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As the end of the year approached, despite being located in Jiangnan, the cold wind blowing from the north still gradually made the temperature go down and it was no longer as warm as in the past days.

A thin layer of frost covered the grass and trees, and dense white fog spread among the mountain forests, with the original green being largely receded, and the sky was enveloped by large areas of withered yellow.

It was dusk, and the sky was growing darker.

At the entrance of an inn by the road, a waiter in gray clothes huddled his hands and gazed into the distance from the doorway.

“Ya!”

Accompanied by the sound of a horse whip, a fast horse galloped from the official road, quickly approaching from a distance.

Maybe it had been running for a long time, and the knight pulled the reins when he reached the post station, stopping the galloping horse.

“Feed this horse full of hay.”

The knight dismounted and directly handed the reins to the welcoming waiter with a smile on his face, his voice carrying a hint of freshness.

“Alright, sir, please come in. I’ll feed your horse right away.” The waiter quickly responded and opened the door. After the knight entered, he led the horse to the backyard of the inn.

Kong Zhuo pushed the door open and entered the inn.

As soon as he entered the hall, a wave of heat rushed in, mixed with various smells, instantly dissipating the frost on his temples and clothes.

But the cold wind blowing from outside caused many people in the hall to shiver involuntarily, directing their dissatisfied gazes over.

Seeing this, Kong Zhuo showed an apologetic smile to the crowd, hurriedly closed the door, and sent away their gazes.

Although the guests’ gazes had shifted away, he couldn’t help but carefully examine them.

Years of experience in Jianghu made him deeply aware of the importance of being careful while staying in unfamiliar places.

Seven merchants, two porters, three martial artists, four scholars, and one who had been in the army.

The last person caught Kong Zhuo’s attention for an extra moment, but he was discreet and quickly turned away, his heart feeling more at ease.

‘With no strong smell of blood and no murderous intent, these people pose little danger. It’s safe.’

Making this judgment based on his experience, Kong Zhuo lowered his guard and found a secluded spot in the corner of the hall to sit down.

A waiter came over at this time, and he ordered some food. After paying the silver tales, he quietly sat in his seat, sipping the hot tea that was brought to him while waiting.

Maybe it was because they had finally found a place to rest and relax, or maybe it was just their nature, many people started gossiping and boasting after drinking a few cups of alcohol in the warm inn.

“In recent months, the government has been purchasing supplies in large quantities, and business has become increasingly profitable.”

“That may be true, but we are at war right now. The king has gone to conquer the southwestern Yi people, which is why all sorts of military supplies are being purchased. Once the battle is over, these days will come to an end.”

“Yes, the king has never lost a battle since he took command. Those Miao people, local rebels, and even the Zhou people from the north and the Qiang bandits from the west have all been defeated by the king.

In my opinion, the Wuan Marquis of those days was nothing special.

Those Yi people are unbearably barbaric and resistant to the king’s civilization. I heard that they still ate raw meat and drank blood. Fighting these barbarians, I suppose it wouldn’t take the king more than two months.

Maybe by the end of the year, the army will be returning triumphant.”

“Being able to do business until the end of the year is good enough. I can go to Xiangyang Prefecture in the north for a trip, and come back to do another business, making a bit more money.”

A few businessmen whispered to each other, sharing their woes and joys.

Upon hearing this, a few scholars next to them couldn’t help but join the excited conversation.

“Fighting the southwestern Yi people is, of course, an easy task for the king. However, I don’t know how much territory our Great Chu can expand and how many Prefectures and Counties can be set up?

If we can conquer half a prefecture or a whole prefecture, there will be hundreds of new official positions, and opportunities for us.”

“Absolutely! A county has more than a dozen official vacancies, a prefecture has more than a hundred, and a prefecture has thousands.

In recent years, Great Chu has been stable and it has been a time of recuperation without initiating any battles.

Although there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a peaceful and prosperous era, it is becoming increasingly competitive for us to take examinations and get promoted now that things have settled down.

Currently, Dongting Prefecture only grants ten or so juren titles each year, and the other two prefectures, Xiangyang and Xichuan, have only five or six.

With just over twenty new juren nationwide each year, but more than five or six thousand scholars taking the exams,

only one in two to three hundred can successfully obtain the juren title, making the acceptance rate extremely low.

It’s truly infuriating.

In the past, when Changsha was first established and Great Chu had just changed its name, we couldn’t catch up with those few rounds of special imperial examinations.

At that time, only a few people or a dozen or so could be selected as juren. Compared to today, how lucky and glorious they were!”

“Don’t say that. The king is wise and martial, and it’s a rare thing to see such an expansionist in a hundred years. Just think about when Changsha was first established, it was less than a prefecture’s territory. But now doesn’t it own three Prefectures and seventeen Counties?

This time’s southwestern Yi campaign, in my opinion, should at least conquer half a Prefecture’s territory, won’t that bring hundreds of new official positions?

We had just moved to Dongting Prefecture and missed the last special examination.

But now with this opportunity, we still have a chance.

There will be hundreds of official positions, hundreds of juren and dozens of jinshi (imperial examination title) quotas available.

Given our talents and learning, although we dare not say we can be a jinshi, getting a juren should be no problem.

By then, you and I, fellow students, can become officials of the court.”