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

Then comes the taxation!

Fortunately, there is no large-scale war in the south for the time being, and they are still in the stage of mutual testing. They all want to preserve their strength to be the one who strikes the final blow!

It is said that after more than a month, the young emperor finally arrived safely in the south, established his capital in Lin'an, and continued to use the name of the Great Xia Kingdom. However, it is not known how many scholars are still willing to submit to him.

The current Yuezhou city is more strict than it was a few months ago, and people other than the scholar class are not allowed to enter the city.

There are more and more refugees, and there are not enough resources for everyone to survive. Some people choose to continue walking eastward, hoping that the next city will take them in, while others simply make up their minds and try to force their way into the city.

Six large-scale conflicts have occurred within half a month. Some people were very fierce. When they climbed up the city wall using human ladders, the defenders splashed hot water on their faces, leaving blisters on their faces, but they still tried to force their way in.

It’s not that the soldiers don’t want to use bows and arrows or swords, but in the previous times, they found that people outside the city deliberately wanted them to consume arrows. Arrows are expensive, and it is even more difficult to make them in this situation. They can’t go out of the city to recycle them, so they have no choice but to reduce the use of bows and arrows.

Moreover, when climbing the city wall, many people would rather risk their lives to snatch the swords from their hands.

What he intended couldn't be more obvious!

Fortunately, the difference in military strength and offensive and defensive advantages between the two sides is large enough that the people outside the city have not been able to succeed for the time being.

But Zhang Ping'an knew that this situation would not last long. As time went on, a smart leader would definitely appear outside, and the city would no longer be able to afford the consumption.

Wang Jingzhi had privately told Zhang Pingan, "I know the strength of the city's garrison best. They don't have enough weapons, and the people outside are cunning, so they choose to use hot water or wooden spikes to hurt people. Arrows and iron weapons must be saved until the end, but this is not a good way to go. I think the people left outside the city are all ruthless people. Yuezhou is also in danger!"

When he got home from work, Xu had already prepared dinner. It was a pot of multi-grain porridge with a lot of water. Except for the one in Zhang Ping'an's bowl which was a little thicker, the rest of the people only had enough water to fill their stomachs.

In fact, there was still food at home, but due to the autumn drought, the harvests in the surrounding areas were poor, and the government levied taxes again and again. The price of food was no longer affordable for ordinary people.

Meat is even more expensive, and there is no more grain to feed poultry and livestock.

Xu was very satisfied with this. She drank the thin rice porridge and said, "It's great that we can still have rice porridge at home. Your second sister's family has already started mixing it with boiled bean bran."

In fact, several families still had a lot of food, but they didn't dare to eat it freely and were reluctant to eat it.

Zhang Ping'an was also helpless. He had to ask Wang Jingzhi for help through his connections, otherwise it would have been even more difficult.

Zhang Laoer said, "San Ya came to borrow food from us today, but I didn't lend her any."

"Doesn't my third sister's family still have food? There are only two people in their family to feed?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

"Well, she said she was pregnant and wanted to eat some fine grains to supplement her diet. There weren't so many good foods for her to eat, so I scolded her and she kicked her out," Xu continued.

Zhang Laoer was much more decisive: "This child was born at a bad time, and we can't do anything about it. It's all fate!"

Mrs. Xu got a little angry when she thought about it: "They are both pregnant. Dazhu's wife is also pregnant. She is still in the first trimester. She didn't ask for food. She ate everything she wanted. And the baby is growing well."

"Oh!" Zhang Ping'an didn't know what to say. It was so difficult to live in troubled times.

"By the way, Dad, the government office is recruiting people for work now. There is no salary, but two meals are provided. The work is not too tiring. Do you want to go?" Zhang Pingan suddenly remembered something.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Laoer asked, looking up. "If they provide meals, then of course I'm going!"

"I'm mainly working in the warehouse using grindstones to sharpen knives, arrows, and other things. They're all rusted. I guess this job will only last for a while. We're also short of carpenters who can make carts. Now the superiors have ordered us to build a large number of carts, so there might be big moves," said Zhang Ping'an.

Zhang Lao Er nodded and said, "That's a good job. I'll go ask them later if anyone else wants to go."

"The twelve or thirteen-year-old boys from Brother Liu's family and my uncle's family are very suitable to go. At least they can get a full meal." Zhang Pingan also thinks this job is okay.

As soon as the recruitment quota was allocated, it was basically divided up by the internal staff of the yamen. Who doesn’t have a few poor relatives?