Thief Emperor

Chapter 1171 The Mandate of Heaven is Clear
To leave a lasting mark on history is the lifelong pursuit of many.

Some people, whether successful or not, will try every means to have their names recorded in history books.

The saying "If you don't eat from a five-cauldron feast while alive, you'll be cooked in a five-cauldron feast when you die" is pretty much the same idea.

Li Yun had already accomplished this a long time ago. In fact, after he was appointed as the Jiangdong Inspector and effectively controlled the Jiangnan region, he would have been recorded in history books by later generations.

However, it's hard to say how future generations will write about it at that time.

However, now that he has been in power for nearly twenty years, he has accomplished most of the great things he was supposed to do.

Now, he has exceeded expectations in fulfilling what he should have done as the founding emperor, and has successfully taken society a step further, sowing the seeds of progress.

At this point, the only thing that cannot be determined is the later years of Emperor Zhangwu, Li Yun.

If Emperor Li were to suddenly pass away now, regardless of what happens to the Li Tang dynasty afterward, his life would definitely be recorded in history as one of the top three emperors among his contemporaries.

Upon hearing His Majesty the Emperor's words, Prime Minister Du was deeply moved. Standing beside Emperor Li, he smiled and said, "After this Fengshan ceremony, if I retire to my hometown to care for my parents, my life will have a place in the history books."

Upon hearing this, the emperor was speechless and said, "Brother Shouyi is still young and cannot retire to take care of his parents."

Minister Du shook his head and said, "How can I be considered young?"

Li Yun said with a smile, "At my age, I am no longer considered young among emperors, but Brother Shouyi is considered young among prime ministers throughout history."

The position of emperor is usually determined by bloodline, but the position of prime minister is not. To climb to the position of prime minister based on seniority, one is usually around fifty years old, or at least forty.

It is not uncommon for prime ministers to serve until their sixties, seventies, or even eighties.

Prime Minister Du was speechless and said, "I have been in this position for more than twenty years. In terms of the length of my tenure, few prime ministers throughout history can match me."

"One yard owned by a yard."

The emperor waved his hand, pretending not to hear. He summoned Li Zheng, spoke with him for a while, and then called his third son, asking, "How is the fleet that went to sea doing?"

King Zheng quickly replied, "They set sail two months ago. If all goes well, they should be back around next autumn."

He thought for a moment and then said, "This time we won't go directly overseas, but will have to take a detour through Southeast Asia."

His Majesty the Emperor nodded and said with a smile, "After you return to Luoyang, go find Lord Xue and tell him to assemble a fleet to sail to the South Seas."

"Firstly, we want to collect local specialties and bring them back here. Secondly, once we find cotton seeds, we can have the local people in Southeast Asia grow cotton for us, and then we will send a fleet to purchase them."

Prince Zheng was taken aback. He looked at Li Yun and asked, "Father, what if the locals are unwilling to plant it?"

"Let's discuss it properly first."

The emperor said calmly, "If we really can't reach an agreement, your second brother has been idle for the past two years, so I'll send him to talk to those people from Southeast Asia."

Upon hearing the mention of the King of Qin, Prince Zheng immediately understood what Li Yun was referring to. He smiled and said, "If Second Brother goes, he probably won't go empty-handed."

The emperor patted Prince Zheng on the shoulder, then stretched and walked towards Yanzhou City: "I'm a little tired from riding all this way. I'll go into the city first and rest for a day or two, Brother Shouyi."

he shouted.

Du Qian quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Your Majesty's orders."

"Three days later, let's climb Mount Tai together and take a look first."

The emperor smiled and said, "There's no need for a grand display; just send someone in plain clothes to accompany us."

Du Qian quickly lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

Emperor Li then entered the city of Yanzhou.

The emperor's residence in Yanzhou was arranged by Prince Zheng. Prince Zheng hurriedly followed behind the emperor to arrange the emperor's accommodation.

…………

Three days later, His Majesty the Emperor, dressed in a blue robe, and Prime Minister Du, dressed in blue, appeared on the mountain path of Mount Tai.

His Majesty the Emperor is tall and strong, and has been practicing martial arts diligently over the years, making mountain climbing quite easy for him. However, Prime Minister Du is already a few years older, and the past two or three decades have taken a toll on his energy. He is no longer the young man he once was, and he needs to rest after climbing a short distance.

Emperor Li was not in a hurry. He simply stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the scenery of Mount Tai, waiting for Minister Du to come and rest.

The two climbed halfway up the mountain, and Du Qian sat down to rest on a rock by the path. He sighed and said with a wry smile, "I'm holding His Majesty back."

The emperor waved his hand and said with a smile, "Why call me Your Majesty when I'm out in plain clothes?"

Du Xiangong looked up at the sky and sighed, "Time flies."

"When we first met, it was during the reign of Emperor Xiande of the Zhou Dynasty. Now, almost thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye."

He sighed, "Back then, I was only twenty-five years old, but now I'm over fifty."

The emperor turned to look at him and said with a smile, "We have done many things together in these thirty years, so it can be said that this journey has not been in vain."

After resting for a while, the two climbed up the mountain again. Du Xiangong followed behind Li Yun and asked, "After the Fengshan ceremony, what are you planning to do, Erlang?"

Li Yun thought for a moment and then said, "Originally, having been emperor for so long, and with my sons gradually growing up, my main task should have been to educate my children and grandchildren, and to educate future generations."

At this point, the emperor smiled and said, "However, I am a rough person and I am not good at most of these things. If possible, I would like to let the Tang Dynasty go out into the world again."

Minister Du frowned and said, "We can't reach any further places."

“There’s no need for direct rule.” Emperor Li said calmly, “We can send people over. Even if we can’t rule indirectly, we can try to bring back some benefits so that the golden age I envision can arrive as soon as possible.”

"For example."

The emperor smiled and said, "In recent years, there have been more and more factories along the coast, producing more and more silk and other products. We can sell them to the East and South Seas and then bring back local goods."

"And that land in the East, if the opportunity arises, I would like to send a general or a prince to take a look."

Du Xiangong shook his head and said, "The envoy from the East is very respectful to our dynasty, and has come to pay homage many times in the past twenty years."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

The two continued climbing the mountain. After a while, His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be getting tired, so he sat down with Prime Minister Du on a large rock to rest.

His Majesty the Emperor removed his water pouch, took a large gulp of water, then looked at Du Qian and sighed: "In recent years, I have had the thought of abdicating many times, thinking that after abdicating, I can live a few years of leisure and retire."

Du Qian was also drinking water. Upon hearing this, he looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "I know why Erlang gave up that idea later."

Emperor Li smiled and said, "Tell me about it."

Du Xiangong said with a smile, "Many people disagree."

Li Yun asked calmly, "In your opinion, Brother Shouyi, who disagrees?"

Prime Minister Du said calmly, "I'm afraid that apart from the Crown Prince's faction, other civil and military officials in the court will not agree."

"For example, Minister Zhao, Duke Xuan, and others."

The emperor remained silent for a while before letting out a wry smile.

"That's about it."

Once you become emperor, you lose control of your own destiny.

In fact, after Li Yun became the ruler of Jiangdong, he was no longer in control of his own destiny. Back then, many people were eager to push him to the throne.

In order to make themselves successful and enjoy wealth and honor.

Today, most of those people from back then are still around. Of course, they don't want Li Yun to step down, since they have a special bond with the emperor, not the crown prince.

The resistance here is enormous.

At this point, Emperor Li sighed: "Later I realized that this position is not actually mine alone. It wasn't when I came up, and it's even less so when I want to step down."

During the last imperial tour, the emperor met many people in the localities and asked some people in private, and the feedback he received was quite consistent.

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes: "Therefore, I changed my mind and decided to relinquish power but not the throne, and let the Crown Prince take over the administration of the country."

"But the Crown Prince disagreed."

The emperor looked at Du Qian and shook his head, saying, "Only then did I truly understand what it meant when I led a group of people to overthrow the old Zhou dynasty and create a new elite..."

"Unless I die, it will be very difficult to step down from this position."

Du Xiangong said quietly, "His Majesty's prestige is too great."

He looked at Li Yun, hesitated for a moment, and continued, "Even if His Majesty abdicates, the Crown Prince will not be able to sit securely on the throne."

The emperor smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he looked up at the mountaintop and said quietly, "So now that things have come to this, we can only let nature take its course."

"I have no way."

Minister Du said with a smile, "Your Majesty is an excellent emperor; he has mastered many things on his own."

"He did a better job than most emperors."

Emperor Li did not reply, but simply stood up.

"Let's go, let's continue climbing and see the view from the top."

Du Xiangong stood up and followed behind him, saying with a smile, "Hasn't Erlang been admiring the view from the mountaintop the whole time?"

Emperor Li smiled wryly.

"Then let's take another look."

He looked towards the summit of Mount Tai and suddenly asked, without any apparent reason, "Brother Shouyi, what do you say...?"

Is there really such a thing as destiny?

"Have."

Lord Du nodded, his tone quite certain, and his answer was equally certain.

He said solemnly, "In the past thirty years, I have seen that the world has been blessed by Heaven since the reign of Emperor Xiande of the old Zhou Dynasty."

At this point, Prime Minister Du seemed to recall everything that had happened in the past two or three decades. He looked at Li Yun, and his tone became even more resolute.

"Erlang, you..."

"That is destiny."

(End of this chapter)