Jiuxi

Chapter 1037 Extra 01 [An Zhi] (Thanks to the generous reward from the leader eDedea)
The tenth day of the seventh month, the first year of Datong in the Great Qin Dynasty.

Nearly three months have passed since the grand and lively coronation ceremony, and the country has gradually returned to a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

In fact, everyone inside and outside the government had been mentally prepared for the change of dynasty. After all, more than three years ago, Empress Dowager Ning bestowed the Nine Gifts on Lu Chen and handed over the military power to him. From that time on, most people knew that it was only a matter of time before Lu Chen took the throne.

When Lu Chen personally led the army to conquer the Jing and Dai kingdoms with overwhelming force, he created an unprecedented unified empire, and coupled with the substantial improvement in people's lives brought about by the implementation of the new policy over the years, the calls for Lu Chen to ascend the throne became louder and louder in the army, the court, and the streets. Therefore, his ascension to the supreme position after returning to the capital was what everyone expected and in line with the wishes of the people.

A new dynasty brings new atmosphere. Lu Chen's first decree was to adjust the boundaries of the vast territory of the Qin Dynasty on the basis of the implementation of the new policy. From north to south and from west to east, it was divided into the capital area, Southern Zhili and twenty-three provinces, and a three-level administrative division of province, prefecture and county was established.

The various departments of the imperial court also underwent changes.

The Zhongshu was reorganized into the Cabinet, which was responsible for assisting the emperor in handling court affairs.

Xu Zuo was appointed as the first chief minister, and six other ministers joined the cabinet.

The Prime Minister's New Policy Office was reorganized into the New Policy Ministry, which was composed of departments such as the Bureau of Works, the Bureau of Medical Affairs, the Bureau of Agriculture, the Academy of Classics, and the Bureau of Commerce. Gao Rulie, the New Policy minister with the most outstanding political achievements in recent years, served as the first Shangshu, and Cui Hao and Wang Heng served as the left and right vice-ministers respectively.

The Firearms Bureau was upgraded to the Ministry of Military Industry, with Li Liangyu as the first minister and Liao Jichang as the chief architect as the first vice minister. The Ministry of Military Industry was not under the jurisdiction of the Grand Council, but was directly responsible to the emperor.

The Weaving Bureau retained its structure, but the new director was the unknown Nan Yi. The inspectors, chief officers and elite backbones were also replaced. The former director Qin Zheng submitted a letter of resignation, Lu Chen approved it and conferred him the title of Duke of Cheng'an County, but politely declined his request to return home, hoping that he would stay in the capital for a few more years.

The functions of the Grand Council remained the same, but the members had changed. As Li Jingda had clearly supported the emperor over the years, it was natural for him to be promoted. Lu Chen conferred him the title of Duke Baoguo and appointed him as the chief Grand Councilor.

The former commander of the imperial guards, Liu Shouguang, was conferred the title of Duke of Pingguo and transferred to the position of Grand Councilor.

The former Grand Councilor Chen Lanyu resigned, but Lu Chen did not agree. Instead, he conferred him the title of Duke of Dingning County and allowed him to remain in the Grand Council to handle some military affairs.

Zhang Xu, the former Minister of Military Affairs and Marquis of Yongding, retired and returned to his hometown. In order to commend his dedicated contributions in all the wars, Lu Chen conferred him the title of Duke of Yong'an County, gave him a large amount of gold and silver, and ordered a part of the imperial guards to escort him back to his hometown.

Former military ministers Shen Yulai and Tong Shiyuan voluntarily resigned. Although Lu Chen did not confer titles on these two people, he also gave them many rewards and allowed them to return home in glory.

Six generals with outstanding merits, including Li Chengen, Xu Gui, Fan Wendi, Song Shifei, Pei Sui and Huo Zhen, were granted the title of Duke, and nineteen generals, including Ye Jitong, Liu Yin, Liu Jiangdong, Zhang Zhan, Duan Zuozhang and He Gui, were granted the title of Marquis. Among them, Li Chengen, Fan Wendi and Pei Sui were appointed as ministers of the Grand Council, and the rest were given their own positions.

There are a total of 160,000 troops stationed in the capital and the surrounding areas, and the imperial palace guards are composed of 20,000 elite soldiers from the former Rui Shi Battalion, part of the Seven Star Army, part of the Dingbei Army, and part of the Ningyuan Army. The first Minister of the Imperial Guard is undoubtedly Qin Zilong, who has been loyally guarding Lu Chen for many years. At the same time, Lu Chen also conferred him the title of Marquis of Chang'an.

In addition to rewarding these meritorious officials, Lu Chen also posthumously awarded Li Daoyan the title of Meritorious Official for the Great Harmony of the World, posthumously awarded Li Tianrun the title of King of Jing'an, and awarded Xiao Wangzhi, who had long since left the court, the title of King of Huai'an.

It is worth mentioning that most of the titles bestowed by Lu Chen were not hereditary, but very clearly hereditary in a lower rank. There is only one exception at present, and that is Li Daoming, the last emperor of the former Qi Dynasty, who abdicated the throne to him.

This is also the reason why people praise the benevolence of the current emperor.

Li Daoming was granted the hereditary title of Prince of Xiang, which was his father's title before he ascended the throne. This shows that Lu Chen would treat the royal family of the previous dynasty well.

Not to mention the other several clauses that Lu Chen announced to the world in the imperial edict, which allowed Li Daoming to report matters without calling himself a vassal, receive imperial edicts without bowing, and allowed him to follow the Qi calendar and clothing colors in his fiefdom, and build a Qi ancestral temple to worship Qi. These graces undoubtedly acknowledged that the Qin Dynasty was inherited from Qi, and did not erase the outstanding contributions made by the former Qi, led by Emperor Gaozong Li Duan, in the great cause of resisting Jing.

In fact, this is also one of the important reasons why the change of ownership did not cause any trouble.

According to the court regulations, Li Daoming naturally could not continue to live in the capital after abdicating the throne, and had to go to his fiefdom, which was Queshan County, Yuqing Prefecture, Qingzhou.

In a sense, there is no difference between the fiefdom of Prince Xiang and a country within a country. Li Daoming can maintain the Qi system within the fiefdom and offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple of Qi.

Li Daoming certainly didn't want to stay in the capital and be troubled by the sight of the scenery, but the royal palace and all the facilities in Queshan County had not been built yet, so he, the Empress Dowager Ning and the Li clan members temporarily lived in Linquan Palace in Chengpingfang for the past few months.

In the hot summer, the heat is kept out by the coolness emitted by the ice jar.

However, for Empress Dowager Ning, even if there was no ice jar sent by Lu Chen in her bedroom, the layers of coldness could still overwhelm her.

The source of the chill was the expressionless boy sitting opposite her.

Time flies, and Li Daoming is already thirteen years old. In an instant, he is almost old enough to get married and have children in an ordinary family. Moreover, he is born with precocity and has experienced too many earth-shaking changes. Therefore, there is not much childish liveliness on his face, but instead a cold, indifferent and solemn air.

Queen Mother Ning sighed inwardly and asked with concern: "I heard from Ruolan that you have no appetite these days and you only eat a little at every meal?"

Li Daoming had been lowering his head, but upon hearing this, his eyes slightly raised, and a hint of sarcasm appeared on the corner of his mouth: "My Queen Mother, are you afraid to even call yourself Ai now? It seems that the goodwill of the Great Qin Emperor is just this much."

Empress Dowager Ning was not surprised by his attitude.

Ever since she took the crucial step of giving in and dismissed or exiled a large number of young ministers loyal to the Li royal family, such as Xue Ruogu and Wang Hong, and replaced the gentlemen around Li Daoming with reformist ministers headed by Jiang Hui, Li Daoming never smiled in front of her again.

She knew that her young son had hatred in his heart, but who could understand the pain in her heart?
Li Zongben left her a mess with internal and external troubles on all sides. On one side was the ambitious and aggressive Jing State army, and on the other side was Lu Chen who was gradually able to stand on his own outside the court. What could she, a weak woman, do in the face of such a dilemma?
After weighing the pros and cons again and again, she could only choose the lesser of two evils. After all, Lu Chen still had some friendship left by Li Duan in his heart. Once the Jinglian people annexed Da Qi, the civil and military officials in the court might be able to survive, but the Li royal family would definitely be slaughtered. Therefore, she had to place her hopes on Lu Chen.

After Lu Chen killed Emperor Jing and recovered his homeland, she did not give up directly. On the contrary, she tried hard to find ways to change the overall situation in the past two years, including taking the initiative to move the capital, supporting the new policy in the name of the royal family, persuading Lu Chen to accept the proposal of ruling for ten years, etc. She also wanted to keep Li Daoming's throne, but she could not go against the trend of history no matter what.

In the end, she could only settle for the second best. Instead of forcing Lu Chen to commit regicide, it would be better to take a step back and preserve her safety.

Over the years, perhaps only Ruolan knows how many tears she has shed.

Thinking of this, Queen Mother Ning smiled sadly and said, "You still can't let it go."

"lay down……"

Li Daoming said gloomily, "I just feel like these past few years are like a dream, and it feels unreal everywhere. Please forgive me for being frank, but I have different views from you on whether there is a chance of a turnaround. You think he has no flaws, and you didn't have the courage to fight him from the beginning. But is that really the case? He is also a human being with weaknesses, and he can be careless. At that time, there were still many ministers loyal to us. Prime Minister Xue and Lord Qin had been waiting for your decision. If you hadn't given up, we might have had a fighting chance!"

Queen Mother Ning calmed down with difficulty and asked, "And then?"

Li Daoming was stunned.

He didn't understand why his mother would have such a question.

Queen Mother Ning said with a hint of disappointment: "Not to mention how difficult it is to deal with him, even if we do our best to accomplish this, how are you going to clean up the mess afterwards? If he dies unexpectedly, who can calm down those brave generals in the army? Let alone others, do you know that the Seven Star Army has been stationed in Dingzhou Guxian? They are the elite troops he created, and they also control all the firearms. These 20,000 people alone can break the sky, not to mention that other armies may take advantage of the chaos. By then, the world will be in chaos and people will suffer. Can you save the people with just an imperial edict?"

Li Daoming whispered: "If such a situation really occurs, it is the fate that everyone deserves."

Queen Mother Ning said coldly: "Nonsense, this is clearly a decision you made out of your own selfishness!"

Li Daoming frowned and said, "If it's for the sake of the people, why wouldn't he take a step back?"

Queen Mother Ning asked bluntly, "If he takes a step back, will you let him go?"

Li Daoming subconsciously clenched his fists, and under the gaze of his mother's eyes that seemed to be able to see through his heart, he asked back: "Mother, do you think that I simply can't let go of that position?"

Queen Mother Ning shook her head slightly and said, "Yes or no, what difference does it make?"

"Of course there is a difference!"

Li Daoming said solemnly: "I, your son, have the blood of Emperor Taizu Gao flowing in my body. I should protect the foundation of my ancestors at all costs! The Li royal family rules this land, how can we give it up to others?"

Empress Dowager Ning was silent for a moment, then she looked him in the eye and asked, "Please tell me, what was the identity of Emperor Taizu Gao before he started the rebellion nearly two hundred years ago?"

Li Daoming choked.

As a descendant of the Li family, he was of course familiar with the stories of his ancestors. Before Li Zhongjing, the founding emperor of Qi, led 17 cavalrymen to start an uprising, he was just an ordinary general. Not to mention the qualifications to compete for the world, he had never even entered the palace of the Former Wei Dynasty.

“No one can deny that Emperor Taizu Gao was a hero who left his name in history, but he certainly did not sincerely believe that the foundation of the Li Dynasty would last forever.”

Queen Mother Ning slowed down her tone and said as calmly as possible: "As early as thirty years ago, when the Great Qi lost nearly half of the territory in the north of the Yangtze River, we had already lost the qualification to rule the world. Your royal grandfather did his best to keep the Li royal family alive, but even as wise and brave as he was, he could not solve the contradiction between the central government and the border troops when he was alive, because this was the crux of the problem caused by living in a corner. When your father took over, this contradiction was further magnified by him, and there was no room for change afterwards."

Li Daoming showed a look of pain.

Empress Dowager Ning sighed, "I told you all this just to tell you that every generation has talented people. Emperor Taizu Gao established the Great Qi with his extraordinary talent. What can we do if his descendants can't keep this foundation? Letting others go is letting yourself go. At least you can live your life in peace."

Li Daoming was silent for a long time this time. He slowly raised his head, a look of anger and shame in his eyes, and gritted his teeth and said, "My mother has been speaking up for him again and again. It seems that she is really interested in him."

"Li Daoming!"

Empress Dowager Ning raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at him in disbelief and anger.

"It's pitiful that parents all over the world love each other, but they don't want to waste it on such a ruthless person."

An indifferent voice came from outside.

The mother and son in the inner room were both stunned. A look of panic appeared on the thin face of Empress Dowager Ning, and she stood up subconsciously.

The next moment, a figure dressed in the emperor's uniform walked around the screen and appeared in front of the two. It was none other than the current emperor of Great Qin, Lu Chen. Today, Queen Mother Ning wanted to find an opportunity to comfort Li Daoming, so she sent the maids away early. She originally thought that no one was around, so the mother and son could talk about their true feelings, but unexpectedly, Lu Chen heard everything - but she knew that even if Ruolan and others were outside, no one would dare to act on their own if Lu Chen did not allow them to remind them.

Noticing Lu Chen's cold expression, Queen Mother Ning's heart tightened, and she quickly stepped forward and saluted, "Your Majesty."

Lu Chen held her soft wrist with his warm and powerful right hand and said, "Why should the Queen Mother be so polite?"

Li Daoming saw this scene, and the young man felt that he could hardly control the anger in his heart.

Empress Dowager Ning was slightly startled. She knew that Lu Chen was always polite. Apart from the accidental contact at Zhuo Garden, he would never offend her at all. So why wasn't he being shy now?
When she saw his meaningful eyes, she immediately reacted, and worry and pleading appeared in her eyes.

Looking at the pair of eyes that seemed to be able to speak, Lu Chen shook his head slightly to signal her not to be nervous, then turned to look at Li Daoming who was still sitting there with a livid face, and said indifferently: "Do you really think you can kill me?"

After all, he was the world's number one military god who had killed countless people throughout his life. The endless power contained in these few short words instantly made Li Daoming feel pressure like a mountain.

He felt a little afraid, but was unwilling to bow down, so he remained silent in a very awkward manner.

Lu Chen continued, "You think that with the advice of Yuan Yuji, Shen Yulai, and Xue Ruogu, and the young officials they secretly recruited, you can kill me unexpectedly at the end-of-year meeting. You are so naive. Haven't you ever thought about one thing in the past few years, why your mother was able to deal with all the people you secretly connected with with lightning speed in such a short time?"

It was as if a bolt of thunder struck Li Daoming's mind, and he looked at his mother in a daze.

Queen Mother Ning said softly, "That's because your majesty provided a list."

Lu Chen took out another booklet from his sleeve, threw it on the table in front of Li Daoming, and said in a deep voice: "Open it and take a look."

Li Daoming hesitated for a long time, finally reached out to take the booklet, opened it, and his face turned pale not long after he looked at it.

It records a lot of conversations, all of which were secret talks between him and those loyal ministers he considered trustworthy in the Heluo Palace after the capital was moved!
At this moment, his face was filled with genuine fear and terror.

"I have always believed in one principle: no matter the favor or the grudge, it must be repaid double. If your mother had not taken the initiative to step back, do you think you could have survived?"

Lu Chen took a step forward, his eyes as sharp as a knife: "Don't feel wronged. I asked myself if I had done anything wrong to you. Since you are so cruel at such a young age, why should I tolerate it? In the final analysis, it is only because you have a good mother who protects you from the wind and rain and keeps you safe and worry-free. Not only do you not appreciate her kindness, but you speak like a beast! Stand up for me!"

Li Daoming trembled all over and stood in front of him with great difficulty.

Lu Chen looked at his eyes and said with disappointment and boredom: "Since you don't accept your mother's discipline, I will find you a learned teacher. He will go to Queshan County to accompany you to study and cultivate your character, so that you won't do anything to make her sad. I will never allow this to happen. Zilong."

Imperial Guard Minister Qin Zilong strode in, bowed and said, "I'm here!"

Lu Chen said: "Take the Prince back to his residence, let him eat well, sleep well and study well. Before he leaves for his fiefdom, you will be responsible for this matter personally."

"I accept the decree!"

Qin Zilong looked at Li Daoming, turned sideways and stretched out his hand, saying, "Prince Xiang, please."

Li Daoming was only a teenager after all, and he might have dared to speak rudely in front of his mother, but when faced with Lu Chen's pressure, he didn't have the slightest courage at all, so he could only lower his head and go out with Qin Zilong.

The room became quiet again.

Lu Chen looked back, and what came into his sight was a face with tears in her eyes.

He could not help but put away his half-real, half-fake anger, and sighed softly, "Don't worry, I won't mistreat him, but he is not a kid anymore. If you don't change your mind, you will shed endless tears in the future."

Empress Dowager Ning looked at him in a daze, then suddenly took a step forward, leaned in front of him and burst into tears.

The grievances, fears and panic that had been accumulated in his heart for so many years were released bit by bit with his mournful cries.

Lu Chen slowly raised his hand and gently stroked her thin shoulders.

He has always respected the woman in his arms. If he puts himself in her shoes, he may not be as wise and decisive as she is. Not everyone has the courage to let go of something.

He didn't think he was wrong, nor did he think she was wrong, just because there are many things in this world that cannot be judged by right or wrong.

After a heart-wrenching cry, Empress Dowager Ning's heart knot finally eased a little. She seemed to realize her own loss of composure and tried to leave Lu Chen's arms in a panic.

However, Lu Chen's hands were on her shoulders. How could she leave without letting go?
"you……"

Queen Mother Ning lowered her eyes and whispered, "Why don't you let go?"

“You can let go.”

There was no seductive look in Lu Chen's eyes, and he continued, "Don't commit suicide."

Sensing his unquestionable attitude, Queen Mother Ning said in a panic: "Why would I commit suicide?"

Lu Chen said seriously, "I know your heart is purer than gold. Everything you did before was for the sake of the Li family and Li Daoming. You never considered yourself, so his words just now completely hurt your heart. You planned for him wholeheartedly, but what you got was such a heartless humiliation, so you just want to make sure that I won't hurt him, and then you want to die to show your loyalty, right?"

Queen Mother Ning raised her eyes to look at him and said in a sad voice: "I have only lived for myself for the first sixteen years of my life, but now it has ended up like this. What is the point of living?"

Lu Chen looked directly into her eyes and said, "Have you ever thought that I would allow a beast who forced his own mother to death to continue living?"

"Don't--"

Queen Mother Ning shook her head and looked at him pleadingly.

The next moment her eyes suddenly widened.

Lu Chen came over and kissed her lightly on the face.

Queen Mother Ning couldn't help but raise her hand to his chest, but Lu Chen didn't give her a chance to resist. He grabbed her knees and carried her sideways, walking step by step towards the bed not far away.

"Shuwan, live for yourself from now on."

Hearing these sincere and heartfelt words, Ning Shuwan suddenly sighed softly and stopped struggling in vain. Instead, she raised her hands and climbed onto Lu Chen's strong and broad shoulders, resting her head lightly on his chest.

At that moment of perfect harmony, she looked at this man who dominated the world, and a crystal tear slowly flowed from the corner of her eye.

There was shyness, joy, and a bit of indescribable guilt.

Lu Chen leaned over and kissed away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

When the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, Lu Chen embraced her soft body and asked, "How about staying in the capital? The Lu family business has a manor in the suburbs of Beijing. This is the family business that my father worked hard to save. It has nothing to do with the court's public funds. You don't have to worry about people talking nonsense."

Ning Shuwan leaned against his chest and whispered, "How can this be done? Not to mention what the concubines in your palace think, the important officials in the court are all shrewd people. They will inevitably give you frank advice and advice. You can't expect to live a peaceful life."

Lu Chen said calmly: "You know I don't care about these things. As long as I don't neglect my work, Prime Minister Xu and the others will just turn a blind eye."

"But I care."

Ning Shuwan raised her head and looked at him, smiling: "You want to become the greatest emperor in the history, I will not allow you to be stained with such a stain, and I know my identity. One night of tenderness is enough, how can I expect anything else? Let me go to Qingzhou, okay?"

Lu Chen was silent for a long time before saying, "Okay."

Ning Shuwan raised her hand and gently stroked his cheek, saying slowly: "When the new policy is implemented, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the world is peaceful and prosperous, if you have time, come and see me, I will be satisfied."

Lu Chen looked at this naturally elegant face, which now had a more charming look, and nodded solemnly, "Sure."

Ning Shuwan met his gaze and slowly closed her eyes.

Lu Chen naturally understood what this meant. He just exerted a little force with his arms and embraced her again.

A bright smile bloomed on Ning Shuwan's face.

Looking back on the road of her life, she had struggled and held on, shouldered too much and endured too much. Although most of her troubles were brought to her by this annoying man, she didn't know when it started, she gradually admired everything he did, and it quietly turned into admiration.

The heart that had long been stagnant and silent finally began to beat again at this moment.

As he said, for the rest of your life, you should live for yourself.

(End of this chapter)