Imperial Exams: Is It Finally My Turn to Become the Greatest Scholar?

Reborn in a poor farming family on the frontier of an unfamiliar dynasty, with both parents dead and barely enough to get by? At least he has Liu Ruyan, a childhood bride so beautiful she takes his breath away. Zhang Gui looks at his good-for-nothing body, which has failed the exams time and again, and smiles: Li Bai and Du Fu don't exist in this world, so he can copy poems and stories to his heart's content! He copies the Four Great Classical Novels and makes a fortune overnight, writes Tang poems and Song lyrics that make him famous throughout the land, and breezes through the imperial exams, rising from an unremarkable farm boy to a licentiate, a juren, and finally a palace graduate. Once he becomes an official, he turns the court upside down! But a neighboring kingdom invades, and though the court is wealthy, it favors civil officials over military ones while corrupt officials run rampant. Every year, the court offers tribute and sues for peace, while the neighboring kingdom keeps seizing its territory. Then he discovers that even his hometown's crystals are about to be trampled underfoot. Zhang Gui angrily tosses aside his writing brush: He will lay down his pen and take up arms, showing them what it means to crush them with the military wisdom of modern China! His frontier poems inspire the troops, his surprise attacks crush the enemy, and 100,000 invaders are buried alive. The name “Blood-Handed Butcher” is enough to make children stop crying! He recovers thousands of miles of lost land, and the people eagerly send their sons to join the army. Yet the court fears him and plots against him, withholding supplies to force him to withdraw? After ten years of war, he looks at his fellow townsmen kneeling in welcome across the river and thinks of the more than ten thousand villagers who died in battle, now reduced to only a handful. Only then does he understand why the Conqueror never crossed the river. The villagers weep bitterly: “To die for our country is an honor. We only wish we knew whether our sons fought bravely!” Zhang Gui replies: “Your sons fought more bravely than any others in the army.” The villagers say: “Our sons did not bring shame to the general's name.” Zhang Gui draws his sword and cries out in anger: “This rotten world is not worthy of our loyalty!” He leads his battle-hardened army, uses modern knowledge to build infrastructure and grow potatoes, and founds the Kingdom of Yelang, where the people can live in peace and prosperity! The enemy invades? Fight them! The court plots against him? Destroy it! Liu Ruyan asks: “Husband, which poem are you going to copy to humiliate someone this time?” Zhang Gui replies: “No. This time, I'm copying the realm itself!”