After Jia Xu came to Xiangping, he lived for half a month. During this time, he really felt the difference here.

is also a border county, Liaodong is much more peaceful than Wuwei. The faces of the people here were always full of smiles, and he had only seen such smiles here in the past year.

Also, although it is a border county, it is not affected by war. The same people did not have heavy labor and taxes, and all the government projects were now recruited to work on a mercenary basis, and the land tax replaced the human tax, and the people's lives improved a lot, and they would smile a lot.

"Recruitment, recruitment!" A small official shouted in the street with a few servants. When the people heard the voice, they immediately gathered around them.

The first time Jia Xu saw such a scene, he was very curious, and he also went to join in the fun.

"This little brother, where is the government recruiting workers this time?" A middle-aged uncle in his forties in the crowd asked.

The little official said with a smile: "This time, Lord Zhou Mu wants to build fishing grounds and salt farms in the eight coastal counties of Tuhe, Fangxian, Wenxian, Pingguo, Yushi, Xi'anping, Suicheng, and Liekou. Not only recruit people to build, but also recruit people to work after completion. ”

"How is the salary calculated?"

"Do you want to eat it?"

Since the existence of this form of hired labor, the people have been concerned about these two points.

"The salary is five dollars a day, of course, it is for food, because it is by the sea, and I have heard that there is fish soup to drink every day."

"I'm signing up!" The people immediately rushed up, and the conditions were much better than the previous construction of roads and embankments.

The key is to have fish soup to drink, and this news is simply natural for people who have never eaten meat several times in their lives.

Jia Xu listened to the general situation, then turned around and left.

He already has an understanding of Zhang Hao's way of guiding the people, and the two generalizations are inducement, using interests to attract them to take the initiative to do things.

This point coincides with the opinion in his heart, whether it is the high-ranking scholars and magnates in this world, or the struggling low-level people, they are all living for profit. As long as it is beneficial to themselves, they will do it without spurring.

Jia Xu thought as he walked, not noticing the person walking towards him at all, while the person opposite was also looking around, not noticing him. As a result, the two collided together.

After the oncoming man was hit, he was as steady as Mount Tai, looked at Jia Xu who was knocked down by himself in surprise, and hurriedly helped him up: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I accidentally knocked you down, I was looking somewhere else." Are you okay? ”

"It's okay, there are mistakes in the bottom, and you can't be blamed for everything." Jia Xu stood up, dusted off his dust, and looked at the man in front of him.

He was eight feet tall, in his early twenties, handsome, with strong arms, and a large bow on his back.

"In Xia Xiyu, dare to ask the name of the strong man?" Jia Xu reported a fake name. The world is sinister, so it's better to be cautious.

The man paused for a moment and replied, "My name is Shi Ci, and I have met Brother Xiyu. ”

It seems that people have made up a name. The corners of Jia Xu's mouth rose, and then said: "Since the meeting is fate, why don't you go to the inn where I am temporarily staying, how about I invite Brother Shi to have a drink." ”

"Thank you, it's my pleasure."

……

Come to the inn from afar.

It was the inn where Yan Zhong lived when he first came to Xiangping. After the shopkeeper accepted Yan Zhong's thank-you gift, he rebuilt it again, and specially asked Yan Zhong to help him choose a name.

So the name was changed to be called from afar, which means "there are friends from afar, and they are happy". And because of this deed of kindness, customers like clouds, especially travelers and merchants from other places will choose to stay here.

Jia Xu also lived here because of this name, not only because of the good stories left by his friends here, but also because there are many people here, and he can often hear all kinds of news.

After the two returned here, they asked the guy to cook a table of wine and food, and chatted while eating.

Shi Ci watched the guy bring the wine, and said very unexpectedly: "I really can't imagine that there are still people who openly sell alcohol here in Liaodong, you must know that all parts of the Central Plains have suffered frequent natural disasters and wars the year before last, so a ban on alcohol has long been issued." ”

Jia Xu picked up a spoon and scooped a bowl of wine for him, and raised his hand to signal: "Brother Shi taste it, this is not ordinary wine." ”

The milky liquid in the glass doesn't look like wine at all, but it has a refreshing aroma. Shi Ci picked up the quilt cup and took a sip, "Hmm~ good wine." ”

"How's that going?" Jia Xu said with a smile.

Shi Ci replied: "Well, this wine is spicy and mellow, but it is sweet and sour, and the milky aroma is overflowing. Could this be made of milk? ”

"Exactly, this is a kind of milk wine on the grassland, which is made from livestock milk produced from pastures in Pingzhou, combining the grassland and the Han family's wine-making method."

This was also the first new thing Jia Xu encountered when he first came to Pingzhou. Although he had also drunk the milk wine of the Qiang people in Wuwei, it had a strong smell, and it would be difficult for anyone who was not used to drinking it to swallow.

He continued: "In fact, there is also a ban on alcohol in Pingzhou, which strictly prohibits grain brewing and private brewing sales. This milk wine is also a government franchise, not only supplied to Pingzhou, but also transported by caravans to various places for sale. ”

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, salt and iron were included in the official government, and the profits obtained from salt and iron were constantly used in foreign countries.

Wine is also a profiteering industry comparable to salt and iron, and Zhang Hao's inclusion of wine in the government is very beneficial to enriching the finances.

"It's pretty good, it doesn't use grain to make wine, it not only saves food, but also satisfies the appetite of people who are good at drinking." As he spoke, Shi Ci scooped another bowl by himself.

Jia Xu asked, "Listening to Brother Shi's accent, he is from Qingzhou, right?" ”

"That's right, I'm from Donglai County, Qingzhou."

"It's from Wuwei County below."

Shi Ci looked at Jia Xu in surprise: "Brother West is from Wuwei, Liaodong and Wuwei are thousands of miles apart, is there something wrong with Big Brother West running so far?" ”

"Nothing to do, from west to east, all the way to the mountains and rivers, to increase some knowledge." After Jia Xu finished speaking, he asked rhetorically, "What about you, little brother?" ”

Shi Ci was a little embarrassed and said vaguely: "I crossed the sea and came to Liaodong to avoid trouble. ”

"Oh? Did you offend some enemy? ”

"It's not an enemy, is it?" Shi Ci thought that he had concealed his name anyway, and it didn't matter if Jia Xu knew, "I was originally a Cao official in the county, but I offended Shangguan because of a trivial matter, so I resigned and absconded." ”

Jia Xu nodded: "I see, but I see that the little brother is carrying an ape arm on his back, and he is also carrying a bow and arrow, when he is a person who is good at shooting, didn't he think about joining the army?" ”

Shi Ci said: "I have been practicing martial arts since I was a child, and my ambition in life is to make merit immediately, but now I am avoiding trouble in Liaodong, and I have an old mother alive at home, I am afraid that I will not be able to join the army with peace of mind." ”

"I don't think the little brother has to worry, right now Pingzhou is recruiting, with the little brother's martial arts, I believe that Zhang Pingbei will be reused, and it is not impossible to bring the old mother when the time comes."

"But I offended Shangguan ......"

"You can rest assured that your original Shangguan won't dare to come here to make trouble."

Shi Ci thought about it, anyway, he can't go back to Donglai now, so it's better to try it here, if he can really win a meritorious career, it would be a good thing.

"So, then I'll try."

……

On the school field north of Xiangping City, the selection of recruits is underway.

Although Zhang Hao expanded the field army to 50,000 people, the garrison army was also needed. Moreover, these people not only have the task of guarding the city, but if they are still in reserve in wartime, they will be pulled to the battlefield at any time.

However, the garrison army does not need much, too many to support with the current finances. Therefore, Zhang Hao only recruited 20,000 people to be responsible for the garrison.

Whether it is now or in the future, the military relies on ability. For the present, ability refers to one's own force.

Zhang Hao set several items as criteria for selection.

The most basic is to lift weights, a stone weighing 120 pounds, which is equivalent to 30 kilograms in later generations. As long as you can lift the stone to eye level, you can pass the level and become a soldier. Basically anyone can do this.

The second is the skill that can best see a person's strength in the army - archery.

Shoot ten arrows from 30 paces, and the middle five arrows are still soldiers, the middle five arrows are the captain, the six arrows are the long, the seven arrows are the team rate, the eight arrows are the tun chief, and the nine arrows are the Qu Junhou. If you can hit all ten arrows and hit the bull's-eye, you will be a military horse, which is already the lowest level of generals.

In addition, there is a competition for the selection of cavalry, and if a soldier is confident in his riding skills, he can participate. It mainly tests riding skills and riding archery, and is divided into obstacles, standing riding and archery, and running riding and shooting. It is also based on the rank of the cavalry according to the results.

The last item is a martial arts competition, whether it is a person who has been successfully promoted to an officer before or is still a non-commissioned officer, he can compete on the stage. This is also the most violent one, and it is graded by the number of victories.

At this moment, the originally noisy school field has become very quiet. Everyone looked at the man in front of them intently. He is Shi Ci who came to join the army.

Originally, when he listened to Jia Xu's words, he was still very hesitant in his heart. However, when he heard that the highest level could be graded to the military horse, he immediately signed up.

Killing the enemy on the battlefield, the higher the rank of the officer, the faster the accumulation of meritorious service. Jun Sima is considered the lowest-level general, as long as he has gone through a few major battles, he can basically be promoted to a lieutenant, or even a partial general.

"Who is who, why is it so powerful?"

"I don't know, I think it's a foreigner."

"He's shot six arrows, and they've all hit the bull's-eye."

"No one has been so powerful so far, I think he can become a military Sima at once."

"That's amazing."

The constant whispering around did not have an impact on Shi Ci, and he shot nine arrows in a row, all of which hit the bull's-eye.

And the last arrow, he took twenty steps back, and in the midst of the exclamations of the crowd, an arrow from fifty paces away hit the bull's-eye.

Among the ten arrows, Shi Ci was the first person to get the military Sima. Ignoring the envious eyes of others, he walked straight to the horse farm.

Since ancient times, there is no first, and there is no second. Since it is a competition, Shi Ci, as a martial artist, naturally wants to do his best. In the cavalry examination, he also got the best results, and if it was over, he could get the position of cavalry commander.

However, he continued to go to the jousting arena.