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

After a while of silence.

Liu Sanlang suddenly seemed to come to his senses and nodded, saying, "Well, this is good. With a holy ruler leading the way, unification of the world is just around the corner, and the common people will suffer less. It doesn't matter who sits on the throne!"

"Yes, although we have recovered a lot of lost territories, the areas north of the Central Plains and the Western Regions are still in a mess. We don't know when we can drive all these Tartars back outside the Great Wall. Lord Zhou is also the son of destiny of the Black Snake Choosing Master. So let it be, nothing has changed for us anyway!" Ruan San seemed to convince himself, nodding as he spoke.

After the shock, I felt a little indifferent.

"The emperor is a man of great ambitions. He ordered conscription before. Now that he has officially ascended the throne, he has issued a general amnesty, opened special examinations, and issued many decrees. I estimate that he may implement orders to return home and other decrees soon. The north will soon be bustling with activity. Expelling the Tartars and unifying the world is just around the corner," Zhang Pingan said slowly, looking into the distance.

Liu Sanlang felt a little conflicted after hearing this and said naively, "But we're living well in Lin'an now. We've already settled down there. Why would we go back? My hometown is definitely not as prosperous as Lin'an."

"This is just my guess. Whether to go back or not, we'll have to wait until the government decree comes out. I must discuss it with my family, but I will always go back to visit if I have the chance. I wonder if there are any relatives still alive in my hometown," Zhang Pingan sighed.

"Do you think it's possible that the imperial court will arrange for you two to return to your hometown, Ezhou Prefecture, to serve as officials in the future?" Ruan San suddenly thought.

"Now that Ezhou Prefecture has been recovered, if you could return to your hometown to serve as an official, wouldn't it be much more convenient? You can also take care of your clansmen!"

"What are you talking about? Don't you know that there is a regional avoidance system for being an official? Avoid nationality and relatives!" Zhang Ping'an shook his head in denial.

"But haven't you already settled in Lin'an? There's no conflict!" Ruan Sanda said nonchalantly, thinking it had no impact.

"Let's talk about this later. How is the conscription going?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

Ruan San dropped his nonchalant attitude upon hearing this and replied, "Almost all of them have been conscripted. Some orphans, upon hearing that the conscription offers food and silver, are quite willing to join. After all, they are alone and can survive anywhere. Prices in Runan Prefecture are high and food is scarce. Joining the army might help them make a living!"

"That's good. The new recruits will be gathering in two days, so don't be negligent," Zhang Ping'an instructed.

"Don't worry!" Ruan San patted his chest and responded.

Zhang Ping'an nodded, then instructed: "Brother-in-law, I will summon all the important people in the government office to discuss matters later. You should take people to post the notice first, announcing the change of dynasty to the Great Zhou Dynasty from now on. We must obey the orders of the Zhou Emperor. Oh, and we must be careful about how we address each other from now on. We can't mention the saint's name so often!"

Liu Sanlang nodded: "I understand, don't worry!"

After discussing the important matters, the group dispersed.

Zhang Ping'an still had to discuss matters with his subordinates. With the change of dynasty, everything had to change.

Although the transition of the Lin'an regime was very smooth and the garrisons in important places were all Zhou Ziming's confidants, it was still necessary to appease the people as soon as possible.

In particular, we must contact local gentry and clans to ask them to help stabilize the area, help the government communicate with the people, and reduce the impact of unrest.

This brings us to the benevolent policy that Zhang Ping'an took when he first took over Runan Prefecture.

Those who remain now are those who can adapt to current events. Those who are stubborn and unyielding have already been eliminated in the past few months.

This also laid a good foundation for the new emperor to be enthroned and announced to the world today.

What's more, there are two good things: the imperial examination and the general amnesty, and merchants can also participate in the imperial examination.

Also, with the divine right of kings, the Black Snake chose its master with this favorable wind.

The local gentry naturally quickly accepted the fact of the change of dynasty.

It didn't cause Zhang Pingan much trouble.

Two days later, the reply letters from Magistrate Huang, Lin Junhui and others finally arrived.

It was obvious that the two men already knew about the Jingzhou mutiny and the change of dynasty in Lin'an.

Magistrate Huang was very happy, thinking that he had made the right bet and that a meteoric rise to prominence was just around the corner.

One can see the uncontrollable excitement in his words.

Lin Junhui's reaction was indifferent, and the letter contained nothing but surprise and admiration.

This made Zhang Pingan feel a bad premonition in his heart. This kind of reply was not Lin Junhui's style.

Now that the matter is done, could it be possible that he has any other ideas?

Really worried, Zhang Ping'an immediately picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Lin Junhui who was far away in Fu County to persuade him.

He knew that Lin Junhui was a man with great ambitions, but he was afraid that he was not smart enough and would stick to his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism.

In this case, it would be like hitting a rock with an egg.

What's more, he represents not only himself, but also his people.

Time passed quickly, and the recruits had already gathered in Kaifeng.

An army of 300,000 was stationed in Kaifeng. All the commanders were veteran generals with good reputations, and they had sufficient food and grass.

This undoubtedly posed a considerable threat to the Baichao and Tatars who were forced to the north, and for a while no one dared to act rashly.

Two months after the troops were deployed, the cold twelfth month officially arrived.

This is also the first New Year of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so it must be very grand to show the country's power!

Even Zhang Pingan, who was far away in Runan Prefecture, received the notice from the court bulletin, saying that he would celebrate the New Year with the people.

All citizens can collect a portion of New Year rice with their household registration in the twelfth lunar month.

Most people are not unaware that the wool comes from the sheep.

But it’s good to have some breathing space, as most people are in high spirits!