Chapter 3, Ding Service

Carefully opening the "History of Ming," Sun Dan discovered that one year later, while returning to Beijing, Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty fell into the water at Qingjiangpu in Huai'an while playfully casting a fishing net, which led to his illness and ultimately resulted in his death from coughing up blood

Zhi Niang smiled apologetically, her eyes slightly red: "Sun Lang, we have run out of rice at home. If I can borrow some money from my family tomorrow, that would be good. If I can't borrow it, not only will you be taken away by the officials, but we might also starve. Fortunately, this piece of cloth is about to be finished. I will endure a little longer, and once it is woven, I can sell it at the cloth shop and exchange it for two dou of rough rice. We can get through this month."

His mind became chaotic, and countless folders appeared before his eyes

Upon discovering that he had crossed over to the Ming Dynasty and faced such perilous circumstances, Sun Dan, although despondent, did not neglect his own interests or passively accept his fate

Knowledge is power. With this extraordinary ability, combined with the vast reservoir of information stored on his computer's hard drive, in a certain sense, Sun Dan himself is a super library. However, he has not found a way to utilize this power

That's great; I can actually access the information on the computer. This way, I won't have to worry about not having anything to read when I'm bored!" Sun Dan exclaimed with joy, suddenly waking up from his dream.

As for using money to offset the difference, looking at this place, it is as impoverished as if it had been swept away by a flood; being able to produce even a single coin would be quite remarkable. No wonder Zhi Niang said she wanted to borrow money from her father; it turns out she intended to save Sun Dan's life

A mouse cursor suddenly appeared and double-clicked on the folder, a small hourglass floating before my eyes

However, according to the Great Ming Code, this laborer Sun Dan can still be exempted from service. However, two conditions must be met. First, one must hold an official title; in the Great Ming, the scholar-officials share governance of the world, and any scholar or gentry with an official title can be exempted from all taxes and labor service. Second, one can substitute money for labor; by paying a fee of two taels of silver, one can avoid this arduous task.

Sun Dan's thoughts stirred, and his consciousness settled on a document titled "The Symbolism of Zen Philosophy." He vaguely remembered that this was a monograph written by the esteemed Mr. Wu Yansheng, which he had borrowed from the library during his university studies in philosophy. The content was indeed too profound, and after reading a few chapters, he had given up. The last time he was gathering information online, he had hastily downloaded it onto his hard drive, intending to find time to review it again.

... ...

However, the implication of listening to Zhi Niang's words seems to suggest that it is fundamentally impossible to obtain money from Wan Tufu.

It was during the Spring Festival of the fourteenth year of the Zhengde era that a momentous event occurred in the Ming Empire: Prince Ning, Zhu Chenhao, rebelled, prompting Emperor Zhengde to personally lead a large army south to quell the uprising. Now, although the rebellion of Prince Ning has been suppressed, the emperor remains in Nanjing, steadfastly refusing to return to court.

Upon hearing these words of concern, Sun Dan felt touched, yet his heart tightened.

The spring chill is biting, and even the small dilapidated house feels extremely cold. However, there is a faint warmth rising from the corner of Zhi Niang's forehead, swirling and ascending in the light.

In his sleep, Sun Dan saw a series of flickering directories before him

Sun Dan straightened his body and looked over, only to see Zhi Niang sitting in front of a spinning wheel, spinning a piece of white cloth. Her slender figure was cast against the wall, swaying continuously in the flickering light.

Sun Dan smiled silently and said, "I have already slept for a whole day; if I sleep again, I will truly become a fool. Why haven't you slept yet? Have you stayed up all night?"

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient. When farmers were required to perform labor, they needed to bring their own provisions and travel expenses. Sun Dan's family was already impoverished, and coupled with his frail health, even if he did not perish from exhaustion on the road, he would surely become a starving corpse by the roadside

Available space: 807, 501, 824

This is merely the content of one D drive, which contains hundreds of folders. At that time, I had no idea what had possessed me to download so much content in just four months.

Sun Dan's heart was shaken: Could everything that just happened in the dream actually manifest in reality? Could it be that my brain truly contains an old-fashioned computer, which has brought over the information stored in another world of books intact?

Sun Dan does not possess any fame or fortune; his ancestors for three generations were small-town citizens, and he could not read a single character. Of course, in modern times, Sun Dan is at least a university student, which, in terms of educational attainment, is equivalent to at least a xiucai. However, even if he were to take the examination for xiucai or juren now, it would be too late. The imperial examination during the Ming Dynasty was held once every three years, with strict time regulations, unlike the later college entrance examination, which is held annually.

Sun Dan welcomed the first dawn of the Ming Dynasty

Type: Local Disk D

It is understandable that the emperor remains in Jiangnan and is reluctant to return to the capital, after all, he is still a young man in the prime of his life and naturally wishes to enjoy a few more days in the vibrant world of Jiangnan. However, with the army gathering in Jiangnan to suppress the rebels, all military supplies and provisions must be transported from the capital to Nanjing via the Grand Canal, which has caused great hardship for the local populace along the route

Alright, let's get to it and see if we can find some useful information from it

Therefore, during the day, when the officials sent their subordinates to conscript Sun Dan into the army, Sun Dan, in utter despair, dashed his head against the wall, seeking a quick end to his life. Fortunately, the soul of the modern Sun Dan traversed time and space and happened to occupy this body.

Used space: 88, 299, 798, 528

I don't even know how I downloaded it in the first place

File System: FAT32

Of course, there are exceptions on https://www.hetushu.com, such as "How to Cultivate Eels," "Cement Process Flow," and "Common Pesticide Guide"

Even in his dreams, Sun Dan still felt a wave of depression... His heart stirred, and the D drive opened smoothly, revealing its treasures: "Mao Zedong's Commentary on the Twenty-Four Histories," "Records of the Grand Historian," "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli," "Modern Chinese Language," "Selections from the Zhaoming Literature"

"Sun Lang, you are awake. There is still an hour until dawn. You are weak, so sleep a little longer. I will call you again when it is light."

Zhi Niang sighed again, paused her hands, and stared blankly at the shadow on the wall, murmuring: "Father is an exceptionally money-loving person, and he would never easily lend us two taels of silver. Even if he were willing, Auntie would not agree. Her temperament... sigh, Sun Lang, if you were to be caught by the officials and forced into labor, with your frail body, you would likely not be able to endure it."

But the question is, how can one get through this year

Sun Dan's heart suddenly surged with a feeling of emotion. To be honest, this girl before him had no real connection to him. She was forced by her father to be sent to the Sun family, becoming his fiancée. In order to take care of her, he had endured three years of hardship.

Unknowingly, the day has already dawned

Although there are many files downloaded inside, they are of no use if they cannot be opened

Ah, back then, in order to promote the tourism project of the county's Confucian Temple, I truly put in a lot of effort and worked on various materials. However, now, the work I did a few months ago has all gone to waste and is of no use.

Indeed, it is quite a headache! Sun Dan scratched his head and suddenly became a bit anxious

I opened several folders again, and even read through "The Things of the Ming Dynasty" once, yet I still could not find a good solution

Zouping County is located to the east of Jinan Prefecture, not far from the Grand Canal, and naturally needs to send troops to assist in the transportation of grain and military supplies. As an independent taxpayer, Sun Dan had just completed his three-year mourning period, and it was only natural for him to be incorporated into the labor force.

His lips moved, yet he said nothing

After all, being a graduate in the humanities, most of the content in my computer is primarily focused on literature, history, and philosophy

What the branch lady mentioned is indeed quite urgent; if this hurdle cannot be overcome, I might inexplicably perish in ancient times

Perhaps this information can indeed help one get through this difficult time

To establish oneself and find purpose in life, the first step must be emptiness. The initial step in Zen meditation is to achieve emptiness; only by clearing away emotional dust and desires can the mind attain clarity and purity. The black-clad Brahmin offered the flowers of the silk tree and the phoenix tree to the Buddha, who said: 'Let go'

The light in the room has dimmed slightly, and it is still that faint tung oil lamp. What is different, however, is the cacophony of spinning wheel sounds in my ears

In other words, as long as one can delay for a year regarding one's own service, once Emperor Zhengde passes away, there will naturally be no need to transport money and grain to the front lines in Jiangnan.