Chapter 142: The Gu Clan Emerges from Seclusion; Li Yuan Proclaims Himself Emperor (Begging for Monthly Votes)

——A vow made clear!

For Li Shimin, the greatest gain of this journey was undoubtedly the insight gleaned from it.

He was still far too young!

At only eighteen, his judgment of a prosperous age was far too shallow.

Simply put, while he had always admired Gu Chen in the past, he had only ever seen Gu Chen's most glorious side.

He saw him sweep the realm; he saw him awe the four corners.

But he had never seen the effort Gu Chen poured in to achieve it.

Everything in the world comes at a price; Li Shimin needed this insight, and even more so, he needed this vow made clear.

Though on the surface nothing seemed to have changed.

But in truth, it was not so—

Li Shimin's understanding of a prosperous age had been elevated; he would hold his goal all the more firmly and keep walking this road.

Many things are fated in ways unseen.

Unlike all the lords who had come to the Gu clan before him.

And perhaps only someone like Li Shimin—truly wanting to establish merit, truly wanting to forge a prosperous age—could have shown such a response.

Over the years, the Gu clan had already seen far too many lords.

Generation after generation, no one knew how many lords had come, all wanting the Gu clan's aid, all wanting to win the hearts of the people so they might ascend to that supreme throne.

Some among them, like Yang Guang of old, did everything to the utmost;

Some, like Liu Bei of years past, casually made promises to the Gu clan;

Some even brought rare treasures from across the land, hoping to tempt them with profit.

But never once had anyone been like Li Shimin.

Even though when he first came he had harbored the same aim, what he cared about more was how to build a prosperous age.

And that, precisely, aligned with the Gu clan's current philosophy.

Ever since Gu Yi first took control of Gu Ye, the entire Gu clan had concerned itself with nothing but the rise and fall of all the Nine Provinces.

Why had Gu Yu never emerged from seclusion?

The most fundamental reason was that he felt there was no worthy lord under heaven.

Under such men, even if he possessed heaven-defying ability, it would not be enough to wholly set the Nine Provinces in motion.

And the Gu clan could not possibly cast aside centuries of renown to take that step.

But now, it seemed such a person had at last appeared.

Though Gu Yu also understood that people could always change in the end.

But at least for now—

Every one of Li Shimin's actions met the Gu clan's requirements.

The gears of fate had long since begun to turn, unnoticed.

After years of seclusion, the Gu clan seemed at last to have found the one who could summon them forth.

From that day onward, the very atmosphere of the entire Gu clan seemed to gradually begin changing.

This generation of the Gu clan was not short on capable men.

In martial strength alone, three had reached a score of eighty.

The most outstanding among them, Gu Quan, had reached a full eighty-three—an attribute that could absolutely be called a great general.

Most critically—

Thanks to the Gu clan's upbringing, these three were no slouches in commanding troops either.

They could truly be called weapons for a chaotic age.

Were it not for the examples of Gu Zhe and the others, and Gu Yu's restrictions, this group of young men in the prime of their ambition would long since have gone off to wage war across the realm.

As for civil governance, the Gu clan's reserves were equally impressive.

Especially under Gu Yu's teaching by word and deed, the goals of this generation's scions were equally clear.

They too wanted to forge a prosperous age.

They wanted to restore the Gu clan's renown to its peak.

Indeed, after years of silence, the Gu clan too had ushered in an era of talents bursting forth.

A resplendent great age was at last beginning to unfold across the lands of the Nine Provinces.

Gu Yu lifted the restrictions on the clan's juniors, yet he did not deliberately demand that they follow Li Shimin.

He merely gave Li Shimin a chance.

To win over the Gu clan's juniors.

As for himself, he could not possibly leave Julu.

As the current head of the Gu clan, such a move would carry far too obvious a political overtone.

Though he was equally optimistic about Li Shimin, he could not stake the entire clan as his wager.

Unless the realm once again welcomed true great unification.

If not, as head of the Gu clan, he could not step out of Julu.

Li Shimin's personal charisma hardly needed elaboration.

Whether through Gu Yu's actions, or through the rumors from various places combined with Xue San's accounts, none of the Gu clan's ambitious juniors had any reason to hesitate.

Nearly every one of the nineteenth generation who had already come of age was willing to emerge.

——Change descends once more.

With the Gu clan's emergence, the very trajectory of history grew tangled and unforeseeable once again.

Gu Yi had been silently watching all of this, his heart undisturbed.

Perhaps precisely because he had already experienced too much.

As for the so-called rectification, Gu Yi no longer held any fear of it.

If the Gu clan wished to continue in glory, it had to face all of this—so why should he feel melancholy?

He only needed to keep walking down this path!

The news gradually spread.

With so many Gu clan descendants emerging at the same time, the news could not possibly be kept hidden.

An unimaginable sensation began at Julu and spread ceaselessly toward every corner of the realm!

The emergence of the Gu clan once again awakened the common people everywhere to their hopes for a golden age.

Familiar scenes appeared once more across the lands of the Nine Provinces.

No one knew how many commoners knelt toward Julu, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

And who would not look forward to a golden age?

They didn't even need a golden age—for the countless people of the Nine Provinces, their true wish was simply to live out their lives in peace and stability.

Gu Yu's words had not been nonsense.

Being able to let the greater part of the realm's people eat their fill was already enough to be called a golden age!

Leshou.

Dou Jiande naturally received the news at the first moment, and his entire expression instantly grew complicated.

But looking at the men under his command, they were seething with fury!

"The Gu clan has gone too far. His Highness has respected them from beginning to end, yet the Gu clan dared at a time like this to throw in their lot with Li Yuan?"

"Could it be that the Gu clan truly thinks we are easy to bully?"

"Your Highness, this general requests permission to march on Julu!"

"."

One shout after another rang on without end.

As a native of Hebei through and through, Dou Jiande had over the years gone to offer sacrifices to the Gu clan more than once, hoping to invite them out of seclusion, but had never once succeeded.

Now, seeing that Gu clan descendants were actually willing to follow Li Shimin back from a thousand li away.

How could they not be enraged?

Dou Jiande's expression grew ever more complicated. Watching the furious crowd before him, he frowned and rebuked: "Do you wish to make me the object of the world's scorn?"

In an instant, the entire hall fell silent.

"The Gu clan has been a house of officials for a hundred years. Though their star has waned today, their roots remain."

Not a sound stirred within the hall.

Dou Jiande swept a cold gaze across the assembly, his brows and eyes cold as a blade: "If I were now to march upon Julu, do you think—"

His words cut off. Dou Jiande slowly rose, each word falling like an icicle: "Within three days, all thirteen prefectures of Hebei would rise in revolt, beacon fires linking camp to camp!"

—Beacon fires linking camp to camp!

Dou Jiande believed this completely.

As a man of Hebei, he knew all too well just how great the Gu clan's influence over that land truly was!

Precisely because of this, he was even less willing to raise arms against the Gu clan!

Not only that.

He even wished to go once more to Julu to perform the rites of sacrifice, to show his sincerity.

Even if he could not win the Gu clan's aid.

It would still be of great help to his rule over the lands of Hebei!

In any case, at least for now, the Gu clan absolutely must not be touched!

Dou Jiande's prestige within the army was still very high; he swiftly suppressed the anger in his soldiers' hearts, and at once set out in great fanfare for Julu.

Even Gu Yi had to admit that Dou Jiande was a man of ability.

He could master his anger, and he had his own principles.

In truth, if it were the Gu clan of old, Dou Jiande would absolutely have been a perfect candidate to assist.

But now things were different.

Dou Jiande was indeed extraordinary, but compared to Li Shimin he was still lacking in certain things.

And this was the fundamental reason Gu Yu had never chosen to aid him.

At least for now, what he wanted was still that throne—not a golden age!

The Gu clan needed a golden age.

A golden age that was inseparably bound to the Gu clan!

This move truly had its effect; even Gu Yu could not help but look at Dou Jiande with a measure of new respect.

And amid this flood of news upon news.

Word from Jiangdu finally arrived as well.

—Yang Guang was dead!

The Great Sui had perished!

This news was like a pebble cast into a still lake, making a realm already in turmoil instantly descend into even greater chaos!

Especially since this news spread together with the emergence of the Gu clan, it instantly gave rise to even more prophecies.

"The Great Sui fell in its second generation because the Yang clan did not heavily employ the Gu clan."

"The Gu clan emerges, and the foolish ruler receives the Marquis Zhaolie's heavenly punishment."

"."

No one needed to deliberately steer things — in the current era, the common folk across the land would come up with plenty of rumors on their own.

And this move inevitably pushed the Gu clan back into the eye of the storm.

Even the various rebel kings had people who believed these rumors, feeling that a grand era of prosperity was about to descend once more.

But at the same time—

Yang Guang's death could be said to have pushed this age of chaos to its absolute climax.

First came the matter of Jiangdu.

Yuwen Huaji enthroned Yang Guang's nephew Yang Hao as Emperor, hoping to make one last use of the Sui court's authority to campaign across the realm.

This move undoubtedly pointed the way for many people.

In the current chaotic realm, not everyone possessed extraordinary abilities.

One after another, members of the Sui imperial clan were hauled out and set up as puppet emperors by the various rebel kings — across all of the Nine Provinces, the scene of multiple emperors standing side by side from the late Han era had reappeared.

The wars of conquest intensified once more!

With Yang Guang's death, almost everyone's eyes fell upon that one and only position—

—Sovereign of All Under Heaven!

Chang'an.

After weathering a series of storms, Li Shimin finally made it safely back to Chang'an.

Compared to the outbound journey—

This return trip was far more arduous than before.

Too many people wanted to kill Li Shimin, to sever one of Li Yuan's arms; and far too many wanted to block the path of the Gu clan's young disciples.

Fortunately, all these people were very brave.

But even so, Li Shimin had been forced to take countless detours along the way.

In the end, it was only with Li Yuan's escort that he returned safely to Chang'an.

But precisely because of this—

The Gu clan disciples who had emerged likewise gradually grew familiar with Li Shimin, and even forged a rare bond of shared hardship.

The current situation in Chang'an was equally grim.

Li Yuan had still not made his choice.

Everyone knew what he was waiting for, yet arguments over the matter were still unavoidable.

Not everyone dared to be the first to take that step.

Especially with the current scene of multiple emperors standing across the realm, most still wanted Li Yuan to proceed steadily and cautiously — first set up a Yang-clan puppet, then take his time and plan from there.

Under this influence, even Li Yuan himself gradually began to waver, finding it hard to reach a decision.

But with Li Shimin's return, this matter was finally to be settled.

"Your son begs Father to ascend the throne as Emperor, to receive the Mandate of Heaven and rule over All Under Heaven!"

The Council Hall.

The moment he learned of the situation, Li Shimin spoke these words directly in front of everyone.

The entire hall instantly fell silent.

Li Yuan could not help but be stunned. His face had still been wearing a broad smile because Li Shimin had actually brought back the Gu clan disciples, but his expression instantly turned solemn.

—Urging him to take the throne!

No one didn't want to be Emperor.

He, Li Yuan, was no exception — the very reason he had yet to make a choice was precisely this.

But he likewise could not ignore the benefits that came with inheriting the Sui court.

Whether it was the remaining prestige the Sui dynasty still possessed;

Or winning the support of those people firmly convinced that "the Sui dynasty was the legitimate dynasty" — inheriting the Sui court could bring quite a few benefits!

But then again, who doesn't want to become Emperor sooner?

The Gu clan's support had indeed given Li Yuan some confidence.

The entire hall was silent.

Li Shimin paid no heed to the eyes upon him; without waiting for anyone to speak, he continued in a clear, ringing voice: "You all say we should inherit the Sui court's remaining prestige, but this 'remaining prestige' —"

His voice suddenly rose, "Can it stop the old women of Weibei from boiling bones for food? Can it save the children of Hedong from being sold into slavery?"

As he spoke, he let out a long sigh, and looking at Li Yuan said earnestly: "Your son has traveled eight hundred li from Chang'an, and all I have seen are starving corpses blanketing the fields and displaced refugees choking the roads!"

"The common folk are pillowing their heads on the white bones of Yang Guang's tyranny — where could they possibly see any Sui-court dignity?"

"Now is precisely the time for all things under heaven to be made anew."

"Even the Gu clan is willing to aid our Li clan. If Father were to inherit the Sui court, wouldn't that make the people of the realm lump Father together with that foolish ruler?"

Li Shimin slowly sank to his knees, and cupped his fists toward Li Yuan: "Now Guanzhong is settled, and the hearts of the people are with us! If Father ascends the throne at this moment, it will be a declaration to the four seas—"

"That cruel and oppressive rule ends here and now."

"A grand era of prosperity — one where the tiller has his fields and the hungry have their food — shall be reborn by our Li clan together with the Gu clan!"

His voice echoed through the vast hall, and the ministers exchanged uncertain glances.

Only Li Shimin remained kneeling, his straight spine like a longsword about to leave its sheath.

His words fell completely silent.

The sound of debate rose once more — clearly, these words alone were not enough to convince everyone.

In any era, there will always be that stubborn sort of person.

But as long as Li Yuan had taken it in, that was enough.

The fact that he had never made a choice until now already made his stance clear.

He was merely waiting for a reason.

And now—

Li Shimin had handed him that reason.

He had no need to inherit the Sui court.

He meant to tell the world that he would personally forge an entirely new golden age.

As for whether he could do it, who would care?

For him, right now he only wanted to first take that seat!

"Good!" Before anyone could speak, Li Yuan's voice rang out at once, "What Erlang said is exactly what I intended!"

Under the astonished gazes of the ministers, Li Yuan suddenly rose, his eyes like blazing torches sweeping across the assembly:

"The Sui dynasty's mandate is spent. This splendid realm of rivers and mountains ought to take on a new face!"

He slowly stepped down from the vermilion steps, his entire expression utterly resolute. "Issue my decree—"

The atmosphere within the hall shifted without anyone noticing.

Though some still harbored resistance in their hearts, when this moment truly arrived, the gazes of the crowd could not help but burn hot.

"Prepare the enthronement ceremony immediately, proclaim to the world—"

"I shall, on an auspicious day, ascend the throne and proclaim myself emperor!"

Li Yuan's final four words rang like a great bell.

The instant his voice had just fallen—

As Pei Ji took the lead in kneeling toward Li Yuan, the people present scarcely hesitated at all before one after another kneeling toward Li Yuan!

The fourteenth year of the Daye era, the yisi day of the fifth month.

Li Yuan ascended the throne at Chang'an and proclaimed himself emperor.

The dynasty's name was Tang;

The era name was Wu De.

He issued a decree to proclaim to the world, establishing the Gu clan's ambition to revive the Nine Provinces!

PS: (There's still one more update coming later, on my knees begging for monthly tickets!!! Brothers, please don't be stingy, toss in lots of monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)