After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

But Zhou Houfang was still at home, and her mother held her hand and cried until she cried, "Houfang, I'm wronging you. You are a dignified daughter of an official from the fifth grade family, but you are asked to show your face and do these things. My son, I feel aggrieved for you. If it weren’t for saving your father, how could I be willing to let you hang out among that group of men? If outsiders knew about this, how would they treat my Zhou family and your father? Then Chang How should our family treat us? Chang Dalang's mother... she doesn't like our family at all. If she finds out about this, will she break off the engagement directly?"

"Mom, Magistrate Chang is still in jail. I'm afraid his family doesn't have the heart to talk about the marriage."

"What if... I mean what if... Magistrate Chang dies in prison, wouldn't the marriage be delayed for another three years?"

Zhou Houfang was calculating the time in her mind and was very anxious, but she could only comfort her mother softly: "Mom, don't worry, I'll go check out the situation first. Besides, many of the people taking the exam this time are women."

But the mother's eyes widened, "How can those girls from Lan County compare to you? You are the clouds in the sky, they are the mud under your feet, you must not belittle yourself!"

Zhou Houfang responded perfunctorily, fearing that she would miss the interview.

The last time the results were announced, she was not allowed to go out.

It was the boy who told her after checking the results.

As expected, her results were not even ranked among the top 100 people in Jinzhou Prefecture, not to mention the two major examination centers of Lan County and Ye County.

She had also imagined that the people from Lan County who were asking the questions this time would definitely have an advantage over people from Lan County, and she might not be satisfied with the exam.

But she never expected that among more than 1,300 people taking the exam, she would be ranked among the bottom 200!
This made Zhou Houfang, who had always been arrogant and arrogant, have serious doubts about herself.

In the past few days, she had been hiding in her room, thinking about the questions she had done in the examination room that day. She couldn't help but scratch her heart. Later, she ordered her maid to copy all the test papers and answers posted at the entrance of the government office and give them to her.

The more she looked at the contents of the test paper, the more chills she felt down her back.

The moment she got this paper, she was sure that Xu Zhenying was no ordinary gangster!

From this thin test paper, she could see what a genius this person was!
She originally thought that the interview was hopeless and that there was no way to save her father, but she didn't expect that there would be a twist.

It is said that the city lord considered that the people in Jinzhou Prefecture had not received a comprehensive education and had not studied the content on the test paper, so only the candidates with Jinzhou Prefecture's household registration lowered their scores and allowed the top five to participate in the interview.

Although this move is unfair, after all, the top five in Jinzhou Prefecture are almost at the bottom of the entire Jinzhou Prefecture exam.

But Zhou Houfang decided to seize this opportunity.

After all, dad is still in prison and cannot be visited. The jailers inside were all soldiers from Lan County, and there was no way to deliver the news.

I don't even know whether my father is alive or dead now.

If not, how could her mother let her disguise herself as a man and risk the disapproval of the world to take the imperial examination for rebels?

"Mom, I'm leaving first. If I see the city lord this time, I will definitely find a way to find out about daddy!" Zhou Houfang went out impatiently, and Mrs. Zhou quickly asked the maids and women around her to follow.

How dare you let a girl go out alone!

God, this world is so chaotic.

Thinking of Zhou Houfang's proposal to infiltrate the rebels by taking the civil service examination, Mrs. Zhou felt uneasy.

Although the mountain king seems to have a good reputation and has never killed innocent people indiscriminately, he is still reckless. How can he act according to common sense?
I just hope that Houfang’s departure will go smoothly!

In the courtyard of the government office, all three hundred candidates participating in the interview were ready.

As soon as Zhou Houfang walked in and saw the dark heads, she felt boiling in her heart for some reason.

This was the first time in sixteen years that she had left the sight of her mother and servants and traveled alone.

What's more, it's such a grand event as participating in the imperial examination interview!

She quickly recognized the girl who caused trouble that day, her name seemed to be Song Luo.

But it is strange that five of the local candidates from Jinzhou Prefecture came to participate in the interview. She also asked the servant to copy the interview list. Several students from Bailu Academy, named Huang Weiguang, Liao Chaoyun, and Zhu Ping, were missing. Its traces.

In the past few days, the people of Jinzhou Prefecture have been talking a lot about the affairs of Bailu Academy. They may be ashamed of themselves and refuse to show up.

After calculating this, Zhou Houfang was the only local candidate from Jinzhou Prefecture to enter the interview!
So...among the two hundred and ninety-six people, she had the lowest score.

The man in front of her was more than twenty-eight points taller than her.

In an instant, Zhou Houfang felt unprecedented pressure.

She had to concentrate all her energy to deal with it.

But Song Luo greeted her first, and Zhou Houfang laughed a little awkwardly because she felt that she was somewhat invincible.

Soon, the examiner came and announced the list of examiners.

There were ten examiners in total for the interview, and Xu Zhenying’s name was prominently among them.

When she heard the words "Xu Zhenying", Zhou Houfang clearly felt that everyone was getting excited!

Alas, City Lord! Live!

It was finally a chance to get in touch with Xu Zhenying. Everyone was eager to express themselves. Even Song Luo next to him looked eager to give it a try.

Zhou Houfang couldn't help but said: I have never heard of such a loud voice for rebels!
After a while, will Jinzhou Prefecture become like Lan County, not recognizing the Zhou Dynasty, but only recognizing her, Xu Zhenying!

Zhou Houfang's heart was surging, and she just wished she could meet the rumored young genius earlier.

Soon, the examiner came out and announced the rules.

After everyone enters, they will have their own number plate, which must be hung around their waist and cannot be entered or exited.

All actions had to be completed in the courtyard, and there were even thoughtfully prepared guest rooms on both sides of the courtyard.

The exits in the courtyard are all one-way. You can only enter from one direction and exit from the same direction after taking the test. Therefore, the possibility of missing questions and cheating is completely guaranteed.

This interview is different from the palace examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty. A group of ten people go in. They randomly select a topic, and the ten people debate the pros and cons or express their own opinions.

They call this a "structured group interview". Ten examiners, one timekeeper, and one scorer will score the ten candidates based on their on-site performance. All those who have finished the exam will be guided to leave through another door.

As soon as this rule was announced, everyone present was a little nervous.

A structured group interview sounds scary enough, not to mention that there are ten examiners staring at you, and the time is limited. Each group only has a quarter of an hour. How to show your advantages in the limited time? Just thinking about it makes me feel so nervous that I'm almost suffocating.

Song Luo saw that the woman in coarse linen clothes next to him was so nervous that her face turned pale, and he quickly said: "Sister, don't be afraid. Just treat the examiners as big carrots."

The woman smiled reluctantly, "Thank you sister."

"No thanks, no thanks. Judging from our numbers, we probably belong to the same group. My name is Song Luo, what's your name?"

"My name is Pang Xiaohua."

"Sister Xiaohua!" Song Luo immediately called affectionately.

Zhou Houfang witnessed the whole process of making friends with Song Luo, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart that this girl was incredible, and she could make friends in such a short period of time.

She glanced at the number plate on her waist. Calculating this, she was most likely to be in the same group as Song Luo and the others.

Zhou Houfang took a deep breath.

She was actually more nervous than ever before.

Although she wanted to save her father, she wanted to have a good interview even more.

From the moment she found out that her grades actually surpassed Huang Weiguang's, she felt an unspeakable emotion in her heart.

The dean of White Deer Academy had a close relationship with her father, so she had heard of Huang Weiguang's name. It was said that he was a young man with a bright future. Her father was also very optimistic about it, and he even sent people to send him clothes, pens, money and other items. Try to be friendly.

Such a proud person, but he didn't do as well as her in the exam?
While Zhou Houfang questioned the examiners' grading standards, she couldn't help but feel secretly happy for herself.

But what's more, it's a kind of sadness.

Even though she has such great talent, what can she do, but she can only be trapped in the backyard.

The examiner's word "go" interrupted Zhou Houfang's busy thoughts. She tried hard to adjust her emotions and sat in her seat waiting for the examiner to call her number.

I don’t know how long I waited, but there were fewer and fewer people in the yard, and soon half of them were gone.

Although the remaining people were a little anxious, luckily the candidates were not prohibited from talking, so the time passed very quickly.

Finally, Zhou Houfang's number was called. Zhou Houfang quickly evaluated the other nine competitors.

The one named Pang Xiaohua was in the same group as her, and Song Luo happened to be in the latter group.

Under the guidance, Zhou Houfang and others walked through a long corridor, walked around the screen wall, and walked in slowly.

The moment she entered, Zhou Houfang felt a sense of suffocation coming over her.

The ten examiners were sitting in a row, looking up at them.

Almost instantly, Zhou Houfang recognized the middlemost person among the examiners.

The rumored tyrant who took charge of a party at the age of fourteen.

If that rumor is true, then Xu Zhenying is the most amazing woman in history who has never been seen before or since!
Zhou Houfang looked at her greedily.

Seo Jin Young looks more immature than expected. She has a slender figure, fair skin, and smiling eyes. She does not appear majestic, but looks very easy-going.

Especially that weird short hair.

She had never seen a woman in the Zhou Dynasty dare to have such short hair, unless she made a big mistake and would be punished by having her hair cut off. But looking at Xu Zhenying's appearance, she could not tell that she was forced to keep that strange short hair.

Her dress was even weirder. It didn't look like the dresses worn by women in the Zhou Dynasty. She was wearing a long dress and trousers with a belted collar. It looked a bit like the robes worn by Taoists, which looked strange but simple.

If you appreciate it as a woman, Xu Zhenying is not considered outstanding in appearance.

But when she stands in such a position, who cares about her appearance?
Only women who rely on their appearance to make a living would care about their own appearance, right?
After all, I am one of them. If she hadn't relied on this skin, she would not have climbed to the lintel of the eldest son of the prefect.

It's a pity that the heads of the Chang and Zhou families are now in prison and their lives are uncertain. The marriage is unclear and we don't know what the outcome will be.

But for some reason, Zhou Houfang didn't care much.

Just the matter of the official assessment was enough to make her very anxious, and she invested almost all her time and energy into it. How could she have time to consider Chang Dalang's mood?
Then if Chang Dalang really wants to break off the engagement...

That’s it, just retreat!

Anyway, Chang Dalang didn't look as good as he wanted and was not a good match. If it were her way, she wouldn't want to marry Chang Dalang!

Xu Zhenying randomly pulled out a piece of wooden paper from the wooden box and said loudly: "The debate topic of your group is: Should we send troops to capture Xingyuan Mansion this year? Free debate topic, a total of fifteen minutes, which is a quarter of an hour! Start now Time it!”

Following Xu Zhenying's words, the candidates in the room became so nervous that their scalps went numb.

And time has begun to pass!
No time to think!

Pang Xiaohua was also so nervous that she was sweating. She had already thought about it when she entered the room. Her written test score was not high and she was not at an advantage. If you fall too far behind in the interview, your exam will be in vain.

For the traveling expenses borrowed from her father-in-law, Pang Xiaohua also decided to fight against the odds.

She thought that being the first to speak must have an advantage, her mind started to move like a mess, and she almost immediately opened her mouth to grab the answer: "We can't fight this year. If we want to fight, we have to wait until after the grain harvest in the autumn, otherwise the morale of the army will be unstable... And the supply of food and fodder for the army is also a problem."

After saying this, Pang Xiaohua felt that her throat was about to jump out!

Oh my god, she has never seen an official as big as Xu Zhenying in her life, and now she has met ten of them! How can this make her not nervous!
She only felt her legs shaking.

Soon, his teammates followed.

"I also think we can't fight this year. The city lord has just occupied Jinzhou Prefecture and Qianzhou Prefecture not long ago, and the foundation is not yet stable. The newly recruited 20,000 soldiers have been trained for too short a time and cannot go to the battlefield. Qianzhou has not yet fully digested it. Natives, if the chieftain and the imperial court join forces, Jinzhou Prefecture will immediately be attacked from both sides!"

"We can't attack. Firstly, we don't have enough food, and secondly, we don't have enough troops. Xingyuan Mansion is no better than Jinzhou. It has always been a fertile land with strong soldiers and horses. If we are not fully prepared, we must not attack Xingyuan Mansion, otherwise we will It's like a chicken flying an egg."

"Yes, that's right. Now that the city lord has just occupied two places, it is time to recuperate and strengthen his troops. This year is not suitable for attacking. It will have to be at least two or three years later. By then, our Jinzhou Mansion's new soldiers will also be training and have sufficient food preparations. , that’s a good time to expand!”

"Yes, what's more, our soldiers in Lan County have not competed with the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty on the battlefield, and they have no combat experience. It would be inappropriate to let them attack Xingyuan Mansion rashly."

The ten examiners did not raise their heads, they all had their heads buried as if they were grading.

This situation makes the candidates even more nervous.

Not to mention those people who haven't had time to speak, but now their opportunity has been taken away. After much deliberation, they can only repeat the same words as before, and they can't help but become even more anxious.

Moreover, the scope of this question that can be discussed is too narrow.

Whether it is possible to attack Xingyuan Mansion is nothing to argue about.

Certainly not.

Look at the Jinzhou Prefecture that we just took over. Even the county magistrates for the dozen or so counties have not yet been decided. The city of Jinzhou looks fine, but when it comes to the village, it's a mess!
Xu Zhenying occupied Jinzhou Prefecture, but he also took advantage of the time when the elites of Jinzhou Prefecture went to Qianzhou to fight chieftains. The training level of the soldiers was not shown, and it was not known at all what the combat effectiveness of this group of soldiers was.

Therefore, all the people who talked about it had only these few reasons, and they couldn't come up with anything new. What's more, the people in front of them talked for too long, so the people who spoke after them didn't catch people's attention at all. Bright perspective.

Xu Zhenying's lower lip pursed slightly.

There seems to be no joy or anger.

But Qian Zhenniang noticed that Xu Zhenying was not very satisfied with this batch of interviewees.

It's just that the universal education has been rushed too fast. Although many people have learned arithmetic, they have not accumulated a foundation. This interview exposed the shortcomings of the universal education.

Therefore, we still need to implement universal education, but it must be combined with the elite education proposed by Xu Zhenying a few days ago.

Nowadays, when employing people, we can only choose the taller ones from the short ones, so we can support them for the time being.

After a few more years of experience in this position, I might be able to become a person of my own.

But Xu Zhenying was thinking in her heart: These are all cliche arguments, can a strong man be sent to her from the sky?
Seeing that time was about to run out, and the arguments had been repeated over and over again, those who had not said anything before could only pick up on others' comments to avoid getting zero points for not saying a word. Zhou Houfang saw that everyone had run out of words, Only then did he stabilize his mind, force himself to be calm, and slowly said: "I think we can fight, and we must fight quickly!"

The examiners heard the different arguments and finally looked up.

Zhou Houfang was so excited that her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

"Why do we need to fight? Because soldiers are valuable and fast. The location of Xingyuan Mansion is close to the center of the Zhou Dynasty. If we don't take it, King Li or King Zhoushan will take it. At that time, we will be defeated by King Zhoushan and King Li The United Nations is caught in the middle, and this is the real enemy from both sides. Therefore, the first reason to send troops immediately is to quickly seize territory."

"Secondly, once we occupy Xingyuan Mansion, the entire Zhou Dynasty can be roughly divided into several evenly matched chunks, and only by occupying one or two more cities will we be strong enough and qualified to negotiate cooperation with other parties. For example, if we join forces with Prince Ming in the east, the Zhou Dynasty will be divided into two halves by the forces of both sides. If we lengthen the vertical line, we can prevent the King of Li and Zhoushan from joining forces to advance towards Bianjing."

"If we advance to the west and south, we can also annex the weakest kings of Li and Zhoushan. Because these two men are either refugees or believers, and the food supply is not good, the soldiers, horses and food are not abundant, so Their fighting power is not strong. If we advance to the two wings and subdue these two groups of people, then we can immediately occupy half of the Zhou Dynasty! In this way, a three-legged force will immediately be formed. By then, whether it is going north or east, If we advance, we can gain, if we retreat, we can defend. Our position is unique!"

After Zhou Houfang said these words, she realized that her voice had been trembling.

And Qian Zhenniang couldn't help but be excited!
What a promising idea, what a promising idea. This girl's idea is almost exactly the same as what Xu Zhenying thought a few days ago.

With such a high degree of political sensitivity and the general trend of the world in mind, it would be a pity not to catch this person and put him to work!

Zhou Houfang didn't know whether what she said was good or not, she just stared at Xu Zhenying.

Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows, whether in surprise or agreement.

Zhou Houfang thought to herself, the bet was right.

Everyone was talking about the meaning of a point of view, but she had to take a different approach to attract Xu Zhenying's attention.

Zhou Houfang felt that the back of her pajamas was wet with sweat, especially when the other candidates looked at her. Only then did she realize how outstanding she had just been.

Oh my god, she is the daughter of a dignified judge in Jinzhou Prefecture, and now she is advising the rebels. If something goes wrong in the future, will it bring disaster to the family?

This is really God’s will!

But after saying it, I was still very happy.

Next, let’s see how to talk about my father.

Say it in the exam room? It seems a little out of place.

After much thought, Zhou Houfang missed the opportunity and was quickly led out of the examination room.

After she left, Xu Zhenying said with a smile: "I finally heard some different opinions today."

Everyone around nodded in agreement.