Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 7 The Destined Noble Man
(PS: It’s past midnight, you guys have tickets, so don’t be stingy...)
"What? Young master, are you going to the capital? Do you still want to tell the master to go quietly? What are you going to do in the capital?"

On the way home, Young Master Zhang quietly told Zhang Shitou, his loyal servant, about his plan to go to Beijing. After leaving Linqing City, it is guaranteed that you will not be able to find the southeast and northwest.It's just that Zhang Shitou yelled out in surprise when he heard Young Master Zhang's plan, and then immediately dissuaded him: "Young Master, don't act recklessly, you've grown up so much that you haven't traveled far, and you're about to run to Going to the capital, the master will definitely not agree." Speaking of this, Zhang Shitou suddenly remembered what happened just now, and hurriedly added: "Master, you must have really listened to that Song Tiezui's nonsense and planned to go to Beijing to take the exam. Champion?"

"Yes." Young Master Zhang nodded and admitted.Zhang Shitou was even more dumbfounded, and it took him a long time to scream like a pig, "Master, are you stupid? That Song Tiezui made it clear that he was talking sweet words to deceive you, do you really take it seriously? Say... say something wrong." , Young Master, you don’t even know your own name, what are you going to take for the number one prize?”

Of course, Young Master Zhang couldn’t tell Zhang Shitou the truth. After a little calculation, Young Master Zhang waved Zhang Shitou to him, and whispered in his ear, “You idiot, you think I’m really because of Song Tiezui’s nonsense? Just go to the capital? Do you still remember, where is that beautiful tigress Xiong Hu going? The capital!" Zhang Shitou froze for a moment, nodded his head in acknowledgment, and asked again: "Master, so you actually want to go Have you found that tigress?"

"Of course." Eldest Young Master Zhang nodded with a lewd smile, and then said with a sinister smile: "When I was on the pier that day, don't think that I didn't realize that you have been peeking at Xionghu's beautiful maid, Xiu'er. If you still want to meet her , then go home and prepare your luggage obediently, and when the time comes, young master, I will find a way to marry Xiong Hu back home as a wife, and that maid Xiu'er will be yours."

Where there is a master, there must be a servant, Zhang Shitou's saliva flowed out of the corner of Zhang Shitou's mouth before our young master Zhang finished speaking, and young master Zhang hit the iron while the iron was hot, and encouraged him: "Think about it, how tall is Xiong Hu's maid Xiu'er?" Pretty? If you live in Linqing City all your life, is it possible to get such a beautiful wife? Such a good opportunity is in front of you, don't you want to miss it, and spend the rest of your life with only a yellow-faced woman in your arms?"

Young Master Zhang’s words hit the nail on the head. Zhang Shitou, who hadn’t gotten his wife yet in his early twenties, was unavoidably tempted, but after careful consideration, Zhang Shitou still said with a mournful face: “Young Master, it’s not the little one who stopped you, it’s just that The matter is not a joke. You have never left Linqing City since you were a child. How could the master and the eleven wives feel at ease when you suddenly left home and went to Beijing quietly? I am afraid that if you leave the city, the master will send someone to arrest you I caught her back home. And one more thing, that tigress Xiong Hu is so fierce, even if we can find her in the capital, I'm afraid you won't be able to marry her home, young master?"

"What are you afraid of? As long as we work hard and grind the iron rod into a needle, as long as we see that tigress Xiong Hu again, we will definitely have a way to bring her back to Linqing with her servants and maids." Zhang Da, who had long planned but could not say clearly The young master babbled nonsense, then frowned and said: "As for the old man, we have to prevent him from sending someone to arrest us, otherwise he will come back and find that the young master is not at home, so he will definitely look for it everywhere." , said happily: "By the way, there is a way to prevent the old man from catching us."

"What way?" Zhang Shitou asked quickly.Young Master Zhang said with a sinister smile: "Don't worry, you'll know when the time comes. Don't be wordy, go home and pack your luggage, and leave before it gets dark."

Zhang Shitou was skeptical, but his slender arms couldn't twist his thighs, so he gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble, "Well, since you insist on going, young master, I will accompany you on this trip. You have to say something nice to the little one." Eldest Young Master Zhang grinned and comforted him, "Don't worry, if the old man really catches us, I'll fight back, Young Master, and it's none of your business."

…………

After finally persuading Zhang Shitou to go with him, Young Master Zhang and Shitou Zhang, a master and a servant, took action immediately. First, they climbed over the wall and went home to separate their actions. Using the key to the treasury stolen by the former Young Master Zhang, he entered Zhang Laocai's study room, opened the secret vault Zhang Laocai used to store valuables, found a large stack of silver notes and a large bag full of gold leaves and gold ingots, and After packing a lot of extremely valuable jewelry, he sneaked back to his room to meet Zhang Shitou.

As soon as he entered the door, Zhang Shitou held up a package and said to Dao: "Master, everything is ready, according to your instructions, you and I only brought a change of clothes, and some pocket money. "Master Zhang nodded, and asked Zhang Shitou to take out the dusty pen, ink, paper and inkstone in the room, and said: "Shitou, hurry up, leave a letter for my old man, saying that young master, I want to go to Beijing to take the No. [-] examination. Tell him not to worry, the young master will go home or pick him up to enjoy the blessings in the capital if he is the number one scholar. Also, tell the old man, young master, I am going to Beijing by boat, and tell him not to chase after him. "

"Shouldn't the sentence of being admitted to the number one scholar and taking the master to the capital to enjoy the blessing?" Zhang Shitou muttered in his heart, and wrote the letter as instructed.Only then did Young Master Zhang lift up the spring palace painting fan that never leaves his body, let Zhang Shitou carry two packages on his back, and climbed over the wall again to leave home.But after leaving the house, Young Master Zhang did not go in the direction of the pier, but led Zhang Shitou straight to the market. Zhang Shitou asked suspiciously, "Master, didn't you mean to take a boat? Why don't you go to the pier?"

"Stupid!" Young Master Zhang knocked Zhang Shi on the head with the handle of his fan, and said angrily, "I have already told you in the letter that you will go to Beijing by boat, and the old man will not send ten or eight boats when he comes home to read the letter." Chasing me on the canal, young master? Buy two horses and go overland, so that the old man can't chase us."

"Oh, so that's the case." Zhang Shitou suddenly realized, praised the young master for being so smart, and suggested: "Young master, then let's not waste time buying horses, and just take two horses at home."

"Idiot! There are so many tenant servants in my family, why did the old man choose you as my reading companion? Isn't this a shame for my young master?" Young Master Zhang's nose was almost out of breath, and he slammed Zhang Shi's hand with the handle of his fan. The head roared: "The old man came back and found that there were two horses missing from the house. Can you still guess that we are going to the capital by land?"

"Oh, master, I understand everything, you are amazing, amazing." Zhang Shitou screamed with his head in his arms, and said with emotion in his heart: "Master's cleverness is really used in the wrong place. If it is used for reading, it may be really good when you enter the capital this time." Admitted to a number one scholar or something."

The development of the matter is under the control of our young master Zhang. When Zhang Laocai's rich father returned home in the evening, the first thing he did was to see if his son's injury had improved. Unexpectedly, he saw Zhang Shitou For the letter left behind, Zhang Laocai was so anxious that he almost fainted. He hurriedly sent people to the pier to hire a boat, and went north along the canal to chase his son. The result was naturally predictable. The people he sent chased him all the way to Wuqiao, Texas. There was no sign of Young Master Zhang.Finally, on the third day, some people said that they saw Young Master Zhang and Zhang Shitou buying horses at the market, and Zhang Laocai knew that he had been tricked by his precious son. It's too late to say anything.

"You bastard, you want to take the No. [-] Scholar exam just because of your little ability? When you come back, I will find you an ugly and fierce woman, and keep you under control!" Under anger, Zhang Laocai stopped us with one sentence. All the retreats of Young Master Zhang......

………………

There are two flowers blooming, one for each, not to mention Zhang Laocai and the eleven mothers of Young Master Zhang who are very anxious at home, scolding Young Master Zhang for being unfilial and disobedient.Let’s just say that in order not to be caught and returned home, our Young Master Zhang hurried all the way to eat and sleep in the open air. He traveled day and night until he arrived at Hejian Mansion before taking a break. It’s just that Young Master Zhang was spoiled and spoiled in his two lifetimes, and he was tired when he first encountered the bumpy journey. It was choking enough, so I had to lie down for two days before recovering from this rest.During this period, Young Master Zhang sent Zhang Shitou out again to inquire about the time of the exam, planning to go to the capital on the last night of the exam as mentioned in the story about being promoted to the third level.

After Zhang Shitou reported the information he had inquired to Young Master Zhang, Young Master Zhang immediately found out that something was wrong—the examination of the Ming Dynasty was not taken in the middle of the night like the cross talk said, nor was it like In the Qing Dynasty, candidates were required to live in the examination room for three consecutive examinations. Instead, they were held on the ninth day of February, the [-]th day of February, and the [-]th day of February. The lighting is used to limit the time, and the three candles have to be turned in before they are lit—that is to say, if Young Master Zhang enters the city in the middle of the night, even if he hits Wei Zhongxian's horse and Wei Zhongxian sends him into the examination room with his business card, the examination is over. Even if the examiner wanted to cheat Young Master Zhang, it would be too late.

"Strange? Could it be that the story about being promoted to three levels in a row is fictional? But what happened to what Song Tiezui said to me?" Young Master Zhang was confused by the contradiction between the reality and the story. , it is really impossible to guess the key.After much deliberation, it was difficult to understand, our young master Zhang could only grit his teeth, and said in his heart: "Things have come to this point, we have to go to the capital anyway, if that story is false, we really can't save Xiong Tingbi And the Ming Dynasty. Then I will go back to Linqing to enjoy the blessings, and when the Manchu Tartars invade the Central Plains, it will not be too late to go overseas and become an overseas Chinese."

Having said that, when continuing on the road, Young Master Zhang still did not give up and slowed down. He traveled all the way and slowly rushed to the capital. Whether he can sneak into the capital with the water convoy carrying water for the royal family - this is one of the keys to Zhang Hao's second place in the ancient examination.Fortunately, Linqing is not too far from the capital city, the road is densely populated, and the world is barely peaceful, so our master and servant of Young Master Zhang who is carrying a lot of money are lucky not to encounter any robbers blocking the road, and according to It was scheduled to arrive in the suburbs of Beijing when it was dark on February 25th.

When the master and servant arrived in the capital, it was already dark and the Nine Gates of Beijing had already been closed. Originally, Zhang Shitou suggested that Young Master Zhang spend the night at a post station outside the city, and it would not be too late to enter the city after dawn the next day.But our Young Master Zhang refused straight away, "No need, I will go to the city tonight." Zhang Shitou heard his distress, and smiled wryly, "Young Master, it's useless to be in a hurry, the gates of Beijing City have already been closed. We can’t get in even if we want to.”

"Hehe, don't worry." Young Master Zhang gave a smirk, and ordered: "Let's go, let's go to the Xizhimen of the capital, and enter the city from there."

"Enter the city from Xizhimen?" Zhang Shitou was even more confused, and Fox questioned: "Master, when we inquired about the situation in the capital on the way, it seems that we heard that Xizhimen is in the northwest of the capital? We came from the southwest of the capital. If you want to enter the city from Xizhimen, you have to take a long detour."

"It's okay, just go around." Young Master Zhang grinned and said, "Didn't you hear someone say that the spring water from Yuquan Mountain that the Daming Palace drinks is transported into the city from Xizhimen in the middle of the night, and ours will rush there , maybe you can sneak into the city with the water convoy."

"Entering the city in the middle of the night? Is there a need to be in such a hurry?" Zhang Shitou was even more confused, and couldn't believe what Young Master Zhang said.But after all, Zhang Shitou's slender arms couldn't twist our young master Zhang's thick thighs, and in the end he accompanied young master Zhang on the road overnight, slowly detouring towards the Xizhimen of the capital.When we arrived at Xizhimen, it was close to the third watch, and the situation at Xizhimen was the same as that of other city gates, the gates were closed, and there were constant patrolling soldiers with torches on the top of the city. I sat down on the turf, nervously and excitedly waiting for the destined water convoy to arrive.

"Crack, creak, creak." The sound of the axle turning finally came from afar. Young Master Zhang looked up and saw a team of horses with torches coming from a distance. The carriages were full of buckets— —Needless to say, it must be the horse-drawn convoy that delivered Yuquan mountain spring water to the imperial palace in history!At that moment, Young Master Zhang was so excited that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. It took a lot of effort to get up from the ground, and he ordered: "Stone, help me get on the horse quickly, let's sneak into the city with the water convoy."

"Can you really get in?" Zhang Shitou helped Young Master Zhang onto the horse with doubts, and then rode on the horse himself.After a while, a convoy of more than 50 water trucks came in front of him. Young Master Zhang winked at Zhang Shitou excitedly, followed the convoy's tail quietly, and walked slowly towards the destined place. city ​​gate...

As in the story of the third-level promotion, after the water convoy drove under the city of Xizhimen, the defenders immediately opened the city gate to let the convoy into the city, and our young master Zhang and his servant followed the convoy anxiously, sneaking around. Towards the city gate, but just as Master Zhang's master and servant had just walked to the city gate, a thunderous voice suddenly sounded from the city, "Those two boys on horseback, what do you want to do? Go back, you are not allowed to enter the city at night, you must enter The city will come back tomorrow during the day!"

"Discovered? Impossible!" Young Master Zhang was taken aback, and he thought to himself, didn't the story about being promoted to three levels in a row say that Zhang Haogu followed the water convoy into the city and was not discovered?
Don't allow Young Master Zhang to think too much, a dozen Ming soldiers rushed over at the city gate, stopped Young Master Zhang and Zhang Shitou's master and servant with guns, and shouted together: "Go back, you are not allowed to enter the city at night!"

More than a dozen gleaming guns were pointed at his chest, Zhang Shitou, the loyal servant of Young Master Zhang, was so frightened that he almost peed on his pants. At the mercy of Zhang Shitou, there was only one thought left in his mind, "Could it be that old liar Liu Baorui (the author who was promoted to the third level) tricked me? There was no such thing as Zhang Haogu being promoted to the third level in the Ming Dynasty? The matter of the fortune teller before was just a coincide?"

………………

Stayed in the inn outside the city for one night in every possible way. On the next day, the morning of February [-]th, Young Master Zhang and Zhang Shitou entered the city slowly. Needless to say, the bustling city is full of people The street was crowded with people, and Zhang Shitou was dizzying, yelling and screaming, showing his country bumpkin temperament.Our young master Zhang is still frowning, turning a deaf ear to everything and turning a blind eye to everything. There is only one headache in his mind, "If the story about being promoted to the third level is false, then I will not be able to pass the exam. Wei Zhongxian can't get on the line, so what can I do to save Xiong Tingbi? If I can't save Xiong Tingbi, what can I do to stop the Manchu Qing Tartars from entering the customs?"

"Get out of the way, get out of the way." I don't know how long the wandering people have been walking on the street. Suddenly, the front of Young Master Zhang is jumping, people are shouting, and a group of extremely arrogant knights are riding tall horses. , Surrounded by an even more luxuriously decorated eight-carrier sedan, rushed over, frightened the pedestrians on the road to give way, and the street suddenly became a mess.Seeing this scene, Zhang Shitou hurriedly greeted Young Master Zhang: "Young Master, get out of the way, there must be a high-ranking official coming." Young Master Zhang also didn't want to cause trouble in this capital city where princes walk around and high-ranking officials crawl everywhere. , pat the horse and prepare to dodge.But at this moment, a wasp that flew from nowhere just landed on the buttocks of the horse sitting under Young Master Zhang, was swept away by the horse's tail, and stung again...

"Huh-!" Young Master Zhang's horse neighed in pain, galloped, and even rushed straight at the sedan chair, and Young Master Zhang couldn't pull it.And the oncoming team of knights drew their swords and screamed, "Protect Nine Thousand Years!"

(End of this chapter)