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

Yu Shiqi immediately agreed, "Yes, put it away first. You and your brother-in-law can put it on secretly later."

After saying that, he looked around and suddenly saw his brother-in-law Liu Sanlang not far away.

Yu Shiqi shouted.

After hearing this, Liu Sanlang turned around, smiled foolishly, waved his hand, and then gestured with his eyes to his feet, indicating that he could not leave.

"Stop shouting. The team over there is very strict. They all ride horses to lead the team and clean up the mess. They don't allow outsiders to get close to avoid disrupting the order. Didn't you see that Uncle Liu and my eldest sister didn't come to see us off?" Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

It's interesting to say, probably because they took into consideration that these former civil officials were not strong in fighting, they deliberately separated the ninth-rank military officers such as my eldest brother-in-law and marched at the front and back.

Yu Shiqi gave up, not knowing how else he could help. Finally, he scratched his head and said, "When you get to the front, feel free to write home if anything happens. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Don't worry, I will," Zhang Pingan nodded.

After a while, the city gate opened.

Zhang Ping'an and Liu Sanlang, the military officers going to the front line, were the first to be released.

No matter how reluctant Zhang Laoer was, he had to wave goodbye.

Looking at his father standing behind with a sad expression, raising his sleeves to wipe his eyes from time to time, Zhang Ping'an's eyes also turned red.

"Dad, Sixth brother-in-law, you guys go back, I'm leaving," Zhang Ping'an waved his hand.

After leaving the city for a while, there were crowds of people and Zhang Laoer and the other man were no longer visible. Zhang Pingan then sat back in the carriage.

Although the official transfer order only included more than 80 people going to the front line this time, seventh-rank military officers like Zhang Ping'an basically had six or seven servants and guards accompanying them.

Even a ninth-rank official like my eldest brother-in-law Liu Sanlang can bring two servants with him.

Although my eldest brother-in-law did not bring his servants, there were many others who brought their own.

Therefore, this team is not too weak, it is a huge group of people.

The more people there are in the same industry, the more conflicts there will be.

Fortunately, everyone was sensible about major issues and did not delay the trip.

It was not until lunchtime that Zhang Ping'an found an opportunity to go find his elder brother-in-law after having eaten his fill.

"Brother-in-law, here, this is for you. This is the soft armor that Sixth Brother-in-law specially prepared for us to use for self-defense. Put it on quickly," Zhang Ping'an whispered.

Liu Sanlang has become much more alert in the two years since he went to Wucheng Bingmasi. Although he still looks silly most of the time, he has plans in mind.

Hearing this, he didn't waste any words and put on the soft armor in the carriage.

"I see that you all have big pots for meals over there. You will definitely not be full if you eat like this. Come to my place when it's time for dinner, and we can eat together." After seeing his eldest brother-in-law put on his soft armor, Zhang Ping'an pulled him to go eat together.

Liu Sanlang smiled innocently and said, "No need. Your elder sister prepared a lot of pancakes and fried rice for me. It's quite filling. Our big pot rice with vegetables and meat is also quite good."

"Brother-in-law, we are all family, and you are still being polite to me. How could I not know how much you can eat? I made sure you were full and cooked your portion as well. Wouldn't it be a waste if you don't eat it?" Zhang Ping'an pretended to be angry.

Liu Sanlang was in a dilemma. He felt that it was not good to always take advantage of his brother-in-law, but he was also afraid of wasting rice, so he said, "Okay, then I'll go to our side and get my rice, and then come over to eat together. But don't do this next time, or I won't eat it even if you cook it."

Liu Sanlang said the last sentence very firmly.

"Okay, okay, I won't cook next time," Zhang Pingan smiled helplessly. Sometimes he couldn't do anything about his brother-in-law.

Having followed Zhang Ping'an for so long, running around everywhere, Chi Bao has already mastered his cooking skills. The rice he cooked was just the right amount of softness and hardness, and he also buried sausages and soaked and diced mushrooms in the rice. It smells very good!

Paired with stir-fried pork belly and pickled radish drizzled with sesame oil, it’s simply amazing!

Even Zhang Pingan couldn't help but eat some more, it was so delicious!

Especially in the wild, it feels like having a picnic, and the psychological feeling is even more different.

It is even more shameless to talk about how many people are eating without even raising their heads.

The big pot meal seems a bit bland in comparison.

Liu Sanlang was reserved at first, but after Zhang Ping'an and others had almost finished eating, he started eating with all his heart.

In a short while, the two pots of rice and the fried dishes were eaten up.

After dinner, he helped clean up before returning to his team.

At this time, a servant brought over fruits and snacks.

Zhang Ping'an looked in the direction the servant pointed, and found that it was several other seventh-rank military officers of the same rank who were traveling with him.

When the other party saw Zhang Ping'an looking over, he nodded and smiled, sending out a signal that he wanted to make friends.

Zhang Pingan also smiled.

He asked someone to prepare some dried fruits and send them over.

He also stood up and walked towards them.

Speaking of which, everyone has reached this point and they all have a sense of mutual understanding, and the atmosphere is unprecedentedly harmonious.

After getting to know each other, Zhang Pingan discovered that everyone's situation was similar.

Basically, they all have some intricate connection with several major families, but not particularly close.

Being the son-in-law of a prominent family like me is considered to have strong connections.

After a more in-depth conversation, Zhang Pingan began to take it more seriously. These people were not all unlucky as he thought.

Take the few people I have contact with now, for example. They all have their own opinions on both the court's policies and the situation on the front line, and they are quite insightful.

They also have meaningful opinions on governing the country and the people. Several of them have served as local officials before and are not nerds who are unfamiliar with general affairs.

Zhang Ping'an had a vague guess in his mind, but he was not sure yet.

It didn't show on his face.

After a few people chatted for a while, others couldn't help but join in and ask each other for information.

There is basically no one in this group who is too old, and no one is over 35 years old.

As we talked more, we naturally developed feelings for each other. There were fewer conflicts along the way, and everyone was more polite to each other on small matters.

The journey north was smooth.

When passing through a town, they would rest in the city. If they could not get into the city in time, they would sleep in the wild.

When passing through Taihu Lake and Changzhou, Zhang Pingan really wanted to visit his teacher.

However, military orders were as heavy as a mountain, and they were not allowed to rest in Changzhou at night. He couldn't let so many people wait for him alone, so he had to give up.

I don’t know how the teacher is doing now!

After passing Changzhou, it is not far from Cangwu River. Their destination is Yangzhou, so they don’t need to go to Jinling. They can go directly from Dan County to Zhenjiang Prefecture.

To be honest, Zhang Pingan and others were both excited and nervous.

Along the way, Zhang Ping'an became good friends with a Xuan Zhenglang named Tu Xiaowen.

Since both of them were of the seventh rank, the same job level, they would most likely be assigned together, and making friends in advance would be a help.

This man is in his early thirties and is a veteran in officialdom. He has many unique insights.

Zhang Ping'an also noticed this point and can remind himself of it from time to time.

What is even more commendable is that although this man is slick, he is not a bad person. He is not greedy or possessive, which makes him a good official.

The only thing that people criticize him for is that he is a little too timid and is particularly afraid of death.

Before reaching the river, Tu Xiaowen began to worship his ancestors three times a day, praying for their blessings for everything to be safe, so that he could reach the north smoothly and then be transferred back to Lin'an smoothly.

Although the others were also afraid of death, no one showed it as obviously as he did, and therefore they were ridiculed a lot.

Tu Xiaowen didn't care and continued to mutter to himself during every meal.

We also have to bring Zhang Pingan along.

Zhang Pingan could only pee every time he ate, which was miserable.