Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 151 Crimson Fire Flows, the Han Dynasty Will Rise

The sun is gradually setting in the west.

The shadow of the immortal statue holding dew grew longer and longer.

It struck the upturned eaves of the wooden pavilion on Bailiang Terrace.

Then it slowly moved clockwise, passing over the group of emperors and ministers inside the pavilion.

When the shadow of the Immortal Receiving Dew statue completely shifted from the wooden pavilion and extended down the stone steps of the Cypress Beam Terrace, the Fubing system, which would surely inject immense power into the Han Dynasty, was finally agreed upon.

In the past, during the debate at the White Tiger Hall, Emperor Zhang personally resolved the dispute between the Old Text and New Text schools of Confucianism. Using Confucianism as a framework and combining it with prophetic and theological teachings, he emphasized the supreme authority of Heaven and the divine right of kings, thus consolidating the rule of the Han emperor.

Today's discussion at Bailiang Terrace saw the Emperor personally establish the system of Eagle-Flying and Vanguard Army, no longer relying on the illusory divine right of kings, no longer sharing the world solely with Confucian aristocratic families, but sharing it with military merit and nobility, thus consolidating the Emperor's power through armed imperial authority.

This move has enormous benefits.

The downsides are also significant.

While winning over one group of people, you will inevitably offend another group.

Fortunately, thanks to the foundation laid by Zhaolie, and thanks to the Prime Minister's exemplary conduct, the ministers who guarded the palace worked tirelessly, and the loyal and devoted officials devoted themselves to the country. They did not concern themselves with personal gain or personal wealth, but were united in their goal of resisting Cao Cao and recovering lost territory. As a result, the Fubing system was unanimously approved by the upper echelons of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Shan recounted everything he knew and could think of in the past few months, and then he could basically relinquish his responsibilities, leaving the Prime Minister and others to refine and implement the plans.

Once this system is in operation, we can then examine what loopholes and shortcomings exist and fix them one by one.

With the Prime Minister's extraordinary talent for governing the world, and with the pragmatic and effective team he had assembled assisting him, Liu Shan felt he had nothing left to worry about.

In fact, this emperor had a whole set of procedures in his mind about how to distribute land equally and how to investigate and sort out household registration and land ownership, which he could simply copy.

However, the time is not yet ripe. Officials of the Han Dynasty have not yet been assigned to positions in the newly conquered Guanzhong, Anding, and Longyou regions, and the court is unaware of the situation in these areas.

We need to wait for a while, until the Han Dynasty has a preliminary understanding of the situation in Guanzhong, and until the Han Dynasty has a group of soldiers who support the imperial power, before we can slowly carry out reforms.

Institutional reforms involve too many factors and too many constraints. Even if a complete system is available, there may not be the conditions to implement it.

Once the war in Guanzhong is completely over, Liu Shan should focus on improving productivity and efficiency.

Compared to institutional changes, changes in equipment and technology presented less resistance and yielded faster results for Liu Shan, a time traveler.

The existing dragon-bone waterwheel and curved plow alone were enough to increase per capita output by at least 30% to 40%.

We should then seek out craftsmen to develop military technologies such as coking, blast furnace ironmaking, steelmaking by charging, and double-liquid quenching.

Then send people to develop high-end products such as ceramics, tea, fine salt, or sugar, open up the Silk Road in the Western Regions, and directly achieve economic dominance during the Three Kingdoms period.

In conclusion, Guanzhong achieved a great victory, the Han Dynasty returned to its old capital, the danger of the country's collapse disappeared, the public pressure that Liu Shan faced when he first traveled through time vanished, and time began to favor the Han Dynasty.

Zhao Yun, the cavalry commander of the Han Dynasty, sent a messenger with news.

The soldiers of the Northern Expedition have already formed ranks in the eastern suburbs of Chang'an, ready to welcome Your Majesty to the outskirts of the city, to inspect the army's military exercises, and to reward the troops.

Liu Shan and the Prime Minister then boarded the carriage, followed closely by a group of civil officials and soldiers of the central army, who escorted the carriage slowly toward Qingming Gate.

Upon arriving at Qingming Gate, one indeed sees two enormous bronze figures, each three or four zhang tall, kneeling on the ground; these are the golden figures cast by Qin Shi Huang.

Liu Shan ordered his chariot to stop, got out of the carriage, walked to the two bronze statues, and slightly raised his head to look at their chests.

According to Dong Yun, the First Emperor ordered his prime minister Li Si to inscribe a text in small seal script on the chest of the bronze figure, which read:

"In the twenty-sixth year of the emperor's reign, having just unified the empire, he established prefectures and counties, standardized laws, and unified weights and measures. A man came to see Lintao; he was five zhang tall and had six chi feet."

“Minister Dong, there are no inscriptions on the chests of the two golden statues. Have you made a mistake?” Liu Shan asked.

Upon hearing this, Dong Yun also stepped forward and stood behind the emperor, looking at the chests of the two bronze figures.

Indeed, as the emperor said, Jin Di did not have the legendary Li Si small seal script on his chest.

The Prime Minister stepped forward from his carriage, glanced at Jin Di's chest twice, and then said:
"Your Majesty, I have heard that Wang Mang dreamed of five golden oxen rising from the Changle Palace, which he found ominous."

"Reciting the inscription on the bronze figure that read 'The Emperor first unified the world,' he ordered the craftsmen of the Imperial Workshop to erase the inscription on the chest of the bronze figure he had dreamed of."

"I observe that the two golden statues before me do indeed have engravings on their chests, so the rumors must be true."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shan suddenly understood, and looked at the chests of the two golden statues again, nodding slightly.

Dong Yun glanced at it a few times, then suddenly his pupils widened as if he had thought of something. He then turned and bowed to the Emperor, saying:
"Your Majesty, the Records of the Five Elements states:"
"In the twenty-sixth year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, twelve giants, each five zhang tall and with feet six chi in length, dressed in barbarian attire, appeared in Lintao."

"Heaven warned Ruo, 'Do not engage in the practices of barbarians, for you will suffer calamity.'"

"In that year, the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, and instead of being pleased, he took it as an auspicious omen. He then melted down all the weapons in the land and cast twelve bronze statues to represent them."

Liu Shan was slightly taken aback.

He had no idea what Dong Yun was trying to do by suddenly bowing to him and saying all this.

Unexpectedly, the appearance of "twelve barbarians in Lintao" was not an auspicious sign at first, but an ominous one.

However, it is obvious that these twelve barbarian tribes were not personally seen by Qin Shi Huang.

It's just the ulterior motives of those who didn't want the First Emperor to unify the six kingdoms.

This incident must have caused quite a stir at the time, and may have even triggered a certain degree of public opinion upheaval.

The First Emperor's final act of "not considering it a bad omen, but rather a cause for celebration, and collecting all the weapons in the land to cast twelve bronze 'Di' tokens" was a rebuttal and characterization of this political event by showcasing his unification of the six kingdoms and his conquest of the eight directions.

Thinking of this, Liu Shan paused again.

Then he finally understood what Dong Yun wanted to say.

And as expected, Dong Yun said:
"Your Majesty, I have heard that in ancient times, emperors who succeeded to the throne would change the era name after a certain age, and those who founded and established dynasties would adopt the title after their achievements were accomplished."

"It is also said that there is no greater filial piety than continuing the legacy of the state, and no greater merit than establishing the universe."

"Your Majesty inherited the imperial lineage in Chengdu and honored the late emperor in the ancestral temple. Therefore, the reign title was changed to Jianxing."

"Now Your Majesty commands the troops, personally punishes the chief villain, conquers Guanzhong, and restores the old capital."

"I humbly request Your Majesty to issue a decree to us, allowing us to consult the stories of the Three Dynasties and examine the general records of all the kings."

"Changing the era name and establishing a new one, reforming the old and establishing the new."

"Hanging endlessly, its light shines through the ages."

Upon hearing this, the emperor and the prime minister exchanged glances.

The assembled civil and military officials nodded repeatedly.

With such great achievements, the emperor should indeed change the era name and reform the old order.

Liu Shan turned back again and glanced at the marks left on the chests of the two golden statues by the inscriptions that Wang Mang had erased.

After a moment's thought, he even guessed almost exactly the reign title that Dong Yun was thinking of.

"Dong Shizhong first said that the First Emperor did not regard the sight of the twelve barbarian tribes in Lintao as a disaster, but rather was pleased and regarded it as an auspicious sign, and later proposed to change the era name."

"I suppose what Dong Shizhong is thinking is related to the sighting of the red crow at the ancestral temple three months ago?"

Dong Yun bowed again, his expression solemn and serious:
"When King Wu attacked King Zhou of Shang, a red crow appeared as an auspicious omen. The king and his ministers observed this, and thus the kingdom came to be theirs."

"Later generations said that the red crow brought good news, and that this marked the beginning of the Zhou dynasty."

"Before His Majesty personally led the northern expedition, there was a solar eclipse and an earthquake, and the ancestral temple collapsed."

“A red crow appeared in the ancestral temple, and as a result, none of the houses of the people of Chengdu were damaged. This is a very auspicious sign, which we, your servants, have personally witnessed and all the people have personally experienced!”

"The fiery red sun shines down, and the righteous Han dynasty shall rise!"

“If the gods consider this auspicious, I believe that the year should be changed to ‘Chiwu’ as the beginning.”

After Dong Yun finished speaking, Guo Youzhi, Chen Zhen and other officials all realized what was happening, and then nodded repeatedly and voiced their agreement.

On the eve of His Majesty's personal expedition, there was a solar eclipse and an earthquake, and strange birds appeared in the ancestral temple. Some people said that "the cuckoo has taken over the magpie's nest, and Emperor Wang lost Shu."

Dong Yunjin proposed changing "Chiwu" to the reign title.

It was precisely by emulating the First Emperor's act of casting twelve bronze statues that he was able to reclaim Guanzhong, restore the old capital, quell the public opinion storm, and use that storm to win back the hearts of the people.

After all, at that time there was both a solar eclipse and an earthquake, and so many people claimed to have seen a strange bird with a red beak and a black body hovering around the ancestral temple and chirping incessantly, which made the rumor of "Emperor Wang losing Shu and the demon bird stealing his soul" rampant and impossible to suppress.

As a result, after His Majesty personally led the expedition, he won one victory after another, was invincible, conquered Guanzhong, and restored the old capital.

The rumors and public opinion were disproven on their own.

Not only did it fail to refute the claim, but it also proved the validity of the argument made by Dong Yun, Jiang Wan, and others at the time, which refuted the seditious rumors that "the red crow brought good news, and the Zhou dynasty began to rise."

The Han Dynasty was governed by the element of fire, and its official color was red. The name "Red Crow" was chosen because the auspicious sign of the Red Crow had indeed descended upon the Han Dynasty, and it also aligned with the Han Dynasty's destiny governed by the element of fire.

The fiery sun shines brightly, and the Han dynasty is destined to rise.

This is truly an auspicious title.

Liu Shan looked somewhat hesitant.

Because of the major incidents he experienced during his time travel—such as solar eclipses and earthquakes, red-billed crows appearing in ancestral temples, the destruction of statues of the late emperor, and the fact that no houses in Chengdu were damaged—this behavior of "not considering it a disaster, but rather a cause for celebration" was itself a demonstration of imperial power.

Not to mention that so many people witnessed it firsthand.

Furthermore, given the widespread popularity of apocryphal texts and the reality that many Confucian scholars possessed charlatan-like qualities, this situation was compounded by the prevalence of prophetic and apocryphal teachings.

Using "Chiwu" as the reign title after a great victory would definitely have the effect of intimidating and winning people's hearts.

However, if the imperial authority is established by using prophecies and apocryphal texts, it will be difficult to deal with the situation later when the emperor wants to collect all the prophecies and apocryphal texts and destroy them, thus eliminating their falsehoods.

The saying goes, "What a ruler gains by virtue of, he will also perish by virtue of.

These superstitious and prophetic sayings both helped Liu Xiu establish the Eastern Han Dynasty, unify the people's hearts, and maintain the sanctity of imperial power, but ultimately also became a theoretical weapon to overthrow himself.

Moreover, the prevalence of such vague and unfounded theories will seriously hinder the development of productivity.

As a result, Confucianism became unprecedentedly corrupt, and scholarship stagnated. The younger generation within Cao Wei began to turn to the study of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and they also went astray by avoiding the real issues and engaging in empty talk about metaphysics.

Most importantly... the purpose of changing the era name was originally to bring good luck.

The reign title Chiwu was used by Sun Quan... which is a bit off-putting.

Now it's Jianxing, and Jianyan is supposed to be good.

However, Jianyan was used by Zhao Gou, which is considered unlucky.

Yan Xing seems like a good option as well.

However, Yanxing was the last reign title of Liu Shan (A Dou). A few years later, the Wei and Jin dynasties abdicated, and Sima Yan became emperor. Yanxing became one of the theoretical bases for Sima Yan's abdication, which was also considered unlucky.

Why am I becoming so superstitious? Upon realizing this, Liu Shan suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

"Minister Dong, let's discuss this matter another day," Liu Shan said with a smile and a shake of his head.

Then he pointed to the golden dagger in front of him:

"I have heard that Wei Dan studied under Zhang Zhi, the master of cursive script, and is proficient in all kinds of calligraphy, including clerical script, cursive script, flying white script, and small seal script."

"It is also said that after the usurpation of the Han throne by the pseudo-Wei dynasty, the inscriptions on the plaques of the palaces in Luoyang and the inscriptions on the sacrificial vessels were all done by him."

"He then had the inscription that the First Emperor had ordered Li Si to carve in small seal script re-carved onto the two golden statues in small seal script."

"Inscribe a few more lines for me."

"On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, the Han emperor abdicated to the Di people and settled in Guanzhong, returning to the old capital."

"Let him live a few more years, and when the world is unified and the four seas are at one, he can inscribe this on the Jin Di to commemorate it."

"Yes, sir!" Dong Yun bowed his head in obedience.

Liu Shan turned back to his carriage.

The wheels rolled on, heading towards Qingming Gate.

A great gathering of ceremonial figures.

The dragon banner soared into the sky.

The emperor changed into a white horse and took the blood-stained robe, patched together from the corners of fallen soldiers' clothes, from Zhao Guang, the General of the Dragon Cavalry, and draped it over his shoulders.

Fully armed, carrying a bow and sword, and covered in a blood-stained robe, the Han emperor rode slowly through the ranks of his three armies.

Under Chang'an City.

Banners covered the sky, and long halberds formed a forest.

Fully armed, carrying a bow and sword, and draped in a blood-stained robe, the Han emperor rode into battle.

Dozens of imposing cavalrymen, their faces covered with bronze lion-shaped masks and riding tall horses, followed closely behind.

Calm as an abyss, fiery as a flame.

Then came two or three hundred Tiger Cavalrymen to cover the rear.

The moment the dragon banner entered the formation behind the emperor.

The tiger-riding cavalry behind the emperor either beat war drums on horseback or played flutes across their lips.

At the same time, hundreds of drummers and buglers lined the road, beating drums and blowing bugles.

This is what is meant by blowing drums and horns horizontally.

The music being played was a drum ensemble composed by the generals of the army who recently contributed their own honor guards.

The Prime Minister bestowed a name upon it, saying: "The Emperor's Battle Music".

Warriors sang songs together.

Once the emperor and his elite troops had entered the formation, the drumbeats suddenly became as rapid as rain, like iron cavalry breaking through the enemy lines.

The emperor, along with a group of cavalry generals and tiger riders with lion-like faces, charged forward on horseback, their warhorses neighing and raising clouds of dust.

The sound of the horn and flute changes, and the melody suddenly becomes more stirring.

The emperor's golden banners and dozens of dragon flags galloped across the ranks of ten thousand troops.

Upon seeing the Emperor's personal presence, the soldiers of the three armies spontaneously shouted "Long live the Emperor!" without the need for their generals to lead them.

At this moment, the drumbeats poured down like a torrential downpour.

Swords and spears struck the ground, and the army roared.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Its sound pierced through the clouds and split rocks, shaking the heavens.

On the city tower, Wang Jun, Guanqiu Jian, Xiahou Ru, Deng Ai, Lu Pan and other prisoners dressed in ordinary clothes and went up to watch the ceremony.

Seeing this, everyone was stunned and speechless.

When the emperor arrived at the Qingming Gate of Chang'an City, he ascended a three-zhang-high rammed earth platform to offer sacrifices to Heaven and distribute meat offerings. The three armies stood in solemn silence.

Xiahou Ru squinted and stared for a while, then gave a disdainful snort and said to Wang Jun, Deng Ai, Guanqiu Jian, and the others:
"This Han emperor is indeed good at winning the hearts of his soldiers, but he is only able to supervise the army on the battlefield because he is protected by thousands of troops."

"He never braved arrows, stones, or blades, yet he wore a tattered and filthy robe and swaggered around in the midst of a vast army, as if he had actually fought and killed my great Wei soldiers, even though he was wounded a thousand times."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jun, Deng Ai, Guanqiu Jian, and others remained silent.

A defeated general has no right to boast of his bravery; no matter how stubborn he is, it's useless.

Furthermore, this pseudo-Han emperor dared to personally enter the battlefield like Liu Bang, Liu Xiu, and Liu Bei, and even won the Battle of Guanzhong. Wasn't that enough? Did he really have to risk his life?

Even the style of Emperor Taizu of the Great Wei Dynasty was no more than this.

At that moment, Jie Conglongxiang, who was in charge of guarding them, sneered:
"The red robe worn by His Majesty of the Great Han is made from the blood-stained corners of the clothes of soldiers who died heroically in battle."

Xiahou Ru paused upon hearing this, and Wang Jun, Guanqiu Jian, Deng Ai, and the other surrendered generals were all taken aback.

Beneath the walls of Chang'an, atop a high rammed-earth platform.

The golden banners fluttered in the east wind.

The Emperor of Han mixed blood into wine, then poured the wine over the ground as a libation to the fallen soldiers: "This wine should be shared with you all!"

After the emperor finished speaking, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and other generals cut up the sacrificial meat from the high platform and performed the ritual of dividing the sacrificial meat.

The ceremony of distributing the sacrificial meat has ended.

The meat was delivered to the three armies.

A grand feast for the three armies.

(End of this chapter)