Chapter Thirteen: Preparing for the Provincial Examination

Is this even a choice?

Zhou Liang was speechless. "Assassinating the Shaanxi Administration Commissioner at the Scholars' Banquet... Li Laiheng, how could you even think of that! I wouldn't dare dream of such a thing, yet you have the guts to suggest it!"

This was clearly forcing a man into a corner.

First, "the other me" only just passed the Xiucai exam this year, and now you want him to pass the Juren exam next year? Are you joking? Do you think I'm some kind of prodigy descended from heaven?

Second, the Shaanxi Administration Commissioner... who is that? That is the top official in Shaanxi, responsible for the province's administration and finance. He is a genuine provincial governor, ranked as a "Second-Rank Official" in the Great Ming's nine-rank system, directly under the jurisdiction of the Divine Emperor himself!

Such a high-ranking figure possesses more divine power than the Emperor’s own Embroidered Uniform Guard. He could easily defeat a thousand men. Even when Zhou Liang’s "Pig-Slaughtering Society" was at its peak, they wouldn't have dared to even glance at such a man, for just one look would surely lead to their destruction.

And now, you want me to assassinate him? That is pure suicide!

More importantly, if I were to go through with it, the Commissioner would certainly vent his rage on my family!

What? Li Laiheng says he can help protect my family?

What utter nonsense! If he were that powerful, why would he be living like a rat in the shadows? He's just trying to swindle a fool!

In short, if Zhou Liang actually agreed to the assassination, his entire clan—even nine generations over—would be doomed.

And the most unbearable part of all is that the assignee of this series of SSS-rank tasks, "Zhou Liang," is only four years old this year.

Four-year-old Zhou Liang: "Huh? You want me to take the Juren exam next year? And kill the Shaanxi Administration Commissioner while I'm at it? Are you for real? Why don't you ask me to go fight Ryomen Sukuna instead?! Are you out of your mind, Li Laiheng?"

Furthermore, this absurd task cannot be refused. If he refuses, Li Laiheng will send him to be reincarnated on the spot.

"If I agree, I die a year later. If I refuse, today next year will be the anniversary of my death..."

Clearly, with both options being equally desperate, Zhou Liang had no choice but to agree.

Still, Zhou Liang couldn't help but complain: "Although this [Li Laiheng] might truly be the grand-nephew of Li Zicheng, and the discipline of the rebel army is arguably acceptable, feudal armies remain feudal armies. I shouldn't have expected much—they’d even exploit an innocent little kid..."

"I choose A!"

[You choose Option A: Accept. Liang, half-a-liter of purine, regrets only that he has not met an enlightened master. If you, sir, do not cast me aside, I am willing to serve you with the loyalty of a dog or a horse!]

[You decisively choose the option that allows you to cling to life for the time being. You bow to Li Laiheng on the spot and helplessly declare: "To realize the General's ambition, I am willing to serve you with the loyalty of a dog or a horse!"]

[Li Laiheng stops acting now and directly threatens: "This matter is a secret between the two of us. You had best not tell a soul... I know where your school is, and I know where you live. You’d better keep that in mind, understand?"]

[You: ...]

[...]

[The old man who calls himself Li Laiheng receives the answer he wanted, and finally, the group leaves in satisfaction.]

[However, you dare not forget a single word he said. You have a premonition that these old timers, suspected to be remnants of the rebel army, have not gone far. The fact that they dared to let you go means they can monitor your every move. Any attempt to report them to the authorities will alert them, leading to harm for you or your family...]

[Under their control, how can you escape?]

[Therefore, you must obediently follow their orders. The Divine Emperor may be invincible, but distant water cannot quench a nearby fire, and the rebels' blades are right before your eyes. You... have no choice.]

[Moreover, you actually want to test for yourself whether the Great Ming Empire under the Divine Emperor is as invincible as the stories your parents told you, in order to gain experience for the future overthrow of the Ming Dynasty... Let's start with this provincial governor, the Shaanxi Administration Commissioner...]

[Of course, ordinary people rarely get to see such high-ranking officials. Even a Xiucai cannot, and a Juren would find it difficult... An average Juren, in their entire life, would likely only see the Administration Commissioner during the banquet held on the day they pass the provincial exam!]

[Therefore, to gain the minimum qualifications to meet and assassinate the Commissioner, you must first pass the Juren exam.]

[To this end, the very next day, you beg your dumbfounded master: "Master, I want to take the Juren exam next year!"]

[Juren?]

[Even though your master has always wanted to cultivate you into a child prodigy to serve as his cash cow, he is stunned by your words... After a long while, he shakes his head.]

["The provincial exam is not like the county or prefecture exams. Scholars from all over the province will compete with you for those few sparse spots. Even veteran scholars who have studied for years may spend their whole lives failing to become Juren. Such cases are numerous."]

["Although you are a talented prodigy, you are still too young, and you haven't studied for long enough. How could you possibly win against those old fogies?"]

[He rarely offers you comfort: "You have extraordinary talent and youth; there will be countless opportunities in the future... Why rush?"]

["Listen to your master. It won't be too late to take the exam when you are in your teens. The most important thing now is to build a solid foundation. You studied too hastily for the Xiucai exam, and it was too narrow; I only taught you test-taking skills... Now is the perfect time to make up for that."]

[The more your master speaks, the happier he becomes: "I have already arranged a plan for you. You only need to study while occasionally publishing a few articles. Not only can you receive rewards from the Prefect, but you can also sell them to the public for copying... Isn't it wonderful to earn a thousand taels of silver a year so easily?"]

[You make money, I make money, and we can even kick out the corrupt county magistrate—that middleman—and grow larger and stronger ourselves... Everyone has a bright future!]

[Hearing this, you also think this plan is quite good. If you didn't have a blade hanging over your head, you probably would have happily agreed, but now...]

[So you immediately shake your head: "Daga! Kotowaru!"]

[Master: ?]

[Facing your master's confused expression, you perform several kowtows, as serious as one could possibly be.]

["Master, I hope you can understand... I simply want to progress too much!"]

[Master: ...]

[Eventually, although your master cannot understand why you, at such a young age, are so desperate to take the Juren exam next year, he cannot resist you and finally begrudgingly agrees to your request.]

[From this day on, you officially begin studying the various subjects required for the provincial exam at the county school...]

[Although in theory, you should be taught by famous masters from the prefecture school, your master believes: "As if no one else has ever taken the provincial exam! I have taken the provincial exam for decades. Although I am still a Xiucai, when it comes to the study of exam questions, could I be inferior to those Juren?!"]

[What famous master? I am the famous master!]

[Looking at his ordinary yet confident face, you cannot help but feel a sense of despair: "I was already unlikely to pass, and now I'm truly doomed..."]

[Regardless, you do not give up!]

[This is not only because the rebels' blades hang over your and your family's heads, but also because you truly want to use this to probe the foundations of the Ming Dynasty and see exactly how capable an official at the level of an Administration Commissioner is...]

[Thus, time flies by.]

[As time passes day by day, while you are diligently studying for the provincial exam, many changes are happening outside.]

[First, the Prefect's reward finally arrives. As you guessed, it is one thousand taels of silver!]

[However, unlike in the past, after the middlemen took their cuts, you are left with a full seven hundred taels!]

[This is clearly your master and the county magistrate intentionally trying to curry favor with you. After all, you used to be just a tool; getting one-tenth of the total would have been a great "favor," but now you are the "Top Scholar of Northern Shaanxi," a prodigy in the spotlight with an immeasurable future.]

[Unless they are fools blinded by greed, they will certainly improve your treatment, and this seven hundred taels is a gesture of goodwill.]

[You gladly accept the silver and have your parents use it to buy a house and farmland to improve your lives; this is the only way you can currently repay their kindness in raising you...]

[Secondly, "Anti-Rebel Literature" and "Anti-Xian Literature" have gradually become popular in the Northern Shaanxi literary scene.]

[It seems your success has stimulated those down-and-out Northern Shaanxi scholars, showing them a shortcut to fame and fortune: writing poetry and articles to curse Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong... And they are using every conceivable method to do so, using the filthiest language and inventing any wild history they can.]

[In just a few months, the reputations of Li and Zhang in their hometown of Northern Shaanxi have hit rock bottom. The wild accusations against them are more numerous than those against any tyrant or traitor in history—the kind that couldn't be exhausted even if you used all the bamboo in the South Mountain to write them down...]

["The reason Li Chuang rebelled was not because of famine or war, but because... he was a born traitor!"]

["Li Chuang comes from the Li Jiqian stronghold; he is a remnant of the Western Xia Dangxiang people! The Dangxiang have always hated our Han prosperity. They opposed the Song during the Song Dynasty and the Ming during the Ming Dynasty... They are a treacherous bloodline that fears nothing more than a stable China. They only rebelled because they couldn't stand the prosperity of our Ming Chongzhen era!"]

["Not only that! Li Chuang rebelled against the Ming because he took five hundred thousand cattle from the Mongols! He is an external dog sent by the Mongols specifically to destroy the prosperity of our Ming Chongzhen era!"]

["The Mongols' desire to destroy our Great Ming never dies... What an evil force! As expected of a nomadic people, the Mongols' remote animal husbandry is truly powerful!"]

["Wait, isn't that wrong? I heard that Li Chuang was a spy for the Jurchens! He and Huang Taiji had an agreement to divide the Ming Empire between them... What? You don't believe it? If you don't believe it, look at the timing of Huang Taiji's border raids!"]

["Every time Li Chuang was about to be destroyed, Huang Taiji would raid the border. When our main Ming army was deployed to defend, Li Chuang would take the opportunity to flee and continue his rebellion! Otherwise, how could our mighty Ming cavalry lose to Li Chuang's mere peasants? It was all agreed upon with Huang Taiji!"]

["Hmm, well-reasoned and convincing..."]

[Soon, Li Zicheng was labeled with heavy tags like "Dangxiang Remnant," "Mongol Dog," and "Jurchen Spy." Regardless, everyone refused to admit he chose to rebel simply because he couldn't survive...]

[And if Li Chuang's situation was tragic, Zhang Xianzhong's was even worse. Already viewed as a villain, he was turned into a monster by wild history: "Killing four hundred million," "Eating human flesh at every meal," and even grinding people alive in a large millstone before eating them so as not to chip his teeth...]

[He was a complete carbon copy of Huang Chao!]

[(Huang Chao: Why am I involved in this?)]

[(Li Zicheng: What can I say?)]

[(Zhang Xianzhong: Children, I have no objections.)]

[(The Aisin Gioro family: Joy!)]