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

The origin of the name of Yumen Pass is said to be that the beautiful jade from Hotan in the Western Regions entered the Central Plains through this pass, hence the name "Yumen Pass".

As the last pass in the frontier area, Yumen Pass has high and thick walls, and is equipped with beacon towers, camps and lookout towers. The pass is not large in scale, but its strategic location is dangerous.

Although it is deep winter now, it is not difficult to imagine the prosperity of Yumen Pass in the past.

Zhang Ping'an could even imagine the scene where the caravans were checking spies and passing customs, transporting tea, silk, porcelain and other items from inside the customs to the west, and then bringing in carpets, glass, spices and other items from outside the customs on the return journey.

"This is Yumen Pass, a city wall divides the two countries," Qian Jie said with a smile as he looked at the city wall in front of him.

"Let's go!" Zhang Ping'an squeezed the horse's belly with his legs.

Jiang Da had gone to greet them in advance, so when Zhang Ping'an and others arrived, the generals guarding the city had already come down from the city wall and were waiting to greet them at the city gate.

It was Wei Cunxiao, Wei Chengfeng's second adopted son. He was a sturdy man, and in terms of height, he was the second tallest person Zhang Ping'an had ever seen.

The first is my brother-in-law.

"I, the humble General Wei Cunxiao, would like to meet you, gentlemen."

"General Wei, please stand up quickly. I am here only to reward and provide relief to the soldiers and civilians at the border. No need to be so polite."

"Thank you, sir. The border is bitterly cold, but you have traveled thousands of miles to the northwest, and still remember to come to Yumen Pass to visit the soldiers and civilians in the border town. It is really a blessing for everyone in the border town. Please follow me into the city." Wei Cunxiao's voice was so loud that it made people's ears numb.

After saying this, he made a gesture of invitation and led the way for everyone.

On the way into the city, Zhang Ping'an was secretly observing the people in Yumen Pass and found that their clothes were much worse than those in Guazhou City.

There are many young women setting up stalls on the street to sell food or other small items, and passers-by seem to be used to it. It can be seen that the local customs are much more open than in other places.

There are even stall owners who stop customers on the street to solicit business.

The entire border town exudes a sense of toughness and casualness.

Further ahead, there are restaurants and teahouses. You can see men with daggers or other weapons hanging around their waists drinking and bragging loudly in the lobby. They are obviously swordsmen in the martial arts world.

Zhao Renzhi pointed at those people and said, "Hasn't the court already issued a law prohibiting civilians from carrying weapons longer than six inches? Why are these people not following the law? I've seen many men carrying weapons along the way."

Upon hearing this, Wei Cunxiao bowed respectfully and replied, "Your Excellency, the people of this border town are quite fierce and have always carried weapons. This has been a problem for me despite repeated prohibitions. I am deeply troubled by this. I beg your forgiveness for any inadequacy in governance."

After saying that, he ordered his left and right deputy generals to arrest the people in the tavern and send them to the yamen.

The people in the tavern were drinking happily, and naturally they were not happy when they were caught, causing quite a commotion.

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but frowning when he saw this.

After arriving at the post station, he instructed Zhao Renzhi, "Our main mission on the western tour is to take back military power. It's best not to interfere too much in the governance of the local people, so as not to arouse public resentment. Even a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Besides, Wei Cunxiao knows that we are here with ill intentions, so he must be supporting his adoptive father. This act just now was clearly a show for us!"

Zhao Renzhi was actually a little annoyed. "You're right. When he ordered people to arrest him just now, I realized I had fallen into his trap. But I didn't expect him to be so serious. It seems that this big guy is not as stupid as he looks!"

"Don't underestimate any small person. A thousand-mile dam can be breached by an ant hole. Every small person has his role to play. By the way, when we go to the camp to reward the soldiers, I will hold Wei Cunxiao back. You and Qian Jie will take the blood of the green fly to the camp to look for people, focusing on the remaining thirteen sons to see if there is anyone who can match them. I think Wei Cunxiao is not easy to fool, so you should hurry up," Zhang Pingan said, and took out two small porcelain bottles from his arms and put them on the table.

Qian Jie helped to clear up the confusion, and Zhao Renzhi then realized that Zhang Pingan had already made preparations when the temple was destroyed.

Holding the small porcelain bottle, Zhao Renzhi looked a little unhappy.

Zhang Pingan took the initiative to apologize as soon as he saw it. "I also thought it was best to keep this matter secret. Otherwise, if it is leaked, all our efforts will be wasted. This matter is of great importance, so I have to be cautious. I hope Brother Zhao will forgive me!"

After a moment's silence, Zhao Renzhi did not get angry and said politely: "Brother Zhang, you are too polite. You have always been thoughtful in doing things. This time with the green fly blood, the chances of finding the person will be greater. Everything is for the court, I understand."

Having said that, the knot in my heart still remains.

After they had rested and settled down, they followed Da Jiang to the military camp.

It was a good opportunity to reward the soldiers during lunch.

Magistrate Liao was a thoughtful person. The supplies he prepared were all very practical items such as food, cloth, and wool.

Zhang Ping'an also prepared some silver and gave out rewards according to their past military achievements.

Most of the soldiers were in high spirits. Who wouldn’t want to have a good New Year?

The few who were unhappy were generals of certain ranks, and they all harbored some hostility towards Zhang Pingan and others.

But Zhang Ping'an didn't care. He even saw quite a few mixed-race soldiers in the army. They had high noses, deep blue eyes, and were taller and stronger than the Han soldiers. They spoke Chinese very well.

If you ignore their appearance, they are really no different from Han Chinese.

"Lord Zhang seems to be particularly fond of them," Wei Cunxiao asked as he noticed that Zhang Ping'an's eyes frequently fell on these miscellaneous Hu soldiers.

Zhang Pingan admitted generously: "Yes, I noticed that they were very different from the local Han soldiers, so I took a closer look at them."

"Hahaha, why don't you, Lord Zhang, pick a few of the ones you like to keep by your side to serve you? There will definitely be more prospects for you to be with you than to stay in the military camp," Wei Cunxiao said tentatively after a hearty smile.

"Oh? If General Wei is willing to give up, that would be great. I'm just short of a few capable people to serve me!" Zhang Ping'an turned the wine glass around with some amusement.

Wei Cunxiao's face froze when he heard this, and then he really asked those teams of miscellaneous Hu soldiers to come forward for Zhang Ping'an to choose.

Zhang Ping'an was not polite either. He picked out a few people he liked and kept them, and asked them to follow him back to the inn in the city.

Those miscellaneous Hu soldiers were a little stunned and didn't understand the situation for a moment. It was only after Wei Cunxiao reminded them that they knelt down and saluted to express their gratitude.

"You are so tactless. It will be much better for you to follow Lord Zhang than to follow this general. Okay, after dinner, go back and pack your things and follow Lord Zhang's carriage," Wei Cunxiao scolded with a smile.

Zhang Ping'an just listened without interrupting.

At this time, Zhao Renzhi and Qian Jie, who had escaped to urinate, sat back in their original seats without saying a word.

While drinking, Zhao Renzhi winked at Zhang Pingan and made a five gesture, meaning that he had found the person who ranked fifth.

Since he had the result, Zhang Ping'an didn't waste any more time. After finishing his meal and taking a tour around the camp, he said goodbye and left.

After they got on their horses and returned to the inn, Zhang Pingan put away his smile and asked, "Is he Wei Chengfeng's fifth adopted son?"

"Well, yes, there may be more than one, but we secretly inquired around in the camp. At present, in addition to Wei Cunxiao, the second-ranked defender of Yumen Pass, there are only Wei Cunxin, who is ranked fifth, and Wei Cunyi, who is ranked sixth, in the camp. I found the green fly blood on Wei Cunxin's weapon. The whereabouts of the others are not known yet." Zhao Renzhi replied.

"Is it him?" Zhang Pingan thought of the man he had just paid special attention to and smiled. "He really does have a face suitable for being a spy."

He was so ordinary that he wouldn't be recognized in a crowd. Even if he had seen him before, he wouldn't remember him. It was a very unrecognizable face. If Zhao Renzhi hadn't made a gesture to him in advance, he would probably have hardly noticed this person.