Summon players, rebuild Dawei

In the evening, on the outskirts of Xunyang City.

The autumn wind blows across the vast fields, and the sun begins to set to the west, locking the harvested fields in the glow.

Yao Er stood on the ridge of the field, rested for a while with his hips crossed, then leaned over to pick up the last two baskets of corn, and walked towards the road beside the field.

The corn in these two big baskets was really heavy. Yao Er panted and walked quickly, only feeling that the pole on his shoulder was almost embedded in the meat.

Fortunately, the bullock carts on the road are not far away, and they can arrive in a short while.

When he got to the car, his neighbor Li Daniu had already packed up all the farm tools, and when Yao Er came over, he helped him pour two baskets of corn into the car surrounded by wooden boards.

"This is the last truck. The work in the field is finally done!" Looking at the corn piled high in the truck, Yao Er couldn't help showing a relaxed and simple smile. The dark-skinned young man next to him said: "Thank you for the past few days. If you hadn't lent me this car, I would have been busy."

Li Daniu quickly waved his hand: "Thank you, brother Yao helped me when I was busy in the field earlier."

"That can't be confused! In this way, I will be free in a few days. Please go to the tavern in Dashi for a good drink."

Li Daniu likes to drink the most, but the price of wine is high, and he can't drink it a few times a year. Hearing this, he blushed and smiled and replied: "Then I won't be polite."

"Why are you being polite to me, let's go, go back!"

The two families both lived in Chunting in the west of the city, and they drove the ox cart back after finishing their work. On the way, they met an old man and a young man driving a donkey cart back to the city.

Along the way, the farmers talked most about harvest and crops.

"I harvested the corn today, and tomorrow I have to peel and dry it. There is still a lot of work to do."

"It's better to be busy, the busier you are, the more you will gain."

"That's right, I just hope that it won't rain..."

"This year's harvest is good, and the government has reduced our land tax. The end of the year will be easier!"

"Yeah, when I was starving a few years ago, how could I have imagined that one day I would be able to live such a life without worrying about food and clothing..."

Listening to their conversation, Yao Er felt emotional in his heart.

Back then, his hometown of Xizhu County was captured by the Huns, and he fled all the way south with the fleeing team. He wanted to escape to Yongzhou to seek a living, but he passed by Xunyang on the way and listened to a lesson on farming outside the city gate. The people who attended the class were so stable, so he stayed here with a glimmer of hope.

At that time, I only hoped to survive the war. Unexpectedly, the Xiongnu failed to attack Yanqiao and were driven out of Xianzhou by Governor Jiang and General Bu.

And his life is getting better and better. After paying taxes on the food he grows, he can not only support himself, but also spend money to eat wine and meat during the festivals. This kind of life is something he never imagined in the past.

Even before the Huns invaded, he was often hungry and unable to eat a full meal in his hometown. How can he be like this now, and he can fill his stomach with every meal.

"It's all thanks to the envoy!" Yao Er couldn't help sighing.

"What envoy, that's the king of Wei!" The young man who was traveling with him turned his head and raised his neck and said, while he was talking, he took a few sips of water from the water bottle, and hung the water bottle on the donkey's back after drinking.

The bell on the donkey's neck jingled.

"Yes, King Wei, I forgot to change my words for a while." Yao Er grinned, "Hey, in a blink of an eye, we are all ruled by King Wei!"

"You don't know that when King Wei was still an official in the county, I often visited the farms in the suburbs. I was lucky enough to meet him once. His appearance is so handsome!" The young man said bluntly, "Now he has become Wei. Wang, I am so happy, he has only been in office for a few years, and we have enough food and clothing, and life will definitely get better in the future, and our family all hope that he can live a long and healthy life!"

"Relax, the king of Wei is young and will live longer than you!"

"Hahaha this is inevitable..."

The young man's laughter was so contagious that Yao Er couldn't help laughing along with him.

As he was walking along the flat road, Li Daniu suddenly brought up another topic: "When you get back to the city, do you want to go to the Oscar Theater in Dashi?"

When this matter was mentioned, several people remembered the news they heard a few days ago.

Two months ago, a strange shop named "Oscar Theatre" opened in Miryang, which was engaged in a business called drama performances.

The first three days of the play were free to watch, and it was said that the scene was extremely lively. People who had watched the play were full of praise when they mentioned this thing, and newspaper interviews were also full of hype, saying that they had never seen such an interesting thing.

Ordinary people like them naturally don't know what "theater" and "drama" are, but they all like to join in the fun. When they hear the newspaper say this drama is so witty, they are inevitably a little curious.

Normally, it takes several months or even half a year for something new in Miryang to spread to Xunyang, but this time the drama spread very quickly. In just two months, the big city of Xunyang also opened an Oscar Theater .

Opening for activities, the first three days are also free admission to watch the show, today is the last day of the exemption.

It was really hard for Yao Er to refuse free things, so he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Can I catch up at this time?"

Li Daniu said: "The last game starts at the second quarter of the first year of the year. If you go early, you will not be able to make it to the second half."

The young man also became interested and asked, "Is the play good?"

Li Daniu: "Everyone who has been there says it is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the scenery is beautiful, and there is music, it is very lively."

Yao Er quickened his pace: "Then let's go faster and take a look."

"okay."

·

"Hao Ba, hurry up, get ready, the next scene will be your main scene!"

"Okay!" Hao Ba replied firmly, staring at the stage without blinking, his brows were full of heavy emotions brewing.

After a while, the scene was changed, and the sad music gradually sounded, and Haoba stepped on the stage to the music.

Then, the Hun husband played by Haoba and the Han wife played by the player Maria staged a heart-wrenching farewell scene on the stage.

In this scene, the music went from low to high, repeating the climax repeatedly and persistently to express the progressive emotion and the ultimate lyricism.

At the end of the scene, before Haoba stepped off the stage, he saw the audience weeping and sobbing, and felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction in his heart.

Zhang Xiaolong, who is also the screenwriter and director, came over and patted him on the shoulder, and praised him: "The acting was very good just now, go change your costume and prepare for the next scene!"

"Yes." Hao Ba nodded vigorously.

After he left, Zhang Xiaolong was busy walking around and urging other actors and behind-the-scenes personnel to make preparations.

Although this play called "The Shepherdess and the Cowherd" has been performed hundreds of times, he still feels extremely nervous every time it starts.

After all, it was his first play arranged by himself, and Zhang Xiaolong did not allow any mistakes on the stage.

Not long after, the scene changed again, and the stage was divided into two parts. On the left is the scene of Hun husbands fighting on the battlefield, and on the right is the scene of Han wives farming and weaving with their children.

Looking at the stage, Zhang Xiaolong admired the stories he made up from the perspective of the audience many times.

When the Hun soldier played by Haoba was injured and his arm was broken, and the woman's finger was pricked by a needle while sewing, he still couldn't help but sigh how cruel the war was.

The plot of the play he made up is actually very simple, even a bit clichéd.

The background of the story is set in the border area where the Xiongnu and Han people live together. The Xiongnu cowherd and the Han shepherdess fell in love because of an accidental encounter. After experiencing some happy and funny things, the two became husband and wife, supported each other, and lived together. .

The atmosphere in the first half of the drama was relaxed and cheerful, and the music was also very leisurely and cheerful, making the audience unable to stop smiling.

In the second half, the mood turned sharply. The Xiongnu invaded the territory of the Han nationality, and the husband of the cowherd was forcibly conscripted into the army and forced to leave the shepherdess.

With such a strong national enmity between the two parties, the two lovers had to separate.

The carefree cowherd in the past became a Hun soldier who was born and died on the battlefield, and the innocent and happy shepherdess also matured overnight, supporting the expenses of the whole family by herself.

The war lasted for several years, and the hard life left traces of vicissitudes on the faces of the two young men and women.

From the beginning, they missed each other day and night, and later, due to the increasing ethnic conflicts, they deliberately avoided mentioning each other, but in the dead of night, the men and women who were far apart still hummed the song of yearning for the moon.

In the final outcome, Zhang Xiaolong originally planned that the war would end many years later, the woman died of illness, and the two sons found their father with the token, and the father and son hugged and cried bitterly.

This can earn the last wave of tears from the audience.

As a result, before the official performance started, Jiang Shu suddenly unified the north and became king. He simply combined with current events and temporarily changed the ending to King Wei defeating the Huns, ending the war. The cowherd with a broken arm came back to find the shepherdess. They lived happily together again.

Although this kind of ending is a bit old-fashioned, it has to be said that after the real character "Wei Wang" is substituted, the audience has more real feelings for this story.

Coupled with the effects of realistic props and scenery, exaggerated but real performances of actors, just right soundtrack, etc., all kinds of combined effects make this new form of performance, drama, bring great psychological impact to the public.

Some people even suspected that such a Hu-Han couple really lived in the border area, and they asked people everywhere if there was a broken-armed Hun named "Yuk" and a beautiful shepherdess named "Luying" in the border county. .

In just two months, the pair of CP characters "Shepherdess and Cowherd" has become the existence of "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" in this era.

The performance went smoothly and still received warm cheers and applause from the audience at the end.

After the curtain call, a group of actors and staff gathered in the background to drink and celebrate the successful conclusion of the three-day high-intensity free performance.

Most of the people present were players, so when they chatted, it was also far-fetched.

On many topics, the aborigines couldn't understand what they were talking about at all, but it didn't affect everyone's joyful emotions.

Haobain was the only Hu aborigine present at the scene, and he was a bit restrained among a group of Han people, so he seldom took the initiative to intervene in topics, but just sat and drank quietly by himself, occasionally peeking at the heroine Maria.

Yes, Haoba has a crush on Maria.

He couldn't tell exactly when this relationship started.

Perhaps it was in the rehearsals of acting as husband and wife again and again, maybe it was attracted by the girl's straightforward and generous temperament behind the scenes, or maybe it was the first time I saw the girl's innocent smiling face, I was moved at first glance.

But Hao Ba would not confess, he felt that he was not worthy of her.

Maria is so clever, beautiful, and knowledgeable, while he is a failed spy of the Huns and a lowly captive.

Even though he is no longer a prisoner due to his good performance during the captivity, he still cannot forget his past of groveling under the hands of his former master Long Teo.

With such a dirty past, how can he be worthy of a pure and flawless girl like Maria?

Hao Ba took a sip of the bitter wine, silently suppressing this secret love in his heart.

"I've enjoyed the performance these few days. The theater here in Xunyang is even bigger than the one in Miryang. I like this theater better." Maria was chatting with everyone, and suddenly she turned her head and asked Hao Ba next to her, "What are you doing?" Is that right?"

Hao Bahan smiled and nodded.

"Didn't the theater in Miryang start investing in construction first? Why does the one in Xunyang seem to be bigger and more beautiful?" A staff member asked Zhang Xiaolong.

"He has an investment vision," Maria answered, "You see Brother Shu is now the king, and he will definitely be the emperor in a short time. Can't you move to Xunyang by then?"

"That's not necessarily true. How well-developed Miryang is now, how prosperous and prosperous it is. Libraries, academies and so on are all there. Maybe Brother Shu is nostalgic for the past, so the capital will be there."

"But Xunyang has a ready-made imperial palace!"

"Damn... I can't refute it."

Maria raised a smile and said: "Anyway, I have already bought a house in Xunyang, and now I hope that Brother Shu will become the emperor soon, and then my sister will be a distinguished capital account in the future!"

When Haoba heard this, he was happy for the goddess he had a crush on, but also felt a little sour.

Maria has a house in Xunyang, and is about to become a noble household registration in the capital, but he is still a pauper with nothing, so he is really not worthy of her.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help drinking a glass of bitter wine.

·

In the Miryang government office, the sky was getting dark, but official affairs were still being discussed in the main hall.

"Recently, the number of scholars coming from the south has increased sharply, and most of them are for the official selection examination next month." Since Jiang Shu became independent, he was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials Qin Shang, who was in charge of the position, reported the situation: "It is expected that the number of applicants will increase significantly in the next half month, and private residences may be requisitioned by then, otherwise the Luming Mansion may not be able to accommodate them."

"Yes." Jiang Shu nodded, "But be careful, you must pay the owner according to the market price for the requisition of the mansion, and don't disturb the people."

Qin Shangying said "promise", and immediately asked: "I don't know who is the chief examiner for this evaluation, my lord, can someone choose?"

The evaluation he was talking about was Jiang Shu's official selection exam again open to scholars from all over the world.

In the past three months since he became queen, he has successively issued a number of decrees, in addition to the transfer of officials, it also includes policies in various aspects such as finance, economy, military, agriculture, culture and education.

Among them, there are many policies that are difficult to implement, such as reforming taxes, rectifying the administration of officials, and suppressing tyrants.

The implementation of these policies requires a firm determination to implement them, but it cannot be overbearing or over-the-top, otherwise it will easily arouse people's resistance, which is indeed a major difficulty for Jiang Shu on his way to power.

There are too many things to do, and these people on hand are definitely not enough. Therefore, Jiang Shu issued an announcement that before the arrival of winter, official selection exams will be held in Miryang and Xunyang, open to scholars from all over the world, and widely Open up talents and recruit talented people.

And perhaps it was because his reputation of employing people without looking at his family background spread too widely. For a time, all ambitious people, regardless of the gentry and poor families, flocked northward and gathered towards Xunzhou. Therefore, today's Miryang and Xunyang The land can be described as a gathering of heroes.

Since there is an examination, there must be an examiner.

Jiang Shu himself was the chief examiner for the last official selection examination for the gentry, but now he is so busy that he is naturally doing it flawlessly.

What's more, the situation this time is different. According to his understanding, among the people who signed up for the official selection examination, there are many well-known celebrities and talented scholars, students of Taixue, and even officials from the previous dynasty participated in it.

Therefore, in his opinion, the chief examiner may not have to fulfill much obligations this time, but he must have enough appeal.

He is more like a mascot, he needs to be highly respected to be able to survive this exam.

Jiang Shu knew that if he proclaimed himself emperor in the future, he would inevitably reform the system of selecting officials, and the imperial examinations would inevitably become the mainstream. In this case, he had to start preparing to win over some gentry in advance and take vaccinations.

He looked at Qin Shang and said, "How about the great scholar Cui Yuanzhi?"

Qin Shang's eyes widened slightly, a little in disbelief: "Master, can you invite this person?"

Cui Yuanzhi is not an ordinary famous Confucian, he is the patriarch of the Cui family in Xiangjun, the top family in the north, and has been an official to Dazai. In terms of reputation in the eyes of scholars, he is the first, and no one dares to be the second.

More importantly, the other party is now seventy years old, would he still be willing to take over such a complicated job?

"He has agreed to this matter." Jiang Shu only answered Qin Shang's question calmly.

It's not that he wasn't surprised, but he was already surprised.

In fact, at the beginning, what he expected was to invite Xie Xian to be the chief examiner, but after asking Xie Yin's opinion through Wolong Pavilion, the other party said that Cui Lan was more suitable. In the eyes of scholars, after all, Cui Lan is more senior and respected.

Besides, after Xie Xian went north, he returned to the Xie family's old house in Xunyang to settle down. He already has an attitude of retirement and no plans to go out of the mountain again. The possibility of agreeing to be the chief examiner is very low.

On the contrary, for the future of Cui's descendants, Cui Lan is very likely to respond to this matter.

Jiang Shu followed his suggestion and sent someone to send a letter to ask Cui Lao's attitude, and then he got a positive answer.

After he sighed in surprise, "Brother Xie is still brother Xie", the matter was settled.

Qin Shang said with a smile: "Cui Daru is the chief examiner, it is really appropriate, this assessment will be a matter of course."