Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 520: A Raincoat in the Mist [End of this Volume]

There is no doubt that the Renzong and Xuanzong periods were the peak of the entire Song Dynasty. Even some people in later generations who did not like the Song Dynasty had no objection to them.

After all, during this period, the Song Dynasty's rule over the entire world could be said to have reached its peak in a certain sense.

People all over the world speak Chinese, and people all over the world listen to Chinese.

During the heyday of the Song Dynasty, that is, the Renzong and Xuanzong years, other countries in the world also came to the Song Dynasty to learn about its culture - just like the Tang Dynasty back then. But the difference from the Tang Dynasty was that foreigners at this time liked the "culture" of the Song Dynasty more than its technology.

During the Tang Dynasty, they probably preferred the technology of the Tang Academy of Sciences rather than the almost brilliant Central Plains culture of the Tang Dynasty.

But this actually has nothing to do with the technological level of the Tang Dynasty or the Song Dynasty. It is determined by the technological level of other countries and the different educational policies of the Song Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty.

The technological levels of other countries lagged far behind that of the Tang Dynasty during the Tang Dynasty - on the surface. When they were holding cold weapons, the Tang Dynasty had already begun to use hot weapons. Even when other countries were still relying on horses and manpower to move forward, the Tang Dynasty had already taken the train.

This is a dimensionality reduction attack for them, and it is a dimensionality reduction attack that everyone can see. They are almost in different worlds. The gap is so big that they can naturally see it.

And now?
Today, there is still a huge gap between the technology of the Song Dynasty and other countries, but at least they seem to be in the same world, dimension, or era.

For example, the Song Dynasty now uses internal combustion engines - other countries use steam engines. For example, the Song Dynasty uses machines that burn oil, while they use machines that use coal.

For example, the weapons of the Song Dynasty were very advanced, but their weapons were not too weak either - at least they were all thermal weapons.

Under such circumstances, as their "life" rule was not oppressively surpassed, the ruling class began to gradually relax and began to pay attention to the "culture" of the Song Dynasty, or the "spiritual" enjoyment.

For example, singing and dancing, poetry, and culture.

Compared with the cultural level of the Song Dynasty, those foreign forces were like uncivilized barbarians.

When the French envoy arrived in the territory of the Song Dynasty, he was shocked by the exquisite and gorgeous clothes, the complicated yet noble and elegant etiquette, and the difficult-to-understand yet elegant and refined poems.

They suddenly felt that the things they claimed to be noble were nothing compared to these truly noble things.

After all, their so-called nobility is still on the "surface", but the nobility of the Song Dynasty has already penetrated into its bones.

The nobility and elegance they tried their best to show seemed almost exaggerated and barbaric in the face of the etiquette of the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, in order not to appear so "barbaric", they began to learn the etiquette of the Song Dynasty, and to learn the etiquette of the Song Dynasty they must learn the culture of the Song Dynasty.

Under such circumstances, a certain "cultural invasion" of the Song Dynasty slowly began to spread to other countries, such as a number of small countries in Europe, a number of countries in the Mediterranean, and countries established by the remnants of the Shang Dynasty on the Shang Dynasty continent in America.

During this period, a sentence from the great poet "Su Shi" may best illustrate the prosperous status of Song Dynasty culture.

"I will travel all over the world, and everyone I meet will be able to understand the Mandarin I speak, even if their country is far away from the Song Dynasty and across thousands of mountains and seas."

The fifteenth year of Renxuan.

riverside
Su Shi stood by the river, looking at the imperial palace standing in the distance, with a hint of sadness on his face. This sadness was not due to anything else, but simply because he was about to go on a long journey, or rather, he was going on a journey passively.

Beside him, Wang Anshi stood there, and looking at Su Shi's appearance, he couldn't help but press his forehead.

"You only know how to contradict His Majesty. If not, how could His Majesty banish you to Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

"Can't you just talk to His Majesty properly?"

Ouyang Xiu, who was standing by, shrugged his shoulders after hearing this, with a helpless look on his face: "You told him this? This guy, I'm afraid he will never get rid of this bad habit in his lifetime. He wants to say something when he sees something wrong."

"If it weren't for Brother Anxing's plea this time, I'm afraid His Majesty would not just exile him to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, right?"

"I heard that His Majesty originally wanted to exile him to Qiongzhou Island."

Qiongzhou Island?
Wang Anshi blinked and said, "It is indeed a bit remote. Although Qiongzhou Island has developed well in recent years, it is still far behind Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and even Kyoto."

"But speaking of which, where is Brother An Xing? Why isn't he here?"

Su Shi sighed. He knew this. "Brother An Xing should still be heading in this direction. After all, he is busier than us. His Majesty suddenly wanted to build a Grand Secretary Pavilion to manage the three provinces and six ministries. Brother An Xing must be very busy, right?"

He looked at Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi and said, "It is beyond my expectation that you two can come so early."

Wang Anshi smiled and said, "Why? Are you moved?"

"We two asked for leave to come here specifically, because we were afraid that you would stand here alone waiting for us. Wouldn't it look very miserable then?"

Su Shi curled his lips and was about to say something, but suddenly stopped talking. He looked at the people who were rushing over in the distance, grinned, and looked very happy.

"Brother An Xing."

"You finally came."

Chen Shi got out of the car, glanced at Su Shi, took something out of his sleeve, and threw it directly to Su Shi: "Okay, take the things and get out of here."

"It only causes me trouble every day."

"I'll see if there's a way to transfer you back from Jiangsu and Zhejiang until His Majesty is less angry."

"Remember, even when you go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you have to keep your mouth shut!"

"Don't be so outspoken like you are now, or one day I won't be able to help you suppress it!"

Su Shi chuckled, took the "imperial edict" and stuffed it into his sleeve, then jumped onto the boat on the river bank. Tiny ripples appeared under the boat, rippling towards the distance.

A little green shadow was cast on his body, and then slowly floated away into the distance.

The wind blew slowly, and the small boat under his feet slowly gathered towards the ripples in the distance, and then left the port of Kyoto, floating into the distance like a kite, which seemed to leave a mark on Su Shi's life.

The mountains and rivers were rapidly receding, and the smile on Su Shi's face slowly disappeared, leaving only a sense of melancholy that could not be dispelled. He sat there, staring blankly at everything that was rapidly passing by around him.

The fisherman at the side walked up to him and said with a grin, "Sir, we will be at the port in half an hour, and you can then transfer to another boat."

Su Shi waved his hand: "I know."

The fisherman didn't say anything, just shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his waist.

Half an hour later.

Su Shi got off the small boat and then boarded a large ship. Standing on the large ship, Su Shi sighed, "Ah..."

Behind him, the small, quaint boat slowly glided into the distance. Along the way, the fisherman ran into an acquaintance of his: "Hey? You just sent someone over there, too?"

The old man relaxed when he saw the fisherman. He took out the engine from the awning and put it aside. Then he lit the pipe on his waist and said, "What do you think those people are thinking? It's really strange."

"There are big ships out there, but they insist on taking a small boat like ours. It seems like it would make things more interesting this way."

He curled his lips and said, "But it's a good thing, otherwise we wouldn't have this job."

The fisherman also took out the engine and installed it at the stern: "Who said it wasn't?" "It seems that those literati think that sitting on this antique with a boatman of our age rowing it slowly will create a more interesting atmosphere."

"The one I just brought is a great scholar. He seems to be the number one scholar on the Dragon and Tiger List two years ago, whose name is Su Shi."

The champion?
"Oh my, your boat is incredible."

"The price of a ship that has carried the top scholar is different from ours."

The two chatted all the way, and soon they were almost at the port. Then they skillfully and swiftly put away the engine, and then rowed to the port with the oars in their hands.

Skilled in attracting customers.

"Classical hand-cranked boats—"

"It only costs eighty-eight coins to take the bus from here to the port for transfer—"

"Convenient and fast—"

"Hand-cranked, fair to all--"

The fisherman smiled and added a "slogan":

"This is the seat that Mr. Su Shi, the number one scholar in the imperial examination, just sat on—"

"The first one only needs 488 coins - the second one only needs 388 coins - the third one only needs 288 coins -"

"After three people, it will only cost one hundred and eighty-eight coins—"

This price is fair, after all, it was the seat that Su Shi had sat in. Many people's eyes lit up when they heard it, and then they came to compete for the spots. Soon the first three spots were sold out, and there were still four or five others waiting in line, all wanting to take advantage of the literary aura of this great writer.

The 20th year of Renxuan.

Su Shi was transferred back from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, but not long after that he angered the government again and was exiled to Qiongzhou Island. This time, even Chen Shi's plea for him was of no avail.

It’s still the same riverside, and still the same group of people.

But this time, Su Shi's face was no longer a forced smile, but he looked very normal. He waved his hand and said to the brothers who were sighing, "Don't feel bad for me, it's just an outing."

"Qiongzhou Island has developed quite well in recent years, so I won't suffer much if I go there."

"I heard the coconut chicken there is good. I wanted to try it last time, but I didn't have the chance. This time is perfect."

Having said that, he jumped onto the familiar boat. It was still the familiar fisherman, but this time the fisherman was accompanied by a half-grown boy, and the boy and the fisherman rowed the boat together.

The fisherman lit the pipe at his waist and said, "We meet again, Mr. Su."

He smiled and said, "I won't charge you this time. After all, I have made a lot of money in the past few years with this ship you have been on. This time I will give it to you as a gift."

The fisherman exhaled, rubbed his hands, and shouted: "Boat sailing in the mist and rain——"

The 30th year of Renxuan.

This time, it took Su Shi ten years to be transferred back from Qiongzhou Island. However, when he came back this time, Chen Shi's familiar face was no longer there.

In just two months, this talented poet who had become famous all over the world in the past decade was exiled again.

This time, he was dissatisfied with some of the policies of the new emperor after he ascended the throne, so he wrote a letter to the emperor to express his opinions directly. In the end, he was slandered and reported. The emperor was furious and directly expelled him from the border of the Song Dynasty and exiled him to a distant place.

Among the people standing on the shore, this time there was no longer the familiar Chen Shi, nor the familiar Ouyang Xiu.

Only Wang Anshi stood in the cold wind with his sleeves rolled up. There was a lot of fog. He looked at Su Shi who was going away and couldn't help but sigh, feeling extremely disappointed.

What direction will this world take?
He looked sad.

Su Shi, who was on the boat, bent over and looked at the familiar middle-aged man in front of him for a long time before finally saying, "Are you the kid from back then?"

The middle-aged man smiled naively and said, "Yes, Mr. Su. My father sent you off the first time you left Beijing. The second time, my father and I went together. My father passed away five years ago. Now I have taken over this ship."

"Before he passed away, my father was thinking about you all the time. He also said that if you could come back with your temper, you would probably be exiled again. So he instructed that if you take the boat, I am not allowed to charge you any money."

He fumbled in his arms and took out a few discarded coins.

"This is the money you paid me back then. My father has kept it and asked me to return it to you, hoping to lend you some of the good luck you have had over the years so that you will not be exiled again."

Su Shi looked at the coins in the man's hand and laughed.

At this moment, he stood at the bow, looking at the distance that was constantly gliding away, and his heart seemed to open up a lot.

He looked at the middle-aged man behind him and said, "I have taken your boat twice. I will not take advantage of you. I will leave a poem for you."

Su Shi recited softly.

"Don't listen to the sound of Chuan Lin slapping leaves, why don't you roar and walk slowly."

"A bamboo stick and straw sandals are lighter than a horse."

"Who's afraid?"

"A misty rain Ren Pingsheng."

"The chilly spring breeze sobers me up, it's a little chilly, but the slanting sunlight on the mountaintops greets me."

"Looking back at the desolate place."

"Go back."

"Neither rain nor shine."

He stood there, looking at the landscape that reflected his entire life.

"What's your name?"

The middle-aged man scratched his head and said, "In reply to your question, my name is "Ye San"."

Su Shi smiled and said, "Then let's call this poem "Steady Wind and Waves - Feelings from Riding on Ye San Boat"."

The mist and rain are hazy.

This is Su Shi’s life, just like everything during the Renzong and Xuanzong years.

【End of this volume】

(End of this chapter)