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

Once you have a household registration, you are no longer an illegal resident and it becomes convenient to do anything.

At worst, you can become a tenant farmer or work as a porter at the dock; at least you won't starve to death.

Only after eating can I feel at ease.

After sitting in the chair for a while and drinking a cup of tea, Zhang Ping'an opened the two letters.

The letter brought back by County Lieutenant Zhu was written in a rather official style. It started with a polite thank you, and then briefly talked about the gains from suppressing the pirates, such as the number of people killed and the amount of stolen goods, etc. It was only two short pages.

The letter he brought back after eating was much thicker. It mainly asked about where weapons such as fire egg guns and crossbows came from, and directly expressed his intention to purchase them.

If I had the blueprints, I would even like to build it myself.

If it is confirmed that it can be used on a large scale, it must be reported to the court. This will be a great achievement and may even turn the tide of the war.

Zhang Ping'an didn't believe that with his fourth uncle being so cautious and intelligent, he would not have asked them carefully about where their weapons came from.

It's nothing more than a test!

In addition, there were five silver notes with a face value of 10,000 taels, which is 50,000 taels.

It's my reward for helping me this time.

Whoever owns the territory has the final say, and Zhang Pingan doesn't think it's too little.

However, he was not prepared to give up the credit for the Fire Egg Gun.

He did this not because he wanted to take credit for it, but more because he hoped that everyone in the court would know about this matter and take it seriously.

Otherwise, according to the Qian family's practice, by the time they finish analyzing the interests and submit the report, it is unknown when, and they may miss the opportunity to march south.

The imperial court is now clearly trying to pacify the south, which is good for the people and the current situation.

He hoped that these weapons could play an indirect role and bring about this result.

Although he was only a small county magistrate, the Qian family was behind him. When he reported it to the court, the court would only think that the Qian family had tacitly approved it.

Given my father-in-law's reputation-conscious nature, the most he would do is leave me alone and not do anything about it, but he wouldn't go so far as to make things difficult for me.

So this matter is bound to disappoint my fourth uncle!

Zhang Ping'an put the letter aside and began to write a report.

After writing it, he also put a label on the memorial saying "Send immediately".

At this time, unless it is a special situation, you cannot report it to a higher level. Even if you report it, this behavior will easily cause dislike among colleagues.

So Zhang Pingan was not prepared to skip levels.

As long as this letter is opened, his purpose will be achieved.

Whether it will be useful or not will depend on the court’s reaction in a few days.

Green Bean Eyes is also making intensive preparations to go out to sea.

At this time, it is not so easy to go on a long sea voyage.

It often takes two or three months to prepare.

Many merchants could only make two voyages a year, or even just one if their ship was large enough.

The first thing is to handle customs documents, and secondly, you have to prepay customs duties. Only after completing these two procedures can you start preparing goods, ship workers, etc.

There are a lot of details, including navigation tools such as the compass, and the doctor on board.

You even have to prepare weapons and trustworthy bodyguards to deal with unexpected situations.

All in all, this is a high-return but also high-risk venture.

People without some strength can't do it at all.

This time, Green Bean Eyes only planned to test the waters, and invested about eight thousand taels.

Hua Wanli actually couldn't quite understand this behavior, as he preferred a stable life.

"Out of ten ships going out to sea, five are sunk, three lose money, and only two make a profit. Even if you do nothing, you will never have to worry about food and clothing in your life. Why do you have to go out to sea?" Hua Wanli said.

Green Bean Eyes still had that smiling face, waving his fan and saying: "Hey, you don't understand, life is all about struggle!"

"Forget it, I won't say anything to spoil the fun. Although I don't understand you, I still respect your thoughts and decisions." Hua Wanli raised his glass and drank it all.

It was rare for Zhang Ping'an to have such a relaxing time. Today happened to be the government office's holiday, and it was also the day for Hua Wanli's farewell party. The three of them were able to come out together to have a meal and drink tea.

"Although Brother Ge is not good-looking, he has great ambitions," Zhang Pingan commented.

The longer they spent together, the more he admired Green Bean Eyes. It was just that he was born in the wrong era. If he were born in modern times, he would definitely be doing well.

"Hey, stop praising me. I'm two or three years older than you, and I'm still single. I can't even find a wife. I'm embarrassed to go home for the New Year. Now Brother Hua wants to go back to Lin'an to get married. It's really depressing," Green Eyes lamented.

"You are only twenty years old and still very young. I will ask your sister-in-law to keep an eye on you," Zhang Pingan comforted him.

Hua Wanli laughed unhappily: "Who told you to be so picky? Otherwise, I would have married her long ago!"

"Well, let's stop talking and drink," said Green Eyes, raising his glass.

At the end of the drinking, Green Bean Eyes and Zhang Pingan took out the gifts they had prepared.

Let’s congratulate Hua Wanli in advance.

Hua Wanli accepted it without hesitation and said regretfully, "It's a pity that you two can't attend my wedding!"

Green Bean Eyes leaned back in his chair like a boneless person: "That's great. I was afraid that I would be jealous of you if I went to see the wedding ceremony!"

"Even if the distance is long and arduous, we must take care of each other in the future," Hua Wanli said solemnly.

The next day, Hua Wanli returned to Lin'an.

The auspicious date for the wedding had been chosen long ago. His cousin was already in her twenties, and the marriage could not be delayed.

Otherwise, he would be willing to stay in Ci County to help Zhang Ping'an. Putting aside the money, at least he would be very comfortable there.

It just so happened that after they had eaten, they were going back to Lin'an to pick up the villagers. Since they could travel together, there was no need to worry about safety issues.

After Hua Wanli left, the position of Zhang Pingan's advisor became vacant.

He asked Chi Bao to take a letter to his fifth brother-in-law, asking him to come and help if he was willing.

But having only the fifth brother-in-law is not enough. The fifth brother-in-law is suitable for helping with external social events, but he is too smooth and he cannot be fully trusted. He has to find someone else who is honest and reliable.

For a while, the matter of the legal advisor was a bit of a headache.

Before I could finish my meal, my fifth brother-in-law and others came back.

Another group of people arrived at the Ci County government office.

When Zhang Ping'an saw the people from the Ministry of War announcing the decree, he was indeed a little confused.

When did the imperial court become so efficient?!

Lin Junhui can even do the job of announcing imperial decrees, it seems he is doing well!

After receiving the order while kneeling, Lin Junhui helped the man up.

He smiled and introduced to his colleagues: "This Mr. Zhang is not only my fellow townsman, but also my classmate and friend for many years."

"No wonder he is as young and promising as Lord Lin. It seems that Ezhou Prefecture is a place of great feng shui and outstanding people," the other people who accompanied him said with a smile, stroking their beards.

It is a big deal when someone from above comes to announce the imperial decree, and the county government must give him a good reception.

Zhang Ping'an didn't have a chance to talk to Lin Junhui privately for a while.