Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 541 Sea Falcon
The weather in late February had warmed up. In the hall at the back of the government office, three people were discussing the imperial examination.

After Chen Mo pondered for a while, he said, "Mr. Geng, you have been the county magistrate of Wutai County in Gaozhou. You are more familiar with the north. You will be the chief examiner for the northern examination. As for the other examinees, you can choose them yourself."

"Yes." Geng Songfu cupped his hands.

"Mr. Chen, this time the exam will definitely have more princes from the south applying for the exam, and they are more talented and knowledgeable. We can give them more admission quotas for the provincial examinations in Huai and Lin states. The questions for the southern exams will be left to Mr. Chen and Lord Zuo who has not yet arrived." Chen Mo said.

Chen Xiu nodded solemnly, feeling a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. This was the first imperial examination since it was suspended in the sixth year of Xuanhe. As the chief official of the imperial examinations in Qing, Yu, Lin and Huai states, he attracted the attention of scholars all over the world.

If this imperial examination is done well, he will be respected by thousands of students, and he will also have a significant place in future history books.

If it is not done well, it will also damage his reputation.

It can be said that for Chen Xiu, this imperial examination was a case of everyone rising and everyone falling.

Chen Mo stood up, bowed to the two of them, and said, "This time, the imperial examination can only be successful, not failed. Thank you for your help.
As he spoke, Chen Mo changed the subject and said, "I specifically asked Wei Linchun to find a house in the west of the city. In the next few months, until the provincial examination is over, you two will have to stay in this house and cannot go out. Of course, I will send someone to deliver your daily necessities. If you need anything, just tell the guard outside."

Chen Xiu and Geng Songfu also stood up quickly, bowing even lower than Chen Mo, and said in unison: "We will definitely live up to the trust of Duke Anguo."

As for what Chen Mo said about having to stay in a house until the provincial examination was over before leaving, both of them understood.

This is to prevent the test questions from being leaked in advance.

When the imperial court held imperial examinations before, they were even stricter than this.

After discussing the imperial examination, Chen Xiu withdrew.

Geng Songfu did not leave and talked to Chen Mo about the affairs of Fengzhou.

"According to the spies at the front, Prince Huai led the few thousand remaining personal soldiers and withdrew from Fengzhou. I guess that he might have gone to join Prince Chong." Geng Songfu said.

Chen Mo nodded. "The Prince of Huai failed twice in his surprise attack on Huaizhou. Even his top general Chu Ce was killed in the battle, and his army was almost wiped out. He is definitely unable to defend Fengzhou now. Those who worship him have only two choices: surrender or leave Fengzhou. The Prince of Huai hates me so much that he will definitely not surrender."

"After all, they are all royal relatives. Prince Huai has taken refuge with Prince Chong. Without Prince Anping's tacit consent, Prince Huai cannot go to Chongzhou." Geng Songfu said.

After all, if Prince Huai wanted to go to Prince Chong, he could only pass through Yanzhou, the fief of Prince Anping.

"Don't worry about Prince Anping for now. He is a good guy who doesn't support anyone and doesn't offend anyone. The only ones who pose a threat to me now are Prince Chong and Lu Sheng of Huainan." In front of Geng Songfu, Chen Mo did not hide his ambitions.

Having followed Chen Mo for so long, Geng Songfu knew all about this and asked, "When does Duke Anguo plan to take over Fengzhou?"

The reason why the Chen army in Huaizhou did not take advantage of the situation to enter Fengzhou after defeating the Huai army was because Chen Mo was still in the north at that time and the Jinxia army in Yuzhou had not retreated, so it was not appropriate to advance.

When Chen Mo came back, it was the post-New Year period and the weather was freezing cold, so the plan was put on hold for the time being.

"Soon." Chen Mo's plan was to wait until Han Anniang gave birth to the child, and then set off for Huaizhou to take charge of the matter of stationing in Fengzhou.

……

Chuanhai, Chaoping County, the Nangong family’s port - Chaoping Port.

The Nangong family made their fortune by going out to sea. The wealth they have accumulated over the past hundred years is far beyond even the Xiao family in Jiangnan. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to support the navy of the Tianshi Army at that time with the strength of just one family. This is because their historical background is not deep enough.

Long before the Nangong family came into being, Chaoping Port was just a muddy land covered with weeds.

Later, under the construction of the Nangong family, this place became a good harbor for mooring boats. In addition to being sheltered from the wind and convenient for entry and exit, the deep water and wide harbor are also advantages. The harbor is about ten miles wide from east to west and about twenty miles long from north to south. The waters are vast and misty, and there are rows of buildings around.

Before today, the waters were full of masts and sails, but now it was empty, and the shore was filled with people from the Nangong family and workers preparing to unload cargo.

Because today is the day when the Nangong family’s fleet returns.

Every time the fleet returned, it was fully loaded, and the value of the cargo on the fleet was no less than one million taels.

It can be said that the people of the entire Chaoping County rely on working for the Nangong family to make a living.

Especially after Chen Mo recovered the north, the Nangong family became the absolute overlord of the Chuanhai state, and no one dared to provoke them. In addition to the Nangong family's own strength, they also had a son-in-law who was the Duke of Anguo.

Following a loud cry from above.

Everyone looked up and saw a large white bird circling in the sky.

This bird is called the sea falcon and is regarded as a patron saint by the people of Sichuan and Hai.

There is a folk legend in Chuanhai that whenever someone gets lost at sea, a sea falcon will appear and guide the lost person back home.

This legend is not wrong. The sea falcon is a magical creature of heaven and earth. When its wings are spread, its body size is over ten feet. It has great endurance and can fly thousands of miles without eating, drinking or resting.

The Nangong family once had the opportunity to capture one and tamed it into a poultry. After that, it followed the Nangong family's fleet to sea and was also called Hai Ye by the Nangong family's servants.

"Master, it's Master Hai." The Nangong family's housekeeper said to Nangong Jin.

At this moment, there was a commotion at the port, and a member of the Nangong family exclaimed, "The fleet is back."

I saw a bunch of black spots appearing on the sea level not far away. As the black spots got closer to the port, I found that these black spots were actually a vast fleet of huge ships. These huge ships were connected in a row, sailing on the vast sea, riding the wind and waves, giving people a strong visual impact.

But as the fleet got closer, Nangong Jin frowned slightly and noticed something was wrong.

Because he saw several huge ships with signs of repair, and some ships even had no sails.

And if he remembered correctly.

When we went out to sea, there were far more than just these ships. The ships in front of us are at least 30% fewer than when we went out to sea.

"Hiss, why is the boat broken?"

"Could it be possible that we encountered pirates on the way?"

"We have 8,000 marines escorting us this time. Which pirates are so bold?"

"."

Soon, more and more people noticed something strange about the fleet.

As the fleet arrived at the port, everyone discovered that many people on the fleet were injured.

(End of this chapter)