Chapter 1170: Ascending Qianyuan

Amid the escort of armored guards, the imperial carriage advanced at a steady pace, drawing ever closer to the city of Luoyang, and the towering, imposing city walls came into view with increasing clarity.

Standing on the imperial carriage, Emperor Liu glanced back for a while; limited by his field of vision and the reach of his eyes, he could still faintly sense the clamor of the long entourage trailing behind.

After a moment of deliberation, Emperor Liu summoned Yan Tuo and instructed: "Go, summon the Imperial Uncle!"

In the westward journey's entourage, there was only one person Emperor Liu would call the Imperial Uncle—Li Ye, who had recently become a chancellor. And Emperor Liu had assigned him a very important task: together with Han Tong, he was responsible for the management and arrangement of the civil and military officials and the large number of accompanying attendants.

The westward procession was stretched far too long; it was quite some time before Li Ye came riding up on horseback, his posture gallant and agile. Though a civil official, Li Ye's horsemanship was excellent, and the Imperial Uncle was especially fond of fine steeds. Back when he served as Prefect of Yuanzhou, he had collected ten magnificent horses that were extraordinarily sturdy and worth a fortune; later, when he returned to court to report on his duties, he presented the six finest of them to Emperor Liu.

And since returning to court to take up office, those who sought to curry favor and ingratiate themselves, wishing to gain access through Li Ye, would often use fine horses and precious saddles as a way in. During the years he oversaw the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Uncle had cracked down on much corruption and illegality, yet whether he himself was truly incorruptible was another matter entirely.

Emperor Liu was in fact well aware of Li Ye's preferences and social dealings, but he had never taken issue with them. It wasn't purely out of personal affection—rather, the Imperial Uncle had a bottom line when handling affairs. What should be done and what should not be done—he had a scale for that.

It must be said that over more than a decade of tempering in the provinces, Li Ye had improved enormously in every respect. This was the most fundamental reason Emperor Liu entrusted him with important posts and heavy authority—by no means merely because of the Empress Dowager's connection.

And since entering the sixth year of Kaibao, with his elevation to chancellor, it could be said that Li Ye had climbed to a peak of his career.

Among the original members of the Hall of State Affairs, Zhao Kuangyin and Li Chuyun handled military matters and did not encroach upon his domain. Wei Renpu's position was unshakable; Li Ye lacked the power to challenge it, but he was also philosophical about it. With Wang Qiwu and Dou Yi remaining behind in the Eastern Capital—especially with Dou Yi, with whom he had long-standing conflicts, absent—his, the Imperial Uncle's, say in the Western Capital had been invisibly elevated.

Therefore, among the court's ministers, none was more enthusiastic about the westward journey to Luoyang than Li Ye. Moreover, at this moment Li Ye was brimming with vigor, and the bulk of the court relocating to Luoyang, with a thousand loose ends to tie up, gave him ample room to display his abilities.

"What does Your Majesty command?" Arriving beside the imperial carriage, Li Ye performed the ritual salute and asked, his demeanor respectful.

In terms of age, Li Ye was in fact not much older than Emperor Liu—less than a full zodiac cycle—and could barely be considered a "peer." When he had been virtually "exiled" to Yuanzhou by Emperor Liu, he had harbored resentment, but his awe and reverence for Emperor Liu had largely been cultivated from that time onward.

After returning to court, the late Empress Dowager Lady Li had also repeatedly instructed him, saying that he and Emperor Liu were both uncle and nephew and sovereign and subject, and that he must strictly observe the rites of a minister. And Li Ye—even without the Empress Dowager's admonitions, how would he dare to offend the Emperor? Therefore, before outsiders, the Imperial Uncle might act arrogantly and overbearingly, but before Emperor Liu, he had always been as well-behaved as a little cat.

Looking at his young maternal uncle, Emperor Liu smiled slightly, gestured for him to dispense with the formalities, and then got straight to the point, pointing directly behind him as he instructed: "On this westward journey to Luoyang, there are too many attendants. Upon first arriving at the Western Capital, settling everyone will not be easy, and I fear chaos above and below. Once we reach Luoyang, Uncle, you must take on the burden of arranging the accommodation for all, high and low, so as to avoid any errors or omissions!"

That's right—with Luoyang's current conditions, accommodating a million people would be an easy matter. However, moving two hundred thousand people at once, from officials to soldiers to commoners, and settling them steadily and properly was no light task; without a transition period, it might not truly stabilize for some time.

"Yes!" Hearing this, Li Ye showed no sign of difficulty on his face; instead, a hint of excitement appeared, and he answered crisply: "Rest assured, Your Majesty—how would your subject dare not devote his utmost effort?"

After finishing with Li Ye, Emperor Liu returned to the interior of the imperial carriage and ordered the Empress, the elder Lady Fu, to be summoned, the couple riding together in the same carriage. And south of Luoyang city, a grand ceremony to welcome the imperial carriage had already been prepared. Under Murong Yanchao's leadership, Luoyang's officials and nobles all turned out, and over three hundred thousand citizens of the Western Capital were mobilized to greet the imperial procession.

When Emperor Liu formally arrived, even vast Luoyang seemed to tremble under the overwhelming thunder of "Long live the Emperor!" cries.

Luoyang—Emperor Liu had been there more than once or twice, but only this time brought him the greatest delight. Over the years, he had experienced no few grand spectacles, yet when he felt the enthusiastic cheers of Luoyang's scholars and commoners, his heart could not help but surge with emotion.

After the imperial carriage entered Luoyang city and stepped onto the incomparably broad Heavenly Street, facing the densely packed crowds of Luoyang citizens lining the way to welcome them, Emperor Liu and Empress Fu stood out from the carriage together, waving to the scholars and commoners.

This stirred up an even stronger commotion. Emotion is contagious and transmissible, and Emperor Liu, having ruled the realm for twenty years, had forged the present age of peace under the witness of countless millions of subjects. Such prestige had reached its zenith—as towering as a high mountain, as firm as a boulder.

And in recent years, the court's propaganda about Emperor Liu had never ceased, though it was no longer as conspicuously deliberate as in the early days. Still, many tales of Emperor Liu's deeds circulated widely among the people.

Along the way, Emperor Liu admired the newly renovated city of Luoyang without excessive surprise, until he entered the palace city, arrived in person, and reached the Qianyuan Hall.

"Imperial Uncle, you're trying to make my eyes pop out!" Standing before the Qianyuan Hall, looking up at the towering and massive edifice, Emperor Liu could not help but voice such an exclamation.

"As long as Your Majesty is satisfied!" Seeing Emperor Liu's reaction, Imperial Uncle Murong appeared greatly pleased and responded with a smile.

Emperor Liu was genuinely stunned. The Qianyuan Hall was a complex of buildings, but the most conspicuous was certainly the main hall at its center—soaring into the clouds like a heavenly palace. He had long heard of the hall's height, but truly seeing it in person still left him astonished, his heart surging.

The height of the hall's platform alone reached six zhang, with the central imperial path leading straight to the hall's entrance. Pointing at the dense tiers of steps, Emperor Liu said: "Built so high—climbing these steps, those elderly ministers will surely complain about you!"

"Come, let's go inside and have a look!" Having made a joke, Emperor Liu took the lead and stepped forward. The central imperial steps were naturally for Emperor Liu alone, while the accompanying ministers, according to rank, passed in an orderly fashion through the side auxiliary paths, trailing behind and to the sides.

The crowd surged, covering the steps. And inside the Qianyuan Hall, following Emperor Liu's preferences, there was no pursuit of luxury—only dignity—and it could hold not just the hundred officials; holding a court assembly of over a thousand people would likely be no problem at all.

It was precisely for this reason that such a great hall could only be used on rare occasions...

As Emperor Liu sat high upon the dragon throne and received the homage of all his ministers, this signified that Emperor Liu's life in Luoyang had officially begun. The Western Capital's status had once again been substantively established.