Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"After decades of war, we have finally unified the land, leaving me with a country in dire need of rebuilding. What do you think I should do to create a peaceful and prosperous era?" The Great Khan asked Liu Maoxia with a smile.

"The key to governing a country lies first and foremost in the governance of its officials. Your Majesty's first task is to rectify official corruption, promote virtuous and talented individuals, demote incompetent and corrupt officials, cease military operations, and allow the people to rest. Before long, a peaceful and prosperous era will arrive. However—" Liu Maoxia hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"But what is it? Please speak frankly," Sultan smiled slightly, staring intently at him.

"But has His Majesty truly unified the Nine Provinces?" Liu Maoxia slowly began, "Shang Kexi of Guangdong, Geng Jimao of Fujian, and the Zheng family of Taiwan each occupy their own territory; in the long run, they may become a threat to the court." This was both a strategy offered to the Great Khan and an attempt to avenge his former master, Wu Sangui. The three feudal lords of Wu, Shang, and Geng were originally allies, but this time, with the Wei army marching south, Shang and Geng not only refused to send troops to help, but also, fearing the Wei army's power, submitted to the Great Khan of Lotus. A bunch of fools! Since you lack the awareness of mutual dependence, then you shall reap what you sow!
"I am well aware that Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao are plotting to establish their own independent regimes. I only granted them the title of Prince in order to quell the Zhou Dynasty as soon as possible. As for Zheng Jing of Taiwan, he has always been respectful to David and has been helping David to restrain Geng Jimao. That is why I recognized the title of Prince of Yanping given to him by the Ming Dynasty. I have promised all three families that the status quo will be maintained. A promise from the Emperor is as heavy as Mount Tai. If I were to go back on my word, wouldn't that damage the Emperor's prestige?" Suletan pondered for a long time after hearing this before slowly speaking.

"There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in a country. If we allow those people to establish their own independent regimes, I fear the disaster of the late Tang Dynasty's regional warlords will be repeated!" Seeing that the emperor did not adopt his opinion, Liu Maoxia did not back down, but continued to speak passionately. Seeing that the emperor seemed to be moved, he softened his tone and said eloquently, "Your Majesty has only promised to grant those three families the title of prince. As long as their titles are retained, it cannot be considered a breach of promise."

"Oh, what is Liu Qing's opinion?" Sultan asked, intrigued.

"I believe the three kings should be relocated to different places, and their subordinates should be dispersed and sent to various regions. This would be a permanent solution," Liu Maoxia said with a slight smile as the emperor nodded slowly. "As the ancients said, 'A tree may grow a thousand feet tall, but its leaves will eventually return to its roots.' Shang Kexi's ancestral home is Hongdong, Shanxi, so his fief can be moved to Hongdong; Geng Jimao's ancestral home is Gaizhou, Liaodong, so his fief can be moved to Gaizhou; Zheng Jing's ancestral home is Gushi, Henan, but he later moved to Nan'an, Quanzhou, Fujian, so his fief can be moved to Gushi or Nan'an. Your Majesty's permission for your subjects to return to their ancestral homes to receive their fiefs is a great favor. If they are ungrateful and instead harbor rebellious intentions, they are truly worse than pigs and dogs, and we can rightfully launch a military campaign against them."

Upon hearing that "allowing a subject to return to his ancestral home to receive a title is an immense favor from heaven and earth," Sultan nodded repeatedly. However, upon hearing the words "launch an army to punish the invaders," his brow furrowed. "Our army has been on this campaign for nearly three years. The soldiers are homesick. If we push them too hard, it may provoke the Three Feudatories to rebel and reignite the war. I fear the soldiers will lose their will to fight. This campaign to pacify the Zhou Kingdom has already been successful. If things are too full, they will overflow. It would be better to stop while we are ahead and return to the capital. We can deal with the Three Feudatories in a year or two."

“No! Your Majesty has fought countless battles and should know the principle of ‘one effort, then decline, then exhaustion.’ Now that you have pacified Wu Zhou, the most powerful of the southern warlords, your momentum is at its peak. It is acceptable that the Zheng clan is isolated on an island and that conquering them is time-consuming and laborious. However, the Shang and Geng clans are already surrounded by our army. If we do not take advantage of their moment of weakness to wipe them out in one fell swoop, and if the two clans are given a respite, expand their armies, and prepare for war, and thus have the strength to oppose the court, wouldn’t we be missing a golden opportunity? Moreover, the people are suffering from years of war. If we wait another year or two to deal with the Shang, Geng, and Zheng clans, I fear that the people will suffer from the ravages of war again in a year or two. When will Your Majesty’s wish for a peaceful and prosperous world be realized?” After saying this, Liu Maoxia said no more and silently awaited the emperor’s decision.

The tent fell into an eerie silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After a long while, Suletan spoke slowly: "What Minister Liu said is absolutely right. Great things require a decisive effort. Now that Wu and Zhou have been pacified, we should take down the Shang and Geng vassals as well. As for pacifying the Zheng clan, we must wait until our navy is fully developed. In the meantime, we should focus on appeasement. However, what I am worried about is that the soldiers are exhausted from the long battle and are homesick. If we cannot take down the two vassals quickly, I fear the morale of the army will waver."

Liu Maoxia smiled upon hearing this, “Our David Kingdom was founded on military might, and the rewards for military merit are extremely generous. Our soldiers fight fiercely, seeking nothing more than to accumulate more military achievements and secure titles and honors for their wives and children. If you were to immediately bestow these rewards, those who have not yet received them would be filled with envy and would be eager to fight to the death for them. Those who have received them would also want to rise even higher and would be willing to fight to the death as well. This is what is meant by ‘a great reward will surely produce brave men.’ In this case, why worry about the morale of the army?”

"'Where there is a great reward, there will surely be brave men!' Hahaha~ I thought you were a refined gentleman, but I didn't expect you to know such worldly principles! That's right, as long as the rewards are sufficient, I don't need to worry about the warriors not risking their lives for me! Hahaha~" Upon hearing this, Suletan laughed heartily. He was a decisive person, and soon the decree to reward the meritorious soldiers was issued.

Tuoli had distinguished himself in the Battle of Jigongbei, and Xirimo had made contributions to the pacification of Yunnan. Both were ranked first in merit, and Tuoli was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yongning, while Xirimo was enfeoffed as the Prince of Turpan. The enfeoffment of two princes in one fell swoop caused a stir throughout the land.

Among the imperial clansmen, Prince Sumur of Liao, Prince Mailas of Qi, Prince Ergalang of Jin, Prince Biligendalai of Zhao, and Prince Zhuosiji of Qin were bestowed with a thousand fine horses and ten thousand mu of fertile land. Prince Nagate of Tucheng was bestowed with five hundred fine horses and five thousand mu of fertile land. Generals Harachi and Qiaoji, who enjoyed double salaries, were bestowed with three hundred fine horses and three thousand mu of fertile land.

Outside the imperial clan, Narisong was promoted from Second-Class Duke of Kashgar to First-Class Duke of Kashgar; Hada was promoted from Second-Class Duke of Kizil to First-Class Duke of Kizil; Alatancang was promoted from Third-Class Duke of Kucha to Second-Class Duke of Kucha; Urigendalai was promoted from First-Class Marquis of Dulan to Third-Class Duke of Dulan; Enhebatu was promoted from First-Class Marquis of Qinghe to Third-Class Duke of Qinghe; Teguschaoketu was promoted from First-Class Marquis of Pulan to Third-Class Duke of Pulan; Tarhun was promoted from Second-Class Marquis of Guangling to First-Class Marquis of Guangling; Orros was promoted from Second-Class Marquis of Hequ to First-Class Marquis of Hequ; Toroshhu was promoted from Third-Class Marquis of Mayi to Second-Class Marquis of Mayi; Buheartu was promoted from Third-Class Marquis of Jingle to Second-Class Marquis of Jingle; and Sonom Tsering was promoted from First-Class Xingji. Bo Jin was promoted to the rank of Third-Class Marquis of Xingji; Shilabu was promoted from First-Class Bo of Taoshan to Third-Class Marquis of Taoshan; Babai was promoted from First-Class Bo of Yunchuan to Third-Class Marquis of Yunchuan; Sabir was promoted from First-Class Bo of Zaqu to Third-Class Marquis of Zaqu; Chuyi was promoted from First-Class Bo of Arukorqin to Third-Class Marquis of Arukorqin; Alinbao was promoted from First-Class Bo of Junzhou to Third-Class Marquis of Junzhou; Erlinqin Batur was promoted from Second-Class Bo of Sau to First-Class Bo of Sau; Jiancun Jiangqu was promoted from Second-Class Bo of Yazhou to First-Class Bo of Yazhou; Batu Mengke was promoted from Second-Class Bo of Jianchang to First-Class Bo of Jianchang; Cai Lu was promoted from Second-Class Bo of Linzhang to First-Class Bo of Linzhang; Xuan Youcai was promoted from Third-Class Bo of Jizhou to Second-Class Bo of Jizhou; Zheng Guoyin was promoted to Third-Class Bo of Wuzhou.

All other soldiers who participated in the battle were rewarded.

After bestowing titles upon the military generals, perhaps feeling that the civil officials were also working hard in devising strategies and raising military supplies, or perhaps wanting to suppress the power of the military generals, the Great Khan also bestowed titles upon several civil officials. Batu and Tan were promoted from Second-Class Duke of Tang to First-Class Duke of Tang; Tiemoer was promoted from Second-Class Duke of Yan to First-Class Duke of Yan; Liu Haogu was promoted from Second-Class Duke of Zheng to First-Class Duke of Zheng; Xue Zongzhou was promoted from Second-Class Marquis of Shawan to First-Class Marquis of Shawan; Hu Lianqi was promoted from Third-Class Marquis of Zhongyi to Second-Class Marquis of Zhongyi; Bobei was promoted from First-Class Earl of Chicheng to Third-Class Marquis of Chicheng; and Halahuli was promoted from Second-Class Earl of Jinghai to First-Class Earl of Jinghai.

After the imperial decree was issued, both civil and military officials were overjoyed, eager to achieve new merits so that they could be granted titles and honors for their wives and children.

(End of this chapter)