The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

As for who to ask, Zhang Pingan thought about it carefully last night. According to their background, it would be best to go to Lin Junhui or Tan Yaoqi. Their families have the strongest backgrounds, but both of them are not at home now. If he rashly went to their houses, they might not recognize him, let alone find out the inside story.

So after thinking about it, Zhang Pingan finally decided to ask Xiao Yifei first. His father was a county lieutenant, so his father must know something about conscription. Then he could ask Master Lin. It would never hurt to find out more. It was just a matter of losing some face, which didn't matter.

After arriving in the county town, the three of them found a restaurant to eat. When they came back the day before, there were not many people in the teahouses and restaurants, but today they were almost full, and everyone was discussing the conscription in a low voice.

There are always smart people. Someone whispered, "I think this conscription is different from the previous ones. We can't go. Those of you who have connections should quickly use their connections to make some arrangements. It won't matter if you spend a little more money."

"Alas, it's us, the common people at the bottom, who are suffering. Those who really have connections are not afraid of this."

There were sighs and groans everywhere, which made Zhang Laoer and Liu Sanlang feel very heavy-hearted. The three of them looked at each other, quickly finished their meal and left.

After knocking on the door at the County Lieutenant's Mansion, Zhang Ping'an stepped forward and said, "Excuse me, I'm Zhang Ping'an, a classmate of Second Young Master Xiao Yifei. I need to see him for something."

The concierge looked at the group and said, "Wait!"

After saying that, he closed the door.

The three of them waited outside for nearly two quarters of an hour before Xiao Yifei finally opened the door and came out. He had obviously run over and said apologetically, "Ping'an, I'm sorry you've been waiting so long. Come in!"

From what was just reported, it can be seen that Xiao Yifei's status at home is not very high. Zhang Pingan did not want to embarrass him, so he smiled and said, "Yifei, why don't we find a place outside to talk? Is that convenient?"

Xiao Yifei nodded: "That's convenient, I'll ask the driver to drive the car out, you wait a moment."

The four of them found a private room in a teahouse and sat down to chat. Zhang Pingan didn't mince words and got straight to the point: "Yifei, I came to you today mainly to ask about the conscription. This is no small matter and concerns my clansmen and relatives, so I wanted to get some information from you so we can have a better idea of ​​what's going on and see if there's any room for maneuver. Money is fine too."

Xiao Yifei nodded and said, "I guess it's because of this. Everyone is in a panic now, and no one wants to serve. But my father said that this time it's a mandatory requirement from above, and we must have people. Spending money is useless."

Zhang Laoer couldn't help but ask, "Is there no solution at all?"

Xiao Yifei paused and continued, "It's not that there is absolutely no solution."

"Then how do we do it?" Zhang Ping'an leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

"If your family has very poor relatives, or those with many brothers and sisters who are short of money, you can discuss with them to change their household registration to yours, and then let them serve in the army. As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food. There will definitely be such people. As far as I know, many wealthy families in the county are doing this," Xiao Yifei whispered.

The three of them understood that people had to go, and if they didn't want to go themselves, they had to find someone else to go.

"But changing the household registration is not easy, especially at this time," Liu Sanlang asked doubtfully.

"We all need to show our talents and find connections. The roster hasn't been submitted yet, so there's still time," Xiao Yifei whispered.

After saying that, he smiled and said self-deprecatingly: "Fortunately, my father is a scholar, and our family doesn't need to send anyone out, otherwise I would be in danger. My aunt is eager to send me away. However, as far as I know, there are quite a few people in our family who are racking their brains over this matter, and it is unknown whether we can continue to operate like this in the future. Anyway, you guys should hurry up and do it!"

"Thank you, Yifei. I'll remember this favor," Zhang Ping'an said solemnly.

"It's a small matter. No need to be polite. I can't help you in any way. You have to find the relationship yourself," Xiao Yifei said with a smile.

"It would be a great help if you could show me the way."

"Okay, then I'll go back first. I guess you still have a lot to do, so I won't disturb you anymore," Xiao Yifei said goodbye.

"What should we do now? Our family has no connections in the county government," Zhang Laoer said worriedly.

"Anyway, there is a way. I'll go visit Master Lin and see," Zhang Ping'an said as he stood up.

Since the county school hadn't started yet, they could only visit the Lin Residence. The concierge at the Lin Residence was much more polite than the Xiao Residence. When he heard that they were Master Lin's students, he welcomed them to the flower hall and said, "Please sit down for a moment. The servant has already gone to inform you."

Although the Lin Mansion is not luxuriously decorated, it is filled with the scholarly atmosphere of a scholarly family. Even the pillars of the corridor are engraved with four-couplet poems.

After a while, Master Lin came over, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Ping An, when did you come back? I didn't expect it to be you who came to visit!"

"I came back the day before yesterday and should have visited you earlier. I hope you can forgive me for my impoliteness," Zhang Ping'an stood up and bowed.

"No need to be polite, take a seat!" Master Lin said cheerfully. After squinting his eyes, he asked, "Is this Master Wu from our academy?"

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "Exactly. The man next to him is my father, and this is my eldest brother-in-law. He is currently a martial arts teacher at the academy, assisting Master Yang."

After the three of them exchanged greetings, Master Lin asked about Zhang Ping'an's recent progress in the capital. After listening to him, he said with satisfaction: "Yes, you are a lucky person. Your future is limitless!"

Zhang Pingan saw that the greetings were almost over before asking about military service.