Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Inside a superior room on the second floor of "Hanjiang Inn".

"I thank Young Master Lu for the reward."

The courier, all smiles, picked up a small piece of silver weighing only two or three grams from the table and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Please enjoy your meal, Young Master Lu. Please do not hesitate to ask if you need anything else."

After saying that, she took small steps back out of the guest room, making sure to close the door behind her.

Using his telekinetic powers, Lu Chen gently scanned the area outside the door. After confirming that the other person had left, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

Last night, at the inn in that riverside town, Lu Chen had already tasted the cuisine of this era, but the flavor was not very good and was quite bland.

It was just a small village, and Lu Chen hadn't expected to get to eat anything special.

But this meal gave Lu Chen a little surprise.

As expected of an official post station, it not only provided food and lodging for the messengers delivering official documents, but also frequently received passing court officials.

The postal workers were one thing, but the officials had specific requirements regarding their food.

This was still during the Jiajing reign, and the Ming Dynasty's postal system was far from collapsing to the extent it had become at the end of the Ming Dynasty. As long as one was willing to spend money, one still had the ability to prepare a decent meal.

Although there weren't the diverse seasonings available in later generations, the chef's skills were still quite good. At least Lu Chen felt that the taste was no worse than the dishes he ordered from small restaurants on the street before he transmigrated.

Lu Chen entered the "Hanjiang Post Station," showed his travel permit to the postmaster, and requested that the post station provide him with food and lodging.

The other party initially agreed without hesitation, but then looked hesitant, saying that there were many high-ranking officials and nobles traveling through the post station, and if they were court officials with "official credentials," they would naturally do their best to receive them.

However, family members of officials are indeed not within the scope of reception stipulated by the imperial court.

Although their small inn was willing to provide convenience, it was really difficult to operate on paper.

Lu Chen understood the implication in their words: they were willing to provide him with food and lodging, but he would have to pay for it himself and could not use the post station's public account.

It seems that Lu Chen's father, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital, is not qualified to have the local post stations fawn over his illegitimate son who is coming to the capital.

That makes sense. If he had stayed at government-run post stations since leaving Chengtian Prefecture, how could he have mistakenly entered a shady inn and lost his life?

Lu Chen was naturally pleased that the inn was willing to provide paid services.

When Lu Chen first transmigrated, he had some loose silver coins on him.

Including what he had looted while cleaning up the battlefield at the black market, he now had more than a pound of loose silver, which was close to twenty taels according to the Ming Dynasty's calculation method, in addition to several dozen copper coins.

Although it is unclear what the prices are like here, this amount of money certainly had considerable purchasing power in the mid-Ming Dynasty.

Sure enough, when Lu Chen expressed his willingness to pay for it himself, the innkeeper immediately put on a smile and introduced the room prices of various levels at the inn.

They even took out a menu and introduced various local delicacies to Lu Chen.

Only then did Lu Chen realize that this guy was also abusing public resources for private gain, operating the imperial post station as an inn.

The Ming Dynasty established a large number of post stations in the two capitals and thirteen provinces. In addition to providing horses for the couriers who delivered official documents, these post stations also received government officials and passing officials.

According to the laws of the imperial court, officials of different ranks enjoyed different treatments, so post stations would be equipped with a number of guest rooms of different grades, as well as supporting catering services.

These configurations highly overlap with those of the inn.

Nowadays, there is no unrest in the Huguang region. The number of officials and errand runners passing through is far from enough to saturate the post station system, so there are often vacant rooms.

By utilizing these idle resources and engaging in flexible private operations, the postmaster might not only be able to make up for the losses incurred from being exploited by the families of certain officials whom he could not afford to offend, but also generate additional revenue.

We should never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.

However, this is not a bad thing for Lu Chen.

This shows that the bottom line of the people in the Ming Dynasty was more flexible than they originally thought.

Many things are easy to accomplish if you're willing to spend money.

After finishing his meal, Lu Chen opened the window of his guest room.

By this time, it was completely dark, and looking up, one could see a crescent moon and a sky full of stars.

After tonight, we can reach Xiangyang by boat by going down the Han River.

Xiangyang Prefecture was a large city with a city wall circumference of about 7 kilometers and an area of ​​more than 3 square kilometers, far exceeding that of an ordinary prefecture city.

In the entire Hubei and Hunan region, it ranks fourth in size, second only to Wuchang, the provincial capital, Jingzhou, a major city in western Hubei, and Changsha, the capital of Hunan.

It can definitely be considered a regional central city.

Once I arrived in Xiangyang, I could say that I had truly entered the civilized society of this plane.

But once I arrive in Xiangyang, where should I go from here?

Lu Chen had no idea how long this road sign he found at the shady shop would last.

The travel permit was issued in mid-April.

Lu Chen had asked the courier earlier and learned that it was more than two thousand li from Chengtian Prefecture to the capital.

According to the travel guide, the route through Xiangyang Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture would take at least a month, and at most two or three months.

If I haven't reached the capital by July or August at the latest, and am still using this travel permit to move around in these four prefectures, it will arouse suspicion.

Can I take this travel permit to the capital?

Of course not!

A travel permit is not a household registration in the true sense; it is used during travel.

Upon arrival at the destination, one naturally needs to go to the government office to re-register one's household registration.

To register his household registration, he would inevitably have to meet with Lu Chen's father, Lu Kun.

Although the description of his appearance on the travel guide matched his own fairly well, it was enough to fool those who had never seen the real Lu Chen.

As Lu Chen's father, how could Lu Kun not recognize him?

Even if you haven't seen each other for years, it's no use trying to fool people with your appearance.

If Lu Kun asks him any question, he will inevitably be exposed.

Lu Chen's travel permit will only be valid for two or three months.

I need to get a new identity by the end of July.

Ideally, one should no longer impersonate someone else, but genuinely register their household in a certain prefecture or county.

Lu Chen, of course, had no idea how this would be done.

However, what Lu Chen saw and heard at this post station today made him realize that as long as he was willing to spend money, there would definitely be someone who could get this done for him.

Lu Chen's identity can be used for another two or three months, so I have plenty of time.

The most urgent task is to raise some money.

How do I make money?

Doing business with it is obviously not an option!

As a modern person, Lu Chen certainly has more than one way to create products that can make huge profits in this era.

However, doing business in this ancient world without a sound business environment is not as simple as just producing products and then selling them for profit.

Without sufficient strength to protect and safeguard profits, even the highest profits cannot be maintained!

That's fine, but the problem is that the cycle is too long, and I can't wait that long.

As for business, we'll naturally do it in the future, but we'll have to wait until we have a truly secure identity!

What I need most right now is a quick sum of money.

What's the fastest way to make money?

It's a business with no capital required!

Lu Chen's thought was that it was a case of double-crossing!

As a modern person with normal values, I would naturally not want to do things like murder and robbery.

But when it comes to double-crossing, there's little psychological burden.

After killing three thieves at the black market that day, Lu Chen could barely be considered to have experienced real combat.

I also gained a more intuitive understanding of my own telekinetic combat abilities.

Once you get within three meters of the opponent, an ordinary person is no match for you.

Telekinesis is one's trump card, and it should not be revealed unless absolutely necessary.

However, one can completely use movements combined with telekinesis to impersonate martial arts.

As long as the performance is convincing enough, no one should be able to tell the difference.