Getting Simulated By The Empress Is Not My Intention - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Another Simulation

[Simulation Evaluation: Failed. As a hanger-on, you provided a brilliant plan to drive a wedge between the chief and made a great contribution. However, this could not reverse the decline of Kingdom Qin. Kingdom Qin is still headed toward destruction.]

[Simulation Reward: Marrow and tendon cleansing.]

As the reward display ended, Zhang Beichen felt a cool breeze enter his body, making his limbs feel extremely relaxed. His body, which had been worn out by working overtime and staying up late, seemed to have become stronger.

He felt refreshed and his consciousness was clear as if he had been reborn!

“What the h*ll? Don’t tell me that the game’s rewards are real…?” Zhang Beichen was bewildered.

At this moment, the game interface changed.

[Beginner’s tutorial has ended.]

[Do you wish to start the official simulation?]

[In the official simulation, the rewards will be more abundant, but they can only be activated once in a while.]

“Let’s start. After two rounds, we didn’t even get the empress of Kingdom Qin, let alone raise an empress of an empire!” Zhang Beichen made up his mind. He said, “Even if this simulation can’t make the empress of Kingdom Qin the empress of the united empire, I have to get her!”

…

“Official simulation?” Ying Yiren was also holding back her anger. She declared, “This time, I must turn the tables!”

…

[Official simulation has been activated!]

Zhang Beichen’s identity changed from [Common: Zhang Beichen] to [Common Advisor: Zhang Beichen].

His character attributes had increased a little due to the previous simulation reward. Hence, his character card changed from a white card to a blue one.

“Not bad, at least the start is better than the previous two rounds.” Zhang Beichen started to think about how he should play this game.

The first round had been a complete failure, and in the second round, he had helped pacify Longxi, but he had not managed to settle the other states.

“The key lies in the empress of Kingdom Qin. I can’t do it on my own. If I can see the empress in advance and make her change her strategy, it will be easier to deal with it later.” Zhang Beichen was thinking about it when he suddenly saw a notification pop up in the game.

[You were walking on the street when you were suddenly questioned by a minor official. He learned that your name was Zhang Beichen and took you away.]

“???” Zhang Beichen’s face was filled with questions. Why didn’t the game follow the rules? Why did the starting plot of each round change?

This time, he had been captured directly. Was he going to be enlisted into the army again? That would be too unlucky!

[The minor official brought you to the Qin Palace. You met the empress and she asked why you didn’t come to the palace to work for her.]

“???” Zhang Beichen was dumbfounded. What was going on? Did the empress of Kingdom Qin know him?

Was it because he had changed from a white card to a blue card that he was welcomed by her now? His reputation would be reset every game, but his current reputation was zero.

Besides, didn’t she turn him away in the previous rounds?

[You replied that it was your first time in Kingdom Qin and you had no connections. The empress of Kingdom Qin did not make things difficult for you. Instead, she let you stay and appointed you as a public official.]

A public official was the lowest rank and official position in Kingdom Qin. Zhang Beichen did not make any contributions and was directly appointed as a public official. This was already an extremely favorable treatment.

[In the first year, you worked hard in the Qin Palace and your ability improved.]

[You have been taught martial arts by the captain of the guards of the empress of Kingdom Qin. You have successfully cultivated it and your cultivation has reached the first realm.]

“As expected! The abilities of the officials can be improved.” When Ying Yiren saw Zhang Beichen’s attributes, she quickly sent a few more teachers to teach him.

Zhang Beichen was dumbfounded. He was clearly here to do something. However, the empress of Kingdom Qin would send people over every two or three days to teach him horse riding, archery, and the Hundred Schools of Thought.

He studied all day.

“I didn’t expect that after studying for more than ten years in real life, I still have to learn in the game!” Zhang Beichen was speechless. Since his attributes were increasing, he could only focus on his studies.

Nothing unexpected happened in the first year. The empress of Kingdom Qin and her people rested to restore the kingdom’s power.

The next year, a problem appeared again.

[The chief of Longxi’s Rongdi tribe saw that the power of Kingdom Qin was weak and was incited by the Yan and Zhao kingdoms to start a rebellion.]

When faced with a rebellion, Zhang Beichen naturally offered his advice again.

[You proposed to the empress of Kingdom Qin to send a secret emissary to mislead the chief. The empress of Kingdom Qin greatly admires your schemes and has accepted your suggestion, dispatching you as an emissary to Longxi.]

The following process was similar to the previous round. When the empress of Kingdom Qin pacified Longxi, the various kingdoms sent their troops to divide Kingdom Qin.

“We’ve reached this point again!” Ying Yiren started to think about how she could break out of this situation.

This time, she was not in a hurry to make a decision. Instead, she gathered the officials and discussed it.

At present, Kingdom Qin was still standing, and even the old clans were on the same side as her and would not easily betray her.

[The ministers suggest that Kingdom Qin cedes land and pay indemnities to drive a wedge between the kingdoms.]

Ying Yiren was still worried, so she looked for Zhang Beichen for a discussion. This time, she was worried that Zhang Beichen would be trapped in Rongdi again, so she asked him to come back earlier after he finished his business.

[Zhang Beichen proposed a plan to you. He believes that the six-kingdom alliance may seem to share a common enemy on the surface, but they each have their own ulterior motives. It would be better to give one of the kingdoms a huge reward and persuade them to retreat. At the same time, send a secret emissary to Kingdom Wei to delay the empress of Kingdom Wei, and the six-kingdom alliance would naturally collapse on its own.]

“This is still dissension, but compared to splitting the interests between the six kingdoms, it may be better to use force to persuade one of the kingdoms.” Ying Yiren accepted Zhang Beichen’s suggestion.

[Zhang Beichen was sent to Kingdom Wei as a secret emissary. He bribed the Prime Minister of Wei with a lot of money and delayed the time when Wei would send out their troops.]

[Jing Ping went to the Kingdom Yan and promised great benefits. Kingdom Yan withdrew their army in advance. When Kingdom Zhao saw this, they also retreated.]

[Seeing that Longxi has been pacified and that two other kingdoms have withdrawn their troops, the empress of Kingdom Wei has decided to accept Kingdom Qin’s offer to cede land and seek peace. Kingdom Qin’s crisis has been resolved.]

“We’ve finally made it through!” Ying Yiren heaved a sigh of relief. She had finally made it to the third year of the simulation!

But even so, Kingdom Qin became even weaker after ceding land and paying off Kingdom Wei. After a few years, the other kingdoms would still be unable to sit still and would come to attack Kingdom Qin.

“It seems that I have to work hard and find talents to help me manage Kingdom Qin.” Ying Yiren began to issue new orders.

[The treasury is empty. You’ve decided to start from scratch, save and save, and take the lead in donating to the treasury. Hundreds of officials and nobles have donated money. You have received a sum of money.]

[You issued a sovereign’s order to recruit talented people to work for Kingdom Qin. They can all be conferred official titles.]

“Oh right, there’s also Zhang Beichen.” Ying Yiren didn’t forget Zhang Beichen. In the previous two simulations, he had been very loyal. This time, it was also because of Zhang Beichen that they could resolve the crisis.

[You have appointed Zhang Beichen as a senior public official, in charge of the affairs of the country.]

“Senior public official! Hahaha.” Zhang Beichen saw that his title had been promoted by six ranks. There were 20 ranks in Kingdom Qin, from the lowest to the highest. A senior public official was in the 7th rank.

After becoming a senior official, Zhang Beichen had more room to carry out his plans. He first consolidated the contents of Ying Yiren’s recruitment order.

All the scholars had to first pass an examination before they could enter the recruitment hall, where food and drinks were provided. If they became officials, they would have one to three years of probation period. If they failed during the probation period, they would be fired without a title.

If they passed the probation period, they would be granted an official position and a noble title. In this way, many people who tried to fish in troubled waters were eliminated, and it also saved the empress of Kingdom Qin’s funds.

[In two years, the recruitment order has seen its first results, and Kingdom Qin has recovered some of its strength. But compared to the other kingdoms, it was still weak. All the kingdoms are eyeing Kingdom Qin covetously. You have no choice but to give out a large amount of gold and silver to all the kingdoms every year.] Ying Yiren felt that it was too difficult for her. In the past few years, she had been living frugally. Even her favorite wine consumption had changed from three times a day to one time every three days. Furthermore, it was mixed grain wine brewed in her own residence.

Just like this, Kingdom Qin still had a half-dead outlook. Spending money to buy peace could only buy peace for a few years. In recent years, the appetites of the surrounding kingdoms had grown bigger and bigger, and it was difficult to satisfy them with money. It was estimated that in a few years, the empresses of Kingdom Wei, Kingdom Chu, and Kingdom Zhao would not be able to bear it and would attack Kingdom Qin with an allied army!

Ying Yiren decided to hold a court meeting to discuss this matter with the ministers.

[The ministers and generals all agree that Kingdom Qin is weak because it has lost a large piece of territory. Kingdom Qin should reorganize our military and recover the lost territory.]

Ying Yiren thought so too. In fact, before her, her father had also been on the battlefield. The old clans, generals, and nobles also relied on war to obtain land, population, and titles.

Therefore, once Kingdom Qin had the strength, they would push for war. However, they lost more than they won, causing Kingdom Qin to become poorer and weaker over time.

Zhang Beichen looked over. Why did they want to fight again? Kingdom Qin had finally recovered a little of its strength, and these courtiers were urging the empress to start a war. If they really started a war, they might be annihilated again.

Thus, he quickly advised.

[Zhang Beichen, the senior public official, admonishes that Kingdom Qin is not strong enough to support the war, and its military power is no match for the Kingdom of Wei and other kingdoms. He believed that Kingdom Qin should carry out reform and implement new policies. Only after the reform to make them become stronger could they consider war.]

[The ministers criticized Zhang Beichen, saying that he was not courageous and was afraid of the other kingdoms. State Minister Meng Yuan proposed to remove Zhang Beichen from his post.]

Ying Yiren looked at him and thought, “Good fellow, you old fogey, you actually want to fire my beloved official? In the last simulation, it was you who led people to rebel, and it was Zhang Beichen who endured the humiliation to avenge me!”

[You’ve decided to adopt Zhang Beichen’s suggestion to reform and become stronger. Zhang Beichen was also appointed as the Left Chief to preside over the reform.]

The Left Chief’s rank was three ranks higher than that of a senior public official, and Zhang Beichen was promoted again.

[You promoted Zhang Beichen and took charge of the reform, which caused dissatisfaction among the officials and the old clans. They began to obstruct Zhang Beichen’s reform openly and covertly.]

“I can finally get down to business.” Zhang Beichen didn’t stay idle during this time. He investigated all aspects of Kingdom Qin and found the reason why Kingdom Qin was weak.

The old clans represented by Meng Yuan and the others had occupied a large amount of land and population. Kingdom Qin loved waging wars, and every war caused the people to become poorer, and wealth was further occupied by the old clans.

As a result, Kingdom Qin became poorer and weaker.

If they wanted Kingdom Qin to be strong, the kingdom had to reform. They would return the land to the farmers and free the slaves at the same time to increase productivity and population.

Furthermore, he also had to find a way to weaken the power of the old clans. This would definitely affect their interests and lead to their counterattack.

[You tried to implement the new law, but because the previous attempts to implement the new law had failed, the people did not trust the new law. It is difficult to implement the new law.]