The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

Chapter 361 Lost

The next day, the list of the township examination was released, and Zhao Gou was on the list. He was No. 2 in Jiake, that is, he had won the title of "Yayuan".The ranking list of Yike was also released. These people are all reserve candidates. They can be called candidates or not. As for those who are not on the list, they are all eliminated.

Zhao Gou didn't say much about his ranking, as long as he was qualified to participate in the test.According to the regulations of the Song Dynasty, the candidates for the examination must obtain the honor of juren.If it wasn't for the sake of obtaining Juren, Zhao Gou wouldn't be in such trouble.

In addition, Hu Anguo and Wang Huai personally wrote the memorial and sent it to the court.All the top six in the rural examination can participate in the general examination, and the list of the top six needs to be communicated to the capital, and reported to the Ministry of Officials to make a list for the emperor to review.Just because the examination is presided over by the Ministry of Rites in person, it must be approved by the emperor.

Moreover, Hu Anguo and Wang Huai personally wrote a recommendation letter for Zhao Gou and the other six, which is proof.Without this letter, even if you enter the capital, you will not be able to participate in the examination.This is also to prevent someone from impersonating a substitute test, so this recommendation letter is very important.

After Hu Anguo was busy with his duties, he left Xiangzhou Mansion and returned directly to his hometown in Hengyang.As for Wang Huai, he also returned to the capital with the memorial himself.Candidates who won the Juren were overjoyed; candidates who failed the list were devastated.

After Zhao Gou got the letter of recommendation, he left with Steward Wang.The venue for the test is in Bianjing City, which is at the foot of the imperial city, and is presided over by the Ministry of Rites.However, the time for the test is not this year, but in February next year. The second half of the year will be the beginning of the good show. Once again, I feel that the time is tight.

"My lord, where are we going next?"

"Go south!" Zhao Gou replied straight to the point. Steward Wang looked at him puzzled, and really didn't understand why he wanted to go south; Zhao Gou explained again: "Because I promised the teacher to fulfill his last wish and teach him his marksmanship." Therefore, I went to Gaojiazhuang in Yong'an County to look for a family!"

Only then did Steward Wang understand, and he followed closely behind Zhao Gou, riding his horse and galloping away.

Zhao Gou also thought for a long time before making up his mind to make such a decision.After all, there are so many things to do at that time next year, so it would be better to take advantage of these days to get things done and return to the capital without any worries.

After several days of running around the clock, Zhao Gou and Wang Guanjia finally arrived at the boundary of Yong'an County.It's just that they are here for the first time, and they are unfamiliar with the place.In desperation, Zhao Gou had to find an inn to rest first, and then make plans the next day.

"Shopkeeper, I want to ask you something, and I hope to let you know!" Zhao Gou saluted respectfully to the shopkeeper of the inn.

Seeing Zhao Gou's extraordinary demeanor, the shopkeeper was startled when he saw Zhao Gou saluting, and he quickly praised: "I don't dare to be a villain! If the guest officer has anything to ask, if the little old man knows Don't lie!"

"I don't know if the shopkeeper knows Gaojiazhuang?" Zhao Gou asked truthfully.

"The guest officer wants to go to Gaojiazhuang?" The shopkeeper looked at Zhao Gou in surprise, and asked again: "Are you sure you are going to Gaojiazhuang?"

"Exactly!" Zhao Gou replied firmly, "Could it be that there is no Gaojiazhuang?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said: "No! The guest officer is an outsider, not a local, so he didn't know that Gaojiazhuang accidentally caught fire a few years ago, and the whole village was reduced to ashes overnight, and he died. A lot of people!"

"At that time, several nearby villages were afraid of being attacked by thieves, so they hurriedly reported to the government. However, the government could not find out any reason, saying that the accident was caused by an unintentional fire. If it was really just a fire, so what Half of the people will be burned to death, and a few people will have hundreds of people!"

"So, all the people in Gaojiazhuang were burned to death?" Zhao Gou was taken aback, he didn't expect such a result.

The shopkeeper said again: "Guest officer, don't worry, the little old man has not finished yet. The previous Gaojiazhuang is indeed gone. Many people were burned to death, but not all were burned to death, and some people escaped." Go out, directly moved out of Gaojiazhuang, and went to Yong'an Village."

"If the guest officer really wants to find someone from the former Gaojiazhuang, then you have to go to Yong'an Village. You can ask there again. As for the location, I will draw it later!"

"Thank you!" Zhao Gou thanked.

He also ordered Steward Wang to take out ten taels of silver from his pocket, but the shopkeeper was so frightened that he refused to accept it. In the end, Zhao Gou said that the money was for staying in the store, taking care of their horses, buying some high-quality fodder, and wine and vegetables. Only then did the shopkeeper accept the money.

Although this place is far behind Xiangzhou Prefecture, this inn is the only one here, and there is no other.It can be seen that few people come here on weekdays, but the tables and chairs are not dusty, which shows that the boss is honest.

Twelve taels of silver may be his monthly expenses, but he is not greedy for money, but according to Zhao Gou's request, he will serve all of them with good wine and food.Zhao Gou didn't go back to the room to eat wine either. It was freezing cold, so he ordered beef hot pot directly, put the jug in hot water for a while, and boiled it before eating.

Zhao Gou saw that the shopkeeper was a nice person, and saw that there were no customers, so he took him to eat with the waiter in the shop, exchanged pleasantries at the end, and chatted with the family, and soon knew the situation here.Originally, Yong'an County was not as deserted as it is now. The Gaojiazhuang incident had happened before, so people were panicked, and they didn't dare to go out easily. They were afraid of getting angry again. The inn business that came and went was difficult.

Moreover, the shopkeeper wants to change the inn into a restaurant, so that the business can be greatly improved.Zhao Gou didn't say much, just chatted with him casually, and after he was full of wine and food, Zhao Gou went down to rest.

The shopkeeper also ordered Xiao Er to close the shop and go back to her room to rest.

The next day, Zhao Gou and Steward Wang woke up, but the shopkeeper hadn't gotten up yet.There are no guests on weekdays, so I won't get up early.Therefore, they would open the door later, and some guests could still drink at that time, but there were very few rests.

According to what the shopkeeper said, Zhao Gou and Steward Wang led the horse and galloped straight towards Yong'an Village.It's just that he overestimated his sense of direction too much, and underestimated the complex terrain of this place. He didn't expect that there were so many forks in the road, and there were no signs, so he couldn't tell which was which, like a maze.

"Young master, what should we do?" Steward Wang looked at the intricate road ahead and sighed helplessly.

Zhao Gou also couldn't laugh or cry, and said awkwardly: "What else can I do, I have to wait here to see if there are any folks nearby, and then find the way."

It's not that Zhao Gou doesn't want to go, but that he really doesn't know which way to go.The route drawn by the shopkeeper did not mark the branch road, but just a line, and he was still drunk, his mind was not clear, how to draw in detail, so he had to draw some hastily, and Zhao Gou set off before he had time to look at it.If I knew this was the result, I should have asked in advance, so I wouldn't get lost like I am now.

(End of this chapter)