We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Chapter 947 The Top Scholar Announces Good News (Part 1)

At this moment, Lu Wen, the magistrate of Xiaoyi County, felt a chill running down his neck and his hands and feet were numb.

Everyone says that the county magistrate is the ruler of a hundred li (a unit of distance), and his word is law within that area. Lu Wen thought so too.

He had been operating in Xiaoyi County for ten years, and had already tamed all the officials, gentry, and wealthy families in the county, weaving a tight-knit network of relationships. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he could control everything.

The sky over Xiaoyi County belongs to Lu Wen!

Even if the emperor's decree reaches Xiaoyi County, it depends on whether Lu Wen is willing to carry it out.

He was born into a branch of the Lu family, and the family's maneuvering placed him in this position, leaving him to fend for himself.

His family didn't value him, so he remained in this position as county magistrate for ten years without moving, and he was happy to be a local tyrant there.

He naturally knew about the news that Jin had surrendered to the new emperor last year, and he had also heard rumors that the new emperor had a rather negative view of powerful clans.

But so what? Of the thousands of counties in the country, more than 90% of the county magistrates are from their powerful families. Can His Majesty dismiss them all?

Even if the sky falls, there will always be someone tall to hold it up. As long as the master family is still around, his position as county magistrate will remain very secure!

Just yesterday, he took his tenth concubine, a concubine's daughter presented by a wealthy merchant in the county who was trying hard to curry favor with him. She was only sixteen years old and so beautiful that you could squeeze water out of her.

After a night of passionate lovemaking, he was too lazy to even go to the county government office today, so he simply stayed in his newly acquired outer residence and didn't get up.

To my utter surprise, I was awakened by my trusted advisor's urgent knocking on the door just as dawn was breaking.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Lu Wen was forcibly dragged out of his boudoir, his head feeling like it was filled with mush, dizzy and throbbing.

Now that I'm over thirty, my energy is waning. Last night, I only managed to get through it thanks to a secret tonic. Right now, I'm feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and weak all over.

But the fact that he was able to stay in that position for ten years shows that he has exceptional qualities and knows how to prioritize.

He suppressed his rage, dressed with the help of his concubine, and summoned his trusted aide in a hoarse voice:

"What's the panic! Is the sky falling down?! Tell me slowly, what happened?"

The clerk's face turned ashen, and his voice trembled as he cried out, "Your Excellency, there... there's an army coming from the south, and they've already... they've already reached the county government office!"

"What?!" Lu Wen was both shocked and furious, his sleepiness instantly vanishing. "Are you all dead?! How could you let the army into the city?! What are the soldiers guarding the city for?!"

The clerk was so aggrieved he was almost in tears: "We couldn't stop them, Your Excellency! There were over two hundred men, all fully armored cavalry! The murderous aura, the sheer number of them... the city gate guards didn't even dare to ask a single question, they just let them in!"

Don't be fooled by Li Che's usual tactics of deploying thousands or even tens of thousands of cavalry in battles; those are battlefields of national significance.

In daily life, a few hundred cavalrymen would be a huge, imposing sight; ordinary people simply couldn't resist that visual impact.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wen's mind became even more confused.

What are the troops doing in Xiaoyi County, this godforsaken, impoverished place?

This place is located on the southwestern edge of the Taiyuan Basin, and it lacks everything.

No one wanted to seize it during wartime; it has always been a place that military strategists did not contend for.

Despite his doubts, he dared not be negligent.

He hurriedly put on his official robe, his hat askew, and rushed to the county government office.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the county government office, he gasped in shock.

Sure enough, over a hundred soldiers stood solemnly in the open space in front of the government office.

These soldiers were completely different from the soldiers he usually saw; they were all burly and had sharp eyes.

Dressed in uniform black armor, with bulging gunpowder pouches hanging from their waists and gleaming muskets slung across their backs!

What's even stranger is that everyone is covered by a bright red robe, creating an eerie blend of somber atmosphere and festive color that sends chills down your spine.

The leader, also dressed in a scarlet civil official's robe, sat upright on a magnificent chestnut horse, his hand resting on a sword.

Beneath the robes, the outlines of bulging muscles could be vaguely seen; he looked more like a military general dressed as a civil official than a civil official.

Lu Wen's heart pounded wildly, and he scrambled forward.

Ignoring all official formalities, he knelt down directly, his voice trembling: "This humble official, Lu Wen, the magistrate of Xiaoyi County, pays his respects to Your Excellency. I am late in welcoming you, and I beg Your Excellency's forgiveness. May I ask what brings Your Excellency to my humble county?"

The official in the scarlet robe glanced at him, his gaze like a blade scraping across Lu Wen, sending chills down his spine.

However, the other party spoke in a relatively calm tone: "Magistrate Lu, there is no need to panic. I am not here to punish you, but to bring good news."

"Report...report good news?" Lu Wen dazedly got up, his mind a complete mess.

Good news? What good news?

He braced himself and cautiously asked, "May I ask, sir... what good news has come your way?"

The official in crimson robes said calmly, "I am Liu Dafeng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. I have come to Zhangjia Village in Xiaoyi County on His Majesty's orders to deliver the good news to the newly appointed top scholar, Zhang Qian!"

Liu Dafeng was one of the wandering knights who came to join Li Che along with Ying Bu.

This person and Ying Bu took completely different paths. He served as an envoy to the Mohe people with Zhang Fan and made meritorious contributions, and from then on became an official under the Ministry of Rites.

Although it did not have the illustrious merit of Ying Bu's service to the emperor, the position of official in charge of rites was, after all, a civil official's path, and the most prestigious among civil officials. It was really hard to say which one had a brighter future.

"Vice Minister of Rites...the newly appointed top scholar..."

These two words each exploded once in Lu Wen's mind.

Vice Minister of Rites, a high-ranking official of the fourth rank!

For an ordinary person, meeting them even once would be an act of great merit accumulated over ten lifetimes, yet they only came to... announce good news?!

And the newly appointed top scholar actually came from this small Xiaoyi County?!

Lu Wen had naturally heard about the imperial examinations, but he had never taken them too seriously.

In his view, even if those poor students passed the exam, what difference would it make? Could they compare to the rich heritage accumulated by his aristocratic family over thousands of years?

But it wasn't until he saw this scene with his own eyes that he realized just how much importance His Majesty attached to this imperial examination.

Those who came to deliver the good news were all high-ranking officials of the fourth rank; how glorious must the top scholar himself be in the capital?

Could he be a guest of honor of the emperor, a rising star in the capital?

And there's Zhangjia Village!

It was the poorest and most remote village in the county, yet a golden phoenix had flown out of there, producing a top scholar!

Lu Wen didn't even know that there were any educated people in Zhangjia Village.

Although Lu Wen was inwardly turmoil, he dared not show the slightest negligence and quickly put on a smile: "So it's Lord Liu! My apologies for my rudeness!"

"The top scholar comes from our county, which is a great honor for the whole county! Please wait a moment, sir. I will immediately gather the three shifts of yamen runners to lead the way for you, with gongs and drums beating, and take you to Zhangjia Village in glory!"

“There’s no need for that. I have my own band of musicians with me.” Liu Dafeng raised his hand to stop him. “The people from the county government have other uses. Find a conspicuous and spacious place in the city and level it.”

"Later, I will personally select a site to erect a monument for the top scholar to commemorate his honor. You will now come with me to Zhangjia Village."

Erect...erect a monument?!

Lu Wen's eyes instantly turned red, and his heart ached terribly.

Damn! What a grand display!

I've served as the county magistrate here for ten years, and I haven't dared to erect a monument for myself. What merit do I, a scholar who rose from humble beginnings, possess?!

But he dared not show it on his face, and could only repeatedly reply, "Yes, yes, yes, I will obey your orders and make the arrangements immediately."

Led by Liu Dafeng, the group set off in a grand procession towards Zhangjia Village.

When we arrived at the village entrance, it was already packed with villagers who had come after hearing the news.

In Zhangjia Village, a poor and remote place, the biggest news on a daily basis is who lost a chicken or who sold their land to marry off their daughter.

Seeing a high-ranking official from the capital arrive, accompanied by a county magistrate and so many soldiers in gleaming armor, looking like celestial warriors, was a novel experience for him.

Almost the entire village, young and old, men and women, came out and crowded by the roadside, discussing the matter.

The gossipy women who had argued with Zhang's father earlier were also squeezed at the back of the crowd, craning their necks to look around, and whispering amongst themselves.

Zhang's father did not come.

Taking advantage of the commotion, he thought he should hurry to the fields to finish the rest of the work so as to avoid running into those unpleasant people and things and suffering for no reason.

But then a buzzing sound came from the crowd:

"What happened? Why are there so many government troops here?"

"I don't know! This is even bigger than when the county magistrate came to provide disaster relief back then!"

"Could it be that someone in our village has broken the law and they've come to arrest them?"

"It's hard to say. Look at those soldiers, they're carrying muskets, it's quite intimidating..."

"Could it be that there's been a bandit outbreak? Didn't they say the imperial court was cracking down on bandits recently?"

Just then, Liu Dafeng dismounted.

Looking at the impoverished village before him, he couldn't help but sigh, deeply feeling Zhang Qian's hardships.

He also came from the mountains and knew how difficult it was to climb up from the bottom.

If it weren't for a burning sense of justice, who would become a wandering knight-errant? And what good person would become a wandering knight-errant?

Zhang Zhuangyuan's situation was even more difficult than his own. Although the wandering knights were not considered respectable, at least they had a group of companions to accompany them when they traveled around the country.

Zhang Zhuangyuan traveled and studied alone, and over the years he has traveled all over the country, experiencing countless dangers. This courage alone is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Thinking of this, Liu Dafeng gathered his inner energy and spoke:

"Good news! Your esteemed Master Zhang, whose personal name is Qian, has achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination of the first year of the Tianxing era, becoming the top scholar!"

"His Majesty's grace is boundless; I hereby report this joyous news—"

As the sound faded, an eerie silence fell over the village entrance.

The people looked at each other, their faces full of confusion.

The Zhang family mansion? Master Zhang?

There are quite a few people with the surname Zhang in the village, but they are all a bunch of poor people. Which family has a "master"?

And what about the top scholar...? What is a top scholar? Is he higher than a county magistrate?

Seeing that no one responded, the scene became somewhat awkward and silent, and Liu Dafeng frowned slightly.

The county magistrate, Lu Wen, was getting anxious. If his superiors thought that the people under his jurisdiction were stupid and dull, wouldn't he lose face?

He quickly stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs in the local dialect:

"It's Zhang Qian! Is there a young man named Zhang Qian in your Zhangjia Village?"

The women hiding at the back of the crowd felt a sudden jolt in their hearts when they heard the name Zhang Qian.

broken!

Zhang Laonian's son... it seems... it seems his name is Zhang Qian!