Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 71: Can there be gems in a cesspool?

"It's nothing serious. A bunch of shameless scoundrels with no real talent tried to create chaos, steal the exam questions, and burn down Anran Building."

Zhang Min wasn't particularly concerned about the burning of Anranlou, but was instead interested in rummaging through Yun Ce's shopping basket, especially the lamb ribs inside.

Upon hearing Zhang Min's words, Yun Ce anxiously asked, "Are the exam questions still there?"

Zhang Min pursed her lips and said, "The question is about how to maintain public order and manage the people. It doesn't matter whether you have the answer or not."

Yun Ce's face twitched slightly as he asked, "Is this something I can listen to?"

Zhang Min said, puzzled, "This test question was set after discussion in our council. Everyone who needs to know it knows it. Just do your best on the test. If you don't do well, I will take away your paper and replace it with a new one until the examiner is satisfied."

The key is that you need to cook the horse meat well. If your horse meat exceeds my expectations, I might even write the script for you.

Yun Ce swallowed hard, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor in astonishment. He had guessed that the exam might benefit the powerful and wealthy, but he never expected it to be so beneficial.

Thinking back to how he had to be so secretive when hiring two temporary workers, afraid that his cheating would be discovered by outsiders, he felt sorry for Feng An and Liang Kun, who had studied diligently for more than ten years, now that the examination system in the Han Dynasty had deteriorated to such a state.

“You could actually participate in the martial arts competition.” Zhang Min picked up a baby bean and played with it.

"A martial arts competition?"

"Yes, Wu Bi, as long as you pass the test in Chuyun Prefecture, you will immediately become a public servant of the Great Han. If you can get first place, you will be granted a noble title, which is enough to allow you to move to the Great Han mainland with your group of people."

If you still hold a military position, the salary in the Han Dynasty is quite good, more than enough to support your residence and servants.

Yun Ce looked at Zhang Min and said, "There's also an opportunity for manipulation in the martial arts competition?"

Zhang Min tossed the bean that looked like a baby back and forth, saying, "How does the martial arts competition work? If you can beat them, you win; if you can't, you lose. It's clear and straightforward. The champion is congratulated by thousands. Don't use those dirty tricks of literary competitions to tarnish the martial arts competition of the Great Han Dynasty."

Yun Ce felt that Zhang Min was deliberately trying to entice him to participate in the martial arts competition. Although he didn't know why, he still felt he needed to be cautious.

"Has the thief been caught?"

Upon hearing Yun Ce's question, Zhang Min replied with a dark expression, "The main culprit killed six people, five accomplices involved in buying and selling exam questions were arrested, and three escaped. I suspect one of them was also a main culprit because he gave a gambler a fire that was impossible to put out, which is why the entire Anran Building was reduced to ashes."

Yun Ce nodded in agreement, "It's really infuriating. Alright, I won't keep you from working. Come to the guesthouse for lunch. My horse meat is quite good."

"Are you really not considering participating in the martial arts competition? After the literary competition, even someone from a family like yours would have to put in a lot of effort to become a retainer of a powerful figure."

Yun Ce ignored him and quickly walked towards the inn with his basket.

Zhang Min rubbed the beans in her hand and said regretfully, "You're still so wary."

At this moment, a subordinate reported, "Your Majesty, the Prefectural Governor's Office inquires about the fate of the five captured individuals."

Zhang Min said calmly, "Let the five families rebuild Anran Tower, and then behead them and have their bodies displayed in the marketplace."

"Three more criminals are still at large."

"We can't catch them. Those five idiots can't even describe what they look like or what their physical characteristics are. Keeping such idiots around is a waste of resources. It's better for them to die."

Furthermore, this matter must be dealt with as soon as possible; if it drags on, some dirty and unsavory things will inevitably come to light.

Yun Ce stood at the entrance of the inn, feeling a tightness in his chest, unable to breathe properly, and feeling suffocated. Things kept going awry and veering off course.

The officials here seem to be just going through the motions when they do things. They seem more concerned with maintaining a simple and fragile balance, never delving into a matter in depth, and having no habit of learning from past mistakes.

However, this seemingly lazy approach to governance seems to be very effective in dealing with the local people. They only want a result, and they are happy with any result. They never pursue whether the result is good or bad.

He thought this incident would cause a lot of dissatisfaction and lead to a re-planning of the exams in Izumo Prefecture. This made him feel like Talking Tom, who planned things very well but always failed. Apart from burning down a building, he did nothing to promote the cultural development of Izumo Prefecture.

In other words, the people of the Han Dynasty had a high tolerance for hardship, and ordinary things could not provoke them at all, making it even more difficult to incite them to rebel.

In a desolate and cold place like Chuyun Prefecture, which doesn't even qualify as a tributary prefecture, the people's spirit of rebellion is not high. Yun Ce finds it hard to imagine what the situation would be like if he went to the Han mainland.

We must not be as numb as the Indians. If they really teach the Han people to be like the Indians, Yun Ce wants to commit suicide.

When they entered the guesthouse courtyard, Yun Ce had already put on a smiling face. He handed the basket containing food to An Ji and the others to wash and tidy it up, and said to E Ji, who came to greet him, "We'll have something delicious to eat today."

Yun Ce smiled brightly, but when they returned to the house, E Ji hugged his arm and said, "Is my lord unhappy?"

Yun Ce said expressionlessly, "I'm fucking happy today." E Ji bit her lip, placed Yun Ce's hand on her buttocks, and whispered, "Or else..."

Yun Ce pulled his hand back, slapped E Ji on the head and said, "Get lost!"

Eji angrily bit Yun Ce and said, "You were peeking this morning."

I had a small argument with Eji, which I lost and even got bitten a few times, but it made me feel much better. I realized I still knew too little about this new world of the Han Dynasty.

A long time has passed since the Yellow Emperor arrived here riding a dragon. Even though the Yellow Emperor was the ancestor on Earth, the new world he created was clearly different from Earth's civilization.

The emergence of civilized society is not inevitable, but rather a very accidental event. With the slightest setback, a civilization can perish in an instant.

The Yellow Emperor's era on Earth was still considered a primitive age, and the population in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River was not large at that time. Although historical records state that when the Yellow Emperor was taken away by the dragon, he was accompanied by his trusted ministers, as well as his wife and family, the population must have been small.

With such a small population, the Yellow Emperor was able to create a super-powerful clan with 600 to 700 million people. You can't help but admire that ability.

While making the stir-fried pork slices with celery, Yun Ce was still thinking about this. It wasn't until the unique aroma of celery wafted into his nose that he realized what was going on. He tore two pieces of horseradish into the dish and waited for the wok hei (wok aroma) to bring out the horseradish flavor. Then the dish was ready to be served.

Green coins have a low density and are naturally light, making them unsuitable for casting woks. Fortunately, Yun Ce is now wealthy, so he had a thick wok made. After using it a few times, he mastered the technique.

Today, we also found a type of bird egg the size of a fist in the caravan. This egg tastes significantly better than the large, thick-shelled egg that Yun Ce found.

The wilderness of the Han Dynasty is rich in wild animals. The thick eggshells are for the protection of the eggs. The thin-shelled eggs, which can be opened with a gentle tap, are obviously birds that rely on numbers to survive in the wilderness.

When this thing is stir-fried with a type of thin-stemmed leafy green vegetable, it will bring out a rich chive aroma, so Yun Ce used this thing as chives.

The steamed baby beans brought Yun Ce great comfort. Before even opening the steamer, Yun Ce smelled a strong aroma similar to taro.

When the steamer was lifted, a group of people gathered around to see what was inside. Inside, a dozen or so chubby little boys were sitting in a row.

Yun Ce took one, bit off the head of the baby bean, and some clear oil seeped out from the broken end. The bean melted in his mouth without him having to bite it.

The taste was slightly bitter, but Yun Ce didn't care about that anymore. He stared blankly at the oil flowing out of the broken end of the baby bean. This thing should be used to extract oil.

Lamb chops are naturally stewed in an earthenware pot. The sheep here are castrated to keep them calm and docile, as they are used for riding and pulling carts. This results in less gamey smell in the meat, making it perfect for soup.

Yun Ce took a sip of soup and added some slices of what they called "frost-covered vegetables." These vegetables were best eaten these days because after being exposed to frost, their originally bitter taste would turn sweet, and they were best paired with mutton.

When Zhang Min arrived, the rice was perfectly cooked.

At this moment, no one wanted to speak; everyone was busy putting food into their mouths.

After drinking three bowls of mutton soup, Yun Ce put down his bowl and said to Zhang Min, "I'm going to participate in the martial arts competition."

Zhang Min reluctantly stopped eating, looked into Yun Ce's eyes and asked, "Why did you agree again?"

Yun Ce pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know why you suddenly became nice to me. You can even let go of the hatred from when your thigh was shot through. This terrifies me."

Zhang Min said somewhat seriously, "It's a waste for someone like you to waste your life in the mountains. You should go where you belong, instead of rotting away with this group of people."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Is this great Han truly so eager to find talented people?"

Zhang Min lowered her head, picked up a grain of rice and stuffed it into her mouth, saying indistinctly, "The reason why the Great Han can survive in this wilderness is because many people have used their backs to support this land. Without them, everyone here would die."

Yun Ce asked, puzzled, "Are you that kind of person?"

Zhang Min shook her head and said, "I'm not qualified. I failed four out of three selections!"

After speaking, seeing Yun Ce's confused expression, she explained, "I was chosen once after I was born."

Yun Ce said, "In that case, the martial arts competition is only the first step."

Zhang Min chuckled and said, "You're overthinking it. When you're ready to shoulder heavy responsibilities, someone will naturally come looking for you. Wu Bi is just to let you enjoy a little more of the peace that belongs to the Han Dynasty."

Yun Ce naturally understood the saying that happiness for ordinary people can only come from someone bearing the burden.

However, he seriously doubted that there could really be a spotless gemstone in the rotten cesspool that was the Great Han Dynasty.
　I'm continuing with three more chapters asking for votes and subscriptions. It's not going to be very effective, but I plan to keep asking, just in case some kind-hearted brothers and sisters will take pity on me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)