Thief Emperor

Chapter 1053 The Next Decade

Luoyang City.

At the grand court assembly, the Khitan envoy Yelü Hong knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed to the emperor.

It's unclear where he learned such manners, but at this moment he was practically prostrating himself, kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and bowing.

His Majesty the Emperor was very satisfied with his performance and raised his hand, signaling him to stand up and reply.

Yelü Hong remained respectful and, in front of the entire court, announced his intention to submit to the Holy Dynasty. Emperor Li, upon hearing this, remained calm and simply said, "I understand."

"Go back to the guild hall and hear the news."

His Majesty the Emperor said calmly, "In the next few days, the relevant authorities will contact you to discuss the specific regulations, and then our two countries will formally sign the treaty."

Yelü Hong knelt on the ground, extremely respectful: "Your Majesty, I have admired the Holy Dynasty for many years. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to serve in the Holy Dynasty."

His Majesty the Emperor surveyed his ministers and said calmly, "Since you have brought 20,000 Khitans to surrender, it is a great achievement for the court. I approve this, Ministry of War."

The emperor shouted.

Li Hu, the Left Vice Minister of War who was now acting as the Minister of War, stepped forward respectfully, bowed his head, and said, "Your subject is here."

"In the next few days, you and Zhongshu should arrange a task for Yelü's envoy."

Li Hu bowed deeply: "Your subject obeys the decree."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Yelü Hong again, and then a smile appeared on his face. He said with a smile, "Alright, envoy, go back to the guild hall and wait for news. Once my imperial decree is issued, you will be one of our own."

Yelü Hong knelt down and kowtowed deeply in gratitude.

After he kowtowed and left, the Taiji Hall, which had been quiet, immediately became lively.

The ministers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with excitement.

Prime Minister Du Qian took the lead, stepping forward and kneeling on the ground to kowtow to Emperor Li, his voice filled with excitement: "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"The decision has been made for Youyan!"

Du Qian knelt down, and the court officials naturally followed suit, all saying in unison, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on restoring order to the land and unifying the world!"

After the restoration of Youyan, the new dynasty had completely restored the territory of the old Zhou dynasty. At least in the eyes of the people at the time, ten years after the founding of the dynasty, the world was finally unified again.

Although many people knew about this matter and it was only a matter of time, these court officials were still somewhat excited when the day actually arrived.

After all, half a year ago, some bad news came from Youyan, and even Minister Zhao of the Ministry of War was forced to go to the front line to help.

Now, six months later, things have taken a dramatic turn for the better. With the surrender of the Khitans, the entire interior of China will be restored!
This is not only the last piece of territory for the imperial court, but it also means that the northeastern border of the imperial court will be stable for a long time to come!
This means that the new dynasty's rule is completely stable, and that the "duties and marquises for generations" of these meritorious officials have finally been secured!
Even someone as composed as Du Qian couldn't hide his excitement at this moment.

Emperor Li remained calm. He merely glanced at his ministers, paused for a moment, and then smiled as he said, "It was only a matter of time. The new dynasty will not be finished once it has restored the former Zhou territory. We, the sovereign and his ministers, still have much to do."

"You all must continue to work diligently."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor looked at Xue Shou, the Minister of Revenue, and after thinking for a moment, said, "By the end of the year, the matter of Youyan should be settled. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War are responsible for dispersing and settling these 20,000-plus Khitans in various places. If they do not cause any more trouble, they should be treated as subjects of this dynasty."

"If there's trouble."

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "Instruct the local authorities to treat this as treason."

The imperial court and the Khitan were locked in a stalemate for more than a year, essentially vying for the fate of their 20,000 elite Khitan troops. The Khitan Khan wanted to lead them out of the Great Wall, while Li Yun wanted to eliminate them.

If they were to surrender at this point, the best course of action would naturally be to kill them all at once, but words spoken are words that cannot be taken back, and Li Yun would not go back on his word.

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Du was somewhat taken aback. He stepped forward, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty, it would be best to designate a relatively empty county in Hebei Province for them to live in. If they are too scattered, these people will probably have a hard time surviving."

Once scattered, these Khitans would likely be bullied by the local Han Chinese, and since most of them didn't know how to farm, it would indeed be difficult for them to survive.

His Majesty the Emperor frowned and said, "They are all soldiers; how can they be housed together?"

Du Qian lowered his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, as long as they can survive in Han territory, they will not think about returning to the border region in five or ten years. Moreover, a county is already big enough."

“They have no weapons and it is difficult for them to gather a crowd. The southern part of Hebei Province is more than a thousand miles away from the outside of the pass, so there will be no trouble. As long as we send a reliable and capable county magistrate there to lead them for two terms, I believe that he will be able to educate these Khitans.”

Two terms, totaling six years.

Li Yun seemed to be deep in thought. He carefully considered Du Qian's opinion and then asked, "Has Prime Minister Du already chosen someone?"

Minister Du said in a low voice, "My two sons have been copying books in the Hanlin Academy for two years. I want to send them to Hebei Province to serve as magistrates for two terms, so that they can educate these Khitan people for Your Majesty. In the future, these Khitan people may become a force for our dynasty."

His Majesty the Emperor stroked his chin and nodded, saying, "Very well, let's do it this way. Later, your Secretariat, together with the local government of Hebei Province and the relevant departments, will handle this matter together."

Du Qian bowed his head and agreed.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him and continued, "If nothing goes wrong, Youyan should be almost fully recovered by the end of this year. After Youyan is recovered, the court should issue a decree to all prefectures and counties to grant a general amnesty." His Majesty the Emperor thought for a moment and continued, "Next year's taxes can be reduced or exempted as appropriate."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Minister Xue quickly stepped forward, bowed his head, and reminded him, "Your Majesty, the war is still raging in the Northwest..."

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at him and chuckled, “No matter who’s in this position of God of Wealth, they all say the same thing, they’re incredibly stingy.”

He thought for a moment and said, "Then let's exempt the people from corvée labor for the whole year next year. Local governments should stop all unnecessary work next year, except for the necessary river construction and land reclamation. Don't make the people suffer."

"The money is used by the local government for corvée labor."

The emperor said quietly, "Report everything in a unified manner, and the court will reimburse the expenses."

In this era, corvée labor meant that ordinary people worked for the government for no reason, with each person receiving between one and three months' wages per year.

If corvée labor is exempted, local officials will still need to hire laborers when they need to undertake certain projects, which is the expense Li Yun was referring to.

Historically, there was another tax system that incorporated corvée labor into the tax system. By collecting more tax revenue, people would not have to work, and the government could hire people at its own expense when needed.

Minister Xue Shou bowed his head silently, sighed, and said, "Your subject obeys."

Emperor Li stood up and said with a smile, "Alright, that's enough for today. Report any matters to the Secretariat. Once the situation in the Northeast is settled, I will increase everyone's salary by one rank next year."

All the civil and military officials knelt down to express their gratitude.

The emperor looked at Du Qian and said, "Prime Minister Du, come to Ganlu Hall. The rest of you may leave."

Having said that, the emperor left with his hands behind his back.

After the emperor left, the civil and military officials in the Taiji Hall were all very excited, gathering in twos and threes to discuss the affairs of Youyan.

Most of these people were founding heroes. With the country stable, it meant that their wealth and honor were completely secured.

After exchanging a few words with Yao Zhong, Prime Minister Du tidied his court robes and left the Taiji Hall, arriving at the Ganlu Hall.

At this moment, in the Ganlu Hall, His Majesty the Emperor was reviewing the intelligence reports that had just been sent by the Nine Departments. When he saw Prime Minister Du enter, he waved to Du Qian and said with a smile, "Brother Shouyi, come quickly, come quickly."

Du Qian stepped forward, bowed, and smiled broadly: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, the great matter has finally been settled."

Li Yun was speechless. "What? Before today, did you think that our dynasty might be destroyed by the Khitans if they marched south?"

"That won't happen."

Du Qian said with a smile, "It's just that things haven't been accomplished yet, so I still feel a little uneasy."

At this point, he looked at Li Yun and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Yelü Hong's surrender may be to investigate our dynasty's firearms. The court can use him, but we must be wary of him."

Li Yun said speechlessly, "Ten years ago, Wei Quanzhong already had firearms. These things are no longer surprising. The Khitans might not be unaware of them. As for the firearms in our workshop, various secrecy systems have already been established."

"Brother Shouyi, there's no need to worry."

Mentioning the workshop, Du Qian remembered something and said with a smile, "Speaking of the workshop, I heard that it has recently come up with some novel items that can automatically boil water."

"It's not a novel object anymore."

Emperor Li said with a smile, "Before the founding of the country, I had dozens of craftsmen working on this matter. After ten years, construction has finally begun."

At this point, Emperor Li murmured, "I just don't know how much progress I will be able to make in my lifetime."

Du Qian still didn't quite understand what Li Yun was talking about. After echoing him a couple of times, he looked at Li Yun and asked, "Your Majesty summoned me here. What is the purpose of your summons?"

Emperor Li pushed the document in his hand over and said with a smile, "Firstly, I want Brother Shouyi to take a look at the matter of Jiannan Circuit."

"More importantly, we need to discuss with Brother Shouyi and decide on the next decade for the new dynasty..."

"What should be done?"

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "Which direction should we go?"

Du Qian first took the document, read it through, and then looked up at Li Yun with some shock, muttering, "His Highness the Prince of Yue has gone to Jinchuan Prefecture?"

Emperor Li nodded and said with a smile, "This kid took only a few dozen men and went to scout the terrain. He's really reckless."

Du Qian sighed, praised the King of Yue a few times, and then looked at Li Yun and asked.

"Your Majesty, the court is now stable, and the world is at peace."

"Which direction should we go next?"

(End of this chapter)