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

Tu Xiaowen was also surprised when he saw this, frowning and saying, "It seems the situation is more serious than I thought. Food is in short supply!"

"My lords, you may not know that although the nearby counties centered on Yangzhou have been recovered, due to frequent invasions by bandits and lack of management, the fertile fields have become barren, and these refugees have no proper food at all. So anything edible has been stripped clean, and by the time winter comes, it will not be uncommon for the land to be filled with starving people," said the captain of the escort team.

He had been on the front line for a long time and had seen all kinds of tragic situations. He had long since developed a heart of stone and was no longer surprised by such situations.

"What about the people living nearby?" Tu Xiaowen asked.

"Most of them are in the county town, and a small number are hiding in some corners. The road we just passed is actually not completely deserted, but they are afraid of being beaten, robbed, or even eaten, so they don't show up easily. They hide during the day and come out at night. They are no strangers to mere sheep," replied the captain.

The crowd continued to move forward, and did not dare to make a fire when sleeping outdoors at night.

"The people who have survived these chaotic times are more ferocious than wolves. We must not be careless, or we will all be robbed," the captain warned.

Fortunately, the weather is not too cold at the moment, so it is not uncomfortable to find a place sheltered from the wind and sleep in your clothes at night.

In the middle of the night, there were some rustling noises nearby. The captain drew his bow and shot three arrows without thinking. No one knew what was hit, and no one was curious enough to go and see.

After a while, the noise disappeared and the captain put down his bow.

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but praise: "What a great shot!"

There was a hint of pride in the captain's eyes, but he remained humble as he looked at Liu Sanlang and said, "Captain Liu has a good bow, so he must be a very good archer. My performance is nothing!"

Liu Sanlang smiled innocently and reached out to touch his Shenbi bow lovingly: "It's a good bow. It was given to me by a good friend. Without good archery skills, I am not worthy of this good bow."

The members of the escort team took turns to keep watch at night, and they set out again at dawn the next day.

It was not until the morning of the third day that the city gate of Ze County could be seen from afar.

The captain wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed, "We're finally here!"

Tu Xiaowen had already left when passing through Ying County.

Now that we have sent Zhang Pingan and the others here, the mission will be completed.

I haven't encountered any major trouble on the road these days, but there are always some minor disturbances at night.

The captain calmly imparted his experience to the others: "If they are far away, don't worry about them. Anyone who comes close, whether it's a human or a ghost, just shoot them. Don't show any undue mercy."

As Zhang Ping'an rode closer to the city gate, he could see more clearly that this county town was really shabby.

There were obvious signs of fire on the city wall, and it was all black.

The city gate was tilted to one side and it looked like it couldn't even be closed.

Fortunately, there are soldiers guarding the city gates and the city walls, making the county town look a little more normal.

The captain was clearly acquainted with the general defending the city. After handing the soldier a token, he looked up and shouted towards the tower, "Old Baldy, it's been so long, and why hasn't the gate been repaired yet? It looks terrible! Come down quickly! The helpers sent by the court to help us govern the county have arrived!"

"What? Who's here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a deep voice was heard. A man in military officer's uniform on the city wall raised his head to look down. He had a big head, thick neck and bald hair. No wonder he was nicknamed Old Baldy!

After the few people entered the city, they could basically see the end of the street at a glance. Apart from the soldiers carrying things back and forth, there was not a single civilian in sight.

The house was dilapidated, half collapsed, and also showed signs of being burned.

I didn't even see the sign at the store's door.

A general named Lao Tu came down from the tower and said to them enthusiastically, "We'll be colleagues from now on. Just call me Lao Tu like Lao Pi. I don't have anything else to do right now, so I'll take you to see where we're staying. We just took over Ze County not long ago and haven't had time to rest. It's really hard for me to handle it alone, but it will be much easier with you here!"

Zhang Ping'an, Liu Sanlang, and Ruan San also introduced themselves and got to know each other.

Currently, Zhang Pingan and Lao Tu are the highest-ranking people in Ze County.

As they walked, the old bald man introduced: "The north is not like the south, it is very chaotic. Our area is a combination of military and political affairs. There are no civil officials. They are all military officers. Now Ze County has a population of more than 2,000 people, which is considered a large county. Even Ying County, which you just passed by, has a population of more than 1,000, only half of ours.

Although we are close to the front line and it sounds a bit dangerous, Lord Zhou still wants to continue to fight north, and if we can develop Houze County well, it will be fine!"

"Are all these people hiding at home?" Zhang Pingan asked.

"Yes, they are all hiding. These people are very smart. I don't know how many battles they have encountered. It's not easy for them to survive. But they can't hide for a few more days. They have to go out to find food. Wait for you to rest for two days, and then we will see how to deal with them!"

As they were talking, they arrived at the original county government office.

But now it is a place for everyone to rest.

"This place was originally occupied by a small leader of the rebel army. It's a mess. You have to make do with it. Other places are even more dilapidated," said the bald old man a little embarrassedly.

"It doesn't matter. We are all men anyway, so we don't pick on these things," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

"I guess you guys are hungry. I'll have someone bring some food over!"

Zhang Pingan was fine, but Liu Sanlang couldn't help but feel his stomach growling a few times after hearing what he said. He was really hungry!

The old bald man laughed out loud after hearing this: "Today is your first day here, so we will provide you with enough food. Don't be polite!"

Liu Sanlang felt embarrassed and couldn't help scratching his head. Several people sat down.

A moment later, someone brought over a bowl of steamed buns, but this time there were no pickles.

"Come on, eat quickly, don't be polite! We had pickles, but they were snatched away by those bastards during the war. This month's military rations haven't arrived yet, so these are all we have now. You'll have to make do with them for now," the bald old man greeted warmly.

The steamed bread this time is even worse than the one in Yangzhou Camp. It is harder and thicker. How can anyone make steamed bread so hard? It’s enough to break my teeth!

Zhang Pingan and his friends asked for a cup of hot water to soak the food.

The old bald man reminded him, "There's not much hot water left. You better drink it sparingly. Usually only the injured get this treatment!"

"Isn't there enough firewood?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

"Of course it's not enough. The bark of the nearby trees has been stripped off and eaten, and the trees are almost dead. No one has planted new seedlings in recent years, so firewood is hard to find now," replied the bald old man.

Zhang Ping'an ate two steamed buns and couldn't eat any more.

Lao Tu didn't care and arranged for someone to take them there to rest and discuss the matter in the afternoon.