Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 13 Preparing for the Provincial Examination
Is this...is there any choice?

Zhou Liang was speechless:

"Assassinating the Shaanxi Provincial Governor at the Juren Banquet... How could you, Li Laiheng, come up with such an idea? I wouldn't even dare to dream about such a thing, yet you're so bold as to say it!"

This is clearly asking too much!
First of all, your "other self" just passed the exam to become a scholar this year, but you want him to pass the exam to become a juren next year... Isn't this a joke? It's like a child prodigy descending to earth!

The second was to assassinate the Shaanxi Provincial Governor... What was a Shaanxi Provincial Governor? He was the most important official in Shaanxi, in charge of the province's administration and finances, a legitimate provincial governor. He was ranked "Second Rank" in the Ming Dynasty's nine-rank official system, directly under the command of the Divine Emperor himself!
This kind of important figure possessed more divine power than even the emperor's personal guards, and it was no problem for him to defeat a thousand people alone. Even when Zhou Liang's Pig Killing Society was at its peak, they didn't dare even look at such a figure, because if they looked any more, they would explode...

And now, you want me to assassinate him?
Isn't this just asking for death?
The key point is that after he sends it, the governor will definitely vent his anger on his family!

What? Lee Rae Hyung said he could help save his family?
Let him be bullshit! If he is so awesome, why is he hiding his head and showing his tail? Pure fools are here!

In short, if Zhou Liangzhen agreed to the assassination, then all ten or even nine of his clans would be in danger...

And the most frustrating thing is that the person entrusted with this series of SSS-level tasks, "Zhou Liang", has just turned four years old this year...

Four-year-old "Zhou Liang": Huh? You want me to take the Juren exam next year? And get a job as the Shaanxi Provincial Governor while I'm at it? Really?

Why don't you let me fight Ryoumen Sukuna?! Is there something wrong with you, Lee Rae Hyung?!

Moreover, this outrageous task cannot be refused. If you do, Li Laiheng will send you to reincarnation on the spot...

"If you agree, you'll die a year later. If you don't agree, then this day next year will be another anniversary of my death..."

Obviously, when both options were hopeless, Zhou Liang had no choice but to agree.

But Zhou Liang still couldn't help complaining:

"Although it's possible that this [Li Laiheng] is actually Li Zicheng's great-nephew, and the Chuang army's discipline is generally acceptable, but... a feudal army is a feudal army. As expected, we can't expect too much from them. They even betrayed innocent children..."

"Choose A!"

[If you chose option A, I agree to give you half a liter of purine. I only regret that I haven't met a wise leader. If you don't abandon me, I will be willing to serve you wholeheartedly!]

You decisively chose the option that would allow you to survive for now, and you prostrated yourself before Li Laiheng on the spot, helplessly stating: "To fulfill the general's ambition, I am willing to serve you at your service!"

Li Laiheng stopped pretending and threatened directly: "This is a secret between the two of us. You'd better not tell anyone... I know where your school is and where you live. You'd better remember it well, understand?"

【you:……】

【…】

The old man who called himself Li Laiheng got the answer he wanted, and the others finally left satisfied.

[But you dare not forget what he said, because you have a hunch that this group of Lao Deng, suspected to be the remnants of the Chuang army, has not gone far. Since they dared to let you go, it means that they can monitor your every move. Any attempt to report to the police will alert them, and you or your family will be harmed...]

[Once you are in my grasp, how can you escape? ]

[So, you can only listen to them obediently: No matter how invincible the Divine Emperor is, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. The bandit's broadsword is right before your eyes, and you... have no choice.]

[Besides, you actually want to test it yourself to see if the Ming Empire under the Divine Emperor is as unrivaled as your parents' stories say, in order to accumulate experience for overthrowing the Ming Dynasty in the future... Let's start with the Shaanxi Provincial Governor...]

[Of course, common people would almost never see a prominent figure like the Governor in their entire lives. Even scholars couldn't get a chance, and even Juren would struggle... For an average Juren, the only chance they'd get to see the Governor in their entire lives would be at the Juren banquet on the day they passed the provincial examination!]

[So if you want to obtain the minimum qualification to meet and assassinate the governor, you must first pass the imperial examination.]

[For this reason, you pleaded directly with your stunned master the next day: "Master, I want to take the imperial examination next year!"]

【Juren? 】

Even though your master has always wanted to train you to be a child prodigy and a cash cow for him, he was stunned after hearing your words... After a long moment, he shook his head.

"The provincial examination is unlike the county and prefectural examinations. Talented people from all over the province will compete with you for those few spots. Therefore, even experienced scholars with many years of experience will never pass the exam."

"Although you're a gifted prodigy, you're still too young and haven't studied long enough. How can you possibly win against those old hands?"

He comforted you in a rare moment: "You are gifted and young, and you will have countless opportunities in the future... Why rush?"

"Listen to me, Master. It's not too late to take the exam when you're a teenager. The most important thing for you now is to lay a solid foundation. When you took the exam for the scholar degree, you studied too fast and too narrowly. I only taught you what you needed for the exam... Now is the perfect time to start making up for it."

The Master grew increasingly delighted as he spoke: "I've already arranged the next plan for you. All you need to do is study and publish a few articles every now and then. You can either get a reward from the prefect or sell them to the public for copying... Earning a thousand taels of silver a year this easily, isn't that wonderful?"

"You make money, and I make money too. We can even kick out that bastard middleman, the County Magistrate, and grow our own business... We all have a bright future!"

You listened and thought this plan was great. If you didn't have a knife hanging over your head, you would probably agree to it. But now...

So you immediately shook your head: "Daga! Verbal wah-la!"

[Master:?] [In front of Master's bewildered question mark, you kowtowed several times, as serious as it could be.]

"Master, I hope you can understand me... I really want to improve!"

Master: …

【…】

[In the end, although your master didn't understand why you, at such a young age, were so determined to take the imperial examination next year, he couldn't persuade you and ultimately reluctantly agreed to your request.]

[From this day on, you officially begin learning all about the provincial examination at the county school...]

Although theoretically, you should be taught by a renowned teacher from the prefectural academy, your master thinks, "You're talking as if everyone has taken the provincial exam before!" I've taken the provincial exam for decades, and although I'm still a scholar, am I any less knowledgeable about the exam questions than those candidates?

[What famous teacher? Being a teacher is a famous teacher! ]

[Looking at him, who seems ordinary yet confident, you can't help but feel a little hopeless: He wasn't likely to pass the exam to begin with, and now he's probably not going to pass...]

【But no matter what, you still didn't give up! 】

[This is not only because the sword of the rebels is hanging over your head and your family's head, but also because you really want to use this opportunity to test the bottom line of the Ming Dynasty and see how capable an official of the rank of Governor is...]

【So time passed quickly.】

【…】

Time passed day by day. While you were diligently studying for the provincial examination, many changes were also happening outside.

[First, the prefect's reward has finally arrived. Just as you guessed, it's one thousand taels of silver!]

[However, unlike before, after this thousand taels of silver was divided up by the middlemen, there's still a full seven hundred taels left for you!]

[This is clearly a deliberate attempt by your master and the county magistrate to curry favor with you. After all, you were just a mere tool before, so giving you even one-tenth of the total was a huge favor. But now, you're the hottest and most sought-after "Shaanxi Prodigy," with a promising future.]

[As long as they aren't fools obsessed with money, they will definitely give you a raise, and these seven hundred taels of silver are just a token of their appreciation.]

You gladly accepted the money and let your parents use it to buy a house and land, so that they can live a good life. This is currently the only way you can repay their kindness in raising you...

【Secondly, the literary circles of northern Shaanxi gradually began to flourish with the rise of "democratic literature" and "democratic literature."】

It seems your success has spurred those downtrodden Shaanxi intellectuals, allowing them to see a shortcut to fame and fortune: writing poetry and essays denouncing Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong... And they've resorted to any means necessary, using every possible curse word and fabricating every possible unofficial history.

In just a few months, Chuang and Xian's reputations in their hometown of northern Shaanxi plummeted to rock bottom. The unofficial historical accusations against them were more numerous than any tyrant or traitor in ancient times, the kind that even the bamboo in Nanshan Mountain could not list...

"Li Zicheng's rebellion wasn't driven by famine or war, but... he was a traitor from the beginning!"

"Li Chuang was born in Li Jiqian's camp, a remnant of the Tanguts of Western Xia! The Tanguts have always hated the prosperity of the Han Chinese. They rebelled against the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty... They are a rebellious clan that only cares about the unrest in China. They rebelled because they couldn't bear to see the prosperity of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty!"

"That's not all! Li Zicheng rebelled against the Ming because he accepted 500,000 cattle from the Mongols! He was an external lackey sent by the Mongols specifically to destroy the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty!"

"The Mongols are undying in their determination to destroy the Ming Dynasty... What a sinister force! As expected of a nomadic people, their long-distance animal husbandry is truly exceptional!"

"That's not right, is it? I clearly heard that Li Zicheng was a Jurchen spy. He and Huang Taiji had an agreement to divide the Ming Dynasty together in the future... What? You don't believe it? If you don't believe me, just look at the time when Huang Taiji invaded the border!"

"Every time Li Zicheng was about to be killed, Huang Taiji would invade the border. When the main force of the Ming army was dispatched to resist, Li Zicheng would take the opportunity to escape and continue his rebellion! Otherwise, how could the Ming cavalry be defeated by Li Zicheng's mere peasants? It was all arranged between Huang Taiji and him!"

[“Well, that’s well-reasoned and convincing…”]

Soon, Li Zicheng was labeled a "remnant of the Tanguts," a "Mongol running dog," a "Jurchen spy," and other labels. No one would admit that he truly rebelled because he couldn't survive...

Even Li Zicheng was so miserable, not to mention Zhang Xianzhong. He was already a villain, and the unofficial history made him even more villainous: "killing 400 million people", "eating human flesh every meal", and even putting the whole body into a large millstone to grind it before eating, otherwise it would make your teeth ache...

[He's just a copy of Huang Chao! ]

【（Huang Chao: Why is there my business?）】

【（Li Zicheng: What can I say?）】

Zhang Xianzhong: Children, I have no objection.

【（Lao Aijia: Happy!）】

【…】

……

(End of this chapter)