Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 88: The End of an Era

March, the second year of Zhangwu;
Gu Chen led the army out again, heading towards various states in the world, and continued to work hard towards his goal.

In fact, Liu Bei did ask Gu Chen to return to Luoyang with him.

After all, Gu Chen is not young anymore.

Moreover, Gu Chen has no children yet.

Not only Liu Bei, but also several brothers including Gu Wei, Gu Ze and others tried to persuade Gu Chen.

But people like Gu Chen are destined to be unable to stop.

anyway.

Gu Chen must finish everything he needs to do while he is still alive;
In this battle, Guan, Zhang, Zhao and other trusted generals of Liu Bei were also present;
During this period of time in Julu.

Guan, Zhang, Zhao and others successively approached Gu Chen to compete.

The result was no surprise.

All three of them lost to Gu Chen in the competition. Although it was just a competition and not a fight to the death, the three of them still felt Gu Chen's extraordinaryness.

Not to mention Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, even the extremely arrogant Guan Yu was finally completely convinced.

They had no opinion about Gu Chen in the first place.

After this battle, everyone was convinced of Gu Chen.

Everyone admits it.

Looking at all the princes and heroes in this chaotic era, Gu Chen is a missing piece, even Liu Bei cannot compare to him.

This time, Gu Chen's methods are far more brutal than before.

It's not just the states and counties he hasn't dealt with yet.

Including Jingji, Bingzhou and Jingzhou previously occupied by Liu Bei.

Gu Chen wanted to clear out all the strongholds and draw a more detailed feng shui map to prepare for the follow-up.

It's like a more rigorous and meticulous version of Watada.

The only way is to take advantage of the fact that the troubled times have just ended.

This can only be accomplished when Gu Chen and Liu Bei are at their highest reputation.

Of course, this process is destined to be difficult.

Even if the aristocratic families do not dare to openly resist Gu Chen's edge, they are destined to find ways to hide their strength.

However, all these methods were too immature for Gu Chen.

——Times have completely changed!
Gu Chen doesn't need to consider the consequences of various things.

He only needs to use the most severe means to solve the problems that the aristocratic families have come up with.

In just two months;

Gu Chen directly wiped out all the forts in Qingzhou;

Nearly 50,000 private soldiers hidden by the noble families were dismissed, and countless weapons and armors hidden by the noble families were confiscated;
And forcibly took the land occupied by the aristocratic families back to the court.

Reserved for final allocation.

October;

Gu Chen's troops passed through Xuzhou and successively eliminated the Xuzhou nobles' strongholds;
Among them were the noble families who followed Liu Bei and Gu Chen, but Gu Chen did not hold back;

It is only to absolve him of his guilt;
It still destroyed the core foundation of the aristocratic family;

And investigate the private soldiers of the noble families hiding in the mountains and forests, and punish their clans;

He killed hundreds of people one after another.

When the news spread, the whole world was shocked!
At the same time, Liu Bei also issued an edict in Luoyang to announce to the world that he would abolish Emperor Ling's policy of appointing governors of provinces, re-establish the "Guxue", and re-establish the system of examination and recommendation.

In addition to the candidates recommended by the imperial examination;

All talented and learned people in the world can choose to participate in the unified examination in the prefectures and counties;

Those who pass the test can go to Beijing to take the exam again and get different official positions based on their results.

The imperial examination system was completely introduced to the entire world.

However, this matter did not attract much attention from the nobles and common people.

The people do not understand the key to this matter;

At this time, most of the nobles were terrified by Gu Chen's thundering methods.

Afterwards, Liu Bei, based on the feng shui map sent back by Gu Chen, first publicized the crimes of the Yang family and other aristocratic families in Luoyang for disrupting the country, and exiled these aristocratic families and asked them to open up land in various places.

The whole world is in an uproar!

The thundering methods used by Liu Bei and Gu Chen can be said to have completely surpassed those of previous emperors.

Even Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu did not achieve this.

From ancient times to the present day;

Only Liu Bei and Gu Chen could do what they have today regardless of the consequences.

More and more noble families fled to Jiangdong;

By now, perhaps because they had truly sensed the crisis, the Jiangdong clans had no choice but to abandon all grudges and began to find ways to resist this overwhelming trend.

However, Gu Chen was not in a hurry; he always proceeded step by step.

There are people who are good at internal affairs such as Xun Yu, Gu Wei, and Zhuge Liang;

All Gu Chen needs to do is expand the territory.

And they are enough to help Gu Chen with all the aftermath.

The third year of Zhangwu;

Gu Chen once again stepped into Yuyang;

Within a few months, all the clans in Yuyang were completely wiped out.

The nobles tried every possible means.

Whether it is joint resistance or secret plotting against Gu Chen, it is completely useless.

In fact, if they could incite the people to talk nonsense, it would definitely affect Gu Chen's progress.

But in front of Gu Chen.

How could they possibly incite the people?

All that is left for them is extinction;
Perhaps because they truly experienced what true despair was, some noble families even chose to go to the barbarians just to preserve the entire family.

But Gu Chen remained unmoved and just sent people to deliver the message to the barbarians in all directions.

Rebellion against the Han Dynasty; aiding the rebellious nobles;
They will certainly be met with the attack of the Han army;
To this day, even the barbarians from all directions cannot ignore what Gu Chen said.

The legend of the Gu family for generations has now been completely bestowed upon Gu Chen.

Some people are willing to take risks;

After all, for backward tribes like theirs, a noble family can bring them immense help.

But this is still a very small minority.

Moreover, as far as the noble families in the world are concerned, they even look down on the people of Jiuzhou.

Not to mention completely going to join the barbarians.

After all, this is just a very small minority among a very small minority.

In the end, it is impossible to control the overall situation.

June;

Gu Chen completely cleared out the two areas of Yu and Yang, and at the same time entered Jingzhou. In addition to clearing out the Jingzhou nobles, he also turned his troops directly towards Jiangdong.

So far, the only thing missing from complete peace in the world is Jiangdong.

How could he leave behind such a threat?
Gu Chen first had people throw bamboo tubes down from the river to attack the enemy's morale;

His reputation is too high now.

He even surpassed Emperor Liu Bei.

Although for these Jiangdong soldiers, they had long expected that this day would come sooner or later, and had been making mental preparations.

But when all this actually happened, the morale of the Jiangdong soldiers was also greatly affected.

No one is not afraid of death;

Especially for those soldiers at the lowest level.

They really couldn't think of any other reason that could support them to fight with their lives.

Deserters appeared one after another in each camp.

What's more, some even brought large ships from Jiangdong to surrender.
Gu Chen's second strike was aimed directly at the nobles;

The current aristocratic environment in Jiangdong.

It can definitely be called the most chaotic place in the world.

There were irreconcilable contradictions between the local Jiangdong clans and the later Jingzhou clans.

The only reason we are able to suppress conflicts and unite against external threats is because of Gu Chen's existence.

Gu Chen now wants to stir up this kind of situation again.

He sent people to meet with the Jiangdong nobles.

He launched a psychological offensive that as long as the Jiangdong nobles followed his decrees, they could preserve their families;

If you want to resist stubbornly.

After he enters Jiangdong, he will not leave a single one alive.

This is a pure conspiracy.

There is no deep hatred between the Jiangdong nobles and Gu Chen. Under the current circumstances, it is definitely a good deal to be able to preserve the family and at most lose a little profit.

This is a good choice to make.

Although they have joined forces again, no one thinks that they can stop Gu Chen with this little strength;

Jiangdong was in chaos again.

And this time the fight will be far greater than ever before.

Of course, Sun Quan would not surrender.

With revenge for his father's murder in mind, Sun Quan had no choice but to fight to the death.

But no matter how hard he tried, it was all in vain.

In today's situation where such a huge trend is pouring down.

Throughout history, only Gu Xi, who had reached the pinnacle of his abilities, had a chance to take a gamble.

Sun Quan was indeed extraordinary.

But how could he possibly be compared to the Gu Xi of the past?
The overall situation is already determined.

March, the fourth year of Zhangwu;
The civil unrest in Jiangdong was completely out of control. First, there was the alienation of the Jiangdong nobles, and then there was the constant desertion of the soldiers.

Under various circumstances.

Gu Chen finally observed the timing;
They used the large ships brought by the deserters to cross the Yangtze River and officially set foot in Jiangdong.

The people of Jiangdong lined the streets to welcome the royal army, and the Jiangdong nobles also welcomed the royal army.

All private soldiers were handed over to Gu Chen.

Gu Chen took advantage of this momentum and attacked the cities one after another.

Zhou Yu, Lu Su and others did not try to stop it, but in the end, they were unable to reverse the situation. They were defeated by Gu Chen and committed suicide.

Guan Yu killed Lu Meng;

Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and others also defeated the bandits one after another.

Taishi Ci and many other Jiangdong generals surrendered one after another;

Sun Quan was unwilling to die in humiliation.

He personally led the army to fight against Gu Chen, but the formation was directly broken up by Gu Chen's elite troops. Sun Quan was unwilling to be humiliated by the enemy who killed his father, so he committed suicide in front of the battle!

Jiangdong was completely pacified.

And then Gu Chen once again swung his sword against the Jingzhou nobles who had fled to Jiangdong;

Compared with other states and counties in the world.

The power of the aristocratic families in Jiangdong is indeed much stronger.

Those Jingzhou nobles who had been resisting could not completely accept their fate and continued to fight guerrilla warfare with Gu Chen in Jiangdong.

But it was all in vain.

Although these methods took Gu Chen some more time.

But in the end it is difficult to change the outcome.

October;

Gu Chen completely wiped out the resistance forces in Jiangdong, brought the entire Jiangdong area back into the territory of the Han Dynasty, and drew a detailed feng shui map, which completely stabilized the situation in Jiangdong.

All the core members of the old clans in Jingzhou were executed by Gu Chen;

Although the rest were spared the death penalty, they were also exiled by Gu Chen to open up new land;
Afterwards, Gu Chen continued to leave Jiangdong and travel to various places.

Bing, Yan, Liang, Yi,

The noble families in the four prefectures and counties were successively liquidated, and Gu Chen did not rush back to Luoyang afterwards, but sent important generals to guard the border.

He himself rushed to Youzhou.

This was completely beyond everyone's expectations.

From Liu Bei to the court officials and Gu brothers and sisters, everyone wanted Gu Chen to return to Luoyang.

After all, Gu Chen has no children yet.

But without any surprise, Gu Chen refused. He was destined not to stop.

After ensuring that the Han was moving in the right direction, he turned his attention to the foreign enemies he had once been concerned about.

Gu Chen is very confident in his judgment.

However, he did not act rashly, but allowed the rising star of the Han Dynasty to adapt to the fighting style of the foreign enemy little by little.

Among them naturally were some of the Gu family members who were good at martial arts.

This is inheritance.

Until now——

Even the common people at the bottom of society have noticed the changes in the world.

The young men from wealthy families who used to bully them gradually disappeared completely, and even the officials who were so arrogant no longer acted as they did in the past.

This change is extremely obvious;

Although the world has just ended its chaos.

But everyone can feel the difference between before and after. The abolition of the private armies of the aristocratic families has brought about a population increase, including the distribution of the lands that have been seized and developed to the people through population.

All these changes make people feel that the Han Dynasty has been completely renewed.

And the differences are not just these;

The current situation is stable and the administration is clean, which is bound to trigger another ideological boom.

Liu Bei also paid considerable attention to the Imperial Academy;

Various eulogies and poems came out from the Imperial Academy one after another, the most outstanding of which were several poems written by Cao Cao's son Cao Zhi.

That’s right, Cao Zhi was another seed that Cao Cao left for the entire Cao family.

The main reason was Cao Zhi's talent.

Cao Zhi's literary attainments have indeed reached a level that is beyond the reach of others.

Even Gu Chen was shocked when he saw his article. He specially included the original version of "The Goddess of Luo River" in his family and recommended it to the Imperial College.

Liu Bei naturally had no good feelings towards Cao Cao's descendants.

But he had no choice but to pay attention to Gu Chen's recommendation.

And now Cao Zhi did not disappoint Gu Chen's recommendation. He never asked about any political affairs, but only used practical events to carry out various imaginative creations.

His several essays completely convinced Liu Bei.

Not only did he spread his articles throughout the world, but he also promoted him to lecturer in the Imperial College.

Under the influence of various literary works.

The ideological progress of the entire Han Dynasty was also enormous.

After the world was completely unified, Liu Bei, under the advice of Gu Wei, Zhuge Liang and others, launched the first imperial examination in the entire Han Dynasty.

It will definitely be a long process to thoroughly make this system of becoming an official through assessment take root in people's hearts.

The current Han Dynasty is also destined to be unable to fully implement this system.

But this is also a brand new attempt.

Be it Liu Bei or Gu Chen, including some of the most critical ministers in the court, they all attached great importance to this matter.

Even Zhuge Liang and Gu Wei, the two most senior ministers in the court, decided to conduct the test themselves.

This incident is bound to affect the whole world.

The only way is to let the people of the world see that ordinary people can be elected as officials.

Only then can they fully realize the difference of the Han Dynasty today.

But for the current Han Dynasty, this task is bound to be difficult.

Almost all of those selected are children of aristocratic families.

In the previous chaotic times, ordinary people in the world could hardly even save their lives, so how could anyone possibly devote themselves to studying?

However, there are exceptions;
In various states and counties, some children from poor families appeared one after another, and their talents were no less than those of children from aristocratic families.

It’s a pity that there are no real people.

Although he was not in Luoyang, Gu Chen still had all their test answers sent over, and he carefully read them over and over again regardless of their identities.

He paid attention to several people one after another;

——Zhong Hui of the Yingchuan Zhong family, Yang Hu of the Taishan Yang family, Du Yu of the Jingzhao Du family and others.

These children from aristocratic families have displayed their talents to the fullest.

All his answers to the examinations and his suggestions on the world situation were extremely reasonable.

As for people from poor families, Gu Chen also noticed quite a few of them.

For example, Zhang Hua, Deng Ai and others.

Anyone who can be sent to Gu Chen must have something extraordinary.

Gu Yi was also paying attention to these people. Looking at the familiar names, he suddenly discovered a problem that he had overlooked before.

—Now the troubled times are over;
What would the world become like if these people who were once famous in history worked together to govern a country?
Just thinking about this, Gu Yi suddenly had some expectations for the future.

The talents of these people need no further explanation.

People who can leave their names in history must have something extraordinary about them.

This will definitely bring the entire Han Dynasty to an unprecedented height.

But Gu Yi also understood.

With the birth of these people one after another, a very glorious era is finally coming to an end.

Time is like a knife, it will eventually take away everything.

Sure enough, Gu Yi’s prediction was correct.

It was in the sixth year of Zhangwu.

Ma Chao suddenly fell ill in Liang Province.

He passed away before even the news could reach Gu Chen. Before his death, he wrote a letter to Gu Chen, entrusting the entire clan to him.

Gu Chen was very sad about this.

Although there were many generals following him along the way.

But Ma Chao can definitely be called the best among them and can be regarded as Gu's most important confidant.

Gu Chen immediately reported the matter to the court.

Liu Bei also remembered Ma Chao's contribution and gave him a very decent funeral, and posthumously named him "Wei".

——The whole country is in grief!
But this seems to be a signal that an era has come to an end.

In the same year, in August;
——Guan Yu is seriously ill.

Guan Yu is the most powerful military commander of the Han Dynasty except for Gu Chen.

This alone is enough to show how much Liu Bei cares about his brother.

Upon learning of this, Liu Bei, who had always been diligent in his work, didn't even have the heart to attend court.

He directly handed over state affairs to Zhuge Liang and Gu Wei.

He himself was going to visit Guan Yu.

Guan Yu is now in Jiangdong, and was ordered by Gu Chen to guard Jiangdong to prevent further chaos in Jiangdong.

Although Liu Bei's actions were extremely quick, unfortunately, fate was as cruel as a knife.

After all, it was difficult for the two brothers to meet again.

Guan Yu was unable to hold on and died in Jiangdong.

After Liu Bei asked, he fainted instantly.

Although it was not life-threatening.

But the whole person seemed to have aged a lot in an instant, and no longer had the vigor and vitality of the past.

He returned to Luoyang and buried Guan Yu with royal rites.

His posthumous title was Zhaoyi.

To praise Guan Yu's achievements.

Since the funeral, Liu Bei has become more and more depressed.

He gradually put aside many state affairs.

He gradually shifted his attention to the education of Crown Prince Liu Chan.

But unfortunately, Liu Chan's talents were indeed far behind, and even Gu's educational methods were not enough to make up for the gap.

This indeed made Liu Bei more worried about the future.

The current situation seems to be that the Han Dynasty is thriving.

But in fact, all stability is based on the fact that Gu Chen and he are still alive.

Now my old friends are dying one after another.

How many days does he have left?

How many days does Gu Chen have left?
If they die one after another, can Liu Chan, with his talent, really take on the responsibility of the entire world?
This is the most direct problem facing Liu Bei, and it has even become a knot in his heart.

Liu Bei absolutely could not tolerate any problems arising from the Han Dynasty again.

It is under this circumstance.

Liu Bei even had the idea of changing the crown prince.

Fortunately, Gu Wei and Zhuge Liang persuaded him and told him about Gu's assistance. Only then did Liu Bei's anxious heart gradually settle down a little, but he still couldn't be completely at ease.

This may be a common problem among humans.

As for Liu Bei, he really attached too much importance to the Han Dynasty.

The old friends he could trust passed away one after another, which gradually made him more and more restless.

November, the sixth year of Zhangwu;
Gu Wei is ill;

The lifespan of the sixth generation of the Gu family is gradually coming to an end.

Liu Bei was also extremely sad about this.

"Wen Yao."

In the Marquis Guanjun's mansion, Liu Bei stood beside the bed, staring at Gu Wei, whose face was as pale as paper. His eyes were red like blood, and his voice was trembling:

"Are you going to abandon me too?"

Zhuge Liang's eyes were also moist at this moment, with tears welling up in his eyes.

Although Gu Wei only met and made friends with them after the Han Dynasty prospered again, this friendship has not diminished in the slightest, and is sincere and deep.

"Time is like a knife, unstoppable. Your Majesty, please do not grieve excessively." Gu Wei looked at Liu Bei, his lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile. His expression was extremely calm, and he slowly said, "I have come this far."

"Witnessing my grandfather's great ambition come true in the Han Dynasty with my own eyes, my heart is filled with satisfaction and I have no regrets."

"I, your Excellency, am now going to meet my grandfather."

There wasn't a trace of fear of death in Gu Wei's eyes. Instead, he revealed a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

How much he longed to see Gu Xi soon!

As the most valued member of the Gu family by Gu Xi in the past, although Gu Wei has been silently managing affairs behind Gu Chen for a long time, his importance is self-evident.

Given Gu Chen's personality, only with someone like this whom he could trust without reservation guarding the rear, could he concentrate on conquering all directions and achieve such a great achievement today.

Now that everything in the Han Dynasty is back on track, he can't wait to tell Gu Xi, who is in the afterlife, all of this.

The sadness on Liu Bei's face grew more intense, like a layer of haze that could not be dispelled.

He stared at Gu Wei closely, his lips slightly opening and closing, as if he had a thousand words to say but didn't know where to start. Only tears fell uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Gu Wei's smile became even gentler. He looked at Liu Bei and said softly, "Your Majesty is a wise ruler."

"If I were to be fortunate enough to meet the late Emperor of the Han Dynasty in the afterlife, I would surely tell him everything about your majesty's wisdom."

"I pray that the previous emperors will bless your majesty with a long life, that our Han dynasty will be as solid as a rock, and that the people of the world will live and work in peace and contentment."

At this time, Gu Wei's breathing became more rapid, his chest heaved violently, and his face became paler as frost.

He really had reached the end.

But there was still no fear of death on his face.

He sat up with all his strength and turned his gaze to the north.

His eyes seemed to penetrate the mountains and rivers and fell on Gu Chen who was far away in Youzhou.

He opened his lips slightly and murmured a few words, but his voice was too weak for others to hear.

After a moment, he slowly closed his eyes.

The whole person fell on the bed in an instant, and there was no trace of breath.

Seeing this scene, Liu Bei's expression changed drastically.

His whole body trembled and he fainted instantly.

"His Majesty!!"

The expressions of everyone present changed drastically, and shouts instantly rang out in the Champion Marquis' Mansion.

At this time, Gu Yi also received a prompt from the system.

He looked over.

His mood was also inexplicably heavy.

It’s not just because of Gu Wei’s passing.

It is also a pity that an era is about to end.

Ps: I’m begging for a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)