Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 522 The Founding of the Great Han Dynasty
"Screw rustle..."

As dawn broke, the cold wind stirred the winter plum blossoms in the courtyard, but the buds remained tightly closed, refusing to reveal even a hint of their beauty.

Inside the palace, Liu Jilong rested on one hand on a chair, slightly turned to the side, with his eyes closed, as if resting.

The Mingming Hall was quiet, even somewhat desolate, but Liu Jilong felt as if countless shouts of killing and wails were echoing in his ears.

Countless corpses and blood piled up into mountains and converged into a sea. Finally, a strong wind and flood swept in, and the surging waves carried the corpses and blood into the sea, leaving only clean plains for birds and beasts to live in.

Footsteps came from afar and then stopped in front of Liu Jilong's hall.

"Your Majesty, all the rebels in the city have been imprisoned, and those implicated have been confined to their private residences."

"The swift cavalry has already rushed to the relevant authorities in various regions, and will soon be able to capture the rebels and their families, awaiting Your Majesty's judgment."

When Zhang Yanhui's voice came, Liu Jilong slowly opened his eyes and saw three figures waiting in front of the hall: Zhang Yanhui, Zhang Ying, and Zhao Ying.

Where is the Prince of Longxi now?

He asked the three men, and Zhao Ying bowed and said, "I have already ordered someone to escort the Prince of Longxi back to the palace. The Prince is unharmed."

Upon learning of the outcome, Liu Jilong nodded slightly and then instructed, "This matter is entrusted to you all. Do not let the new dynasty's first year be marred by bloodshed."

"Your subject will obey your decree..."

The three replied in unison, fully aware of what Liu Jilong was implying.

This matter cannot be delayed for too long. The case must be resolved as quickly as possible. Those who need to be severely punished must be dealt with before the new dynasty's New Year. The rest can stay and wait for the new dynasty's general amnesty, in which case they will be punished leniently and exiled to the frontier.

"Go back."

"Your subject respectfully withdraws..."

Liu Jilong gestured for everyone to leave, and then everyone carefully got up and left, revealing the full view of the winter plum blossoms in the courtyard again.

In the brief conversation that lasted less than half a cup of tea, the winter plum blossoms in the courtyard slowly bloomed like stars, adding a touch of fragrance to the courtyard.

At the same time, Jing Xiang entered the hall and respectfully bowed to Liu Jilong, saying, "Your Majesty, all the assassins have been executed."

"Hmm." Upon learning that the people Doulu Zhuo had arranged to assassinate him were all dead, Liu Jilong subconsciously responded to Jing Xiang.

He had assumed Jing Xiang had some special skills, but it turned out he had only bribed a few clerks with money and silk.

Even if Liu Jilong hadn't known his methods beforehand, the clerks still couldn't do anything to him.

In this light, Doulu Zhuo's death was not unjust, either historically or in the present day.

With such clumsy methods, they dared to attempt success. No wonder they couldn't even assassinate Huang Chao and their entire clan was killed.

"The principal offender and his accomplices shall all be executed along with their clans. Their three clans shall be given lenient punishment upon the founding of the new dynasty, and shall be exiled to the frontier!"

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, Jing Xiang respectfully bowed and agreed to the matter, while reporting, "Your Majesty, the Shangyang Palace will be completed around the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. As for the enthronement..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Jilong raised his hand and said, "Since the reign title has been spread to all the regions, the date of his ascension to the throne and the establishment of the country shall be changed to the fifth day of the first month of next year."

"Your subject obeys the decree..." Upon hearing Liu Jilong set the date for the establishment of the nation, Jing Xiang respectfully agreed. After taking a breath, and seeing that Liu Jilong had no further instructions, he respectfully withdrew from the hall.

After he left, the Southern Court, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the three local departments, which had received Liu Jilong's orders, all began to take action.

Throughout history, many of the charges of treason in the writings of monarchs have been fabricated, but the treasonous acts of Doulu Zhuo and others are undeniable.

More than a thousand people besieged the imperial army, attempting to assassinate Liu Jilong and kidnap Li Yi to take him south to become emperor...

Even if Liu Jilong were to implicate many people, or even if he were to exterminate their entire clan, the people of the world would not dare to say anything.

Even the most ignorant people in the countryside know the consequences of attempting to assassinate the emperor or rebel.

The court only executed the principal offender and his accomplices by their own clans, while exiling their entire families to the border regions. This was already an immense act of kindness.

Even so, the people of the world were still in a state of panic, with troops from the Governor-General's Office and provincial garrisons from the Provincial Surveillance Commission patrolling cities, roads, and countryside almost every day.

Those arrested in various prefectures and counties often implicated their entire clans; the consequences of arresting one person could affect the whole clan.

The powerful families and influential clans in every prefecture and county were all in a state of panic. The whole country was in an uproar because of the rebellion plotted by Doulu Zhuo and others, like oil in a pot and water in a pan.

As the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month arrived, the arrest and prosecution of criminals in Luoyang and the eastern and central regions were registered. Li Shangyin went to the imperial palace immediately after the registration was completed and met Liu Jilong, who was admiring the blooming winter plum blossoms.

"In both capital regions, all officials convicted of treason have been punished, arrested, and imprisoned."

"The forty-nine principal offenders, including Doulu Zhuo, Pei Che, Zhang Zhifang, and Cui Hang, were all executed during the treason, and the three hundred and ninety-four accomplices involved have now been arrested and imprisoned."

"As decided by the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review, a total of 3,457 people, including the principal offender, accomplices, and their clansmen, will be executed by the Luo River on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month."

"The remaining 536 people who knew about the incident but did not report it were all arrested and imprisoned, stripped of their official positions, and awaiting further punishment after the change of reign title."

More than 400 officials, including principals and accomplices, were implicated. Just from their own clan, more than 3,000 people could be implicated. If their entire clan were exterminated, the number of people implicated would probably be no less than 100,000.

These are just the officials implicated in the two capital regions. The three judicial departments of the thirteen provinces have not yet closed the case, and there are probably many people involved.

Thinking of this, Li Shangyin couldn't help but glance at Liu Jilong with a hint of worry in his eyes.

However, he couldn't say anything, since it was true that Doulu Zhuo and others had plotted rebellion, and even if Liu Jilong exterminated their entire clan, no one would think he was being unreasonable.

"The imperial edict ordered the Five Military Commands to assemble 30,000 troops from the Hedong and Hebei Circuits and to launch an attack after the Lantern Festival to recapture Yingzhou."

"After the case of Doulu Zhuo came to an end, all the officials and their relatives who had committed crimes in Hedong, Hebei, and Henan were exiled to Pingzhou and Yingzhou to live as commoners."

“Those from Guannei, Dongji, Jingji, Longyou and other places were all exiled to Anxi and Beiting to serve as commoners.”

“All those from Jiannan, Shannan West Road and other places were exiled to Qianzhong to serve as commoners.”

“All those from Huainan, Shannan East Circuit and other places were exiled to western Hunan to serve as commoners.”

“The rebels from the eastern and western routes of Jiangnan will all be exiled to Lingnan to serve as commoners; the rebels from Lingnan will be exiled to Annam to serve as commoners.”

"Many rebellious people will be exiled to prefectures and counties, and they are not allowed to leave the county by more than 100 miles without permission. If even one person escapes, the neighbors will be punished, and the imperial examinations will not be suspended."

Liu Jilong made his decision, and Li Shangyin, after hearing it, took a breath and said:
“The number of rebellious people in the country ranges from two or three hundred thousand to four or five hundred thousand.”

"With so many rebellious people, if we include the surrendered soldiers from the south and their families who have been relocated, the cost will be considerable."

Throughout history, migration has always meant death, injury, and the expenditure of money and food. Even though the migration process of the Han army was very mature, the cost of migration was still several times higher than that of ordinary migration.

With 400,000 to 500,000 people migrating daily, they would consume at least three jin of grain.

The exile routes devised by Liu Jilong, apart from relocating the rebels to the Western Regions, were all about a thousand miles long, but given the speed at which the people migrated, it would still take two or three months to complete.

Moreover, while being exiled is easy, resettlement afterward is the most difficult.

The places Liu Jilong designated were either abandoned lands or newly reclaimed wilderness.

After the rebels were exiled, it would take them two or three years to become self-sufficient, during which time the imperial court would provide them with food.

Four to five hundred thousand people, plus over four hundred thousand relatives of surrendered soldiers, totaling over eight hundred thousand people, requiring four to five million shi of grain annually.

This quantity is the quantity needed after delivery, not the quantity shipped.

In terms of the initial transportation, this migration and subsequent resettlement would require an annual expenditure of at least four million strings of cash, which would account for almost one and a half percent of the imperial court's taxes.

Li Shangyin's meaning was clear: he wanted to advise Liu Jilong that there was no need to undertake such a large project at the beginning of the founding of the dynasty.

However, for Liu Jilong, using the Doulu Zhuo treason case to relocate people was arguably the lowest-cost and most reasonable immigration and resettlement plan.

Even if it meant tightening his belt, Liu Jilong was determined to get this done.

"I am aware of the cost, but the border is weak and the rebellious people are difficult to control. The only way is to exile them to the local areas to promote the culture of the border regions and thus control the barbarians with the Han."

"This matter is beyond dispute, and besides, the imperial court has confiscated a considerable amount of money and grain, so there is no need to dwell on it."

Faced with Liu Jilong's uncompromising tone, Li Shangyin could only bow and temporarily agree to the matter.

He then discussed with Liu Jilong the matter of ascending the throne and establishing the country on the fifth day of the first lunar month of the following year, and only left in a hurry at dusk.

After he left, people such as Wang Shi, Liu Zhan, and Xiao Gou came to see Liu Jilong, hoping to persuade him to stop implicating them and to receive a lighter punishment.

Otherwise, given the current methods the court uses to implicate powerful families, more than 70% of the aristocratic families and powerful clans in the country would be implicated by Liu Jilong.

This is why Liu Jilong didn't need these powerful families to govern the country for him; otherwise, if they had even slightly united against Liu Jilong, they could have used local taxes and troops to threaten him.

Longyou was Liu Jilong's true home, and his previous order to reduce taxes in Longyou had greatly benefited officials from Longyou.

For officials from Longyou, the fate of the powerful families in Guandong was none of their concern. They naturally followed the imperial decree with confidence and boldness, and the confiscated money and silk were all registered.

Even though the money and silk were "lost" on the way, Liu Jilong chose to turn a blind eye and did not allow the Censorate to investigate.

With Liu Jilong's indulgence, officials in Longyou and some Guanzhong regions gradually became bolder, eventually expanding the scope of those implicated.

In this situation, the Lingnan and Western Regions, which are far from the Central Plains, appear to be very peaceful.

Even so, Li Yangchun could sense from the numerous letters from his classmates how turbulent the Central Plains was at that moment.

"A nobody from the Kuai family of Xiangyang was able to confiscate 100,000 strings of cash and grain. These powerful and wealthy families are truly rolling in money..."

In the yamen of the Nanhai County Governor's Office in Guangzhou, Li Yangchun looked at the letter from his former classmate and couldn't help but sigh at the contents of the letter that had been confiscated.

As he sighed, Yuan Xi, who had been transferred to Lingnan and appointed as a sixth-rank official in the Bureau of Experience, also took the letter from him and examined it carefully.

After he finished reading it, he took the initiative to say to his current superior, Li Yangchun, "Your Majesty is truly tolerant of what ordinary people cannot tolerate. You were able to let Doulu Zhuo and the others cause trouble for so long before finally taking action."

"In this way, the people of the world will be unable to blame His Majesty, and the matter involving this place can be shifted to the local officials in the future."

"Should the Governor remind these classmates not to go too far in this matter?"

Yuan Xi's ability and vision in becoming Yang Xingmin's chief strategist in history are beyond question.

He had already guessed most of what the emperor wanted to do, and even had a vague idea of ​​what other methods he might use.

However, he dared not say these things directly, and could only subtly remind Li Yangchun.

Li Yangchun shook his head helplessly at this: "The words in this letter are all so straightforward, but I'm afraid my fellow students will not heed my advice."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded in agreement. He knew that the officials of the Longyou faction and its subordinate Guanxi faction were all complacent and had not considered the principle that "the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind."

Although there are people like Li Yangchun among them, they are always a minority.

Many people still regard the current emperor as the former King of Han, but they fail to realize that the current emperor is now the emperor, and what he needs to consider is the whole country, not just a few provinces.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi felt that he should remind Yang Xingmin and Li Shenfu to prevent them from going too far.

"How is the encirclement and suppression of the remnants of the Yaqiong tribes going?"

Li Yangchun's question brought Yuan Xi back to reality. He remembered why he had come here, and quickly reported back:

"After the governor defeated the Tuman in Yazhou and Qiongzhou, the remaining Tuman fled into the mountains and forests. Commandant Wang and Commandant Zhang are still leading troops to suppress them, but the mountains are high and the forests are dense, so it will probably take a long time."

"Fortunately, all the prefectures and counties in the Yaqiong region, except for the mountains and forests, have been recovered, and the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Surveillance Commission have dispatched officials to them."

In October, Li Yangchun led his troops to recover the prefectures of Yaqiong. In less than a month, he quelled several major rebellions. He then left two armies with tens of thousands of soldiers to continue the encirclement and suppression, while he returned to Guangzhou.

It is already the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, and in another half month it will be the day the new dynasty is established. Li Yangchun is naturally preparing to make a good impression.

There weren't many powerful and influential families in Lingnan. Before he returned to Guangzhou, he had already been arrested by the Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, so he didn't get involved.

Now that he has recovered the prefectures of Yaqiong, he can present a near-perfect report to the court and His Majesty.

However, in addition to recovering lost territory, this report also needs to demonstrate achievements in land reclamation.

"How is the number of military settlements increasing in various regions? Will they be able to accommodate people migrating to Lingnan next autumn?"

Li Yangchun continued to question Yuan Xi, who responded preparedly:
"The military reclamation efforts in various places are all successful, and the suppression of the local barbarians in Lingxi was also swift. The army has already reclaimed and cultivated more than 30,000 mu of land in Yongzhou (Nanning), Guizhou (Guigang), Liuzhou and other places."

"In addition, more than 20,000 mu of land were reclaimed in Annam and Lingdong, and together with the land reclaimed in Guangzhou, a total of about 280,000 mu of military farmland was acquired this year."

"However, the court will likely transfer the surplus troops back to the north next winter, which will inevitably slow down the pace of military settlement. The governor should plan ahead."

Yuan Xi's remarks made Li Yangchun nod repeatedly. He also knew that the rapid reclamation of land in Lingnan was mainly due to the benefits brought by the hundreds of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers.

Once the imperial court has transferred the troops that should be transferred back to the north, there won't be many soldiers left for them.

With only the more than 70,000 soldiers left behind by Gao Pian and incorporated into the garrison army from Lingnan, Fujian, and Jiangxi, plus the 45,000 combat soldiers stipulated by the imperial court, it was impossible to achieve the current pace of land reclamation.

Thinking of this, Li Yangchun took the initiative to say, "After the people move in next year, the strongest among the migrants can be selected as soldiers to ensure the reclamation."

"If we can persist in this way for ten years, the 500,000 people who have been relocated to Lingnan by the imperial court will be able to settle down."

Li Yangchun, now in his thirties, dares to dedicate the next ten years to planning Lingnan, which, at least in Yuan Xi's view, shows great responsibility.

Anyone else would probably be scrambling to get to Luoyang, and there's no way they would stay in such a wild and uncivilized place as Lingnan.

As Yuan Xi was thinking this, Li Yangchun looked at him and said:

"With your talent, if you are willing to linger here for three years, I can recommend you to the Provincial Administration Commission after three years to serve as the Prefect of a Lower-Level Prefecture in Lingnan Circuit."

Yuan Xi is currently a senior official in the Bureau of Experience, a sixth-rank position, while the governor of a lower prefecture is a fourth-rank official.

Li Yangchun's promise meant that he would support Yuan Xilian's promotion by eight ranks over three years.

At that time, he only needs to continue serving as governor for three more years. Even if he cannot be transferred to the capital, he can still be promoted to the fourth-rank governor of Zhongzhou.

He is only thirty-three years old, and the official ranks of the court have been adjusted, with the highest rank now being only the second rank.

Although Li Yangchun was the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Governor's Office and held the rank of a third-grade official, his advantage lay in his youth.

Given his age, he will certainly be able to enter the Five Armies Commandery in the future and serve as the second-rank left or right commander of any one of the armies.

With Li Yangchun's help, Yuan Xi will definitely be able to enter the official rank of the third grade before he turns fifty.

Although Yang Xingmin is now a third-rank official like Li Yangchun, he is not from Longyou and is certainly not as good as Li Yangchun.

Therefore, faced with Li Yangchun's promise, Yuan Xi made up his mind without the slightest hesitation.

“Since the Governor says he will govern Lingnan for ten years to bring peace, I am not talented, but I am willing to follow the Governor in governing Lingnan for ten years.”

He proactively increased the three years Li Yangchun mentioned to ten years because he knew he could receive greater promotions in the military.

If one can be promoted to the rank of Vice Commander-in-Chief (fourth rank) or Deputy Commander-in-Chief (third rank), then transferring to one of the Six Ministries will definitely be much cheaper than accumulating seniority in the Provincial Administration Commission.

Faced with Yuan Xi's volunteering, Li Yangchun nodded in satisfaction and said, "Now, the main task of our Lingnan Military Governor's Office is to suppress the local barbarians and reclaim wasteland."

"You should first go to Deng Qianshi's office to help him with military reclamation and land settlement matters. Once you are proficient, you can be transferred to work there."

"Yes!" Yuan Xi replied without hesitation. Seeing that Li Yangchun had no further instructions, he slowly withdrew from the yamen.

After he left, Li Yangchun wrote a memorial about the Lingnan Military Governor's Office based on the news brought by Yuan Xi, and ordered it to be sent to Luoyang by fast horse.

Judging by the timing, when the memorial arrived in Luoyang, His Majesty would have just finished dealing with the matters of establishing the nation, so he would likely attach great importance to this matter.

Thinking this, Li Yangchun rubbed his temples and then focused all his attention on military and political affairs.

In comparison, Zhang Huaishen, far away in the Western Regions, was much more at ease. Not only was he unaffected by the turmoil in the Central Plains, but he even wished for the turmoil in the Central Plains to be as great as possible.

"Just now it was said that the population of Anxi and Beiting was insufficient to build a city and move towards Huangcaobo."

"Now it seems that after the turmoil in the Central Plains, many people will probably be exiled to Anxi and Beiting. At that time, they can go to Huangcaobo to build cities."

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, in Gaochang City of Xizhou, Zhang Huaishen was sitting in the yamen, enjoying the warmth brought by the heated wall, laughing carefree.

Zhang Huairong, Li Mingzhen, Cao Yijin, and others sat silently on the chairs on the left and right sides of the hall.

The tens of thousands of prisoners and surrendered soldiers that Liu Jilong had previously moved to the Western Regions have now been settled in Shule.

Moreover, Zhang Huaishen also repaired the ruins of the cities along the banks of the Chihe River (Tarim River), connecting Kucha and Shule. Today, the three towns of Kucha, Shule, and Yanqi, comprising more than ten cities, have a population of over 200,000, of which more than 90,000 are Han Chinese and more than 100,000 are non-Han Chinese.

The southern kingdoms of Khotan and Zhongyun are very law-abiding, so the situation south of the Tianshan Mountains has stabilized.

This is why Zhang Huaishen returned to Gaochang from Kucha and began planning to advance towards Huangcaobo.

However, achieving this vision would require a considerable population.

Although Liu Jilong migrated more than 200,000 people to the Western Regions, in the end, less than 200,000 people remained in the Western Regions, while the rest either died of disease or fled elsewhere.

Of these less than 200,000 Han people, only 30,000 settled in Tingzhou, north of the Tianshan Mountains, while the remaining 170,000 lived in the two prefectures and three towns south of the Tianshan Mountains.

The 30,000 people of Tingzhou simply could not support an army of over 10,000 to attack Huangcaobo, which was more than 800 li away. Therefore, the problem facing Zhang Huaishen was population.

He would need a population of over 100,000 to build cities westward from Beiting, which would take at least five or six years to support an army of tens of thousands to conquer Huangcaobo.

He didn't know how to bring it up with Liu Jilong before, but now that the Central Plains is in such turmoil, it's much easier for him to do so.

"If the imperial court were willing to relocate the rebellious people, how many people could Anxi and Beiting accommodate, given their current situation?"

Ignoring the silence of the three, Zhang Huaishen excitedly asked them a question. Li Mingzhen, one of the three, bowed and replied:
"Currently, our army has 430,000 people of Hu and Han ethnicities under Anxi and Beiting, and more than 1.5 million mu of cultivated land."

“The government can collect 120,000 shi of grain, more than 400,000 strings of cash and silk, more than 7,000 cattle and 30,000 sheep every year.”

"If we buy grain in Khotan and Hexi, we can barely accumulate 300,000 shi of grain."

"However, our soldiers used no less than 200,000 shi of grain, and only 100,000 shi could be left."

"Without the support of grain and provisions allocated by the imperial court, I'm afraid only 20,000 people could be relocated every three years."

The situation in the Western Regions was different from that in the Central Plains, but even so, they could still collect a lot of taxes every year through the Silk Road.

Although they had money, they were severely lacking in food, meaning they couldn't buy food even with money.

Seeing that Li Mingzhen had finished speaking, Cao Yijin also followed suit and said:
"If we want to bring in people, we must buy grain from Longyou. But the journey from Longxi, a major grain-producing area in Longyou, to Tingzhou is a full three thousand li."

"With the laborers' stamina and the horses' appetite, it would take five months to travel six thousand li round trip. The laborers would need to eat four shi of grain, the horses four shi of bean feed, and two hundred bundles of hay."

"The straw bundles can be prepared at the post stations, but whether we or the imperial court prepare the grain and beans, it will all be consumed."

"It would be better to have the imperial court prepare everything from the beginning, and then have each prefecture and county make up for the amount of food consumed by the laborers and horses along the way after departing from Longxi."

"Even so, it would be difficult to transport ten shi (a unit of dry measure) to equal one shi."

Cao Yijin's words were not wrong, after all, the losses along the way when they transported grain from Hexi were 50% to 60%, not to mention the even more distant Longyou.

Even using the imperial court's transfer method could only slightly reduce losses, but the amount of grain delivered was still not much.

Faced with the fact that hundreds of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure) were transported but only tens of thousands of shi were actually delivered, even if Liu Jilong supported them, the court would probably have mostly opposed them.

Zhang Huaishen had also thought of this, hence his silence, while Li Mingzhen suggested:
"If 10,000 people are relocated every year, perhaps a city can be built and reach Huangcaobo in fifteen years."

Upon hearing the number "fifteen years," Zhang Huaishen, already forty-three years old, couldn't help but hesitate.

Fifteen years later, he will be fifty-eight years old. It will be questionable whether he can still draw a strong bow at that time. Even if he recovers Huangcaobo, he will probably have no hope of taking back Suyab City.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little irritated, but Zhang Huairong suggested:

"It would be advisable to ask the court to relocate the rebels to the four prefectures of Guazhou, Shazhou, and Gansu. There is still a lot of land that can be cultivated in these places. The government offices of these four prefectures can collect more than 300,000 shi of grain in taxes every year, and they can also purchase enough grain from Liangzhou."

"Let alone tens of thousands, it would not be difficult to settle hundreds of thousands."

"In just three to five years, tens of thousands of people will be able to become self-sufficient and then contribute back to the government, adding more than 100,000 shi of grain to the government."

"Although the loss of grain transported from the four prefectures to Tingzhou was 50% to 70%, the grain that arrived was enough to feed thousands of people."

"In the future, the court will only need to send several thousand people to Tingzhou every year to build cities and cultivate land along the way westward."

Zhang Huairong's suggestion was indeed more cost-effective than directly exiling people to the Western Regions, but this was not a matter for them to decide; they still needed to consult the imperial court.

Thinking of this, they all looked at Zhang Huaishen, who took a deep breath and said, "I will go and write the memorial now."

In front of everyone, he quickly wrote a memorial and sent it to Luoyang by fast horse.

The day after the fast horse departed eastward, tens of thousands of people gathered on the banks of the Luo River in Luoyang.

The objects they were watching were the thousands of condemned prisoners waiting to be executed behind the Luo River embankment.

"Traitor to the nation! Liu Jilong, you traitor to the nation, you deserve to be punished by Heaven!"

"You treacherous and wicked usurper, how dare you enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple and face Emperor Taizong in the underworld!"

"Quickly put the blade to your neck, and you'll die!"

"Liu Muzhi, you treacherous and ungrateful scoundrel, how can you face the world!"

Behind the Luo River embankment, thousands of people were either crying or cursing.

They were all children or parents of the main and accomplices in the Doulu Zhuo treason case, and now they were naturally cursing Liu Jilong.

Yang Xin, who was in charge of supervising the execution, frowned slightly. Ignoring the fact that the time had not yet arrived, he directly ordered, "Execute him!"

Upon hearing this, the two Ministry of Justice officials standing beside him immediately stepped forward and raised their voices: "Execute him!"

In an instant, the cries and curses grew louder, with a constant stream of foul language, which made Yang Xin's face turn gloomy.

Rows of condemned prisoners were pushed onto the banks of the Luo River. Under the executioner's blade, countless heads rolled into the Luo River, floating downstream like gourds.

The lower reaches of the Luo River were stained red, and countless corpses were thrown into a pit not far away.

If it weren't for the fact that it's winter and this place isn't open, the air would probably already be stinking and the corpse would be swarming with flies.

Even so, the onlookers couldn't help but gag and feel a chill when they saw thousands of people being dragged and forcibly pulled up to the riverbank to be executed.

Fifty executioners worked simultaneously, slaughtering from dawn till dusk, before finally killing all three thousand-plus condemned prisoners.

The stench of blood was so strong that even the coldest winter winds couldn't dispel it; the smell was nauseating, and only soldiers who had been on the battlefield could stand there without flinching.

Seeing that the execution was over, Yang Xin endured his discomfort and took a carriage back to his residence to bathe. Only after the smell of blood on his body had dissipated somewhat did he rush to the imperial palace that very night to pay his respects to Liu Jilong.

"Your Majesty, all 3,457 rebels judged by the Three Judicial Offices have been executed. I have come to report this."

Inside the main hall of the imperial palace, Yang Xin reluctantly reported, for the former Princess Tongchang, Li Meiling, was sitting there at that moment.

Li Meiling's face turned pale upon hearing this, while Liu Jilong said calmly, "Now that this matter is over, you may retire and get some rest."

"Your subject takes his leave..."

Yang Xin quickly stood up, returned the greeting, and hurriedly left.

After he left, Li Meiling looked at Liu Jilong with a pleading look in her eyes: "Your Majesty, can't you spare those members of the imperial clan from mourning?"

"When they tried to assassinate me, why didn't they consider the consequences of a failed assassination attempt?"

Liu Jilong questioned Li Meiling, who knew she was in the wrong. She could only stand up, stagger to her feet, and bow before leaving with the help of a female official.

Not long after she left, Feng Hui arrived with Zhang Sao, who had become a female official, and several other female officials, carrying various dishes.

"I heard that Your Majesty did not eat lunch or dinner today, so I specially asked the imperial chef to prepare these dishes."

Feng Hui gestured to Zhang San Niangzi to set out the dishes, while Liu Jilong put down his vermilion brush, breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly stood up.

As he walked toward the dining table, his gaze fell upon Feng Hui, and he said with a slightly softened tone, "Today, the Ministry of Rites submitted a memorial requesting that I change the names of my sons to single characters so that they may avoid using the same characters in the future."

"I have thought about this matter and I still need to discuss it thoroughly with my wife and write to the gentlemen about it."

After the An Lushan Rebellion, most of the princes of the Tang Dynasty changed their names to single characters, and before ascending the throne, they would even deliberately change their names to rare characters, all in order to revitalize imperial power and avoid taboos.

The Ministry of Rites naturally dared not advise Liu Jilong to change his name, but it could advise him to change the names of his sons.

"His Majesty's offspring mostly have two-character names, which indeed needs to be changed. The Ministry of Rites' memorial is therefore understandable."

"Your Majesty may remove the first character of each son's name, leaving only the last character unchanged."

"As for Tiger Head and the other gentlemen, I will discuss it with the concubines."

Feng Hui was, after all, a noblewoman from a prominent family, so it was understandable that the Ministry of Rites asked Liu Jilong to change the names of his sons.

Liu Jilong felt relieved to see that she was willing to help.

Thinking this, he sat down at the table with Feng Hui. After the two finished their meal in a harmonious atmosphere, Feng Hui brought up the serious matter with him.

"In just over ten days, His Majesty will ascend the throne and establish the nation. What are His Majesty's thoughts on matters concerning the harem?"

"The Empress is naturally Xijun."

Liu Jilong assumed that Feng Hui was referring to the Empress, and subconsciously made a promise.

Feng Hui smiled upon hearing this, and then asked, "Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, should have an Empress, four Consorts, nine Concubines, as well as Jieyu, Meiren, Cairen, and so on, totaling one hundred and eight beauties."

"I think the position of Noble Consort should belong to Sister Li, while the position of Virtuous Consort can be left vacant for the time being."

“Those sisters in the inner courtyard will be granted the title of Nine Concubines.”

"I have already discussed this matter with my sisters, but I have not yet discussed the matter of Sister Li with Your Majesty."

Feng Hui didn't cause Liu Jilong any trouble. He had already arranged everything and was only asking for Liu Jilong's opinion to finalize the matter.

Liu Jilong nodded slightly after hearing this, and expressed his understanding of Feng Hui's decision to leave the other three of the four consorts' positions.

Li Meiling was, after all, a princess of the Tang Dynasty, and the princess most favored by Li Cui during his lifetime. The other women in Liu Jilong's household, apart from those with official titles, had served Liu Jilong for a long time, but their backgrounds were of humble origin.

Rashly elevating them to the position of the Four Consorts would easily make people feel that this is an insult to Li Meiling.

At that time, not only will Li Meiling be confused, but other former officials of the Tang Dynasty who were loyal to Liu Jilong will also come to bother him.

Now that the country has just been pacified and he has just dealt with so many people, if he causes any more trouble, it will definitely make people think that the new dynasty is frivolous.

"This matter can be arranged by my wife."

Liu Jilong entrusted the matter entirely to Feng Hui. Upon seeing this, Feng Hui got up and massaged the acupoints on his shoulders and head until Liu Jilong patted her hand to signal her to stop. Only then did she take her leave.

After she left, Liu Jilong returned to his desk to continue handling state affairs.

Time flew by with the wind and snow, and the sound of firecrackers began to ring out in the early morning without anyone noticing.

Since the founding of the nation and the enthronement of the emperor will take place in five days, this year's grand court assembly on New Year's Day has undoubtedly been postponed to the Lantern Festival.

Perhaps because the founding of the nation was in five days, the festive atmosphere seemed to have diminished, as everyone was looking forward to the coronation and establishment of the nation in five days.

As the officials and the people eagerly awaited the arrival of the fifth day of the first lunar month, the people of Luoyang saved all the firecrackers in their homes to be lit on this day.

As the crackling of firecrackers echoed through the neighborhoods, Liu Jilong, who had just finished washing and grooming at 3:45 AM, slowly emerged from the imperial palace and appeared before the six armies of the Northern Army.

At this moment, he wore a twelve-tassel crown and a robe with twelve symbols, holding a jade tablet, and was displayed before the generals and soldiers of the six armies.

The generals and soldiers bowed slightly, while Liu Jilong, holding the jade tablet, walked along the carpet to the jade carriage that was parked in front of the palace.

The Ministry of Rites used six Akhal-Teke horses to pull the imperial carriage, which was escorted by the Six Armies of the Northern Army. The Imperial Guards led the way with spears, and officials sprinkled water on the streets. The common people were confined to their homes and not allowed to disturb the procession.

After Liu Jilong stepped onto the jade carriage and sat down, the Jinwu Guard and the six armies of the Northern Army began to move, while Li Shangyin and Gao Jinda, riding horses, rode side by side on either side of the jade carriage.

In a short while, the procession slowly emerged from the neighborhood, creating a scene of fluttering banners and imposing armor along the main street.

The imperial carriage circled Luoyang once, then walked along the Heavenly Street and crossed the Xingjin, Tianjin, and Huangdao bridges, arriving at the Ziwei City and below the Duanmen Gate.

The city gates of Duanmen were wide open, and a procession of tens of thousands of people escorted the imperial carriage into the Duanmen passageway. Before them lay a vast expanse, indicating that they had arrived at the imperial city outside the inner palace.

Officials of all ranks, arranged in two rows from the inner palace to this place, bowed and made obeisance as the imperial carriage passed by.

Even Liu Jilong, a veteran of many battles, couldn't help but feel excited by the grand spectacle and pomp.

The imposing Yingtian Gate ahead had already opened its gates. After the imperial carriage entered, it had only just passed through the passageway when it saw the Yongtai Gate appear again ahead.

After quickly passing through the passageways of these two city gates, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Thousands of officials on both sides of the palace were bowing in unison as Liu Jilong passed by, each dressed in imperial robes and paying homage to him.

After passing through the long inner palace, the towering Qian Yuan Gate came into view.

The Imperial Guards and the Dragon Warriors, four of the six armies of the Northern Army, stopped here, while the Divine Warriors Heavenly Cavalry, mainly composed of the Divine Warriors Army, began to escort the imperial carriage into the Qian Yuan Gate.

Passing through the passageway of Qianyuan Gate, a square crowded with officials comes into view, along with the Qianyuan Hall, which has been rebuilt over the years, in the distance.

Sitting inside the jade carriage, Liu Jilong could see the palace foundation rising from the ground like cutting through the clouds, a five-zhang-high platform built of black jade (white marble), forty square meters wide and fifteen bays wide, the palace twelve meters high with golden tiles and double eaves.

For Liu Jilong, who had not returned to the palace for several years, the Qianyuan Hall at this time had a resemblance to the Minglou Pavilion during the Wu Zhou period.

The jade carriage slowly came to a stop, and Liu Jilong stepped down from the carriage holding the jade tablet. Before him lay the long imperial road with the dragon's head.

Holding the jade tablet, he walked up the imperial path, step by step, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people.

At this moment, his memories seemed to begin to reverse, from joining the Guiyi Army to establishing his own power and vying for supremacy in the Hexi Corridor, from defeating the Lun Kongre to breaking with the Tang Dynasty and heading east to contend for the throne.

Coming to his senses, he had already walked onto the high platform. Upon seeing this, Du Xunhe, the Minister of Ceremonies, immediately ordered the musicians to play the "Yonghe" music. Li Shanfu, the Grand Astrologer, led the way with the armillary sphere, showing "the celestial sphere and jade balance to align the seven celestial bodies".

Before the Qianyuan Hall were the thrones of the Supreme God of Heaven and the Five Divine Emperors. Upon seeing this, Liu Jilong took the prayer text from Li Shangyin's hands, knelt facing north, and read the prayer text aloud:
"Heavenly Emperor and Earthly Deities, having favored those who have found their place, have descended to observe the world below; the Tang Dynasty is in decline, its fate is sealed, and the people are without a ruler... The people are filled with fear and anxiety, and the order of Heaven cannot be left undone for long; we revere the vast Heaven and dare not disobey!"

He then ascended the throne in the Qianyuan Hall of Luoyang, establishing the Han Dynasty as the empire and adopting the reign title Hongwu.

After the prayer was finished, Liu Jilong faced north without moving, while Li Yi, who had once been the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, dressed in his imperial robes, personally presented the imperial seal to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong looked at Li Yi, who was staring at the imperial seal with a complex expression. Finally, Li Yi forced a smile and said, "Please accept it, Your Majesty..."

Upon seeing him present the imperial seal, Liu Jilong finally recognized it as the Imperial Seal of the State, which had been passed down from the Qin Dynasty to the present day.

It is exactly the same as described in historical records; although it is only three inches in size, it seems to weigh a ton.

Liu Jilong bowed deeply, bowing three times before taking the Imperial Seal from Li Yi and handing the jade tablet to him.

Li Shangyin witnessed the transition from the Tang to the Han dynasty firsthand. After Liu Jilong took over the Imperial Seal of the State, he felt as if his past experiences were still vivid in his mind.

The commoner from Hexi, who was unseen by others in the past, has now achieved great success, and I have followed him to create a new foundation that belongs to everyone.

As he came to his senses, Gao Jinda had already taken the Imperial Seal from Liu Jilong, and Liu Jilong led Gao Jinda to the front of the stage.

Li Shangyin quickly followed, standing on either side of Liu Jilong behind him, along with Gao Jinda.

When Liu Jilong walked to the Dragon Head Imperial Road, tens of thousands of officials and soldiers in the square in front of the Qianyuan Hall bowed to him and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" three times as he looked down at them.

"Long live! Long live! Long live..."

The shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" echoed continuously. Seeing this, Gao Jinda couldn't help but say to Liu Jilong, "His Majesty's wish has been fulfilled today."

Upon hearing this, Li Shangyin also looked at Liu Jilong. They didn't know what Liu Jilong was thinking, but they could sense his feelings at that moment.

Facing the gazes of his ministers, Liu Jilong did not reply, but slowly raised his head to look at the sky.

Dark clouds surged, but sunlight pierced through them, shining into the distance, seemingly heralding a new era as vibrant as spring and full of life.

"Although the great cause has been accomplished, we still need to safeguard it in this peaceful world."

Liu Jilong slowly withdrew his gaze, and amidst shouts of "Long live the Emperor!", he slowly turned to look at the two of them.

"Though the old wars have ended and a new campaign has begun, how can we, the people of the world, slacken our efforts..."

(End of this chapter)