Chapter 144

After resolving the matter of the Yuan family, Liu Bian said to the officials:

"Various ministers, since more than a month ago, I sent troops to suppress the rebel parties of Dong Zhuo and others in Liangzhou and Bingzhou; now, after more than fifty days of fighting, I have finally suppressed the rebellions in the two provinces."

"This battle relied entirely on the bloody fighting and heroic killing of enemies by the soldiers of the three armies to suppress the rebellions in the two provinces in such a short time."

"Therefore, I have decided to select a place outside Luoyang City to build a Shrine of Heroic Souls, specifically used to enshrine the spirit tablets of our Great Han's fallen soldiers."

"From now on, as long as they are soldiers of the Great Han Empire, after they sacrifice themselves, their position in the Shrine of Heroic Souls will be determined not by status, but by the magnitude of their merit; the greater the merit, the higher the tablet."

"Moreover, I also want to set a date every year specifically for the people of our Great Han to go and mourn the heroic souls."

As Liu Bian finished speaking, the entire court hall fell into silence.

They were all shocked by Liu Bian's idea; throughout history, there had never been an emperor who cared so much about fallen soldiers.

They could imagine that if this news were to spread, a wave of enthusiasm for joining the army would emerge in all parts of the Great Han Empire.

In the past, recruiting soldiers was a very difficult matter; apart from those people who could not survive and would arrange for the men in their families to join the army, it was very difficult to recruit others.

For those who could not survive, becoming a soldier became the only way to live.

Although being a soldier and going to the battlefield was dangerous, if you did not join the army, you would starve to death; it was better to give it a try, and if you happened to establish merit, you might have a way out.

After a good while, the ministers finally came back to their senses and shouted loudly to Liu Bian with full reverence:

"Your Majesty is wise! We submit!"

Seeing this, Liu Bian also nodded with satisfaction and then continued to say:

"To celebrate this great victory, I have decided to reward all Great Han soldiers with one spirit stone fragment each, and the soldiers who campaigned in the two provinces will be rewarded with one additional low-grade spirit stone each."

Liu Bian decided to take this opportunity to properly improve the strength of the soldiers under his command.

Although the strength of the Han army soldiers had generally stepped into the realm of third-rate martial generals.

But it was still far from his requirements; if it were not for the fact that the National Fortune Value had not risen much, he would have wanted to directly give everyone a boost.

Compared to absorbing the spiritual energy in spirit stones to improve strength, spending National Fortune Value directly to improve it was more convenient.

However, the National Fortune Value spent to improve strength using National Fortune Value was not something he could bear.

Moreover, the number of troops under his command was currently not large: the 100,000-strong army in Ma Teng's hands, Lü Bu's 50,000-strong army, and Zhang Liao's 100,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.

This was the main force of Liu Bian's army, totaling only 250,000 people.

Plus Cao Cao's 20,000, Dian Wei's 20,000, and the 50,000 Yulin Army, that made 340,000 troops.

And the price of spirit stone fragments was 10 pieces for one point of National Fortune Value; for 340,000 people, it only cost 34,000 points of National Fortune Value.

To tell the truth, this amount of National Fortune Value was not as much as the National Fortune Value spent on the low-grade spirit stones rewarded to the 120,000 soldiers who campaigned.

At the price of one point of National Fortune Value per low-grade spirit stone, just the low-grade spirit stones for the soldiers alone would cost 120,000 points of National Fortune Value.

Not to mention those for the generals in the army; these expenses combined probably amounted to more than 100,000 points of National Fortune Value.

This was also thanks to the people of the three provinces who provided Liu Bian with a massive amount of National Fortune Value.

However, because of population limitations, Liangzhou and Bingzhou could basically not provide much for him now.

The previous wave had basically all been contributed to Liu Bian.

At this time, only the people of Sili could still provide him with a considerable amount of National Fortune Value.

After the people of Sili were all allocated land, it was estimated that they could provide Liu Bian with more than one million points of National Fortune Value.

The entire Sili had a population of more than three million; up to now, it had barely provided Liu Bian with about one million points of National Fortune Value.

System: Wanjie Emperor System

Host: Liu Bian

Realm: Innate Third Heaven

Talent: Primordial Grade

Constitution: Supreme Emperor Body

Supernatural Power: Probe Eye

Technique: Supreme Emperor Art

Equipment: Emperor Sword, Emperor Armor

System Space: National Seal, Hybrid Rice Seeds * 100 tons, Spirit Rice Seeds * 50 tons, "Basic Artifact Refining Compendium" * 1, "Basic Alchemy Manual" * 1

National Fortune Value:

System Quest: Three

Please have the host establish a dynasty within one year.

Quest Reward: Activate the constitutions of the characters under the host's command

Quest Failure: No penalty

Quest Progress: Pending completion

System Quest Four: The host's forces must control the six provinces of the Great Han Empire within six months

Quest Reward: Town-Legion Divine Beast

Quest Failure: No penalty

Quest Progress: 3/6

This was Liu Bian's current attribute panel; since the last time he finished exchanging for the identity jade token, the National Fortune Value had increased by about 200,000 during this period.

And after the ministers heard Liu Bian's words, they also immediately shouted in unison:

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"This Grand Court Assembly will determine the future direction of our Great Han!"

"I have one thing to notify you various ministers about this time!"

Liu Bian said to the ministers below with a majestic expression.

And the ministers below, after hearing Liu Bian's words, were all jolted.

They all secretly thought in their hearts: "It seems this Grand Court Assembly is extraordinary!"

"Please issue the decree, Your Majesty; we dare not disobey!"

Everyone looked at Liu Bian respectfully and responded loudly.

Seeing this, Liu Bian nodded with satisfaction and continued:

"Since more than three hundred years ago, when the Gaozu established the Great Han, it has continued for nearly four hundred years until now."

"From the time Gaozu founded the Han, there was first the Rule of Wen and Jing, which made our Great Han country rich and its people strong."

"By the time of the Wu Emperor, he even beat the Xiongnu to the point of near extinction, spreading the heavenly might of our Han family!"

"The Great Han people living in these periods could be said to be able to stand tall and be human."

At this time, after hearing Liu Bian's words, the ministers could not help but straighten their backs.

These deeds were also what they were proud of.

"However, times have changed; with the passage of time, the Great Han erupted into the Rebellion of Wang Mang."

"If not for the emergence of Emperor Guangwu, our Great Han would have been nearly destroyed."

"After this, the Yellow Turban Rebellion erupted, as well as the previous struggles between eunuchs and external relatives, etc."

"All these kinds of things, I do not want to mention one by one again."

"Investigating the reasons, did these things really happen because our Liu imperial clan was inactive, and the emperors were dim-witted and incompetent?"

Liu Bian asked the ministers below with a loud shout, carrying a trace of deep meaning.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger; we are terrified!"

Hearing Liu Bian's questioning, the officials immediately knelt on the ground with terrified expressions.

At this time, the entire court hall was silent.

Ignoring the kneeling ministers, Liu Bian continued to say with majestic voice:

"I do not deny that among these, there were also reasons for the emperors being dim-witted and incompetent."

"However, investigating the greatest reason, it is that I gave these people too much power."

"So much that it made them forget their own identities and gave birth to thoughts that should not exist."

"Wang Mang is the greatest example; it was because the power in his hands was too great that it made him give birth to the heart to usurp the Han."

Speaking of this, Liu Bian's tone was already full of anger.