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

Chapter 21 Die without Regrets

(The previous chapter was not very smooth, so I have made some changes. Please forgive me.)
After you've had a blast being a warrior, looking at the "spinning tops" scattered all over the floor, you'll feel like this is what a real man should be like!

[When awake, he holds the power of the world, while when drunk, he lies on the lap of a beauty? ]

[No, that's not what you're after. What you're after is actually very simple: to live a happy and free life!]

As the saying goes, freedom is not about doing whatever you want, but about not doing what you don’t want.

So, the freedom you want isn't the unbridled venting of desires that people back home have, but rather a life free from injustice and frame-up. If anyone dares to force you to do something you don't like, you'll smash their head off!

If you were an ordinary person, then in order to survive in a complex social environment, you could only silently endure oppression, just like the common people in this world. Unless they were forced to face death, they would choose to endure any hardship, rather than fight to the death...

[But you are different. You don't have to fear death or worry too much, because you are a time traveler and have the golden finger to restart. Death cannot completely take your life. It can only make you reincarnate over and over again. And every time you reincarnate, you will become stronger than the last time!]

[Although I'm not sure if you can ultimately dethrone the Divine Emperor, at least you don't have to compromise yourself. If you encounter something that goes against your moral principles and beliefs, just charge forward and be done with it.]

Just like when you faced your master cheating you out of money, in the face of your convictions, even though you didn't know you could reopen, you still chose to report it without hesitation, fighting with your life... And now that you know everything, what reason is there not to fight back, not to carry out your own life philosophy?

[At this moment, although you haven't obtained any so-called immortal cultivation techniques, nor have you embarked on any illusory path to immortality, you have already found your own "Tao"!]

[The foundation of the Great Dao has been officially established! ]

[But as the saying goes, all gifts in this world have a price tag already hidden. Since you have used the power and strength of others to seek your own pleasure, you now need to pay a sufficient price, and this price is your life...]

【…】

When you were returning from Mizhi County to Xi'an Prefecture with the white-armored soldiers and a group of arrested officials, you happened to witness this scene in prison.

[Several adjacent cells hold a prisoner each. They all look different, but without exception, they are all terrifying to look at. Even in prison, they are unwilling to give in easily...]

Several Jinyiwei were interrogating one of them with great interest: "Liu Yizhao, are you going to confess or not?"

[The prisoner named "Liu Yizhao" was none other than the powerful and influential official in Shaanxi, who was then the Shaanxi Provincial Governor!]

[However, now this Governor can no longer call the shots like he once did. Even though he possesses a powerful divine power that can destroy an army single-handedly, he can only sit in a small space, being interrogated in a filthy cell...]

[The governor was the first to be arrested and was interrogated the most rigorously!]

[But facing the interrogation of the Jinyiwei, he remained silent...]

"The criminal is Liu Yizhao! Listen up!" the Imperial Guards shouted.

[“I’m listening.”]

The Governor finally spoke.

A Jinyiwei laughed and said, "Liu Yizhao, I don't care whether you confess or not. You now have two choices: one is to admit to conspiring with the rebels to rebel against the Ming and restore the Shun Dynasty, and the other is to admit to corruption totaling 20 million taels... Choose one."

Hearing this, the Governor sneered, "Treason against the Ming will result in the extermination of all nine generations of the clan. Corruption will result in skinning and straw… It's the same death anyway, so what's the difference?"

"You scavenging stray dogs, aren't you just trying to use me as a stepping stone to advancement? Every time there's a problem in the local area, you always try to blame it on the local officials. I've seen this tactic many times!"

[“I still say the same thing…”]

He suddenly shouted, "It's clear! It's clear! If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext!"

[For a moment, he seemed to have become Yue Fei in Fengbo Pavilion, so righteous and awe-inspiring that even the scoundrels dared not even look at him!]

But… the Jinyiwei burst out laughing. “Do you really think you’re Yue Fei? What about the 20 million taels of silver, as well as all sorts of gold, jade, jewelry, calligraphy, paintings, and antiques in your room?”

[Governor: …]

"I... am afraid of poverty. Besides... besides, those are just voluntary rewards from the people for my achievements. I can't bear to let them down, so I'm keeping them for the time being... I haven't dared to spend even a single ounce of silver..."

The governor's momentum instantly vanished, but he remained stubborn, spouting nonsense that he probably didn't even believe himself...

[Just then, the Jinyiwei saw you coming back from escorting a prisoner, and smiled as they asked you to come over.]

"Liu Yizhao, I'm not afraid to tell you, we were able to bring you down this time thanks to him! If you hadn't offended him, I'm afraid we wouldn't have planned to target you..." Upon hearing this, not only did the governor immediately set his sights on you, but even the other prefects and officials turned their gazes on you in surprise, wondering who you were.

[But no matter how they look at you, you're just an ordinary five-year-old child, so they can only be more confused...]

"Young friend, may I know your name and surname? How have I offended you?" the governor asked, frowning.

[Faced with this high-ranking official, a person you might only see once in your lifetime, you'd think you'd be nervous, or even angry and yell at him, but when he clearly stated he didn't know you, all you could do was laugh.]

After all this fuss, what does the title of Juren mean? How could the governor have any impression of such a casually crushed ant?

[So you smiled and told him about your test paper being swapped, and then...]

"Just for this?!"

The Governor was stunned at first, then his face turned pale and red... Finally, he laughed in anger: "Just because your Juren title was replaced, you hate me and specifically accused me of being a thief, wanting to kill me?!"

【You nod.】

"Then why don't you report it to the Xi'an prefect? ​​If you report it..."

You said casually, "I did. They were very efficient. The Xi'an prefectural official threatened me to shut up right there!"

[The Xi'an prefect standing by: ...]

The Governor glared at the bewildered Xi'an prefect, then asked persistently, "Why don't you just come to me? Ever since the Autumn Examination, I've been busy in the Governor's Office compiling the list of successful candidates. If you want to come to me, I won't..."

You spread your hands and said, "I did. You guys are much more efficient. The two guards at the door wouldn't even let me in!"

[Governor: …]

[Xi'an Prefect: Joy!]

[Hanzhong Prefect: Joy!]

[Pingliang Prefecture: Joy!]

【…】

[The Shaanxi Provincial Governor: I can’t be happy…]

The Shaanxi prefect, Zhu Xuan, widened his eyes. "What the hell is that to me?! Boy, I remember you! I even gave you an award! You're repaying kindness with enmity!"

You don't care: "There's not a single innocent official in Shaanxi. Arrest them all and consider it justice."

[Shaanxi Northern Prefect: #%@%#! ! !]

【…】

After a long pause, the Governor said dryly, "Boy, I admit you have your reasons... But you will definitely regret your choice today!"

"Do you think the Jinyiwei are any good? Do you think they'll truly uphold justice for the people? You're wrong. They're just a bunch of scavenging stray dogs. They'll go wherever there's food... They'll definitely bite you to death!"

[He spoke these words sincerely in front of the Imperial Guards.]

【Jinyiwei: Joy!】

You nodded: "I know, so I won't bother them to convict me."

Then, amidst everyone's astonishment, you walked into a distant cell and said loudly, "I've reported all of you. Now I'm going to report myself!"

"I am also an accomplice of the thieves!"

……

(End of this chapter)