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

Chapter 19 The So-called Thief

【You successfully met Li Laiheng.】

[And when you sit in front of him, you find that he is surprisingly calm, without any of the anger, fear, timidity, anxiety, etc. that you expected...]

【Dormammu, I'm here to negotiate! 】

To avoid unnecessary complications, you told him your purpose right from the start: "I'm here to negotiate..."

"We can discuss the negotiations later... How's your report going?"

The old man waved his hand, interrupting you, and asked you with a smile, his eyes revealing unconcealed curiosity.

You were about to get straight to the point, but he unexpectedly asked you a question first. This caught you off guard, even though you were so focused on negotiating. "You knew about my report?"

"Of course we know. Your master went to your house upon his return and told you he was severing his master-disciple relationship with you because you were so presumptuous as to want to report the provincial examination... We happened to see it."

Li Laiheng's laughter leaves you even more puzzled: "So, you already knew I failed the exam? Then why didn't you keep your promise..."

[According to the agreement between the two parties, if you fail the exam, they will kill your entire family to vent their anger, but now...]

"Do you really believe it?"

Li Laiheng stroked his beard and smiled, "Although I'm not a good person, I wouldn't force a five-year-old to take the imperial examination... What decent child at five years old would take the imperial examination?"

"I said that to trick you!"

【you:……】

【You: Huh?】

【Are you trying to trick me?!】

[For a moment, you were completely stunned...]

what? !

Not only was the simulated "Zhou Liang" dumbfounded, but even the real Zhou Liang was stunned:

"No...what's going on? Didn't Li Laiheng threaten to kill me before? How did he become...a scammer now?"

What kind of Ming Dynasty version of telecom scam?! How come I didn’t know you were scamming me?
"But... if I really follow what he said, it seems to be true. A normal five-year-old child would definitely not be able to pass the imperial examination. If someone forces someone to take the exam like this, unless they really want me dead, then they are definitely committing fraud..."

Zhou Liang's mouth twitched:
"So... this Old Deng didn't actually want to kill me? Then what exactly is he trying to do..."

Li Laiheng's confusing behavior made Zhou Liang, who always regarded himself as a veteran, feel a bit overwhelmed for a moment...

“Although you acted like an ordinary kid when we first met, hugging my thighs and crying and begging for mercy, I could tell right away that you were something special!”

Li Laiheng laughed and said, "What normal four-year-old has such a sharp mind? On the one hand, you beg me for mercy, and on the other hand, you put all the blame on your master, saying that they bought your title and that they had written your essay in advance..."

"The key is that you not only shirk responsibility, but you also reveal their entire scheme and purpose. You clearly know they're using you as a pawn to gain fame and fortune, and you understand the complexities involved..."

"With such a powerful brain, can this be a normal doll?"

He sighed in amazement, as if he had been holding back these words for a long time: "In short, it's not that your acting is bad, but that your acting is too good, so good that it doesn't match your age..."

【you:……】

You then realize that even though you're trying your best to act like a child who's afraid of bad guys and knows everything when facing them, it's hard for an adult to conceal their meticulous logic no matter how hard they try.

Normal children can't say those words at all. When the bad guys ask them some out-of-scope questions, they just cry and wet their pants...

So in Li Laiheng's eyes at the time, you were probably just a replica of Conan. Your body might have shrunk, but your mind was still sharp... A child's body, adult logic, two completely unrelated things forced together, it would be strange if Li Laiheng didn't become suspicious!

[After figuring out the trick, you can't help but look bitter: This is called being too clever, being too smart. The better the acting, the worse the acting...]

[And Li Laiheng seemed to be a chatterbox, and his mouth was opened up, and he continued to talk non-stop.]

"So I was puzzled at the time: How could such a strange child exist? Could it be a ghost or something like that?"

"So I decided to give you a test... I deliberately gave you an impossible task: to pass the imperial examination within a year, and then to assassinate the governor... I also threatened you: if you fail, your entire family's lives will be in danger!"

"If you were a ghost or god, then since you were able to pass the examination to become a scholar, you might also be able to pass the examination to become a juren... Or you could use your ghostly powers to kill me..."

He couldn't help but laugh, "You actually passed the exam!"

"Am I right? A ghost that has taken over another's body!"

【you:……】

[His amazing and imaginative theory will leave you dumbfounded: How can it be like this? ]

[Although you're not a ghost or god, you're indeed a reincarnated time traveler. In a sense, he actually guessed it right...]

[But you're still confused: "Why do you think I'm a ghost? What if I'm really a once-in-a-millennium child prodigy?"]

【"intuition."】

Li Laiheng laughed from ear to ear: "After all, if there really are true gods like the Divine Emperor who have returned from the dead, then why can't there be other ghosts and gods who possess and regenerate?"

[“Besides, doesn’t your reaction now prove that you are truly a ghost…”] [You:…]

[I had planned everything, but I hadn't anticipated that Old Deng was such a superstitious person. Whenever he was undecided, he would blame ghosts and gods. As a result, he really got lucky... Or maybe it can't be called superstition. After all, there was the true god, the Divine Emperor, as a precedent. For an old man who had experienced what happened back then, it would be hard not to think in this direction...]

【You, it's not unfair that you were exposed. 】

But you still don't understand: "If I were truly a normal person, how would I respond to your temptation? What's a normal child's reaction?"

You decided to seek the advice so that you can disguise yourself more convincingly in the future.

Li Laiheng laughed: "I knew you'd ask that...Okay, I'll tell you."

"A normal child faced with this dilemma would either make up his mind and report the incident to the authorities without caring about the consequences, or... or simply accept his fate and wait for death."

"If you choose to report me, I will kill your entire family and then commit suicide. This will be a way of honoring the spirit of King Chuang!"

"And if you accept your fate and wait for death, then I'll pretend nothing happened. At most, I'll criticize you for slandering King Chuang. As long as you mend your ways, I'll continue to live in seclusion and not get involved in worldly affairs."

【“Finally, you passed the exam…”】

【you:……】

Zhou Liang: ...

"This is really..."

Zhou Liang's mouth twitched:

What does it mean to be too clever by one's own cleverness? This is what it means to be too clever by one's own cleverness!

After all this time, it turned out they were just trying to conduct an experiment and had no intention of killing him. He was the one who overcomplicated the situation, using adult logic to solve elementary school problems...

"But then again, why didn't he kill me first? Wasn't he very angry about those articles criticizing Li Zicheng?"

Zhou Liang pondered this question over and over, but still couldn't understand it. It was clearly just a matter of a knife, but there were so many twists and turns...

You think so too!

"Why don't you want to kill me? You clearly..."

Li Laiheng finally grew serious. He said in a deep voice, "Boy, what do you think of our army? Do you really think we would slaughter innocent people at will, as the Ming court fabricated?"

"If we were truly a band of evildoers, were the people of the land fools? Why did the people surrender wherever we attacked?"

"Admittedly, our army is not without flaws, and we have indeed harmed innocent people. However, we, the elite soldiers surrounding the King of Rebellion, always remember the oath we swore when we started the uprising."

"We must eliminate corrupt officials, punish landlords and gentry, abolish excessive taxes, and ensure peace for all people!"

"We will kill those princes and royal family members raised like fat pigs by the Guangming Dynasty. We will drag them out of the magnificent palace pig pens and chop off their heads in front of the people they prey on! We will cook them together with Prince Fu!"

"We will also destroy the Jiannu, chop off the heads of these man-eating wild boars, and cook them all in the same pot with the Zhu Ming pigs!"

"What's the point of a Fu Lu Banquet? A whole pig banquet is the ultimate delicacy!"

He seemed to have regained the passion of the past, unconsciously clenching his dry fists, staring at you with eyes that seemed to be burning with fire, making you dare not look directly at him!

At this moment, you're inexplicably moved: They... are truly not the kind of army you imagined. Compared to the plundering feudal armies of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Li Chuang's elite troops are actually much simpler. They truly have ideals and a military spirit. It's a pity...

You sighed, "I believe you."

【Then, you revealed everything you had experienced before and after the provincial examination, without hiding anything.】

Seeing you start talking about these things, Li Laiheng temporarily put aside his former enthusiasm and listened with great interest, as if he were listening to a novel told by a storyteller...

"So you came to me this time just to ask me to write letters to those corrupt officials as Li Laiheng to serve as evidence for false accusations?"

You nodded, anticipation in your eyes.

He laughed heartily: "Alright! I accept! From the provincial governor to the prefect and county magistrate, I won't let any of them go!"

[Hearing that he agreed, you finally breathed a sigh of relief...]

[However, there's always been a question lingering in your heart. You never had the chance to ask it before, but now you finally have the chance... So, out of curiosity, you ask him one last question.]

"Are you really Li Laiheng, the great-nephew of Li Zicheng?"

Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile meaningfully.

[“So what if it is? So what if it isn’t?”]

“Whether I am or not, I must be, and can only be… because everyone wants me to be, and I want me to be too.”

"If my life can truly be exchanged for the deaths and injuries of so many Ming officials... then, treat me as such."

[He smiled and began to write the letter. You pondered these words beside him, lost in thought...]

……

(End of this chapter)