Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 274 Brief Discussion
Sheng Changbai didn't think much and introduced Li An to Wen Yanjing.

"I've met Brother Shigao." Li An said with cupped hands.

"You're welcome, Ziqian." Wen Yanjing quickly returned the salute.

"How old is Brother Shigao this year?" Li An asked.

Now Wen Yanjing looks like he is buying something as big as twenty if not thirty.

It is said that in this era, the poor people are indeed a little anxious because of their backward conditions.

But for young people like Wen Yanjing, the gap will not be too big.

Wen Yanjing's age was not mentioned in the play, and Ang Lee was a little curious about his specific age.

Wen Yanjing was startled. He didn't know why Li An asked him his age, but he still replied: "I am twenty-four this year."

Twenty-four years old, how old is Ru Lan this year, not thirteen but fourteen.

The eleven year gap was nothing in ancient times.

"Zi Qian, what's wrong?"

But from the perspective of ancient people, it is a bit deviant.

After all, in ancient times, if someone had some status, the one who continued their relationship would definitely be a young lady.

Even if Wen Yanjing deliberately plotted to get help from the Sheng family, it doesn't matter anymore.

With Ru Lan's temperament, life would be difficult if she really married someone from a well-matched or high-ranking family.

However, when Wen Yanjing and Ru Lan fell in love, Wen Yanjing should have been in his mid-twenties, while Ru Lan was only fifteen years old.

If we really compare it, Mrs. Sheng actually helped Sheng Hong to marry Mrs. Wang for the same purpose.

At that time, Ang Lee thought it was a bit far-fetched, but after traveling through this era and understanding this era, he felt that it was very possible.

But these things Li An just thought about had nothing to do with him.

Free love in ancient times was even more rare than hearing about arranged marriage in later generations.

Youdao is to talk about deeds but not the heart, and there is no saint when talking about the heart.

From these perspectives, it is not unreasonable to say that Wen Yanjing's love affair with Ru Lan was deliberately calculated by him.

But Sheng Hong, relying on the royal family connections, had a smooth career, but he disliked Mrs. Wang.

Even this age is not a big difference in future generations.

First of all, there is a difference in concepts. Wen Yanjing and Ru Lan were in free love. From the perspective of future generations, it didn't mean anything.

No matter what Wen Yanjing's starting point was, at least Ru Lan had a good life when she married him.

It is normal for someone in their sixties or seventies to marry a teenage girl.

No wonder many people think Wen Yanjing is a scheming man.

The second is the issue of education. Wen Yanjing is a scholar. He has been influenced by Confucianism since he was a child, so he should understand the principle of expressing emotions and restraining from etiquette.

In comparison, Wen Yanjing is already considered very noble.

Wen Yanjing was a little confused. He didn't know why Li An was in a daze after asking about his age.

"Nothing." Li An came back to his senses and shook his head.

Sheng Changbai always felt that there was something unusual about Li An, so he took the initiative to chat with Wen Yanjing.

Li An listened quietly from behind, only adding a few words from time to time.

Listening to the two chatting, Li An also roughly knew something about Wen Yanjing.

Wen Yanjing's background was similar to that of the original Li family, and even had some shortcomings.

The Li family can still provide education for Li Fu, but the Wen family has no intention of providing education for Wen Yanjing.

Wen Yanjing was the eldest son in his family, and it was a coincidence that he was able to study.

Wen Yanjing was very ambitious and unwilling to work hard for a year, but could not even do the most basic thing of filling his stomach.

Hearing people say that reading can change your destiny, Wen Yanjing made up his mind to study.

The family couldn't afford it, so Wen Yanjing often went to a private school not far from the village to study secretly.

Later, he was discovered by the teacher of the private school. After a test, he saw that Wen Yanjing was very smart, so he became interested in talents and asked Wen Yanjing to learn from him.

Wen Yanjing was already fourteen years old at that time.

It was precisely because he studied late that Wen Yanjing took the county examination last year and won the first prize.

Although it was not mentioned in the play, it was mentioned in the original novel that Wen Yanjing eventually became prime minister.

Ang Lee suddenly discovered that Wen Yanjing's experience and ending were a perfect template for the protagonist. While chatting, the topic inevitably came up. When Wen Yanjing expressed his views, Sheng Changbai and Li An looked at each other, and they could see the surprise in each other's eyes.

Sheng Changbai suppressed his surprise and asked, "Brother Shigao, why do you think the questions in this provincial examination will be related to Xixia?"

He and Li An also discussed privately the topic of the rural examination.

Both of them believed that there was a high chance that it would be related to Xixia.

But Wen Yanjing was very surprised that he could think of this.

It's not that he doubts Wen Yanjing's ability. Although Li An knows that Wen Yanjing will fail the exam next year, he can see Wen Yanjing's talent from previous chats.

Otherwise, the two of them would not have chatted with Wen Yanjing for so long.

The reason for surprise is that the information is not equal.

Information in ancient times was very limited. For example, the fact that the young emperor of Xixia took charge had little to do with ordinary people, so there was not much discussion among the people.

Most of the people talking were some officials from the DPRK and the Central Government, and some scholars who came from official families.

Because they know more than the average person.

Don't think that the popularity of the imperial examination is as if it is very fair.

In fact, nothing is absolutely fair.

Sheng Hong was an official from the fifth rank, and Li An also had a teacher who was an official.

Apart from anything else, they can read every issue of the Chao Zhong Di newspaper.

Di Bao was similar to the newspapers of later generations. It published some decisions and policies of the DPRK and China, as well as some news about the border.

In the final analysis, the imperial examination is for selecting officials, and everything else is easy to talk about. For example, the policy question, which accounts for the largest proportion, may have nothing to do with current affairs, but when answering the questions, you must combine current affairs and some policies of the court.

In addition, they can also know some things in the court from their elders that are not published in the newspapers.

The reason why the two people analyzed that the policy topic might be related to Xixia was because they learned some information from Di Bao and Sheng Hong and Liu Xuewen.

However, this inference is not limited to the two of them. Apart from the establishment of a prince, the topic of Bianjing's title was mentioned the most about Xixia.

Thinking of this, the two of them felt relieved.

Wen Yanjing didn't know what the two of them were thinking, but he knew that this was an opportunity to express himself.

Sheng Changbai and Li An were very distinguished in their clothing and conversation, and Wen Yanjing also wanted to make friends.

But he knew that given his background, this meeting was likely to be a chance encounter. Only by showing his talents and gaining recognition from both of them could they become friends.

Facing Sheng Changbai's inquiry, he thought carefully for a while and said: "There has been peace between Xixia and Song Dynasty these years. The little emperor of Xixia was only fifteen years old, and he was able to kill powerful ministers and control power, which shows that he is very extraordinary." Due to the young emperor of Xixia's age, all the princes and officials in the court probably thought that he would still be in power for a few more years, so they didn't even think about how to guard against Xixia.

However, Xixia's national strength was weak and its offensive capabilities were insufficient, so it was unlikely to launch troops against the Song Dynasty.

As a policy topic in the rural examination, there is no problem. "

Wen Yanjing's analysis surprised the two of them.

Most of the people in Bianjing who thought that the policy issue was related to Xixia were just because the little emperor of Xixia came to power, which caused a lot of discussion.

The Bianjing Provincial Examination often uses some of the most popular topics as test questions.

That's why they made this inference.

But Wen Yanjing was different. He inferred from the actual situation in Xixia. It can be seen that he did not follow others' opinions, but had his own ideas.

To be honest, the little emperor of Xixia is still very capable.

In the past dynasties, it is not uncommon for emperors to succeed to the throne at a young age and lose their power, only to seize the power when the emperor becomes older.

Take Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, for example. He was already twenty-one years old when he succeeded to the throne, so his power was still controlled by Changsun Wuji.

Many people who don't understand history think that Li Zhi deposed Wang Liwu because of Wu Zetian's beauty and methods.

In fact, what people do is to seize power.

How can a wise king who can be recorded in history be so superficial?

An emperor who succeeds to the throne at the age of twenty-one can be dominated by his ministers.

The little emperor of Xixia was less than one year old when he succeeded to the throne, which means that the powerful ministers of Xixia have been in power for more than ten years.

At the age of fifteen, he dealt with the powerful ministers and regained his power.

Few people in history can match it.

However, Li An remembered that the little emperor of Xixia seemed to have a short life and died of illness in his early twenties.

Otherwise, it will probably cause a lot of trouble to the Song Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)