Pingcang County is named after the most famous mountain near this county, Cangshan Mountain.
Although the cliffs are not thousands of feet tall and the green walls are thousands of meters tall, they are also lush with strange trees and as green as a dense forest.
On the official road leading to Pingcang County, a carriage was driving smoothly and quickly. It looked like the driver was an expert.
Zhou Rui was half lying in the car, chattering endlessly, while Zhou Bai opened the window curtain and took in the surrounding scenery and terrain, his thoughts flying.
The continuous Cangshan Mountain semi-surrounds the entire Pingcang County. If you want to cross the Cangshan Mountain, except for a few hunters and gatherers, the only way to pass is the Kukou Pass that the government spent a lot of money to open.
Zhou Bai once visited the Kukou Pass. It was true that one man could not open the pass and no one could open it. There was a city at the pass and military forts on both sides, which were heavily guarded.
The reason for such precautions is that Pingcang County is the farthest "familiar" county in the north. Further north, there are "new" counties that were established just recently in Jiazi, and the enemies of the grassland are constantly harassing them.
In fact, Pingcang County was established not more than a hundred years ago. It was developed by Daxu at the peak of its national power. However, with Cangshan Mountain as a barrier, its development was not inferior to that of other inland counties.
At the beginning, the Cangshan group of bandits colluded with the hostile forces in the grassland and the northern border to form an independent body. They resisted the imperial rule in the Ming Dynasty, which hindered the plan to open up the border states.
Due to the excessive consumption of military supplies and materials, the imperial court issued an edict to attract refugees from the interior and small families to move to the border with various preferential policies.
It was against this background that major families came to Pingcang County. They gathered heroic refugees and fought bloody battles with the Cangshan bandits to fight for the land for their clansmen to live in.
In the end, the families that contributed the most became county tycoons and settled in the county town, while many small families such as the Zhou family scattered in the countryside and became the lowest rural clans.
The Zhou family is quite lucky. With their meritorious service, they have earned thousands of acres of fertile land for the next generation, and they also have a co-educator.
It was this title of Tongjuren that enabled the second-generation ancestor to lead the family to establish a foothold in Pingcang County, and even turned into ancestral spirits after death, truly solidifying the foundation.
Although the Tongju people were specially selected by the imperial court and were at the bottom of the Juren class, they had many privileges, so it was not surprising that they supported the framework of a rural clan.
In the decades that followed, the Zhou family's talents continued without interruption, and a true scholar was born, a third-generation ancestor in the sense of family contribution. He pushed the Zhou family to become a truly established rural clan.
It is a pity that there is no one to succeed him in the subsequent judicial positions. Many of the benefits earned by the third generation ancestors have not been preserved, and the county tycoon's family status is always out of reach.
Of course, it is fortunate that it is located in Pingcang County. Even if many small families cannot become county magnates, they can still maintain their rural family status and avoid falling into the nameless small clans.
There is an unwritten rule of the humane court in this world, and the Daxu Dynasty still continues, that is, the court should try to open up borders as much as possible. The evaluation of the previous dynasty by future generations will have a heavy weight in how much territory it expanded.
Generally speaking, the average humane dynasty only lasts three hundred years, but in this world there are many humane dynasties that exceed three hundred years. It has been 325 years since the founding of Daxu, which is a clear proof.
Here, opening up territories and reducing social conflicts may not be a key factor affecting the longevity of the dynasty.
In order to open up frontiers, Daxu gave many rewards to the pioneers. The co-regents of the second generation ancestors of the Zhou family were only a small part of the story. The real preferential treatment law was the whole.
For example, in the imperial examination, the title of scholar requires passing the county examination (child examination), county examination, and college examination. However, in the newly opened land, one can obtain the title of scholar by passing the county examination after passing the county examination.
Coupled with the decline of the cultural context in the border areas and the support of policies, it is still difficult to pass the exam, but it is much less difficult than in the inland states and counties.
Many rural tribes, like the Zhou family, have always maintained a number of talented people to maintain their family status and pass it down from generation to generation.
The time limit for newly opened land is within a hundred years, and Pingcang County has been established for ninety-five years. This means that if the Zhou family cannot have a candidate, they will only have two chances to enjoy the preferential treatment decree.
The number of places in the county examination is several times that of the college examination. It is conceivable that it is difficult to obtain honors in the college examination. It is not surprising that the clan attaches so much importance to the number of blessing places. They even break the sorting rules and strive to win more places in these two sessions. A few talented people came out.
But in a sense, this involution of the clans in Pingcang County has accumulated a certain amount of strength for the coming of the great catastrophe. It is consistent with the pace of some aristocratic families, and Zhou Bai felt a little strange in his heart.
"Didn't you hear what I said to Zhou Bai? It's a shame that I let you ride in my father's carriage. You're treating me like a donkey out of kindness." At this time, Zhou Rui's somewhat angry voice came.
Zhou Bai smiled slightly at Zhou Rui and said: "Listen, listen, Zhou Datian's niece is Zhou Heyun's housemate, so Zhou Heyun and even the third house will definitely target me?"
There was a bit of anxiety on Zhou Rui's chubby face, and he said: "Yes, I'm not afraid. Anyway, my father arranged for me to go out to do business. You shouldn't give up your place. You don't even know the clan's opinions on this county examination." How much support is there, do you really want to be assigned to a manor?"
As the county seat got closer and closer, Zhou Bai stretched out his head to look at the terrain and environment, and then comforted Zhou Rui and said: "Haha, you said yourself that the imperial examination is not just about luck, how come I can't do it?"
"You... well, you thought I was talking all the way in vain! Let's see if we can be a boy. Then we can get a better manor."
…
The Daxu Dynasty had a vast territory, stretching from the ocean in the east to the Dead Desert in the west, to the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the south, and to the boundless grasslands in the north. The area was more than hundreds of millions away.
There are forty-eight states in total, hundreds of counties and cities, and tens of thousands of counties and market towns.
And even if compared to the entire Daxu, Pingcang, as a border town in the north, is also one of the largest in area.
The county town is full of the ruggedness of a "newly opened" land, with towering city walls and numerous archery towers, enemy towers, and corner towers, but it is rare to see armored sergeants matching it.
Covered by Cangshan Mountain, Pingcang County has been peaceful for decades. Not only can it be called a large county in terms of area, but even the population living in concentrated areas has gradually caught up with the middle and lower levels of the mainland.
There are more than 100,000 people gathered in the county, and the population scattered in the villages and towns is at least two or three times. Coupled with the hidden servants, the strength of the major families is really not weak.
At the bustling city gate, there were no guards checking the carriages engraved with the Zhou family's mark. The experienced carriage driver threw down a few coins in a skillful manner and then galloped into the city.
Near the county government office, Zhou Rui pointed to the carriageway in the distance: "This old trick is not simple. The old horsemen that my father often used would not be sent to see me off if I didn't want to take the county exam."
"Well, if you consider him a ten-man enemy within the clan, it's not a big deal to deal with a few thieves." Zhou Bai replied calmly.
This is the heritage of the family. Even a direct descendant of one family can produce such a good hand, except that their seventh family is weak in power.
Zhou Rui was shocked and said with some suspicion: "You can also see this? Then I will still treat you as a servant."
"Let's go. Nothing is more important than the county exam. We're just going to find an inn to check in. No disrespect."
Although there is still time to register tomorrow, there are already many scholars queuing up in front of the county government office, all from all over the country.
However, the direct descendants of the Zhou family did not need to queue up. With just a notification, two officers came to guide the way.
