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

Chapter 398: Martial Arts Candidate

In the blink of an eye, it was the day when the martial arts examination results were announced.

Zhang Ping'an had already agreed with the teacher to take half a day off, so that he could accompany his eldest brother-in-law to see the list.

When I took the exam, my eldest brother-in-law accompanied me all the way from the county to the prefecture, and then to the provincial capital. When we arrived in Lin'an, my eldest brother-in-law was always by my side during every exam.

He always kept this favor in mind.

It’s one thing that I couldn’t accompany him to take the exam, but it would be unreasonable not to go with him on such an important day as the martial arts exam results announcement.

At dawn, Zhang Pingan asked Old Man Lu to drive to the south of the city.

The announcement of the results for the military examination was different from that for the provincial examination. Although the time was the same, the number of participants was much smaller.

The original Great Xia Dynasty learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty. The imperial power was highly centralized, and it placed great emphasis on civil officials rather than military officials. When taking the military examination, they followed the principle of "determining whether to stay or leave by policy questions, and determining the success or failure by archery and horsemanship."

In other words, one must first take the test on policy and military classics, and only after passing them can one proceed to the test on skills and bravery, and finally the admission ranking will be determined based on the archery and horsemanship results.

Those reckless men who "only knew how to shoot eagles with a bow" were eliminated first.

But the situation is serious now. The court is in need of people and there is a severe shortage of military generals. Therefore, the order was changed. The archery and horsemanship tests were conducted first, with one test conducted every day. Only those who passed the test could continue to the next test the next day, and the last day was the policy test.

In this way, a lot of people are eliminated every day.

Therefore, there is no need to reserve a seat in the middle of the night to view the list of martial arts examinations as was done during the provincial examinations.

By the time they reached the south of the city, Liu Sanlang had almost finished packing.

Butcher Liu and his wife also got up and sat in the main hall, chanting "Ancestors bless us, ancestors bless us."

Especially Liu the butcher, he started smoking early in the morning and sweat was on his face. He was very excited. Whether he could change his business depended on today.

Although people at that time thought that the status of a military scholar was not as good as that of a civil scholar, the benefits of being exempted from corvée and taxes were real, and at least it was better than being a commoner.

Who knows, there may be great opportunities in the future!

Especially since Zhang Ping'an has become a juren now, Liu the butcher always feels that this kid will become a jinshi sooner or later. When he becomes an official in the future, his own son Sanlang will have a reputation, and it will be easier for him to help his relative!

Otherwise, he is a good-for-nothing, and no matter how capable his in-laws are, it will be of no use. Liu the butcher sees this very clearly!

Daya wrapped a few pancakes in oil paper and instructed, "Take the pancakes with you. They'll be a snack for you if you get hungry later. No matter what the result is, just do your best. Come back after you're done."

"Oh, I see," Liu Sanlang replied naively.

There were a few small wounds on his face.

"What happened to your face, brother-in-law?" Zhang Ping'an asked with concern.

Daya said distressedly, "He got hurt while out doing business with his friends. He said we have enough money at home, can't he just rest at home?"

There was a hint of anger in his tone.

Her parents-in-law were still there, so Daya didn't say much.

"Hehe, it's okay," Liu Sanlang scratched his head and smiled foolishly.

After packing up, Liu the Butcher and Liu Sanlang got on Zhang Ping'an's mule cart and set off.

The results were announced at the Ministry of Rites in the east of the city, and Old Man Lu drove his mule cart straight towards the east of the city.

The closer they got to the east of the city, the more restless Liu the butcher became. He couldn't help but touch his pipe and wanted to smoke, but when he remembered that he was in someone else's car, he held back.

Zhang Ping'an saw through it and said a few words of comfort in a gentle voice: "Uncle Liu, don't worry too much. I think my brother-in-law has a high chance of passing the exam this time. The military exam is different from my provincial exam. They eliminated so many people in the past few days, and there are not many left."

"That's not certain. I hope to make the list. If I do, I will offer tribute to my ancestors this afternoon and fulfill my vow. Whether smoke will come out of the ancestral graves depends on today," sighed Liu the butcher, feeling nervous but full of hope.

"Dad, it's just an exam. It doesn't matter if you fail. I can still earn money to support the family," Liu Sanlang also comforted him.

As the person involved, he was a little nervous, but not much.

In his opinion, no matter whether he wins or not, he still has to earn money to support his family in the end. If he fails, it will just be a little harder, which is no big deal, because he can endure hardship.

What I fear most is disappointing my family’s expectations.

"Uncle, you may not know this yet, but Brother Lin has already arranged jobs for my eldest brother-in-law and Yifei. We're just waiting for the results of the martial arts exam to come out and then we'll see which one is the most suitable. So there's really no need to worry. After all, they'll be able to eat the emperor's food in the end."

"Really?" Butcher Liu turned around to look over to confirm.

"Why would I lie to you? It's true," Zhang Pingan said affirmatively.

Butcher Liu immediately beamed and said happily, "Your classmate is really good. Last time he gave me such an expensive bow, and now he's looking for a job. He's a great benefactor to our family!"

"Well, thanks to the bow he gave me, I can practice often outside the city. Otherwise, I might not be able to pass the horse riding and archery exam," Liu Sanlang nodded.

"That's right. You have to remember this favor. Although he will definitely ask for something in the future, the support we provide now is real," taught Liu the Butcher.

After a while, the mule cart arrived near the Ministry of Rites.

Several people got off the bus and walked.

It was still daybreak, and there were some people waiting around to see the list, but not too many, far less than the scale of the provincial examination.

Butcher Liu and two others took a seat near the list so that they could be the first to see it.

Liu Sanlang took out the pancakes from his arms, which were still warm. "Let's eat a few pancakes first. It's not time to announce the results yet!"

Zhang Ping'an reached out and took one. The pancake was sprinkled with sesame seeds and tasted delicious.

When the cake was finished, Xiao Yifei also came over. He came here on foot by himself. There were only women in his family, and he didn't want to worry about him.

"Yifei, here," Liu Sanlang waved and shouted.

He was tall and could see far, so he saw Xiao Yifei on the street at a glance. In addition, he was strong and had a lot of energy. When he shouted, people around him looked over at him.

Liu Sanlang felt a little embarrassed, his face turned red, and he put down his hand. Fortunately, it was still dark and no one could see clearly.

Xiao Yifei squeezed through the crowd and stood next to them, saying with a smile, "You guys are really early!"

"Haha, come early and feel at ease, just treat it as a walk," said Liu the butcher with a smile, holding up his sleeves.

I stood there for another half an hour, until it was almost noon and the sky began to brighten, and finally a convoy delivering the list arrived.

There were musicians playing music on the side, and the necessary ceremony was still carried out.

Butcher Liu grabbed his son's sleeve and said excitedly, "Here they come!"

Zhang Ping'an was also a little excited. Somehow, he felt that his brother-in-law would win!

The people around who were looking at the list were in a commotion. Most of them were strong and sturdy men, and the scene was very noisy for a while.

"Quiet!" a bailiff shouted loudly.

The people from the Ministry of Rites didn't care about all this. According to the convention, they first stood on a high stool and read out the list. After they finished reading, they ordered the yamen runners to post the list.

"Sanlang, are you here? Did I hear it right? It seems Yifei is also here?" Liu the Butcher asked uncertainly.

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "Uncle, it should be correct. I listened carefully. It's Liu Meng from Shuanghe Town, Wushan County, Ezhou Prefecture, Huguang Province. It's exactly the name of my eldest brother-in-law. Could there be another person with the same hometown and the same name? Congratulations!"

"My son has also passed the imperial examination!" Liu the butcher shouted, slapping his thigh upon hearing this.