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

Chapter 240 The Central Plains Barbarians, the Righteous Ruler of Jiangnan!
[To be promoted to "Commander" and command five hundred soldiers is certainly a cause for celebration!]

Looking back on the underhanded things you did to curry favor with Chief Liu back then, and then thinking about your current success, you can't help but feel a pang of nostalgia as your career takes off.

[And amidst the感慨 (feelings of deep emotion), an even greater ambition arose spontaneously...]

As the saying goes, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier. Of course, you want to advance, advance, and advance some more, and the current political changes have clearly given you an opportunity for advancement!

[“Yue Fei, a high-ranking official in the pro-peace faction, was imprisoned by Zhao Gou. The court then carried out a large-scale purge of Yue Fei's former troops stationed in Xiangyang, replacing them with those who had rendered meritorious service in the Northern Expedition… This massive reshuffle virtually eradicated the Yue Fei faction's pro-peace power in Xiangyang!”]

You pondered to yourself: Since Zhao Gou was an emperor with considerable political acumen, his various actions clearly cannot be judged solely on their surface appearance; one must carefully analyze his underlying political intentions.

What is His hidden meaning?

[It's obvious: advocate for war! Northern Expedition!]

As the only pro-war figure in the court and among the officials, Zhao Gou faced ministers who were almost all pro-peace, just like Yue Fei. This obviously displeased him greatly... However, these ministers had valid points, and since they had no evidence against him, he tolerated it.

Now, Yue Fei's open defiance of the imperial decree during his Northern Expedition provided Him with the perfect opportunity. He seized this chance to swiftly remove Yue Fei, the leader of the pro-peace faction, and launched a massive purge of Yue's faction... And what was the purpose of this purge? Clearly, it was to replace him with people from his own faction, thereby bringing the Xiangyang garrison under his direct control!

[In this way, when Zhao Gou wants to launch a northern expedition next time, he won't have to go through the same trouble as last time; he can simply order the army to march north using an imperial edict!]

In short, Zhao Gou must have intended to use this to incite a northern expedition...

[And at this time of impending doom, this is precisely the opportunity for officials to seize power and rise through the ranks! As long as they can curry favor with the Emperor, a meteoric rise is just around the corner!]

[This greatly appealed to you, who were filled with ambition...]

But at this crucial juncture, you hesitated again.

[Because you, having experienced the Northern Expedition, already know: in this era when the entire Jurchen population in the Central Plains has mutated, the Northern Expedition is not a traditional campaign to quell the rebellion and pacify the people; it requires stones to be cut, grass to be burned, and people to be replaced!]

Such a northern expedition is tantamount to indiscriminate killing, using the heads of the people of the Central Plains to exchange for personal wealth and glory. It will not end until all the northerners are killed and replaced by southerners!

[You really don't want to do such a horrific thing. The scenes of those northern villages that were almost completely slaughtered during the last northern expedition still appear in your dreams again and again, making you break out in a cold sweat...]

However, this is precisely the broad road to success and prosperity, and its allure is simply too strong!

Thus, caught in this conflicting state of mind, you find yourself in a dilemma...

【…】

[Ding! Caught between pragmatism and humanity, you find it extremely difficult to make a choice. Pragmatism tells you that you should discard useless morality and ethics for its sake... while humanity tells you that once you lose your humanity, you will become a monster, even more monstrous than a mutated golden man...]

You choose: (?)

[A: Fellow villager, may I borrow your head? Anyway, the northerners have already mutated, so why not follow in the footsteps of Emperor Zhao and bring all the northern monsters to justice, and repopulate the Central Plains with the orthodox Han people of the Southern Song Dynasty to maintain the orthodox bloodline of the Chinese nation!]
Once the barbarian invasion is over, as a meritorious general who has restored the orthodox order, it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to ask for some official titles and ranks...

[B: Stay true to yourself! I don't desire titles and honors, I only wish for peace throughout the land! The biggest difference between humans and beasts is that humans possess humanity and morality. When you trample on your humanity and betray your morality, you become no different from a beast in human clothing… Therefore, even if betraying them brings you fame and fortune, you must never act in this way!]

……

"This choice..."

Faced with these two options, Zhou Liang pondered for a moment.

However, his point of contention was not about the interests involved, because the so-called achievement was actually meaningless to him!

"What meaning do the achievements in the simulated world have for me in reality? My goal in simulating has never been to build a career, but to find a glimmer of hope in the simulation that can bring lasting peace to the Ming Dynasty!"

"This applies not only to me, but also to the simulated character [Zhou Chi]. In essence, he doesn't need to achieve great deeds. Achieving great deeds is just a way for him to touch extraordinary power and the secrets of heaven and earth... So as long as he can collect the key information about these things, then he has completed his mission."

Therefore, what truly made Zhou Liang ponder was the next route plan:

Since Zhou Chi has no reason to sell his humanity for some vague and unattainable achievement, it means he can no longer be promoted through military merit. If he can't be promoted, how can he obtain information that only those in high positions have access to?
After much thought, Zhou Liang gradually came to an answer:
"Go into literature!"

Since "abandoning the pen for the sword" has been proven to be an impossible path, then let's "abandon the military for literature" instead!

Fortunately, Zhou Chi still had some education, and with Zhou Tianzun's tutoring, even if he left the army, he could still seek fame and fortune through the imperial examinations and return to the path of becoming an official... Although this seems a bit far-fetched and contradictory, there was no other way to go at this point...

Zhou Liang's mind gradually calmed down, and he made his own choice:

"Choose B!"

[Ding! You selected option B: Stay true to yourself! I do not desire titles and honors, but only peace throughout the land! The greatest difference between humans and beasts is that humans possess humanity and morality. When you trample on your humanity and betray your morality, you become no different from a beast in human clothing… Therefore, even if betraying them brings you fame and fortune, you must never act in this way!]

【…】

After a moment's thought, you came to your conclusion: "I cannot betray my principles!"

[With a sudden thought, you completely abandoned the idea of ​​exchanging the heads of your fellow villagers for military merit... However, if you don't intend to take advantage of this Northern Expedition to realize your ambitions and aspirations, then which path will you take to explore the hidden messages of the world?]

At this moment, your father, who understands your thoughts, suddenly suggested, "Why don't you leave the army and go home to continue your exams?"

"Anyway, you already have a foundation. I'll teach you carefully for a few more years after we get back... I can't guarantee you'll become the top scholar, but passing the provincial and metropolitan examinations shouldn't be a problem..."

Well! He originally came to "abandon his pen for the sword," and now he's "abandoning the military for literature"... What's with all this back and forth?

You shook your head repeatedly. After all, whether you pass the exam or not is another matter, but it wouldn't look good if word got out. Outsiders would probably laugh at you...

[But ultimately, you need to find a way out for yourself. You're unwilling to make contributions in the Northern Expedition, and you don't want to go home to take the exam... You can't just sit in the position of "commander" for the rest of your life, can you?]

[Then you thought about it, and suddenly a brilliant idea struck you: That's it!]

[As everyone knows, there are three different political forces in the imperial court. Now that you are unwilling to join the pro-war faction with "God Zhao Gou," why don't you try joining the pro-peace faction and then leverage the powerful influence of the pro-peace faction throughout the court to gain attention?!]

[Just as the popularity of Zhao Gou's Northern Expedition can be leveraged to take off, so too can the popularity of the pro-peace faction in the court!]

But how exactly do you acquire data traffic?

[Your mind races: Ah! Of course, I'll establish myself as a staunch advocate of peace, and use the professional writing skills of a Song Dynasty scholar to criticize current affairs, fiercely condemn the emperor, and generate clicks!]

However, you certainly can't use your personal identity to make anti-war statements, otherwise, with your small stature, you'd be crushed to death by the iron fist of "God Zhao Gou" of the Song Dynasty in no time...

Therefore, you need to disguise yourself as a powerful, pro-peace figure and then capitalize on his influence!

[And this unfortunate soul you're trying to piggyback on... is clearly Yue Fei, who's just been imprisoned!]

So, I'm sorry, Marshal Yue...

[Yue Fei: Children, I have no objection.]

【…】

In the 216th year of the Shaoxing era, just as the garrison in Xiangyang was elated by their promotions in the Northern Expedition, and everyone was even eager to launch another Northern Expedition to achieve merit, an extremely fanatical article was rapidly printed and spread throughout the Xiangyang area!

[The article is titled: "Kick the Central Plains barbarians out of the Han Dynasty's legitimacy! The true legitimacy of the Han Dynasty has always been in Jiangnan!"]

"Rise! Han!"

[(Central Plains people: Me? Barbarians? Did the Southern Song people hallucinate after eating such a good meal?)]

……

(End of this chapter)