After everything is settled, the troops rushing to Beijing for the exam will set off.
In this era, the inconvenience of transportation can be so torturous that even if you attend an exam and return immediately, it will still take a year and a half to meet again. Although Little Sister is reluctant, neither of her two newlywed sisters-in-law said anything, so she naturally had to hold back too...
Chen Ke felt apologetic for leaving Xiao Mei in Shu, but before they got married, Su Xun would not agree to let Xiao Mei follow him, so he could only hope that the problem would be solved when they arrived in the capital... Thinking of this, he couldn't help but despise his useless old father, how could he not even handle such a small matter?
This time they left the river and did not take the Three Gorges route, but instead took the land route to Beijing, passing through Jianmen Pass and Qinling Mountains, traveling thousands of miles for over two months before arriving at the outskirts of the capital.
When I left the river, it was still the third year of Zhihe, but when I arrived in the capital, it had become the first year of Jiayou... The Song Dynasty has changed its reign title again.
Let's count, Chen Ke has been in this world for ten years, and the year number has changed three times: The first time was because Li Yuanhao died, it was changed to Huangyou... thanks to the protection of the emperor; The second time was because Pingding Nong Zhigao rebellion, it was changed to the current Zhihe... expecting world peace; Just over two years after the peace, it was changed to Jiayou again.
The reason for changing the year number this time is because the current emperor has fallen ill... it's not a minor illness, but a serious one.
It happened on a festive day, the first day of the first month, at the grand court assembly of the Song Dynasty's New Year.
On this day, all officials gathered in the grand hall, dressed in their finest attire, ready to pay New Year's respects to His Majesty the Emperor. As the eunuch rolled up the bright yellow curtains, a dignified figure clad in magnificent robes sat upright on the dragon throne.
All the officials were about to pay their respects when the emperor suddenly fell down, and after a moment of stunned silence, screams erupted... The emperor had fainted! The scene that followed was not suitable for outsiders, so the eunuchs quickly closed the curtains.
All the ministers looked at each other in dismay, their hearts stuck in their throats. Fortunately, after a while, the curtain was opened again, and the ministers saw that the emperor was sitting there as usual.
It seemed like a false alarm, and the ministers barely suppressed their fear, bowing to the emperor and retreating. Little did they know that this was only the beginning.
On the fifth day of the first month, the court resumed work for the first time, and it was a grand court session. The envoys from Liao would also attend to pay their New Year's respects to the Emperor.
It was going well, but when the Liao envoy ascended to the throne, the emperor suddenly became agitated and incoherent, with saliva dripping from his mouth. The Liao envoy was shocked and stunned, but fortunately, Prime Minister Wen Yanbo reacted quickly and told the Liao envoy that the emperor had been drinking excessively during the Spring Festival and was still suffering from a hangover from last night.
Luckily, the Liao people were honest and didn't forget what others thought, so the Song Dynasty's face wasn't lost to a foreign country.
In the following days, Guan's illness worsened day by day. He would often appear disheveled and cry out in the palace: "The Empress Dowager and Zhang Maozhen are plotting a great rebellion!" The Empress Dowager was Cao Huanguang, the granddaughter of Cao Bin, one of the founding generals of the Song Dynasty. She was known for her kind and cautious nature, as well as her strict adherence to etiquette. Zhang Maozhen, on the other hand, was the eunuch in charge of her palace.
What's going on is unknown to anyone, anyway poor Zhang Gonggong was forced to have no way out and could only hang himself...
Afterwards, the prime ministers Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi were in charge of handling all major reconciliation matters within and outside the court, and organized the officials in the capital to pray at temples and Taoist monasteries. In short, the entire capital was in an uproar for a month, and when Chen Xiao and his party entered the capital, the emperor's illness gradually recovered, and he began to handle government affairs again...
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In the first year of Jiayou, in February, the land of the Northern Country was still cold and chilly in spring. "Updated quickly, no ads, 81 Chinese."
After two months of long journey, Chen brothers and Su father and son finally arrived at Bianliang City.
Actually, without seeing the city walls, we had already arrived in Bianliang. Previously in the capital suburbs, all along the way, there were houses and fields everywhere, with chickens and dogs calling out to each other. The closer we got to Bianliang, the wider the roads became, with brick-lined drainage ditches alongside, which were said to be planted with lotus flowers. Although it was not the right season, I didn't see any lotus flowers, but the peach blossoms, pear blossoms, and various other flowers along the riverbank were enough to let people imagine the beautiful scenery of spring and summer, like a tapestry.
The official road had gardens and vegetable plots on both sides, with no idle land within a hundred miles. Everywhere there were pink walls and willows, flying eaves and overlapping tiles. There were red makeup and music in the treasure pavilions and multi-story buildings, white-faced people singing and dancing near the painted bridges and flowing water. The scenery was like a painting, and the atmosphere was joyful and harmonious... Su Xun pointed out to his juniors that the pink walls and black tiles belonged to ordinary people's homes, while the high walls and flying eaves were the gardens of officials and wealthy merchants. As for those glazed tile houses with palace-like roofs, they were temples and Taoist monasteries... Chen Ke had traveled extensively throughout the south and north, but none of the so-called big cities he had seen could compare to this suburban area of Bianjing.
Not to mention Su Shi's brothers who were out for the first time, they looked like country bumpkins, glancing around and sighing every now and then: "Gua wa zi di, is this paradise?" It made Old Su's face turn red with anger, ordering them not to look around and shut their mouths, lest they lose face in front of the Sichuan people.
On the broad official road, enough to accommodate twenty horse-drawn carriages galloping side by side, it was bustling with vehicles and horses coming and going in all directions... There were donkey teams carrying round grain sacks, single-wheel carts loaded with fresh flowers and charcoal, and large carts carrying pigs and sheep.
In addition to these local products, there are also silk fabrics, clear tea, and paper inkstones from Shu, sheep's wool from the northwest, yellow rice wine from Luoyang, fragrant medicines...
It's not just this road, but also on the various waterways leading to the thirteen city gates of Bianjing, the same scene is being played out. Like a blood transfusion, all kinds of goods from all directions - ginger, cinnamon, brocade, silk, fish, salt, drums, rice, wheat, millet... everything imaginable, are pouring into the Eastern Capital of the Great Song Dynasty, Bianliang City, making it incredibly vibrant and alive.
As they walked until noon, a vast and sparkling lake appeared on the left, about ten miles in circumference. The lake was surrounded by willows, pavilions, towers, ancient cypresses, strange rocks, and winding bridges... Su Xun told them that this was the famous Jinming Pool, one of the four imperial gardens, which would be open to the public during festivals. There would be countless painted pleasure boats, boat races, water games... People from all over would flock to watch, making it a lively and extraordinary scene.
Just as the younger generation was yearning in their hearts, he pointed to the south again. That was a red palace wall with yellow glazed tiles on it: "Do you know where that is?"
"I don't know..."
"Qiong Lin Garden, where the flowers are as white as snow, is a breathtaking sight." Su Xun's face was filled with longing: "This is also one of the four imperial gardens, but it will not be open to ordinary people. Only those who have passed the imperial examination and been invited to a banquet by the royal family can see the scenery inside."
The juniors were stunned, and Su Xun pointed ahead and said, " Bianliang City, we've arrived!"
As people looked up, they saw in the morning mist and fog, the deep blue city wall of Bianjing City, as if it was towering into the clouds!
They entered the city from the first gate in the southwest of Bianliang's outer city, Shuntianmen, commonly known as Xinzhengmen.
As soon as you enter the city gate, the picturesque garden scenery disappears, replaced by a thick and intense atmosphere of life that hits you in the face.
The buildings on both sides of the street are densely packed, all kinds of shops and storefronts.
Needle shops, colour shops, comb shops, headgear shops, toothbrush shops, kerchief shops, medicine shops, seven-treasure shops, white-cloth shops, belt shops, wool-thread shops, hat shops, tin-ware shops, lantern shops, cloud-ladder silk-shoe shops, ribbon-knot shops, flower shops, folding-fan shops, green-silk fan shops... almost every kind of commodity has its own specialized shop, with a vast array of goods to choose from.
In addition, there are medical clinics, fortune-telling and face-reading, beauty salons, and various other industries. The larger shops have two or three stories of colorful awnings and hang bright, beautiful banners to attract customers.
On the streets, under the city gate, pedestrians crowded together, surging forward endlessly. There were Western merchants leading camels, elegant scholars fanning themselves, officials riding horses, vendors calling out their wares, wealthy families being carried in sedan chairs, monks with packs on their backs, travelers asking for directions, children listening to storytellers, young nobles drinking wildly in wine houses, and disabled old men begging at the city gate. Men and women, old and young, scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants, and people from all walks of life gathered together on the streets of Kaifeng, jointly creating a vibrant picture of peace and prosperity.
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Not to mention the Su brothers, even Chen Ke was moved to tears by this realistic version of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", feeling that it was worth living just by coming, seeing, and experiencing.
Just as several people were vying to describe the scene before their eyes with the most beautiful words, Old Su, who was ruining the atmosphere, coughed and said to Chen Ke: "Let's part ways here?"
"Alas...", Chen Ke sighed and said: "Uncle should go home, although it's not big, but at least it's a nest."
"No way!" Su Xun shook his head decisively and said to Su Shi, "Let's go...", just thinking about it, that Chen Xiliang was in the mansion, he hated to draw his sword and kill that scoundrel!
"It seems that they won't be able to meet anymore." Su Shi sighed, patted Chen Ke, and smiled: "I know your address, I'll come visit you another day, we must have a good time in Bianjing City."
"Hmm." Chen Ke smiled and said: "That's natural."
The brothers then said goodbye and went their separate ways.
"Let's go too." Chen Ke looked at Song Duanping, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother, and smiled: "Go see what our home is like?"
"Be careful..." Song Duanping's words had barely fallen when a loud cry of alarm was heard from afar. A sorrel horse with no one riding it came galloping wildly through the crowded streets.
To make the story of Bianliang City reliable, I spent a whole day searching for materials. I'm frustrated to find that if I want to guarantee quality, I can only update three times a day. If I do more, I won't have time to think and write words that will make people happy... Sigh, let's pay off the debt first.
