Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 378
It is very difficult to implement some things from the top down. Ministers are naturally distrustful of the emperor. With this kind of mentality, it is conceivable that it is difficult to achieve the expected results.

Datang, Bianjing

At this time, His Majesty the Emperor is still on the road.

Huangcheng South Street is now also called Yu Street. There are many shops here. There is a bell tower in the southeast corner, which is [-] feet high. Standing on the bell tower, you can overlook the Tang Dynasty.

"An iron ball weighing ten kilograms and an iron ball weighing one kilogram are thrown down from the bell tower at the same time. Which one will hit the ground first!"

"Any fool can guess that of course the heavy one will hit the ground first!"

"Here's the opening, the opening, if the heavy ball lands, you'll pay three out of ten, if the light ball lands on the ground, you'll pay twenty, and if it lands at the same time, you'll pay thirty!"

"There are still people who are so stupid as to give money to me!"

A noble young man wearing silk and patterned jade ornaments went directly to the one hundred strings.

"The heavy ball falls first."

The boy on the side came close to the noble young master's ear and said: "Sir, I'm afraid that the iron ball is a scam. If the big iron ball is hollow and not as heavy as the solid small iron ball, wouldn't it be impossible for the small iron ball to fall as well?" quick."

"Yes!" The noble man's eyes suddenly opened, and he shouted to the dealer who opened the market: "If that big iron ball is hollow, wouldn't it mean that I would be deceived by you!"

"Yeah yeah!"

"I knew this money wasn't that easy to make!"

"Everyone who is about to place a bet should stop and wait!"

The banker's waiter cupped his hands and smiled and said: "Thank you so much for your support. The iron balls are genuine. If it doesn't work, you can naturally send someone to check!"

"Check, check...check!"

Suddenly more than ten people rushed up to the bell tower.

"strangeness!"

"The bell tower is an important place in the capital. It is normal to ring the bell on time. How can people come in and out today?"

"It's an open day, there's no ban today!"

Not long after, someone came down from the bell tower.

"Sir, there is no deceit!"

"See clearly!"

"See it clearly!"

Among the crowd, Guo Jian, the governor of Shunzhou, came to Beijing to report on his work and stayed for a long time. He said to Shunzhou Sitian Gouyun: "Gou Sitian, which of the two iron balls do you think will hit the ground first?"

Gou Yun smiled and said: "The heavy ball falls to the ground, this is common sense!"

Guo Jian laughed and said: "Although I thought it should be a heavy ball that hit the ground, but now that the betting stalls are open and I see that the heavy ball that almost everyone bought has landed, I guess it must not have been a heavy ball that hit the ground!"

Gou Yun smiled and said: "Goodbye! It seems that this heavy ball will definitely not be able to move quickly!"

Guo Jian was the governor of Shunzhou, Hedong, and one of Li Keyong's subordinates. He was not a scholar. He was born in a city. Although he was born tall and strong, he had leg problems and was not good at writing or martial arts.

The only thing that makes you survive in this troubled world is your brain.

"Do you want to talk about the killing of gambling gangs when you were a teenager again?"

"Ha ha!"

When Guo Jian was a teenager, he got involved in gambling and made a small fortune, but his leg was broken as a result.

At that time, there was a way to play the game, roll the dice, there are six points in total, one, two, and three are small, and four, five, and six are big.

Guo Jian didn't know any gambling skills, so he divided the money into four parts, ten coins, twenty coins, thirty coins, and sixty coins, and went to the place where there was less money.

If you lose, you raise your bet, if you win, you continue to bet ten cents.

Others lose after playing for a long time, but he wins a little every day, although it's not much, it's enough to make ends meet.

But even so, he was still surrounded by gamblers.

Guo Jian looked at it for a long time and felt a little itchy.

"Forget about the past, help me buy ten coins for fun!"

"Buy five balls that land at the same time, or the ball lands on the ground!" "Buy five balls that land at the same time, and then buy five balls with small balls that land on the ground!"

"Haha, Mr. Guo sometimes doesn't understand!"

"That's wrong, Gou Sitian. This is a gamble. No matter when, you have to keep money to make up for the loss."

……

In full view of the people of Bianjing, there were still more than a dozen people on the bell tower staring intently.

A springboard stretched out outside the bell tower. A strong man was holding a ten-pound iron ball in one hand and a one-pound iron ball in the other.

call!
Nervous!
A small experiment was played to get the heartbeat. Thousands of bets were placed on the heavy ball landing, but less than 25 bets were placed on the landing of the ball at the same time. As for the bets on the small ball landing, only [-] bets were made.

"Heavy ball!"

"Heavy ball!"

"Heavy ball!"

Countless people were cheering, which was very similar to people shouting "big" or "little" in gambling dens.

The strong man let go of his hand, under the focus of everyone's eyes.

boom!
There was only a crashing sound.

"how is this possible!"

"You must be the one causing trouble!"

"Why did they land at the same time!"

The dealer who opened the market smiled and said: "Everyone, everyone, if you don't believe it, you can try it yourself. As long as it doesn't land at the same time once, the trumpet will lose!"

"Hurry up and try!"

Another person came and moved the iron ball up to the bell tower, and repeated it dozens of times. Only once, the pitcher deliberately enlarged the ball first, and then released the small ball, so that the big ball fell to the ground first, and the rest all landed at the same time.

Five guans, one pays 150, and gains [-] guans.

Guo Jian was in a happy mood, but when he saw Gou Sitian holding a stack of coins to redeem the votes, he suddenly became unhappy.

"You bought too much!"

"Twenty sticks hit the ground at the same time, twenty sticks of small balls hit the ground!"

"You made six hundred dollars?"

Gou Sitian clasped his fists and said, "Thank you very much, Commander Guo, for your guidance. I thank you. Now I can buy a place to live in Bianjing!"

Today's Bianjing is not like five or six years ago. You can buy a one-acre plot of land for a dozen or twenty guan, and you can build a three-entry courtyard and a house with a floor for a few dozen guan. .

Now the price of one acre of land alone has increased to [-] yuan, but the location is not very good, and the land facing the street cannot be bought even if it is doubled.

This six hundred dollars can only buy an ordinary place, but it is not easy to have a place to live in Bianjing.

"No, we'll go to the Star-Zhain Tower tonight, otherwise we won't agree!"

"Haha, that's exactly what I mean. I heard that something new is coming to the Star Building, and I want to see it!"

"What new stuff is coming to the Star Reaching Tower..."

At this time, the side door of Chengtian Gate opened, and several palace ladies dressed in silk clothes walked out of the palace. Several officials took the imperial list and posted it under the bell tower. After these people left, everyone came forward. go.

"Hey, His Majesty has decreed that anyone who can explain why two iron balls hit the ground at the same time will be rewarded with thousands of gold coins, be given the title of Iron Ball County Boy, and be awarded the bachelor's degree of Hanlin Garden!"

This is a step to the sky!
Gou Sitian said to Guo Jian: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is still on his way back to the army, how could he issue an order now? Could it be a fraud?"

Guo Jian touched his beard and said: "It is fair and honest, there is no deceit. From what I can see, I am afraid that your Majesty is responsible for this drama!"

"how do I say this?"

Guo Jian shook his head and said, "By the way, Gou Sitian, what strange thing did you say about the Star Reaching Tower just now?"

Gou Yun said mysteriously: "I'm so lucky to see the Toad Palace Fairy!"

(End of this chapter)