Chapter 237: World Map
The Emperor also had a wedding leave, and the court was adjourned for three days. During these three days, he stayed in the Empress’s palace for meals and lodging, and then moved back to his own palace. Jin Sui joked that others had honeymoons after marriage, but they only had three days.
They truly had three days of sweetness, not even leaving the palace gates. They strolled around the Imperial Palace, familiarizing themselves with the harem. Many places were designed by Jin Sui, but she hadn’t seen them after they were built.
In the evenings, they actively performed another grand ceremony, the Rites of Zhou. Jin Sui’s small kitchen in the palace was busy boiling hot water for these three days; it was used for tea during the day and for after-activities at night.
Fortunately, Jin Sui had excellent physical fitness. Any delicate young lady would not have been able to withstand Gu Changxiao’s vigor at night.
Gu Changxiao’s way of expressing affection was by giving gifts. He took Jin Sui to the private treasury, where treasures collected by the royal family for generations were kept. Whatever Jin Sui fancied, he would move to the Empress’s palace.
Jin Sui didn’t like using old items; she simply appreciated them. Then she thought, “I can use them outside the palace too, right?”
Gu Changxiao smiled and said, “Of course! It’s a gift for Sui Sui, you can use it wherever you want, or even give it to someone else.”
Jin Sui planned to move some ancient items with a long history to the Academy to establish a small museum there.
After giving gifts, Gu Changxiao looked at Jin Sui expectantly and whispered, “I want something made by Sui Sui’s own hands.”
So, he still remembered the tea set Jin Sui gave to Yan Jiu! How could a dignified emperor be so petty?
Jin Sui then presented him with a gift she had prepared for a long time, taking him to her study: “Don’t be too surprised!”
Gu Changxiao laughed, “There is nothing in this world that can surprise me anymore!”
Then Jin Sui took out a globe. Gu Changxiao’s surprise wasn’t a shout, but his eyes widened, and he stared at the globe for a full quarter of an hour without reacting.
Jin Sui waved her hand in front of his eyes, “Give me some reaction! Are you stunned?”
When Jing Ke presented the map back then, King Qin probably had this reaction.
Gu Changxiao carefully turned the globe around three times, and pointed at the territory of Great Xia in disbelief, “Great Xia is only this small?”
“My empire is only this small?”
At this moment, Gu Changxiao understood the frog in the well. He wouldn’t doubt the authenticity of this map if someone else presented it, but since it was from Jin Sui, he didn’t doubt it at all.
“So that’s why the navigation chart Jin Sui gave to the Yan family was so detailed!”
“Yes, look, this ocean current, these islands. Of course, there are some discrepancies in certain places; they need to be investigated in person to know for sure.”
Gu Changxiao pondered and asked, “So you haven’t been to these places?”
Jin Sui chuckled, “I’m not Tang Sanzang. Even Tang Sanzang only traveled from the Thirty-Six Countries of the Western Regions to Tianzhu. I told you, when I had a high fever in the Taoist temple as a child, I went to a special study, and there was this world map.”
“I also doubted the authenticity of this map before, but according to the news brought back by the Yan family’s fleet, the places they investigated are consistent with this map, which is why I am sure it is real.”
“The world, the world. For generations, rulers have believed they possessed the world, and all that the sun shines upon and the rivers reach is Han territory. Little do they know that our empire is merely a corner of the East in the grand scheme of the world.”
“If King Qin had this map, who knows where the Great Qin iron cavalry would have marched? If Emperor Wu of Han had this map, who knows where the Great Han lions would have roared? Now, I present this map to Your Majesty, wanting to tell you only one thing.”
Seeing her speak so solemnly, Gu Changxiao knew Jin Sui was serious. He tidied his robes and sat up straight, looking at Jin Sui attentively.
“The world is vast, and Your Majesty has many things to do. Internal strife, harsh governance, land reform, commercial law, maritime trade, etc., all seem so insignificant in comparison.
Your vision should be long-term, not limited by immediate petty gains. I ask Your Majesty, seeing such a vast land, don’t you want to plant the banner of our Great Xia in all these territories?
Don’t you want these people to know about the great and prosperous nation of Great Xia in the East? Don’t you want to spread our national prestige? Don’t you want to benefit all people? Don’t you want to spread our Han culture, Han characters, and Han customs? Don’t you want all the small countries to respect Great Xia as the celestial empire?”
Gu Changxiao took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. In a short moment, the aura around his eyes changed. The goals he had set for his ambitions a quarter of an hour ago now seemed too small.
The world is so big!
Let’s put it this way, no emperor could refuse the temptation of this map. This gift from Jin Sui made Gu Changxiao more excited than pacifying the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi!
He suddenly stepped forward and hugged Jin Sui, saying from the bottom of his heart, “Sui Sui, you are truly my lucky star! No, my Empress, you are the lucky star of Great Xia, the lucky star of all people in the world!”
Jin Sui chuckled, “Then we, husband and wife, will work together to make our Great Xia a truly number one power in the world.”
Everyone was rushing to give gifts, and after Jin Sui gave Gu Changxiao a grand gift that captivated him, he received another grand gift from Han Xing the next day.
During the morning court, Gu Changxiao announced that the Prince of Runan in Chang’an and twelve aristocratic clans had jointly rebelled, intending to attack the Capital City during the Emperor and Empress’s wedding.
All the officials’ hearts were in their throats; they had received no news of such a major event.
Then Gu Changxiao announced the outcome: this plot was foiled by General Han in Chang’an, who killed three thousand traitorous officials and rebels. Their property and businesses were confiscated, and their slaves, tenant farmers, and retainers were all exiled to the borderlands, totaling fifty thousand people.
Gu Changxiao sneered, “It seems the comprehensive population census was not thorough enough to allow for fifty thousand private slaves!”
Subsequently, Gu Changxiao dispatched officials from the Ministry of Revenue to conduct another comprehensive census. The previous one was a written survey; this time it was a physical inspection. Anyone found harboring slaves would be severely punished.
In the past, during rebellions, these people would have been implicated and beheaded. History records many rebellion cases where tens of thousands of people were killed at once.
However, Jin Sui suggested to Gu Changxiao that these slaves were ordered by their masters and had no idea what they were doing; they were merely coerced.
We are so short of people now! With the opening of maritime trade, workshops are so desperate for labor that they are snatching people. Killing them would be such a waste!
Only the main generals and their direct descendants should be killed, along with any who refuse to surrender. The rest can be completely divided and sent to various regions. The Northwest has been invaded by the Hu people, and the population is sparse and scattered, a time when people are desperately needed.
Lingnan is preparing to build a harbor and also needs manpower. As for Yandi, they should not be allowed to come.
Gu Changxiao agreed with Jin Sui’s suggestion, which is why he had previously issued an imperial decree to Han Xing: slaves and collateral relatives would not be killed, only direct descendants.
Chang’an had a large population, and the disappearance of tens of thousands of people would not be noticeable. However, as the daily pronouncements of guilt were read out at Vegetable Market Mouth, and the number of executions increased,
Whether they were powerful people, gentry, merchants, or ordinary citizens, they all thoroughly understood that the momentum in Chang’an was gone. This was because the people and forces that rebelled this time were the strongest that could be assembled.
Yet, they were no match for the Black Feather Army led by General Han! The main leaders, while in prison, finally realized that their secret collusion during this period had already been completely understood by General Han.
It should be said that it was completely understood by His Majesty, who even allowed them to gather their forces precisely to catch them all in one go.
Even when they were escorted to Vegetable Market Mouth for execution, they didn’t know that among them was a remnant of Prince Yu’s faction, led by Huo Zi’an.
Jin Sui laughed, saying that their Lord Niu was a very successful spy! With him in Chang’an, it was like a nail embedded in the Chang’an clique, making it impossible for them to succeed.
With Chang’an no longer able to pose a threat, some people began to actively move to the New Capital. The gentry who clung to their land missed the opportunity to join this great reform and thus became small landowners, and in a few decades, they would become farm owners.
The gentry gradually faded into mediocrity on the political stage. The court, through a method that did not involve bloodshed, completely resolved the disaster of the gentry and aristocratic clans.
Upon receiving this news, Gu Changxiao told Jin Sui that it was a waste to keep General Han and Huo Zi’an in Chang’an. He planned to wait a few months, after the rebellion in Chang’an was completely quelled, to transfer General Han back to the border city to command the navy.
Jin Sui naturally agreed. To be honest, with gunpowder on the battlefield, the stubborn factions in Chang’an would never succeed. Keeping General Han there was like assigning a fierce tiger to guard the city; it was a waste of talent.
Jin Sui immediately wrote a letter to Miss Yan, informing her of this good news, because she knew Miss Yan desperately wanted to return to the border city. She always said that Chang’an was like an old person, lacking any vitality.
Having been accustomed to the freedom of the border city, she simply couldn’t adapt to life in Chang’an.
Miss Yan’s reply arrived quickly. Not only were there express post stations along the route from Chang’an to the border city, but there were also hot air balloon bases built to prevent bad weather from obstructing travel.
These were specifically for delivering important documents, so messages between the two cities were conveyed very quickly.
When Jin Sui opened Miss Yan’s letter, she stood up in surprise. Miss Yan was pregnant!
She couldn’t wait to share the good news with Gu Changxiao: “They are too fast! Miss Yan is a year younger than me, and she’s going to be a mother soon.”
Gu Changxiao looked at Jin Sui’s flat abdomen and suddenly asked in a low voice, “Does pregnancy mean I can’t stay in the Empress’s palace?”
Jin Sui rolled her eyes at him, “What are you thinking? Of course, you can come and stay! It’s just that we can’t do ‘that’ at night.”
Gu Changxiao immediately said, “Then let’s have a child later.”
Jin Sui blushed and playfully hit him.
Then she got down to business: “Once Miss Yan’s pregnancy is stable, she must return to the border city, otherwise she’ll have to stay in Chang’an to give birth. General Han cannot be recalled first, so let the Yan family bring Miss Yan back first!”
Gu Changxiao nodded, “I will tell Yan Jiu.”
He then added, “If you’re afraid I won’t explain it clearly enough, summon Yan Shiyi to the palace and explain it to him in detail.”
Jin Sui chuckled twice, “It’s better to tell Steward Yan than Yan Shiyi! Honestly, do you really need to do this to prevent me from meeting Yan Jiu?”
Our marriage is done, and the Yan family is loyally building a harbor for you. What more are you still bothered about? You petty man!
Yan Shiyi came with Jin An. He felt it was too dangerous to enter the palace alone. Regardless of what his elder brother and younger sister thought of the Empress, or what the officials and common people thought of the Empress.
In Yan Shiyi’s eyes, Jin Sui had always been that Lord Li who snatched people from the Zheng family’s ancestral tomb, decapitated Zheng Yun, hung the bandits’ corpses in the forest to dry, and burned a city to kill the Tartar army…
Fierce, ruthless, barbaric, cruel, cunning, and unreasonable. No matter how beautiful her appearance, her heart was black. In any case, he didn’t dare to meet Jin Sui alone and couldn’t find a suitable companion.
Men were not allowed to enter the palace without an imperial decree. If he casually found a woman, he would probably have to marry her afterward. In the end, he chose a good helper, which was Jin An.
Jin Sui was very happy to see them arrive together and immediately invited them to have hot pot: “It’s too boring for His Majesty and me to eat hot pot alone.”
Yan Shiyi: … No, you’re the Empress now, why are you still so casual?
He whispered, “Your Highness, did you summon this subordinate to the palace for something?”
Jin Sui smiled, “Subordinate? You’ve become an official?”
Yan Shiyi blushed, then straightened his back and said, “His Majesty personally conferred it upon me. I am a Navy Captain!”
Jin An spoke up for Yan Shiyi, “Brother Shiyi passed the training at the recruit camp, he’s very capable!”
Gu Changxiao was paving the way for the navy in advance, likely recruiting many young masters like Yan Shiyi. Jin Sui understood and nodded.
“Congratulations, Lord Turtle! There’s nothing else to summon you to the palace for today, it’s about Miss Yan.”
Then she explained Miss Yan’s pregnancy and the Emperor’s previous arrangements for General Han. Yan Shiyi didn’t react at first until Jin An nudged him, “You’re going to be an uncle!”
Yan Shiyi touched his chin, “Uncle!” Then his eyes lit up, “I’m going to be an uncle!”
Jin Sui: … I knew I should have called Steward Yan.
However, Yan Shiyi was very concerned about his sister’s affairs. After returning to his residence, he prepared the courtyard where Miss Yan would stay and consulted an Imperial Physician about what to pay attention to during pregnancy.
There were rumors that the Yan family’s young master was going to be a father.
The good news from General Han made Gu Changxiao happy for several days. While discussions about affairs in Chang’an were still ongoing in the imperial court, another piece of good news arrived.
This was brought back by our Master Liu Yun. That’s right, Liu Yun had returned to the border city. However, seeing his senior sister become Empress, and not being able to see her without an imperial decree, made him feel very sad.
And he couldn’t understand why anyone would refuse to cultivate immortality and choose to marry instead.
Uh, as for the noble status of Empress, in Liu Yun’s opinion, it couldn’t compare to an immortal who chases the wind and the moon.
Although Liu Yun didn’t see Jin Sui, he met Gu Changxiao as soon as he returned. The news he brought back from the Northern Frontier didn’t pique Gu Changxiao’s curiosity at all.
Because Gu Changxiao knew everything. This year, to prevent Batel from smoothly taking over the entire Northern Frontier, he had used many methods to instigate the powerful figures in the Northern Frontier, causing Batel and Tuoya to still be busy reclaiming power and having no ability to cause trouble for Great Xia.
The news Liu Yun brought back that made Gu Changxiao happy was about Hei Hu. He learned from Western Regions merchants that Hei Hu, that reckless fellow, pursued the Hu army and forcefully cut through twelve countries in the Western Regions.
And he showed no signs of stopping, continuing to march westward. The merchant brought a letter written by Hei Hu and exchanged it with Liu Yun for a hundred taels of gold.
The letter was now on Gu Changxiao’s desk. He looked at Hei Hu’s dog-like handwriting and laughed heartily, truly a fierce general!
Looking at Hei Hu’s marching route on the world map, Gu Changxiao increasingly felt that Hei Hu was a lucky general. Without this map, he actually didn’t get lost in the Western Regions!
He immediately discussed with Jin Sui sending people to deliver weapons and military supplies to Hei Hu. Regardless of whether they could catch up to Hei Hu’s footsteps, at least Hei Hu wouldn’t be attacked from behind.
Jin Sui naturally agreed. At the same time, she invited Baozhu and her son to the palace to share the news about Hei Hu with Baozhu. Additionally, she wanted to ‘paint a picture’ for the mother and son to give to Hei Hu.
