Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 528: It’s Too Difficult to Be a Good King

Zhao Mu came to his imperial study. He looked at the pile of memorials and trembled with fear.

Seeing Zhao Mu trembling, Long Xuan said, "Your Majesty is not afraid of a battlefield with thousands of troops. Why are you so scared after seeing these memorials?"

Zhao Mu turned around and looked at Long Xuan and said, "Oh? Why is Lord Xuan here?"

Zong Longxuan bowed to Zhao Mu and said, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? Now that I have entered Qi State, I am your subject. Your Majesty still calls me 'Sir', which really makes me feel embarrassed."

Zhao Mu was quite uncomfortable seeing Long Xuan being so respectful to him.

Zhao Mu replied, "That's true. But why did Lord Xuan come with us?"

Cong Longxuan said, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? Your Majesty has appointed me to lead the Cong Long Guards and take charge of the Imperial Guards. Of course, I must stay by your side to protect your safety."

However, after Long Xuan said this, Zhao Mu and she couldn't help laughing at the same time.

Long Xuan smiled and said, "Please forgive my indecency, Your Majesty."

Zhao Mu waved his hand and said, "Okay, Master Xuan, when there are no outsiders, there is no need to do this. Although you and I are now in a master-servant relationship, you have protected my mother, wife and children for a long time, and I have long treated you as a friend. In front of others, it is okay for you and me to be polite. But I am really not used to you being like this behind others."

Cong Longxuan also stood up at this time. She took off her mask and said, "Then I would like to thank you for your grace. However, the palace has been taken over by the Cong Long Guards, and everyone in Yipin Hall has been sent back to Xixia by the Queen Mother Li of Xixia."

Zhao Mu nodded when he heard this.

Starting with Long Xuanhuan, he asked with interest: "But I still don't quite understand, Your Majesty, you are not afraid of thousands of troops, so why are you so scared after seeing a few memorials?"

Zhao Mu smiled bitterly and said, "Alas! War is a major issue for a country, a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction, and it must be carefully considered. This is true for military operations and administration. Each of these official documents is related to the people's livelihood. If the king makes a wrong decision, it will be like a flood for the people. So we must be extremely cautious, and this will consume a lot of energy. However, if it is a war, it will be much easier for me."

Long Xuan nodded and said, "That's true. I hope Your Majesty can be a wise ruler!"

After saying that, Zong Longxuan turned around and left, standing outside the study, waiting for Zhao Mu's call at any time.

Zhao Mu let out a long sigh and reluctantly began to deal with the mess on the table.

Although the current Qi State is nominally a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, except that it pays tribute to the Song Dynasty and its army and officials are airdropped from the Song Dynasty, it is no different from an independent country. The current system of the Qi State is still the same as that of the old Xixia State, without any change.

Zhao Mu's entry into the palace is like the ascension of a new emperor of the Western Xia Kingdom. It is a major event that will change the world for the entire country.

First, when the new king ascends the throne, he needs to formulate a "new year name", then mint new coins, offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and pray for a new dynasty and a new atmosphere.

Then there was the question of establishing an ancestral temple. The original ancestral temple of the Western Xia Kingdom had been moved to the ancestral land of Qingtang by the King of Western Xia. Now the ancestral temple in Lingzhou City was empty, and Zhao Muxin needed to put some things in. However, the establishment of the ancestral temple of Qi State still had its own rules.

That is, it can only be placed from Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, starting from Zhao Kuangyin, then Qi Wang Zhao Defang, and then one by one began to posthumously confer titles on Qi. Except Zhao Kuangyin who can follow the throne of the emperor, other former emperors such as Taizong, Zhenzong, and Renzong cannot be worshipped. The emperor's Taimiao worships the emperors of all dynasties to emphasize the legitimacy of his own succession to the throne. If Zhao Mu privately worshipped the emperors other than his own ancestors, then he would be violating the rules.

As for the rest of the messy things, they are all about people's livelihood.

Zhao Mu focused on dealing with some urgent issues, such as housing for the relocated residents, reclamation of wasteland, etc., and approved them one by one.

However, in the process of reviewing the memorials, Zhao Mu also discovered an important problem, that is, everyone had quite different names for "Qi State".

Because in the memorials submitted by the officials, they all referred to themselves as the State of Qi as "Daqi". The opening paragraphs were all "A certain official of Daqi has made a memorial", and between the lines of the memorials, they also referred to themselves as "I, Daqi".

Zhao Mu felt bad when he saw this. After all, this so-called Qi Kingdom was just a place where he patrolled on behalf of Emperor Zhezong. Zhao Mu did not intend to really make this country his own, and let him "split" from the Central Plains Dynasty again.

Besides, the title "Qi" was just the title he inherited from his ancestors. Even if he chose a name for his country, he wouldn't have chosen something so ugly.

The land of Western Xia has been the homeland of the Central Plains dynasty since the Qin and Han Dynasties. Sooner or later, Zhao Mu would have to withdraw the vassal state and allow the Central Plains court to govern it as a prefecture or county.

Therefore, Zhao Mu specially made a note in the memorial to the Ministry of Rites, and in the future, the memorials of the ministers should start with "Ministers of Qi State of the Great Song Dynasty" instead of "Da Qi". Zhao Mu also specially marked that in the future, Qi State would call itself "Qi State" or "Western Qi" when referring to itself to the outside world.

However, the memorial also mentioned the issue of faith in the field.

The memorial said that most of the people of Qi State came from Xixia State. Most of the people of Xixia believed in Buddhism. It was hoped that Zhao Mu, the king of Qi State, could still respect Buddha and monks. And he planned to expand the temple.

Zhao Mu considered this issue carefully. Then he gave a reply that everything should be done according to the Central Plains ethics, and the state system should be based on "Confucianism", the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. Other beliefs were respected, but they no longer represented the official attitude.

It also abolished the policy of the old Western Xia period in which monks served as officials and respected monks as state and imperial teachers.

He also proposed that all future officials of the State of Qi must be recruited through civil and military imperial examinations.

Originally, Zhao Mu wanted to make these monks who didn't pay taxes and didn't do corvée labor return to secular life and do some serious work for him. But considering that most of the countries in the Western Regions believed in these monks, and now that he had just arrived, he had to take things slowly and not rush.

Zhao Mu dealt with government affairs for the entire afternoon and was not able to rest until the evening.

Fortunately, Zhao Mu only had to deal with the affairs of the former dynasty. Li Qinglu had already handled the affairs of the harem for him. For those who had titles like Mu Wanqing, Hu Yanjin, and Azhu, the Queen of the West Palace, Li Qinglu had already arranged them in appropriate positions.

Mu Wanqing was the queen of the Eastern Palace of Zhao Mu. She was arranged to live in the bedroom of the Queen of Western Xia. Hu Yanjin, as a concubine, was arranged to live in the bedroom of the imperial concubine. Zhao Ji also lived in the bedroom of the Queen Mother Li Qiushui. Li Qiushui moved to the Xiaoyao Secret Cave.

On the second day, Zhao Mu officially took charge of the country's affairs.

(End of this chapter)