Chapter 61: Reform

Hedong.

Since Gu Xi's great defeat of Zhang Jiao in Jizhou, Dong Zhuo has been thriving.

With his elite troops under command, he repeatedly defeated the demoralized Yellow Turbans, enjoying unparalleled glory.

He had originally planned to seize this good opportunity.

To earn more merits, and after the situation stabilized, to gain higher status.

But he never expected to suddenly receive a decree from He Jin.

"Wenyou, take a look—what does the General mean by ordering me to garrison at Anyi?" Dong Zhuo frowned, his face filled with confusion.

As he spoke, he handed the decree to his wise strategist, Li Ru, beside him.

Li Ru took the decree and studied it carefully; his expression gradually turned serious.

After long contemplation, he seemed to grasp the hidden implications.

Then he gently shook his head, a knowing smile appearing on his face: "My Lord."

"Judging by the timing, this decree was clearly sent by He Jin before the Grand Tutor returned to the capital."

"This move is clearly meant to use you to counterbalance the Grand Tutor."

"Counterbalance the Grand Tutor?" Dong Zhuo froze, instinctively shaking his head, disbelief etched on his face. "Is He Jin mad?"

"Why would anyone think I can counterbalance the Grand Tutor?"

"Merely leveraging momentum, My Lord—no need to take it to heart," Li Ru chuckled lightly, intending to reassure Dong Zhuo.

But in that instant, a thought flashed through his mind; his eyes suddenly brightened, and he changed his tone: "My Lord, this is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity!"

"An opportunity?" Dong Zhuo was utterly stunned, his brow furrowed deeper as he stared at Li Ru in confusion. "Wenyou, are you mad too?"

"Do you truly want me to oppose the Grand Tutor?"

He had no such intentions at all.

For a regional warlord like himself, it was sheer fantasy.

He only wished to earn more merits and raise his political standing.

"I certainly don't mean that," Li Ru quickly waved his hand, his excitement intensifying. "He Jin is the General, with authority over all imperial troops."

"Now that he has issued the decree, how can we disobey?"

He fixed his gaze on Dong Zhuo, speaking solemnly: "Anyi is a strategic stronghold of Hedong, controlling the Fen River grain route to the north and blocking the treacherous Xiao-Han passes to the south."

"My Lord can use the pretext of obeying the decree to garrison here."

Li Ru paused slightly, his expression growing even more grave, his eyes gleaming with cunning: "Given the current situation—"

"I believe that should the Grand Tutor meet any misfortune, the Han dynasty faces imminent collapse."

"If the situation truly changes drastically—"

"Won't My Lord, stationed at Anyi, be free to advance or retreat as needed?"

Hearing this, Dong Zhuo froze—he had never considered the matter from this angle.

It did sound like a good opportunity.

But out of fear of Gu Xi, he instinctively shook his head: "How could the Grand Tutor tolerate me garrisoning at Anyi?"

"My Lord need only advance slowly; along the way, you can use suppressing bandits as an excuse to delay."

Li Ru smiled confidently, his tone firm: "Even if the Grand Tutor notices something amiss, what can he do?"

"My Lord is merely obeying the decree—if the Grand Tutor blames anyone, it must be He Jin."

"And My Lord must not forget—"

Here, Li Ru paused, lowering his voice deliberately: "The Grand Tutor is now over ninety years old."

"Though all believe the Grand Tutor will not die until the realm is settled—"

"My Lord must know: no one in this world is immortal."

"Even the late Emperor Guangwu and the Marquis of Wencheng eventually passed away."

"How much less so the Grand Tutor?"

"If the Grand Tutor truly meets misfortune, My Lord can lead troops into the capital—would you not become the second Grand Tutor?"

Thump… thump… thump…

Dong Zhuo felt his heartbeat quicken, as if it might leap from his throat.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

He stared intently at Li Ru before him, silent for a long while, then finally nodded and forced out a single word:

"Good!"

Gu Xi had indeed changed.

Since returning to the capital, he had become an entirely different man.

He acted with decisive ruthlessness, showing not the slightest mercy.

After the Luoshui sacrifice,

Gu Xi held a grand coronation ceremony for Liu Bian and proclaimed a new era name: "Zhaoning."

Signifying the peace and stability of the Han.

Through all his actions, he made his resolve known to the entire realm.

—Gu Xi meant to rescue the Han from its peril!

When all was settled, Gu Xi turned his attention to the Liangzhou rebels.

He would not choose to leave Luoyang at such a time.

Instead, as in the past, he would coordinate the empire from within Luoyang!

Gu Xi's prestige in Liangzhou was extremely high.

In the days when the Nine Provinces suffered natural disasters, Gu Xi was the first to rush to Liangzhou and personally supervised local governance.

This act earned Gu Xi considerable prestige among all the tribes.

And most crucially, Gu Xi understood exactly why these people had rebelled.

His execution of the eunuchs was precisely because of this.

After stabilizing the people's hearts in Luoyang, Gu Xi immediately sent messengers to Liangzhou to deliver messages to all the tribes.

——Stating that he would overlook their uprising this time, as long as they retreated to Liangzhou, he would pardon them entirely.

This was a yang strategy.

For Gu Xi at this moment.

Any coalition-forming rebel force was not worth mentioning.

Because human hearts are inherently unpredictable.

Faced with Gu Xi, who seemed like a transcendent immortal, some would inevitably feel fear.

And Gu Xi intended to give them an escape route.

Thus amplifying this fear.

The effect of this strategy was obvious, especially after Huangfu Song arrived in the Three Auxiliaries and halted the rebels' advance.

Immediately, fissures emerged within the entire rebel force.

Bian Zhang, Beigong Boyu, and Li Wenhou died one after another in internal strife.

The rebel force, like a tidal wave, swiftly retreated back to Liangzhou.

Meanwhile, pacification efforts across the realm never ceased.

The heads of the eunuchs were indeed a valuable asset.

This greatly diverted public resentment, allowing the people to once again harbor hope in the court.

Moreover, Gu Xi would not abandon the use of谶纬superstition.

Various divine omens appeared one after another.

These included the fu compositions written by students of the Imperial Academy, which Gu Xi ordered major clans to spread throughout the realm.

Under all these measures.

——By the end of the second year of Zhaoning, conditions across the realm had stabilized.

Although rebellions still erupted, they could no longer gain momentum.

Then, Gu Xi finally took that step, beginning preparations to implement the grand plan he had pondered for years.

——Reform!

He was going to overhaul the fundamental institutions of the Han!

Gu Yi had been silently observing all of this, his heart tightly clenched.

In fact, this was one of the game's difficulties.

Except during his own direct control, events would not necessarily unfold according to Gu Yi's wishes.

Just as now.

For the Gu clan, this move was extremely dangerous.

If Gu Yi were to personally manipulate it, he would choose to let history unfold naturally.

After all, dynastic change was a normal phenomenon.

He possessed foreknowledge of subsequent history.

Even though the world had changed significantly, Gu Yi could still leverage his modern mindset to maintain control over everything.

But for Gu Xi, it was different.

He was a player within the game, and from his current position,

he understood that if he died, chaos would engulf the realm, and even regional scholar-gentry families would secretly support the rebels to achieve territorial division.

And the Gu clan, as a top-tier scholar-gentry family, was destined to be the first target.

——The Gu clan aspired to eternity.

Transforming family into state, plunging the realm into chaos—all these scenarios meant the Gu clan would inevitably face unknown risks.

As a player within the game, Gu Xi knew nothing of the future.

Only reform was the optimal solution at present.

It could save the Han and aid the Gu clan.

This was why he had to do it.

But could this endeavor truly succeed?

Throughout history, has there ever been a successful reform without bloodshed?

How could Gu Yi not be anxious?

He had even considered spending all his achievement points to gamble, hoping to draw a tool that could aid Gu Xi.

But in the end, he suppressed this thought.

He had to remain calm, lest any true accident occur.

Luoyang, the Imperial Taimiao.

Blue bricks paved the ground; the eaves and bracket sets exuded the wear of time.

Gu Xi walked with steady steps, slowly entering this most sacred place for the Han.

By convention, his action violated propriety.

But for Gu Xi now, he no longer cared about such things.

As soon as he stepped into the Imperial Taimiao, a serene atmosphere washed over him; the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

Gu Xi took a light step forward and came before the incense altar, lighting the candles and incense.

He lit candles for the spirit tablets of each past Emperor, the flickering flames reflecting on his weathered yet resolute face.

Finally, he stopped before the spirit tablet of Liu Zhao.

He performed the standard ceremonial bow of a loyal minister.

When the ritual ended, he tilted his head slightly, gazing at the tablet, and sighed deeply, his voice low but clear: "My late Emperor."

"To this day, the Han's decline is my fault."

"I only lament that I lack the wisdom of my ancestors."

"Had my grandfather, the Marquis of Wencheng, faced my current predicament, he surely would have seen the flaws."

"Now, I have no path to retreat."

His expression was calm, his gaze unwavering; he murmured: "Only by accomplishing this in life can I safeguard the stability of the state."

"The Han, and my Gu clan, may then be spared turmoil."

Having spoken, he bowed again before Liu Zhao's spirit tablet, remaining bowed for a long time.

Only after a long while did he...

Turn and walk to the spirit tablet of Gu Xiao, then kneel directly before it.

Gu Xiao's spirit tablet had always been enshrined within the Imperial Taimiao.

This was a special privilege granted by Liu Xiu in days past.

Of the entire Gu clan, only he received this honor.

Even Gu Kang was denied it.

"Ancestor, before you," Gu Xi's voice trembled slightly, "I beg you to protect the clan's descendants, shield them from calamity, and bless the Gu clan for a thousand generations, prosperous and unbroken."

How could he not know the fate awaiting him if this failed?

Aside from a few mediocre heirs like Gu Chen, Gu Xi had already dispatched the clan's younger generation one by one.

This was his second safeguard.

If he succeeded, all would be well; if he failed, the realm would surely descend into chaos.

Given the Gu clan's current prestige...

Unless faced with a madman, the Gu clan would face no threat of annihilation, and in the chaos, it might even rise anew.

As for Gu Chen, it was simply because he was truly too mediocre.

Even now, he was worse than an ordinary man.

Sending him away would be even more dangerous.

In truth, Gu Yi was also quite surprised—Gu Chen was tenacious by nature and worked hard daily.

Yet in performance, he showed not the slightest distinction.

In short, he had been transformed from a dull-witted child into a perfectly ordinary, unremarkable man.

For an Xuan-grade artifact, this performance was clearly unacceptable.

But the exact reason? Gu Yi could not understand it.

On this day, Gu Xi remained in the Imperial Taimiao for a long time.

The next day,

he announced his decree at the Grand Court Assembly.

He ordered the sons of noble families who had contributed to quelling the rebellion to return to the capital for rewards.

He intended to retreat in order to advance—to recall the noble heirs under the guise of "reward," then proceed to his next move.

In ordinary times past, this might have succeeded.

But what era is this now?

This is an age famed throughout history, where prodigies and geniuses emerged in abundance.

The current situation was already glaringly clear.

Through Gu Xi's actions and his known character, how could these men fail to see what he might be planning?

This was an obvious question.

Some had even already suspected Gu Xi might enact land redistribution.

For the Han of today had not fully resolved the flood of displaced peasants!

In an instant, the news spread rapidly.

——The court shook in shock!

Many could not believe Gu Xi would dare such a thing, for it would also harm the Gu clan.

Yet faced with such grave peril, they could not afford to respond carelessly.

Gu Xi's earlier policy was once again brought to the fore.

The ministers sought to have Gu Xi rescind the policy, to test his resolve.

Gu Xi readily agreed.

He even bestowed rewards upon several meritorious noble families, further showing weakness.

But how easily could human nature be manipulated?

Once the seed of suspicion was planted, no amount of reassurance could fully erase doubt.

No one would willingly surrender benefits already in hand.

Under these circumstances,

ministers submitted memorials, citing unrest in the provinces as reason to prevent noble families from returning to the capital.

The atmosphere in the court had changed entirely.

Faced with this situation, Gu Xi directly abandoned the notion of taking the city without bloodshed.

He could not drag this out.

The great clans' power would only grow stronger as time passed.

And who could say for certain—

just how much time had the heavens left him?

He had to act with thunderous decisiveness!

Just several days later, Gu Xi issued a full order to seal off Luoyang.

And under the title of "Regent," proclaimed it to the realm.

Declaring that the great war had passed, the wartime policies of Liu Hong should be discarded, and local military authority reclaimed.

Once the news spread, the realm was shaken!

The common folk naturally paid it no heed—such measures would not affect their lives.

What truly trembled were the provincial governors and great clans across the land, who had gradually built up their own power bases.

Liu Hong's policies had given them legal ownership of the blade.

And now, Gu Xi meant to take that blade back.

Even though everyone understood why Gu Xi was doing this,

how could they possibly agree outright?

In an instant, the four directions stirred.

Provincial governors across every province submitted memorials to the court, still using the name of quelling disorderly troops to obstruct the matter.

But how could Gu Xi have failed to anticipate this?

When he returned to the capital this time, why did he need to swiftly take control of the entire Central Army?

Not only to keep a firm grip on Luoyang—

but also to prepare for this very moment.

Ever since Gu Sheng had drilled the Central Army in years past, the matter of drilling the Central Army had never been reassigned.

And during Liu Bao's time in those years—

because of Yan Ji's actions, he had come to recognize the importance of the Central Army and had successively strengthened it.

This was the most elite force of the entire Han.

His firm grip on these troops was preparation precisely for this.

PS: Yesterday's fifteen thousand words burned me out, the tenosynovitis hasn't healed at all, and I'm running late again—sorry, the next chapter will have to be deep into the night.

Begging for monthly tickets~

(End of this chapter)