On July 10, the forty-sixth year of Xiangxing, Zhou Bao appeared outside Dingzhou City in a dusty state. This was his first time here in this life.
Compared to other inland states and counties, which were peaceful and prosperous, Dingzhou had only been opened for less than a century, and it faced great military pressure at the time.
Every hundred steps there are horse-faced fighting tents, densely built parapets, and many turrets, which are repaired during the day and night.
Therefore, the city has high walls, deep walls, towering towers, strong and square walls, and looks like a fortified city. It gives people a feeling of being solid, dignified and difficult to attack.
To be more specific, the vision is clear and has the potential to make a golden soup.
This is Zhou Bai's description of Dingzhou City. During the catastrophe in the previous life, even if the situation was so ruined that it was difficult to deal with it, Dingzhou City still did not fall.
Of course, the country is now peaceful and orderly, Dingzhou City has not seen war for a century, Yadao has become a commercial street, and the Sheep and Horse Wall has become a place for livestock to be raised.
When passing through the tall and spacious city gate, the soldiers were not very strict. They simply checked Zhou Bai's scholar documents and let him pass without paying the city fee.
It seems that the blood eucalyptus outside Jixi City did not cause a stir. Perhaps the local officials found out the identities of these people and knew not to publicize them at will.
There was an obvious ambush, and then he was killed in reverse.
Regardless of whether Zhao Liangji's identity has been found out, the appearance of controlled weapons like crossbows is a big trouble. Who else has so much energy to gather these erring soldiers.
Zhou Bai deliberately did not deal with the ending, as long as he did not expose himself.
Of course, there are gods everywhere in Dingzhou County. Some gods may have seen Zhou Bai entering the woods. It was just a human dispute and they would not get involved.
The iron law of heaven is that except for the investigation of imperial examination supervisors and gods who can collect evidence, the rest cannot be used as testimony.
If the imperial court really wanted to collect evidence, it would have to call in the major cultivators of the Yin Shen Yang Shen series and let them use Taoism to trace the source and find out the clues.
However, when they touched Zhou Bai's body, Zhou Bai must have been arrested, and the investigation would definitely not be possible.
Is it possible that the dignified new imperial examination candidates and even Jieyuan will practice those Taoist methods that kill people invisibly in advance?
Besides, the victims are not those "anti-thieves" wearing night clothes and carrying concealed weapons and crossbows.
The city gate of Dingzhou City facing Ningjiang to the west is called Zhenjiang Gate. As soon as they led the yellow-maned horse through the city gate opening, Yao Ping and Yao An came up to them.
"Sir, it's great that you're okay."
Zhou Bai smiled and said, "What can I do? Let's go and see where you have arranged for me."
Although it is still early for the provincial examination, a large number of scholars have already poured into Dingzhou, adding a bit of poetry and picturesqueness to the vulgar prosperity. There are not a few people like Zhou Bai who came nearly a month in advance.
Everyone wants to book an inn in advance, prepare for exams, and participate in various cultural gatherings to increase their connections and knowledge.
The time for the provincial examination is basically unified across all states. It starts on the sixth day of August, each session lasts three days and two nights, with three consecutive examinations, and does not end until the fourteenth day of August.
Why it is said that the Jin Juren and the Jinshi are not only a leap in social class, but also because the difficulty of the Juren Examination is much greater than that of the Scholar Examination.
The county examination lasted one day, the county examination lasted two days, and the judicial examination directly increased to nine days and six nights, and even those with weak physical constitution could not complete the examination.
For this reason, some people refer to the examination as the "cow test" because only candidates who are as diligent and tenacious as cattle can work hard for nine days and six nights to complete all the questions.
So nowadays, heirs of big families will pay attention to physical training, and they will also practice some boxing skills besides studying literature. Even Ma Liang's physique will not attract any strange eyes. This is because they have family origins.
Ordinary small families, even those from rural areas where Zhou Bai comes from, often don't think that far.
This leads to the fact that every year in the provincial examination, many frail scholars fail to complete the exam, often vomiting blood and feeling regretful at the same time.
Following the Yao brothers, they walked through the streets and alleys until they came to a relatively quiet street. Going further here is the residence of the dignitaries of the state city.
Therefore, the environment and public security in this area are excellent, but the rent is a bit more expensive.
In a quiet and small courtyard, Zhou Bai expressed that he was very satisfied. I gave you money just to do business.
"Yes, this yard can be bought in the future. After I finish the exam, it can also be used as your place to stay in the city."
The Yao brothers were all happy, not only because the first small errand was done, but also because the young master meant to arrange tasks for them.
"Sir, just give me your orders. If you don't understand, we can learn from you!" Yao An ate a whole Ningjiang seabass, his face became a little brighter, and his speech became stronger.
Yao Ping also said in a deep voice: "We are brothers. When Yao An begged you to save me, he said that he would be a cow and a horse for you, so how could we break our promise!"
Then they both knelt down: "Yao Ping and Yao An have no parents. They only want to follow the lord and ask the lord to take them in!"
"That being the case, Yao Ping and Yao An listened to the order and now Feng Er and others are the commanders of the Xuanyi Guards of the inner government. They are responsible for the guard duty, military and political intelligence collection and other matters." Zhou Bai turned around and said solemnly with no expression on his face.
This is the official position appointed by Zhou Bai based on Yao Ping's destiny characteristics. He can detect the good and evil of people, and can expand his abilities to a wider range in the future, which makes him extremely sensitive in interpersonal communication.
Moreover, he is also very good at managing intelligence agencies, and can detect anyone with signs of betrayal immediately.
Although the two of them were still not sure what the errand was, the first thing they wanted to do was accept the appointment.
Zhou Bai finally put on a smile at this time and stepped forward to help the two of them up: "From now on, I will still call you Young Master outside. Now I will tell you the specific tasks of Xuan Yiwei..."
"Gather beggars and orphans, bribe gangs and gangsters, and have information channels in brothels, docks, teahouses, etc. As for the current entry point, you can start with the business of medicinal materials. Yao An just needs nourishment."
"Don't worry, although Yao An's disease is a congenital defect, as long as I pass the imperial examination in the future, it will not be difficult to obtain the elixir to make up for the foundation."
They were a little confused when they heard it before, but they still knew that Zhou Bai was kind to them, and they expressed their gratitude without needing to express it again.
"In the month before the exam, you will first learn the basics of intelligence collection from me, and then go to the village protection team for regular training." Of course Zhou Bai saw the confusion between the two of them, and there was no rush to build the initial structure.
…
In the following days, Zhou Bai did not study behind closed doors. Instead, he participated in various literary and poetry gatherings every day. Of course, he also had dinner appointments with scholars from various counties.
During this process, Yao Ping and Yao An followed Zhou Bai's instructions and went to various lively places where fish and dragons were mixed.
Needless to say, restaurants and brothels are also indispensable. They spend money like water and quietly spread Zhou Bai's literary name.
Whenever Zhou Bai composed a poem at a poetry meeting, it would surely become famous the next day. Zhou Bai's name gradually became known to the people in the city, and the Suihan Collection sold by Zhou's bookstore also took the opportunity to enter the city market.
He has a good name. Although it is not as solid as the luck brought by slowly cultivating hope, these fortunes can always have an effect.
Time passed quickly. Zhou Bai completed the registration process and everything was ready. It was only the sixth day of August.
