Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 2661 The bright side of the article

  Chang'an.

   Near dusk, Wei Yan returned to the east gate of Chang'an, the military post on the north bank of the Wei River.

  Military Post House, as the name suggests, is a post house specially set up by General Hussars for the middle and high-level generals of the military academy.

Although it is said that Wei Yan can also live in the large tent of the Chinese army in the school grounds, it is obvious that everyone needs a rest time, and the large tent of the Chinese army is obviously not a good place to rest, so the military post house is very important .

Especially the generals in the middle and upper ranks obviously need to be at a certain level from the soldiers in the lower ranks. It's like fighting monsters and upgrading. After the skills are improved, different patterns and colors will always shine out. Change the number of , and nothing else changes, so it's not interesting, right?

Wei Yan lives in the military post house, in a separate small courtyard slightly behind, firstly, it is clean, and secondly, if there are any emergencies, he can leave immediately without going through the restrictions of any square gates or city gates. . In addition, there is also a side room in the courtyard, which can be used for Wei Yan's guards to live in.

   As for the living conditions, it can only be said to be average. Not great, but definitely not bad either.

When Wei Yan arrived outside the courtyard, he dismounted and asked the guards to lead the horse to the stables. He went to the front yard first, scooped some water casually, rinsed his mouth and washed his face, then entered the hall, took off his armor, It was placed on the weapon rack and sat by the table.

  On the table is the "Youth Doctor" that he bought in a bookstore in the city two days ago.

  Although it is said that the book is famous for its big characters at the beginning, it is not a history book, but a novel, but Wei Yan still finds it very interesting and enjoys reading it. Especially the addition of punctuation marks in the book made it easier for Wei Yan to read. Otherwise, faced with a full page of words, you have to guess and sentence from beginning to end, which is not reading but torture.

   "Youth Doctor" is very good-looking, at least Wei Yan thinks so. He has read it several times, and he is even a little familiar with the contents, but he still finds it interesting.

  Wei Yan has read books, but not much. He can write, but the handwriting is not good-looking.

  Beside the table, there are still some "The Analects of Confucius" and "Book of Songs" piled up randomly, and there is already a thin layer of dust on them. Of course, Wei Yan not only bought a book in the bookstore, but also sold a lot of "serious" scriptures besides "Young Miracle Doctor". Originally, he thought it was to strengthen his own literary quality, but the result? …

   I just bought a PAD with my later generations. I bought it for productivity at first, but later found that besides watching videos and reading novels, its biggest function is to cover instant noodles.

  Thousand yuan instant noodles cover, the instant noodles that are stuffed are fragrant.

  Wei Yan is similar, these "Analects of Confucius", "Book of Songs" and so on, after turning a few pages, it is difficult to read, and it can't be said to be thrown away, but just piled up on the corner of the table.

  Besides "Young Miraculous Doctor", the only one Wei Yan can figure out repeatedly and copy by hand is "Xiping Stone Classic Stele Rubbing". Although it is not a full-text rubbing, this "Stele Rubbing" itself is actually a copybook, which was reprinted by Cai Zhonglang himself. Wei Yan copied some copybooks in his early years, but those copybooks are blurred, and the font is not as stable as this rubbing. , so Wei Yan came back to savor the taste of the stroke structure again, and couldn't help but feel a little more.

Sometimes when the mood comes, Wei Yan will write something casually on the paper, or copy a short passage, or write a poem, and occasionally write a picture that he is very satisfied with, and he will also be very proud of it The words are placed on the table to appreciate for a long time.

Once Wei Yan drank a little too much, and then wrote a picture with great interest. He remembered that he thought he wrote it very well, but for some reason, he went to read it after he sobered up, but found that everything he wrote I don't know what it is, if it wasn't for the guards stationed in the small courtyard, Wei Yan would have wondered if someone had stolen his "calligraphy"...

  So Wei Yan later decided that he would never touch a pen after drinking.

   In his spare time, besides reading books and practicing calligraphy in the military station, Wei Yan would also wear casual clothes to Chang'an City and walk around the Mausoleum.

  Chang'an is the biggest city Wei Yan has ever seen.

In the main city of Chang'an, Wei Yan roughly estimated that there are at least 100,000 people living in it, and then the surrounding mausoleums are large and small, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 to 50,000 to 10,000 to 10,000 to small ones, plus some temporary workers from the surrounding counties and towns of Chang'an. , as well as the population in the labor camps, no matter how close to 500,000 people.

  In fact, Wei Yan’s estimate was slightly wrong. The current population of Chang’an has exceeded 600,000 and is approaching 700,000.

  He has never been to Luoyang. When he was in Jingnan, he thought Changsha was the biggest city. When he came to Chengdu, he felt that Chengdu was very big. Then, after Wei Yan arrived in Chang'an, he discovered that Chang'an was so big that even the city walls couldn't be built...

  The city is big, and it is really difficult to build a city wall. It's not about manpower or construction. After all, the Great Wall can be built. If Chang'an City really wants to build a city wall, it's not a very difficult thing. The difficulty lies in maintenance and defense.

  After the city wall is built, it needs regular maintenance, not to mention repairs and repairs. It also needs to send fixed personnel to patrol and defend, and then it will inevitably require additional labor, deployment of materials, and so on.

  At the same time, the absence of a city wall means that there is no so-called "last line of defense".

   Just like Hushi said, "If you can't keep the enemy out of the country, it's a disgrace to the warriors; if you can't secure the people within the country, it's a disgrace to the literati." 』

  Wei Yan still remembers that when he heard this remark, his chest was agitated, and he wished to engrave this sentence on the handle of the knife. It's a pity that there is already a sentence engraved on the hilt of the knife, um, it is also a famous sentence from Huqi's early years, so it is a pity that there is no place on the hilt of the knife, so I can only remember it in my heart.

  In the east of Chang'an City, due to the diversion of the civil and military markets, the largest entertainment center is located around the Wu City. Large and small inns and restaurants, high-end and ordinary, are almost next to each other. They are not worried about business.

  Because of the curfew, these restaurants, restaurants and other entertainment venues are generally open and provide corresponding accommodation. Every night, there are brilliant lights everywhere, singing and dancing, and it will be lively until the light of day will be a little quieter.

  At the beginning, Wei Yan thought that these places were very expensive, and they were only places where the sons of noble families and wealthy families went, but after he went there, he found that it was different from what he thought before. In this "Entertainment Center", there are indeed very expensive places that even Wei Yan would feel distressed and unbearable, but there are also very cheap places that can't even spend a few dollars to play for a day.

  Big stage, two copper coins for entry fee, plus five more, you can have a cushion, you can sit for a day, and provide free slurry. Of course, dried fruits, tea, wine and food are another matter. If you don’t even want to spend this money, you can just stand on the fence outside the arena. Although it is far away, the sound is low, and the sight in the arena is blocked, you can also listen to books, watch plays and watch juggling. If you have something to eat, you don't even need to pay for the meal. As long as your legs don't hurt from standing, you can stay for a whole day.

The storyteller on the stage, the dancer Hu Niang, and those jugglers are not like those on the street, who have to take a dustpan and wooden basin to beg for money for a part of the performance. These people on the stage, Both men and women don't seem to care much about whether there is an extra reward, because he or they have a fixed salary.

   Bounties are extra. Whether to reward or not depends on the wishes of the viewers. If you reward more, it is a word of "thank you", if you reward less, it is also a word of "thank you", and if you don't reward, it is still a word of "thank you". It is said that in order to attract more guests, the shopkeepers of these big theaters will deliberately choose some better performers to come, and at the same time, they will also invite special personnel to train their own troupe.

Those bounties also belong to the artists. After all, shopkeepers have to be shameless. I have such a big platform, and then I have to **** three melons and two dates from the artists. This spread, and my family was scolded for being skinless and shameless. It's a small matter, the ancestors are not safe in the ground after being greeted by so many people...

  Wei Yan likes going to the big stage very much, even more than going to the wine shop, because the big stage has more fireworks atmosphere.

  Of course, in addition to Takeshi, the anthology is also very lively.

  Bookstore is also included in the anthology.

  By the way, the bookstore...

   Wei Yan suddenly became interested and wanted to go to the bookstore, so he put down the scroll in his hand, then looked up at the sky, stood up, greeted him and left the small courtyard, and led the two of them to the bookstore of anthology.

  The last time I went there, the bookshop guy said that there would be new books in a while.

  So Wei Yan decided to take a stroll and take a look while it was still early in the sky.

  Bookstore is diagonally opposite the examination room.

  The gate of the examination room is closed, and there are soldiers on duty outside the gate.

  Wei Yan didn't wear a military uniform, nor did he wear a ribbon, but only had a private seal in his pocket, and the guards around him didn't wear armor, they were all casual clothes, so they didn't attract anyone's attention.

  No one in the examination room...

   If the exam is not started, of course there will be no one.

   It is not difficult for Wei Yan to go into battle to kill the enemy, but it is quite difficult for Wei Yan to let Wei Yan enter the examination room to test scriptures. Wei Yan thinks that people who are good at reading are also very good, such as hussars. If you talk about fighting head-on on the battlefield and fighting alone with force, the general of Hussars is basically not ranked well. Wei Yan can make Hussars win with both hands, but if you talk about the overall battle situation, you need to plan a strategy , Wei Yan felt that he was still far behind, at least two or three floors short.

  The bookstore is very large, and the three facades are all from the bookstore.

The clerk at the door of the store didn't recognize Wei Yanlai, nor did he turn him away because Wei Yan didn't wear a crown or a scholar's robe, let alone because Wei Yan looked dark because of his military career all year round. After a few glances, I just greeted him, briefly introduced the newly arrived books and so on, and then retreated to the door, waiting for the next visitor.

  Wei Yan didn't think about what books to buy, so he casually walked through the bookshelves one by one.

He also wants to read books such as scriptures, but those books are relatively esoteric and not easy to understand, so he hesitates whether to buy them. After all, the Analects of Confucius and The Book of Songs are on the side of his desk Yes, he wanted to fall asleep after reading a few pages, and he was not sure what new "Shangshu" or "Spring and Autumn" and the like could keep him from falling asleep.

  However, "Spring and Autumn" seems to be able to buy a copy...

   Wei Yan took a copy of "Spring and Autumn" in his hand, flipped through it, Zuo's, and then handed it to the guard behind him, asking him to help hold it.

  The guard held it carefully in his hand, as if it was heavier than a sword, gun and shield.

   General Hussars is said to rule the Spring and Autumn Period, so Wei Yan felt that he should also watch the Spring and Autumn Period more. As for whether he can persist for a longer time without getting sleepy, um...

  Try it.

  There are quite a lot of books in the bookstore. There are two rooms, one inside and one outside, with more than 20 bookshelves, and there are at least three to four hundred kinds of books, but most of them are books that Wei Yan can't read.

  There is a bookshelf that is very popular, and there are many people browsing and purchasing.

  Wei Yan also moved over curiously to have a look, only to find out that it was the anthology of the examination room. That is to say, since Huqi started the exam, the top three policy essays will be posted, and then someone will go to copy them, seal carving and engraving for printing.

  Of course, the original author will be given a retouching fee.

   This type of book is probably the fastest-selling type of book besides the classics.

   After all, there are more and more people who want to take part in the scientific examination nowadays. It is of course more efficient to learn some experience from the predecessors than to explore by yourself.

  A few students seemed to be chattering, seeming to be discussing where these policy articles are best written. Some students are also complaining about why Hanzhong Chuanshu did not introduce this book. Some of his friends asked him to buy it. If they go to the post station, the shipping fee will be more than the price of the book. Well, wet damage or something...

  Wei Yan also approached, took a book and flipped through it.

  Although it is said that some newly printed volumes of scriptures have already begun to have sentence marks, but obviously, this collection of essays that contains policy and theory does not. Perhaps it was because there was no punctuation when writing this theory, so naturally there was no sentence when it was copied down and engraved.

   This gave Wei Yan a bit of a headache. He looked at the policy theory, and then discerned the sentences and paragraphs in it.

"...Today, the daily tax increase of Chang'an Sanfu Commerce and Trade should also be changed to classify the different types of industries. Different taxes should be paid more for those with high profits and low profits. Those who pay less can benefit the people to support their livelihoods, maintain their industries, and lose profits... 』

  Wei Yan couldn't help but rubbed his eyes. Although this strategy is good, it is more eye-catching.

Although Wei Yan didn't read much, he was a senior general close to Fei Qian, so he still had some understanding of politics. He attended the government affairs last time. Thoughts, but it cannot be said that he is not at all clear about people's livelihood and government affairs, so he knows more or less about the refinement of the tax system, which seems to be the direction of reform in the next stage.

  The officers and generals before only needed to be proficient in combat, but it is different now.

  At least the Hussar General is different here. Military generals need to attend important meetings of civil servants. When military commanders discuss important strategic directions, civilian officials also need to attend. Of course, the expanded audit meeting here is naturally to discuss the kind of content that can be made public. Those secret matters will not be brought to the enlarged meeting.

  According to General Hushi, this is to strengthen the communication between the civil and military, because the civil officials don’t know what the generals want, and the military commanders don’t know what the civil officials do, which leads to mutual misunderstanding and distrust, which is very detrimental to the overall politics. Huqi said that there are few people now, and they can hold meetings and listen to each other for the time being. In the future, they will report to each other as needed to reduce unnecessary friction.

Wei Yan flipped through it again, and saw another article that seemed to be talking about enlightenment, "...so that the people can hold on to the people's livelihood and observe the four seasons without hurting their roots. In the legend, it can be taught by poor scholars to dispel the confusion of the people. From the old to the young, everyone can learn it, regardless of gender...』

Hi!

  Wei Yan couldn't help closing the book, and then walked towards the shopkeeper.

  The collection of policy papers is good, and he really wants to read it, but there is no sentence to read, it seems really strenuous.

  The storekeeper of the bookstore smiled, treated everyone like a regular customer, and greeted everyone warmly, including Wei Yan, nodding his head, "Guest officer is here?" What are your orders? 』

  Wei Yan shook the scroll in his hand, "This collection of papers, can someone copy it for me?" The kind to add sentences to read. 』

  『Is this the collection of policy papers? ’ said the shopkeeper.

  『There are many books? ’ Wei Yan asked.

  The shopkeeper nodded, "This one is the latest one. 』

  『Well, how much does it cost to copy a copy with sentences? ’ Wei Yan asked again.

  『Ordinary paper, four hundred and sixty dollars. ’ the shopkeeper quickly replied.

  Wei Yan looked at the price of the book in his hand, "This book costs 600 yuan, why is it cheaper to copy by hand?" 』

The shopkeeper explained to Wei Yan with a smile, saying that for such a book, it takes three people to copy it for a day, and the daily salary of the copyists is 80, and a serving of tea and snacks costs 20, and the paper used is divided according to the quality, good or bad. Naturally, the price is high. Generally, the cost of paper is about 140 renminbi, and other miscellaneous expenses are about 10.20 renminbi, so the overall cost is 460 renminbi.

  The shopkeeper pointed Wei Yan to a few students in the corner of the bookstore. Those people came to copy books to make money. Judging by their clothes and looks, they were indeed students from ordinary families. They were all sitting in the corner by the desk and copying books very seriously, turning a deaf ear to the sounds of the people in the bookstore.

"Ok? In this way, do you not make any money? The bookstore doesn't take a commission? Wei Yan said in surprise, "If someone just copied books and didn't buy them, wouldn't it mean that you wouldn't be able to make any money at all?" 』

  The shopkeeper said that this is the rule.

  Bookstores sell books, so it is only natural to make money from selling books, but bookstores are not used to make money from copying books. Not only he can't, but all the bookstores under Hushi don't make money for copying books. Copying books for others is one of the few sources of food and clothing for poor students. If they even earn this money and have to take a cut, isn't it similar to scooping up coins in a beggar's bowl?

So the bookstore just provides a place for free, so that these poor students can have a place to make some money. If these poor students are promising in the future, it’s enough not to forget the well digger when they look back, and no one will use a lifetime of manuscripts …

  Wei Yan thought about it and understood.

   Indeed.

"interesting. Understood. ”Wei Yan waved his hand, “That’s it, I’ll buy this book, and then I’ll get someone to copy a copy of it for me and read it...By the way, is there an official sentence for this "Spring and Autumn"? 』

  The shopkeeper replied with a smile: "Sorry, sir, the reading of this scripture has not been finalized yet, so there is no one for the time being... only a private version... If the guest is not in a hurry, you can wait a while, I heard that it will be finalized soon..."

  『Qinglong Temple? ’ Wei Yan asked.

  The shopkeeper nodded.

  Wei Yan also nodded, took out his wallet to pay the bill, and bought a copy of Chunqiu and a book of policy theory, both of which were read without a sentence, and then the copied book of policy theory had to wait for three days...

Wei Yan came out of the bookstore, and looked back at the students who were copying books on the side of the bookstore. As the setting sun set, golden brilliance slanted into the window lintel and spread across the banquet, as if a golden strip was spread in front of those students. the way.

  (end of this chapter)