Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

Chapter 39
An Changgui got up early in the morning and put on his soap-colored official uniform with the help of his maidservant.

Straightening his official hat, looking at the soap-colored official uniform in the bronze mirror, An Changgui sighed.

In terms of power, An Changgui, the low-level official secretary Cao, is second only to the governor Zhang Mian, and is one of the best figures in the entire Guazhou.

But even so, low-level officials still can only wear soap-colored official uniforms, and cannot wear the scarlet official robes of Zhang Taishou.

This is also An Changgui's regret, and it is also the regret of the patriarchs of the An family. They can dominate Guazhou, but they can't go any further.

An Si, An Changgui's housekeeper, came over and said, "Master, the young master has written again."

An Changgui's eyes lit up. His son An Shunqing is the future hope of the An family. An Changgui hired famous teachers since he was a child. He hoped that his son could pass the imperial examination and would not have to wear soap-colored official robes like himself in the future.

Opening the letter, An Shunqing just greeted An Changgui and his old mother, and then wrote about his experience of making friends, summed up in two words at the end, "ask for money".

An Changgui sighed, handed the letter to the steward beside him and said, "Show it to Madam, and order someone to go to Lingwu to send some money to Eldest Young Master."

An Si nodded again and again and said: "Master, I heard that the Lingwu court may hold the imperial examination again to recruit talented people from all over the world to fight against the rebels in Hebei. This time, the young master is a very promising high school student!"

An Changgui smiled, then sighed and said, "It's hard, it's really hard!"

An Si comforted him and said: "I heard that the young master has already gained the relationship with the minister of the house, and his records have been affirmed by the servant of the minister, Mr. Fangguan. I can go to high school!"

An Changgui nodded and said: "Maybe there is still hope to get the help of Fang Xiang, but Shunqing has been in Xijing for so many years, and every time the imperial examination is so short, hey."

An Changgui sighed heavily, the An family is the number one family in Guazhou, but in the whole Tang Dynasty, that is nothing.

An Si is an old servant in the family and a companion who grew up with An Changgui. The relationship between the two is still very close.

An Changgui said: "I still remember that we also traveled in the capital back then, but it was just wasting four years in vain."

An Si lowered her head. Back then, An Changgui was also young and energetic. After studying for a few years, he was going to go to Xijing to make a living, determined to get a Jinshi background.

But in Xijing, An Changgui, who was generous with money, was not able to integrate into the circle of scholars in Xijing. Instead, he was ridiculed by the students of the aristocratic family, who laughed at him as a miscellaneous beard from Longyou Dao.

An Changgui swallowed his anger, but failed the imperial examination twice, and later his father became seriously ill, so he had to return to Guazhou and became the patriarch of the An family.

An Changgui thought of what happened to him in Xijing back then, and couldn't help but said: "If you don't get through the joints, how can you get a Jinshi just relying on Shunqing's talent. But if his profile can be seen by Mr. Much stronger than I was back then."

The so-called running scroll means that in the imperial examination, students who take the exam will copy the articles they have written on the long scroll and put it in the home of the court ministers.

The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were unambiguous, and the officials who corrected the examination papers could directly see the names of the candidates.

The purpose of delivering the test papers is also to leave a good impression on the officials who may be the examiners. If they can be appreciated by the examiners, they will not be far from high school.

However, An Changgui, who had been in the officialdom all his life, knew that it was not easy for him to go to high school with his family background.

Every year, one-third of the money An Changgui earns is given to his son to make friends. Before the fall of Xijing, An Shunqing was throwing coins in Xijing.

Later, after I went to Lingwu with Jin, I continued to spend money to make friends and deliver travel papers.

But An Changgui knew that his son's ability to write poems was mediocre, and his writing was mediocre, so he could only be regarded as a mediocre scholar.

Nowadays, in the imperial examinations of the Tang Dynasty, those who can pass the exam are either famous talents in the world, or the children of aristocratic families.

Relying on his son's talent, if he wants to stand out from the crowd of Tang students, he can only rely on "sprinkling coins".

Seeing An Changgui's lonely expression, An Si said comfortingly: "Master, the young master is talented, and now the Lingwu court also needs talents. The young master will definitely be able to go to high school this time, and you should prepare a blue official robe for him by then!"

Low-level officials in the Tang Dynasty had to wear blue official robes, even if they were blue official robes, they were much more noble than the soap-colored official robes worn by An Changgui.

Only by wearing the green robe can one have the possibility of becoming a chancellor and wearing a noble official robe.

A low-level official like An Changgui can only wear soap-colored official robes in his life.

"I hope so."

At this moment, the sound of porcelain breaking came from the next door.

An Si's complexion changed, he bowed to An Changgui and said, "Master, this old servant will go and have a look."

After a while, An Si walked in with a young and thin servant.

"My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life!"

The little servant lay on the ground, kowtowing for mercy.

An Changgui asked with an ugly face, "When did it happen?"

Butler An Si said: "Master, this lowly slave smashed Master's three-color vase."

An Changgui's face changed, this is the porcelain he brought back from his trip to Xijing when he was young, it is a treasure produced by the official kiln, and it is also a family heirloom that An Changgui plans to leave to his son.

Seeing the servant who accidentally smashed the vase, An Changgui's fat face showed an angry look.

"Bring me my whip!"

An Si immediately handed a whip to An Changgui.

"You cheap slave, how much are you worth! Do you know how much that vase is!?"

"My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life!"

An Changgui slapped the servant more than a dozen times in a row, until his skin was torn apart, and he couldn't even utter a word of begging for mercy.

Only then did An Changgui throw the bloody whip to An Changgui and said, "Slap him ten more whips, and if he dies, report to the governor's office."

There was a fierce light in An Si's eyes, with the servant's appearance, another ten lashes would kill him.

But if he broke the master's precious vase, this kid should be damned.

"Remember to report to the governor's office, don't let outsiders get caught."

"The old slave understands!"

According to the "Law of the Tang Dynasty", the servants in the family are the private property of the master's family, and servants with clean origins can also be resold and traded.

This little servant was born to a servant in Anfu, that is, the so-called family-born son. He has been a servant of Anfu since he was born.

According to the "Law of the Tang Dynasty", domestic servants have no land to grant, nor any political rights.

Even the head of the family can execute the servants at will for crimes. He only needs to report to the government afterwards and cancel his slave status.

An Changgui "manages the family strictly", and any servant who makes mistakes will be beaten to death by him. All the servants in the An family, except the housekeeper An Si, are all terrified of An Changgui.

"It's almost time, go to the Governor's Mansion." An Changgui straightened his soap-colored official robes and said to the butler.

(End of this chapter)