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

"Lin Junhui?" Zhang Pingan blurted out.

Zhang Laoer nodded. "I just remember his name was Lin something Hui. I forgot his full name. I saw him at the dock today."

Zhang Ping'an frowned: "He's also in Yuezhou? Do you know which inn he's staying at?"

"I don't know about that. He brought a lot of followers and guards with him and left in a carriage. He didn't see me. It was me who saw him. I was pulling the cart there and was too embarrassed to go up and say hello to him," Zhang Laoer shook his head.

"I guess the situation in Yingzhou City is not good," Zhang Pingan thought. "Tomorrow I will find time to go to a few large inns to ask if he is still there and ask him about the situation."

Zhang Laoer was also worried: "Everything is too expensive now, and I can't afford to live happily. Fortunately, you bought a lot of food today, and I feel a lot more at ease."

Xu thought it was alright. As she ate, she said, "It's better than a war. It doesn't matter if it's a little difficult. At least we don't have to worry."

At noon the next day, Zhang Ping'an took advantage of his lunch break to go to the two largest inns in Yuezhou City to inquire. Lin Junhui was rich, and if he was still there, he would definitely stay in the best inn.

I have to say that this idea is completely correct. Zhang Pingan found someone at the first inn.

Lin Junhui was visibly more surprised to see Zhang Pingan: "Ping'an, why did you come to Yuezhou?"

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "That's a long story. My dad said he saw you at the dock yesterday afternoon, so I came here to ask around. Turns out I'm lucky; you're still here!"

"Alas, I was forced to do so. The situation in the north is very bad now. My grandfather wrote to me and asked me to go to Lin'an to seek refuge with my father-in-law first," Lin Junhui frowned.

The two of them came to the window of the room and sat down to talk.

Zhang Ping'an also wanted to get more details, so he asked, "Does your family still live in the county town or somewhere else? When I visited Master Lin, the doorman said he was very ill and hadn't seen him. Then we crossed the river and settled in Yuezhou."

"Most of our family members are now in the provincial capital, including my uncle. The news that the county town was going to be blocked came suddenly, so my grandfather made a last-minute decision to take the family to the provincial capital overnight. We didn't want the news to leak out and spread everywhere, so he told the servants to say this," said Lin Junhui.

"I understand," Zhang Pingan nodded.

Lin Junhui paused for a moment before continuing, "The country has enjoyed peace for so long. I never imagined I would encounter such a chaotic era in my lifetime. Perhaps you didn't know this, but after the emperor was assassinated, the Tatars and Jurchens raided Pingzhou and Liangzhou overnight. We don't know how the battle is going now, but the Sixth Prince has recruited so many soldiers and is ready to make a move. The situation is critical!"

After saying this, he looked out the window with a dazed look in his eyes.

"What!" Zhang Ping'an was bombarded with news one after another in the past two days, and was a little bit unbelievable. "At this critical moment, does the Sixth Prince still want to raise an army? Isn't this giving foreign tribes an opportunity to take advantage of it?"

"Heh," Lin Junhui sneered. "There are always people who are overconfident in their own abilities. They simply want to use foreign forces to deplete the emperor's forces first, and then send troops to quell the rebellion and compete for that position! They don't care how many people are used as cannon fodder in the process! Ever since the Sixth Prince arrived in Yingzhou, the major families have split into two factions: one supporting the Sixth Prince, and the other remaining neutral."

"Then you..." Zhang Pingan hesitated to speak.

Lin Junhui smiled and said, "Don't worry. My family isn't qualified enough to show up in front of the Sixth Prince, but my grandfather has arranged a good marriage for me. The other party is the second daughter of the Lin'an prefect. My grandfather saw that the situation was not good, so he wanted me to go there first and buy some property there. If anything happens, my family can go there to stay and it will be safe!"

Then he asked, "How are you doing?"

"We are all just a speck of dust in the torrent of history. I don't have any big ambitions. I just want to make myself and my family live a good life. Now I have a job in the government office, which is relatively stable," Zhang Pingan replied.

Now I am just a scholar. I can hardly protect myself and cannot take care of the affairs of my family and country. I can only sigh.

“When the nest is overturned, all the eggs will remain intact. Even if I become dust, I will be the most eye-catching one, otherwise my life in this world will be in vain.” Lin Junhui’s eyes were burning and his gaze gradually became firm.

"You are a natural born politician. When we meet one day, you will be at the top," Zhang Pingan praised sincerely. No matter which aspect, Lin Junhui is much better than himself. He is a natural born protagonist.

Then he asked in confusion, "Then the journey to Lin'an is not short. Why don't you just take a boat east to Jinling and then go to Lin'an by land?"

Lin Junhui said, "I thought about this route at first, but the north is unstable right now, and many of the ships at the docks have been controlled. So it's safest to cross the river to the south first. I plan to follow Dongting Lake, take a boat to Yichun on the Xiang River, and then head east through Quzhou, Jiande, and finally Lin'an. Although it's a bit more troublesome, at least it's safe. The horses I'm traveling with are all good, and they can travel 300 miles a day. I calculated that we should reach Lin'an in less than ten days."

Zhang Ping'an only knew the general direction, but had no idea which specific states he would pass through, and he had no access to detailed maps.

"Brother Lin, I have a request. Could you please draw a map for me?"

Lin Junhui didn't mind this and replied, "Okay, I'll draw it for you now. What are your plans?"

Zhang Pingan said honestly, "To be honest, I want to take a look at the situation first. After all, with the natural barrier of Cangwu River, Yuezhou is relatively safe. In addition, my relatives and I have just established a foothold in Yuezhou and settled down. If we go south or east, we will definitely lose a lot of property, and the elderly, children, women and children will not be able to bear it. I will not leave Yuezhou unless it is absolutely necessary. I have a map just in case, so that I can have confidence in my heart!"

Lin Junhui understood all this, so he didn't say anything more. He went to the table and drew a map based on his memory. After drying it, he handed it to Zhang Pingan, "I hope we can meet again!"

"Thank you, Brother Lin. We will definitely see each other again!" Zhang Ping'an bowed solemnly to express his gratitude.

I felt a little heavy when I walked out of the inn.

On the way, they came across a vendor selling sugar-coated glutinous rice cakes, a local specialty. Zhang Pingan remembered that he hadn't had lunch yet, so he called out to the vendor, "Give me one!"

"Okay," the vendor neatly wrapped a portion in oil paper and said with a smile, "Ten cents for this!"

"It's so expensive. I bought it for seven cents yesterday morning," Zhang Ping'an said with wide eyes.

"Sir, you also said it was yesterday. After noon yesterday, the price of grain went up like crazy. Now it's at this price. I don't know how long our small business can last." The peddler also wanted to sell it cheaper, but the grain was getting more and more expensive, and now the business was not even half as good as last year.

It’s really hard for ordinary people to survive, Zhang Pingan thought.