Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2794 The Great Jin Dynasty's Landscape, Tianchen's Rule

The battle on the plateau lasted until the end of the ninth year of Jian'an.

Even with the Northern Tubo acting as guides, it still took the Great Jin several years to conquer a small plateau. The environment there was simply too unfavorable, making it impossible to proceed quickly.

Fortunately, after several years, Wang Ben finally lived up to expectations and destroyed both the Eastern and Western Tubo.

From then on, the plateau was finally brought under the rule of the Great Jin Dynasty.

That is, starting from the end of the ninth year of Jian'an, it marked the peak of the Jin Dynasty's rule.

At the end of the same year, the Modu Khanate submitted to the Great Jin Dynasty and expressed its willingness to become a vassal state.

With the submission of the Modu Khanate, the Jin Dynasty's rule over the steppes was further strengthened, and the Anbei Protectorate's power entered a new phase.
Nine years after Jian'an, Li Xiang, who was already sixty years old, changed the era name to Tianchen once again.

Using "Chen" as its title symbolizes the supreme authority of the empire and also signifies that all ethnic groups, under the leadership of the Great Jin, will stand at the pinnacle of the world.

After Shenlong, Yuanshi, Qianyuan, and Jian'an, Tianchen became Emperor Li Xiang's fifth reign title, and also his last, as well as the reign title he used for the longest time.

In the first year of Tianchen, the sixty-year-old emperor made a series of arrangements for the plateau, which had finally been pacified after many years.

Li Xiang officially established the Plateau Protectorate, with Wang Ben as the Grand Protector-General to manage it, and stationed 3,000 troops.

Subsequently, the Protectorate General was given a certain number of places to recruit soldiers locally.

Furthermore, military settlements were established in river valleys with favorable conditions near the Protectorate General's residence.

To address the difficulty of food supply, Li Xiang implemented a "salary system," allowing soldiers to purchase food on the plateau.

In coordination with military settlements, we can alleviate the logistical pressure on the garrison's food and supplies as much as possible.

Outside of the Plateau Protectorate, Li Xiang divided the entire plateau into five parts, and granted local chieftains a large number of titles to participate in the governance of these areas, and bestowed upon them official titles and seals of the Great Jin Dynasty such as "Marquis", "Chief of the Righteous Qiang", and "Chief of the Leading Qiang".

Li Xiang then demanded that the leaders of the major tribes send their sons to Luoyang to "serve" them, especially the children of officials who were in charge of governing the five major regions.

They were required to learn the culture of the Han Dynasty, learn the Chinese language, and recognize Chinese characters. In the future, officials in these regions would be mainly selected from among these people.

At the same time, Li Xiang also required the leaders of each tribe to pay tribute to the Protectorate every three years with local specialties, such as fine horses, yak tails, and musk.

The imperial court would reciprocate with silk, gold and silver wares, and luxury goods far exceeding the value of the tribute. This served as a disguised form of economic subsidy and a ritualistic confirmation of political subordination.

In addition to military, economic and political means, Li Xiang also used the name "Yellow River originates from Kunlun" to establish official sacrifices to sacred mountains and lakes, including the source of the Yellow River, Qinghai Lake, and Jishi Mountain, and incorporated them into the "Five Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers" sacrificial system in the Central Plains.

In this way, they culturally and ideologically proclaimed that "the river originates from Kunlun, and its underground flow reappears; all of this is the territory of our Great Jin," thus transforming geographical discovery into political legitimacy.

Buddhism had only recently been introduced to the Tibetan Plateau after Princess Wencheng's arrival there.

Therefore, at this time, Buddhism on the plateau did not actually have much of a foundation.

Li Xiang further intensified the export of Buddhist culture to the plateau, actively encouraging Buddhist personnel to spread Buddhist teachings there, thereby strengthening control over the plateau region through cultural means. Through various methods, he sought to maximize his rule over the plateau region.

With the establishment of the Plateau Protectorate, the Great Jin Dynasty eventually came to a state of nineteen prefectures, four counties, and two kingdoms.

The plateau region also became the last area that the Great Jin Dynasty conquered militarily during Li Xiang's reign.

From then on, during Li Xiang's era, the Great Jin Dynasty basically did not experience any large-scale wars. The Great Jin Dynasty fully entered a period of peace and prosperity, and the reign of Tianchen, recorded in later historical books, finally came to an end.

In May of the first year of the Tianchen era, two princes were born in the palace.

These are the only two princes born in the last five years. Of course, they are also the last two princes of the founding emperor.

He was already sixty years old when he was able to have children late in life, and they were even twins. Li Xiang was naturally extremely excited and issued an edict granting amnesty to the whole country.

Even those facing less severe death sentences were pardoned by Li Xiang.

The only regret is that their mother, Zhang Chunhua, was an older mother; although the child was born, she passed away.

Zhang Chunhua was originally just a pet kept by Li Xiang in the Bronze Sparrow Terrace. However, due to her talent, Li Xiang brought her into the palace and made her a talented woman.

If that were all there was to it, then that would be all she was; her name might not even have had the chance to appear in history books.

However, it was precisely because of the birth of these two children that her name became an indelible mark in history.

However, she was originally just a concubine, but because she gave birth to two princes, the emperor, who was overjoyed at the time, posthumously conferred upon her the title of Imperial Concubine.

The two children, one named Yan and the other Ju, were temporarily entrusted to the Empress for upbringing.

At the same time, these two children are among the few who are qualified to be mentored and guided by Li Xiang.

For example, among the princes who were the oldest of Li Xiang's generation, Li Xiang was constantly engaged in military campaigns. When many of his princes were born, Li Xiang was not even by their side, let alone personally raising them.

Only a few princes born after the Qianyuan era were able to receive this treatment.

Even during the Yuanshi era, although Li Xiang was in Luoyang, it was during the period of great economic recovery after the pandemic. Even as the emperor, he was so busy that he had no time to rest and had no other thoughts.

In September of the first year of Tianchen, Li Xiang once again reduced the country's taxes. With this tax reduction, the land tax of the Great Jin Dynasty officially entered the period of one-thirtieth of the total tax.

In November of the same year, Li Xiang issued an "Edict Seeking Advice," openly demanding that officials of all ranks, both inside and outside the court, and even ordinary people, speak frankly and offer their opinions, pointing out the merits and demerits of the government.

Furthermore, four bronze boxes were successively set up: the "Enfeoffment Box," the "Admonition Box," and the "Revenge Box" to collect opinions and suggestions from the people.

During numerous court assemblies, Li Xiang repeatedly told his officials that "those who speak out are not guilty, but those who listen should take heed," encouraging them to actively listen to and offer advice.

Furthermore, Li Xiang was generous with his rewards to those who offered honest advice, ensuring that officials could see the tangible benefits of actively and correctly accepting advice.

(End of this chapter)