[Song] No Matter How Learned You Are, Nothing Beats a Bomb

Zhao Yan, a graduate student in explosive engineering, suddenly transmigrates into the Song Renzong era as an ordinary official's son.

The mighty Great Song has no job suited to his expertise!

How infuriating. This tough guy is moved to tears!

Zhao Yan abandons science for the humanities, passes the imperial exams, and enters government service. He'll start as an official, maybe become a chancellor, and open an explosives department. A truly strong person changes the world around him!

Thanks to his solemn, dignified looks, and the fact that he bears a passing resemblance to the emperor, he gets off to a good start: he places third in the palace exam and becomes a junior Hanlin scholar.

But his official career is anything but smooth. It's full of hardships, monsters, and demons.

The reason, of course, is that Great Song is really Great Giving: giving away money and people, and eventually even its emperors. He can't stand it.

Those petty Liao and Xia? Why give them a single coin!

So he tosses the Confucian classics aside and submits a memorial overnight: "On the Use of Precision Explosives to Eliminate Targets in Border Conflicts."

Then Han Qi says, "This young man is outrageous! Demote him!"

He refuses to back down and submits another memorial: "On the Construction of Minefields and Sustainable Defensive Fortifications."

Sima Guang says, "Vulgar! Horrifying! Demote him!"

Enough is enough. There's no need to put up with it any longer.

Argue! Argue! Argue!

So year after year, he receives the lowest marks in his evaluations.

Demote him! Demote him! Demote him!

When he picks another fight with everyone at court, the civil officials finally join forces and bundle him off to the border alongside the disgraced general Di Qing!

Get out! Bianliang doesn't need either of you!

Everyone expects this contrarian to be crushed by reality and come back crying to apologize.

Instead, he's got a bundle of explosives in his left hand and a minefield in his right.

If you can solve it by fighting, don't waste time arguing. The truth only reaches as far as the explosives can fly.

Bombs treat the symptoms, mines treat the root cause. Combine the two, and you'll make a specimen!

Just as he's about to turn Western Xia into a "permanent specimen"...

In the capital, Bianjing, Emperor Song Renzong slowly reveals the truth to his assembled ministers from the Dragon Throne: "My lords, Zhao Yan, whom you impeach day after day... is my son."

Only son, eldest son, legitimate son. Three layers, and no matter how you stack them, he's the future emperor!

The Great Song's literary elite: Great Song is doomed!!!

Zhao Yan: "???"

Di Qing: At last, it's over!

[Ever heard of governing through explosives?]

[Every civil official at court is my hater]

#I thought blowing things up would be fun forever. Why am I suddenly becoming emperor?#

#Help: How do I manage my former idols when all they want to do is curse me? Waiting online, urgent!#

[Bonus scene]

The new emperor ascends the throne, and the ministers instinctively start arguing with him.

Zhao Yan lets loose, then turns around and rolls out a cannon. "My lord, what did you just say? The wind is too loud. I couldn't hear a thing."

"How about you say it again, right in front of this?"

You cursed at me, so I won't hold back now! Heh heh heh.

The ministers: A tyrant like Jie and Zhou!!!

After he recovers the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the ministers say: Long live the sage emperor!!!

Welcome to the Great Song, where martial strength is abundant.

[Reader advisory]

1. The protagonist is no perfect sage. In the early story, he focuses on the imperial exams and is an idealistic sweetheart. Later, Bianliang turns him into a huge contrarian and an overbearing emperor who believes that "explosions are art." If you dislike chuuni contrarians, proceed with caution.

2. The main plot is about using explosives and modern thinking to crush ancient warfare and construction. It's simple and direct, with a focus on wish fulfillment. Political maneuvering serves the plot and characters; this is not a deeply strategic story where every move is calculated.

3. The protagonist might have a romantic partner, but there probably won't be much romance.

4. The story is set during the reign of Emperor Song Renzong and is not a serious historical account. History buffs, please go easy on me.

Theme: Enjoy a happy life.