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

The next day, Zhang Ping'an and his men started to process the konjac.

The people in the city are our best helpers.

Lao Tu arranged for the captain to take people to the hills in the north to continue digging the remaining konjac and chopping firewood, and also arranged for people to repair the houses in the city.

After several days of hard work, all the konjac on the northern hills was finally dug up and piled up in the yard like a small mountain.

We were also lucky enough to find the Chinese yam, whose rhizome is a bit similar to taro and potato. It is non-toxic, easy to handle and rich in starch.

It’s a pity that the quantity is too small, not much, and it is specially left for the wounded soldiers to eat, which can be regarded as a special meal for them.

Although konjac has an average taste, it is available in large quantities. Another advantage is that it can be dried into konjac for easy storage.

Plus a lot of dried fish.

Looking from afar at the open space, it was full of food, which was particularly satisfying.

Now the soldiers in the camp’s favorite job is to watch these foods.

The people had rice porridge provided by the military camp every day. With hope, they were less resistant and reluctant to be assigned tasks, and order was gradually established.

The county town has also regained some vitality.

Everything went smoothly, so Zhang Ping'an prepared to start plowing the soil and planting.

You don’t have to go far, there are many fertile fields next to the county town.

Start by planting seasonal vegetables and peas.

Currently, only these two have seeds.

Farming is not a casual thing. Zhang Ping'an had people mark each field and assign corresponding responsible persons according to household registration. If there is a problem with a field, the corresponding responsible person will be found.

At the same time, checks and balances are implemented so that everyone can supervise each other spontaneously.

He never underestimates people's hearts!

The imperial court and Lord Zhou have also replied to the letter regarding the grain and fodder issue. They will arrive in about ten days, but the quantity will be only two-thirds of what was originally estimated.

Zhang Ping'an knew that Lord Zhou was also in a difficult situation, otherwise it would not have dragged on for so long.

We can no longer rely entirely on the imperial court.

They still have to learn to save themselves.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

The old bald man looked serious and said to Zhang Pingan solemnly, "Ping'an, it was not easy for the food to arrive this time. We don't know when it will arrive next time. I have to take people to meet them. Let Zouping take over the affairs of the county. He is my deputy and he is reliable. If you have any problems while I am away, just go to him directly."

Zhang Pingan knew that they were afraid that the rebel army would come and rob them, so he nodded and said, "Don't worry, I understand!"

"To be honest, I'm a little worried. You are a scholar and I'm afraid you don't understand the cruelty of war," the old bald man scratched his head. There were only a few hairs left on his head due to the scratching.

"Food and grass are the most important things now, and those rebel soldiers are not stupid. If they want to rob, they will definitely rob food and grass. Why would they come to the county town? There is nothing in the county town except us, so it is not worth it to rob," Zhang Pingan comforted.

This coincided with what Lao Tu thought, so he decided to go there in person to meet them.

"Okay, I'm leaving then!"

"Be careful!" Zhang Pingan said.

After the old baldy left, Zhang Ping'an immediately summoned Zou Ping, his elder brother-in-law Liu Sanlang and several other important people to discuss the matter.

Although they say there is no need to worry, we still need to make the necessary preparations. Who knows what those rebel troops will think? What if they go crazy?

After staying in troubled times for so long, his thinking must be abnormal.

After listening to Zhang Ping'an, Zou Ping pondered and said, "Old Baldy has already told me in advance that they will be back in a day or two at most. The main thing is to be vigilant for the next two days. We have a lot of people, and both equipment and food are better than the rebel army. The surrounding defenses are also tight, and the city walls are constantly patrolled, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"But the only thing we lack is ruthlessness, right?" Zhang Pingan added. "Even flies are meat. We still have food. We can't be careless!"

Zou Ping nodded frankly: "That's unavoidable. Some of the new recruits are still not mature enough in terms of experience. They will be fine after seeing more blood."

"Captain Liu, Captain Ruan, what do you think?" Zhang Ping'an didn't rush to draw conclusions, but turned to ask the other two.

Ruan San was more flexible, and after a moment's thought, he replied, "Even if they want to attack the city, they can only use a few methods: either building a human ladder, or using rolling thunder logs to smash the city gates, or arranging for them to sneak into the city and set fire.

The general defensive measure adopted is to strengthen the city defense, such as digging moats, trenches, setting up obstacles such as chevaux de frise and caltrops, or using rolling logs and gold juice. We have done all of these. Deputy General You and Lord Zou have always been rigorous.

I think we should deploy more personnel and strengthen patrols."

After listening to this, Liu Sanlang continued, "This is my first time on the battlefield, so I don't have much experience yet. But I think we can set up secret sentries on the main roads and side roads around the county town to keep watch. That way, we won't be caught off guard if anything happens."

Zou Ping nodded and replied, "We do have secret sentries, but there's no need to worry about them. Throughout history, in wars big and small, besides burning food supplies and assassinations, the most common thing was night raids. There are countless precedents for this, so we will naturally be on high alert and be prepared to respond."

"That's good," Zhang Ping'an nodded. "One more thing, the people in the city can't let their guard down just yet. Tell your soldiers to be more vigilant. If necessary, they can be banned from leaving the house for the next two days."

"What about the things in the fields?" Zou Ping asked.

"The seeds have already been planted. It won't matter if I leave them alone for a day or two."

Everyone then discussed some details.

Although Liu Sanlang and Ruan San were both ninth-rank military officers, they were mainly responsible for assisting Zhang Ping'an in governing the county. They did not have any soldiers under their command, which meant they had no real power.

Zhang Ping'an felt that all eggs should not be put in one basket, so he transferred five men, or 500 people, to each of their subordinates in the past two days.

There aren't many people, and the main purpose is to give the two of them some experience.

Zouping was only an eighth-rank official and a deputy, so naturally he couldn't say much.

Zhang Ping'an made the arrangements directly because he saw that this person was honest and steady, otherwise it might take some effort.

Since ancient times, decentralization has not been easy.

Soon it was the second day. Zhang Pingan took a look around during the day. He found that Zouping was indeed experienced and his defenses were very thorough.

I don't see anything that needs to be adjusted.

The only thing that made Zhang Ping'an somewhat dissatisfied was the way of reporting the news.

Now the main means of reporting by front-line sentries are drums, trumpets, smoke signals and rockets.

It's okay if you are far away from the enemy, but if you are close, it is very likely that you will be too late.

Zhang Ping'an missed his sixth brother-in-law very much at this time. If his sixth brother-in-law were still alive, he would definitely be able to make a flare, which would be convenient, efficient and practical.

Especially suitable for the front line.

It's true that you only regret not having enough things when you need them.