I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 408 The Successor of the Great Han

Inside the Shu King's palace.

There are clusters of cattails and reeds, green water chestnuts and red lotuses. Mixed with algae, and interspersed with duckweed and artemisia. The main stem is luxuriant, and the leaves are lush and verdant.

There are flocks of swans and egrets, and pelicans. Ducks arrive at dawn, and wild geese carry reeds in their beaks. Trees fall and birds fly south, ice melts and birds head north.

In the depths, white turtles and soft-shelled turtles are offered as sacrifices. Sturgeon, tuna, trout, bream, sharks, and mandarin fish also roam. Their scales vary in color, their bodies displaying a tapestry of brilliance. They leap and play in the rapids, forgetting each other in the middle of the stream.

What stands out in stark contrast is a vacant lot with obvious signs of burning right next to the pond.

This place was originally a palace built by Liu Zhang, said to have magnificent gates and towering structures, with gilded ornaments and jade inscriptions. But after Liu Miao took one look, he ordered the palace to be burned down and the site cleared out to be used as an examination hall.

In the center of the examination hall were hundreds of desks of various shapes and sizes.

The planning for this imperial examination was far too rushed. They couldn't find enough desks and tables in time, so they pieced them together from various sources, even borrowing some from wealthy families in Chengdu, to finally put together a barely adequate examination hall.

Even so, the scholars who came to participate in this imperial examination still stared wide-eyed.

"Good heavens, were all these things enjoyed by Liu Zhang alone before?"

"Wow! There really are fish in the pond!"

"If even the King of Shu is like this, what will become of the Emperor?"

"Are you all insane? How dare you speak ill of the Emperor?"

"..."

The group of scholars were so engrossed in their own world that they did not notice the ordinary scholar standing behind them, wearing a Liu-style hat and a crimson robe.

Liu Miao listened with amusement to the scholars' conversation: "The emperor's palace doesn't have these things."

"Who is it? You didn't go there before..."

The scholars who were cricketing turned around and were stunned on the spot.

They didn't recognize Liu Miao and the others.

However, they still recognized the imperial guards following behind Liu Miao.

"Just focus on the exam! In the future, you should be able to enter the Shu King's Palace whenever you want!"

"Here..."

Only after Liu Miao had walked away did the scholars dare to raise their heads, still drenched in sweat.

"Was that really the Emperor just now?"

"No mistake! Who in the entire Shu region would dare to wear that Liu family crown?"

"But why is the Emperor so kind? I've heard that the current Emperor is extremely vulgar?"

"Nonsense! Those are all things the enemy said! How can you believe what the enemy says?"

"..."

As more and more scholars noticed Liu Miao's arrival, the crowd gradually began to stir!
All the other scholars stood on tiptoe to try and see Liu Miao's face, but Fei Yi remained seated, arousing the curiosity of the scholars around him.

Why doesn't Wenwei go and see the Emperor's face?

Fei Yi calmly replied, "In the future, I will be a close minister who can write to the emperor face to face and will be able to see the emperor at any time. Is it necessary for me to go see him now?"

Damn!

Pretending like this?
The scholars all consciously distanced themselves from Fei Yi, and planned to mock him properly when he failed the exam.

If, unfortunately, Fei Yi passes the imperial examination, surely the results will be publicly announced? We can see if there's any way to report him, saying he's actually a distant relative of Liu Zhang, to prevent him from passing the political review…

After wandering around for a while, Liu Miao also came to a high place.

Here, Liu Miao could clearly see the face of each scholar; most importantly, these scholars could also clearly see Liu Miao's face.

Once the scholars were seated, Liu Miao glanced at these scholars from humble backgrounds, most of whom were simply dressed, but whose eyes shone with a bright light.

"Gentlemen!"

Liu Miao had spent many years in the army, and now his voice was quite loud.

"I behold, the world's most outstanding talents have gathered here. You have studied diligently for ten years, honing your skills to perfection. Today, you put pen to paper, and know that a single document can determine the fate of the nation, and three policies can decide the course of history!"

Without Lu Su or anyone else writing a draft for Liu Miao, Liu Miao obviously wouldn't have had so many eloquent words in his head.

Originally, Liu Miao wanted to end by shouting, "After you all get ashore, you'll definitely be eating and drinking well, and you'll be drinking bowls of sweet tofu pudding and throwing them away."

But the thought that his actions might expose a group of corrupt officials made him cough a few times to clear his throat. "I look forward to meeting you all at the provincial capital in the future!"

Provincial Taiwan!

The heart of the Great Han Empire's central government!
Although Liu Miao's words were extremely calm, they made all the scholars present solemn!

The Emperor awaits them there!

The great man awaits them there!

They were not impoverished scholars, nor were they pitiful people who couldn't even afford the fare home because of the exams; rather, they were the future successors of the Han Dynasty!

The emperor had the highest expectations for them!

Huang Quan and Pang Tong, who served as invigilators, were also waiting nearby.

Upon hearing Liu Miao's words, Pang Tong, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but tremble, and his eyes reddened.

"Shiyuan, it can't be that bad, can it?"

"Why not!"

Pang Tong's eyes became bloodshot, and he then grabbed Huang Quan's sleeve and wiped his face with it, leaving Huang Quan with no choice but to accept it.

"This is the Emperor! If I, a mere student back then, had heard someone say that to me, I'd probably go crazy!"

"Forehead……"

Huang Quan, a chosen one who had a smooth and successful life and was summoned by Liu Zhang to be his chief clerk at a young age, obviously did not understand Pang Tong's feelings.

"It's like the girl you had a crush on when you were young told you that she would marry you if you studied hard. What would you do?"

"Then we'll definitely forgo food and drink and work hard to improve ourselves!"

"Yeah!"

Pang Tong suddenly stared at Huang Quan with a very shrewd look: "Gongheng has a story to tell!"

Who hasn't felt a flutter in their heart when they were young?

Huang Quan didn't mince words and directly admitted to the matter.

At the same time, he instructed Pang Tong to look at these scholars from Shu.

"Just like these people, what do you think will happen to them in the future?"

Pang Tong looked at these scholars.

really.

These scholars, who had never been praised or recognized since birth, were now staring intently at Liu Miao with an extremely bright light in their eyes!
This radiance surpasses the stars in the sky, the treasures on earth, and even the most carefully selected plants and trees in the Shu King's palace.

no doubt.

These people truly took Liu Miao's words to heart.

To Nanjing! To the provincial capital! To see the Emperor!
From now on, these people will probably spare no effort to carry out this matter because of Liu Miao's words!

"Now I understand why some people call certain beauties 'femme fatales'."

Pang Tong looked up at Liu Miao, only to find that he was looking directly into the sun, which made him turn his head away.

"Even the ancient Daji would probably end up like this, right?"

"..."

Huang Quan silently stood a little further away from Pang Tong.

He had heard the story before that the emperor had once drawn his sword to behead Pang Tong.

Now it seems that it was probably not just a rumor!

If the emperor is compared to Daji, who else would the emperor kill if not you?
"Shiyuan, get ready."

Huang Quan gestured for Pang Tong to be more serious.

"The scientific expedition has begun!"

　I'm considering whether or not to issue a self-reproach edict. After all, I've been really lethargic these last two weeks, haha! Mainly, my health hasn't been great, and then there's the summer vacation, which has caused various things to interfere with my updates... But you readers are right, instead of wasting time on a self-reproach edict, I should update a couple more chapters! September is almost here, so let's see three chapters of September's resurgence, a flurry of updates!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)