The Mysterious Ming Dynasty: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Chapter 68: The peak breeds false supporters, twilight witnesses loyal believers.

The closer to the south, the more polarized this influence becomes.

The scholar-officials either relied heavily on the government's power or were completely self-reliant.

Historians from all over the world recorded this image in their historical books, silent yet truthful. They were witnesses to the rise and fall of dynasties, and they came here to witness and remember.

But we will never interfere lightly.

Even around Si Chen, there are people like this, but they never show off and remain unknown.

"Sir, I wonder who you are and why you are hiding on my treasure ship." Si Chen looked at the figure that suddenly appeared on the treasure ship and looked him up and down. He saw that the person was dressed in a blue robe and the only thing that was unusual about the brush and ink in his hand.

"I am a historian, and I have come specifically for the purpose of serving the celestial officials. My family name is Li, and I apologize for any offense I may have caused." The visitor stood up calmly, and only then did he realize that he was actually a burly man who was nine feet tall.

"How should I address you?"

"Once you join the historian's circle, you can abandon your personal name and be addressed as you please by the officials in charge of astronomy."

Xu Wenjue and Jiazi Jiachen pushed open the door and entered, holding swords that were gleaming brightly pointed at the man. "Take over."

Si Chen turned his head and said, "Don't panic. This gentleman is from the Shi family."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenjue immediately dropped his weapon and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Master. I have long heard that historians only record and witness, never interfering in the rise and fall of dynasties. It is a pity that I have not had the opportunity to see your esteemed presence before; today is truly a fortunate occasion!"

He felt like his luck had turned around.

After dismissing Xu Wenjue with a few words, the cultivator surnamed Li turned around and said, "I, Li, would like to ask the Heavenly Official for a favor."

Si Chen, "You want to write a history book for me?"

Li, "is the recorder of daily life."

The daily records of the emperor's activities must be meticulously documented, down to the smallest detail.

Si Chen was about to nod when he suddenly paused slightly. "What did you say?"

After repeatedly confirming, he felt that he was not so important as to deserve such dedication from a historian.

"Why me?" Si Chen didn't understand. He had merely created a pretext, using the shell of the Great Teacher of the Taiping Sect to gather people in Tianjin. At most, he was a local warlord with significant influence in the spirit world, but in terms of the overall situation of the world, he was just the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Li stroked his beard and said, "The Heavenly Official is far too modest. If he moves, the world will be in chaos; if he remains still, all heroes will bow down and the feudal lords will tremble in fear."

Si Chen looked at this stubborn guy and said, "I don't keep idle people here."

In a peaceful and prosperous country, there are no freeloaders.

No one gets something for nothing.

Li: "I understand. No one gets what he doesn't work. This is a good method. Unearned gains will inevitably breed disaster, and this is the root of chaos in the world."

Si Chen: "Is this really true?"

He was certain that none of his subordinates thought that way.

It was simply that Si Chen was upholding his principles on his own.

Li replied, "Indeed. Does the Heavenly Official know where the achievements of contemporary scholars come from?"

Si Chen: "I know it like the back of my hand. It's just four words: counterattack and retaliation."

In my view, all the scholars of this dynasty are hypocrites who put on a righteous facade.

Since the founding of the dynasty, acts of rebellion and vengeance had sown the seeds of future disaster, which had been repeated countless times. During the Yongle reign, a high-ranking official who had not served time in prison was considered to have an insignificant reputation.

Every time a case is overturned, a large number of officials are posthumously honored, and those who are still alive become more united by hiding their identities.

They risked their lives to gain immense prestige in the world, and no one could stop them. Even Wanli was forced to imprison himself.

The more ruthlessly the emperor killed, the more secure the family traditions of the scholar-officials became, and the more trust their descendants gained. Officials who were punished in factional struggles could turn the tables. The stable order that had been established for two hundred years could not be shaken.

This is how these virtuous men earned their reputations, and their achievements were just as remarkable. Even if their achievements weren't particularly substantial, they were enough to benefit their families—this is what it means to be unworthy of one's position.

Si Chen remained silent for a long time after he finished speaking.

The burly man opposite him clapped his hands and laughed, "Brilliant! Brilliant! The scholar-officials of this dynasty are truly rotten to the core. They have found the most shameless way to play, using a feat that doesn't even exist to gain real power. This is a miracle."

It's a way that shouldn't exist in the first place.

It's like someone using money that doesn't even exist to buy a large quantity of goods that haven't been produced yet, filling them into a non-existent achievement, and then having the literati spread the word and praise each other, creating a huge bubble and achieving an impossible miracle.

They're practically superhuman!

And then this thing actually started working.

Si Chen felt relieved after speaking his mind. "Sir, as a historian, do you know why, for three hundred years, no one has come forward to stop, expose, or rectify the chaos? This would be a far more harmful than beneficial act for historians."

The most important duty of a historian is to endorse achievements.

Without the pursuit of fame and achievement, the scholar-officials are nothing.

They were instantly brought down from the clouds.

Li said, "The Heavenly Officials don't know that our status comes from this detached, empty reputation. It also comes from our ability to judge the falsity of these achievements, which can be easily exposed. In the eyes of the Heavenly Officials, it is indeed a piece of cake."

"But there is one thing that the Heavenly Official has misunderstood."

"The existence of historians is solely for the purpose of bearing witness, regardless of the veracity of such achievements."

"The official history is all fake."

Si Chen chuckled, "I see. Even you are historical records of time. If your own roots aren't clean, how can you interfere with others? That's not surprising."

Are there any good people left in this world?

"Thanks to the Heavenly Official for popping this bubble for us. Otherwise, historians, who have existed for more than five thousand years, would have vanished in an instant."

"The Donglin and Fushe societies were both products of the culmination of three hundred years of accumulated problems."

"They are incapable of shouldering the responsibility of governing the world."

"I also urge you, sir, for the sake of all the people under heaven, to send their souls to their deaths. You must not show any mercy. In chaotic times, severe punishments are necessary."

Mr. Li bowed in greeting.

They bowed and paid homage to Sichen with utmost devotion.

Si Chen silently accepted it.

He felt perfectly justified.

After speaking, the historian vanished into thin air, leaving only a glimmer of his presence in the inner landscape.

Si Chen closed his eyes slightly and focused his mind on the inner world.

In the Milky Way, the remains of that wordless heavenly book were shimmering and radiating a five-colored mist.

Si Chen raised his hand and tucked it into his sleeve.

A stream of information flowed into my mind.

"So you were the historians."

"A group of remnant souls that have erased themselves, serving as book spirits."

Looking at the wordless book of death, he truly didn't know whether to feel fortunate or sorrowful.

It turned out to be the case.

It turned out to be the case.

Expecting a group of non-existent people to supervise the combination of powerful clans, wealthy merchants, nobles, and landowners is indeed wishful thinking.

Fortunately, Huang Tian treated him well.

They sent him a very generous gift.

From then on, if any bastard scholar-official dared to spout nonsense again, he could directly sentence them.

If that's true, then it doesn't matter.

If it's fake, then it will have to reveal its true form.

His supernatural powers were instantly knocked off, and he became a mortal.

What is this?

This is a demon-revealing mirror; he's holding the lifeblood of the scholar-officials in his hands.

I beseech Heaven to discern the loyal from the treacherous!