Chapter 69 69 Prefecture Examination

The army was stationed in Zhenjiang and Taicang, but Songjiang Mansion was near the sea.

The junction between Songjiang Prefecture and Zhejiang is where Jinshan Guards are guarding. Then along the coast of Zhejiang, starting from Jiaxing, followed by Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo and even Wenzhou, the state capitals have stationed guards troops to strengthen defense.

Wu Dong was not stupid and quickly noticed Songjiang Mansion.

There is Jinshan Guard to the south of Songjiang Prefecture, but most areas of Songjiang Prefecture are directly facing the sea. Obviously, there are loopholes in the defense with just this few people.

"Here in Songjiang, why are the troops gathering in Taicang? Instead of stationing in Shanghai County?"

Wu Dong immediately noticed that there was a problem with the layout of the Nanjing War Department. He had only heard the place names before, but Qianhusuo did not have a map that allowed him to see the locations of various places on the southeast coast, so he had no idea when he heard about these defense arrangements. nothing.

But things are different now. According to the map, it is easy to find that there is a military blank area near Songjiang Prefecture.

Why is this happening?

Zhang Hongfu also noticed it, but he was a little disapproving.

In his eyes, the coast has been protected by guards and is airtight. How dare the Japanese pirates come?

Even the Songjiang Mansion that Wu Dong pointed out actually has an army in his opinion. Didn't he see that the Jinshan Guards are just south of Songjiang Mansion?

"Nanjing side, they don't want to"

Wei Guangde had some guesses in his mind and couldn't help but stop after half a sentence.

This is Zhang Shigui taking exams for Wu Dong and Zhang Hongfu. Why is he talking so much?

But it was still too late. Wei Guangde's half-sentence reminded Wu Dong, and he said without thinking: "Led the snake out of its hole?"

Zhang Shigui glanced at his son, he was really unsatisfactory. He looked cynical all day long, and he and his second brother had not learned anything about their shrewdness.

"The result of the discussion over there was also this, and it also got Mr. Xu's acquiescence."

Zhang Shigui glanced at Wei Guangde and Wu Dong, nodded and smiled, "Master Zhang feels that it is difficult to encircle and suppress Japanese pirates at sea, so he can only find ways to lure them ashore.

Songjiang Prefecture, that place is rich and is a good target for Japanese pirates to plunder. As soon as the Japanese pirates land, Jinshan Guard and Taicang Guard troops will immediately be dispatched to drag them out. The Zhenjiang army will arrive at the battlefield in two days along the river. When the Japanese pirates arrive, Wings cannot escape. "

When Wei Guangde heard this, he gently tapped the location of Zhenjiang with his finger, and then traced his finger along the winding waterway of the Yangtze River to the mouth of the sea. There was a small dot here, marked as Shanghai County.

"How far is it?"

Although he made some gestures, Wei Guangde couldn't figure out how far the waterway was.

"About five hundred miles."

Zhang Shigui said casually.

Wei Guangde nodded and estimated that even if it takes less than two days to three days, it should be about the same. The strategic intention is very clear. It depends on whether others will take the bait and whether the troops from Jinshan Guard and Taicang can delay the Japanese pirates.

"Who is this Mr. Zhang? He's such a good soldier."

Wu Dong asked curiously.

He hasn't entered the officialdom yet, and the only people he is familiar with now are people from Jiujiang Wei, and he is not familiar with Nanjing.

"Zhang Jing, the censor of Youdu, was originally the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War. He recently arrived in Nanjing. There is news that he may be appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War. However, the news coming from Mr. Xu's mouth is that he will probably be the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu. The minister of the Ministry of War is also I want to be greedy for a few more years.

But it’s hard to say, after all, the Japanese pirates are coming with great force this time. If the Japanese pirates cannot be defeated this time, it is estimated that the Secretary of the Ministry of War will not be able to continue his job. The man in Beijing will not let Jiangnan be disrupted by the Japanese pirates. "

Zhang Shigui introduced.

"He was transferred from above to exterminate the Japanese pirates?"

Wu Dong asked in surprise.

"They should have been assigned. If you can't compete with others in Beijing, you can only come to Nanjing. After all, the officials have reached that position, but no one has moved."

Zhang Shigui said with a smile, "Also, he has military exploits and has led troops. It's no coincidence that such a big event happened. It is said that he is in charge of it."

Looking at the dense red dots along the coast of Zhejiang representing the guards, Wei Guangde also felt that the Zhejiang side should be foolproof. There were tens of thousands of Japanese pirates, so they probably could only rob Songjiang. After all, it was rich there. Unless they were really desperate, he and the officers and soldiers Battle.

But this doesn't seem to be a good thing. My father will really be sent to the battlefield by then.

"Is there a good chance of winning?"

Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.

Zhang Shigui glanced at Wei Guangde and said with a smile: "Don't worry, more than 10,000 horses in Zhenjiang have been training for a month, and the supply of food and grass is sufficient. If we really match up, we should be able to handle it.

In fact, the people over there would rather fight the Japanese pirates at this time than go to the north to meet the Tatars. They are cavalry, so they are unable to fight. "

After putting away the map, they continued to drink, and the atmosphere became more relaxed. After all, the family members were all in the army, and they were surrounded by large groups of people, so they were safe.

After the night banquet, Wei Guangde met them early the next morning according to the agreed time and place. Under the leadership of Wu Dong, he completed the registration at the Jiujiang Prefecture Yamen, received their respective number plates, and waited for the prefectural examination a few days later.

It was almost the same as registering for the county examination, except that one more local student was added as a guarantee, and Wei Guangde also brought the guarantee document. After handing it in, he naturally got his admission ticket.

During the few days before the exam, Jiujiang Prefecture received two more messages from Zhenjiang. It seemed that everything was calm and no Japanese pirates were found to be doing anything.

Naturally, Wei Guangde would not think too much about it. The most important thing at the moment was to cope with the government examination, as long as he knew that his father was safe.

Wei Guangde estimated that his family was actually the most nervous, not only because of his prefectural exam, but also because of the safety in Zhenjiang.

Now that his cousin Wu Dong has come to Jiujiang, his elder brother Wei Wencai has no source of information.

A few days passed in a flash, and it was the day of the prefectural exam.

During these days, that is, the first two days, Wei Guangde also gathered with his classmates and candidates from Pengze County. Of course, it was mainly because of the connections of Zeng Yuanshu and Zeng Yuanrui. As local bosses in the county, they were naturally very familiar with local candidates.

Of course, among the invited candidates, candidates who had a good relationship with the Zhang family would definitely not be invited. After all, it was well known that the two families had a bad relationship. It would be better to invite them together to compete in poetry or fight.

On the day of the exam, Wei Guangde still got up early, and Zhang Hongfu also got up early, saying that he wanted to send Wu Dong to the exam.

With a few strong servants, just like the last time he participated in the county exam, at the beginning, there was still a bustling crowd going to the exam room, so naturally these people were not needed. Outside the exam room, there were already many city yamen runners and soldiers standing guard at the nearby street corners to maintain order. At this time, their role was also reflected.

For these scholars, these servants were real. They easily squeezed people aside, and then escorted Wei Guangde to the outside of the exam room.

After all, it was a prefectural exam, and Jiujiang Prefecture’s financial revenue was not bad. There was a special exam room for candidates to take the exam.

I also heard from Wu Dong and Zhang Hongfu before that the Jiujiang Prefecture Examination Hall was built according to the standards of the Imperial Examination Hall. Although it was a little small, after all, there were not so many candidates taking the exam, but they had to be on guard against the provincial education official coming here to hold an academy exam that day.