Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

After Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao met, there was another burst of sisterly affection.

Longyou scholars headed by Wang Chengwei also arrived in Chang'an City in a hurry.

Because Chang'an and Luoyang were regained, the imperial examination that was originally planned to be held in Fengxiang Mansion was simply brought back to Chang'an.

Anyway, the candidates have been waiting for so long, so they are not in a hurry for a month or two.

Moreover, this time the imperial examination was the first examination for the imperial court to open a new examination to obtain scholars. After the Anlushan Rebellion, there were many vacancies in the imperial court, and the ruling and opposition parties paid close attention to this examination.

After Datang took the imperial examination, it was not immediately possible to confer an official.

Participating in the imperial examination and winning the Jinshi only means that you have the qualifications to be an official, which is equivalent to the qualification of a lawyer qualification certificate for later generations.

It is still necessary to wait until a suitable position is vacant, and can be formally appointed as an official through the selection of the Ministry of Officials.

During the Kaiyuan period, because there were too many officials, there was a strange record that there was no record of being awarded an official by a Jinshi in Qiuwei.

Even during the emperor's reign, there were tragedies in which a Jinshi died before he was awarded an official.

But now there are a lot of vacancies in the six ministries and various ministers, and there are only a few officials in many departments. As long as they can pass the imperial examination this time, they will definitely be awarded official positions.

This time, the smell of gunpowder in Qiu Wei became stronger.

Since the imperial examinations are held in Chang'an, the candidates gathered in Fengxiang Mansion must rush to Chang'an in advance to adapt to the environment of Chang'an.
The imperial examination is to open a subject for the Tang Dynasty to obtain scholars, and a series of ceremonies need to be attended by the emperor in person, so the imperial examination must wait after returning to Chang'an.

Wang Chengwei and other seventeen Longyou recruits also joined Guo Ping, a businessman and player, and planned to build a "sub-base" in Chang'an.

Guo Ping chose Anyifang, which is a square near Dongshi City, not far from the North City of Chang'an City, and it is considered to be in the core area of ​​Chang'an.

Using the analogy of the current capital city, Anyifang is probably located within the fourth ring outside the third ring road.

From north to south in Chang'an, the closer it is to the imperial city, the more important it is.

The reason why I like Anyifang is because it used to be the place where Hu merchants from the Western Regions gathered.

Many big Hu merchants will buy luxury houses in Anyifang, which is also convenient for doing business in Dongshi.

Anyifang used to be a bustling market full of restaurants and brothels, and the streets and alleys were extremely prosperous.

But after An Lushan invaded Chang'an, these Hu merchants who were guilty of carrying jade also became the targets of massacres and looting.

The owners of many houses in Anyifang have been robbed and slaughtered by An Lushan and his soldiers. Even if they survived by luck, they have become frightened birds.

Guo Ping came forward directly, found several properties with clear title deeds, found the owners of the properties, and purchased these properties from them.

Many of the owners of these houses were Hu merchants from the Western Regions. They had long thought of returning to Longyou. When they heard that Guo Ping was an imperial merchant under King Jianning, they couldn't wait to sell the property to Guo Ping.

However, Guo Ping also brought enough money to buy seven adjacent mansions as a sub-base of the Streetlight Pendant Association in Chang'an.

Yu Xiaoxiao and Su Nuan also joined forces to buy a pipa shop with three yards in front and back, which is next to the big house that Guo Ping bought.

One of the seven mansions facing the street was originally a three-story restaurant.

Guo Ping simply opened up with another mansion and changed it into the "Longyou Guild Hall" where he stayed behind the restaurant in front.

The most magnificent mansion is hung with the sign of "Longyou Chamber of Commerce". From now on, all members of the Street Light Pendant Association who come to Chang'an for business can stay in Longyou Chamber of Commerce for free.

Guo Ping called craftsmen to repair these houses. Except for the restaurant, the cooks from Longyou had to wait for the chefs to come to start a business. The rest of the houses had already been repaired.

In the future, the Longyou Governor's Mansion will stay in the backyard, and the remaining houses will be settled. From then on, Anyifang will be the player's stronghold in Chang'an.

Seventeen scholars including Wang Chengwei also stayed in the Longyou Guild Hall. Compared with Fengxiang Mansion, Chang'an is much more luxurious.

"Put it here, right, right, right here!" Su Nuan instructed the craftsmen to hang the last pipa on the screen wall.

The screen wall is the wall facing the gate. According to Feng Shui in ancient times, there is evil spirit on the road, and the screen wall is used to block the evil spirit.

However, Su Nuan hired a designer in reality to change the gate and screen wall of Pipa Shop into a signboard.

Twelve pipas of different shapes are hung on the screen wall, and this "pipa wall" can be seen through the carefully carved hollow wooden door.

Every time the merchants and people around pass by Pipa Shop, they always look forward to when this refreshing Pipa Shop will open.

Pipa Shop is not just a business that sells pipas, but a training institution that trains pipa players, and also serves as a stage for pipa players to perform.

In modern terms, this is a music institution that integrates piano shops, musical instrument training and theater performances.

Pipa shops are different from brothels that provide that kind of service. These pipa girls often show off their skills rather than their bodies.

Once a high-ranking official's family needs a band to perform, Pipa Xing will come to offer a performance.

For ordinary people, there is also tea for sale in the pipa shop, so you can go in and drink tea while listening to pipa girls playing.

In Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty during the Anshi Rebellion, there were several such pipa shops in almost every square.

However, after the puppet Yan occupied Chang'an, the sound of silk and bamboo was lost in the entire Chang'an city. The pipa shop in Anyifang had already closed down, and many pipa girls changed their careers to do other things.

Now that Chang'an City is finally about to be restored, the surviving people in Anyifang are full of anticipation when they look at the Pipa Shop that is being renovated.

Although life is still very difficult, if you can hear the cheerful dance music again, it may remind people of the prosperous Chang'an before.

In addition to the gate, the interior is also under intensive renovation.

Su Nuan watched the carpenter build a stage, and the patio in the entire Pipa Shop was converted into an open-air stage. In order to prevent the performance from being unable to perform in rainy days, a movable canopy that can be propped up was also made by the skilled craftsman.

Su Nuan stood on the stage, looking at the newly built tables, chairs and benches below.

Although this is a small theater, it can accommodate 200 people.

Su Nuan also used the glass mirror Longyou brought to make a few spotlights, which could gather the light of the candles onto the stage.

But these are just small designs of the theater. For Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao, what is the most important thing in a performance?
Of course he's still an actor.

When it was time for the carpenters to leave work, Su Nuan personally sent them out of the door, and Yu Xiaoxiao finally came back with a tired body.

After the two entered the door, Su Nuan asked anxiously, "How's it going? Are you here?"

Yu Xiaoxiao sighed and said, "That Mrs. Zhou doesn't want to continue to be a pipa player."

Su Nuan sighed and said, "I didn't expect these well-known pipa players to be unwilling to continue performing."

Yu Xiaoxiao said: "This is also normal. It has been more than two years since the fall of Chang'an, and they have not played the pipa for two years."

"This week, the lady has already married. I think her husband is also a diligent and good man, and he will not let his wife go out to show his face as a lute player."

Su Nuan was silent for a while.

Although the pipa players in the pipa shop are different from those in brothels, they hang around all year round in sensual venues and perform on stage. The reputation of this industry is actually not very good.

Especially those young and beautiful pipa players, who can't stand the temptation of money and power, often become concubines of dignitaries and dignitaries.

Yu Xiaoxiao inquired about several well-known pipa players in Anyifang from the neighbors, but she couldn't find any of them.

Su Nuan said: "Then we can only wait for Princess Yanguang's music and dance troupe to return to Chang'an."

Shang Bo gave Princess Yanguang an idea to make her choreograph a song to welcome the emperor back to Chang'an.

Shang Bo recommended Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao to Princess Yanguang, saying that they are the masters of music and dance in the world.

So Princess Yanguang generously sent her music and dance troupe of 30 musicians and 50 dancers to Chang'an, and handed it over to Su Nuan for rehearsal.

Counting the days, this music and dance troupe will arrive in Chang'an in a few days.

Yu Xiaoxiao said: "Let's use Princess Yanguang's dance troupe to rehearse first, as long as we have a name, it will be much easier for us to poach people."

Su Nuan also nodded and said: "That's the only way to say it. When the music and dance troupe arrives, I will try to rehearse a dance song for them. It will be great if it can make them famous."

When the decoration of the Pipa Store was about to be completed, Princess Yanguang's music and dance troupe finally arrived in Chang'an City.

In addition to the music and dance troupe, Jiang Gui, the eunuch beside Princess Yanguang, also arrived in Chang'an City with some servants.

Now that Chang'an has been recovered, they first went back to the Princess Mansion for maintenance and cleaning. When Princess Yanguang returned to Chang'an with the emperor, they could live in the Princess Mansion directly.

When seeing Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao, even the eunuch Jiang Gui's eyes lit up.

He quickly said, "I've seen you two!"

Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao looked at the carriage behind them. They heard that the music and dance troupe in Princess Yanguang's Mansion was the number one in Fengxiang Mansion. Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao were also curious about their level.

"I have seen the order of Jiang's mansion, ladies and gentlemen, please stay at our Pipa shop for the time being." Yu Xiaoxiao, who has also seen the world, said directly to Jiang Gui.

"This is Aunt Gongsun's descendant, right?" Seeing Yu Xiaoxiao wearing a red dress and wearing a short sword around her waist, Jiang Gui thought of Aunt Gongsun, who was famous for her sword dance.

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded, and Jiang Gui said to Su Nuan again: "Is this lady the heir of Li Guinian?"

After saying this, there was a commotion in the carriage behind.

Originally, these dancers and musicians were unconvinced, and I was also praised by the dignitaries in Fengxiang Mansion, so why was I sent to Chang'an to train two young ladies?
The lead dancer of the dance troupe is named Cheng Ji, and logically she should get out of the car to meet Su Nuan and Yu Xiaoxiao, but she hid in the car to express her dissatisfaction.

It can be heard that one of these two is the descendant of Aunt Gongsun and the other is the descendant of Li Guinian, Cheng Ji opened the curtain and jumped out of the carriage.

Only seeing that she was also wearing a smart dress, she looked at Yu Xiaoxiao and Su Nuan and said, "You two are said to be the descendants of Aunt Gongsun and Li Guinian, can you perform a show to open my eyes?"