It was already dark when Li Zhen returned home. As soon as he walked into the yard, his eldest sister Li Quan rushed over like a gust of wind and pulled him and asked anxiously: "A Zhen, where have you been in the afternoon? I'm worried about it!"

"I was in a bad mood and went out for a while."

Li Quan searched for his brother everywhere, but he didn't see him. He was so anxious that he didn't even eat dinner. Now that Li Zhen was finally back, she felt relieved.

She wanted to teach him a lesson, but when she heard him say this, her anger disappeared without a trace.

"Come here, sister has something to say to you."

Li Quan pulled his brother to the room and sat down, "The eldest sister knows that you are troubled by the head of the family, but don't be afraid. No matter what the head of the family is not the head of the family, you should not let anyone go tomorrow. Our destiny must be in our own hands, and we will never be a pitiful person who lives by looking at people's faces."

It was rare for the elder sister to say these inspiring words. Li Zhen didn't know whether he was moved or afraid, but he didn't want to say that he had seen Wang Xiaojie for the time being, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, eldest sister, I have figured it out, I will never give in tomorrow."

“That’s right.”

Li Quan felt really relieved and decided to give his brother another encouragement. She thought about it and said, "When you end the Wushu Provincial Examination tomorrow, the eldest sister may give you a chance to go out for a walk."

Li Zhen was overjoyed, “Where to go?”

"I can't say where to go yet. My only worry is that you have never left the house and are not very relieved to go alone."

Li Zhen hurriedly said, "Sister, don't worry, I'm not going alone."

"I know, it's just your friends, but then again, if you four of you go together, I'd be relieved."

Li Quan thought that his younger brother had grown up and should give him a chance to go out for exercise, so she agreed.

"Then I decided that I will prepare dry food luggage for you tomorrow and set off the day after tomorrow, but from now on, you are not allowed to think about this anymore. You can do your best to the provincial examination tomorrow and give me this breath."

.........

Shazhou is located in the border, bordering Tubo and Turkic, with strong martial arts styles. People with slightly better family backgrounds in Dunhuang will let their children learn literature and practice martial arts, strengthen their bodies, and protect their homes.

Three years ago, the Tang Dynasty held a military tribute, and various prefectures and counties also held a rural tribute. Shazhou was no exception. However, the Ministry of War only gave Shazhou three tribute quotas each year. The quotas are so precious that they are basically divided up by several major families in Shazhou every year.

The situation this year is even more special. General Wang Xiaojie, the Left Guard, agreed to write a letter to recommend it to the Ministry of War. Wang Xiaojie is now the number one general of the Tang Dynasty and has a very high position in the military. If he is willing to recommend it to the Ministry of War, then the three tribute scholars in the town will have a bright future this time.

So Wang Xiaojie had just agreed to recommend that several major families began to fiercely compete for these three places, and finally reached a compromise. Zhang Ting took away one place and gave it to his son Zhang Li.

The Suo family took away a quota because the chief officer in charge of the provincial examination of the martial arts examination was Suo Zhiping, who served as Sima of Shazhou. The Suo family wanted to give the eldest grandson Suo Wen.

There is another quota. According to convention, the scholars who participated in the martial arts ceremony should be fairly competed, which can be regarded as a fig leaf. However, this time the Li family and the Zheng family wanted this last quota.

Finally, everyone discussed and decided that if the Li family could convince Li Zhen, who had the highest bid to win, to give up participating in the competition, then this quota would be given to the Li family. The Zheng family lacked power and could only give up.

But today, Li Jin, the head of the Li family, went to Li Zhen's house to persuade him to give up the hometown martial arts, but encountered trouble. The Li family siblings refused to give up, which made him a little difficult to deal with.

At night, Li Jin's carriage slowly stopped in front of the gate of the Suo family. The Suo family's mansion is located in the west of the city and consists of the main house and the clan house.

The main house covers an area of ​​50 acres, making it the second largest mansion in Dunhuang County. There are as many as 100 households, occupying most of the streets.

Li Jin had sent someone to send a message to him in advance. The Suo family was ready. As soon as the carriage stopped, Suo Mao, who was waiting for the steps of the gate, hurriedly came up. Suo Mao was the second son of the head of the family, and also the father of So Ying among the two mosquitoes and flies.

Suo Mao bowed to Li Jin who was walking out of the carriage, "Welcome to the husband of Li County to the humble house!"

Li Jin inherited his father's title of Duke of Kaiguo County, and everyone called him Duke of Li County, which was also his most glorious identity.

Li Jin replied with a smile: "I heard that Brother Suo married a new concubine last month, congratulations!"

"Haha! The county magistrate laughed. My father and uncle were waiting in the inner hall. Please ask me!"

"please!"

Suo Mao led Li Jin into the gate, and two maids carried lanterns in front to guide the way. They walked quickly towards the inner hall.

In the inner hall of the Suo Mansion, the head of the So-Class family, Suo Qing, was discussing some details of tomorrow's martial arts ceremony with his brother Suo Zhiping.

Suo Qing is about 60 years old this year. He is a thin old man with a good appearance. When he was young, he led the Soxe caravan to travel around the country and left a great reputation on Hexi Road.

Now he is old and his energy is not as good as before. He has left all the family affairs to his four sons, and he lives in seclusion behind the scenes and enjoys his old age.

This martial arts examination was also alarmed because of the recommendation of General Wang Xiaojie. In any case, he had to get a letter of recommendation for Changsun Suowen.

He had his own ideas. There were 500 local soldiers in Shazhou, and he hoped that Changsun Suowen would command the 500 soldiers.

In addition, the brothers were Sima of Shazhou, so the Suo family had the military power to compete with the Zhang family, so it was particularly important for Changsun to go to Beijing to take the martial arts and Jinshi exam.

Suo Zhiping is currently the Sima of Shazhou. The Wuju Provincial Examination is his territorial power. Seeing that his brother was quite worried, he smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry. Awen is also the best among the children of Dunhuang. He is very good at riding and shooting. I and Zhang Ting privately ranked Dunhuang children. Awen can rank third in the military force of riding and shooting, but he is only slightly inferior to Zhang Ting's son."

"Who is the first one?" Suo Qing spoke very slowly and his voice was a little hoarse.

"The first place is Li Zhen, the elder brother should have an impression. Last year, this person won the first prize in the Shazhou Polo Championship, which caused a sensation in the whole city."

"So it's him!"

Suo Qing was deeply impressed. Originally, the polo title should have been captured by his Changsun Suo Wen, but in the end it fell into the hands of a young man who emerged from a sudden force. This young man turned out to be Li Zhen.

Suo Qing nodded slowly, "I remember him, he ranked first in riding and shooting, no wonder he played polo well."

"It's this person, but unfortunately, the Li family regards it as if they are so handsome."

"Why is this?"

After hesitating for a moment, Suo Qing suddenly understood that it goes without saying that Li Zhen must be a side-in-law. In the Li family, such a child cannot make a name for himself. In fact, it is not only the Li family, but also the Suo family.

Suo Zhiping said again: "Although Wang Xiaojie is here to watch the game, please don't worry, brother, Li Zhen will not affect Awen's quota, nor will Zhang Ting's son's quota, but it will affect the Li family's quota. We have already agreed that Li Jin will persuade Li Zhen to withdraw from the quota competition."

Suo Qing laughed, "If Li Jin can't convince Li Zhen, will he have to ask for you?"

Suo Zhiping understood what the eldest brother meant and smiled and said, "He is here to visit tonight, maybe that's why! Have you figured out the conditions for the eldest brother?"

Suo Qing closed his eyes and did not speak anymore. At this time, Suo Mao hurried to the inner hall and bowed to report: "Father, second uncle, Duke Li County is here."

Li Jin walked into the inner hall and greeted Suo Qing and Suo Zhiping. He was a junior and was quite polite in terms of etiquette. Everyone was acquaintance who knew the truth. After a few greetings, Suo Qing invited Li Jin to sit down.

This matter was discussed by Suo Zhiping and Li Jin. Suo Qing did not participate. He sat aside and drank tea calmly, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

"How, has the county magistrate persuaded Li Zhen to withdraw from the quota?" Suo Zhiping asked with a smile.

Li Jin smiled bitterly. If he could convince Li Zhen, he would not have come to visit the Suo family tonight.

He sighed, "They siblings are very stubborn. No matter how I tempt and threaten them, they just refuse to give up the quota. It is estimated that Li Zhen will participate in the riding and shooting test tomorrow."

In fact, if it weren't for Wang Xiaojie watching the game, whether Li Zhen participated in riding and shooting would have no effect on the result. Even if he performed well, he would be ranked fourth, and ordinary people wouldn't understand it very much.

But Wang Xiaojie was present in person, and it would be difficult to fool him, so they could only persuade Li Zhen to give up.

But Li Zhen's stubbornness really made Li Jin feel a headache, and he could only condescend to ask Suo Zhiping for help. He asked tentatively: "Can Suo Sima think of other solutions for this matter?"

So Zhiping smiled, "Of course there is a way, it's just..."
Chapter completed!