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

After a brief stay in Huai'an Prefecture, the group quickly took a boat to Runan Prefecture.

It is the season of lush grass and singing birds, and the scenery on both sides of the river is much more beautiful than when I went to the front line at the beginning of the year.

The branches of the willow trees swayed in the wind along the river bank.

Ruan San was a lively person. Sitting at the bow of the boat, he looked at the two banks and said, "So this is what the Huai River is like. It's a little wider than the river in my hometown, and the water is a little clearer, but otherwise, there's nothing special about it!"

"It's declining now because of the war. In its heyday, the coast was crowded with ships and carriages, and merchants gathered here. It was very prosperous. And don't look at it as deserted now. Once the world is completely peaceful, it will soon prosper again," Zhang Pingan shook his head and smiled.

"Hey, that's quite a wait!"

"Not necessarily. The future situation is unpredictable." Zhang Pingan didn't think he would have to wait long for this day.

Apart from being a little boring, riding a boat is much more comfortable than riding in a carriage.

The group arrived at Huaiyang Pass on the afternoon of the fifth day. Currently, the commander stationed at Huaiyang Pass is Li Yue and several other veterans.

Lord Zhou Ziming is still at the front line.

Because the battle line has been extended to the Fangcheng area, Huaiyang Pass is relatively stable now.

In addition, many people were injured in the wars in recent months, so these veterans temporarily withdrew from the front line and stayed in Huaiyang Pass to recuperate.

Zhang Ping'an could have taken a boat directly from Huaiyang Pass north to Runan Prefecture.

But after thinking about it, he got off the boat at Huaiyang Pass and went to visit Li Yue with his brother-in-law and Ruan San.

Relationships need to be maintained. If you don’t interact for a long time, they will become distant.

If you burn incense when you have nothing to do and pray to the Buddha when you have something to ask, who will recognize you then?

Li Yue was not too surprised to see Zhang Pingan and others coming to visit, and was quite warm to everyone.

While inviting everyone to sit down, he said, "You are the first ones to pass by my place on the way to Runan. How was your journey? Did you have a smooth journey?"

"It went quite smoothly. The journey was smooth," Zhang Ping'an replied with a smile.

"That's good. There shouldn't be many pirates along the Huai River now. We have deployed many people to crack down on them in the past few months, and it has become much quieter now," Li Yue said loudly.

He raised his hand and invited everyone to have tea: "Come, have some tea, don't be shy!"

"I haven't congratulated General Li yet. He has been promoted two levels and is guarding the important position of Huaiyang Pass. He will definitely have a bright future in the future," Zhang Ping'an congratulated.

"Hahaha, congratulations, didn't Lord Zhang also get promoted? We are colleagues, and Lord Zhou's right-hand men, so don't be strangers." Although Li Yue was a military officer, he spoke very beautifully, which was rare among military generals.

After saying this, he looked at Liu Sanlang and asked, "Is this Captain Liu? I've heard from Old Baldy that there's a man in Ze County who's eight feet tall and incredibly brave. Seeing him today, I can see that his words are true!"

"General Li, you are too kind," Liu Sanlang bowed in return.

His tone was neither humble nor arrogant, and he was strong and tall. He exuded an imposing aura just by sitting there, which made Li Yue look at him with admiration.

He half-joked, "Captain Liu is a big man with martial arts skills. It would be a shame for him to go to Runan Prefecture. How about staying at Huaiyang Pass? We have many veterans here. If you train with us, you will definitely become a powerful general who can stand alone in the future."

Zhang Pingan laughed twice after hearing this. He knew that Li Yue was just excited by the opportunity, so he didn't refuse in a hurry. This matter had to be answered by his brother-in-law himself.

Liu Sanlang was feeling a little nervous and flattered at this moment.

This is just like when subordinates meet their superiors who are several levels higher than them.

I feel happy to be appreciated, but I am also afraid of saying the wrong thing.

After pondering for a moment, he stood up and replied seriously, "I thank General Li for his kindness. However, firstly, the court has already issued the transfer order, and secondly, Lord Zhang and I are related by marriage and have a deep relationship. I am worried about letting him go to Runan Prefecture alone with Captain Ruan to take up his post. If I have the opportunity to serve under General Li in the future, I will be ready to serve you at any time!"

This was a tactful refusal. The words weren't very nice, but the tone was sincere.

So Li Yue didn't take it to heart.

It’s just a bit regretful!

Still smiling, he soothed her, "Okay, then I won't force you. Who knows, maybe one day we'll even be able to fight together!"

After talking for a while, Li Yue arranged for people to set the table.

Since both sides are interested in making friends, there will naturally be no dull atmosphere.

After dinner, Zhang Pingan didn’t stay long and left with his brother-in-law.

After getting on the boat, Liu Sanlang and Ruan Sancai talked about Li Yue's character. They both thought he was a good person and had a good impression of him.

Zhang Ping'an was also very optimistic about him and said with a smile: "He can lead troops in battle, deal with people well, and is eloquent. As long as he can survive on the battlefield, his future is limitless. Even if he becomes a Jiedushi or Taiwei, it wouldn't be surprising."

"Tsk tsk, people really can't be compared," Ruan San was very envious.

It would be a lie for Liu Sanlang to say that he was not envious, but he was always down-to-earth and felt that Li Yue was indeed amazing.

The group sailed north for another two days and arrived at Runan Prefecture on the morning of the third day.

Runan was captured in recent months and has jurisdiction over eight counties, including Yuxian, Yangxian, Caixian, and Pingxian.

Including Fangcheng, which is now on the front line, theoretically, it is also under the jurisdiction of Runan Prefecture.

These places used to be the territory of the Tatars, who did not know how to farm and only knew how to graze.

Therefore, the good farmland has been overgrown with weeds in recent years and no one has cultivated it, which is really heartbreaking.

However, due to the urgency of the war, the Tatars left behind a lot of cattle, sheep and livestock, which was a pleasant surprise.

The one staying in Runan Prefecture now is a fifth-rank deputy general in the military camp, waiting for Zhang Ping'an to come and take over.

After the handover, he still had to rush to Fangcheng.

Zhang Ping'an, Liu Sanlang and Ruan San had been through some land reclamation in Ze County, so they got the hang of it quickly.

After counting the remaining people and property, the two sides completed the handover.

The deputy general left 6,000 troops to Liu Sanlang and Ruan San and then left.

Although there may not be many people, each of them is a veteran and the elite on the front line.

Many people stayed to recuperate because of their injuries, and to assist Zhang Pingan in governing Runan Prefecture.

He remembered what the deputy general had reminded him before he left, that he should first pick out the captives and scum left in Runan Prefecture and deal with them properly as a warning to them.

Zhang Ping'an was not idle and asked Ruan San and his brother-in-law to start doing this right away.

The captives were those who were injured but not killed after the defeat, and the bastards were the children born between the Tatars and the Daxia people in recent years.

The oldest is only four or five years old.

One good thing about him is that he is very receptive to advice.

The deputy general would definitely not say this for no reason, there must be a reason.

There were quite a few people left in Runan Prefecture, a total of more than 20,000 people, of which captives and miscellaneous persons accounted for nearly 20%, almost 4,000 people.

On the afternoon of the second day, Liu Sanlang and Ruan San made a new list, separated these people, and drove them to another more remote camp.