Chapter 15: Down with Humanity

  The Caiju system was the main official selection system of the Han Dynasty, where local officials would examine and select talents within their jurisdiction at any time and recommend them to superiors or the imperial court, and then appoint them as officials after trial and examination.

  The subjects of the Imperial Examination were set according to the needs for specialized talents and determined by the Emperor.

  According to the classification of the examination period, the subjects of Chá Ju can be divided into two categories: Suì Kē (yearly examination) and Tè Kē (special examination). Suì Kē is held annually, with four subjects: Xiào Lián (filial piety), Mào Cái (outstanding talent), Chá Lián (examination of integrity), and Guāng Lù (glorious record). Each prefecture and state was allocated a quota based on its population. Generally, a prefecture or state with a population of over 200,000 would hold an examination for one Xiào Lián every year, while those with larger populations would have more quotas. Those with less than 200,000 people would hold an examination for one Xiào Lián every two years.

  Teke is further divided into ordinary teke and general teke, with no fixed term, decided directly by the emperor.

  That is to say, one day when the emperor was in a good mood, he would pick whoever caught his eye and make him a filial and incorrupt official or a talented and virtuous scholar.

  The special examination emphasizes moral integrity and uprightness as the most important, classified according to the four categories of filial piety, law, military affairs, and miscellaneous. The subjects include Filial Piety, Extreme Filial Piety, Law, Military Strategy, Knowledge of the Five Elements and Calamities, and Virtue. However, all subjects prioritize moral character.

  In this era, for scholars who wanted to enter officialdom, being selected through the Imperial Examination and obtaining honors such as Xiaolian or Maocai was the fastest way.

  Although the disciples of a poor family can also serve as officials, they have no merits or honors to their name. Even if they can hold a small official position in a local area, it is extremely difficult for them to be appointed to a higher office and fundamentally impossible for them to enter the vast bureaucratic system.

  The Lujiang household has more than 100,000 people, with a population of over 400,000. Every year, two filial and incorruptible officials can be promoted.

  The Zhou family was a prominent clan in Lujiang, and obtaining an imperial examination quota might not be difficult, but Zhou Jian was only eighteen years old and still had to wait for several years.

  Zhou Jian knew where history was going and couldn't wait any longer, so he had to think of another way.

  A chaotic era is approaching, and in order to achieve what one wants, it is necessary to grasp sufficient power.

  However, in this special era, to grasp power, one must have the name of the imperial court. Without the support of the great righteousness and name of the imperial court, nothing can be done. Otherwise, Zhou Jian would have trained a special forces team of over 10,000 people long ago, and wouldn't need to wait until now.

  Zhou Wu asked: "Having achieved merit and fame, one can buy an official position. What kind of official position does the young master plan to buy?"

  "It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Being under someone else's control, nothing can be done. To accumulate power, one must govern a region and grasp financial power, human power, and military power."

  "However, even if the young master obtains a high rank, he has no experience in government service and is limited by his age. At most, he can only buy a position as a county magistrate. Although a county magistrate also governs a region, he only controls tens of thousands of people, what can be achieved?"

  Zhou Jian thought for half a day and still couldn't think of anything, so he simply waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about this later."

  Zhou Wu nodded and didn't say anything else, going off to make preparations.

  Night, lanterns just lit up.

  In front of a luxurious mansion next to Taixue in Kaiyangmen, several uninvited guests arrived.

  After the tightly closed gate was knocked open, a small eunuch poked his head out, swept a glance at Zhou Jian and others outside the door, and his face fell immediately. In a gloomy tone, he asked, "Who are you? How dare you knock on the door randomly? Do you know where this place is?"

  Zhou Jian hastily put on a respectful attitude, handed over a piece of sheep's fat jade and said: "I am Zhou Jian, I have long admired the great name of Hou Jun, today I came to pay my respects, I have several rare treasures that I want to present to His Excellency, I hope you can help me announce it."

  Emperor Ling of Han indulged in favoritism towards the Ten Regular Attendants and enfeoffed them as marquises, making it a great wonder that eunuchs were also enfeoffed.

  Yingxiang Hou was indeed the title of Zhang Rang, a Central Regular Attendant.

  The little eunuch took the sheep's fat white jade carved pendant and looked at it, his eyes lit up immediately, his face also changed from cloudy to sunny, he fondled it lovingly for a few moments before saying: "You wait, I'll go see if Master Hou has time to see you."

  Zhou Jian lowered his posture, accompanied by a few laughs, and stood at the door waiting.

  It was almost half a watch later when the little eunuch finally arrived in haste.

  "What treasures do you have to offer to His Excellency?"

  The little eunuch glanced at the packages and boxes in Zhou Wu's hands, and said in a low voice: "Let our lord take a look first to see if your treasures can please him. If what you offer doesn't delight our lord, then hurry up and leave!"

  Zhou Jian cursed inwardly and hastily had Zhou Wu bring up the items, pointing to a large wine jug: "This is my humble abode's secret recipe Dragon Yang Wine, brewed with one hundred precious medicinal ingredients. Not only does it benefit the energy and supplement the essence, strengthen tendons and bones, but also fortify the yang and supplement the kidneys. Even those suffering from impotence, after drinking a mouthful, can engage in nocturnal battles on all sides, and consecutively serve multiple women in one night without issue."

  "Oh, and there's something this good?"

  The little eunuch's eyes lit up at once, and he repeatedly said that it was a good treasure. Since the emperor had a penchant for women, he would be thoroughly delighted with this thing. If the marquis wanted to please the emperor, as long as he presented this object, he would certainly win the emperor's favor.

  Zhou Jian opened another box and said, "There are also a thousand taels of gold."

  The little eunuch nodded repeatedly, "Not bad, not bad."

  Zhou Jian opened another package, "There are also Kunshan beautiful jade, sheep fat beauty and so on."

  The little eunuch's eyes shone brightly, and he began to drool, "Treasures, all treasures."

  Zhou Jian slipped a few more gold bars and beautiful jade over, smiling apologetically: "Please help me out, sir."

  The little eunuch Xi was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together repeatedly. He took the gold ingot and jade, stuffed them into his bosom, and a few flowers bloomed on his face as he smiled. He waved his hand, "The treasure is quite good, Master Hou will definitely like it, come with me to our house!"

  Zhou Jian finally let out a sigh of relief, gave a signal with his eyes, and Zhou Wu's three attendants quickly picked up the gifts and followed.

  They walked through the hall and down the alley, with the little eunuch constantly reminding them of things to pay attention to. After walking for a good half a ke, they finally arrived in front of a tall building in the backyard.

  The little eunuch said: "You wait here first, and I'll go in to report."

  Zhou Jian and the other three quickly nodded in agreement.

  The little eunuch slowed down his pace and pushed open the door to enter, but soon came out again.

  "Come into our house and remember not to speak randomly. If Master Hou doesn't ask you a question, you absolutely cannot speak."

  The little eunuch was still uneasy and gave another order before leading the four into the house.

  In the spacious outer hall, Zhang Rang was kneeling high behind the main case, playing with and admiring several ancient jade pieces on the table.

  Zhou Jian's eyelids slightly lifted, and he quickly glanced over, seeing that Zhang Rang was in his 40s, with a pale complexion, no beard on his chin, and an estimated psychological distortion due to physical disability, with a hint of gloom between his eyebrows.

  The little eunuch stepped forward and whispered, "Your Excellency, the person has arrived."

  Zhang Rang slowly raised his head, swept a glance at the four people below, including Zhou Jian, and his lips moved slightly. His voice was somewhat gloomy as he said, "Hmmm, who are you? What precious items do you have to offer to me?"

  The little eunuch hastily made eye contact with Zhou Jian.

  "Your Excellency, I, Zhou Jian, have three treasures to present to you."

  Zhou Wu and three others were busy opening their gifts, with Zhou Jian explaining each one.

  Zhang Rang was greedy for wealth, but after seeing many beautiful jade and gold, he didn't have much interest. However, when Zhou Jian explained the effects of that jar of Longyang wine, his eyes lit up immediately, and he exclaimed "treasure".

  The Son of Heaven is fond of feminine beauty; having obtained such a treasure, the Son of Heaven will surely be overjoyed.

  But whether this thing is really useful, it's still unknown until you try it out.

  Zhang Rang naturally couldn't just listen to Zhou Jian's words and present this thing to the emperor, so he waved his hand.

  The little eunuch busily made eye contact with Zhou Jian and the others.

  Zhou Jian was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood and hastily retreated with Zhou Wu and three other attendants.

  Once outside, the eunuch whispered, "The Marquis of Dong has taken it. You come back in three days."

  Zhou Jian nodded in understanding and hastily replied, then directly left Zhang Rang's mansion and returned to the hostel.

  In the main house.

  Zhang Rang called out: "Sun Xi."

  "I'm here."

  A small eunuch entered at the sound.

  Zhang Rang pointed at the wine jar and said: "Take a couple of cups of wine and test it on someone to see if it has any effect."

  Eunuch Sun Xi hastily obeyed, took the wine vessel, filled it with wine, and went off to attend to his duties.

  On the way back to the hotel.

  "Sir, won't Zhang Letian take the benefits and turn against us?" asked Zhou Wu with some concern.

  Zhou Jian was also worried in his heart, but he could only wait and say: "Although Lao Gong is greedy, he won't be so ungrateful as to take the benefits and not do things, otherwise he would ruin his reputation, and who would still give him money in the future."

  Zhou Wu thought for a moment and didn't ask again.

  Three days later, at night, Zhang Rang's mansion.

  Zhang Rang had just returned to the palace when a small eunuch named Sun Xi came to report, "Lord Rang, I've already found someone to test it out. That Longyang wine is indeed effective. I found a man who drank one or two cups of wine and was able to last all night until dawn, even with ten women."

  "Really?" Zhang Rang asked with a smile.

  Xun Xi hastily nodded and said: "I don't dare deceive you, Master."

  Zhang Rang asked again: "Have you ever found a doctor to examine him, is there any hidden medicine?"

  Sun Xi said: "I have already asked a doctor to examine him, and there is no hidden medicine."

  Zhang Rang's hands were clasped together in delight as he asked: "Go ask, what does the person who presented this wine want?"

  Sun Xi hastily replied and retreated.

  The next morning.

  Zhou Jian came to Zhang Rang's mansion to gather information and knocked on the door for a while. The one who opened the door was still that little eunuch.

  "I'll see you later, grandfather."

  Zhou Jian hurriedly made a polite gesture and smiled, lowering his posture as he had no choice but to humble himself.

  The little eunuch took the bribe and, without giving him a glance, said: "His Excellency has asked me to ask you, what is it that you desire?"

  Zhou Jian was secretly delighted and hastily replied, "I have always felt grateful for the emperor's kindness and wanted to donate money to help repair the palace, but unfortunately I have no official title, so I came to assist you, Duke. I hope you can help me."

  The little eunuch said, "I know." Then he slammed the door shut with a bang.

  Zhou Jian cursed under his breath, but there was nothing he could do, so he reluctantly returned to the inn to continue waiting for news.

  Imperial Palace, Chengguang Hall

  After the early morning passed, Zhang Rang followed Emperor Ling to Cheng Guang Temple, attentively serving him while saying: "Your Majesty, I recently obtained a jar of immortal wine. Drinking one or two cups can make you fight bravely in all directions at night and sleep with ten women without getting tired."

  "Oh... what?"

  Emperor Ling of Han was initially nonchalant, but when he came to his senses, he suddenly exclaimed with great joy: "There is such a treasure, bring it quickly."

  Zhang Rang hastily agreed and arranged for a small eunuch to quickly bring over the wine jug.

  The Emperor hastily poured himself a cup, brought it to his lips and sniffed, but couldn't help frowning heavily. "What's this smell, it's really hard to bear. Zhang Rang, is this wine truly as divine as you said?"

  Zhang Rang hastily guaranteed: "As the saying goes, good medicine is bitter in the mouth. I, a humble servant, dare not deceive Your Majesty. The effect of the wine is not fake."

  Lingdi gritted his teeth and suddenly raised his neck, drinking all the wine in the cup.

  Before long, he felt a burning sensation in his lower abdomen, and his whole body was unbearably hot. He hastily summoned a beautiful woman, without avoiding Zhang and Liang who were by his side, and quickly stripped her naked, then pressed down on top of her and began to make love.

  Zhang Rang smiled secretly, but didn't dare look again and hastily retreated.

  The sun shines brightly outside the window, while inside, spring ripples undulate, and sighs echo repeatedly.

  Zhang Rang waited outside the house for a full two hours, and the more he waited, the more frightened he became. He secretly comforted himself that the Longyang wine was indeed a divine object. In the past, the Emperor would have withdrawn his troops after half an incense stick's worth of time, but today they had been fighting for a full two hours and there was still no sign of it ending.

  It wasn't until half a small time period had passed that the panting and groaning sounds inside the house gradually came to a stop.

  Zhang Yan hastily got up and stood at the door, calling out, "Your Majesty."

  The Ling Emperor's soft voice sounded, "Zhang Rang, come in!"

  Zhang Rang hastily pushed open the door and saw two white bodies entwined together, Tianzi was covered in sweat, crawling on top of Chen Mei Ren, unable to get up, his lower body still moving slightly.

  After serving Emperor Ling in his bath, Yu Shan had already presented a delicate imperial meal like flowing water.

  Ling Emperor continuously exercised for two and a half hours, which was unprecedented since his ascension to the throne. He consumed a large amount of physical energy, and unusually had a huge appetite, eating three times his usual amount, with oil dripping from his mouth.

  Zhang Rang watched with great joy and said in a flurry: "The Emperor's appetite is open, it is indeed an auspicious sign of longevity!"

  This remark pleased the Emperor, who doesn't like to hear about longevity and eternal life? He immediately felt much better and said: "Zhang Rang, your wine is really good, it has made me feel invigorated for two and a half hours, truly a divine wine!"

  Zhang Rang, although wanting to please the emperor, was also genuinely concerned about Emperor Ling. He knew that excessive indulgence would harm his body, and after all, his power came from the Son of Heaven. If anything happened to the Son of Heaven, his own power would be like a flower in the mirror or a moon on the water. He hastily said: "Although this wine can benefit one's essence and energy, drinking too much will also harm the body. Your Majesty should only drink one or two cups per day."

  The Ling Emperor had wanted to drink another cup, but after hearing these words, he hesitated for a moment and finally gave up the idea.

  Zhang Rang observed the emperor's expression and knew what he was thinking, so he quickly added: "Your Majesty, I have a distant relative who is quite talented. He wants to contribute money for the construction of the palace, but unfortunately, he has no official title..."

  The Emperor was in a great mood and didn't wait for Zhang to finish speaking. He waved his hand and said, "I approve."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  Zhang Rang hastily thanked him and thought to himself that this was a small matter, and even if there was no Longyang wine, the Emperor would not refuse.