In the next few days, Sun Yu handed over all logistical matters to Xu Yi. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and trained the young people every day. He also obtained a batch of war horses at any cost and taught the young people to ride horses. Riding battles were not expected for the time being.

, but it is still possible to explore the road. When a large army goes out for an expedition, there must be scouts, otherwise they will be ambushed easily if their eyesight goes dark.

Lao Zheng, a basket maker, is a commoner in Liyang County. His family only has a few acres of thin farmland. During the busy farming season, he goes to the landlord's house to help, and in his free time, he makes bamboo utensils such as baskets. He has three sons and one daughter in his family. Although he doesn't make much money, he can still do it.

Living hand to mouth.

Today, Lao Zheng went to the market in the county town to sell baskets and came back. He bought some food and pulled a few feet of cloth, thinking about making new clothes for his mother-in-law and daughter. As for the three brats, although they didn’t have much to wear, they really

I can't afford it anymore.

"Old Zheng, how old are the boys in your family? Have they married any wives?" asked Lao Gao, a fellow countryman who came to the city together.

"The eldest is already twenty-one, and the youngest is only fifteen, not yet. It's not like you don't know the conditions of our family. It's not easy! Could it be that you, Lao Gao, have a suitable introduction?" Lao Zheng sighed, saying too much.

You are blessed, but getting a wife is really difficult, and the betrothal gift is not a small amount. Seeing that the boss is getting older, he also wants to ask a matchmaker to arrange a marriage, but there is no place to live here, and I really don’t know what to do.

"That's right. I haven't settled my two children yet. I'll tell you something, you can think about it yourself. I just saw the notice recruiting soldiers to Jianzhou. Although it's a little far away, the pay is good. The settlement fee is only

I'll give you fifteen taels, and I'm thinking of letting the second brother come over and give it a try. With these fifteen taels, the boss can also say marriage. But the recruiter said that he must be literate, and those who can't read are not allowed. The old man in my family

Secondly, I have attended a private school for two years, so I guess it won’t be a problem.” Fifteen taels of silver, plus the savings accumulated over the years, should be enough to buy three tile-roofed houses. Let’s borrow some from relatives and neighbors for the boss’s marriage.

Even if it is settled.

"Literacy? Although not much, I can still recognize some. My mother-in-law worked as a maid for a wealthy family when she was a child, so she knows a lot of words. When she has free time, she will also teach the children. I will ask the eldest and the second child to try it later.

Let’s try.” Lao Zheng thought about it for a while, and then he decided to let the two older ones try. If both of them are selected, then they can go together, so that they can take care of each other as brothers.

"Old Zheng, are you really willing to give up? The land in Jianzhou is not peaceful. If anything happens..." Lao Gao was stunned. This Lao Zheng is very courageous and wants to send his two sons away.

"That's all fate. If you don't have a good fate, you could choke to death if you drink cold water. Anyway, there is still a youngest." In fact, Lao Zheng was thinking that the family didn't have much savings. If both sons were selected, it would be three.

Twelve or three tile-roofed houses are almost enough.

"Okay, tomorrow, you ask your two boys to go to my house, and I'll send them there together. I've already found out the address." Now that Lao Zheng had thought about it, it was decided. He was still a little uneasy at first.

, if both are selected and take care of each other, they can rest assured. The two of them walked and chatted, thinking about what kind of house they should build and whose daughter was virtuous.

"Dad, you're finally back, how are you today?" As soon as Lao Zheng returned home, his wife came up to help.

"That's it. I can't sell it at a good price, that's all. Pack up your things, cook more rice tonight, and kill a chicken." Old Zheng took out a handful of copper coins from his arms and gave it to his wife, then picked up a ladle and scooped it into the jar.

Drink water.

"Is there any happy event?" Lao Zheng's wife was a little reluctant to part with her. Those chickens were precious, and they relied on them to lay eggs for the salt, needlework and other things in the house.

"Today the county is recruiting troops. I heard that the young master from Duke Lu's mansion is going.

I want both the eldest and the second to try to be high-ranking officials in Jianzhou. The Duke of Lu is a first-class good family and will never treat them badly." The Duke of Lu is famous for being kind to the bankers.

It is better to follow the prince of the Duke of Lu than to follow others.

When Lao Zheng's wife heard this, she burst into tears. After all, she had been pregnant for ten months and the child had finally grown up. She was always reluctant to send it out to serve as a soldier.

"What's there to cry about? Our family only has a few acres of land, and there's not enough for anyone to eat. It's better to be a soldier and get paid than to be a long-term laborer all your life. Don't say anything and go pack dinner. You have to let the baby eat it.

I’m full and have no strength, who wants it?”

"Dalang, Erlang, you two eat more." At the dinner table, Lao Zheng served his two eldest sons with food for the first time.

"Dad, you eat more, my brothers and sisters are still growing." The eldest son was flattered and nodded hurriedly.

"Tomorrow, you go to the Gao family in Laohegou and go to the county town with them..." Lao Zheng nodded. These two children are quite sensible, but there is really no good way out for this family.

You can't stay single forever.

"Okay, Dad, we will definitely behave well." The eldest son and the second son nodded together without any resistance.

"Son, if you don't want to go, just tell mom not to wrong yourself..." Lao Gao's wife saw that her two sons were so sensible, and she felt even more uncomfortable.

"Father, Mom, my son is willing to go. Really, even dying in battle is better than dying poor." The boss said, taking a mouthful of dried rice. This dried rice is really delicious. People usually only have such good food during festivals.

"What the eldest brother is saying is, dad, didn't you tell me that we have enough food to take care of, but also meat and fish, and a monthly salary? Where can we find such a good thing? When we go out, parents can live a better life." The second child also felt that

Yes, as long as you can eat enough, you can do whatever you want.

"Hey, they are all good and sensible children. Have a good rest tonight and start early tomorrow." Lao Zheng nodded. He only needs to work for three years, return to the village, build a house and buy land.

At dawn the next day, the eldest son and the second son of the Zheng family set off. Old Zheng's wife looked at the children going away and kept wiping her tears. Each of them had two rice balls and five copper coins in their pockets. If they couldn't choose,

, I had to come back, so I had to bring something to eat. Before I arrived at Lao Gao's house, I saw Lao Gao and Erlang of the Gao family waiting at the intersection. They said hello to each other and set off together.

"Uncle Gao, why are there so many people? How many people do we need to recruit?" The elder of the Zheng family looked at the scene in front of him and felt a little nervous. After all, he had never traveled far.

"I heard that there are three hundred people to be recruited in Liyang. Come, come, come and sign up quickly. Once the recruitment is full, you will have no chance." Lao Gao also felt that there were too many people and he couldn't just watch the excitement, so he had to sign up quickly.

"Sign up here and line up, go in one by one." Zhang Daqiu has arranged a group of guards in each county. Although there are many people, it is still orderly.

"Do you know him?" Finally it was the turn of the Zheng family's elder man. As soon as he entered, the guard gave him a piece of paper.

"This is your name, age, address, family situation..." Although the elder man of the Gao family was nervous, he still stuttered and read out. They were all simple and commonly used words, which his mother had taught him.

"Not bad, can you write? If you can fill it in yourself, this level is excellent." The guard glanced at Gao Dalang and recognized them all.

"Yes, I'm just afraid that I won't be able to write well." Gao Dalang glanced at the guard and nodded.

Gao Dalang's hands were shaking so much. He usually wrote on the ground with the wooden stick, but it was rare to write with this brush on paper. Although it was difficult, he finally finished writing in a twist.

"Yes, take this piece of paper and go to the back." The guard picked it up and looked at it. He recognized it. He picked up the pen and wrote "Excellent" on the literacy line.

Gao Dalang came to the second level and handed the paper to the guard.

"Did you see the hourglass in front of you? When the hourglass starts, you run with all your strength. When you get to the hourglass, if the sand has not run out, you are considered qualified." The guard in charge of running pointed at the hourglass in front of him and said.

"Yes." Gao Dalang nodded and looked at the hourglass in front of him. The moment the hourglass started, Gao Dalang rushed out.

"Not bad, excellent." The guard wrote excellent on the running line and returned the paper to Gao Dalang.

"There's still one last step, let's go." The guard pointed to the side.

"I can't do archery." Gao Dalang came to the last level, handed the paper to the guard, looked at the bows on display and said.

"No need to shoot an arrow, just pull it open. The fuller it is, the better." The guard smiled. It was normal not to be able to shoot an arrow.

Gao Dalang breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward and pushed on the ground, using all his strength, he drew the bow to the full moon.

"Can I pull it again?" The guard nodded. Originally, it would have been OK to pull it open, but the number of people who signed up exceeded expectations, so we had to select the best among the best.

"Yes." Gao Dalang nodded and opened the bow seven times in a row. Halfway through the eighth time, he could no longer open the bow.

"That's right. You've got excellent grades in all three categories. You've been hired. Go report to our head." The guard picked it up and saw that this guy is good. He actually got excellent grades in all three categories.

"Well, I want to wait here. My brother and a friend are still behind." Gao Dalang took the paper and was happy, but he didn't know what happened to his brother and Gao Jiaerlang.

In just one stick of incense, Erlang of the Zheng family and Erlang of the Gao family were both here, and the Erlang of the Gao family also got excellent marks in all three subjects. As for the Erlang of the Zheng family, after all, he was younger and got a good score in archery, and also got excellent marks in the other two items.

, when it is not a problem.

The three of them happily walked towards the leader in charge of recruiting troops. They were happy to be able to work together and take care of each other.

The guard captain in charge of recruiting soldiers picked up the three-person form and took a look at it. He was quite satisfied. What's more, the three of them were brothers and friends. It was perfect for such people to join the army.

"I'll accept the three of you. Remember, we will meet here at noon the day after tomorrow. Invite your family to come together, and the Anjia money will be distributed on the spot. In addition, you don't need to bring anything. Once you apply, the adults will make arrangements. Now everyone who goes there will

Everyone is given a meal to see if our food is to their liking, and this is how they will be treated when they arrive at the military camp." The guard captain pointed to the camp in the distance, where many selected people were already squatting there to eat.

After squeezing the rice balls in their pockets, the three of them walked towards the camp. The food there was obviously much better than the rice balls. The rice was packed with as much as you could eat, and the vegetables were a spoonful of pork pickles, a spoonful of green vegetables, and an egg.

"Brother, I can't eat any more." Erlang of the Zheng family filled a large bowl. He had already finished eating the vegetables on top, as well as two pieces of meat and eggs.

"I'm very full too, Gao Erlang, why don't you eat some more." The elder son of the Zheng family touched his belly and felt that it was a little full. This bowl was really big.

"I can't eat anymore, hiccup~"

"Brother, what should we do? The cook said, if you dare to waste, you will be whipped." Zheng Jiaerlang was about to cry. At that time, he was afraid that there would not be enough food, so he kept compacting the food. Now it was over.

"Let's stand up and do some exercise, and we can share some with each other. How about Gao Erlang?" This is his own younger brother. He can't just get whipped when he comes here. It's too embarrassing. The three of them stood up and walked around, finally eating the last bit of food.
Chapter completed!