Chapter 19: A Wise Emperor and Virtuous Minister, Benefiting the World

Regarding the Emperor’s decision to re-employ the Gu family, the circumstances and the impact triggered compared to the initial summons were as different as heaven and earth.

No one knew exactly what Gu Kang had said to Liu Zhuang that day.

However, from that day on;

The Gu family seemed to instantly regain their former glory, radiating a dazzling light once more, just as it was when Gu Xiao was alive.

Just as Gu Yi had anticipated, the personalities of Gu Kang and Liu Zhuang were a perfect match.

Liu Zhuang was a man who held extremely high standards for his officials.

And Gu Kang was a pragmatist.

When both men shared the same ambition, they could exert an effect where one plus one is greater than two.

Before their grand cause, any obstacle would be shattered by the two of them.

Liu Zhuang did not hide his favoritism toward Gu Kang.

He started him off as a Consultant, allowing him to participate directly in court discussions.

Such a starting point for a career.

Could be said to have set a precedent, leaving people dumbfounded.

And since taking the post of Consultant, Gu Kang had perfectly manifested his political capabilities.

He was never some greenhorn just entering the court, but a born politician.

Possessing a flexible moral bottom line, Gu Kang presented a grand gift to everyone the moment he entered the court.

The Gu family was not left with nothing!

At the very least, among the founding meritorious officials still alive today, there were countless who had once received favors from Gu Xiao.

In this era that valued moral character, this was a natural weapon for the descendants of the Gu family.

Helping Liu Zhuang centralize power;

Settling the matter of restoring the crown-tassel system with both the imperial clan and meritorious officials.

Suppressing the relatives of the Empress.

Never mind the Emperor favoring the Gu family; even if he had the intention of employing the relatives of the Empress.

The Gu family is the Gu family, and the relatives of the Empress are the relatives of the Empress!

Gu Kang used his innate political intuition to help Liu Zhuang achieve one political goal after another, making everyone understand this truth.

It was precisely because of this that, in just a few months, Gu Kang was promoted from Consultant to Secretary of the Secretariat.

This was the level of a favored minister of the Emperor.

A Consultant could participate in the discussion of court affairs, while a Secretary of the Secretariat could carry out actual operations.

Helping the Emperor draft edicts for court systems.

With the status of the Secretariat becoming increasingly high, this position had long been a hot commodity in the court.

Having reached this position, as long as no accidents occurred, one's future achievements would at least be at the level of the Nine Ministers.

Once this news broke, the court and the public were shaken.

Although everyone had already seen the Emperor’s favor toward Gu Kang.

The speed of Gu Kang’s promotion was still staggering.

They should have at least let Gu Kang gain some experience in the provinces first.

He had only just started his career, so what would happen if he achieved more merit in the future?

Could it be that the Gu family was truly destined to flourish?

Following Gu Xiao, could his son actually reach the level of the Three Excellencies?

This sudden change caught everyone off guard.

Of course, it was not as if no one targeted the Gu family.

In the current court, there were countless people who did not want the Gu family to rise again.

But they did not even need Liu Zhuang’s help; Gu Kang, with his 90-point political attribute, would directly teach them a lesson.

It seemed that because of Gu Yi’s early education, Gu Kang had already seen through the core of the contemporary great clans.

Unstable political alliances and various internal problems within the families.

When Gu Kang seized upon any of these problems, all attacks against him would be easily resolved, and instead, some of them would end up being punished.

Simply put, Gu Kang dared to flip the table.

The problem of the Gu family’s insufficient foundation became his advantage at this moment.

He could flip others, but others could not flip him.

And after this happened two or three times, no one bothered to waste their efforts anymore.

The resurgence of the Gu family seemed to be a foregone conclusion, and many were even worried that Gu Kang would seek revenge.

But Gu Kang had no interest in fighting them.

After firmly standing his ground and proving his ability was not just empty talk, he began what he was best at.

——Farming!

After the conversation with Liu Zhuang that day, both agreed that the prerequisite for achieving such a great cause must be the restoration of the entire Han dynasty’s national strength.

In fact, Liu Xiu’s various policies had already laid a perfect foundation for the Han.

He had perfectly allowed the world to recover after the great chaos.

By the second year of the Zhongyuan era, the Han population had already reached over four million households, with a total population of over twenty-one million.

Now, several years later, the population had made another breakthrough.

This provided the foundation for a prosperous age.

Liu Zhuang was deeply convinced of this.

From the moment Liu Zhuang ordered Gu Kang to concurrently hold the position of Assistant of the Agricultural Bureau, the two of them directly began large-scale management of the fields.

Of course, such a thing could not be accomplished overnight.

Lack of knowledge; limitations in productivity; plus the differences in fields across various regions;

All kinds of problems destined that this matter could only be done slowly.

Gu Kang was clearly very aware of this, so at the very beginning, he directly suggested it to Liu Zhuang.

This reform of fertilizing the fields should start from Hebei to first open up a favorable situation.

As for the reason, he also explained it very clearly.

Because as the Gu family’s influence in Julu gradually grew, the farmers in Julu Commandery saw the grain yields gradually increase, and the surrounding commoners saw it too.

Many had already begun to imitate them.

The resistance to fully implementing this would not be too great.

Moreover, having been in Julu for many years, he was already well-versed in the land of Hebei.

As for other regions, they could first order each commandery and kingdom to implement pilot programs.

Gu Kang had clearly been thinking about how to promote his techniques to the whole country for a long time, and he was very adept at handling these matters.

As for Gu Kang’s suggestion, Liu Zhuang naturally agreed to it all.

He understood the importance of this matter very well; Liu Zhuang even decided to perform the "Rite of Personal Plowing" himself to set an example.

This was the extraordinary aspect of Liu Zhuang.

Compared to those emperors who thought highly of themselves, he was more willing to achieve his goals by setting an example himself.

Gu Yi had been silently watching everything, his emotions somewhat inexplicably complex.

It seemed that everything was developing according to his initial vision, yet everything was completely different.

Gu Kang and Liu Zhuang had truly become natural partners.

Although it had only just begun, the two of them already displayed the legendary image of a wise emperor and a virtuous minister, which was something he had never imagined before.

Even if he did not know what the future would hold.

But at the very least, right now, the Gu family was truly getting better and better.

And what surprised him even more was naturally this matter of the curved-shaft plow and field fertilization.

This was truly just a casual move he had made back then, just to see if he could gain achievement points.

But the impact it caused now seemed to be even greater than everything he had done before.

Although by modern farming standards, everything Gu Kang and Liu Zhuang did was not much.

But placed in the current Han dynasty, the significance was different.

According to the original historical development.

The curved-shaft plow was only invented in the Tang dynasty;

All of this had now been brought forward!

If it continued to evolve like this, it was truly hard to imagine what kind of changes would happen in the future.

When Gu Yi realized this, he immediately exited the game area and carefully checked the detailed information, intending to see if changes would occur.

But unfortunately, all of this was still destined to be unable to resist the power of time.

Although the appearance of the curved-shaft plow had shifted from the Tang dynasty to the Eastern Han.

But the time in between seemed to have been paused, and there was no continuous progress as Gu Yi had imagined.

The power of history’s self-correction seemed to have paused the development in between.

Everything was not much different from the original.

Clearly, only if the Gu family continued to shine and move forward could they truly influence history.

Gu Yi quickly calmed down and then returned to the game again.

The Marquis of Champion’s Residence.

This is the current base of the Gu family in Luoyang, bestowed upon Gu Xiao by Liu Xiu back in the day.

Although the Gu family has not visited the capital for many years, this place has never been left to ruin, and it is large enough that both Gu Kang and Gu Cheng live here.

This is because they were deeply favored by Liu Xiu in the past.

The Marquis’s Residence is extremely close to the Imperial Palace.

The fact that Gu Kang and Gu Cheng can both reside here now is enough to show just how favored they are.

Of course, the one who draws the most attention is still Gu Kang.

Although Gu Cheng currently holds the official post of Central Army Sima, not many people pay him any attention.

No one is willing to believe.

That there could be three men of talent within two generations of the Gu family.

"Elder brother, I met a remarkable person today."

Gu Cheng’s voice arrived before he did.

Gu Kang, who was looking over reports from various regions, did not even lift his head; after Gu Cheng walked into the room, he said, "What kind of remarkable person?"

"The fortune teller said he will be enfeoffed as a marquis ten thousand miles away in the future."

A look of joy appeared on Gu Cheng’s face as he laughed twice, "The fortune teller also said I would be enfeoffed as a marquis ten thousand miles away in the future."

Hearing this, Gu Kang finally put down the document in his hand and looked at Gu Cheng, "You believed it?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Gu Cheng retorted, "Could it be that elder brother doesn't believe I can achieve great things?"

This is perhaps a common failing of this branch of the Gu family today.

Gu Kang is confident in his own talent.

And Gu Cheng is confident in his own martial prowess.

"Fortune telling cannot be taken as truth," Gu Kang shook his head again and said earnestly.

In this regard, he is completely out of step with the people of his era, as he does not believe in so-called demons, ghosts, or monsters.

Actually, this is also because of Gu Yi.

Back when he brought Gu Kang to the fields through Gu Xiao, he once asked him questions about what to do if there was no rain or if there was a drought.

And Gu Kang gave an answer that fit the era at the time.

That was to pray to the gods.

Gu Yi then told him the principle of "respecting ghosts and gods while keeping them at a distance," which created Gu Kang’s current attitude toward these matters.

"Sigh, elder brother."

Gu Cheng sighed helplessly, "I know these things are not reliable, but I chatted with that man and found that he is indeed extraordinary."

"His family situation is very difficult."

"Why don't you help him by recommending him to His Majesty? Let him serve in my army?"

Hearing this, Gu Kang frowned slightly.

The matter of recommendation is not a rare thing in the Great Han.

But it is different now; Liu Zhuang is very strict regarding his attitude toward officials, and if the person recommended lacks talent, even the one who recommended them will be punished.

Although this move has greatly improved the quality of recommended officials.

It has also simultaneously made the act of recommendation no longer as pressure-free as it was in the beginning.

But for his younger brother Gu Cheng, Gu Kang is still very confident.

Don't look at how his temperament seems a bit arrogant on ordinary days.

But in terms of military capability.

Gu Kang considers himself unable to compare to Gu Cheng; to win against him, one would have to use schemes in the imperial court.

The person he recommended...

Gu Kang was silent for a moment, then spoke again: "Tell me, who exactly is it?"

"This man is named Ban Chao, courtesy name Zhong Sheng."

Seeing that Gu Kang had the intention to agree, Gu Cheng immediately laughed again and said, "A native of Pingling, his family has been historians for generations."

"His father is Ban Biao, and his elder brother is named Ban Gu, who is currently serving as a Palace Librarian."

"And he is currently helping the government copy books."

"Elder brother... you don't know, I talked with him for a long time, and just looking at him, I know he is not suited to be a scholar."

Gu Cheng’s expression became more serious as he spoke.

And hearing this, Gu Kang immediately recalled something.

Ban Gu?

Isn't that the person who was previously arrested for writing the *Book of Han* and later pardoned by the Emperor?

As a close courtier, Gu Kang remembers this matter that happened not long ago quite clearly.

That Ban Gu was able to be released.

Was precisely because his younger brother came to the capital to plead his case, which led to the subsequent events.

Remembering this, Gu Kang no longer hesitated and nodded directly, "Good, I will speak to His Majesty about this matter."

He didn't even want to waste time testing him.

If Gu Cheng couldn't even tell whether a person could fight or not.

How could he accomplish great things in the future?

Moreover, the current Emperor promotes benevolence and filial piety; with this behavior of Ban Chao, a recommendation will certainly be approved, so what is there to test?

"Thank you, elder brother!"

Gu Cheng laughed loudly, and then seeing Gu Kang about to pick up his documents again, he hurriedly brought up his other purpose.

"Elder brother... can you help me speak to His Majesty..."

"Don't make me train troops anymore."

Speaking of this matter, Gu Cheng could not help but sigh.

Although he knows his elder brother is very capable.

But the difference between the two is just too great.

Since coming to Luoyang, he has been serving as this Central Army Sima, training the Central Army.

For someone like Gu Cheng, who has not yet established military merit and does not want to waste his life in vain, this is a form of torture.

"Before, the Shaodang Qiang raided my Longxi, and His Majesty said he would use me heavily in the future."

"It has been so long now..."

Some people are destined to be this way.

Very good at fighting, but their political mind has obvious deficiencies.

Gu Cheng is clearly like this.

Gu Kang looked at this foolish younger brother before him and waved his hand directly, telling him to leave.

He couldn't even be bothered to explain the reasons behind this to Gu Cheng.

What is there to fight about in small battles?

When the national strength of the Great Han is fully restored in the future, there will be countless great battles for you to fight.

Why the rush for this moment?

Seeing this, Gu Cheng sighed helplessly; although he had more to say, seeing that Gu Kang had already picked up his documents, he could only retreat in low spirits.

Gu Yi had been watching them the whole time, and at this moment, his expression was also somewhat helpless.

Why can't my Gu family produce an all-around talent?

Is this imbalance in skills too severe?

The merits a civil official can establish are right there... and Liu Zhuang wants to govern the world, so promotions naturally have to be faster.

And military generals are naturally different from civil officials.

Liu Zhuang has great ambitions, and he has clearly seen his ability...

To think he can't even endure this little bit of time.

Gu Yi secretly grumbled, but in his heart, he was increasingly looking forward to Gu Cheng’s future achievements.

To actually encounter Ban Chao!

This was completely beyond his expectations.

Who could have predicted that the Gu family would now become the patron of Ban Chao?

Brothers, remember not to hoard the book!!!

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(End of this chapter)