Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Five years ago, when Zhao Xixian and I had just left the deep mountains and arrived in Fang County, we had already witnessed how terrible the business environment was in the Ming Dynasty.

Businessmen without connections will only be repeatedly exploited by local gangs and lower-level officials.

After finally earning some money, a significant portion of it ends up in the hands of these people.

This was even when the business wasn't very big and the profits weren't much.

If it's a highly profitable business, these people will devour it whole.

In the Ming Dynasty, the truly successful merchants who could operate in the open were either powerful figures themselves or had powerful backers; they all had profound backgrounds.

In addition, there are some outlaws who are both merchants and thieves, such as the "Macau Lords" of Shuangyu Port.

However, in the eyes of the Ming government, these people were actually wanted criminals who were "colluding with Japanese pirates" and "colluding with barbarians".

To operate in the interior of the Ming Dynasty, one often needed to disguise oneself, use an alias, and remain hidden from the light of day.

Although as long as you take care of things properly, generally no one will cause you any trouble.

However, if they are unlucky enough to encounter a strict official or be betrayed, they can get into big trouble.

Those "Macau residents" of Shuangyu Port usually do not go ashore easily unless absolutely necessary.

Which category does the "Lin family" fall into?

They established trading posts in Shuangyu Port, owning dozens of large ships of 400 liang each, with more than a thousand sailors. In addition to selling glass mirrors and glassware, they also traded bulk commodities such as raw silk, silk fabrics, and porcelain produced in the Ming Dynasty.

He has already become one of the "masters" of Shuangyu Port.

However, they are different from the "Aozhu" (local leaders) who have long resided on Liuhang Island, such as Jin Zilao, Li Guangtou, and Xu Dong.

The "Madam Lin" who managed the "Lin Family's" maritime trade business lived in Ningbo Prefecture.

She built a large five-courtyard house in the city of Ningbo, and hung a plaque that read "Lin Residence".

Inside and outside the "Lin Residence," there were also many guards carrying waist knives, walking steadily, clearly skilled in martial arts.

Among the "masters" of Shuangyu Port, there were quite a few brave and skilled fighters, but they were all very undisciplined and, at least in normal times, had no discipline whatsoever.

However, the guards of the "Lin family" were completely different. Their behavior was more like that of trained soldiers, far superior to ordinary country folk.

The Lin family's shipyards had dozens of large ships under construction at the same time, including the largest civilian ship of 400 tons, as well as super-large ships of 600 tons and 800 tons.

This is clearly about building a blue-water fleet!

I remember very clearly that there were men in both the driver and the passenger seat of the hearse.

Therefore, the head of the family behind "Madam Lin," "Lin Chaoxi," is very likely one of them.

This person has never shown his face, and his identity is still unknown. He may have already ingratiated himself with some powerful figure.

Of course, there is another possibility: Lin Chaoxi himself is now a powerful and influential person.

However, this possibility is unlikely.

He, Zhao Xixian, and the two people in the hearse traveled to this world in the autumn of the fourteenth year of the Jiajing reign.

The Lin family hired Xu Quan as a guide and first set foot on Liuhang Island to complete a glassware transaction with Xu Dong in the winter of the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign.

It's only been a little over three years.

In the Ming Dynasty, the best way for a time traveler to become a powerful figure was to participate in the imperial examinations.

Fang County is located in Yunyang Prefecture. It was originally a place where refugees gathered, and it was also the prefecture where it was easiest for refugees to settle down.

Back then, Zhao Xixian and I were also refugees who settled in Fang County and obtained legal status in the Ming Dynasty.

As a woman, I naturally had no chance of taking the imperial examinations.

Zhao Xixian was ambitious at the time, believing that he had studied for more than ten years, attended university, and would surely be able to crush the ancients in the imperial examinations.

He actually bought the Four Books and Five Classics to prepare for the exam, and participated in the children's examination in February of the fifteenth year of Jiajing's reign.

However, reality slapped him hard in the face; he failed even the first hurdle, the county-level examination.

He himself had once laughed at Zhao Xixian, saying that the ancients were just technologically backward, not stupid.

The imperial examinations tested knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, giving modern people no advantage over them.

In just a few months, he couldn't even master traditional Chinese calligraphy; it would be strange if he didn't fail the exam.

If that "Lin Chaoxi" had also taken the imperial examination route, unless he was originally well-versed in traditional Chinese studies and skilled in traditional Chinese calligraphy, he would have had absolutely no chance of winning.

Even if he truly possesses this ability, the time left for him is extremely limited.

The preliminary examinations for children were held every year, but the provincial and metropolitan examinations were held every three years.

To become a powerful figure through the imperial examinations within three years, one must participate in the preliminary examinations of the fifteenth year of the Jiajing reign (1546) a few months after time travel, passing through the county, prefectural, and provincial examinations in succession to obtain the status of a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

Then, in the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign, he participated in the provincial examination and passed with flying colors, becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination).

It's far from enough for a mere scholar to get the local officials in Ningbo to turn a blind eye to his maritime trade.

Even ordinary graduates who were appointed as county magistrates were still lacking in prestige.

In other words, Lin Chaoxi had to pass the provincial examination in the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign, and then pass the palace examination to become the top scholar, second-place scholar, or third-place scholar!

At the very least, one must be a junior scholar (庶吉士) to be considered to have this kind of weight.

This is extremely difficult; it's practically impossible to do!

More likely, he has somehow managed to curry favor with a powerful or influential person.

But in any case, this person's skills are far beyond what I and Zhao Xixian can match.

The Lin family has now grown powerful and influential.

The natives of the Ming Dynasty might not understand what the "Lin family" was up to, but in the eyes of this time traveler, "Lin Chaoxi's" ambitions were already obvious.

This is going to follow the same path that Wang Zhi and Zheng Zhilong walked in history!

This person's ambition is probably even greater than Zhao Xixian's.

What are ambitious time travelers most afraid of?

Of course, it's another time traveler!

If he discovers me, it will probably be a disaster.

No, I must be even more careful. All the business deals that might expose my identity as a time traveler must be canceled!

From today onwards, I must make myself look exactly like a native of the Ming Dynasty.

Fortunately, he also has an advantage that neither Lin Chaoxi nor Zhao Xixian have: by chance, he has discovered the truth of this dimension.

"Put everything back in the coffin!"

After giving the order, the woman in green pulled out a dagger, walked to the rusty bread cart, and stabbed the fuel tank hard.

As the dagger was pulled out, gasoline gushed out of the wound.

A few minutes later...

A raging fire erupted in the small valley, and the bread truck from another dimension, along with the coffin covered in runes, was reduced to ashes.

This naturally includes the broken Soul-Sealing Jar.

The broken opening of the soul-sealing jar was covered in verdigris, indicating that the evil spirit inside had long since left, but no one knew where it had gone.

If it really gains momentum, then it will be the natives of this plane who will have a headache.

I'll never come to this godforsaken place again. I'm sure I won't be so unlucky as to run into it again.