Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Wow, this lake really stretches as far as the eye can see!"

"Don't even mention this lake, look at this boat, how big and sturdy it is! It's much bigger than the boat we took here!"

"That explains why Liangshan was able to withstand so many government troops' encirclements and suppressions. How could they possibly fight against such a natural fortified waterway?"

……

After registering on the shore and boarding the ship, the students boarded the large ship of the Dayi Navy. It was their first time visiting Liangshan, and they were curious about everything there.

The warships of the Dayi navy, in particular, exceeded many people's imaginations; they had never seen such good ships in their lives!

"Brother Qin, what's wrong? You seemed a bit absent-minded just now."

Qin Hui stood quietly by the boat, lost in thought.

"No, nothing. It's just that seeing the magnificent scenery of this lake has given me great expectations for the future."

Qin Hui gave a plausible reason.

His companions had no suspicions, because almost all of them were like that.

But Qin Hui kept thinking about the young general from earlier. Sometimes he trusted his intuition very much. For example, he came to Dayi for the imperial examination because his intuition told him that he would have a good result here.

But the young general I just saw—my intuition clearly tells me that he is a threat to me!

No, I need to know who that person is beforehand so I can be prepared.

After making up his mind, Qin Hui took the initiative to approach the soldiers on duty at the bed and started chatting with them casually. And it has to be said, with Qin Hui's appearance and his mouth, quite a few people were indeed willing to talk to him.

"Gentlemen, judging from your accents, are you all from Huangzhou?"

After chatting for a while, seeing that the time was ripe, Qin Hui decided to take the next step to get closer to them.

"Young man, do you know Huangzhou? Could you be from Huangzhou as well?"

Those soldiers were indeed from Huangzhou. Hearing Qin Hui say this, they became interested. After all, Qin Hui had come to participate in the imperial examination. If he passed, they would all be from Huangzhou, and everyone would be happy!

“I was born in Huangzhou, so I am naturally a native of Huangzhou. Although I later followed my father to Jiangning, I still yearn for Huangzhou.”

Qin Hui's words evoked a sense of感慨 (gan3 kai3, deep emotion) among the Huangzhou soldiers; this was indeed a true Huangzhou native.

"Young man, you are carrying the honor of Huangzhou in this imperial examination. Do your best, and if you pass, we can show off to others in the future."

The soldiers from Huangzhou patted Qin Hui on the shoulder to encourage him. After all, this was the first imperial examination in Dayi, and they would be very happy if someone from their hometown passed.

"Thank you all for your kind words. With your help, I feel much more confident. However, I would like to ask, if one passes the imperial examination, is becoming a county magistrate the only option?"

Qin Hui asked politely and respectfully.

"What, young man, do you perhaps wish to join the army?"

Everyone looked at him and laughed:

“Young brother, our Dayi started out with martial arts, and there are countless talented people in the army. We are only lacking in scholars. If you really pass the imperial examination, it would be more unsuitable for you to join the army.”

"Brothers, you may not know this, but although I am a scholar, I have always admired young heroes like Huo Biaoyao. When I was a child, I also dreamed of going into battle to fight the enemy and reclaim Yanyun!"

"But I didn't learn martial arts later, which has always been a regret in my heart. This time, our Dayi has taken back Yanyun, which can be considered as fulfilling my childhood dream. But I still think that I can go to the army if I have the opportunity. Especially when I boarded the ship just now, I saw a young general. His heroic figure immediately reminded me of Huo Biaoyao back then!"

Qin Hui delivered a vivid and moving performance, portraying someone who had longed for a military career since childhood. It must be said that he had a talent for acting, and the soldiers around him nodded frequently in agreement.

"Haha, you're talking about General Yue, right? Then you're right. The Prince is indeed training General Yue to be the future Marquis of Champion. His men are all elites, and they were all handpicked by him from the reserve troops."

A soldier spoke to Qin Hui.

"He's so young and already a general who can choose his own men?"

Qin Hui feigned surprise.

"Young brother, you don't know this, but General Yue is a young hero of my Dayi, and also the prince's junior brother. How could he not be favored?"

"Then, do I have a chance to join his ranks?"

Qin Hui continued to ask.

"Hmm... it's hard to say, but young man, listen to your older brother, do well in the imperial examination. If you pass this time, you will be the magistrate of Dayi. The prince said that no matter where you are, as long as you have the people of Dayi in your heart and do your job for them in a down-to-earth manner, you are a good official."

One soldier shook his head, feeling that a scholar like Qin Hui shouldn't be in the army.

“That’s right, young brother. You’re a scholar, you know more than us. Let us go first when it comes to fighting. If one day we’re all gone, and you still yearn for the battlefield, then tell all the soldiers of Huangzhou for us: We, the men of Huangzhou, have no cowards! We are all heroes!”

"Yes, young man, we'll fight the battles, but governing the country will depend on you. You must study hard and serve the people well, so as not to live up to the reputation of being a fine young man of Huangzhou!"

"What you brothers say is true, I'll remember that!"

Qin Hui had basically found out the information he wanted, so he immediately put on a very sensible appearance and retreated back to the group of students.

"Brother Qin, you were chatting quite animatedly with those soldiers just now. What were you talking about?"

As soon as he returned, someone asked him what he had said, but Qin Hui naturally wouldn't tell them everything:

"We were just chatting casually; they're all from my hometown."

"I see. Sigh, I wonder if any of these people are from my hometown. If so, I'll go and chat with them and find out more about Dayi!"

"That's right, Brother Qin, since you have a fellow townsman, why don't you go and ask him how the imperial examination in Dayi is going to be conducted this time?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Qin, why don't you go and ask? That way we'll feel more at ease."

……

Qin Hui did not agree to the requests of the crowd. After listening patiently, he stood up and pressed his hands down, signaling everyone to calm down.

"I understand your feelings, fellow students, but I believe that since we are already here, we should trust Dayi and trust that Prince Ren will give us a satisfactory explanation. As for gathering information, I think that with your talents, there is no need for that! Conducting the imperial examination with no prior knowledge is the only way to truly demonstrate our abilities, isn't it?"

"Fellow students, Prince Ren is watching us closely. We can't afford to lose our morale before we do! Does the lack of news mean you're all going to be afraid?"

Qin Hui's words calmed everyone down again. After thinking about it, everyone realized that Qin Hui's words made sense! So everyone thanked Qin Hui and praised his attitude.

The naval soldiers on the ship were also deeply impressed by Qin Hui after witnessing this scene. They felt that this man must be a talented person, so they immediately went to check his registration information.

"Give this man's information to the brothers in the Sky Curtain Army in a moment, and have them investigate his background and report it to the Prince, saying... he's a talent."

……

PS: As for Qin Hui, everyone knows what I mean. There's no such thing as whitewashing him. The main reason is that I didn't want to create a villain myself, so I just used an existing one.