Chapter 34: All Nations Come to Pay Homage, the Prosperity of Yongyuan

Ban Chao did not stay in Luoyangcheng for long before deciding to return to the Western Regions.

In truth, whether it was the court officials or Liu Zhao, almost everyone hoped that Ban Chao could remain in Luoyang.

Although Dou Xian was already dead.

There was still a need to purge the Dou family’s influence in the provinces that had accumulated over the years.

Having someone like Ban Chao, who held such immense prestige within the military, was a stroke of good fortune for everyone.

Moreover, Ban Chao was truly no longer young.

Long years of constant campaigning, combined with the differences between the Western Regions and the Central Plains in every aspect.

Made him appear extremely weathered.

To the entire Great Han, Ban Chao was like a pillar supporting the heavens.

Not to mention the court officials, at the very least, neither Liu Zhao nor the Gu family wished for any accidents to befall a subject like Ban Chao.

Yet Ban Chao’s attitude was extremely resolute.

Before the assembled officials, he bowed respectfully toward Liu Zhao.

"Your Majesty."

"Although the Western Regions have been pacified for many years, the undercurrents have never ceased."

"Your subject must personally go to garrison the region, so that the hearts of the people of the Western Regions may be deeply rooted in their loyalty to our Great Han."

He sighed softly, then continued: "Furthermore, even my elder brother returned wrapped in a horse hide."

"How much more so for your subject?"

"Should there be any change in the Western Regions, I would have no face to meet my brother in the Nine Springs!"

Ban Chao seemed incapable of smiling; his expression remained as solemn as ever.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao seemed somewhat moved.

"Very well!"

He stood up slowly, looking at Ban Chao with a complex expression, "The Marquis of Dingyuan is truly worthy of being the pillar supporting the heavens of our Great Han."

"Issue a decree to spread the story of the brotherly bond between the Marquis of Heng and the Marquis of Dingyuan throughout the world."

"Let all the people of the world know of this fraternal love!"

"In addition, increase the Marquis of Dingyuan’s fief by five hundred households."

He intended to take this opportunity to carry out large-scale rewards.

—This had always been the best method for an emperor to win over the hearts of the people.

Because of the existence of the Gu family.

The court of the Great Han was now clearly divided into factions.

Those sycophants who chased power had already been purged, and those who remained were almost all officials who had opposed the Dou family.

Liu Zhao was not in the least bit stingy with his rewards, and everyone received sufficient compensation.

This even included the eunuch Zheng Zhong.

Titles were granted, fiefs were increased, and various rewards were distributed according to merit.

However, Gu Liang did not receive any special rewards; Liu Zhao merely promoted him to the position of Prefect of the Masters of Writing.

Logically speaking, compared to his contributions, he should not have received only such a reward.

Yet, no one found it the least bit surprising.

The greatest reward for the Gu family was Gu Xi.

Everyone understood that as long as this eleven-year-old youth could grow up healthily, his future would be limitless.

It was very likely he would become an existence like Gu Kang.

This made everyone feel incredibly wary, yet they were helpless to do anything about it.

The merit of supporting the dragon was right here.

Who could compare?

Liu Zhao did not hide his favor for Gu Xi in the slightest.

He even granted Gu Xi a privilege unimaginable to others;

—He could enter and leave the Imperial Palace directly.

Such an honor was unimaginable to others.

But perhaps because Gu Xi was still young, this matter did not cause any major waves.

An eleven-year-old Son of Heaven;

An eleven-year-old Attendant.

Even though the two had already demonstrated some methods through the eradication of the Dou family.

It still inevitably gave people the feeling of a child's game.

As for the secret thoughts of others, neither Liu Zhao nor Gu Xi cared in the slightest.

Perhaps it was truly because of their youth that the two displayed what it meant to be in high spirits to the fullest.

After the rewards, the first thing they had to do was naturally to centralize power.

This could be considered a required course for every emperor.

The Emperor Ming did it when he ascended the throne.

The Emperor Zhang did the same back then.

It was just that because of the existence of Gu Kang, it had not been so obvious.

But Liu Zhao clearly needed to take drastic measures now.

He was a young Son of Heaven, and with the Dou family’s monopoly on power, he needed to re-establish the authority of the Son of Heaven.

Gu Xi was indeed a genius youth.

Under the special educational environment of the Gu family.

The descendants of the Gu family almost all had their own insights into the current state of the court.

He had clearly thought about this problem more than once and directly proposed several plans to Liu Zhao.

—First, bestow grace upon the world.

Since the restoration of the Great Han until now.

Through the reigns of Emperor Guangwu, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Zhang.

These three generations of wise monarchs held high status in the hearts of the people, and each of them had performed deeds that benefited the people.

Liu Zhao was indeed still young.

But precisely because of this, if he could implement policies that benefited the people, his prestige in the hearts of the world would rise rapidly.

Second, the court.

Gu Xi pointed out the problems with the current system of recommendation.

In fact, this was already a very obvious problem for the current Great Han.

Since Gu Kang appeared, the national strength of the entire Great Han had been constantly improving, and the population had naturally grown rapidly.

The population in each province and commandery was not equal to begin with.

Under this rapid growth.

The policy of recommending two filial and incorrupt officials from each commandery every year clearly had great unfairness, so he proposed a reform of the recommendation system.

This matter was indeed a major event.

After a brief period of contemplation, Liu Zhao directly summoned his officials.

Because of the previous purges, the quality of the current Great Han court was far beyond what others could imagine.

A series of famous officials such as Gu Liang, Yuan An, Ding Hong, and Liu Fang.

For such an obvious problem, they naturally had seen it long ago and expressed their support one after another.

This was originally something that had no downsides for anyone.

Furthermore, the officials made more detailed adjustments to this.

It even involved the more sparsely populated border regions, formulating a more perfect reform.

Although everything seemed to have no major changes, it had completely changed.

This was perhaps due to the influence of the Gu family’s existence.

It caused Liu Zhao to seize power two years earlier and protected more famous officials.

Moreover, Gu Kang’s ideas had long since become widespread throughout the Great Han.

Most scholars in the world were pursuing the pragmatic spirit of Gu Kang, which increased the administrative efficiency of the entire Great Han by an unknown amount.

And the current Great Han was far more prosperous than it had been in original history.

Under these circumstances.

When the entire court began to return to the right track, and the Son of Heaven intended to continue benefiting the people.

The entire Great Han would usher in a period of rapid explosion.

"His Majesty has the style of Emperor Ming."

This was the evaluation of Liu Zhao by the officials after the court returned to the right track.

He could be said to have completely inherited the diligence of Liu Zhuang.

Even more diligent than Liu Zhuang.

Personally reviewing memorials.

And he reformed the entire Secretariat, establishing the "Six Bureaus of the Secretariat," refining the division of central administrative labor, and further increasing efficiency.

He also perfected the assessment system from the era of Emperor Ming.

Not only did he issue orders for the ministers to recommend virtuous talents for him to personally examine, but he also placed immense importance on the abilities of those recommended.

Liu Zhao and Gu Xi were like templates of Liu Zhuang and Gu Kang.

And both of them happened to have the goal of chasing after their ancestors.

On the foundation of Emperor Zhang’s tolerant governance, they preserved his legacy.

They focused even more on official conduct, successively dispatching censors to inspect the provinces and severely punishing corrupt officials.

This caused the atmosphere throughout the entire imperial court to gradually change.

The increase in administrative speed completely swept away the stale air that had gradually grown within the Great Han court since the passing of Gu Kang.

Of course, there was no shortage of infighting within the temple of the court either.

—Following the passing of Yuan An in the fifth year of Yongyuan.

Once this ally, who currently held the highest position in the court for the Gu Shizi, had passed away, Gu Liang faced quite a bit of targeting.

Gu Liang had been an official for many years.

The ministers all knew what kind of person he was, and they were unwilling to see the Gu Shizi return to the state they were in during the eras of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Ming.

But in the end, they still underestimated Gu Xi.

At his current age, even Gu Kang might not necessarily have been better than Gu Xi, let alone others.

And the most critical point was that, compared to Gu Liang’s personality of only seeking stability, Gu Xi had sharp edges.

Perhaps it was due to the spirit of his youth.

Gu Xi’s sharpness was even keener than Gu Kang’s had been when he first entered the court.

Gu Kang would still hold back.

But he would not.

Moreover, Gu Xi’s political methods were equally extraordinary.

He seemed to have learned some experience from Liu Zhao, becoming adept at winning the hearts of the servants within his political rivals' households.

He would dismantle the offensives of his political rivals from within and deliver fatal blows.

Furthermore, Gu Xi’s moral bottom line was also very flexible.

He was adept at utilizing the reputation of the Gu Shizi and the world to seize upon the loopholes of his political rivals.

After doing this several times.

The entire imperial court actually gradually quieted down.

Everyone felt the terrifying nature of Gu Xi, and at the same time, they realized the high regard Liu Zhao held for him.

After all, regarding matters of court infighting.

Regardless of the methods used by both sides, the only one who could make a judgment was the Emperor.

"Imperial favor" descended upon the Gu Shizi once again.

These few struggles had already made everyone realize this point, so naturally, no one would invite trouble upon themselves again.

Under this gradually stabilizing court situation.

In the final years of his life, Gu Liang actually felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

He never imagined that the fires of conflict he had to face cautiously every day were actually being shouldered by his own son.

In this situation, Gu Liang felt a rare sense of ease.

—Yongyuan seventh year, eighth month.

Gu Liang passed away.

Compared to the previous two generations of the Gu Shizi, Gu Liang’s merits were truly far, far inferior.

Naturally, it did not cause much of a stir.

However, perhaps because he wanted to bestow grace upon Gu Xi, or perhaps because Gu Liang had repeatedly opposed the Dou clan, Liu Zhao still wanted to grant Gu Liang a posthumous title.

Even a mediocre title would suffice.

But regarding this matter, not only did the ministers object, but even Gu Xi and the other descendants of the Gu Shizi also opposed it.

The Great Han of the present had not yet fallen to the point where posthumous titles were handed out casually.

And the descendants of the Gu Shizi all did so because of Gu Liang’s dying wish.

Gu Liang did not want to lower the merits of the two generations of Gu Shizi ancestors because of himself.

Regarding this, Liu Zhao was also helpless.

However, he still held a grand funeral for Gu Liang, which could be considered an expression of his affirmation of Gu Liang’s life.

Since the Emperor had stepped back, the ministers naturally would not object anymore.

And compared to Gu Kang back then.

The attitude of the ministers toward Gu Liang was truly much better, and they all went one by one to pay their respects.

But from then on, Gu Xi became even more diligent.

He seemed to have kept this matter in his heart.

He wanted to let Gu Liang shine in the history books as well, in the name of his son.

He was just like Gu Kang back then, successively proposing various policies to Liu Zhao and implementing them.

Both of them could be considered deeply influenced by Gu Kang’s learning.

Naturally, they focused on governing the state.

—Promoting land reclamation in the frontier regions;

Reducing commercial taxes to promote trade between the Central Plains and the Western Regions;

Reducing taxes in disaster-stricken areas;

Continuing to expand the Imperial Academy, and even establishing official schools in various regions;

Even lending grain to impoverished households for planting and providing oxen for plowing;

These policies could be said to have completely awakened the national strength of the Great Han; time seemed to have truly returned to the era of Emperor Ming, and the national strength began to rise rapidly once again.

The foundation laid by Liu Zhuang and Gu Kang back then was too solid!

By the eleventh year of Yongyuan.

In just a few short years, the population of the Great Han had already broken through the fifty million mark, and the cultivated land had even exceeded seven million qing.

It completely reached a level that predecessors could hardly imagine.

At the same time, with the increasing prevalence of trade routes, the reputation of the Great Han grew higher and higher.

The Dazang, Yizhong Qiang, White Wolf Kingdom, and Loubo successively came to submit.

Liu Zhao bestowed upon them all golden seals and purple ribbons for their kings.

The Kingdom of Tianzhu, Dunrenyi, and others also sent envoys to pay tribute.

Liu Zhao even sent Gan Ying to the Great Qin to see what that Great Qin, which was only rumored among merchants, was truly like, wishing to expand an even greater foundation.

Under the foundation laid by three generations of wise monarchs and two generations of Gu Shizi ancestors, the influence of this prosperous age far exceeded the original history.

Although it had only been a few short years, the Great Han now possessed the image of ten thousand nations coming to pay court!

And Gu Xi’s official rank also climbed continuously, taking this opportunity.

At the age of twenty, he formally stepped into the Secretariat.

Between the monarch and his minister, there truly gradually appeared the image of the cultural success of Emperor Ming.

But even under such a prosperous age, there were still shadows.

Having held power until now, Liu Zhao still had no son.

No, it could not be said that he had no son.

Liu Zhao did have a son, who was his eldest son, Liu Sheng.

However, Liu Sheng suffered from a chronic illness and was insufficient to serve the ancestral temple.

As for his other offspring, they died prematurely one after another.

Actually, this kind of thing was considered common in this current era; any newborn had a high probability of premature death before reaching the age of ten.

But for an Emperor, this was no small matter.

In the Imperial family, there are no private matters.

As the national strength of the Great Han became increasingly prosperous, the ministers became increasingly worried about this matter, repeatedly proposing in the court that Liu Zhao should leave behind more heirs.

Even Gu Xi was worried about this matter.

Liu Zhao was in poor health.

That’s right, although Liu Zhao was still very young, his body had already developed quite a few problems.

Even if it was not enough to threaten his life for now, and the imperial physicians were constantly keeping watch.

But this was always an extremely unstable matter.

He was the Emperor, after all.

An Emperor who had not yet established a Crown Prince and was suffering from illness.

How could this bring peace to the world?

In this feudal era, the impact of this matter was something others could hardly imagine.

Even though the Great Han had been glorious until now, the atmosphere throughout the entire court became heavy because of this matter.

Gu Yi had been watching Liu Zhao all along.

He was also extremely concerned about this matter.

Of course, he was naturally not surprised by Liu Zhao’s illness; in the original history, Liu Zhao had indeed passed away early due to illness.

What he truly cared about was whether, as the national strength of the Great Han continued to rise, Liu Hu would face a situation similar to that of Liu Zhuang back then.

The entire Great Han continued to forge ahead under these circumstances.

Liu Hu's illness became increasingly severe.

From the thirteenth year of Yongyuan, he even reached a point where he was unable to handle state affairs due to his illness.

Once this matter came to light, the entire imperial court fell into complete chaos.

The ministers submitted memorials one after another, urging Liu Hu to set aside state affairs to recuperate his imperial health and sire an heir.

At the very least, he should adopt an heir from among the other vassal princes.

Gu Xi also held this view and likewise urged Liu Hu to recuperate his imperial health.

This time, Liu Hu did not refuse.

He enfeoffed the Chief of the Long Autumn Zheng Zhong as the Marquis of Chao Xiang and ordered Zhou Zhang, Xu Fang, and others to assist Gu Xi in governing the state.

This could be called a monumental level of trust.

In the past, the ministers would certainly have argued endlessly over such a matter.

After all, although Gu Xi had gradually begun to show his edge and had performed meritorious service for many years, he was still far inferior to the unquestionable authority that Gu Kang had possessed back then.

But given the current state of Liu Hu's health, the ministers dared not say much.

At the very least, no one wanted any problems to arise for the thriving Great Han right now.

Moreover, Liu Hu was not granting Gu Xi sole power.

Whether it was Zheng Zhong, or Zhou Zhang, Xu Fang, and the others, these people could all keep each other in check.

Yet the ministers still keenly noticed one detail.

At this very moment, Gu Xi had actually taken on the appearance of a Chancellor.

The Three Excellencies and the Secretariat were assisting in governing the state.

Was this not the power of a Chancellor?

However, the ministers did not pay too much attention to it, as this was, after all, merely an expedient measure.

Furthermore, the position of Chancellor had been abolished by the Guangwu Emperor in the past.

The Great Han governed the state through filial piety.

The laws of the ancestors were ironclad rules!!!

This chapter has a bit of a large transition.

After thinking for a long time, I decided not to focus heavily on the Emperor He, because the focus of the plot for this generation was not originally intended to be here.

But I have to write it, as this is the dividing line for the entire Eastern Han.

After some thought, rather than padding out two chapters of content, it is better to advance the plot directly.

I hope my brothers will provide plenty of support.

I beg for recommendation votes, I beg for monthly tickets!!!

One more thing!! There will be a massive update upon release! A massive update on the first day! Subsequent daily updates will not be less than twelve thousand words!



(End of this chapter)