out that Lord Han is Jane in the emperor's heart. No wonder, no wonder." Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhou was even more shocked and couldn't even maintain the expression on his face. He quickly picked up the tea cup and drank tea to cover up.
"However, even if Mr. Han is in the heart of the emperor, compared with his background as a Jinshi, he is still at a disadvantage," County Magistrate Zhou couldn't help but sigh again, "If Mr. Han can be the number one scholar in high school, maybe a few decades later, then The position of left and right prime minister..."
When County Magistrate Zhou said this, he suddenly closed his mouth and said apologetically to Han Du: "I made a mistake, I made a mistake..."
Han Du drank tea calmly, as if he had not heard what Magistrate Zhou said just now.
Seeing this, County Magistrate Zhou showed a trace of gratitude on his face. He quickly changed the subject and asked, "By the way, I wonder why Mr. Han came to see me today?"
"Oh, it's a personal matter of the lower official." Han Du took the words and told Magistrate Zhou of his intention to buy some land.
"It turns out that Mr. Han wants to buy some land. It's easy." Magistrate Zhou agreed without any hesitation. He raised his head and shouted outside the study, "Come here and ask the county magistrate to bring you the fish scale atlas."
The county magistrate came with a fish scale album with a smile on his face.
"I've met the county magistrate, I've met...this gentleman."
Han Du nodded to the county magistrate, which was considered a greeting.
Magistrate Zhou took the fish scale album, placed it on the coffee table between him and Han Du, spread it out, and showed it to Han Du.
"Master Han, please look at this. This is the fish scale atlas of this county. All the fertile fields and land in the county are on it. I wonder, sir, how much do you need to buy that fertile land?"
Since the founding of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang has always allowed the people to recuperate and recuperate, and even encouraged them to reclaim wasteland. For wasteland reclaimed by the common people, a policy of tax exemption ranging from three to five years is implemented.
Therefore, when the population was not too large in the early Ming Dynasty, the supply of land was always relatively sufficient, and the people were willing to sell the reclaimed land to the government. Therefore, the land price at this time is actually not high.
On the contrary, the government is not very willing to buy land from the people, because even if it buys the land, it still needs people to cultivate it. Therefore, more often than not, the government exists as a witness when people sell land, that is, it serves as a link between the people who buy the land and the people who sell the land.
Han Du looked at the fish scale album carefully, corresponding to the signs in it, and quickly found the barren mountains he wanted.
"Here, here, here, and here. That's it. Mr. Zhou, let's see how much it would cost to sell it to me."
Magistrate Zhou looked at the places that Han Du had touched with his fingers, looked at Han Du in surprise, and reminded him with some embarrassment: "Sir, what you want are all barren mountains with no hair..."
Magistrate Zhou has been an official for more than ten years, and he has only seen people who buy flat fields for fear that they will not be able to buy fertile land; but he has never seen people like Han Du, who only buy barren mountains with no hair.
County Magistrate Zhou knew these barren mountains very well. In the early years, people still went to cultivate land on them, thinking that even if they couldn't grow rice, they could plant some trees to cut firewood. Unexpectedly, not even trees can be planted in these barren mountains.
From that moment on, no one ever thought about these barren mountains.
It can be said that even if the government gives these barren mountains to the people, the people will not want them. Because according to the rules of the Fish Scale Atlas, as long as the name is registered and the land is attached, taxes will be paid. Even if the tax on Barren Mountain is as low as almost nothing, it still requires some money to be paid every year. For the common people, barren mountains with no production are a burden as long as they are held in their hands.
Is this Mr. Han a fool?
Magistrate Zhou looked at Han Du intently. He would never think that Han Du, who could win the imperial examination at such a young age, would be a fool.
"Since Han Du is not a fool, then he has a purpose in buying these barren mountains?" In the eyes of County Magistrate Zhou, this was an obvious thing.
