Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Lu Ci was obviously very concerned about his personal safety.

Now that he has made a decision, he can't wait even one more day.

So the next morning, after having breakfast, he persuaded the other four people, and immediately asked the clerk for directions, and together they rode in a carriage and went straight to Li Xinglao, who was holding an official license plate.

It has never been a tedious task to hire people in Dasong. After all, the industry is mature and a complete and simple process has been formed.

In particular, Lu Ci's requirements were clear, and Mr. Li Xing was also quick to handle things. He quickly screened out more than a dozen candidates based on the criteria of "vigorous, strong, hard-working".

In a short while, Li Xinglao recruited all the people, and stood in front of Lu Ci, with their heads held high, waiting for the selection.

The five people from Lu Ci stepped forward one after another, and after picking one person each, they signed a one-year contract directly at the elder's office.

Lu Ci casually asked Liu Qi: "Didn't your family arrange someone for you?"

Liu Qi shrugged: "Of course there are. But I didn't care to inform them, so I sent them back."

Thanks to the blessing of that person who tipped off the news, every time he returned home, he would have to punish his family for sleeping in flowers and willows and composing lyrics and music for singing girls.

As time goes by, he would rather be alone and unrestrained, and then hire someone casually before the exam.

Lu Ci nodded knowingly.

With the addition of five burly and strong servants, it is natural to hire two more carriages, but the cost is divided among the five people, so it doesn't look like much.

Lu Ci was very satisfied with the deterrence and sense of security they brought to the outside world.

The only thing that feels a little uncomfortable is Zhong Yuan who has been used to carrying this and that for Lu Ci all along.

Seeing that his original job was replaced by a healthy servant, he sat idly in the car, and he didn't feel happy at all, but felt that he was not needed, and gave birth to a faint sense of loss...

With so many strong and handsome guards, ordinary Xiao Xiao would not dare to think about it.

Therefore, the rest of the journey to Bianjing went very smoothly.

Under Lu Ci's deliberate guidance, the four of them, who were a little nervous at first, relaxed unconsciously, and they all regarded the trip to rush for the exam as a trip to the mountains and rivers.

When Liu Qi and Zhu Shuo were inspired by the mountains and rivers, their poems flourished and their inspiration overflowed, and they wrote countless poems...

Lu Ci was obsessed with tasting all kinds of game and wild fruits caught by his servants in the wild forest, and drinking delicious vegetable soup, he could also drink it to the extreme.

When seeing the majestic and majestic Kaifeng City Gate standing not far away, everyone suddenly felt unreal.

Why did it arrive so soon?

Liu Qi knew that the beauty Chongniang whom she had not seen for many years was in the city, and when she recalled the sweet time for a while, her mind was inevitably turbulent.

Just at this time, Lu Ci suddenly said: "Among the five of us, only Brother Liu has been here, so I have the audacity to ask Brother Liu to take more care."

Liu Qi, who volunteered to be a guide several times, but was rejected by Lu Ci without exception, after hearing this, was only surprised, and only pleasantly surprised.

Lu Jieyuan, who is almost omnipotent, actually opened his mouth to use him?

He boasted happily: "Brother Yu has been in Tokyo for no less than a year and a half. Although it has been many years, there are still some contacts left. But if you need Brother Yu, feel free to speak up."

Lu Ci nodded, and was not polite to him. He took out the notes he had made earlier and read them all down.

As small as a place to stay overnight, as large as looking for a suitable apartment for rent for several months, and then to a high-quality and cheap station for the study...all of them.

After all, counting Teng Zongliang who is about to join them, there are six people in total. In Bianjing, where every inch of land is expensive and the consumption is very high, it is obviously not a good choice to live in a residence all the time.

It's better to rent a relatively quiet and spacious apartment, and I'm also concentrating on the sprint of the final review stage.

Lu Ci's rigor and strong planning are highlighted here vividly.

In terms of daily life, it only takes half a day to take care of it, and the rest is all about the daily life of reading, which is fully arranged and clearly listed in an orderly manner according to priority, so that Liu Qi, who never has a plan and only acts as he pleases His head broke out in a cold sweat and he was dumbfounded.

Only a moment ago, he was thinking that there were still nearly two months before the submission of the papers and the actual introduction, and he thought he could relax for a while.

As a result, when it comes to Lu Ci, it is completely different from his vague and general concept of time, but accurate to specific days and even hours.

Counting from the day of arriving in Tokyo today, October 25th is the day when the papers are submitted, the group meets and visits the ancestors on the first day of the first month, the Zhigong Juguan is appointed from the first to the middle of the first month, and the court is locked up, and then the introduction is carried out on the [-]th day after the lockup. try……

After Lu Ci settled down like this, it was extremely rare to even have half a day free.

The only thing that didn't make any arrangements was today.

This is not because Lu Ci missed it, but out of consideration for the excitement of the few middle-aged men who came back to Beijing for the first time - it takes a long time to get familiar with the surroundings, and then hang around for a while.

After Lu Ci finished reading, he raised his eyes to look at the dazed Liu Qi, pretending to apologize: "As expected, Brother Liu is too embarrassing. Otherwise, I—"

"No problem, no problem." Liu Qi hurriedly waved his hand, and sighed, "I just thought, how lucky are Brother Zhu and the others to have such a thoughtful and thoughtful friend like you to accompany me!"

"To each other." Lu Ci smiled: "It's easy to get a daughter, but it's hard to find a good friend. In the days to come, I have to trouble Brother Liu to take care of me."

Liu Qi replied with a guilty conscience, embarrassed to say that he just wanted to leave a few people behind to find Mrs. Chong...

Lu Ci smiled slightly, raised the curtain of the car, raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm entering the city."

There are thirteen city gates in Bianjing Outer City, and the Nanxun Gate they passed through is located in the south.

There was already a long queue of horse-drawn carriages waiting for the guards to inspect the public inspection, and the speed of moving forward was so slow that it could be ignored.Anyway, it was only one step away from the destination, and it was still far away from the time when the city gate was closed. Lu Ci and the others simply didn't sit and wait in the car, but got out of the carriage and wandered around.

The sun was shining, and people gathered in twos and threes by the moat full of weeping willows to enjoy the cool air, and there were many girls in green shirts and skirts among them.

Yi Shu just glanced at it inadvertently, then suddenly remembered the lesson of the previous few days, couldn't help shivering, and quickly looked away, feeling inexplicably nervous.

Lu Ci, on the other hand, studied the winding and uneven city wall with great interest.

Looking at it from a distance, it only makes people feel majestic and majestic, but when you come closer, you will find that it has nothing to do with the word "flat" at all, but it is a bit crude and rough, and it looks like a lazy dragon. Lying on the edge of the moat in a twists and turns, there is a little unfathomable atmosphere.

It is completely different from the flat and beautiful palace walls he visited in modern times.

After admiring it for a while, when he thought that it was none other than the founding emperor Zhao Kuangyin who presided over the construction of it, Lu Ci understood.

Although the rules are beautiful, it is this irregular structure that is more practical in warfare.

Not only is it beneficial to disperse the impact of the stone cannon and absorb it, even if it cannot resist and some of the city walls are damaged, the impact will not be so great, and it is easier to repair.

Liu Qi teased for a while and was fascinated by the scenery of the outer city. After Zhu Shuo, because the other party ignored him, he came to Lu Ci again. Seeing this, he smiled and said: "This city wall looks weird, and it really damages the majesty of the capital. It will be great if it can be repaired one day.”

Lu Ci glanced at him subtly, shook his head and said, "This can't be fixed."

Liu Qi was stunned, but seeing that it was almost their turn, Lu Ci left him and hurried back to the carriage.

After checking the public inspection, Lu Ci and his party were finally put into the outer city.However, to officially enter the inner city, there are still more than [-] miles to go.

After entering the inner city, apart from Liu Qi who lived in Bianjing for a long time, who knows everything about the plants and trees in the market, and Lu Ci, who has seen a modern city that is countless times more prosperous than this In addition to these two people remaining calm, the other people who came here for the first time couldn't help but stare dumbfounded.

This is a beautiful, wide street!

With a width of more than two hundred steps, even if it is divided into five distinct roads, it still looks spacious.

The middle one is the royal road that only officials can use, and it is empty at this time.

The stone roads on both sides are very lively. A row of red-painted railings neatly separates the busy traffic and pedestrians, which is the royal corridor; the outer point is the solid canal bank made of huge stones; All kinds of fruit trees are planted on the ground; in the ditch, there are large tracts of lotus flowers.

It is conceivable that during the flowering period of each year, this long street will be a vast sea of ​​colorful flowers, and the fragrance will waft all over the city.

The two ends of the long street are not only connected with criss-crossing streets and alleys, but also have countless flags fluttering in the wind, a variety of shop mats stand beside row upon row of residential houses, and there are even miscellaneous government offices mixed in.

Graceful silk and bamboo blew faintly from the air, but I don't know which one of the countless Chulou song halls it is.

It’s no wonder that many scholars who went to Beijing for the exam were distracted. Even after the exam, they were nostalgic for the glitz and ostentation of this prosperous place, and couldn’t bear to leave.

Thinking of this, Lu Ci became a little more tolerant towards Liu Qi.

Liu Qi, who usually talks a lot, looked at the group of people with bright eyes, greedy for the prosperous scene, and couldn't help but become a chatterbox, explaining the past along the way.

At this time, no one would think that he was annoying, but they all poked their heads out of the car window, listened to his narration with ears pricked up.

He still nodded his head from time to time, which made Liu Qi even more encouraged, full of a sense of accomplishment, and couldn't help talking more and more.

Unknowingly, he had forgotten the beautiful insect lady whom he was thinking about not long ago.

Lu Ci had a panoramic view of this, and the corners of his lips could not help but bend slightly.

After arriving in the inner city, the carriage basically moved along with the crowded traffic, and arrived at the bustling Longjin Bridge in a short while.

Zhu Shuo and the others watched intently, but Liu Qi didn't take it seriously when he introduced it: "This place mainly sells some seasonal fresh fruits—"

As soon as the conversation started, Lu Ci, who was still lazily half lying on the cushion, sat up suddenly, handed the servant sitting next to the coachman two pennies, and said: "Choose some of everything, and look at the money you buy." .”

"..." Lu Ci moved quickly and suddenly, it took Liu Qi a long time to react, and he finished, dumbfounded: "And some of the four treasures of the study."

Lu Ci said: "There is no rush to buy these, I have enough for a while, so I have to pick the ones I buy."

After all, you need to bring your own study room during the provincial exam, and you must not focus on saving money when it comes to the most important thing.

Zhu said they had no objection.

Liu Qi said again: "There are still some calligraphy and painting brushes, large banners and so on."

Zhu said with interest: "Who painted them all? How are they painted?"

This is Liu Qi's forte.

Hearing this, he couldn't hide his pride and raised his eyebrows, pretending to be humble and said: "The skill is not bad, it's probably a little worse than Brother Yu's work."

Zhu said that he lost interest in an instant, looked away unnaturally, and whispered: "Let's go to the guest house to resettle."

Liu Qi's eyelids twitched.

Mingming Zhu didn't say anything, why did he sound uncomfortable?

Then I thought of Zhu Shuo's expression that was not at all joking when he solemnly begged him to send out an "army of singing girls" a few days ago...

Liu Qi: "..."

He suddenly wondered what kind of image he was in this brother Zhu's heart.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Most of the descriptions about the outer city and inner city of Bianjing come from Chapter 3 of "If This Is Song History (7) The Era of Change"

2. The specific date of matters before and after the provincial examination comes from Chapter 4 of "General History of China's Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume [-]"

3. When looking for a servant, you should look for an old man, and if you are looking for a maid, you should look for a toothman ("Song: The Dawn of Modern Times")

4. To participate in the provincial examination, you must not only bring your own study room, but also bring your own desk, chair and test basket, which are not prepared by the Gong Yuan of the Ministry of Rites.The burden is not small, so basically every candidate will bring a book boy or servant to help carry things. ("Imperial Examinations and Song Dynasty Society")

5. Chongniang was met by Liu Yong after the first provincial examination, and she was also the singing girl he was most obsessed with for a certain period of time. She was the only woman who appeared more than 3 times in his poems. "Magnolia", "Ji Xianbin", "Zhengbu Music"