After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 653: Martial Arts Examination
Hai Changan didn't expect that he would be involved in the matter. He was stunned for a moment and then replied: "I have thought about this before, but I am not a military family member, so it is not in accordance with the rules to do so..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he came back to his senses.

It is indeed not in accordance with the rules to do so, but he is the adopted son of the Hai family. If he really wants to take up this position, as long as the people do not report it and the officials do not investigate it, no one can say anything. In the families of military households, the young and strong men who died on the battlefield and the children left behind are still young, they often choose people from the collateral branches to fill the vacancies. This is the case with Zhou Xiaojian's family, but now he has grown up, and his uncle who originally took up the quota for his deceased father is unwilling to return the quota, and even hopes to pass the quota to his own son. There is no reason why the adopted son who has lived in the same family for many years cannot do what the collateral branches with more distant blood relations can do. But Hai Chang'an was originally a child of the Chang family, and his identity was awkward. He wanted to do something against the rules in the northwest border army, and naturally there were many obstacles. Anyway, no one picked on the old and young of the Hai family. No one had served in the army for more than ten years, so Hai Chang'an did not meddle in it.

But now, Hai Chang'an's situation in the northwest has improved greatly. First, the Duke of Zhenguo personally recommended him to teach at the Weiwei School in Chang'an, which showed the world that the Zhou family had no grudge against him; then Ma Shangyi represented the families of the palace maids who had been harmed by Concubine Chang Gui and made it clear that they would not vent their anger on him; after that, Hai Chang'an would meet with Ma Shangyi from time to time. The Hai family did not ask much about what they talked about, but this was enough to prove that the obstacles that once prevented Hai Chang'an from developing in the army had basically disappeared.

If he really wanted to formally join the border army now, there would be no problem on the surface, but he was quite happy working at the Weiwei School in Chang'an and had no motivation to climb up, so he was content with the status quo.

If the Hai family really let him take over the quota for a few years, it wouldn't be a big deal. Even if there were some things that were not in accordance with the rules, the Hai family's current connections would be enough to handle it.

Hai Changan fell silent, and after a pause, he said to Hai Xiya, "Dad, what Tangtang said is not without reason. You have the opportunity to be promoted to a higher position, and to a Beijing official. There is no reason to give up. The Hai family's quota in the army is taken up by our son. When Baoshun is a few years older, our son will hand over the task to him, and nothing will be delayed."

Hai Xiya glared at his adopted son and said, "Nonsense! You are doing well in the medical school now. If you quit now, what will you do when you are out of work in the future?!" He then said to Haitang, "Don't give bad advice. Just listen in the inner room. If your grandma doesn't understand something, explain it to her and don't say anything else!"

Haitang pursed her lips and was about to speak when she heard her grandmother Ma say, "If you have no roots in Chang'an, even if you join the army, you may not be assigned a good job. If you are sent to a border town, won't you suffer a lot? And you will be separated from your wife and children... This is not good."

Haitang said to Ma: "Grandma, I'm not giving you advice blindly. Didn't Ma say that she would make arrangements for Second Uncle to become an official, so that he can slap the Chang family in the face in the future? Second Uncle is just a commoner now, how can he become an official? It's either civil or military. He hasn't worked hard on the Four Books and Five Classics in these years, so can he still take the imperial examination? He can only go to the army. But he is not a military household, so it's not easy for him to become an official in the army. If he takes our family's quota, things will be much easier.

"Mammy Ma and the others should have a way to arrange a job for my second uncle. As long as he has a military background, things won't be difficult later. Grandpa can now transfer from a military civilian position to a civil servant in the Ministry of Revenue, so my second uncle should be able to do it too, right? He is originally from the capital, and he is a member of the Chang family. Mammy Ma and the others have connections in the court, so are they afraid that they can't arrange a job for him? When the time comes, whether he takes the path of Tu Tongzhi to join the Ministry of War or the Jinyiwei, or takes the path of the Cining Palace to become a guard of the Imperial Guard, no one will find it wrong. When my second uncle is promoted to the capital, the Hai family's quota in the border army will be vacant again, and my brother is old enough to take over."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. They just felt that there seemed to be no problem with the logical process. Even if there were some irregularities, as long as the old people in the Zhenguo Mansion and the Cining Palace were willing to cooperate, it would not affect the overall situation.

Only Xie Wenzai opened his eyes wide in surprise: "That Ma Shangyi... is he willing to help Changan to this extent?!"

That depends on how deep the hatred that Ma Shangyi and others have towards the Chang family is.

Hai Changan hesitated to speak, but in the end he said nothing. He knew in his heart that Ma Shangyi could do such a thing, and it was not difficult to do it... Ma hesitated and said: "Today I went to deliver Laba porridge to Ma Dajie, and she pulled me aside to talk, asking what plans your family has for Changan... She suggested that Changan take the military examination, saying that with Changan's ability, it would not be difficult to pass the examination. Even if he was just a military candidate, he would be qualified to be appointed as an official in the Northwest Frontier Army. After all, he was of a decent background. Even if he returned to Zhili in the future, he would have a reputation and it would not be difficult for him to find a teaching job in the local Wei School. If Changan was willing to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination, she would have a way to ensure that he passed. But I felt that she was very arrogant, and I didn't know whether it was true or not. I also felt that the matter was of great importance and I couldn't make the decision, so I said I would come back to discuss it with my family..."

Ma Shangyi even dared to say that Bao Hai Chang'an had passed the military examination, which shows that she was really confident.

Hai Chang'an also acknowledged what Ma said: "Ma Ma mentioned it to me before, but there are not many people in the northwest who participate in the martial arts examination, and the status of a martial arts candidate is not important. If you want to go to Beijing, you have to face the Chang family directly. I am not very happy to meet them..."

In the areas under the jurisdiction of the Northwest Frontier Army, there are many ways for young people to enter the army, and the military examination has not been taken seriously in recent years. The Hai family is very unfamiliar with this. It seems that Ma Shangyi failed to convince Hai Changan at that time, so she changed her mind and persuaded Ma today.

Haitang raised her eyebrows: "Although the military examination is good, the time is uncertain, right? The court hasn't held a military examination for how many years?"

The military examination of this dynasty is held every three years according to the rules, but in fact, when it is held depends entirely on the emperor's will. In the early years, the emperor also followed the old rules and held a military examination every three years, first the provincial examination, then the metropolitan examination, and the military scholars who passed the metropolitan examination would also be granted official positions. However, after so many times, the court found that the number of military scholars from the Northwest Frontier Army far exceeded that of people from other provinces, and they always ranked high and were assigned to good positions. The emperor and the cabinet were afraid of the Zhou family and the Northwest Frontier Army, and did not want to expand the influence of the Zhou family. First, they arranged the military scholars from the northwest to go to remote guards, or assigned them to positions that others were unwilling to go to. Later, they simply stopped the military examination. The last military examination was almost ten years ago. At that time, the war between the northwest and the Hu people had just ended for two years.

Although the relationship between the emperor and the Zhou family has greatly improved, the military examination has not yet been reintroduced into the court schedule, and no one knows when the next military examination will be held. If Hai Changan plans to take the military examination route, who knows how many years he will have to wait?

Nowadays, few young people in the northwest talk about taking part in the martial arts examination.

Hai Jiao was thoughtful: "Ma Shangyi proposed this. Did he receive news in advance that the martial arts examination would be reopened?"

Everyone was immediately cheered up. If this was true, then it would be a good idea for Hai Changan to take part in the martial arts exam.

Hai Changan thought of the Chang family in Beijing, but was still a little hesitant: "I will visit Ma Shangyi tomorrow to see what she thinks. If I can use the military household quota and directly join the army, I won't have to bother to participate in the military examination. The provincial examination is easy, but I'm afraid it will be troublesome to go to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination. The Chang family... will not be happy to see me stand out."

(End of this chapter)