No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 3 Spring of the Second Year of the Qingli Period

"Thank you, Wang Lang."

Su Ze thanked Wang Anshi, then closed the door and said to Wang Anshi:
"My humble abode is shabby, let's go to a teahouse outside the market to chat."

When Wang Anshi followed Captain Sun into the house, he realized that Su Ze, like himself, was a poor scholar with nothing at home. He nodded and said,

"Just find a street tea stall."

The two came out and soon saw a busy road.

Unlike the square Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty, Bianjing, a water transport city built on the water, is much more irregular in shape.

The prosperity of the commodity economy also made the Tang Dynasty's urban governance model of conducting trade only in the market no longer feasible. People's food, clothing, housing and transportation were inseparable from the commodity economy. Therefore, although the Song Dynasty still had lifang, it was no longer separated by walls like the Tang Dynasty, but was connected by roads in all directions.

The shops along the street are also very prosperous. Many vendors sell breakfast along the street, and there is a constant stream of people and traffic.

Su Ze looked around and found a tea stall that also sold breakfast, and took Wang Anshi to sit there.

The Tea Doctor seemed to know Su Ze as well. He enthusiastically brought two tea bowls, lifted a teapot from the charcoal fire, spread out two stools, and arranged seats for the two of them.

"Two more bean cakes."

"okay!"

Dr. Tea deftly placed the wrapped bean cakes on the iron plate in the middle of the charcoal fire. The remaining oil in the iron plate quickly fried the bean cakes to golden brown, giving off a sweet aroma.

This kind of bean cake is actually similar to a pancake, with bean filling mixed with a small amount of sugar. It is said that it was originally a food of the Khitan in the north, and became popular in the city of Bianliang with the Liao envoys and merchant groups traveling to Tokyo.

After the two sat down, Wang Anshi began to speak:
"Su Lang, I am indeed a pedantic person. I would like to hear your opinion on modern learning."

Only then did Su Ze understand why Wang Anshi suddenly came to him.

Unlike ordinary scholars, who do not want to be called pedantic, Wang Anshi regards "pedantic" as a medal of an idealist.

He once wrote a poem in praise of Mencius, "What's the problem with the world disliking his pedantry? I just need this man to comfort my loneliness."

So after hearing Su Ze's evaluation of him, Wang Anshi did not take it seriously, but instead came to him excitedly.

Looking at Wang Anshi's eyes, Su Ze also understood his thoughts.

As a scholar, Wang Anshi was only 22 years old this year, which was the age when he was eager to make friends and communicate with others.

However, as a talented young man, he often fell into loneliness and pain.

Most of the young people of his generation studied for the purpose of taking the imperial examinations and becoming officials and making money. Wang Anshi's loneliness came from his incompatibility with his peers, so he longed for friends who could understand him.

Wang Anshi couldn't wait to ask Su Ze about his views on modern learning because he was eager to understand Su Ze's academic ambitions and see if he could make friends with him.

Su Ze sighed. He was lonely too. After drinking a bowl of tea, Su Ze said:
"I think that among all the current studies, I like the Book of Changes the most, followed by the Mencius."

Wang Anshi's eyes lit up.

The main contents of the imperial examination today are "Book of Rites" and "Zuo Zhuan" as the major classics, "Mao Shi", "Zhou Li" and "Yili" as the medium classics, and "Zhou Yi", "Shangshu", "Guliang Zhuan" and "Gongyang Zhuan" as the minor classics.

In addition to the compulsory examination of "The Analects of Confucius", the book "Mencius" was not taken seriously in the Northern Song Dynasty. Few young people who were interested in the imperial examinations had even read Mencius.

Although the Zhouyi is a minor classic, it is generally only tested on the Mohist interpretation, which is similar to the dictation in modern exams, requiring only rote memorization. Few people study this book. Wang Anshi did not study the Zhouyi much, but he was particularly fond of the Mencius. Hearing Su Ze say this, he felt like he had found a kindred spirit.

Su Ze said:

"Su's favorite line from the Book of Changes is, 'Understand its changes and make the people tireless; transform it with divine power and make it adaptable to the people. When the Book of Changes reaches its limit, it changes; when it changes, it becomes smooth; when it becomes smooth, it lasts.'"

Upon hearing this, Dr. Tea had already brought the bean cakes, and Wang Anshi grabbed his chopsticks and started tapping them on the table excitedly.

Dr. Tea was not surprised at all. There were too many independent scholars in Bianjing City. He just put down the bean cake and went to greet other guests.

Although these scholars have many quirks, they are very proud and are the best customers of the teahouse. If the young scholar breaks the chopsticks, he will definitely compensate for it according to the price.

Wang Anshi rubbed his hands excitedly and asked, "Brother Su, do you also support the New Deal?"

New Deal.

Su Ze remembered that it was the second year of the Qingli period, and the historically vigorous Qingli New Deal took place in the third year of the Qingli period.

The trend of reform and new policies never appears without reason. This year, the court has been filled with calls for new policies. As a young scholar who cares most about current affairs, Wang Anshi has also noticed this trend.

During the Qingli New Deal, Su Ze recalled this vigorous reform movement led by Fan Zhongyan.

Unlike Wang Anshi's excitement, Su Ze knew that the new policy only lasted for more than a year. In the fifth year of the Qingli period, Fan Zhongyan was expelled from Bianliang, and the new policy was a complete failure.

It was probably when the young Wang Anshi first entered officialdom that he witnessed the failure of the new policy, and this gave rise to his ideal of reform in the future.

Su Ze said:

"The changing of the seasons is a natural law, and the rise and fall of a dynasty is like the changing of the seasons. We need to reform and innovate to adapt to new problems. Otherwise, if we still wear summer cloth in winter, won't we freeze to death?"

Wang Anshi grabbed the steaming bean cake, picked it up with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, while nodding repeatedly as he listened to Su Ze's words.

Su Ze also picked up the bean cake with chopsticks, but was burned. Looking at Wang Anshi's iron mouth, he realized that this guy was indeed a pedantic person.

According to legend, when Wang Anshi ate, he would always eat the dish closest to him. His political enemies at the time criticized him for putting on a show. In Su Ze's opinion, this was because Wang Anshi was too focused on thinking about problems. No wonder this guy was able to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi at the age of 22.

When he thought about this, that others were more talented than him and worked harder than him, Su Ze became even more desperate about this year's imperial examination.

However, the two of them were not close friends, so it was not convenient for them to discuss such matters in depth, especially since the new policy involved many issues of standing in the court. Su Ze was also unwilling to say much on specific issues, and only talked about the necessity of reform in a vague way.

But even these contents made Wang Anshi's eyes light up.

You have to know that young people of the same age are all studying poetry and classics in order to pass the imperial examinations. How could they think about these great principles like Su Ze!
Wang Anshi was still not satisfied and didn't even realize that the bean cakes on the plate were finished. He was still using chopsticks to pick up the cakes.

Su Ze couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he cut his bean cake in half and put it into Wang Anshi's plate. He waited until the morning tea stall was about to close before Wang Anshi stood up reluctantly.

He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, handed it to Su Ze and said:

"This is Mr. Wang's address. Tomorrow I will host a literary banquet at his home for friends to discuss academic matters. Su Lang must attend."

At this time, the voice of the carrot man sounded in Su Ze's ears:
"I have discovered the spiritual energy. Do you want to absorb it?"

(End of this chapter)