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

The next morning, after Zhang Ping'an got up and had breakfast, he prepared to say goodbye to his sixth brother-in-law and return to Chang County.

Yu Shiqi reluctantly saw him off until he left the city.

"Sixth brother-in-law, we're leaving, don't see me off," Zhang Ping'an said, stopping his horse.

He instructed, "You're all alone in Yangzhou. If you're unsure about anything, you can ask General Luo. After yesterday's dinner, I found him to be a man of great intelligence and information. There's no harm in discussing it with him. If you're not in a hurry, you can also write to me. We in the north should support each other and help each other!"

Yu Shiqi nodded: "I understand, don't worry, be careful on the road!"

After bidding farewell to his sixth brother-in-law, Zhang Ping'an and his men rode at full speed and arrived at the jurisdiction of Chang County in less than two hours.

Chang County is located next to the official road and close to the canal, with convenient transportation.

Local people used to make a living by raising ducks, silkworms and weaving cloth. The salted duck eggs and plain brocade produced here are very famous.

In addition to its specialties such as mallards, salted duck eggs, and plain brocade, Chang County has another feature that people talk about, which is the large number of nunneries and Taoist temples for women.

The famous female Taoist priest Lü Xuanmiao of Daxia once lived here.

There is even a custom in nearby villages that "the eldest daughter does not marry and serves as the head of the family temple."

Therefore, the status of local women is relatively higher than in other places, and the customs are much more open.

It was originally a good place for people to live and work in peace and contentment.

But since the frequent wars in the north, the people have been displaced and Chang County has been abandoned.

The current population is just over a thousand people, and most of them are female monks who have returned to secular life.

Those who managed to survive by hiding in large reed marshes or valleys in the wilderness.

It is rare that there are more girls than boys.

The performance in this year's autumn harvest was somewhat disappointing.

The main problem is lack of manpower.

If we want to quickly restore the former prosperity, it will be possible only if a large number of people move in.

As we slowly approached Changxian County, we could see groups of farmers working in the fields on both sides of the road, and most of them were women.

When they entered the city, the guards saw that the group of people were strangers and checked them very strictly.

After eating and taking out the token to identify himself, someone immediately went into the city to report.

Zhang Ping'an and his men waited leisurely at the city gate.

He glanced around out of the corner of his eye.

I found that the city wall of Chang County was in very poor condition and there were far fewer guards on the city walls than in Ze County.

A moment later, the magistrate of Chang County came quickly with his men to greet them.

Seeing Zhang Pingan from afar, he bowed deeply and said, "This humble official, He Youcai, respectfully welcomes Lord Zhang! Your Excellency has taken the trouble to come and inspect us. Your humble officials and others are not very anxious. Please quickly follow me into the city to rest and have a cup of cold tea to cool off."

"Thank you, Lord He," Zhang Ping'an said politely.

This Mr. He Youcai originally came to the north on the same boat with him.

He is nearly thirty years old and has a decent level of education, but he has a very twisted personality. Sometimes he is impulsive, and sometimes hesitant.

The two knew each other on the boat and had a sense of respect for each other.

This man was a juren, capable of doing practical work, and had a good heart. He generally considered the people when doing things, but he lacked strategy and ability.

At that time, his family spent all their wealth and begged for help before they found him a position as magistrate in a county town near Lin'an.

But the bad thing about this person is that he is impulsive and lacks shrewdness.

It is easy to act impulsively if people around you provoke you a little.

Not only did he offend his superiors, but he also failed to win over his subordinates.

You are really not suitable to be an official!

It was also because of this that he was dismissed from his position as county magistrate before the year of assessment after only serving for more than a year in the south.

He was exiled to the north by his superiors.

When they first arrived at the Yangzhou camp, he was among those who started trouble because of the poor food.

He is a person who believes everything he hears.

He is the one who sticks his head out and is easily used as a tool.

This is Zhang Ping'an's fair evaluation of him.

Finally, I was assigned to Chang County, where I have been working until now, but I didn't get any promotion this time.

All in all, in Zhang Ping'an's opinion, with this man's character, he would only be able to become a county magistrate in his lifetime.

The higher you go, the worse it gets. The higher the position you hold, the bigger the trouble you get into!

He doesn't have the ability to balance it.

A group of people walked majestically on the streets of Chang County, leading their horses, attracting a lot of attention.

Zhang Pingan and He Youcai walked in the middle.

He Youcai smiled as he walked and introduced: "Sir, look, this is the post station. There is a medical office not far away. If the people have a headache or a fever, they can go there to see a doctor and get medicine."

"Has the grain harvested this autumn been distributed among the people?"

He Youcai nodded quickly, "It's already been divided. Life is much better this year than when we first arrived last year. Chang County is a little different from other places. There are more women than men, and there aren't enough strong laborers. The fields can't be cultivated well, and the yields aren't as high as other places. I've also tried my best to arrange for the county's garrison to help, but the results are still somewhat unsatisfactory. I'm really ashamed!"

The shame in his tone really doesn't sound fake!

"I know this. Just now on the road, I also saw many women busy in the fields. It seems that many of them are female monks who have returned to secular life, right?" Zhang Pingan asked.

"Well, that's right. There's nothing we can do about it. We can't even get enough food to eat, so how can we provide them with space to practice? Another reason is that the population of this county is too small. As you can see, sir, we really have no choice but to do this," He Youcai explained.

"I understand and sympathize with your dilemma," Zhang Ping'an waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

Then he suggested, "I just suddenly thought of a way that might be of great help to the population growth of Chang County and Ze County."

"Oh? I'm all ears!" He Youcai asked humbly.

"Chang County's current problem is that there are more women than men, while Ze County is the exact opposite, with more men than women. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could balance the two sides?"

He Youcai hesitated a little: "Your Excellency's plan is certainly very good, but there is one thing I don't know whether I should say or not!"

"Just say what you want to say," Zhang Ping'an waved his hand.

"These women from nunneries and Taoist temples are all very raw, and their thinking is different from the women in the south. Some of them seem to have seen through the mundane world, and most of them are planning to return to Taoism after saving some food. They're even more stubborn than the average man. I wonder if forcing a marriage on them is feasible?"

"That's easy to do. Who said we should force them into marriage?" Zhang Pingan replied, "There's a population shortage, a shortage of labor, and no one to cultivate the fertile land. Married and unmarried women should first be differentiated in terms of taxation and food distribution, so as to lure them in with benefits!

Secondly, don't they all want to practice Taoism again? Don't stop them. Just build a new Taoist temple in the county and let them practice Taoism while farming. You can also arrange some of your own people to go there and arrange marriages for them after a while. By the way, let them spread the benefits of marriage. Slowly, everyone's ideas will change!"

Back in the past, the idea that having many children would bring more blessings was deeply rooted in the minds of the Chinese people.

Even under the family planning policy, there are guerrilla groups against having more children than allowed in various places.

But as generations went by, by the time he traveled through time, most young people no longer wanted to have children.

It can be seen that no idea is unchanging and cannot be changed!