Scholar of the People: From Child Student to Prime Minister

Lin Yan taught at a private school in Qingniu Village for five years. He saw farmers unable to pay taxes sell their ten-year-old daughters as maids to landlords, and witnessed a fellow villager who had studied hard for ten years have his scholar title usurped by a son of a noble family. Clutching his worn-out writing brush, he resolved to take the imperial examinations—not to bring glory to his ancestors, but to open a crack of light in this rotten world. Without any heaven-defying cheat, he relied on solid knowledge gained from twenty years of hard study, the worldly wisdom he acquired while teaching, and the unyielding principles etched into his bones. From top candidate in the county exam to Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, he stepped on the hats of corrupt officials, exposed the dark dealings of noble families, and survived the schemes of treacherous cliques. Every promotion was accompanied by the cheers of the common people and the sound of his enemies being slapped in the face. The sky of this Great Jing dynasty must one day be upheld by scholars from humble origins.