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

Chapter 28: Quack! It’s a lunatic!
"There are actually honest officials in the Ming Dynasty?!"

Hearing the words of the new Governor Ning Bufan, Zhou Liang felt as if he were in a dream.

Seriously, this is simply a strange story!
Because whether in his own fifty-plus years of life or in the twenty-plus years of his "other self," all he saw were insects, and no honest officials at all...

In fact, it is normal that there are no honest officials in the Ming Dynasty, because greed is human nature. Everyone has desires in their hearts, but some people can control them while others cannot.

And when the benefits become great to a certain extent, most people cannot restrain themselves... For example, the officials of the Ming Dynasty, as the real superiors whose power and strength are absolutely above ordinary people, it is normal for them to become arrogant.

Secondly, the officialdom was plagued by corruption. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, corruption was a serious problem. Zhu Yuanzhang even instituted the punishment of "skinning and stuffing with straw," but it still failed to reverse the corruption. It could be said that in the Ming Dynasty, being corrupt was considered normal, and not being corrupt would lead to being ostracized.

With such an atmosphere, how many honest officials can emerge? It's just a matter of whether one is greedy or not.

Finally, and most importantly:
The Divine Emperor failed to supervise effectively!

To stop corruption, of course, we need an effective anti-corruption mechanism to deter corrupt officials and serve as a warning to other officials.

But the Divine Emperor... He seemed to have been stimulated by what happened back then, so he was full of distrust towards all the officials in the court. The only criterion he used for officials was not their abilities, but their loyalty!
As long as you're loyal, ability isn't a big deal. So a large number of demons and monsters took advantage of the situation, roaring "loyalty" and joining the army, causing chaos in the court...

Although the Divine Emperor has eliminated many pure rebels over the past few decades, this force is still tightly condensed around the Divine Emperor, regarding him as the only main core... They are truly loyal, so loyal that the Divine Emperor is reluctant to get rid of them.

On this basis, even if they committed corruption and illegal activities in the local area, the Divine Emperor would always turn a blind eye and would not arrest them as long as the matter was not serious.

As the personal guards of the Emperor, the Jinyiwei naturally understood the Divine Emperor's intentions, so when they were conducting inspections in various places, they generally didn't take any part in the matter...

It was precisely because of this that Zhou Liang was reluctant to let the simulated character report the provincial governor to the Jinyiwei for corruption.
They are wearing the same pair of pants!

If it weren't for the fact that the severity of this burglar incident had already exceeded the upper limit of what the Divine Emperor and the Imperial Guards could tolerate, and that reporting it would surely cause a huge uproar, Zhou Liang wouldn't have been willing to become a suicide truck...

And now, in this hellishly dark officialdom, a new governor who looks like an honest official has suddenly appeared. This is simply a green leaf among thousands of flowers, and Zhou Liang couldn't help but be surprised!
"An honest official...is he pretending to be so?"

Zhou Liang couldn't help but speculate darkly:

"Perhaps he saw that I was too old and no longer worth harvesting, so he took advantage of the situation and sold me out... This way, not only did he not have to pay anything, but he also received my gratitude..."

"Just like he said, what official wouldn't want to build connections? If I really accepted his favor, wouldn't he have brought me to his side?"

Well, although it is not good to make random assumptions about others, it is really hard to believe that Zhou Liang is a good official.

"As for whether he's a good official or not... it's none of my business anyway. The most important thing for me right now in this simulation is to quickly acquire genuine transcendental knowledge, establish a complete worldview, and then take the imperial examination... Whether this governor is an honest official or a corrupt one, it's none of my business for now..."

After re-determining the future development direction, Zhou Liang calmed down and continued the simulation...

……

You left his study with mixed emotions, ending the private meeting between the top scholar and the governor...

[No matter what, you finally passed the exam.]

[And since you've already passed the imperial examination, it's natural for you to collect the prizes that are your due...]

[The next day, the "Scholars' Banquet" hosted by the Governor officially began!]

More than twenty newly minted scholars from across Shaanxi Province attended the banquet in high spirits. They were all the province's proudest children, with bright futures ahead of them, and naturally, they all had beaming smiles on their faces.

After confirming that you are this year's top scorer, everyone greets you one after another, their faces filled with respect!

They must admire you. After all, you're a famous person: famous in northern Shaanxi at the age of three, passed the imperial examination at the age of four, and aimed for the title of Juren at the age of five... And then you failed the provincial examinations for eight consecutive years, yet you still took the exam every time... What a talent! What perseverance! Of course they know!

You greeted them with a smile, and gradually began chatting about the classics and eight-legged essays... Your profound knowledge made these "latecomers" (latecomers) around the average age of twenty-six or twenty-seven exclaim in admiration. Those who had initially been somewhat dissatisfied with your victory as the top scholar were now truly convinced...

[Besides their admiration, they naturally respect you and address each other as "classmate"... A small group has been established!]

"After all, the Ming Dynasty was full of local factions. Since you were both candidates from Shaanxi and passed the exam in the same year, you are natural partners. If you manage your relationship well, you can become a formidable political force..."

After a while, the newly appointed Governor Ning Bufan also arrived. Everyone greeted him respectfully. He was also very happy and asked everyone to take a seat.

【So, a banquet began! 】

[But actually, no one had much of a taste for food, because everyone present knew there were other highlights today...] [As expected!]

[“Everyone!”]

As the banquet was about to end, the Governor suddenly became serious: "Since you are all candidates of the Ming Dynasty, you naturally know about the matter of divine power..."

"Now, I will grant you divine power, but you must be mentally prepared... The divine power originates from His Majesty and possesses inherent divine might. Therefore, anyone who accepts this power will be drawn into a world of illusion."

[“The illusion depicts the scene of Your Majesty slaughtering the rebels. Anyone who sees it will be terrified by the divine might. If you can endure it, the divine power will be at your disposal!”]

[“However, if you can’t bear it…”]

He suddenly paused, "Then I'm afraid you'll have no chance of pursuing this path... I'm not afraid to tell you, in the Ming Dynasty, you may not be knowledgeable, but you absolutely cannot be unable to withstand divine power. The foundation of the imperial court lies in divine power. If you can't withstand it, you won't be able to serve as an official..."

[As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked: Compared to the previous test paper, the test before them was actually the real "provincial examination"!]

[If you fail, not only will you be cut off from official careers, but you will also be cut off from becoming extraordinary. No one can bear this outcome...]

“Okay, let’s get started now.”

The Governor spoke in a deep voice, then waved his hand. Over twenty rays of golden light, as dazzling as the sun, rose from the sky. Then, under your expectant yet anxious gazes, they landed directly on the heads of each candidate...

[In an instant, a familiar yet unfamiliar illusion appeared before your eyes.]

[A giant golden figure towering above the heavens, civilians crying and shouting outside the ruins, a destroyed city, a rising mushroom cloud, and the toppled flags with the characters "Chuang" and "Xi"...]

The illusion you had when the magistrate bestowed your divine powers has reappeared... but compared to the blurry and fleeting last time, this one is noticeably more real and clear, and even lasts quite a while.

You can clearly see the fear and confusion on everyone's face, as well as the flesh and corpses among the ruins. The blood, internal organs, limbs... every detail is incredibly real!

[But somehow, you, who should be afraid, now feel not only no fear, but anger and pity instead.]

You glared hatefully at the tyrannical God-Emperor in the sky, then rushed to the ruins to rescue the injured. Although you knew these were all illusions, under an inexplicable mental compulsion, you still wanted to do your best to save them...

After a moment, you opened your eyes.

[And the moment you open your eyes, the newfound divine power within you cheers you up: Too strong!]

[The power of this divine power far surpasses the one the magistrate gave you back then. The difference between the two is more than a hundred times...]

"You're the first one to wake up among this group of newcomers!"

Before you could fully appreciate the power of these divine beings, a voice of exclamation caught your attention. Turning around, you saw it was the Governor.

He smiled and said, "I was right about you. Not only are you well-educated, but you've also adapted to divine power so quickly... You truly are a genius!"

“Unlike them…”

[As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh and pointed to the newly-appointed scholars in the distance who were still in the illusion...]

["Quack! His Majesty the God Emperor is victorious!"]

"His Majesty the Divine Emperor has knocked the intruders to the ground. He must be forcing them into slavery!"

"Quack! Your Majesty! We all respect you!!!"

【"loyalty!"】

【…】

【you:???】

[I’m so awesome! I have a crazy mouth!!!]

……

(End of this chapter)