Chapter 12: Wow! Is This What High Technology Looks Like? The Top Three Revealed

“Let’s keep the Ministry of Works for now!”

“Although the Ministry of Rites is also important, as it oversees the cultural and educational future of the Datang Empire, nurturing countless scholars,”

“the empire’s various trades are still in their infancy. The development of handicrafts is crucial—it affects future economic prosperity, taxation, and the livelihood of the people.”

“A single thread can move the whole body; prioritizing the development of handicrafts to boost the empire’s economy is the right path.”

Li Muchen clapped his hands decisively, finalizing this plan.

“Vermilion Bird, you return to guard the city gates with the other three beasts.”

“I need to finish up here before returning to the palace.”

As for the Immortal Bone Pill, he would attend to it after handling current affairs, then seek out his mother and sister.

“Understood, Master. No matter how busy you are, take good care of yourself!”

With that, Vermilion Bird vanished in a flash.

Li Muchen approached the first of the initial government offices and recalled that the over a thousand disaster victims were managed by officials from this office, responsible for distributing relief grain and registering new citizens.

Since these tasks were directly related to people’s livelihood…

“System, assign the first government office as the Ministry of Revenue’s headquarters.”

[System: Command received. Programming the first government office as the Ministry of Revenue headquarters.]

[All NPC officials originally stationed here will now become Ministry of Revenue officials, executing the relevant duties.]

Having set the first office’s function, Li Muchen moved on to the second.

He noticed this was the largest building among the five.

“The Ministry of Personnel leads all officials and is the foremost of the Six Ministries.”

“Since this is the largest building, designate it as the Ministry of Personnel headquarters.”

[System: Command received.]

[Programming the second government office as the Ministry of Personnel headquarters.]

Li Muchen then proceeded to the third, fourth, and fifth offices, assigning them as the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Works respectively.

Each time he designated a ministry, the system immediately reprogrammed the building to serve that function.

With all five ministries assigned, Li Muchen intended to inspect the four newly constructed government offices.

[System reminder: The four newly built government offices currently have no officials assigned.]

“Huh? System, say that again!”

[System: I prefer not to repeat myself. Please remain calm, host.]

“What the heck?”

“I get offices, but no officials?!”

“System, reveal yourself! I promise I won’t harm you!”

Three black lines appeared on Li Muchen’s forehead in frustration.

Seeing his emotional outburst, the system gently warned him again.

[According to system rules, the host must not commit violent actions against the system.]

[Please calm down and continue your tasks.]

Hearing the cold, emotionless voice, Li Muchen rolled his eyes dramatically and reluctantly unclenched his fists.

“System!”

“Tell me—where am I supposed to get officials for these five ministries?”

[Have you forgotten?]

[The system has already granted you the “Famous Minister System” and the “Imperial Examination System” rewards.]

[Once you hold the Imperial Examination, you can select officials for all five ministries.]

“Oh, that’s right.”

“I almost forgot there was such a reward in my space.”

“And how does the Famous Minister System work?”

After learning about the Imperial Examination reward, Li Muchen asked about the Famous Minister System.

Heh heh!

With famed ministers assisting in governance, wouldn’t the Datang Empire flourish quickly?

[After the Imperial Examination concludes, the Famous Minister System reward will activate automatically.]

[If you want the five ministries to operate sooner, start the Imperial Examination now!]

The system fell silent again.

Wasting no time, Li Muchen summoned the Imperial Examination reward from his space.

Following the prompts step by step until the final stage,

[Reminder: The Imperial Examination has been initiated with one click.]

[When the host returns to the palace, the list of successful candidates will appear on the desk in the Xuanzheng Hall.]

“Impressive speed!”

“Let’s hurry back and get some officials working.”

The Datang Empire’s territory was not vast; the palace was close to the five government offices, so Li Muchen walked directly back to the palace.

Upon entering, he headed straight for Xuanzheng Hall.

Along the way, he noticed many parts of the palace had changed.

“As expected!”

“The upgraded Datang Palace is no longer as shabby as before.”

However, Li Muchen had no leisure to enjoy the gardens’ beauty.

…

A quarter of an hour later, outside Xuanzheng Hall.

Panting, Li Muchen collapsed inside and sprawled out: “Phew… I’m exhausted!”

“Didn’t expect that after the palace upgrade, walking from the gates to Xuanzheng Hall took twice as long as usual.”

He slumped on a couch, resting for about five minutes before rising again.

Sitting at the desk, he clicked his tongue twice: “My body… I was too pampered before.”

“Less than an hour of exercise and I’m this worn out?”

Suddenly, he remembered the Immortal Bone Pill in the celadon bottle.

“Once I take the Immortal Bone Pill, my constitution will definitely improve greatly.”

“When I transmigrated here two years ago, the original body had grown too old to practice martial arts.”

“I wonder if taking the pill will open my Ren and Du meridians, turning me into a martial arts prodigy?”

“Tsk tsk—”

“If the pill doesn’t make me immortal, becoming an unparalleled expert is still a great outcome.”

Li Muchen chuckled foolishly alone in Xuanzheng Hall, imagining himself heroically wielding a sword, fearlessly punishing evildoers.

Snapping out of his daydream, he glanced around to see if anyone was present.

Fortunately, the hall was empty; otherwise, his silly expression would undermine the dignity of the future emperor of the Datang Empire.

“Phew—good thing no one’s here!”

“Otherwise, it would damage my future great emperor’s reputation.”

Li Muchen looked at the desk and saw a large book had appeared.

Opening it, the pages were filled with the names of candidates who passed the Imperial Examination.

Just as he was about to review them one by one, the book suddenly lifted into the air and transformed into a large, high-definition display screen.

[There are one hundred fifty-six candidates who passed this examination.]

Clicking further, the screen displayed the full list, each name accompanied by a portrait of the successful candidate.

“Wow! Such high tech?!”

Li Muchen clicked his tongue again in admiration, applauded, and then opened a page labeled “Top Three…”