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

The old bald man wanted to ask in detail, but Zhou Ziming just looked up at the sky and said calmly: "You will know when the time comes!"

His face showed the look of someone who was in control of everything.

So Zhang Ping'an and General Kou tactfully stopped asking questions.

After they chatted about the situation in the cities along the line from Huai'an to Yangzhou, Zhou Ziming became obviously exhausted and coughed a few times while holding his chest.

Young General Kou often walked around Zhou Ziming and they were close. Seeing this, he took the initiative to stand up and said, "Sir, you are not feeling well. Why don't you rest early? We can discuss anything later. Sir Zhang and Old Baldy will have to stay here for a few more days. There is no rush. Your health is more important!"

Zhou Ziming was indeed tired, and he no longer insisted after hearing this.

He ordered, "Take them both down and take them to a safe place. There's no need to leave in a hurry. The show hasn't even begun yet. It won't be too late to leave after it's over! Ahem!"

As he spoke, he started coughing again.

Zhou Ziming had no choice but to cover his mouth with a handkerchief and waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

After leaving the main building, the bald old man asked worriedly, "How did he get injured? It looks like he's seriously injured. Has he had a doctor take a closer look?"

General Kou nodded and said, "You're talking nonsense, aren't you? The commander was injured, so naturally we called the best military doctor in the city to see him. However, the injury is to his lungs, so it's inevitable that there will be some residual symptoms. All we can do is wait and recuperate!"

Zhang Pingan was thinking more, frowning and saying, "Master Zhou's worries are not unreasonable. With such a big incident, I'm afraid Lin'an won't let it go after hearing the news!"

"Hmph, is there any need to explain it? This is obvious. Even a rough man like me can see it. The court has long wanted to replace Lord Zhou. This is such a good opportunity, so we have to make a big fuss about it!" The old bald man snorted with his hands folded on his chest.

"So, Lord Zhou must find a way to turn things around, only then will this matter have a chance of turning around," General Kou whispered.

"But Lord Zhou is injured now, so it is definitely not appropriate for him to charge into battle again. I wonder what countermeasures Lord has in mind? Alas!" At the end, General Kou was also very worried.

In fact, after being ambushed, he had been thinking about how to counterattack, but he really couldn't think of any particularly good and effective strategy.

In addition, there was still a traitor who had not been found out, and he was afraid that the army would get into trouble again, so he had to hold back for the time being.

There is no way to help Lord Zhou share his worries.

"I think Lord Zhou has a good idea of ​​how to attack the enemy!" Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Looking at Lord Zhou's expression just now, he felt that repelling the enemy was secondary, and the most difficult issue was still in Lin'an.

I wonder what decision the court will make on this matter!

This time it cannot be solved by simply saying "The army is away from the enemy and we are not bound by the king's orders"!

"Oh, forget it, I won't say anymore, let's see what Lord Zhou will do. We are risking our lives anyway, what is there to be afraid of! Let's go eat, I just happen to have a small jar of my treasured Yangzhou Laojiao, I'll give it to you today", said General Kou, who made himself greedy and almost drooled.

The old bald man's eyes were sore, but he still laughed heartily. He put his arm around General Kou's shoulder and said, "We've come a long way, so you have to treat us well. Don't be stingy, I also brought some pork jerky, which is perfect to go with the wine!"

"That's great!" General Kou rubbed his hands and smiled happily.

Zhang Pingan sighed inwardly, but smiled and said, "There are also fried peanuts and fried peas, enough for us to drink!"

"You guys are still having an easy life," said General Kou, envious and jealous. He punched the two of them twice and said, "When I go to Ze County, I'll treat you to a feast of at least eight cold dishes, eight hot dishes, and eight large bowls. No less! I'm going to eat you out of money!"

"No problem!" The bald old man laughed, holding his belly.

A few people talked and laughed as they went to the small kitchen.

Young General Kou ordered people to prepare a few dishes, and took out his own collection of old wine. Together with the dried meat, peanuts and other dry goods brought by Zhang Ping'an and Lao Tu, the meal looked quite presentable!

We ate until late in the afternoon.

They all knew their limits and only drank two glasses, not getting drunk.

After the meal, when General Kou sent the two back to their residence to rest, Zhang Ping'an also encountered a fleet delivering food from Huai'an.

The leader was also a military general, about the same height and build as the old bald man, with only a dozen or so people following behind him.

There was no expression on anyone's face.

Zhang Pingan thought about the tragic situation of the fleet being almost wiped out when it arrived, and he could understand that it would be unpleasant for anyone to encounter such a thing!

This man was clearly more fiery than Old Baldy, and he didn't mince words. Upon seeing General Kou, he approached him with a sullen expression and asked, "Why won't you let us go back? And why did you let them take our boats away?"

General Kou laughed dryly, feeling somewhat guilty. He soothed him, "Captain Chen, you misunderstood. It's not that I don't want you to go back. It's just that Lord Zhou felt that you had come so far and had worked hard to deliver the food. You were attacked by pirates and suffered heavy losses. It would be best for you to rest and recuperate here first. That's why I sent part of the navy back to Huai'an to transport the food. It will only take about seven or eight days. When the next batch of food delivery people return, you can go back with them. Isn't that perfect?"

Captain Chen looked suspicious after hearing this, clearly unconvinced. He wanted to say something more, but General Kou threw up his hands and said helplessly, "Besides, Captain Chen, I'm only following orders. Now that the ship has left, I can't bring them back, right?"

"Hmph! You're killing first and asking for permission later!" Captain Chen couldn't help but get angry when he heard about this. "We worked so hard to deliver the food here, and so many of our brothers died, and now you're leaving us here and taking our boat away. How can this be justified?"

"I know Captain Chen is a very reasonable person. Although he is a military general, he comes from a family of farmers and scholars. This matter is done, and I can only apologize to Captain Chen here. Let's be patient for seven or eight days. Is that feasible? When the ship carrying grain comes back, I will inform Captain Chen as soon as possible!" General Kou said with a smile and bowed.

Captain Chen also knew that he could only complain now.

The ship has been sailed away, and he can't go back alone with his men. Not to mention the safety issue, the most important thing is that he will lose face!

I will definitely be laughed to death by my colleagues in Huai'an. It will be a lifetime of blackmail!

However, he still had to maintain a dignified attitude, otherwise people would become even more aggressive, so he brought people to stop General Kou.

After being comforted, Captain Chen took his men away.

Zhang Ping'an and Lao Tu hurriedly asked General Kou about the situation, asking, "Could they have taken our boat away too?!"

"Haha!" General Kou scratched his head and laughed dryly, then replied somewhat unsurely, "Didn't Lord Zhou tell you to stay for a while before going back?"

"What's going on?" Zhang Ping'an asked with a frown after several people entered the room.

There must be a reason for this. There is no reason to suddenly leave behind the people who are delivering the grain and arrange for the navy to go back and transport the grain!

When he first heard Lord Zhou say this, he thought there was something special he wanted to instruct him and Old Baldy to do.

Now it seems that this is not the case.

General Kou had no idea what Lord Zhou was thinking, so he could only offer his own speculation. "I guess Lord Zhou was worried that the people in Huai'an might tamper with the food supplies, so he was worried, so he sent one of our own people over there, right?"

Seeing the two men looking pensive, he could only scratch his head and continue, "Well, don't worry, just relax for a few days. I'm not Lord Zhou's inner circle, guessing everything. Then I'll just become the commander! He's not targeting you, he's mainly targeting Lord Huang, I guess!"

After hearing this, Zhang Pingan stopped arguing, but silently denied this speculation in his heart.

Definitely not!

During the meeting just now, Lord Zhou's evaluation of Prefect Huang was clearly different.

There must be some conspiracy that I am not aware of.

A few people couldn't figure out the reason, so they stopped discussing it and talked about other things.

At this moment, Lord Zhou stood by the bedroom window on the top floor of the main building, stretched his hand out of the window, and felt the breeze blowing gently.

A careless smile played on his lips as he murmured, "Thunder and snow in February, cold until Grain Rain Festival, it's just in time!"