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

"The other party has already shown mercy, what can we do? As long as there is green mountains, there will be no shortage of firewood. Don't you understand this principle?"

"Renzhi, ever since the Western Tour, your words and actions along the way have often been unlike the witty you of the past. You should reflect on this!"

After Zhang Pingan finished speaking, he no longer cared about Zhao Renzhi and asked Chibao to look around to see if anyone was injured and to settle the injured first.

Qian Jie took advantage of the chaos to approach and whispered, "It's done!"

"Okay, I understand," Zhang Pingan nodded.

Although he was reluctant to let the man go, he had left a backup plan on the pangolin. As long as the man was in the Guazhou camp, he would definitely find him.

We will take two approaches at the same time and wait for the final answer to be revealed.

By the time the dilapidated temple became quiet again, it was almost the Yin hour of the next day. Most people only had superficial injuries, which were not serious after applying medicine.

When the sky was just getting light, everyone set off again.

By the sixth day, they were not far from Guazhou, and it started snowing again. Unlike the light snowflakes before, this time it was heavy snow. In less than an hour, everyone's heads, shoulders, and bodies were covered with snowflakes.

Fortunately, they were not short of money and were fully equipped with hats, cloaks, warm clothes, dry food and water bags, etc., which were sufficient.

This makes traveling in the snow less difficult.

In the northwest, once this heavy snow starts falling, it may not stop for several days and nights, which will inevitably affect their journey.

By then, everything around you will be white, and it will be difficult to tell the direction. Not only will it be easier to get lost, but the cold weather will also make accidents more likely to happen.

It would be safer to speed up and reach the Guazhou camp first.

Therefore, when Zhang Ping'an saw this scene, he not only did not stop to rest, but ordered everyone to speed up the process.

Old Qiu was a little worried when he saw the heavy snow. After all, he was old and his physical strength was not up to par, so he was very tired.

However, along the way, he also saw the abilities of everyone. They were not ordinary people and they were doing big things. He could only try his best to follow them and not fall behind.

Ever since the incident of the ruined temple, the gap between Zhao Renzhi and Zhang Pingan has become increasingly larger. Now they basically only maintain a face-saving relationship with each other, and their actual relationship is very cold.

Qian Jie and Zhang Pingan are relatives by marriage, so most of the time Qian Jie naturally sides with Zhang Pingan. Zhao Renzhi feels deeply isolated.

I somewhat regretted not bringing a capable helper with me like Zhang Pingan before the western tour.

But there was also an advantage, which was that after this incident, he suddenly calmed down and was no longer as irritable and impulsive as before.

He just watched coldly and saw what Zhang Ping'an was going to do. Just as he said, he was the leader, and he didn't need to worry about the eunuchs being anxious while the emperor was not.

He did reflect on himself thoroughly and understood more clearly what he wanted.

Zhang Ping'an was very tired from making arrangements and traveling all the way. He had no time to pay attention to Zhao Renzhi, let alone time to guess his psychological activities.

He planned to leave him alone for a while and wait until they arrived safely at the Guazhou camp before doing anything else.

No matter what happens, it can only be carried out when we arrive at the Guazhou camp.

By the next day, the sky was fine in the morning, but suddenly became dark in the afternoon. The north wind blew across the earth. Looking around, thousands of mountains were cleared and thousands of valleys were flat. Only the wind and the snow blades were left, howling between heaven and earth.

The snow seems to be falling even harder!

They were the only group of living people left in the vast world, leaving behind a series of horse hoof prints on the snow, which were soon covered by new snow.

Old Qiu, an experienced man, carefully observed the sky and said, "My lords, I'm afraid the situation is not good. This snow won't stop for three to five days. When it does, the snow on the road will freeze solid. By then, the road will be blocked by heavy snow, and we won't be able to leave. We'll have to find a small town nearby to stay overnight."

"What if we travel overnight? Now that the snow is soft and not too thick, can we get there before the road is closed?" Zhang Ping'an took off his hat and asked while shaking off the snow.

He wasn't too surprised, as this was similar to what he had known before, and he knew that Old Qiu was not lying.

Old Qiu was a little hesitant: "I can't guarantee it, let's just say it's half and half. We are less than two hundred miles away from Guazhou now. If the horses can handle it, maybe it will be possible!"

"Then let's travel overnight," Zhang Ping'an gave the order and led the way forward without hesitation.

The inner sides of his thighs had been repeatedly rubbed and had formed blood scabs. Although he applied medicine, he did not get enough rest, so scars were certain to remain.

Zhao Renzhi and Qian Jie followed soon after. No one wanted to fail and be trapped in a small town near Guazhou for the New Year.

Old Qiu sighed and followed with a bitter face, feeling that it would be difficult to earn five times the money.

By late at night, the road had become very difficult to walk on. What Lao Qiutou had predicted was correct. The snow had not stopped falling and the horses' hooves sank deeply into the snow with every step they took.

Someone fell down in the middle. When we looked up, we saw that the horse was foaming at the mouth. It was exhausted and could not run anymore.

Needless to say, everyone had to stop temporarily, continue to reduce their burden, and throw away a lot of things before they could make room for new horses.

By this time, even someone as calm as Zhang Pingan was already in a state of disarray.

Finally, at dusk the next day, after crossing another gentle slope, everyone sitting on horseback could see the dim lights of Guazhou City not far away.

They're here!

"Safe, we're here!" Qian Jie pointed excitedly at the city in the distance.

"I saw it!" Zhang Pingan couldn't help laughing.

Zhao Renzhi couldn't help but snort with a smile, "What are you waiting for? Let's go. Damn it, we're finally here."

When they saw the city, everyone was immediately excited, just like a thirsty traveler in the desert seeing an oasis.

"Why rush? Let the flag guards take out our flags and hang them up. The vanguard team will lead the way. Send someone to the city gate to inform them first," Zhang Pingan instructed his subordinates.

The city gate was already closed at this time. In winter, it gets dark early. It was impossible for them to rashly go and ask others to open the city gate. It was not only against etiquette, but also beneath their dignity.

They had a legitimate reason to come here, so at this time, the defenders of Guazhou City should come out to welcome them, and they would have to accompany them to the Guazhou camp later.

Zhang Ping'an didn't intend to let his group lose face too much, as the first impression was very important.

After eating and receiving the order, he quickly took his men there.

Zhang Ping'an, Qian Jie and Zhao Renzhi all paid attention to their personal appearance. There was nothing they could do before, but now they were almost at the city gate, so they had to take this opportunity to tidy up and not look too embarrassed.

The crowd didn't have to wait long. After they had dressed themselves up and were almost presentable, they saw that the lights at the city gate suddenly became much brighter, and many torches were lit on the city wall.

A group of armored soldiers were riding towards the gentle slope, and Chi Guan followed at the end of the group.

It was obvious that the defender from Guazhou City had arrived.

"Sir Zhang, Sir Zhao, Sir Qian, I didn't know you gentlemen were coming, and I hope you will forgive me for not welcoming you in person. Please follow me back to the city to rest." The defending general was a burly man in his thirties with a full beard and a righteous look. He was a typical military general.

He was very polite to the others and didn't say much about the messy appearance of the people in the team. It was quite comfortable to get along with him.

However, when entering the city, Zhang Ping'an knew that this man was not a flatterer, because although he was respectful and polite in his words, he was not careless at all when verifying his identity when entering the city, and was very strict.

He also seemed to casually use court affairs to trick them into talking to ensure the authenticity of their identities.

Like Qian Jie, he is a rough but meticulous person.

"It seems that Lord Xu is doubting the authenticity of our identities?" Qian Jie joked after seeing through it.

Zhang Pingan and the others saw through his thoughts, but he was neither embarrassed nor annoyed. He just smiled generously and bowed his hands to apologize: "My lords, I am really sorry. I am a reckless man with little education. I only know how to do my job. Since the court has entrusted the security of Guazhou to me, I naturally cannot take it lightly. I am sorry. I will apologize to you all after entering the city, and I will drink a jar of wine as punishment!"

This man had a generous and frank personality, and he was honest and straightforward, which suited Zhang Pingan and the others' taste. The slight anger in their hearts disappeared, and they didn't bother with him.