Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 115 An Arrow Pierces the Sky
The Liang emperor, who had been dragged out of the palace by the imperial advisor, was immediately sent to Chang'an.

then……

The chaos of the Tang Dynasty was quelled.

Upon learning the news, the Southern Wu was thrown into chaos. Zhang Hao, Xu Wen, and others killed Yang Wo and then appointed his younger brother Yang Longyan as the military governor of Huainan. They then submitted a memorial to Chang'an, stating that Yang Xingmi's dying wish was for Yang Longyan to be the military governor of Huainan and requesting to come to the court. However, Yang Wo had colluded with Zhu Wen in order to seize the throne. Therefore, they were now restoring order and executing this traitor, awaiting the court's decision.

It's just making up a story!

It’s not a difficult thing.

Yang Xingmi remained the Prince of Wu of the Tang Dynasty until his death; this is a fact.

He was granted this title by Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, and he died before Zhu Wen usurped the throne.

Even his posthumous title was Zhongwu!
It was Yang Xingmi's son, Yang Wo, who submitted to Zhu Wen, so the blame could be placed entirely on Yang Wo. After all, Xu Wen and others disliked Yang Wo, and Yang Xingmi had more than one son. The matter was simply to restore order; the rest was up to the court. The Tang court's handling was straightforward: Yang Xingmi's sons, Xu Wen, Zhang Hao, and others, along with their entire families, came to court; Kan Leng was transferred south to serve as the governor of Huainan Circuit; and shortly after, Yang Longyan and others received imperial decrees. Thus, the Huainan group effectively surrendered.

Next up is Wu Yue.

Upon learning of Zhu Wen's defeat, Qian Liu submitted a memorial to the emperor as quickly as possible, requesting to enter the capital.

Of course, not as the King of Wuyue of Liang.

It was the King of Yue of the Tang Dynasty.

His title of King of Wuyue was conferred by Zhu Wen. He was originally conferred the title of King of Yue by Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, but later he asked to be King of Wuyue but was refused. Later, through Zhu Wen's intervention, he changed it to King of Wu. This should have been after Yang Xingmi's death, otherwise there would have been two Kings of Wu. Therefore, he dared not claim the title of King of Wu, but there was no problem with King of Yue.

As for his previous allegiance to Zhu Wen...

who said it?
I never submitted to Zhu Wen, okay?
I, the dignified King of Yue of the Great Tang Dynasty, am utterly loyal and unwavering. How could I possibly submit to that traitor?

It's all rumors.

Slander! They're slandering me!
You say I submitted to Zhu Wen? Show me the evidence! He sent someone to deliver an imperial edict to me, saying he would enfeoff me as the King of Wuyue. But of course, I tore up this traitor's edict without hesitation. The fragments are still there. Originally, I was going to submit it to the court, but at that time there was no Tang Dynasty court to submit it to. Now, finally, there is a Tang Dynasty court.

Therefore, along with his memorial requesting to enter the court, there were also torn fragments of the imperial edict from Zhu Wen that conferred upon him the title of King of Wuyue.

It doesn't matter when it was torn up.

Importantly, he also paid back the taxes that had been accumulated over ten years and could not be delivered to the court due to the war.

He was a loyal subject.

He had been paying taxes to the imperial court all along.

However, because the roads were blocked, they could not be delivered to Chang'an, so they had to be stored away.

He believed that peace would eventually be restored to the world, and after holding onto this belief for so many years, he finally waited for this day. Ships of grain and cloth were heading towards Chang'an.

Therefore, for the sake of these grains and cloths, the Tang Dynasty court accepted his shamelessness.

After all, he gave so much.

But accepting one shameless person means accepting a whole group of shameless people. After learning that this was how it could be done, Ma Yin did not hesitate to submit a memorial requesting to enter the court and deliver the imperial edict from Zhu Wen that he was supposedly torn up at the time, which was also the edict that Zhu Wen had conferred upon him the title of King of Chu. At the same time, he also transported the taxes accumulated over ten years to the court.

Then came Wang Shenzhi.

Then there's Liu Yin.

In reality, because Zhu Wen's Liang Dynasty was so short-lived, these people can't be said to have completely fabricated stories. After all, Zhu Wen had only been emperor for a month when the Tang Dynasty was re-established in Chang'an. People like Wang Shenzhi and Liu Yin, who were far away, basically received news of the Tang Dynasty's reconstruction by the time they received Zhu Wen's invitation but hadn't yet responded and pledged allegiance. They genuinely didn't give Zhu Wen a reply, since they were so far away, and Zhu Wen couldn't possibly cause them trouble. They could have continued to observe. Under these circumstances, their claim that they were still loyal subjects of the Tang Dynasty wasn't entirely without basis.

Zhu Wen did indeed issue an imperial edict to them.

But they didn't reply!
They did not submit to Zhu Wen and remained military governors of the Tang Dynasty. As for why they did not go to the court before, it was because they were so far away and it would take them time to determine whether the court in Chang'an was real or not!

Loyal minister.

They were still loyal subjects of the Tang Dynasty.

The Chang'an court, without the intervention of the Grand Preceptor, also tended to appease them, mainly because these people were being paid too much. The taxes paid by Qian Liu's family alone were enough to support the current military and civilian population of Guanzhong for several years, and Ma Yin's payments were no less. Adding the taxes paid by Huainan and other regions, the Tang court had never been so well-off. Moreover, these places were not like the Hebei Three Towns, which were homegrown, arrogant military strongholds. Places like Huainan and Wuyue had always been sources of tax revenue for the Tang Dynasty and were considered the most obedient regions. The reason they had become separatist was essentially because the Tang Dynasty had collapsed, and these places needed to protect themselves.

It wasn't that they wanted to establish a separatist regime, but rather that the situation in the Tang Dynasty forced them to do so.

Once the truly arrogant and fierce soldiers are dealt with, as long as they do not put up a stubborn resistance, the situation can be resolved peacefully.

The military governor and his entire clan came to the capital.

Then the imperial court reappointed local officials, established a four-tiered system of circuits, prefectures, counties, and districts, restored the tax system headed by the transport commissioner, and fully implemented the militia system. At the circuit level, a commander-in-chief was established to manage the militia, but this was only administrative; military command was handled by the general commander of the army. Both the general commander and the commander-in-chief were dispatched by the Sixteen Guards. The newly established provincial administration commissioner was in charge of administrative affairs, and the provincial judicial commissioner was in charge of judicial affairs. In reality, it was the same system from the early Ming Dynasty, originally established by Yang Feng. Zhu Yuanzhang's system was very comprehensive. The provincial administration commissioner, the provincial judicial commissioner, and the commander-in-chief held military, civil, and legal power at the circuit level, while the transport commissioner was in charge of taxation.

However, the operation was overseen by the general commander.

The imperial court still maintained the Three Departments and Six Ministries system, except that civil officials were appointed through the imperial examination system.

Of course, this does not refer to the Confucian examination system.

Instead, it is divided into subjects, which is basically equivalent to a simplified version of the civil service exam.

However, Yang Feng only helped them establish a general system. The specific development in the future would depend on themselves. After all, any system must be based on reality. Having a general framework and then improving it requires the efforts of generations. There is no such thing as a one-time success.

While the southern warlords surrendered one after another, the northern warlords who were truly loyal to Zhu Wen abandoned their cities and fled, or were killed by their subordinates. Yang Shihou attempted to escape but was killed by his trusted confidants. Luo Shaowei, the military governor of Weibo, failed in his request to surrender and ultimately committed suicide in despair. Many others fled or disappeared, which was actually the most common type of escape. After all, as Zhu Wen's confidants, they were unlikely to be pardoned. However, if they abandoned their wealth and status and fled with some gold and silver to hide among the common people, they could have lived a life of comfort for the rest of their lives.

As for Li Cunxu, he still held sway over Daibei and formally submitted to Abaoji. As the Prince of Jin of the Khitan, Li Sijian also submitted to Abaoji and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Xia by the latter.

Of course, how to deal with them is none of Yang Feng's business.

Such a trivial matter does not require the Imperial Advisor's attention.

In fact, some of Li Cunxu's subordinates had already begun to surrender to the court. For example, Li Siyuan had already been secretly contacting the court. After all, the Daibei region could not support them. If the court allowed them to surrender, most of them would probably surrender.

But this...

Let's leave this to the new emperor!

Changan.

In front of the platform of Hanyuan Hall.

Yang Feng walked past kneeling descendants of Li Shimin, surrounded by a group of surrendered warlords who had lived in seclusion.

With the surrender of various regional military governors, along with their transport teams to Chang'an were the descendants of Li Shimin, whom the Grand Preceptor had requested to find.

After all, an emperor still needs to be chosen.

Li Daoxuan was merely acting as regent.

Furthermore, he was merely a low-level version of Li Shimin, specifically a low-level version focused on military capabilities. He lacked governing skills and was far inferior in leading troops. More importantly, he was not a descendant of Li Shimin, nor even Li Yuan. He could act as regent, but he was certainly not fit to be emperor, and he was well aware of this. Therefore, he had never considered this issue and was now simply waiting for a new emperor to be chosen before ending his regentship.

As for Emperor Ai of Tang, Li Zhu, he was still alive, but he had ceded the throne to a traitor and was no longer qualified to be emperor.

"This is your adopted son?"

Yang Feng stopped beside a young man and turned to Xu Wen, who was following him, and said.

The young man quickly knelt down and turned around.

"Disciple Li Zhigao pays his respects to the Imperial Preceptor."

Xu Wen quickly bowed in greeting.

"Reporting to the Imperial Preceptor, now that I know he is a member of the imperial family, I naturally dare not treat him as my son anymore, so I have ordered him to restore his original surname."

He spoke cautiously. This had been confirmed, but it was just a formality. After all, he was only six years old when he was pulled from the pile of corpses. His father, Li Rong, was likely right, but whether he was actually Li Rong's son was difficult to confirm. The jade register was useless; by the time he was born, the world was already in chaos. Unless one was with the emperor, who would care about the jade register? The Chang'an court could only include him in the jade register based on his account. Among the descendants of Li Shimin kneeling before him, there were quite a few whose identities couldn't be confirmed and whose claims had to be taken as fact. The Tang dynasty's imperial family wasn't like the Ming dynasty's; in the Ming dynasty, families lived together in clusters and weren't allowed to disperse.

Of course, there were also those who abandoned their royal status, after all, there were poor royal members who begged for food.

But the Li family had no restrictions from the beginning.

They've already scattered.

They are found all over the world.

It's been almost three hundred years, how could it be so detailed?

"Li Zhigao, this name isn't good. How about I change it for you?"

Yang Feng said.

"This disciple thanks the National Preceptor for bestowing this name upon me."

Li Zhigao said excitedly.

"You shall be named Li Sheng, meaning 'rising sun'!"

Yang Feng said.

After saying this, he smiled and walked up to the platform of Hanyuan Hall while Li Sheng kowtowed in thanks.

"let's start!"

He said.

As he spoke, he pointed his nine-section staff, and a huge bronze cauldron appeared.

The soldiers, who had been waiting in advance, immediately took the large syringes and buckets he had given them and began drawing blood from each of the imperial family members. The surrounding civil and military officials, especially the retired nobles, all watched. One tube of blood after another was drawn into the buckets by the soldiers, then carried to the platform and poured into a bronze cauldron. In this way, the blood of more than four thousand descendants of Li Shimin was gathered into a blood pool with a style reminiscent of the Shang Dynasty.

This task took nearly an hour to complete.

Amid the expectant gazes of the imperial family, the surrounding soldiers and civilians, and the civil and military officials, Yang Feng took out a long, narrow cloth bag and opened it over the blood pool.

The long, clearly solid wooden bows and recurve bows are visible inside.

He then shook her into the pool of blood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come to witness a miracle."

Yang Feng said with a smile.

The next moment, the blood pool shone brightly, making him appear like a demon descended to earth.

Within this light, a recurve bow, already strung, slowly emerged and hovered above the bronze cauldron…

"Uh, why is there only one?"

Yang Feng looked down at the blood pool in astonishment.

Indeed, there was only one. Although he put in a bunch of different kinds of bows, only this one surfaced. Or rather, all the bows eventually converged into this one in the blood pool.

Below, a sea of ​​people were already prostrating themselves in worship, all of whom had witnessed the miracle and were bowing down to the national teacher.

Yang Feng, too lazy to think too much, picked up the seemingly ancient recurve bow and tried to draw it. The next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded. As he pulled the bowstring, an arrow formed from condensed energy appeared and continued to lengthen with each draw. When fully drawn, a complete energy arrow pointed forward. He immediately aimed the arrow at a distant pagoda, then released it. The energy arrow instantly transformed into a beam of light piercing the sky, passing directly through the pagoda before dissipating into the air, leaving only a large hole through it.

"The Imperial Advisor's divine weapon is invincible!"

Xu Wen, who was watching from the side, stared in shock at the huge hole in the distance.

"Why doesn't the Imperial Advisor try facing those mountains?"

Qian Liu also said excitedly.

"Mountains?"

Yang Feng looked at the distant mountain peaks.

"Then try it!"

He said with a smile.

He then drew his bow again, and the energy arrow was formed once more. He aimed directly at the mountain peak.

Of course, although it's said to be far away, we've actually already reached Mount Li.

That is a peak of Mount Li.

Amidst a sea of ​​stares, Yang Feng's energy arrow suddenly shot out, its light piercing the sky in an instant. Due to its incredible speed and its nature as an energy body, it resembled an intercontinental ballistic missile, creating an ionosphere around it and transforming into a massive blue meteor. Then, amidst countless gasps of awe, it flew nearly twenty kilometers in the blink of an eye, crashing directly into the mountain peak. But as if piercing through the air, it passed right through the mountain, flying behind it before dissipating into the atmosphere.

Even at such a distance, a faint light could be seen on the mountain peak.

Like the pagoda, it was pierced with a large hole.

Or rather, a tunnel.

You can see it from this far away; the opening must be no smaller than a subway tunnel.

Amidst the whistling sound that followed, Yang Feng, like everyone else, stared in disbelief at the scene.

Then he suddenly put away his bow.

"Hurry up and choose an emperor!"

He said.

Choosing an emperor...

The method for selecting an emperor is very simple.

Draw lots.

All male descendants of Li Shimin who are 18 years of age or older but under 40 years of age go to a box and touch a golden ball inside. All the golden balls are hollow and can be twisted open. Inside each ball is the same slip of paper, but one of the slips of paper is inscribed with "Supreme Ruler of the World".

The one who touches it is the emperor.

Of course, this is only the case this time, since the imperial advisor is in charge, and the draw is fate.

It will still be hereditary in the future.

However, if the emperor has no heir, this item can be used again to draw lots.

As for the results of this draw...

"I knew you were the rising sun; it seems this is destiny!"

Yang Feng looked at Li Sheng, who was holding the note in both hands and trembling with joy, and said.

The note clearly read "Supreme Ruler of the World".

A new emperor of the Tang Dynasty was born.

(End of this chapter)