Chapter 51 of Volume 1: Rain Falls on Chang'an, True Past Events

  Towers and pavilions, bustling with activity, Tang Guan felt the prosperity of the capital for the first time after leaving the palace.

  I don't know which district this is, but the road is wide and there are many cars coming and going.

  Tang Guan was excited to look out through the car window, he remembered someone had said that Suzhou was not inferior to Chang'an, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he knew that the difference was not measured by miles, and not to mention the surrounding large and colorful shops.

  Not to mention the same flow of people, from a single aspect of urban construction, today's Chang'an is better than any city in China and even the whole world.

  The grand scene is before my eyes, and I involuntarily compare it with the past dynasties. Suddenly, I feel that the prosperity of the past life, with its red lanterns and green wine, was a fleeting splendor, not belonging to everyone, but only to some people. Most people are locked in their own small worlds, struggling to survive.

  "Ah," thinking of this, Tang Guan let out a light sigh. No wonder the Huaxia civilization had been so stable for thousands of years. Under the Great Unity ideology, this self-sufficient society didn't seem to have any differences for individuals.

  In the overall low level of science and technology, this is undoubtedly a pioneering lead. As the saying goes, "the wind and water turn around", the national fortune is an invisible and intangible thing, it is a virtual pointer, but it falls on a real place, related to the hearts of people in a country, stop moving forward, and finally end up imitating others, the imitator will always be at a disadvantage.

  Chairman Mao once said: "War is not a matter of whether you have one more cannon or one more airplane than I do; it is a matter of which of us uses them more effectively."

  Fighting a war and getting into a fight are two completely different concepts. The advancement of weapons is not the key to winning, but rather the luck of a nation, the hearts of its people, especially in the era of cold weapons. Those who are afraid of being hit fear those who don't care about their lives, and those who have a mindset of "killing one person won't make up for it, killing two will definitely bring benefits" often emerge victorious.

  Like the original Jurchen cavalry sweeping across three dynasties, like the Mongolian iron cavalry spanning two continents, they didn't necessarily have better equipment, and were even at a disadvantage compared to their opponents, but they had national destiny on their side, they had people's hearts united, and they were determined to fight to the death.

  Those who flee for their lives are not scary, but those who play with their lives are. At least the word "flee" implies that it's best not to die if possible, whereas those who play with their lives treat them as toys and will die even if they don't want to.

  Chen Yunsheng saw Tang Guan silently pondering, thinking he was still thinking about things in the imperial court. He opened his mouth and said: "Go to bed, tomorrow's early court session, you must not make a scene again."

  Tang Guanwen nodded slightly, Chen Yunsheng was a conservative person who had never thought of doing anything exciting, he just wanted to live a stable life. At that time, he entered the official career also for a steady job to support his family.

  But hearing this, Tang Guan's heart moved, and he rarely heard Chen Yunsheng talk about his family affairs after being together for so long. He asked, "Uncle, may I ask boldly"

  Chen Yunsheng heard this and raised his head saying: "Ask away"

  "Are there elder brothers and sisters in your uncle's family?"

  Chen Yunsheng was taken aback by the words and his face immediately turned gloomy.

  Tang Guan realized he had asked an inappropriate question and immediately shut up, thinking to himself: "This can't be some old rascal, can it?"

  Fortunately, Chen Yunsheng's gloomy expression lasted only for a moment, and he said: "You didn't know, that's normal too. Jieer sacrificed himself that year, you were still too young to remember."

  Tang Guan was taken aback by his words and didn't expect such an answer.

  Chen Yunsheng added, "Tang Gongwai was old when he finally had you as his child, but I had a son much earlier than your father. Originally, there was another brother in the family named Shaojie. At that time, I hadn't yet taken office, so I could only send him into the army..."

  Chen Yunsheng paused, as if recalling a painful past. Tang Guan also had an idea when he heard the word "army". He comforted him, saying: "Uncle, sorry, I talked too much."

  Chen Yunsheng waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter."

  They both fell silent and didn't say another word.

  The two men were talking, when the rickshaw driver suddenly shouted: "Sir, it's going to rain, hold on tight, I'll hurry up!"

  Chen Yunsheng secretly felt heartbroken and ignored him. Tang Guan responded with a single word, and immediately felt the car speed up by several points.

  "Boom!"

  Just as it was speeding up, a loud thunderclap sounded, and the spring thunder exploded, like a clear sky thunderbolt. The rainstorm came so quickly, with such momentum, that in no time the sound of heavy rain arrived.

  Tang Guan pushed aside the carriage curtain and looked out, only to see people on the road scattering in all directions. The road was wide and spacious, with some people holding their sleeves to cover their heads from the rain as they quickly ran towards a nearby place.

  "What a great rain!" Tang Guan, although his home was in Yuhang, had not seen such a heavy downpour since he arrived. The previous night, he had only seen the fine cow-hair-like rain, which was different from this continuous and hazy drizzle.

  Just like a heavy rain, this would inevitably leave muddy footprints on the ground in later generations. However, Tang Guan found that after the rainwater fell to the ground, it actually seeped into the stone path and flowed in one direction, leaving him amazed.

  "Drainage system?" Tang Guan stroked his chin, gazing at the scene before him. He vividly remembered how his grandfather had taken him to the hospital on a rainy day in his past life, with water flooding the streets. In this advanced era of the Great Xia Dynasty, a single rainstorm could turn an entire city into an aquarium.

  At this moment, seeing such a heavy rain falling in the alleys, not a single drop of water flowed down, Tang Guan realized for the first time that this city was not just magnificent on the surface, but also cleverly hidden beneath.

  "A rain is enough to see through a city"

  "Sewers are a city's conscience." These words were familiar to Tang Guandou, but it wasn't until he saw them with his own eyes that he truly felt their significance.

  "Alas..."

  "Sir! We've arrived, get down!"

  Outside it was still raining heavily, and the driver, wearing a raincoat he had ready beside him, shouted.

  Chen Yunsheng came back to his senses and pulled Tang Guan's hand into the carriage, rushing quickly into the dormitory.

  At this time, a door in the house opened wide, and a figure stood idly on the veranda, seeing the two figures running towards him, one big and one small, he smiled and said: "You've finally come back!"

  This man was indeed Xiao Qi. He woke up to find that Tang Guan and Chen Yunsheng had disappeared, remembering the previous instructions, he stood patiently outside the door waiting for them. By this time, it was already late, and their trip back and forth took several hours.

  Fortunately, the distance was not far, and the two of them only got their clothes slightly wet at the hem. Standing on the corridor, Tang Guan patted the water stains on his body and laughed: "Haha, I didn't expect you to actually be so honest and stay here"

  Xiao Qi didn't respond and instead walked forward, saying: "Guang Ge, have you seen the Emperor and Empress?"

  Tang Guan smiled and said: "The Emperor hasn't been seen, but the Empress has"

  "Wow, what does the emperor look like, male or female?"

  "Haha" Tang Guan couldn't help but burst out laughing at the words, this little Seventh was indeed clever when she was being clever, but also endearingly silly when she was being naive.

  Chen Yunsheng looked at the rain in front of him and said, "You two don't run around, I'll go to my room to rest for a while. In the afternoon, I still need to go to the Ministry of Rites to supplement my court attire."

  Tang Guan heard this and saw that Chen Yunsheng's face was still somewhat gloomy, knowing he was still thinking about that matter, so he hastily agreed.

  Chen Yunsheng then turned around and entered another room.

  Xiao Qi saw Chen Yunsheng return to the house and her thoughts became lively, asking in one breath: "Is the imperial palace fun or not? Is it big? Are there any old men with big flowered faces?"

  "Haha, when Crown Brother becomes a high-ranking official, we'll go in together" Tang Guan couldn't help but laugh at Xiao Qi's appearance.

  Xiao Qi's face flashed with disappointment, his originally pale complexion looking even more tender in the rain and wind, causing Tang Guan to pause in surprise.

  "Are you a female disguised as a male?"

  "What did you say, Guan Ge?"

  "Oh... nothing..." Tang Guan suddenly came to, and his heart skipped a beat as he felt a wave of nausea. In that instant, Xiao Qi was disappointed, but Tang Guan had a strange illusion, almost entering the gay ranks.

  "It seems like I've seen too many beauties today, everything looks like a beauty" Tang Guan couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart.

  He immediately had a mischievous thought, thinking of Wu Zetian, and glanced at Xiaoxi who was suspected to be a "fake girl", and said: "Xiaoxi, I'll find you a wife."

  "Ah!" Xia Qi was taken aback by his words and immediately scratched his head, saying: "I don't want a wife."

  "If you marry a wife, you can enter the imperial palace"

  "Ah, really? Why?" Little Seven's interest was piqued.

  "Heh heh" Tang Guan smiled mysteriously, but didn't say any more. Xiao Qi immediately wrapped herself around him: "Why?"

  "Let's talk about it later."

  Xiao Qi's eyes rolled around and he chuckled: "I know"

  Tang Guan was taken aback by his words and asked: "What do you know?"

  "Talk about it later," Xia Qi pouted and responded in a spoiled manner.

  Tang Guan heard this and burst out laughing, and as the two of them spoke, the heavy rain suddenly stopped.

  It had only been a short while since the incense was lit, and Xia Qi saw that the rain had stopped. Tang Guan returned to the house and couldn't help but say: "Let's go take a look"

  Tang Guan got up early and walked around the palace. Feeling a bit tired, he thought of taking a rest and waved his hand saying "Let's talk about it later"

  Xiao Qi was unwilling to get up, he could barely hold his temper until the two returned.

  "Brother Guan, are we still brothers?"

  Tang Guan's eyelid twitched upon hearing this, and he could only say: "Of course"

  "Haha, then it's settled, let's go out." Little Seven pulled Tang Guan towards the outside of the shed.

  Tang Guan also couldn't help but feel a bit stubborn, fortunately it wasn't too tiring, so he simply walked out of the house.