"I'll go check again." Ma Fu smiled and squeezed in once more.

After a while, Ma Fu came out, panting and excited, "Young Master Guo also made it to the list, and he's ranked sixth in the A list."

They had known in advance that on the day of the results, both the A and B lists would be announced.

And what is the concept of the A list?

To know, Huai State is close to Jiangnan, and it is itself a culturally prosperous state. This local examination gathered the most talented scholars under the heavens, and being able to rank in the top twenty among them is such an honor.

"Congratulations Brother Guo." Lin Zhong cupped his hands towards Guo Ning, showing a look of envy.

Although he also made it to the list, since his uncle didn't mention the A list, he was surely on the B list.

But as a friend, he was still happy for Guo Ning.

"Congratulations to both of us." Guo Ning returned the gesture and immediately said, "If Brother Dai was here too, and made it to the list as well, that would be even better."

Hearing this, Lin Zhong frowned slightly: "I wonder if Brother Dai's side went smoothly and whether he passed..."

...

Two days ago, Qingzhou, Pingting County.

The State City of Qingzhou is Nanyang, but due to the war, Nanyang was severely damaged, so the local exam in Qingzhou was held in Pingting County.

The release time of Pingting County was two days earlier than Lin and Huai States.

Under the alias Guo Xian and using the identity of someone from Cangzhou to successfully apply in Pingting County, Dai Tu, along with a friend he made there from Gaozhou, Zhang Ye, came to the examination hall to find their names.

Not long after, Zhang Ye suddenly exclaimed: "Brother Guo, you're the first in the A list, you're the top of the A list."

Upon hearing Zhang Ye's exclamation, Dai Tu didn't react at first, after all, Guo Xian wasn't his real name. After a moment of being stunned, he hastily said: "Where, where."

"Here, the first name is you, Brother Guo, congratulations to you, cheers to you." Zhang Ye immediately cupped his hands in congratulations to "Guo Xian".

At this moment, Dai Tu couldn't restrain his excitement, his heartbeat accelerated rapidly, but he still said: "It was just luck, just luck."

"Don't be modest, Brother Guo, you can't get first in the A list purely by luck." Zhang Ye said.

"What about you, Brother Zhang?" Dai Tu asked.

"Alas, don't mention it, I'm at the bottom of the B list." Zhang Ye sighed.

"Why sigh, at least you made it to the list." Dai Tu patted Zhang Ye's shoulder and smiled, but in his heart, he looked down on Zhang Ye a little.

"That's true, come on, let's go to Fu Ze Restaurant and celebrate." Zhang Ye laughed.

Dai Tu did not decline, this was indeed something worth celebrating.

On their way to the restaurant, someone patted Dai Tu's shoulder, and a surprised voice immediately followed: "Dai Tu?"

Dai Tu paused for a moment and turned around.

"Dai Tu, it really is you, what are you doing in Qingzhou?" The person who patted him, recognizing it was indeed Dai Tu, said surprised: "Just now, I thought I was mistaken."

"What Dai Tu? Friend, you must have mistaken someone for someone else." Before Dai Tu could speak, Zhang Ye interjected.

"How could I be wrong? I've known Dai Tu since we were from the same village, we grew up together as kids." The person quickly said, looking at Dai Tu, asked why he was in Qingzhou.

But Dai Tu acted as if he didn't know this person, even cupping his hands to him: "You must have mistaken me for someone else, my name is Guo Xian, not Dai Tu."

The person immediately had an incredulous look: "Guo Xian? How is that possible? Dai Tu, it's me, Dai Ling, don't you recognize me?"

Dai Ling assured that he couldn't have gotten the wrong person, even the mole at the corner of his eye was the same.

"Hey friend, you're reaching too far, Guo Xian is the first name on the A list for this local exam, all his credentials are recorded, he's definitely not someone called Guo Tu, you must have mistaken." Zhang Ye thought this person was trying to establish a connection.

"What connection, if it really were about connections, by generation, he'd have to call me uncle." Dai Ling stepped forward and grabbed Dai Tu's hand, saying: "I heard from Zhaodi that you were going to Huai State for the exam, how come you're in Qingzhou now? Though it's a relief, having heard that Huai State is currently in war, it's unlikely you could return to Yan State anytime soon."

But Dai Tu immediately shook off Dai Ling's hand: "Sir, I repeat, my name is Guo Xian, not Dai Tu, you have the wrong person."

"Yes, Brother Guo is from Cangzhou, why would he go to Huai State for an exam?" Zhang Ye also assumed Dai Ling had gotten the wrong person.

Dai Ling wanted to say more when suddenly a group of armored warriors approached and stopped in front of Dai Tu.

At this moment, Dai Tu was terrified, fearing that his identity was exposed, but the leading armored warrior cupped his hands towards Dai Tu and said: "Are you Young Master Guo Xian?"

Dai Tu forced himself to suppress his unease and said: "I am."

The leading armored warrior smiled and said: "My General requests your presence."

"And who is your General?" Dai Tu was taken aback.

"General Zhang He of Zhang River." The leading armored warrior said.

"Zhang He?"

Dai Tu looked puzzled.

Zhang Ye hurriedly stepped forward and whispered: "Brother Guo, you don't know General Zhang? He is from Fu Ze Village, just like Duke An, being one of Duke An's closest early followers." Dai

Dai Tu was shocked and immediately paid respects: "I do not know General Zhang personally, may I ask what he wishes of me."

"Young Master Guo Xian will know when he arrives." The leading armored warrior said.

"This..."

Dai Tu glanced at Zhang Ye, who pulled Dai Tu aside and whispered: "Brother Guo, seeing how much they respect you, I think this is your opportunity, you should seize it well, General Zhang is someone who even holds weight with Duke An."

"Then I trouble you to lead the way." Dai Tu cupped his hands.

The leading armored warrior awkwardly rubbed the back of his head: "Young Master Guo is too polite, I don't deserve such titles as 'sir'.

Young Master Guo, please."

Watching Dai Tu's departing figure, Dai Ling still wore an expression of disbelief: "Could I really have mistaken him?"

"You definitely got the wrong person." Zhang Ye added.

...

Before Chen Mo rose to power, the three major families in Pingting County were the Wang, Li, and Yi families.

At that time, the Yi Family had already declined,

After Chen Mo's rise, the Yi Family, which became connected by marriage to Chen Mo, also soared, their main family even relocated to Linzhou.

The Yi Family remaining in Pingting County now is merely a branch family from that time.

The current three major families in Pingting County are the Zhang, Yi, and Wang families.

Since Chen Mo no longer lives in Pingting County, the Chen Family is not counted among them.

And the Zhang family is the family of Zhang He.

Back then, after Zhang He made a mistake, Chen Mo demoted him from Captain to an ordinary soldier within the Divine Brave Guard. After two years of observation, upon seeing he corrected himself and didn't re-offend, Chen Mo, considering he was one of his first followers, promoted him again.

According to rank, he is still a Fifth Grade Military Officer, and can be addressed as General.

Of course, it's just a title, a nominal position, without military power.

However, given his seniority and connections, as long as he doesn't violate principles, Zhang He can still mobilize fewer than twenty armored warriors.

In Pingting County, the Zhang family also enjoys various privileges.

And Zhang He invited Guo Xian because he wanted to arrange a marriage alliance.

Zhang He originally didn't have a daughter, but perhaps due to being with Chen Mo for some time, he later took a concubine.

This concubine also had a daughter.

The daughter of this concubine was then legally passed off as Zhang He's wife's daughter.

Zhang He understood that his previous shortcomings were just part of the reason he faltered, and most importantly, his abilities couldn't keep up, nor did he possess much education.

Therefore, he held educated people in special esteem and respect.

Additionally, over the years, his vision broadened considerably.

He understood that to develop his family, he needed to attract some high-quality talents.

And Guo Xian was just such a person.

The top scorer in the Qingzhou local examination.

With such talent, he was bound to be on the list in the subsequent metropolitan examination as well.

He couldn't let others get ahead of him.

Upon meeting "Guo Xian", his first question was: "Has Young Master Guo taken a wife?"

Dai Tu was indeed married, and even had children old enough to buy condiments on their own.

But understanding what Zhang He actually meant, he rashly said: "No."