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

Not only Runan Prefecture and other places are bustling with New Year's activity.

On the first day of the first lunar month, a grand celebration ceremony was held in Lin'an City.

The nine-tiered steps meet the rainbow, and the five-colored cloud chariot stops on the jade steps.

The Phoenix Palace opens in the auspicious mist at dawn, and the Dragon Tower shines in the bright light of dawn.

The entire palace was bathed in a new atmosphere of splendor and majesty.

The palace guards had been replaced a long time ago. They were now standing in line on the imperial road with spears in hand, looking very majestic!

The close guards stood in front of the steps with their swords drawn.

The square was covered with flags and banners, and feathered banners fluttered in the wind. The ceremonial procession extended from Tianjie to Duanmen, as magnificent as heavenly soldiers descending to earth!

All civil and military officials wore new official robes and stood at both ends.

After the first morning bell rang, Zhou Ziming slowly appeared under the gaze of all officials.

Wearing a full set of luxurious crown and tiara.

He wore a black robe and a purple skirt with a dragon-shaped ornament, and a large six-colored ribbon and red shoes.

The twelve golden patterns on the dragon robe sparkled in the sun, exuding an air of nobility.

The jade moss on his head drooped down, covering part of his face, making it difficult to see his eyes clearly.

"The emperor has arrived, and all officials bow to him!" The new eunuch Liang Fu swung his whisk and sang shrilly.

After the voice fell.

All the civil and military officials immediately bowed their heads and knelt in worship: "Long live our emperor!"

"My fellow ministers, please stand up," Zhou Ziming said in a deep voice as he sat on the dragon throne at the top.

After the second morning bell and drum sounded, music began and the court officials knelt down again to offer congratulations.

Some local officials in the southern region took the opportunity to offer auspicious symbols such as golden crops and white deer on this day.

Although Zhou Ziming's expression showed no emotion, he waved his hand and rewarded the officials who presented the auspicious sign.

Ever since he ascended the throne as emperor, his entire aura has become completely different.

With an inexplicable majesty, all officials dared not look directly at him and felt uneasy!

Seeing this, the other court officials confidently presented the gifts they had brought with them.

Most of them are various rare objects and auspicious signs.

Combined with the saying that the black snake chooses its master, the idea that the Zhou emperor was destined to succeed the throne became more deeply rooted in people's minds.

It also further consolidated the new regime.

After the court celebration, Zhou Ziming officially promulgated the new "Laws of the Great Zhou", revised the "Taizu Shilu", and announced the re-coinage of the currency.

Immediately afterwards, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, he appointed his first wife, Wei, as empress and his thirteen-year-old eldest son as crown prince. A grand ceremony of enthronement was held and the news was announced to the world.

A beauty pageant was then announced, and the legitimate daughters of civil and military officials of the third rank and above who were at least twelve years old and unengaged had to participate in the selection.

At the same time, he also arranged marriages for some of the founding heroes.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is just a way to consolidate power.

Zhou Ziming's first wife, the current queen, came from a very ordinary family. It can be said that she could not provide any help to Zhou Ziming on his political path.

Therefore, the selection of candidates was the quickest and most effective way to check and balance the various court officials.

But since ancient times, the harem has been an invisible battlefield, and countless young beauties have died silently in the harem.

Not every minister was willing to send his daughter into the palace.

Sometimes it is more cost-effective to marry between different families.

But who dares to refuse the emperor's order?!

The large area of ​​red land stained with blood on the execution ground outside the city is the result of resistance!

As a result of these measures, Lin'an City was in great turmoil for a while.

Zhang Ping'an, on the other hand, found a peaceful life in Runan Prefecture.

As the highest local official in Runan Prefecture, after managing Runan Prefecture in an orderly manner, he actually felt quite comfortable doing his job as prefect.

There aren't as many intrigues as in Lin'an City.

Liu Sanlang and Ruan San are now his right-hand men. Whenever there is something, Zhang Ping'an always discusses it with them first.

The three of them were all alone in Runan Prefecture. Even when they were not in the government office, they mostly got together and celebrated the first New Year of the Great Zhou Dynasty together. Their bond was incomparable to anyone else.

In a blink of an eye, the first month of the year is over!

Most of the troops in the north were still stationed in Kaifeng, neither continuing to attack nor retreating.

Ruan San was confused, and in his spare time, he pondered with the two men, "What do you think the emperor means by this? Three hundred thousand soldiers and horses need food and fodder, which is no small amount. Just sitting there in Kaifeng is not going to cut it! In my opinion, it's better to press on and attack the capital!"

"Previous wars were fought quickly and decisively, with the army often attacking overnight. Now the battle line has been stretched long enough, and we have to give the soldiers a break. As long as we can stabilize it, it's not a bad thing," Zhang Pingan pondered.

"Alas, having said that, it makes people feel anxious," Ruan San sighed.

Liu Sanlang had been silent the entire time, but now he asked, "Will the Emperor go to the front lines again to personally lead the troops into battle?"

"It's hard to say," Zhang Ping'an analyzed. "Logically speaking, kings rarely lead their armies in person. Even if they do, it's usually out of necessity and to boost morale.

However, our current emperor is a military general and was previously the commander-in-chief of the three armies. The new dynasty was just established through the abdication of the previous young emperor, so it is not so legitimate. In fact, a victory is urgently needed to protect the majesty of the new dynasty."

"So that's how it is!" Liu Sanlang nodded thoughtfully, having learned a lot.

The two were close confidants, so there was nothing they couldn't talk about. Zhang Pingan took a leisurely sip of tea before continuing, "But this isn't a long-term solution. We can't expect the Emperor to always lead the troops into battle. As time goes by, His Majesty will definitely spend more time in Lin'an. No matter what happens, he won't be able to appear on the front lines as often.

So in this situation, he must cultivate his own trusted generals and help them rise to power. These people must be brave and good at fighting, and at the same time, they can't be from too good a family, nor too ambitious. Look, for example, you two and Old Baldy!"

"I understand this. We can't let one person become too powerful. Otherwise, if he imitates the Jingzhou mutiny, wouldn't it be..." Liu Sanlang didn't finish the rest of the words, but everyone understood his meaning.

"Yes, that's the truth," Zhang Ping'an looked at his brother-in-law with appreciation and nodded.

"But this will have to wait until after March. The palace is busy with the selection of concubines, and the emperor can't spare the time."

Speaking of this, Ruan San envied himself: "It's great! There are beauties all over the world for you to choose from, but I haven't even found a wife yet!"

"Isn't it because you have high standards? Who can you blame?" Zhang Pingan joked.

"That's right. I think the girl the matchmaker mentioned last time is pretty good. But you complained that she was too thin and said that she wouldn't be a lucky girl for her husband. You're too harsh," Liu Sanlang shook his head, his tone full of disapproval.

"It's unfair. It's not my fault. You don't know. That girl has a small face the size of a palm, and it's covered with freckles. She speaks in a pretentious manner and eats very little. She is really not my type. I really can't agree against my will," Ruan San cried out.

Zhang Pingan suddenly thought of someone after hearing this. He sat up straight and said, "Just count for yourself how many fat people there are these days. If you're capable, you can marry your wife home and fatten her up yourself. But now that you mentioned that, I suddenly thought of someone who quite meets your requirements. If you agree, I'll risk my dignity and be your matchmaker!"