Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye. It's time for the county-level examination to begin.
For the past month, the teachers and students of Wufang Academy have been actively preparing for the exam. Based on the learning situation of more than one hundred children, several senior teachers selected fifty students to participate in this year's county exam.
The selected students comprised one-third of the students at Wufang Academy. The other students had no need to take the exam; it would be pointless for them to go. They might as well study for another year and participate in the county-level exam the following year.
On this day, these students, accompanied by their families, traveled to Zhengyang County to participate in the county examination organized by county officials.
There were indeed many students taking the county-level exam this year, and with the large number of people accompanying them, the entire county town was already overcrowded.
For many children, it was their first time visiting the county town. The county town was quite different from the countryside; it was bustling and lively. The children were very curious about everything in the town and couldn't get enough of it.
The county examination lasted a very long time, requiring nine days and six nights, and consisted of five consecutive examinations before it was finally over.
In ancient times, examinations were also physically demanding, and those who were not in good health could not persevere. A considerable number of students left the examination hall midway.
The students at Wufang Academy were quite good; they persevered through all five exams. After the county exam, the students headed home.
A few days later, the results of the county examination were announced. Of the fifty students from Wufang Academy who took the exam, thirty passed.
Those who passed the county examination would go to Qing'an Prefecture to participate in the prefectural examination a month later. After passing the prefectural examination, they would obtain the status of a student.
Thirty students from Wufang Academy participated in the prefectural examination, and twelve of them passed and obtained the qualification of a student in the preliminary examination.
This is explosive news. According to the regulations of the Great Northern Dynasty, each county can only have fifty places for the imperial examination.
A county has at least a hundred academies and schools, and it's already considered good if one student passes the preliminary examination each year.
However, Wufang Academy had only been established for a little over a year, and in its first participation in the prefectural examination, it obtained twelve places for the title of Tongsheng (a student in the imperial examination system), which accounted for almost a quarter of all the Tongsheng places in Zhengyang County.
What's even more surprising is that the top three students in this prefectural examination all came from Wufang Academy, with Ouyang Nan coming in first place.
Wufang Academy suddenly became famous, and some prominent families began to inquire about it, wanting their children to study there.
During this period, many people moved into Shuixian Village. Some families were going to great lengths for the imperial examinations, moving their entire families to Shuixian Village and becoming its residents.
There were also a few elderly people who had taken the exams their whole lives but had never even qualified as a student. This time, they came to Wufang Academy to study, hoping to give it another shot before they died.
It was already the twelfth lunar month, and the Lunar New Year was just twenty days away. With all these factors combined, the popularity of Shuixian Village reached an unprecedented level.
During this time, Li Xue stayed in Shuixian Village, helping Li Guang train his troops, which grew from three thousand to five thousand men.
Li Xue checked the dates and realized it was time to return to the capital. If she didn't go back soon, she would have to spend the New Year in Narcissus Village.
On this day, Li Xue bought a lot of New Year's goods and also brought two jars of liquor. She bid farewell to Zhao Xian and Li Guang and left Shuixian Village.
During this period, the village head was all smiles. Since the inn opened, his business has been booming, especially during the Spring Festival, when the inn was packed with people every day.
Every day when the accountant was tying up the books, a large sum of silver would come in. Seeing this, the village head's face would beam with joy.
He was sincerely grateful to Nashbai for giving Narcissus Village a money tree.
The shops invested in during the second phase of construction have already been sold, and the villagers have made a lot of money. Now the village has tens of thousands of taels of silver in its accounts.
In addition, the roads and bridges built by the villagers have already recouped their costs and generated considerable profits.
The Lunar New Year period is a time for villagers to earn money, and today is no exception.
This year, the village is even more popular, and the money-making effect is even more obvious.
After the Lunar New Year, the weather begins to warm up, and the spring plowing season gradually begins, with more and more people working in the fields.
Gradually, some strange phenomena appeared in the village. Every day, many outsiders entered Shuixian Village, most of them with their families, and once they came to the village, they did not want to leave.
After arriving in the village, they wanted to find some work to support their families.
After the start of the year, Zhao Xian wanted to expand production and needed a lot of helpers. When these people came looking for work, Zhao Xian accepted them all.
When registering these people's information, it was discovered that most of them came from Baiyun Town. Upon inquiring, it was learned that Baiyun Town is located on the border, and people heard that there might be a war there, so people began to flee.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian was greatly surprised. Under normal circumstances, in the event of war, the rich are the first to flee, while the poor are usually the last to escape.
Judging from the people who came looking for work, they were all in poor conditions, and it's estimated that most of the people in Baiyun Town have fled.
Zhao Xian immediately went to find Li Guang and told him about it. Li Guang was also very surprised after hearing it.
They immediately summoned several people from Baiyun Town to find out the details.
The people of Baiyun Town told them that people had actually started fleeing since the second half of last year, and since the beginning of this spring, more and more people have been leaving Baiyun Town, which is now basically empty.
People in some prefectures and counties not far from Baiyun Town have also begun to flee, and it is estimated that the number of people fleeing will increase soon.
According to Li Xue's analysis, the Fan Kingdom may launch a war in June in conjunction with the Luo Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom to invade the Great Northern Dynasty. There are less than three months left until June.
Zhao Xian looked at the group of people from Baiyun Town and asked:
"You've only heard that there's going to be a war over there, do you even know who they're fighting?"
"It must be a war with the foreign people. The Great Northern Dynasty has been at war with the foreign countries almost every year, but this time it's different. They have joined forces with the Luo and Jin countries to invade the Great Northern Dynasty."
"The Great Northern Dynasty is definitely no match for us. We should leave first; once a battle breaks out, it will be too late."
"How do you know that the Great Northern Dynasty is no match for them and will be defeated?"
"For so many years, the Great Northern Dynasty has not been able to deal with even a single foreign country, so how could it possibly defeat the combined forces of three countries?"
Whenever there is war, ordinary people have no way to survive. If it weren't for the need to live, who would willingly leave their homeland?
This is the basic situation: the war hasn't even started yet, but people have already begun to flee, trying to escape the chaos. What should we do now?
The two began to discuss countermeasures and felt that the most urgent thing to do was to develop their own military strength. The current number of troops they had was never enough, and they needed to develop at least 30,000 troops to effectively protect themselves.
This is the best time to develop one's own power. Once the Great Northern Dynasty enters a period of war and chaos, some forces will rise up, some to resist foreign enemies, and some to overthrow the current regime and change the dynasty.
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