Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

Just when all the emperors and ministers thought the sky was talking nonsense, the scene moved.

Light and cheerful background music begins to play, and the narrator starts his serious analysis.

Many friends have asked whether it's illegal to privately maintain 500,000 heavy cavalry. Don't worry, let's analyze it today.

[First of all, let me clarify that keeping a private army wasn't actually that unusual in ancient times.]

Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan—weren't they all built their empires on their private retinues?

But as for heavy cavalry, let's just assume this guy is exceptionally gifted, or that he's incredibly wealthy, and that's how he actually managed to produce them.

The scene shifts, and an animated little figure appears.

He was dressed in a scholar's robe, and behind him stood five fully armored men, each holding a long spear.

If you privately keep five heavy cavalrymen, the news will reach the ears of the county magistrate before you even reach the capital for the imperial examination.

The magistrate slammed his gavel and roared: "This scoundrel dares to hoard armor! This man is plotting something sinister; according to the law, his entire family should be exterminated!"

They'd find some excuse to bring you to the county government office, and the bailiffs on both sides would swarm you and take your place.

"No problem."

Li Shimin was quite satisfied with the county magistrate, who acted in accordance with the law and with great efficiency.

Armor is a vital national asset; private possession of it is a capital offense.

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Let alone five sets, even hiding just one set would be enough to get you beheaded if they were found out.

The sky continued to roll, and the cavalry behind the scholar grew into a dense horde, their banners fluttering and their armor gleaming.

[What if you were a little too high-profile and secretly kept fifty heavy cavalrymen?]

When the county magistrate learned of this, he invited you for tea and said earnestly: "I've heard that your estate is plagued by bandits; it's understandable that you need protection."

As for the imperial examinations… Young master, you've had a long and arduous journey this year, why not try again next year?

Under the canopy, countless people were completely bewildered.

Five heavy cavalrymen were enough to exterminate three entire clans, so how come fifty of them have become mere guards? Isn't this just bullying the weak and fearing the strong?

Inside the inn, several scholars looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Has this county magistrate lost his mind? Fifty heavy cavalrymen—they're capable of attacking cities and capturing fortresses! Aren't they going to do anything about it?"

The shopkeeper next to him scoffed, "You scholars are just so stubborn."

"If someone can privately maintain fifty fully armored soldiers, their background can't be simple, can it?"

"If the county magistrate really reports this, and the higher-ups blame him for negligence, will he still have his official hat?"

"They didn't raise a flag of rebellion, so the county magistrate naturally prefers to avoid trouble and just send this plague away."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

So that's how it is! The intricacies of officialdom are even more formidable than swords!

Five hundred heavy cavalry! Your territory covers at least a hundred miles in radius. Not to mention the county magistrate, even the prefect would be terrified of you.

The prefect personally visited, beaming: "Young master, there's been unrest among the barbarians near your home. You're doing this to defend the border for the country. It doesn't matter if you don't pass the imperial examination; please appoint a candidate for the civil service examination."

If it's discovered that you're privately maintaining 5,000 heavy cavalry, now it's the emperor's turn to panic.

Five thousand heavy cavalry—this is definitely a force of warlord caliber, enough to shake the very foundations of a state!

The emperor was extremely uneasy on his throne and summoned his ministers for a meeting overnight. If the court were to send troops to suppress the rebellion, the scale of the operation would be no less than that of a civil war.

After much deliberation, the Emperor decided to receive you personally, smiling more kindly than a father: "Young master, you jest. What do you mean by 'privately raised'? It's raising you openly and honestly!"

[You still want to bring up the imperial examination? The emperor stops you: What's the point of taking the exam? I think your family's land is quite nice. I'll grant you a hereditary title, how about that?]

Upon seeing this, Liu Che suddenly stopped laughing.

The jokes displayed on the screen were laughable to others, but to him they were things he had personally experienced.

Liu An, the King of Huainan, was doing exactly the same thing in his own fiefdom.

Back then, the Huainan Kingdom recruited guests and secretly raised thousands of assassins, causing chaos and panic in Chang'an.

It wasn't that no one in the court noticed at the time, but so what?

Liu An was a member of the imperial clan and a brother of the late emperor. If he did not raise the flag of rebellion, the court would have no justification to send troops.

You can't just send a large army to suppress them based on the fact that you "raised a few thousand people." What would the feudal lords think? What would the common people think?

Liu Che could only wait until Liu An couldn't hold back any longer and jumped out, before he finally wiped him out in one fell swoop.

Looking at the submissive emperor on the sky, Liu Che snorted coldly.

"This emperor is far too weak. He's frightened into granting titles to five thousand private soldiers? Ridiculous!"

"When I faced those powerful and independent princes back then, did I ever yield an inch?"

The assembled officials below the steps bowed in unison, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

At this moment, the number of heavy cavalry on the sky surged again, forming a dark, endless mass.

Imagine you are found to be privately maintaining 50,000 heavy cavalry.

The emperor fled to the Imperial Ancestral Temple overnight, hugged the ancestral tablets, and wept all night. I can't understand how you did it.

[Fifty thousand heavy cavalrymen—that's like holding most of the nation's elite troops in your hands. You're saying it's all just for passing a measly imperial examination?]

You're probably planning to use the excuse of taking the imperial examination to go to the capital and seize this worthless position, aren't you?

The next morning at court, the emperor, his eyes bloodshot, glared at the assembled officials, gritting his teeth: "Who among you is willing to share my burdens and lead troops to annihilate this scoundrel? If you succeed, you will be granted a title and appointed prime minister; I will not break my promise!"

All the officials bowed their heads, wishing they could bury their faces in their hats. Just as the emperor was feeling utterly hopeless, the old eunuch standing beside him suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, why are you plotting a rebellion?"

"Cough cough cough cough!"

Across the land, countless people who were drinking tea or water choked and nearly died.

"What did the eunuch say? What did he say? He told the emperor not to rebel?"

"Hahahaha! This eunuch is a real talent—"

Upon hearing the eunuch's words, the emperor felt a wave of dizziness and nearly fell off his throne.

But thinking about it calmly, the eunuch was right! We can't win, we really can't win.

[So the emperor, with tears in his eyes, issued an edict abdicating the throne to you, and from then on you became the new emperor—even though you were only there to take the imperial examination.]

The animated scholar in the sky inexplicably donned a dragon robe, his expression bewildered.

[If... it's discovered that you're secretly keeping 500,000 heavy cavalry]

The entire court pondered for three days and three nights, but still couldn't figure out how you managed to support 500,000 heavy cavalry.

[Not to mention ancient feudal dynasties, even modern countries couldn't muster an army like this.]

[There has never been a record of 500,000 heavy cavalry in human history, which can only mean... they were all celestial warriors, defying all the laws of physics!]

The imperial court hastily drafted a letter of surrender overnight, wanting to ask: What exactly did you come here to take the imperial examination for?

Lu Li laughed heartily, tilting his head back, almost slamming his phone down on his face.

He quickly opened the comments section, and sure enough, the comments section is full of talented people; netizens' imaginations never disappoint.

(What?! They want to revoke my Jinshi degree? I've studied diligently for over a decade, all to serve the court! What wrong have I done? The more I think about it, the angrier I get! I refuse to accept this!!!)

(Goodness, your first-person pronouns are changing faster than the map of Dukang in the Yan Kingdom!)

(I don't think that's acceptable. Having 500,000 heavy cavalrymen and still having to take the imperial examinations proves that the emperor has star destroyers at his disposal.)

(Brother, you might indeed be disqualified from becoming a Jinshi, but the power of disqualification is relative; you could also disqualify someone from becoming emperor [doge emoji])

"I can't take it anymore, I'm going to die laughing in the comments section."

Lu Li, who was living in Bengbu, quickly ate a few bites of beef to calm his nerves.

With a casual swipe, I saw the title and immediately revealed a meaningful expression.

"There really were people in history who were stripped of their right to be emperors!"