The Record of the Floating World in the Northern Song Dynasty: the Colonel and the Disgraced Scholar

During the reign of Renzong in the Northern Song Dynasty, the world was at peace for a long time, the imperial examinations gradually became popular, and the scholars rose. Bianjing is prosperous, with tile roofs and bars noisy day and night, and teahouses and wine shops dot the streets. The Liao Kingdom in the north was on the lookout, the Western Xia rebelled in the early days, and there were frequent border wars. The court focused on civil affairs over military affairs, and its armaments were lax. The water transport in the south of the Yangtze River maintained the national lineage, merchants kept coming and going on the road, copper coins and iron coins were intertwined and circulated, and Jiaozi began to take shape. The people respected Confucianism and etiquette, Neo-Confucianism was budding, Buddhism and Taoism were in parallel, and there were many ancestral temples. Di newspapers spread news from all over the world, engraving and printing flourished, and books gradually became available to ordinary people. There was a lieutenant in the northwest frontier army, Shen Zhao, who came from a poor family and was promoted through military service. Pei Yan, a scholar from the south of the Yangtze River, went to Beijing to take the exam and passed through Luoyang. Above the court, Prime Minister Fan is in charge of secrets, Privy Han is in charge of the northwest, and the undercurrent of the New Deal is surging. Between the rivers and lakes, bodyguard agencies, boat gangs, and salt traffickers lurk in the market. In this world, a scholar can become an official, a military officer can guard the borders and make achievements, and a businessman can make a fortune through currency. However, they all have to make progress under the rules of imperial power. The general trend of the world is like a boat sailing against the current, and will retreat if you let go.