Tang Dynasty good father-in-law

Chapter 42 Gamble, Clan Chronicles

A ray of light rises from the east in the darkness, and the morning star gradually falls to usher in a new day.

Early winter mornings are already quite chilly, but because of the curfew at night in ancient times, and ordinary people cannot afford candles and oil lamps.

I fell asleep very early, and correspondingly got up early, even the chill of early winter did not block the determination of the world.

Shufu

Shu An also got up early. If he was not used to the ancient routine when he just crossed over, he would have already gotten used to it decades later.

But today is a little different, because a young man is sitting on a stool in the center of the courtyard.

This person is not the young man who passed the Shu Mansion's Ten Questions yesterday, but Li Shimin who appeared in the Shu Mansion early in the morning, the emperor of the entire Tang Dynasty.

The Weng and son-in-law were sitting on one side at this time, with a charcoal basin in the middle and a shelf boiling water.

"Laifu, take out the wine from the ice cellar before."

Shu'an's voice sounded, the ancients made wine cooking has become a custom, especially in winter.

"Master, how many years do you have?"

Lai Fu said respectfully at the side, even he did not expect that the emperor would arrive at Shu Mansion early in the morning.

"50 years!"

Shu An's expression was calm and he said that after he crossed over, he began to store some wine. You must know that in ancient times, the wine was not old because of insufficient storage and sealing.

However, Shu An directly used the method of freezing the wine to hide it in the ice cellar. Although the quality of the wine may be affected, the aroma of the wine that has accumulated over time is enough to make up for it.

The 50th year is the highest year he has stored. After all, he was in his teens when he crossed the New Year, but even now he doesn't store much.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up on the other side, he didn't expect that there was a way to store wine in an ice cellar, but his complexion darkened.

That is, even if you start to store wine by yourself, the age must not reach that level, it depends on how long you can live.

"You must have come here because of the word you wrote yesterday."

Shu An put two eggs into the boiling water and said slowly. It is not so fast to cook the wine immediately, and he still needs to wait for it to thaw.

"Shimin couldn't sleep all night, and he had many questions that he wanted to ask Yafu for advice."

Li Shimin said with some bloodshot eyes, obviously he must not have slept well last night.

"I know what you want to ask, but here I want to ask your opinion on the aristocratic family and the common people?"

Shu An's voice sounded slowly, and he secretly sighed in his heart, this is Li Shimin, the famous emperor through the ages, even though the two of them had some disagreements before, they still came here to seek the answer in their hearts.

We must know that in this era, apart from some fixed festivals, the emperor also had ministers who died, and in the end, he did not have to go to court due to temporary affairs or weather reasons.

As a person who had just ascended the throne, Li Shimin hardly asked for leave, but this time he went to court in order to find an answer.

Now, one of the two is not a high-ranking emperor, and the other is not the world-famous Duke Anxuan, just like two ordinary friends.

Faced with Shu An's question, Li Shimin fell into deep thought, while Shu An who was beside him was also not in a hurry.

"Since Emperor Wei Wen implemented the nine-rank Zhongzheng system, hidden dangers have been planted."

"The Zhongzheng official is in the hands of the gentry, and the children of the gentry become officials through the Zhongzheng Pin, forming a nobleman passed down from generation to generation."

"Correspondingly, the common people almost lost the opportunity to become an official. After a long period of time, they even formed a situation where the clans ruled together."

.......

Li Shimin talked eloquently, starting from the origin, while Shu An nodded beside him.

Even Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty could see it, and thus opened up the imperial examination system. There is no reason why such a wise emperor through the ages could not see it.

"The aristocratic family has too much power. Even with the imperial examination system, the aristocratic family can still serve as important officials through recommendation."

"However, Shimin feels that Yafu's words are a bit biased. Could it be that my achievements in the Tang Dynasty are not as good as those of some aristocratic families?"

In the end, Li Shimin concluded aloud, even though he was born in the Li family of Longxi, but now he is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Shu An smiled slightly, it seems that this king is still brooding over that sentence, but he wants to say that it is really inferior, at least in the eyes of Shilin or the world.

"Can Shimin take a bet?"

Shu An's voice sounded slowly, he didn't try to argue with Li Shimin, he just needed to make this king realize the reality.

After the words fell, Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he didn't even have the confidence to persuade this Asian father.

"How about not knowing the game?"

Li Shimin still had some patience, and he didn't agree immediately, but asked how to gamble first.

"Rebuild the clan records."

"However, because it takes time, it's better to discharge the first few queues first."

"Presumably this should not be difficult, at most it will take a month, and it will be decided by ranking."

Shu An's eyes flickered and he said softly, and said inwardly, no matter what the bet, he won this game.

In history, Li Shimin began to rebuild the clan annals in the sixth year of Zhenguan, and completed the reconstruction in the 12th year of Zhenguan, while the Shandong gentry Cui clan was the first class, even surpassing the royal family.

Not to mention that it is only the first year of Zhenguan, and the influence of the Li Tang royal family is even worse, so this time he is sure to win.

"If there is a bet, there is a bet. I don't know what Yafu bet on?"

Li Shimin couldn't help agreeing with the words of this cheap father-in-law, because he couldn't help being stunned when he mentioned the clan annals, how could he forget this matter.

"The bet is fine, no matter what the final result is, I can give you some advice on the imperial examination."

Shu An's eyes flickered and he said softly, this must-win game is a battle of spirits, as for the suggestion, he still wants to let Li Shimin take the blame.

For the first time, Li Shimin felt that seeing his cheap father-in-law was a bit pleasing to the eye, but he nodded quickly, as if he agreed with the cheap father-in-law's statement, as if he was afraid of going back on his word.

At this time, Shu An fished out two eggs from the boiling water, and there were already two small plates beside them, and handed one to Li Shimin directly.

It just so happened that Laifu had already taken out the wine from the ice cellar, and had already carried out the deicing treatment first, and then carefully removed the boiling water and replaced it with wine.

"It's been a long time since I drank, and the two of us drank even less."

Shu An's eyes reflected the wine and murmured softly, the two of them were not in harmony in the first place, and the number of times they sat together was even less.

Li Shimin on the side also felt emotional. He had never seen through the thoughts of this father-in-law, which can be described as unfathomable.

However, even though he knew that this cheap father-in-law was also at odds with him after today, he still enjoyed this short-lived harmony. It was a pity that the Guanyin servant did not see this scene.

Chapter 43 Wang Xuance, Intersection of Cause and Effect

Just as the two were cooking wine and discussing other matters, a guard came in a hurry.

"Master, the scholar who passed the ten questions yesterday is here."

As a respectful voice sounded, a hint of interest appeared on Shu An's face.

Li Shimin on the other side looked stunned for a moment, but then also showed a trace of interest. He knew about Shumen's Ten Questions a long time ago.

He even asked Li Junxian to collect some questions, but even he had to think about some questions for a long time, and he didn't expect that someone would pass these ten questions.

"Please come in, and Laifu will bring you an extra stool and a bowl."

Shu An said slowly, even though Li Shimin was here, he didn't care.

Li Junxian, who was a little further away, looked to see if His Majesty wanted to test it, but Li Shimin shook his head.

Don't say that this person is a scholar, just Li Shimin himself has half his life as a soldier, and ordinary people with all his kung fu are no match, let alone this is the Shu'an mansion.

Not long after, a young man in thin clothes seemed to be shivering a little in the cold wind, but after seeing Shu An, there was a hint of excitement on his face.

"Student Wang Xuance met An Xuangong!"

Before waiting for the guards to lead the way, the young man had already stepped forward a few steps ahead, with a trace of reverence in his eyes.

After the words fell, a gleam of light flashed deep in Shu An's eyes, there was no change on the surface, but he secretly thought in his heart that he was another historical celebrity.

If he was a little excited after seeing these historical celebrities at the beginning, then after seeing a lot of them, he became flat.

Wang Xuance, this person became popular even among later generations, because this person has the reputation of destroying the country by one person, and the whole ancient India was once shocked by it, and bowed his head.

But speaking of it, this one was also one of the culprits who ended the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, because after the victory in Tianzhu, an Indian alchemist with longevity was offered to Li Shimin.

Needless to say, the ancient art of alchemy, most of its ingredients are mercury, sulfur, arsenic, etc. This is not a elixir, but a poison.

Li Shimin died at only 51 years old, which can be said to have died young. It is important to know that ancient emperors lived a long time.

But none of this happened now, the future envoy of the Tang Dynasty was just a frail young man standing in front of him.

"Guard, go and get a coat, and sit down and warm yourself by the fire first."

Shu An's voice sounded slowly, thinking of Wang Xuance, he naturally thought of Tianzhu, which is the future Indian Peninsula, this place is not bad.

Wang Xuance was flattered, with a hint of hesitation on his face, knowing how many celebrities he visited along the way, but he was so arrogant that he wouldn't even let him in, let alone such a courtesy.

"The master tells you to sit down, even if the master gives lectures, so many people don't procrastinate like you."

Fortunately, Laifu pulled some Wang Xuance to speak out, and then Wang Xuance sat on a stool to warm up by the fire.

"This one is surnamed Li, and he is a descendant of the old man."

Shu An introduced Li Shimin and said that he did not try to expose Li Shimin's identity. After all, this time it was just the early court, and it would not be good if it spread out when he came to Shu's mansion.

"Meet Brother Li!"

Wang Xuance cupped his hands and said, with a hint of respect and a hint of envy in his words.

Li Shimin nodded and also looked at this young man who seemed to be a little sluggish and half-beat. It was the man in front of him who asked Shumen Ten Questions, and he didn't look alike.

"Why does it feel like you envy me a little?"

Li Shimin couldn't help but said with some interest, it was the first time he had seen such eyes.

"Brother Li, as Duke Anxuan's back, can listen to Duke Anxuan's teachings at any time, how can I not be envious."

Wang Xuance said without any hesitation, you must know that due to the family's decline, his road to study was difficult. Although the family had a lot of books in the early years, no one helped him.

Li Shimin couldn't help but smile slightly, he didn't think that he would still take advantage of his father-in-law.

This can't help but make Li Shimin's interest greatly increased, and he can't help chatting, but Shu An asks questions from time to time, knowing that this year Wang Xuance is 15 years old and some family situations.

Not a landowner's family, and a commoner's background, after asking about the basic situation, Shu An began to get down to business.

"Since you are the first one to pass Shumen's ten questions, I don't know if you have any ideas. If you are satisfied, you can talk about it."

Shu An's words sounded slowly, seeing that the two of them seemed to be chatting well, he couldn't help feeling amused.

A stupefied young man didn't know Li Shimin's identity yet, and he also didn't plan to wake up. The other was Li Shimin, and he didn't know the cause and effect of Wang Xuance yet.

Because of Shu Men's Ten Questions before, he let out rumors that he could meet a reasonable request, so he would depend on Wang Xuance's choice.

"Xuance went on a study tour two years ago, just to find famous teachers."

"It's just that I have traveled to many places, and I was turned away every time."

"I don't want anything else, I just want to worship under the teacher's door and follow the teachings every day."

.......

Wang Xuance knelt directly on the ground, and his voice sounded slowly, every word was full of sincerity, even Li Shimin who was on the side was slightly moved.

I didn't expect it to be so difficult to study, but in this era when aristocratic families still have great influence, Wang Xuance, who was born in a common family, didn't even enter the family.

Even Li Shimin was thinking about how many people like Wang Xuance there are in this world, but he also focused on his father-in-law, wanting to know whether this father-in-law would accept this student.

In fact, Shu An already had the answer in his heart, and the answer was yes, even with the name Wang Xuance, he would accept this student.

"How long has Xuan Ce been studying?"

Shu An didn't answer directly but asked instead.

But after the words fell, Wang Xuance was overjoyed, because instead of refusing, he was testing himself, which meant he wanted to accept this student.

"Teacher, Xuan Ce has been studying since he was a child, and his mother began to teach him when he was five years old."

Wang Xuance's expression was respectful as usual, and he didn't conceal his situation at all. As long as An Xuangong didn't admit it, the teacher's name would be a bit misleading.

"Ten years of cold window, no one asks, once you become famous, the world knows."

"I hope you can do this in the future, this is what I expect from you as a teacher."

Shu An's words sounded, and a smile appeared on Wang Xuance's dull face.