Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 154: No Staying in Front of the Zhengyang County Supervisory Office
The distance between the county seat of Zhengyang and Luyang Prefecture is 1,300 miles. It takes about four days to travel by horseback along the main road.

For most people, it is impossible to travel to a place thousands of miles away in their lifetime.

Zhang Yuan continued on his journey, staying overnight at posthouses and stopping when passing through cities. It took him seven days to reach the county government.

Zhengyang County is located in the northwest of Daqin and is a border county. It is far from being prosperous.

Even so, the prosperity of the county town cannot be compared with that of Luyang Prefecture.

The city has a radius of nearly 100 miles, with a five-meter-high city tower, and streets and alleys that are more than ten meters wide. The blue brick avenue extends straight.

There are many two- and three-story buildings on both sides of the streets, all with bright signs and magnificent pavilions.

It can't be said that there are a lot of people, but there are still a lot of pedestrians on the street.

Zhang Yuan led his horse into the city with a look of emotion on his face.

The soldiers went to die and the generals risked their lives, wasn't it just to protect the peaceful Qin and the people?

Walking along the main road and following the instructions of the patrolling soldiers at the city gate, Zhang Yuan went to the county Sima Mansion to submit his report.

The county Sima was not in the yamen, so Zhang Yuan's report was submitted to the military officer.

The military officer, who was over sixty years old, held the order in his hand and looked at Zhang Yuan.

"From Luyang Prefecture?"

The military officer of the county government is a sixth-rank assistant officer, who is a civil or military official and is a marginal official.

In terms of official position, Zhang Yuan's generation of captains were on the same level as him, and in terms of power, Zhang Yuan had much more than the military clerks.

However, this is the county seat, and it is normal for county officials to look down on officials in the government office.

Just like the officials in the government office, they don’t even notice the officials in the county office.

"From Luyang Prefecture."

Zhang Yuan nodded, his expression calm.

The military officer's eyes fell on the order in his hand again and he said calmly, "Does anyone in the county government have any recommendations?"

Recommended by the county government?

The sacrificial scholar Gong Yuzheng told Zhang Yuan to go to the county government and meet him.

However, that was the department in charge of official examinations and Confucian studies, and had nothing to do with the county government, especially military affairs.

"No one recommended me." Zhang Yuan said.

"Oh..." The military officer nodded, placed the order on the table, made an annotation with a cinnabar pen, stamped it with his seal, and handed it back to Zhang Yuan.

"Go to the martial arts school for training and pass the assessment before you can be promoted."

"Luyang Prefecture Wuwei Yamen, you expanded before the New Year, right?"

Zhang Yuan took the order and said, "We expanded it a few years ago. Now we have one guard and five battalions of soldiers."

After receiving the order, Zhang Yuan turned around and left without staying any longer.

Looking at Zhang Yuan's back, the soldier smiled lightly.

"You're too young..."

"Luyang Prefecture is about to be promoted to a prefecture. The position of a captain of 500 troops is a lucrative one."

"There are seven or eight people vying for the position of Guard Captain of Beigucheng this time, plus a few others with strong connections. If they come to report now, won't they be putting their positions at risk?"

……

Martial arts.

Zhengyang County Martial Arts School.

Zhang Yuan has wanted to come to this place for a long time.

After handing the warhorse to the soldier stationed at the gate, Zhang Yuan walked into the martial arts school with the order.

As you step into the tall and heavy gate, you will see a bluestone square that is hundreds of feet in radius.

This square can probably accommodate thousands of people.

In the square, there are not only martial arts students wearing robes practicing martial arts, but also soldiers wearing armor and riding horses.

In the distance, a small formation of more than ten people gathered to fight.

Qi and blood are everywhere, and evil spirits are rising.

This kind of scene made Zhang Yuan clench his fists unconsciously.

After crossing the square and passing through several corridors and gates, Zhang Yuan arrived at the place where the martial arts school received and trained military officers.

As soon as I arrived in front of the courtyard, I heard cursing voices.

"What the hell, such a big martial arts school doesn't even have any accommodations or food."

"I was fighting in the border army, but I didn't expect to come here and suffer the consequences."

Zhang Yuan walked into the courtyard and saw a big man in a coarse military robe jumping and shouting.

The green-robed clerk in front of him crossed his arms with a sneer on his face.

There were several soldiers in military robes around, pulling the big man who was shouting and cursing, preventing him from rushing forward.

On the side of the corridor, there were a few students in martial arts robes, watching the fun with a smile on their faces.

"So what if it's the border? The Beiyuan Army is about to be transferred. Wouldn't it be nice for the Northwestern Army to retire after their success?"

"Haha, that's quite respectable. I originally thought it was the Crimson Scale Army that was going to be split up, but who would have thought it would be the Northwest Army?"

This place was specifically designed to receive military officers. Those who came were all high-ranking military personnel, well-informed about military affairs. The Beiyuan Army had left the northern border, and the Northwest Army had taken over their garrison. The army would rotate, and many of them would be transferred from border troops to garrison commanders.

In fact, it means reducing military power.

This is customary.

Just as those students said, it is already good enough to be able to retire from the border army with dignity.

"Are you here for training too?"

When the clerk in the courtyard saw Zhang Yuan, he stopped paying attention to the big man and spoke to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan walked over and took out the order in his hand.

The clerk hadn't even taken the order in hand when he glanced over it. Seeing the cinnabar circle mark on it, he chuckled and said, "I see. You'll all do the same. Go get your robes and come learn martial arts when the training begins."

"You can read martial arts books and practice martial arts on weekdays."

"The accommodation is full, you need to find your own."

Turning around, the clerk cast his gaze towards the big man who had been making noise just now, and the people around him.

"From the moment you enter this courtyard, the martial arts assessment begins."

"If you don't want a future, you can go ahead and make trouble."

His words made the people around the big man shrink their heads slightly.

The big man wanted to speak but was stopped by someone next to him.

"You can go to the post house, which is a bit farther. They all practice martial arts, so this little distance is nothing."

The clerk's face was filled with sarcasm. He lowered his folded hands, glanced around, and said loudly, "If you want to live closer, then learn martial arts. There are plenty of inns outside."

"I was a member of the frontier army and have made many military achievements. The money I exchanged for it must be small. It's unreasonable to say that I can't afford it to stay in the inn, right?"

With a light chuckle, the clerk said calmly, "I've only heard of a man named Zhang Erhe in Luyang Prefecture. Rumor has it that he distributed all his salary to his comrades' families, earning himself the nickname 'Yi Bo Yun Tian'."

"Don't tell me you've distributed all the money to your comrades. No one will believe you."

After the clerk finished speaking, he turned and left.

The students watching in the courtyard saw that there was nothing fun to watch and left with a smile.

"Why can they live in the martial arts school..." the big man in the yard whispered indignantly.

"How can they be the same? Either they come from a martial arts background and are reporting on their merits, or they have considerable power behind them and are specifically fighting for the position of captain guarding Beicheng. They are retired from our Northwest Army, alas." The military officer in a blue-gray robe next to the big man spoke as he pulled him out.

"Let's go, collect the robes, set the rules for the training, and then we can deal with it properly."

"I've had enough of the days of risking my life on the battlefield. It would be nice to get a job as a lieutenant or captain in the Wuwei Yamen. It would be nice to have some free time."

Several people walked forward while trying to persuade them.

Zhang Yuan also followed behind and went to pick up his robe.

In just a moment, Zhang Yuan walked out of the martial arts gate holding two sets of black martial arts robes and a waist badge.

"Um, Brother Zhang, let's go find an inn to stay in. Do you want to come with us?"

When receiving his robe, Zhang Yuan had already greeted several retired generals from the border army and chatted with them for a while on the way out of the martial arts school.

The person who spoke at this time was the big man who had scolded before. His name was Hu Tang. He was a lieutenant general in the Northwest Army. He had also led thousands of troops. This time he retired and became a garrison military officer.

"Brother Hu, you guys go ahead. I'll go around the city."

Zhang Yuan shook his head, walked to the stone steps, found his horse, and left the martial arts school.

Hu Tang wanted to call out, but was stopped by the middle-aged warrior with short beard beside him.

"Hu Laosan, stop trying to persuade me. We are from the frontier army and have plenty of money. He is a military officer from the Wuwei Yamen. You want him to stay in the inn with you?"

"It's not easy to live in a county town. Your good intentions are putting people in a difficult position."

"He must have left the city and stayed at the inn."

Hu Tang scratched his head and sighed, then they left together to look for a nearby inn.

Zhang Yuan walked in the city for a while and stopped in front of a solemn gate.

A mile away, the courtyard outside the gate is empty and there are no pedestrians.

"No one is allowed to stay in front of the Zhengyang County Supervisory Office—"

On the stone steps, the black-clad soldier with his hand on his waist sword looked at Zhang Yuan who was stopped in front of the stone steps and shouted loudly.

The Supervisory Office is the Black Ice Platform.

This place is the headquarters of the Heibingtai government office in Zhengyang County of the Great Qin Dynasty.

Zhang Yuan raised his hand, revealing a black token in his palm.

Seeing the token, the two soldiers widened their eyes.

"Commander, Commander!"

The commander of the Black Cavalry of Zhengyang County, Lord Black Tiger, who led 800 Black Cavalry to defeat an army of 20,000 and killed the Grandmaster in battle, has finally arrived!

Seeing a group of civil and military officials on the Black Ice Platform escorting Zhang Yuan into the yamen, the two soldiers looked at each other, their faces full of excitement.

"It's been going on for so long."

"This time I finally saw a living one..."

(End of this chapter)