Chapter Four: "The Divine Emperor Grandpa Hangs One Hundred Thousand Raiders with Hemp Rope!"

"Animal Friend..."
Zhou Liang narrowed his eyes.
Could it be... that this clerk is not a human, but some kind of monster? Otherwise, how could the title have any effect on him?
After giving it some thought, Zhou Liang couldn't grasp the logic behind it and could only hope that the unfolding plot would reveal more information.
"Still, although I don't understand the reasoning, the current change is clearly a blessing rather than a curse. After all, the title description says it 'grants natural favor from non-human animals,' which proves that the clerk asking me to compose a poem is a good thing. Perhaps there will be some kind of benefit for me!"
Besides, surely the clerk would know that a mere three-year-old child is basically incapable of writing poetry? Clearly, he knew.
Since that was the case, Zhou Liang was certain he couldn't truly intend for him to compose a poem, but rather had other intentions...
【You guessed right.】
【Faced with this sudden test of poetry, how could you, caught completely off guard, possibly write anything? Not to mention that, on the surface, you haven't even attended a private school, even if you were to use the various cultural knowledge learned in your past life, you wouldn't know how to compose classical poetry...】
【Perhaps you could copy a few pieces, but the problem is that if a three-year-old writes "I urge the Heavenly Emperor to rouse once more, and bestow talent without regard for convention," it would be too exaggerated. Or if you wrote something like "Qin Emperor and Han Martial Emperor were slightly lacking in literary grace; Tang Ancestor and Song Ancestor were a bit short on flair," you would be immediately subjected to the "Imperial Evasion: Stripping of the Nine Familial Branches" technique by the God Emperor...】
【This... what to do? You can't just copy those doggerel verses of Zhang Zongchang, right?】
【For a moment, sweat broke out on your forehead...】
【But just then, a tangible, large hand rested on the top of your head, and vaguely, you seemed to see a radiance like the sun...】
【You looked up blankly, meeting the gaze of the crouching clerk. Golden light seemed to flicker in his eyes, and a look of expectant joy graced his face.】
【"Child, hurry and recite the poem that is in your heart. Essays are birthed by nature, and captured by the skillful hand... The opportunity is rare, recite it quickly!"】
【The poem in my heart?】
【Just as you were feeling confused by his strange statement, a "poem" suddenly welled up from the depths of your mind!】
【You looked at him in surprise, gazing at his kind smile. Inspiration struck, and you resolutely opened your mouth...】
【"Grandpa God Emperor Strangles One Hundred Thousand Rebel Raiders with a Hemp Rope!"】
【"In my dreams, I often dream of the great Grandpa God Emperor... One day, I dreamt of Grandpa God Emperor again. He had been suppressing rebels all day and looked very tired, yet he still personally received me, a poor child from an ordinary family, and asked kindly if my family had enough to eat and wear..."】
【"It was getting late, so Grandpa God Emperor sent me out and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to escort me home... On the way to the gate, I said: Grandpa God Emperor, it is getting late, please go back and rest. You have been suppressing rebels all day!"】
【"Grandpa God Emperor shook his head: It is of no consequence. You know, there are many stubborn people who still treat the Great Ming as an enemy, causing trouble for Me and the Great Ming... You are a subject of the Great Ming, and your affairs are the affairs of the Great Ming."】
【"I became excited, tears brimming in my eyes: What a wonderful Grandpa God Emperor!"】
【"Grandpa God Emperor suddenly said angrily: But there are rebels like Li Chuang who want to throw the Great Ming into chaos; they are evil!"】
【"As he spoke, Grandpa God Emperor plucked a hemp rope from the old crooked-neck tree, looked at the dense mass of raiders outside the city, and tightened it fiercely. All one hundred thousand raiders rolled their eyes..."】
【"What a wonderful Grandpa God Emperor! In the future, I will surely be a good person who benefits the Great Ming, repaying Grandpa God Emperor's infinite grace as soon as possible, and helping Grandpa God Emperor hang all the disloyal, stubborn rebels!"】
【"Loyalty! And! Integrity!"】
【Once finished, the entire audience was shocked!】

【Even you couldn't keep a straight face...】
【"Good, good, good! Truly a child prodigy!"】
【Amidst the shocked and panicked expressions of your parents, the clerk was "overjoyed," praising you repeatedly as a prodigy!】
【"Although this piece is not a poem, it clearly contains sincere emotion, possessing a unique, childlike innocence. It fully embodies the admiration and closeness the people of Great Ming feel toward His Majesty the God Emperor, and carries a positive orientation of caring for the country and its people, wishing to create prosperity for the Great Ming... Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"】
【"Your son can recite such a masterpiece at age three; his future achievements are truly limitless. I am so moved by his talent, and since he is just starting school, why not... why not let me take him as my disciple?"】
【Looking at the clerk's smile, your parents, having not yet recovered from the shock of your eloquence, could only look at each other in bewilderment...】
【Your parents' brains had crashed...】
【However, although they didn't fully understand what was happening, it was a clerk taking on a disciple, and for commoners to be able to latch onto such a connection was a great thing. Therefore, your parents ultimately agreed, and thus you had your first master in this life!】
【After a simple apprenticeship ceremony, your new master, in high spirits, not only handled your enrollment promptly but even paid your tuition out of his own pocket. Your journey into schooling was thus completed in a daze...】
【In the forty-sixth year of Chongzhen, at three years old, you entered the county's government-run school, becoming an ordinary yet extraordinary young student.】
"This..."
Zhou Liang was also baffled by the plot, but as a fifty-something-year-old with extensive experience, he quickly cleared his thoughts:
"That text about gratitude... it was clearly not written by me, but... the clerk's doing!"
As someone who had been a rebel leader for thirty-eight years, Zhou Liang naturally knew that all Great Ming officials possessed certain divine powers. After all, no matter how strong the God Emperor was, he couldn't oversee the entire Great Ming territory, so officials at all levels were granted divine power by the God Emperor. Relying on this, they could maintain the daily stability of the Great Ming without the God Emperor needing to intervene personally.
When the clerk rested his tangible hand on young Zhou Liang's head, he was clearly using his divine power to inject this pre-written essay into his mind!
"But... I've sorted out the events, but what is his motive?"
Zhou Liang scratched his head:
Just to take on a disciple, he goes through all this trouble? Normally, if a clerk speaks, could a commoner even refuse? This process wasn't necessary!
Unless... he has other schemes?
Thinking this way, Zhou Liang became thoughtful:
"Let's re-examine... the clerk is close to me because the 'Animal Friend' title took effect, so logically, all his subsequent actions should be beneficial to me."
"And he specifically gave me a pre-prepared essay on gratitude without letting my parents know, had me recite it in public as my own, and then claimed I was a genius, as if he were specifically packaging me..."
"Taking a disciple... enrollment... packaging a persona..."
Zhou Liang felt as if he had grasped something, but couldn't put his finger on the specifics. He could only continue watching the plot unfold, trying to find the answer.
He believed that if the clerk was doing this, there must be a method to his madness... Ahem! There must be a reason!
【You were muddled as you entered school as a young student and took the clerk as your master... Although you didn't understand the situation, being able to attend school was a good thing.】
【So you swore in your heart that you would seize the opportunity to study hard, strive to pass the provincial exams or even the imperial exams in the future, and become a freeloader who could take shelter under the banner of the Great Ming... Yes, a freeloader.】
【You didn't want to be an incorruptible official or a virtuous minister, nor did you want to be a corrupt one. You had no desire to plead for the people or lead an uprising, because under the rule of the invincible and brutal God Emperor, rebelling was clearly a dead end, and even virtuous ministers couldn't escape having their homes confiscated or being exiled. Corrupt officials were comfortable, but you didn't want to be one... With "Liang" (Good) in your name, you were indeed not a black-hearted villain.】
【Therefore, you only sought to survive in the Great Ming, without seeking great achievements. Being a freeloader who drifted through the imperial court and living out this unexpected life well was your highest pursuit!】
【It's just a pity that your destiny was destined not to be ordinary, whether in reality or in the simulation...】
【Only a few days after entering school, before you could even begin to show the precocity of a transmigrator, a piece of news had already spread!】
【"Three-year-old student Zhou Liang is eloquent, composing an essay in public on his first day of school; though the words were childish, the sentiment was true!"】
【Your master, who was also the deputy head of the school, loudly promoted your "Grandpa God Emperor Strangles One Hundred Thousand Rebel Raiders with a Hemp Rope" throughout the entire school!】
【Soon, your essay and the name "Child Prodigy" spread throughout the school, and even the head teacher praised your gratitude-filled essay in public!】
【Then, somehow, your reputation spread further and higher, from the school to the county magistrate's ears, and from the magistrate to the prefect's ears, the process being incredibly smooth...】
【In the end, the prefect awarded you five hundred taels of silver and called you the "Prodigy of Northern Shaanxi"... The prefect then issued an order: From then on, all government schools in the prefecture were to add an extra extracurricular text that must be memorized and recited in full!】
【That text was: "Grandpa God Emperor Strangles One Hundred Thousand Rebel Raiders with a Hemp Rope"!】
【For a time, students across the prefecture were curiously asking who this "Prodigy Zhou Liang" was...】
【You, inexplicably, became famous...】
【...】
【You sat in your master's study, staring blankly at your master's wide grin, and the one hundred taels of silver notes and the commendation letter personally written by the prefect on the table.】
【"Disciple, these thirty taels of silver notes and the prefect's commendation letter are yours... Take them back and give them to your father. Whatever you want to eat or play with, just have him buy it for you."】
【Your master smiled as he pushed the thirty taels and the letter toward you. Then, as you watched in a daze, he stretched out his tangible hand, grabbed the remaining seventy taels of silver notes, and refined them instantly...】
【"Remember, this is a secret between the two of us, you cannot tell anyone else, including your father and mother... Do you understand?"】
【He remained smiling, looking so gentle, yet you felt an inexplicable chill...】
【"Yes, Master!"】
【You finally understood, so you bowed obediently, then carefully tucked away the silver notes and the letter.】
【In an instant, the chill subsided, as if it had only been a hallucination, and there was only the warmth between master and disciple.】
【"You truly are a clever child!"】
【He did not stint on his praise, then patted your head and laughed: "Do not let your master down. As a well-known prodigy in the prefecture, you will have many such opportunities in the future..."】
【"Yes, Master, I understand!"】
【...】