Chapter 217: Gu Changxiao Ascends the Throne
Even before the war reached Chang’an, it was over in the suburbs.
Anyone who had witnessed the scene of the two armies clashing understood why this battle, which should have been a fight between tigers and wolves, had turned into a one-sided beating.
Because the weapons from the border city were too powerful! Seven-colored giant balls flying in the sky, fish oil burning on the river, and gunpowder that could explode inside the enemy lines.
Even their swords and armor were made of refined iron, capable of cutting through enemy swords in half with a single strike.
The armor from the border city was impervious to arrows, and swords left no marks.
More importantly, it was the morale. The entire border army was united, advancing like a broken bamboo.
Prince Yu’s morale had long since scattered. Duke Shen kept talking about the gentry sharing the same interests, but they had no intention of surrendering to King Li. Instead, they were planning their escape.
They had no will to fight, only wanting to save their lives. As long as they could escape back to their hometowns, or even head south, there was a glimmer of hope.
Only Duke Shen truly risked his life to protect Prince Yu. Even the Lin family wanted to escape, because only he was completely tied to Prince Yu’s interests.
And those completely abandoned by Prince Yu’s faction – public opinion. In their eyes, public opinion was insignificant. Yet, all the people of Chang’an supported King Li.
And those who hadn’t fled, the minor gentry, officials, and powerful people, had been tortured by the Hu people, and it was King Li who saved them.
It can be said that even if Gu Changxiao had not left Chang’an, but waited in the city for Prince Yu’s army to arrive.
He would not have lost. The entire Chang’an city was firmly in his grasp. It would have been impossible for Prince Yu to think that as soon as he returned to the city, with a single command, the city gates would open to welcome him, the true Crown Prince, back.
If Prince Yu fled to Shu Province, it might take some effort to kill him. It’s not that he couldn’t be killed; even if he established a kingdom in Shu Province, the Black Feather Army could still reach Shu Province.
Unfortunately, under Duke Shen’s guidance, he was too arrogant, too proud, and too self-righteous. He hadn’t even recovered from the shock, hadn’t even realized how he had lost, before Han Xing killed him.
Duke Shen didn’t even have time to shout “King Li killed his brother” to try and morally blackmail them.
With Prince Yu’s death, many gentry surrendered. Only then did everyone realize that King Li’s methods were different from before.
If he had acted in his style as Crown Prince, he would have accepted their surrender, prioritizing the bigger picture and trying to avoid further internal strife.
But now, he accepted the surrender of the soldiers and minor officials from the bottom level. However, the main branches of the powerful gentry were all executed for treason and abandoning the city to the enemy.
Of course, some gentry immediately rebelled, wanting to escape together. They couldn’t fight, so they could only seek to flee.
As a result, they were all wiped out by Han Xing’s troops. Not only were the main branches of those trying to escape killed, but their entire clans were also annihilated.
In this way, for the gentry who wanted to escape, their collateral branches would hear about it and report them.
In short, for the next month, people were beheaded daily at the Vegetable Market Mouth in Chang’an. The land reform, which had not yet been implemented in the border city, was carried out in Chang’an with extremely brutal methods.
King Li, while burying the Emperor, reclaimed the land of the gentry. All land belonging to gentry, powerful people, and officials who abandoned the city and fled during the Hu invasion was confiscated and returned to the state. It was then organized into counties, towns, and townships, and distributed to the people.
If there weren’t many registered farmers, the previous tenant farmers would be reclassified from slave status to farmer status. Some registered laborers could also take this opportunity to change to farmer status. For those of slave status who were not tenant farmers, their redemption conditions were relaxed, and they could also be reclassified as farmers and receive land.
Because land reform was only temporarily implemented in Chang’an, it gave the local gentry the illusion that “Chang’an had continuously suffered foreign invasions and internal strife, forcing King Li to carry out land reform.”
Although the local gentry sent people to inquire repeatedly, there was no rebellion yet.
Of course, Gu Changxiao was not afraid of any rebellion. Currently, with the military strength of the Black Feather Camp and the large-scale weapon supplies from Jin Sui, any rebellion could be suppressed.
Gu Changxiao just didn’t want the internal strife to last too long, as it would cause many civilian casualties. They were all his people, and he felt pain for every one of them who died.
Hei Hu had gone to pursue the enemy and had not yet returned. News came from the Northwest Borderlands that General Hei Hu had pursued the enemy all the way past Yumenguan, rescuing tens of thousands of people who had been captured and enslaved. They were currently being sent back to Chang’an by the Northwest Army.
However, after resupplying at the Northwest Borderlands, General Hei Hu continued to pursue the enemy, with the momentum to chase them to their lair and flatten all thirty-six countries of the Western Regions.
Gu Changxiao immediately wrote to Jin Sui, asking him to send a batch of supplies and reinforcements to Hei Hu from the border city. As long as Hei Hu wanted to pursue, he could, and it didn’t matter if he turned the Western Regions upside down.
This time, they must break the backbone of the Hu people, so that they would not dare to set foot in Great Xia for a hundred years!
Gu Changxiao was fortunate that it was Hei Hu pursuing the enemy and not Han Xing, because Han Xing knew when to advance and retreat and would consider other factors. But our Hei Hu wouldn’t; he had a single obsession, a single-mindedness.
They must kill all the Hu people!
Simply put, our Han Xing is smart, while Hei Hu, you can’t call him stupid, that’s called simple stubbornness. He received the order to hunt down the Hu people, so if the Hu people aren’t wiped out, he naturally can’t turn back.
When Jin Sui received the letter, Baozhu happened to be by her side. Baozhu was one month pregnant and wanted to ask if she should tell Hei Hu now.
Jin Sui felt both sympathy and affection. Before, when Hei Hu went to the Northern Frontier, Baozhu had been married and worried day and night that Hei Hu wouldn’t return.
If the two of them were to achieve their happily ever after, and she was already pregnant, with Hei Hu gone, he wouldn’t return for at least two or three years.
She thought for a moment and said, “You should tell Hei Hu! Otherwise, when he comes back and sees a child who is several years old, how surprised he’ll be!”
Thus, she sent someone to deliver weapons to Hei Hu and, at the same time, informed him of Baozhu’s pregnancy. Fearing that Hei Hu would not return if he didn’t finish killing the Hu people, she thoughtfully told him that he could scout the routes first, and they would bring more troops to kill them next time.
With Prince Yu and the Emperor both dead, when the news of King Li’s entry into Chang’an reached the border city. Jin Sui truly experienced the feeling of one person achieving success.
The attitude of the officials and gentry of all sixteen prefectures of Yandi towards the border city changed drastically!
Even Jiang Nansheng, a general whom she had wounded, personally came to offer congratulations. He wasn’t congratulating King Li in Chang’an, but specifically came to the border city to congratulate her, King Li’s fiancée.
It seemed he knew she was the fake King Li and that she was the one who had wounded him, and he was afraid King Li would settle accounts after the autumn harvest, so he came to show his stance.
Jin Sui didn’t even see him. All those who came from the imperial court were received by Li Heng, which made Li Heng extremely happy.
After being a fence-sitter for so many years, he never expected to finally stand firm on the fence. He was, after all, considered one of Miss Ji’s confidants, and such important matters were entrusted to him.
As for the visitors from the gentry, they were received by Yan Jiu. Jin Sui had already told Yan Jiu that implementing land reform nationwide was inevitable, and he had better make plans early.
Yan Jiu smiled and said that land reform would not have much impact on the Yan family, as the Yan family was mainly involved in trade with the Northern Frontier and maritime trade. The economic output from land was not that high anyway.
As for Jin Sui herself, the academy could continue to be built, and firearms production would still be accelerated. Gu Changxiao was always facing battles, and one more piece of gunpowder could save many soldiers’ lives.
She was still waiting for Gu Changxiao’s letter, a letter asking her to come to Chang’an.
But this letter never came. She waited so long that even Yan Twelve looked at her with pity. No one said anything, but everyone had this thought in their hearts.
King Li was ascending the throne in Chang’an, would he not intend to marry Jin Sui?
After all, Jin Sui’s status and background were not enough to qualify her as Empress.
Being the consort of a fallen prince was different from being an Empress.
Even Grandpa Ling asked three divination questions a day, asking who his granddaughter would marry.
Although the answer to every divination was “noble beyond compare,” Grandpa Ling was still uneasy because Gu Changxiao’s letter hadn’t arrived.
Grandpa Ling also told Jin Sui to take the initiative and ask, “Ask His Highness, when are we returning to Chang’an?”
Jin Sui shook her head. “Haven’t all those rebellious gentry and powerful people been killed yet? If we go, won’t we be the Prince’s weakness?”
Jin An quietly asked her in private, “Sister, what if the Prince says he won’t let you be Empress, but only a consort?”
Jin Sui smiled and said, “Then I won’t go to Chang’an. Isn’t it good for me to stay at the academy as the dean? Why would I go to Chang’an to be a consort in those four walls?”
Jin An was greatly surprised. “But, but don’t you like the Prince very much? Aren’t you deeply in love?”
Jin Sui patted his head and said sincerely, “Love is very important, and I admit that there are many people in this world who would give up everything for love, even their lives, dignity, and freedom.
But that doesn’t include your sister! I am willing to marry Gu Changxiao and be his legal wife. If he breaks his promise, then I would rather not marry anyone than be a concubine!”
“Is a consort a concubine?”
“Silly, besides the legal wife, no matter how nice the title sounds, it’s still a concubine!”
“What about Lord Yan? If the Prince breaks his promise, will Sister marry Lord Yan? Lord Yan would definitely be willing to marry Sister as his legal wife. Actually, we all know that Lord Yan likes Sister.”
Jin Sui shook her head. “That would be too unfair to Lord Yan!”
She flicked Jin An’s forehead again. “You kid, instead of studying and practicing martial arts, you’re gossiping about me? Your sister has so many things to do, and I have many dreams yet to be fulfilled! It would be even better if I didn’t get married!”
This was her true feeling. Marrying Gu Changxiao was about sharing the same aspirations, having common goals and dreams. But if it really involved other things, like mismatched social status, or him marrying a noble lady as Empress while she could be a noble consort.
Bah! Who cares!
I’ll be the dean at the border city! If Gu Changxiao truly uses his imperial power to make it impossible for me to be the dean, then I’ll go out to sea and become an island owner, with the goal of destroying the “little days” and developing maritime trade as my lifelong pursuit, rather than being a consort in the palace.
She loved Gu Changxiao, but she loved freedom even more!
Those who were observing from the border city and those who worried about Jin Sui did not have to wait too long.
Soon, an imperial decree spread throughout the land, and of course, it reached the border city. The reason why King Li had not yet ascended the throne in Chang’an, and why he had not sent anyone to bring Jin Sui back to Chang’an, were all revealed.
He was going to relocate the capital to the border city!
That’s right, Gu Changxiao intended to make the border city the imperial capital, and Chang’an, like Luocheng, would henceforth only be an old capital.
Relocating the capital was a major event, usually requiring years of discussion. However, the situation this time was different. Those in the imperial court who had the right to object had all gone to the Yellow Springs with Prince Yu.
King Li displayed his iron-fisted approach. Even if he were called a tyrant, it would not change his decision.
All the gentry and powerful people who deserved to be killed had been executed. Although Chang’an was a good city, the incident of the Hu people entering the city showed that it was no longer suitable as the capital.
Moreover, Jin Sui had once said that Chang’an had been the capital for a thousand years, leading to excessive deforestation of surrounding trees, and the land had gradually become barren. The grain yield was insufficient to support the capital of a nation, and its economic and geographical advantages had been lost with the increase in population.
Furthermore, it was not adjacent to the sea. If we wanted to develop maritime trade in the future, the capital should be close to the sea. Also, it had too few passes, making it too easy for enemies to breach, whether facing the Western Regions or the Northern Frontier.
She had once jokingly said that if Gu Changxiao had the ability in the future, he could relocate the capital to the border city. Despite it being a cold and harsh land in the Northern Frontier, it was actually more suitable as the capital.
Because this was the gateway to the nation, and the Son of Heaven guarded the nation’s gate!
Sometimes Jin Sui would casually say things, and she would forget them herself, but she didn’t know that every word was remembered by Gu Changxiao.
Gu Changxiao sometimes felt that her words, in some mysterious way, carried divine will. She was a person favored by the gods, she just didn’t realize how important her identity was.
Gu Changxiao had been contemplating the relocation of the capital. Even when Cheng Yu was planning the construction of the inner city of the border city, Gu Changxiao had him reserve land for the construction of the imperial palace.
This was why Jin Sui was so surprised back then. The border city was built too large, and it seemed like it could be expanded in all directions at any time, with a sense of being accessible everywhere and having infinite expansion potential.
Along with the imperial decree, Gu Changxiao also sent a letter to Jin Sui to the border city.
Only Jin Sui could read it, and after reading it, her face turned red.
Because it was written: “I know Sui Sui doesn’t like Chang’an, so I won’t marry Sui Sui to Chang’an, but instead, I will go to the border city, to the city you personally built, and we will get married there.
You will be my Empress, my only, unique, wife for this lifetime!”
Grandpa Ling was curious. “What did His Highness say?”
Jin Sui quickly put away the letter and whispered, “Nothing much, just to prepare ourselves, he’s bringing officials to relocate the capital to the border city.”
Grandpa Ling gasped. Jin Sui thought he was worried about something, but he said, “Quickly have someone fence off our Taoist temple and academy, and absolutely don’t let the imperial court snatch the land away!”
Jin Sui chuckled. “The border city is huge! The Northern Frontier is full of wasteland, where would they snatch our little bit of land!”
Grandpa Ling said anxiously, “What if others don’t snatch it, but the Imperial Observatory does?”
Jin Sui patted her chest. “I guarantee that no one will snatch your Taoist temple! If they do, your granddaughter will bring firearms and snatch it back!”
Grandpa then smiled and said, “That’s not necessary! But our Taoist temple should be built more grandly.”
Amusingly, the people of Yanzhou were even more excited than the people of the border city. “The border city is so small, and to become the capital, Yanzhou City will have to be merged. I never thought that after being a border prefecture city for so many years, Yanzhou would become the capital!”
Yan Jiu came to discuss with Jin Sui. “Did His Highness say anything about merging Yanzhou?”
Jin Sui shook her head. “Not yet, but I think it will be merged sooner or later. Lord Yan should make plans early.
Don’t worry, the relocation won’t be that fast. His Highness will definitely ascend the throne in Chang’an first, and it will take at least a year to relocate the capital.”
Even if the Prince’s Residence was used as the imperial palace, it would need to be expanded. It seemed her Ji Residence would become a certain hall.
Just as Jin Sui had predicted, Gu Changxiao soon ascended the throne in Chang’an. Because a nation cannot be without a ruler for a day, he had only delayed his enthronement until the full mourning period of five sevens, which was thirty-five days after the former Emperor’s death.
Jin Sui did not go to Chang’an to attend the new Emperor’s enthronement ceremony. However, Grandpa Ling and Jin An were escorted by Li Heng, and Yan Jiu represented the gentry of Yandi, all attending the enthronement ceremony.
