Chapter 388： martial arts test

As soon as the first month came out, Jiang Sanlang took his children to the county town to take the exam.

The candidates first went to the Wucheng Temple to worship the Taigong statue, and then they were tested on their poems, poems, and policies, and then they were tested on target shooting, riding shooting, foot shooting, jumping, and weight-bearing, etc., and then they were tested on their height, appearance, speech, and behavior.

A score of five on each score is considered excellent.

The examination is divided into two age groups, 12 to 16 and 16 to 20.

Jiang Wu was young and obviously couldn't compare to those older than him, so he was at a slight disadvantage.

But he was very brave and stronger than other children, not to mention riding and shooting, and he quickly won the first place in the competition.

Hu Zi and Xiao Yao were not far behind, finishing second and third respectively in their age group.

Zhang Min and Wei Zhan also top the list in the age group of 16 to 20 years old.

What they didn’t know was that the chief examiner of the martial arts exam in Qinchuan County was actually Xu Kun, whom they hadn’t seen for several years, and a good brother of martial arts master Zhang Meng.

He touched his chin happily and put a check mark next to the names of these children.

This time, the new emperor specially asked him to come to Qinchuan County to recruit martial arts students in order to cultivate a group of trustworthy people.

At the beginning of the new dynasty, the court lacked available talents, especially the Zhechong Mansion that guarded the imperial city and various places. They must be the new emperor's own confidants.

If a new imperial court is not deterred by strong force, those nobles who have lived for generations will definitely get into trouble. Therefore, the new emperor attaches great importance to this martial arts test and has also granted Qinchuan County 20 martial arts places, which is ten more than other counties. name.

Xu Kun didn't understand what Xinhuang meant, so he sent an enrollment notice directly to the entrance of Dongchen Village.

As a result, those children came and behaved well.

A few days later, the martial arts exam ended. Jiang Sanlang took his children and stayed in the county for a few days, waiting for the results to be released.

Yingbao also came to the county town with his father. His younger brother and the others went to take the exam, and he went to inspect the shop.

The hall’s sister-in-law and cousin are both busy in the shop, and they also hired two maids to take care of the children.

My aunt still lives here and sets up a stall selling breakfast every morning.

Hongxiao is now fourteen years old and has a very beautiful background. She no longer goes to school and helps her mother set up a stall and sell food every day.

Yingbao stood on the side and observed their business, and found that there were still so many diners. They could earn up to three to four hundred cash a day, which was only a dozen cash a month.

In fact, the aunt's income is not too little, but she still has to support Xiaolang's education, prepare money for Yuying's wife, and spend some money on the family's daily expenses, so what she earns is not enough.

Cousin Yuying is seventeen this year. Currently, he helps his cousin run errands and deliver goods, and occasionally looks after the store. The cousin gives him fifteen taels a month and temporarily hires him to prevent him from running around and imitating others.

Yingbao walked back to the shop and said to his cousin: "I think the place on the right is good. Why not buy it and build a few shops?"

Jiang Cheng was surprised: "Where is there room on the right?" In the past few years, houses have been built on both sides of their shop. Some built houses to live in, while others opened small shops. Anyway, there was no open space.

"It's the pond next to our shop. I want to buy it, fill it up and build a house on it." There is a pond on the right hand side of the specialty shop. The water is not deep. Some people have filled it with garbage. It is messy. It is still messy in the summer. It smelled bad, and Ying Bao had long wanted to fill it in, but she was afraid that after filling it in, she would make wedding clothes for others.

Jiang Cheng: "That pond? That's fine too."

As soon as Jiang Cheng was reminded by his little cousin, he was enlightened.

The pond is not small. If it were filled in and built to build a house, it would be enough to build a two-inch yard.

"You can go to Yahang and ask about it later. If it is ownerless, buy it directly." Yingbao is not short of money now, but her younger brother will be an official in the future and there will be many places to spend money. Two dates are simply a drop in the bucket.

Not to mention going to Jiankang to buy houses and real estate, even in the future, colleagues in the officialdom will also need to frequently exchange greetings. If someone else gives you a gift, you have to give it back with a gift of equal value. This is called a favor.

Moreover, after you become an official, the official family will allocate a certain number of servants and maids, and you have to use money to support them.

Alas, these are all burdens.

"Okay, I'll go take a look." Jiang Cheng told his wife and went out.

An hour later, Jiang Cheng came back with Yaren and went to the pond to measure the dimensions.

In the end, I only spent one hundred and eighty taels of silver to buy the entire large area.

Jiang Cheng registered the land deed in the name of his third uncle and then gave it to his younger cousin for safekeeping.

Yingbao took over the land deed and asked his cousin to hire some people to transport the soil and fill the entire pond and compact it.

This project is a bit big and cannot be completed overnight. Ying Bao can just ignore it for the time being and let her cousin take care of it.

Anyway, I give all my golden and snow fungus to my cousin for sale. Even if I build ten or eight houses, it will be enough.

A few days later, the results of the martial arts examination were finally released, and Jiang Wu ranked first in his age group in both the literary examination and the martial arts examination.

The tiger is second and the little demon is third.

Zhang Min and Wei Zhan ranked second and third in their group respectively.

The first one is a very tough young man, with a physique that rivals that of a bear.

Everyone was so happy, especially Wei Zhan, who took the exam with the attitude of giving it a try, and he really got it.

The martial arts test is different from the literary test. Once you pass the martial arts test, you can go directly to Beijing and be personally selected by the emperor. After intensive training, you will be awarded an official position.

Yingbao was also happy for his younger brother, but also worried because once he became a military attache, he would inevitably go out to fight.

At that time, will the emperor let them attack the Little Zhou Dynasty?

As soon as Jiang Sanlang returned to his hometown with his children, the whole Dongchen Village was in a sensation.

Many families who did not let their children refer to it regret it.

I also heard from Jiang Sanlang that these children would go to Beijing with the examiner to meet the emperor in a few days, and they would be conferred by the emperor in person. Several of them felt regretful and wanted to beat the wall.

Once they are awarded an official position, they will become full-fledged officials. At worst, they will probably be awarded a ninth-grade official position like a county captain.

The most regretful among them is the second daughter-in-law of the Chen family.

"It's all you who are so talented! They say that the martial arts test is a conscription. What a good thing. That little bitch... actually got it too. She won't be able to **** on my neck in the future."

Han Miaoniang punched her husband Chen Jiazhen several times and said angrily: "I told you earlier that our Bokang would go too. He is just sixteen this year and has studied with Zhang Meng for a while. He will not fail the exam no matter what. But what do you want to say? Don’t sign him up.”

Chen Jiazhen avoided her wife and said: "If we didn't catch up this time, we can just report it next year. What a big deal."

"You said it lightly, what if there are too many people taking the exam next year? Bo Kang..." Before Han Miaoniang could finish her words, she saw someone rushing out of the room and ran out quickly.

"Bo Kang! Come back..." Han Miaoniang saw her son running out the door angrily, and quickly chased after her, but she didn't expect her son to disappear in a flash.

Han Miaoniang stood at the door for a while, then turned around and pointed at her husband and scolded: "You old thing! Why don't you go get Bokang back! What if he can't get over it..."

Chen Jiazhen panicked when she heard this and hurriedly went out to find her son.