Chapter 574: Commanding the Great Peace (This Book Is Complete)

The founding ceremony and Qin Huang's grand wedding were progressing simultaneously.

According to Qin Huang Your Majesty's request, the grand wedding was to be held after the founding ceremony. Both events were extremely important, but the officials, Qin Huang, and even the Changfeng Lady all agreed that nothing outweighed the founding ceremony.

The great affairs of a nation lie in sacrifice and war.

Now the weapons of war had ceased, the four seas were at peace, and the founding ceremony proclaimed the great peace — both to soothe and settle the hearts of the people under heaven, and to comfort those who had passed. Truly, there was nothing more important than this.

Qin Huang Your Majesty also said that the grand wedding must only begin after this matter.

As an official of the Ministry of Rites, Nan Hanwen asked Your Majesty how many ceremonies to hold.

The invincible Qin Huang Your Majesty hummed and hawed for quite a while.

Nan Hanwen understood, and said: "This minister understands."

Qin Huang Your Majesty let out a breath of relief, his face showing an expression of "you catch on quick."

Mr. Nan Hanwen said meticulously:

"Then does Your Majesty wish to hold them together, or one at a time?"

Qin Huang Your Majesty froze.

Nan Hanwen said with a hint of teasing:

"Then does Your Majesty wish to save money this time?"

Qin Huang was quiet for a while, then said: "I too have my merits and achievements. The Chen Kingdom I conquered, the gold and silver in the Ying Kingdom's imperial household — there is no shortage. But in the end, a beauty's grace weighs heavy, and I have waited long…"

The grey-templed Qin Huang said with a light smile: "This time, I won't save."

"Let the Ying Emperor and the Chen Emperor, let the Tujue, the Tanguts, let the thirty kingdoms of the Western Regions—"

This sentence was plain, but the achievements of this life were already manifest.

The sovereign's pressure and plainness were on full display; those eternal achievements left one's heart in a daze—

Nan Hanwen was stunned, then solemnly nodded:

"Yes."

But Qin Huang Your Majesty immediately added, "Yet absolutely there must be no extravagance or waste, no luxurious indulgence."

This sentence finally gave Nan Hanwen a sense of inexplicable closeness and familiarity. The old man held back his laughter as he walked out, then laughed out loud.

This sovereign, the foremost figure in three generations, the emperor of all ages — he was still the same as ever.

Nan Hanwen laughed in the cold winter wind until tears came.

He wiped away an old man's tears.

How wonderful — an old friend has achieved supreme merit, becoming the supreme sovereign!

How wonderful.

Though his achievements are unmatched in this age, his fame resounding through the ages.

The emperor is still, after all, an old friend.

This one sentence, these small matters, yet they stirred in Nan Hanwen's heart a faint, subtle feeling of being moved — he couldn't say what it was, only thought that the emperor was, after all, just a title.

He sighed, he rejoiced, and then his steps suddenly paused.

Huh??

Wait???

Nan Hanwen's eyes went wide.

The old man suddenly understood why General Nangong Wumeng had begun frequently going out to search for things.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He just got busy.

However, when he told old Master Siming, the old Master Siming planned to leave immediately.

These two events — the founding ceremony he naturally would not attend, but the grand wedding he also would not come to drink at. Nan Hanwen and old Master Siming had a decent relationship, and he hadn't expected that telling old Master Siming about the preparations for Qin Huang's grand wedding would make the old Master Siming want to leave so early.

Old Master Siming only said with a faint smile: "Yin and yang complement each other; where there is yin, there is yang. Having seen the great peace under heaven, and now seeing Li Guanyi's grand wedding, this old man fears he would grow reluctant to part, and could not bear to stay. Better to leave early."

"After the founding ceremony, Qin Huang's grand wedding — the news will likely spread throughout the world."

"At that time, this old man will simply offer a toast from afar."

Nan Hanwen was busy at work when he saw the Changfeng Lady arrive. Nan Hanwen took the initiative to bow. Seeing the Changfeng Lady — a wooden hairpin in her hair, her sleeves already adorned with crimson Fire Qilin cloud patterns — even someone like Nan Hanwen's expression softened considerably.

The Jiangnan tailors and silk merchants must surely be the finest under heaven.

"Greetings to…"

Mr. Nan Hanwen nearly blurted out "Your Ladyship."

She was already wearing crimson Fire Qilin-patterned garments — only the announcement to the world remained. But because of the influence of the late Qu Hanxiu, Nan Hanwen swallowed back the "Your Ladyship" that had almost reached the tip of his tongue.

Rites must not be discarded, names must not be confused.

He only said: "Lady."

Xue Shuangtao bowed slightly and said: "You are too courteous, Mr. Where is Guan Yi?"

Nan Hanwen was stunned and said: "Your Majesty should have gone to offer sacrifices and pay respects to the departed. Lady, is there some important matter for which you seek Your Majesty?"

Xue Shuangtao said: "Mr. Pojun is about to take his leave!"

Nan Hanwen was stunned, frozen.

No — old Master Siming.

Today, apart from Qin Huang's grand wedding and the founding ceremony, there was another, even greater matter!

"Your Majesty, where is Your Majesty!!!"

………………

Li Guanyi slowly opened his eyes.

He had already crossed these Nine Tripods one by one, moving forward, stepping on the white jade stairs, advancing step by step. With each step, a Nine Tripod would ring out, until the entire Jiuzhou Ding was filled with the resonance of destiny. At the highest point of this Jiuzhou Ding, there was only a white jade chair.

Li Guanyi's fingers pressed against this white jade chair, the touch cold, and then he turned, slowly sat down, looking down from above, possessing a natural air of disdainful indifference, yet it was enough to show a man standing utterly alone — it turned out that the highest point of the Nine Provinces Cauldron was nothing more than a white jade chair.

The Buddhists speak of pointing at the moon with a finger; the Daoists speak of my heart being the heart of heaven.

What the Confucians speak of is called my Mandate of Heaven.

This white jade chair is the final storm and glory that has fallen upon this body.

But the road walked to reach this highest place, the road of sweeping the world and forging the Nine Cauldrons.

That is 【Unification of the Nine Provinces】.

You have already obtained this Mandate of Heaven; what need is there for external things to display it?

So-called endings — this life's achievements have already been accomplished, there is no longer any seeking from without.

In the end, Qin Huang merely patted this white jade seat, without the slightest attachment or lingering reluctance, simply rose, and said with nonchalance: "Too hard, not comfortable to sit on."

"I'm off!"

He walked his own road, and when he departed, the Nine Cauldrons howled for him.

The Nine Provinces Cauldron no longer held the slightest hesitation, completely submitting to Qin Huang's command.

Where his mind moved, there was no further delay.

Bolstered by the blessings of hundreds of millions of living souls, every gesture and movement surged with vital energy and blood, still befitting a hegemon; his qi and fortune were vast, already surpassing those of the Scarlet Emperor.

Within the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, his martial prowess was unmatched, the foremost across all ages.

His nature was self-sufficient, not seeking outward — merely standing here, heaven and earth became square and round as one, the sovereign blazed boundlessly, the emperor was upright and magnanimous; only this one person did not betray his original intent.

But this state of affairs, not long after, would be broken by an urgent message — Mr. Pojun intended to take his leave. When Qin Huang learned of the news, his expression changed.

He jogged all the way.

He directly mounted a fine horse and galloped toward the residence where Pojun was.

The place where Pojun stayed was not in the bustling market, but in a quiet and tranquil spot.

As if a sense of reincarnation assailed this body.

This fellow had told the news to the Young Lady precisely so that Li Guanyi would come to bid farewell.

Mr. Pojun was still this particular.

Li Guanyi led his warhorse through the crowd; he used the Elder Murong family's Wu Gong, the Misty Rain Jiangnan Multi-Story Art, to conceal his presence — others could not see him, only seeing the common folk living and working in peace, smiles at the corners of their mouths.

Everyone was looking forward to the future.

The tyrant had been toppled, the corrupt officials and noble houses had been dealt with one by one, and there would be no more war anywhere.

In everyone's heart was a warm anticipation.

A beautiful, prosperous age was about to begin.

A faint noise suddenly reached Li Guanyi's ears.

Qin Huang's footsteps halted, the warhorse whinnied softly, the passersby flowed like a tide; Li Guanyi slowly turned his head, led his warhorse, and walked toward a flat side path on one side of this broad avenue.

Inside there, sunlight could not reach, the worldly dust outside could not flow in, but within the shadow, a commoner was kneeling on the ground, his face full of grief, saying:

"I beg you, I'll give you the money for this matter, I'll give you all of it."

"But according to the laws of Great Qin, this land is supposed to be divided to our family, how could you, how could you divide it to that person? Even if, even if he's your wife's brother, you can't do this."

"What do you mean by that? Didn't we already divide land to you people?"

Li Guanyi's gaze shifted from that panicked, grief-stricken old farmer, and saw the person being knelt to and pleaded with — that person's face was obscured by shadow, his features unclear, but on the battle robe hanging down from him—

Was a Fire Qilin pattern.

A Captain of the Fire Qilin Army.

That Captain didn't seem to say anything, only laughed heartily.

The commoner suddenly knelt down, weeping and crying out:

"Master!!!"

In an instant, Li Guanyi awoke from the dream of peace.

The common folk living and working in peace, the warmth and tranquility of the taverns, the children, education, peace, land distribution, the noble houses — after all these problems were solved, the beautiful dream, filled with light, now shattered before his eyes.

As if a sense of轮回 assailed this body.

In the end, should one be a founding emperor, or else…

Footsteps sounded — just as the commoner was kowtowing, suddenly a powerful palm propped up his arm, preventing him from kowtowing further; as he stood stunned, he heard a young voice say—

"Rise!"

"You are not permitted to kneel."

"And, do not kneel."

Both men's gazes turned over; upon seeing that person, the Fire Qilin Army Captain froze, then Yan Xuanji his expression changed drastically, and he immediately saluted: "Your Majesty…"

Qin Huang Li Guanyi lifted the commoner up with both hands.

In his eyes, the sovereign's expression belonging to one who had established supreme achievements slowly faded, and the warrior's light once again revealed its sharpness like a honed, keen-edged weapon.

………………

"Hahahaha, you old fellows, you old fellows!"

"Do you know my lord? Have you ever seen a lord like mine?"

"This young master is going back now, I have to tell you all about everything on this journey, tell you all about everything on this road — I ended the chaotic age, I accomplished the achievements none of you could complete."

"I even, even surpassed Yaoguang Yi…"

The purple-eyed strategist wrote letter after letter, his smile freezing.

He pondered, lost in thought.

Finally, the corner of his mouth curved slightly upward: "In the end she became an imperial consort, or co-empress — anyway, no longer a strategist, no longer an advisor!"

"Hahahaha, on this road of being a strategist!"

"Me!"

"Pojun!"

"Victory!"

"A great, great victory!"

"That felt good!"

Just at this moment, the sound of knocking came from outside. Pojun froze, then heard a familiar voice—now matured—ask: "Is Mr. still here?"

Pojun's expression grew solemn. He set down his brush, straightened his clothes and his bearing, went to push open the door, and when he opened it and saw the Qin Huang standing outside, for an instant he was dazed.

The strategist's violet pupils contracted. In that instant, what he saw was not the eternal emperor in his everyday imperial robes, calm and unhurried in bearing, but rather the war god Li Guanyi in armor, heavy war harness, and battle robe.

After the daze passed, he saw that the Qin Huang was still wearing those same clothes.

But that fierce, biting battle-intent, that will blazing like the great sun, had appeared once more upon this emperor who had completed the supreme achievement, now that the realm was at peace—and it set the violet-eyed strategist's very blood surging.

"Mr., are you leaving?"

Li Guanyi looked at the letters on the desk.

The violet-eyed strategist smiled and said: "When I met with you, I already said it—our lineage is a lineage of struggle. Now that the realm is settled, there are no enemies left, no opponents. The peaceful, prosperous age is about to arrive."

"If this realm has no opponents, then there is no longer a place for us to use our talents."

"It is time to retire into seclusion. These letters are for the rest of my old acquaintances in the Fire Qilin Army and Tiance Prefecture—after all, we did know one another. But my lord, you are…"

Li Guanyi said: "But what if I told you it isn't over yet?"

And so Pojun was stunned.

"Where could there still be enemies?"

Li Guanyi stretched out a hand, pointed at himself, then pointed at the realm outside. Pojun was stunned and uncomprehending. Li Guanyi slowly spoke of what he had just seen, saying: "The realm has only just found peace; it will still need at least ten years before it can truly set upon the right path—and already such things have begun to appear."

"Our enemy has appeared once more, Mr."

Li Guanyi said: "It is no longer a concrete enemy like Chen Dingye or Jiang Wanxiang—no longer born of womb or egg, but born of transformation."

"It will reappear in the relations between people. After we have conquered the enemy states, these very things we despise will gradually emerge from our own good soldiers, taking root and sprouting once more."

Pojun was a great talent under heaven; he understood the words in Li Guanyi's mouth, and resting his hand on those letters, said:

"Your Majesty, has our struggle ended?"

Li Guanyi answered: "It has only just begun."

"So that is how it is."

The violet-eyed, young strategist still at his peak asked the strongest of emperors, gave a light laugh, then inquired: "Then, can our struggle be won within ten, twenty, thirty years?"

And the emperor answered: "It will not."

"Perhaps, even within my own lifetime, we will still need to fight this enemy. It will get better, but within the span of your life and mine, we will never see the day when 'it' is utterly defeated."

Pojun said: "Even so, will you still fight it?"

The Qin Huang stretched out his hand and said: "Yes."

The Qin Huang's regal composure dispersed. What stood here was still that fierce warrior of old. He reached his hand toward Pojun, promising a second dream that would never end, and smiled: "Since this life of mine has already come to this point, then let us dream once more—an impossible, grand dream."

"Mr., will you come along?"

Pojun looked at the emperor before him, then suddenly burst into laughter:

"How could I dare disobey!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, he brushed all the letters on the desk into the brazier. The fierce flames blazed up, like that crimson Fire Qilin-cloud great banner, the Fire Qilin-cloud great flag unfurling and spreading out.

The founding ceremony, at last, began.

The Qin Huang's gaze carried fire. He did not wear the emperor's ceremonial robes, but rather a suit of dark armor. He set aside the imperial crown and ceremonial robes that Nan Hanwen had prepared, took up the crimson Fire Qilin-patterned civil-and-martial-sleeved battle robe, stroked its sleeve, and gave a slight smile.

With a sudden, mighty shake, he turned, and the sleeves of the robe rolled like waves.

Like the great Dajiang rolling eastward as it departs, it draped itself over the Qin Huang's form.

It was high spirits; it was vast, heroic bearing.

"Let's go—founding the nation!"

He strode out, alone. As he walked forward, the violet-eyed strategist smiled and nodded, then fell in at his side. Yue Pengwu's expression was solemn, also in armor and battle robe, accompanying Li Guanyi as he ascended the steps step by step—the silver-haired astrologer, the young Changfeng Lady, Yan Daiqing, Wen Qingyu, Fangzi Qiao, Li Zhaowen, Yue Qianfeng, Chen Wenmian…

These people, one after another, followed behind the Qin Huang, gazing at that back.

They continued to walk forward.

They were still young, carrying a blazing fire within their hearts.

Like the great sun newly risen, blazing and radiant!

Setting out as one person, by the end there were already many, many people at his side. Li Guanyi reached the high terrace, looked ahead—the crimson Fire Qilin-patterned banners unfurling, setting the heavens and earth ablaze—and drew a deep breath, looking at the smiling faces of the common folk below, his expression gentle.

All the roads traveled, all the sights seen, all the battles fought, all the foes slain.

Those old acquaintances, one by one; those formidable enemies, one by one; those battlefields, one by one—all rolled up into the crimson flame-like great banner. The sound of the Nine Tripods rang out across every corner of the realm. The Qin Huang drew a deep breath, his voice solemn:

"Today we raise this terrace, to inform Heaven and Earth, to inform the common people."

"One realm under heaven, no more war!"

"Changing the era name—it shall be—"

"【Taiping】!"

After a single instant of breathless, deathly silence.

The sound of cheering rose in a great uproar. The peaceful, prosperous age had begun. This was certainly beautiful, but at the same time, the decay of the years also began. The Qin Huang leaned on his sword, watching the crimson great banner and flags, sleeves rolling, his expression calm and even.

He seemed to stand upon the waves of samsara.

Behind him were his comrades-in-arms, his brothers-in-arms; ahead, the flood of the realm and of the times.

Has our struggle ended?

No.

Our struggle.

Has only just begun!

(End of book)