After entering the city, Wenren Sheng followed Li Xin to the gate of a large six-courtyard residence.
As soon as Li Xin reached the entrance, several hangers-on sitting beneath the eaves of the gatehouse hurriedly rose to their feet.
"Greetings, Mister Li."
"Mm. Announce me. Tell him I've returned."
Li Xin showed these hangers-on no courtesy.
Clearly, the status of a provincial graduate was highly esteemed.
The hangers-on immediately jogged off to notify the gatehouse.
An Old Man came out from the gatehouse.
"Mister Li has returned. The master said that as soon as you arrived, you were to see him in the study."
"Good. This is my nephew, Li Hao. Please arrange lodging for him."
"Certainly, certainly. Please follow me."
Wenren Sheng followed the old gatekeeper to a side room and settled in.
Naturally, he could not go directly to see the Governor. He would have to wait until Li Xin had met with the Governor and the Governor summoned him.
At this moment, he began considering which path he ought to take.
A world modeled after the late Ming Dynasty.
There were several paths to rise through the common people.
The first was to rise through displaced refugees, with Li Zicheng as the classic example.
The second was the maritime merchant route, with Zheng Zhilong as the classic example.
The third was Zuo Liangyu's route—the warlord route. Develop territory and become Cao Cao.
There were several other routes, but none had proven themselves in history.
They were not worth relying on.
Moreover, he could not use ideas or technology beyond this era.
He could only use technologies that already existed in this age.
In truth, that was enough.
By this time, the West already possessed mature firearm tactics.
Accumulate silver, take in refugees, train vast numbers of cheap