Film and TV: Traveling through countless worlds at the same time

Next, let's talk about why the word "weak" is added before the Song Dynasty.

It's because his achievements are too few, and his "martial arts" is too low.

Even the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun could not be recovered, so the Song Dynasty had no right to talk about "military achievements".

But even so, we must not forget that in addition to "martial arts", there is also "civil governance".

What is “Cultural Governance”?

To put it bluntly, it is about how the people of the time lived during the reign of the rulers.

Looking back at the dynasties throughout history, when it comes to "civil governance," the Song Dynasty is undoubtedly number one.

The common people during this period can be said to have the highest happiness index among all dynasties in the feudal period.

Therefore, even in his previous life, if Lu Xiao could choose to travel back to ancient times, he would definitely choose the Song Dynasty.

Now there is no need to say more.

The butt determines the head.

Now he eats the food of the Song Dynasty, sits on the chair of the Song Dynasty, and sleeps on the bed of the Song Dynasty.

Enjoying the welfare of the Song Dynasty.

You can't just smash the Song Dynasty pot and dismantle the Song Dynasty family.

Therefore, he would not say anything bad about the Song Dynasty.

Of course, even so, the fact that the Song Dynasty was still a weakling in terms of "martial arts" cannot be changed.

But isn't Lu Xiao here now?

Nothing is absolute.

With him, everything is possible.

Chapter 43 The Current Situation of the Big House

A month ago, Lu Xiao won the Suzhou Prefecture provincial examination and became the top scorer.

Then came countless invitations to banquets.

There was a Luming Banquet, a Teacher Appreciation Banquet, a Classmates Banquet, and even a ten-day buffet hosted by my father-in-law in Youyang.

After being busy for more than twenty days, things finally calmed down a bit.

To be honest, he is really not good at handling these parties.

However, he also knew that such social events were unavoidable for him as he would enter the officialdom in the future.

After all, in official circles, the importance of interpersonal relationships is, in a sense, higher than one's own ability.

After attending many banquets, Lu Xiao finally set off for Bianliang with his wife Sheng Shulan as planned.

Besides these, there were many servants accompanying him.

Although every inch of land in Bianliang is worth a lot of money, the Sheng family of Youyang is also not short of money.

Since marrying Sheng Shulan, Lu Xiao has also given his father-in-law a lot of business advice.

Thanks to his series of suggestions, the Sheng family's business, which had already been doing well over the past year, became even more prosperous.

Although the Sheng family's business is currently concentrated in Youyang County and several surrounding counties, this is simply because the Sheng family does not want to actively expand its business territory.

In this era, if a business wants to grow, it must have sufficient background.

The background of the first wife of the Sheng family was the second wife of the Sheng family who served as an official in Bianjing.

Although the second-household head, Sheng Quan, was an official in the capital, he was only a sixth-rank official and did not have much power.

Therefore, the Sheng family's eldest branch's business could only make them the richest people in Youyang County.

If it's any higher, people will be jealous.

After all, even though the Song Dynasty was a prosperous commercial society, the status of merchants was still low.

The social classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans still exist.

Therefore, all big businessmen have officials in the court as their backers.

A businessman with a sixth-rank official as his background is eligible to compete for the title of richest man in a county.

Those who have a fourth-rank official as their background are eligible to compete for the title of the richest man in a city.

Only those with a background of a third-rank official or above in the imperial court are eligible to compete for the title of richest man in a prefecture.

If you want to compete for the title of the richest man in the entire Song Dynasty, you must become an imperial merchant.

No one talks about these things openly, but they are all unspoken rules for business.

Of course, background alone is not enough.

In this era, officials in the imperial court were very careful about their reputation and rarely took part in the execution of a crime.

Therefore, background can only ensure that your business will not be targeted by certain groups of people. How big your business can be in the end depends on your own ability.

Sheng Wei is certainly capable, but his background is a bit lacking, so he can only be the richest man in Youyang.

But he is also an ambitious man.

Therefore, in Yuyang over the years, we have sponsored many scholars every year.

The hope is that one of them will become successful in the future and can become a helper to the Sheng family in the business world.

And now, years of hard work have finally paid off.

So, in order to better prepare Lu Xiao for his studies in Bianliang, he had immediately dispatched people to Bianliang after learning the results of the provincial examination a month earlier, spending a vast sum of money to purchase a courtyard.

Therefore, Lu Xiao also had a place to stay in Bianliang.

This time he brought his wife to Bianliang and had no intention of leaving.

This will be his home from now on.

The boat landed safely at the dock, and Lu Xiao returned to the cabin to take his wife, Sheng Shulan, out.

Get off the boat and change to a carriage.

A moment later, the carriage began to slowly move through Bianliang City.

It has to be said that Bianliang is indeed the most prosperous city in the world today.

A month ago, Lu Xiao still thought Suzhou Prefecture was not bad.

But compared to the Bianliang in front of us, it is still several levels inferior.

From the moment we got off the boat, the noise from the streets around us never stopped.

Full of the smell of fireworks.

At the same time Lu Xiao entered Bianliang, Sheng Quan and his wife were discussing his arrival at the Sheng family in Bianliang.

Jiying Lane, Sheng Mansion.

"Oh, I didn't expect that Li Shi would find such an outstanding son-in-law. Next time we go back to Youyang, her nose will be lifted to the sky."

Sheng Quan's wife, Madam Wang, felt a sour taste in her mouth at this moment.

More than 20 days ago, Sheng Quan received a letter from Sheng Wei.

I have a certain understanding of Lu Xiao's basic situation.

Sheng Quan naturally wouldn't refuse the offer of studying.

They both share the same surname, so even if the first wife surpasses the second wife in the future, it will only benefit Sheng Quan, not harm him.

Sheng Hong is a smart and capable man with ideals and ambitions, and he is well versed in the ways of being an official.

That is, when dealing with the problems in the back house, it seems a mess and very unbearable.

But no matter what, in the original novel, Sheng Quan relied on his own efforts and management to finally reach the second rank before retiring.

Therefore, this person's ability and vision are beyond doubt.

Therefore, after seeing Sheng Wei's letter, he was filled with joy.

Regardless, although Lu Xiao was from the eldest wife's family, he was still considered half a member of the Sheng family.

Being able to become a provincial scholar with the highest rank in the imperial examinations would qualify one day to compete for the first-class jinshi degree.

What is a first-class Jinshi?

The first place, the second place, and the third place.

Any of these three titles will have a good future.

Sheng Quan is now in the officialdom, although he has some background.

But not many.

There are actually only three people who can truly help him.

One is the Yongyi Marquis Mansion after the death of the old lady of the Sheng family.

Although the old lady had broken up with her family in order to be with Sheng Quan's father some years ago.

But the fireworks are always there.

In special times, as long as the old lady is willing to sacrifice her reputation, she can use the connections of the Yongyi Marquis Mansion.

The second is the Shengquan Yue family and the Wang family.

Madam Wang's name was Wang Ruofu. She came from the prominent Wang family. Her father, Grand Tutor Wang, was a high-ranking official in the imperial court. He held the rank of Grand Tutor and was even granted an imperial ancestral temple after his death.

Therefore, in the early years, the Wang family also provided a lot of help to Shengquan.

However, in recent years, without Grand Tutor Wang, the Wang family has begun to decline.

The sons of the Wang family are all good-for-nothings, lacking much real talent or knowledge.

Currently, they are all idle officials in the court.

The Wang family may have seen that they are no longer what they used to be, so they have become increasingly close to the Sheng family in recent years.

I just hope that when the Wang family is in trouble in the future, the Sheng family can help them.

Finally, there is Sheng Quan's mentor, who is also Sheng Quan's greatest supporter.

Sheng Quan Enshi was a classmate and good friend of his father.

If you are in the court, your rank is not low.

From studying in Shengquan to passing the imperial examination, from being assigned as an official abroad to being transferred back to Bianliang, his mentor always made great contributions.

The reason the Wang family was willing to marry Madam Wang to Sheng Quan was, firstly, because Madam Wang herself was a face-obsessed person and was attracted by Sheng Quan's handsomeness when he was young, and secondly, because of the existence of Sheng Quan's mentor.

In the court, the relationship between master and disciple is sometimes stronger than that between father and son.

However, his mentor has not been in good health in recent years.

So Sheng Quan actually had a sense of crisis in his heart.

It was precisely because of this that Lu Xiao's appearance was extremely good news for him.

Chapter 44: Mrs. Wang's Creative Mind

Hearing Madam Wang's complaints, Sheng Quan's expression changed immediately.

"Alright, stop talking. Tuizhi was able to get the top prize in the imperial examination because of his real ability. If you're jealous of the eldest sister-in-law, you'd better encourage Changbai to do his homework more often."

When Madam Wang heard her husband's scolding, her neck shrank instantly. Although she looked timid, she continued to mutter to herself.

"Humph, you're already calling me that before we even meet, aren't you ashamed?"

Although the voice was low, Sheng Quan still heard it. His old face immediately turned red and he said angrily.

"I'm telling you, it's fine if you're just being a big mouth in private, but if you're still like that after that child comes, don't blame me for being rude."

"I've read that kid's essays. If nothing goes wrong, he'll definitely be admitted to high school next year. He's coming to our house to study, which is a favor. It will be of great help to both me and Changbai's future career. If you act recklessly now, I'll divorce you!"

Madam Wang didn't hear the previous words at all, only the last one, and then she shouted.

"What! You want to divorce me? My father deserves to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Ever since I married you, I've worried about the family affairs. Don't you know how much? Now you want to divorce me for a mere top scorer in the imperial examination. Do you still have a conscience?"

Madam Wang has a fiery temper and is ready to fight if she disagrees with someone.

Needless to say, seeing this situation, Sheng Quan still felt a little scared.