Lin Yan wandered along the way and unknowingly approached Chang'an City.
Although it was a long journey, since there was nothing urgent, it was not considered a hurry.
In addition, the closer to Chang'an, the better the security, so there were no bandits or anything like that, which made Lin Yan who wanted to practice some regrets.
On this day, Lin Yan arrived outside the world-famous city of Chang'an. Like anyone who saw this majestic city for the first time, he unconsciously exclaimed: "It's so big!"
Don't blame him for being short of words, because you really can't find any more appropriate words except "big".
This most majestic city in the world covers an area of nearly 130,000 acres and has a population of nearly two million. It is the largest and most prosperous city among the nine regions of the Yuan Realm.
The layout of Chang'an City is dotted with dots. A poem once said: "Thousands of houses are like a chess board, and the twelve streets are like vegetable beds."
The Tang Dynasty implemented a system of separation of cities and towns, which separated residential areas and commercial areas. As the main road, Zhuque Street traverses the north and south of the city. The 25 criss-crossing streets divide the entire Chang'an city into 108 lanes and two cities in the east and west.
This grid-like layout, neat and uniform road network, coupled with Chang'an City's complete and functional public security mechanism, make the entire city well-organized.
There are twelve city gates in Chang'an City, three gates on each side of the southeast and northwest. Lin Yan entered through Ba City Gate because he thought the name was very domineering.
This gate is about six feet high, the doorway is about three feet wide, and the total width of the city gate is twelve feet. It is majestic and majestic and deserves to be called the hegemonic gate!
When Lin Yan entered the city, it was during the rush hour. He led the donkey and waited in line for half an hour before he could enter the city.
The Tang Dynasty favored martial arts and its people were relatively tough. After waiting for a long time, the people were naturally a little resentful and started to complain.
Regarding this situation, the guards were a little helpless. After all, as long as they didn't violate Tang laws in the Tang Dynasty, you couldn't do anything to him, so they just let them go.
When entering the city, the guards only conducted a routine check and did not put Lin Yan in too much trouble because of his age. This made him feel good. After all, when he entered the city before, he often attracted the attention of the guards because he was young and walked alone. .
The reason why the interrogation was relatively loose was not because the security in Chang'an was lax, but rather because it was extremely strict.
Ordinary people will naturally not notice anything, but if they are spies or assassins from the enemy country, they will definitely attract the attention of the government once they enter Chang'an City.
When you think you have successfully sneaked into Chang'an City, the government will only stare at you secretly and sneer. As long as you come into contact with your accomplices, just wait to be wiped out!
After passing through the city gate, Lin Yan felt a burst of people's voices. When he looked closely, he saw that the streets were densely packed with people.
There are young swordsmen in white clothes and swords, traffickers and pawns in coarse linen clothes, and nobles in rich and colorful clothes... all kinds of characters shuttle among them, forming a lively scene.
Lin Yan was walking on the street with his little donkey. Although some people looked at him a few times, they didn't attract much attention. After all, Chang'an was too big and there were too many people of all kinds coming and going, so he didn't pay much attention. It seems strange.
It was early spring at this time, when it was warm but still cold, but the pedestrians on the street were wearing cool clothes.
Most of the men wore narrow-sleeved robes and crotchless robes, and some businessmen even wore brocade robes made of silk. Even if the thin silk gauze was worn through several layers, the moles on the owner's body could still be seen through it.
And due to the open and tolerant atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty, women were not as conservative as in other countries, and most of them were passionate and unrestrained.
Along the way, Lin Yan watched the older sisters passing by wearing skirts and smiling sweetly at him; the young aunts with a tube top tied around their chests were chatting and laughing in a charming and charming way.
How could he bear this at such a young age? He had to rush through the crowd, not realizing that the roots of his ears were slightly red.
Not long after, Lin Yan came to an inn and looked up. There were four big characters written on a simple and elegant plaque - "Youpeng Inn".
Well, this is a good name!
Lin Yan thought so and stepped in. As soon as he arrived at the door, a waiter ran over and took the donkey away. Another waiter came up and asked Lin Yan if he wanted to stay in the hotel.
After the unpleasant experience of staying in a hotel before, Lin Yan learned the lesson this time and took out the money first when he entered the house. Anyway, he had "taken" some from the underground palace before, and now he just put it to use.
When he saw the heavy bag of money in Lin Yan's hand, the clerk became even more attentive. After all, the rich man is the uncle.
Although he was rich, Lin Yan still chose a medium-sized guest room. On the one hand, he upholds the honorable virtue of diligence and frugality; on the other hand, this inn in Chang'an is too expensive!
When he first went out for training, he already felt that the inn in Huangshi City was very expensive. Although it is different from the past, the price has also increased as if it has doubled.
The cost of staying in this ordinary inn room for one night is more than ten times that of the Huangshi City Inn!
Whenever he thinks of this, Lin Yan has to sigh, this is really the emperor's feet!
According to this method, the gold, silver and jewelry that I worked so hard to take out from the underground palace will not last long.
No, no, I have to think of a way quickly. If I live in an inn every day, I will become a pauper again before long.
In order to save money, Lin Yan only had a bowl of noodles for dinner, not even adding an egg. After all, accommodation is expensive, so it would be better to save a little.
The admission test for "Sage Academy" was still a few days away, so Lin Yan could only endure the pain for now. This is because he came here because he was stuck in the spring exam along the way. If he had come a month or two earlier, he would have burst into tears.
Taking advantage of these few days, Lin Yan went out and bought two more clothes. After all, he had been out for so long, and the clothes he originally brought with him were very worn, so it was time to change them.
This exchange didn't matter, and he spent a lot of money, which made Lin Yan feel a pain in his body. He felt that if he continued like this, he would become as obsessed with money as Mo Shenji is now.
In this big city, money is really hard to spend!
The admission examination of "Sage Academy" is divided into spring examination and autumn examination. At this time of year, there is an endless stream of people who sign up to take the admission examination.
It is no exaggeration to say that if these people were lined up one by one, they could line up from the east end of the city to the west end of the city, and then back again.
With so many people, it is naturally impossible for them all to enter the "Sage Academy". Even taking the admission examination is not an opportunity for everyone.
Although it is said that "Sage Academy" treats everyone who wants to enter the academy equally, there are too many people, so every year some candidates are always screened out in advance.
The selection standard is to reach the late stage of physical training before the age of fifteen, and those who do not meet the standard will be eliminated.
Then some people may ask, doesn’t this academy treat everyone equally? Why are we still treating people differently based on their strength?
This is actually easy to understand. No matter where you are, the strong always have more say. The "Sage Academy" was in Chang'an, and the Tang Dynasty was a martial arts country. It was normal to use the level of the warriors as the selection criteria.
Moreover, the founder of the "Sage Academy" once warned the younger generation of disciples not to just delve into academics and study rote books, but having a strong body is equally important.
People who can only recite poems and compose poems, play chess and play the piano, but have no ability to tie a chicken, are not what the "Sage Academy" needs.
This standard alone eliminates most people.
In fact, it is not difficult to reach the late stage of physical training. With the accumulation of time, you will always be able to achieve it. But once you add those under the age of fifteen to this, it becomes quite difficult.
After more than half a day of selection, the number of people who finally passed was only about five hundred. Among them, a large number of wealthy nobles, generals and queens made up a lot of people, which made many people feel resentful.
In fact, there is nothing we can do about it!
Practicing martial arts requires talent, but various training resources are also indispensable.
For those big families, some outstanding family members don't have to worry about martial arts and martial arts at all. Some wealthy families will even choose the most suitable martial arts and martial arts for their children based on their specific circumstances.
As for elixirs, there is no shortage of them. These elixirs can consolidate vitality and cleanse impurities in the body, making their bodies stronger.
What about ordinary people? It is already quite difficult to obtain a set of exercises and martial arts, let alone whether they fit or not, it would be nice to have them.
There are also pills and the like, which are even more luxuries for ordinary people. One pill of some pills can cover the food expenses of their whole family for several months. How can they compare with those children from wealthy families?
As the saying goes: "A noble son comes from a poor family." But the actual situation is that in the face of the wealthy and distinguished families accumulated over several generations, it is difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son.
Just imagine, while children from rich families receive one-on-one instruction from professional masters, children from poor families have difficulty even getting started in martial arts.
The same applies to today's imperial examinations. Although today's society has vigorously reformed, not focusing on family status but focusing on talent and learning, and striving to select people with real talents as officials, today's officialdom is still controlled by aristocratic families.
How can we talk about fairness at this time?
Yes, there is no absolute fairness in this world. People are born unequal. Some famous people even said frankly: "Why do you think that ten years of hard work and hard work can be worth the suffering of others for several generations?" Accumulation, joke!”
When they first heard this, all the children from poor families were furious, but when they calmed down and thought about it, they found helplessly that this was the reality! Naked reality!
They know this, but ordinary people are unable to change it and can only be forced to accept it.
Therefore, it is even more difficult for a child from a poor family to stand out under such harsh conditions. These people must have outstanding talents or great perseverance, and they will go further.
For those children from poor families who were not selected, these people who stand out are a beacon and a hope for them, giving them something to think about and inspiring them to keep moving forward.
Lin Yan naturally didn't know what they were thinking, and he probably wouldn't care too much even if he knew.
He doesn't care what others think, and he doesn't want to be a benchmark for others. He just does his own thing for his own goals, that's all!
