Chapter 853
Chen Jie: There are realms beyond the terrestrial immortals!
"Your Majesty, today our Han Dynasty is prosperous and its people are wealthy, and its army is strong and its horses are powerful. If we do not expand our territory, future generations will surely laugh at us as cowardly rats. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to consider the future generations and send troops to punish the rebels, so that all sides will submit and return to our Han territory."
After saying this, Chen Xiaohu immediately knelt down, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject requests to fight!"
Upon hearing Chen Xiaohu's words, Zhang Dingbian and the other military officers all stood up and knelt on the ground.
"We request permission to fight!"
Chen Jie looked at the military commanders in the arena: Duke Zhang Dingbian of Wei, Duke Chen Xiaohu of Chu, Duke Xu Da of Zhao, Duke Ding Pulang of Liang, Duke Shi Gengming of Yue, and three marquises behind them: Marquis Fu Youde of Changping, Marquis Feng Sheng of Wu'an, and Marquis Wang Baobao of Wuyang.
The leaders of the empire's seven main legions are all kneeling here, wanting to start a war.
Chen Jie did not readily agree, but instead looked at the civil officials beside him. At this moment, a group of people emerged from the civil officials' ranks, led by Hu Weiyong, the Chancellor of the Great Han Dynasty.
Hu Weiyong knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I request permission to fight."
Following closely behind, the ministers of various departments stepped forward one by one to request permission to fight Chen Jie. Even Liu Bowen, who was known for his stubbornness, came over to request permission to fight.
It seems there's no reason not to fight.
Looking at the crowd of people volunteering for the fight, Su Yunjin couldn't help but say, "Our Han people are all radicals! Even Mr. Liu has become a radical."
Zhao Ya said, "Hehe, I'm a conservative."
"You're conservative?"
"Yes, I think the radicals are not radical enough."
Zhao Ya smiled playfully, Su Yunjin shook her head, and Chen Jie, seeing the state of the court officials, knew that his goal had been achieved. However, a warlike ruler has always been a major taboo, so he had to make it as obvious as possible that he did not want to be one.
At this point, Chen Jie said, "But war may not be a blessing for the people. I am the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty. I should think about the people, not about conquest."
Chen Jie's words were a signal. Everyone had already seen Chen Jie's attitude, but he pretended not to care. Now he was trying to act as if he was considering the people's interests.
Will Chen Jiu Si consider the well-being of all people?
The answer is yes, Chen Jiu Si is definitely thinking of all living beings, but Chen Jie will not give up his own goal just because he is thinking of all living beings. His goal is to unify the foreign tribes and become the king of the whole world.
He was very clear about this goal and had mentioned it more than once.
Therefore, everyone present could understand that Chen Jie's words were mostly excuses and empty promises. There was nothing they could do about it; after all, the emperor's every word and action was recorded by historians.
If Chen Jie had readily agreed, how would the historians have recorded it? What if Chen Jie had first appealed to the people, then been persuaded by the officials, and finally reluctantly agreed to send troops? What a scene that would have been!
At this moment, Chen Jie appeared to be acting as if he were concerned for the country and its people.
All the officials knew the truth, but the first to speak was Li Shanchang, the Minister of Revenue.
Because of his status as a surrendered official, this Earl of Jiading always took the lead in his work. Although he was one of the older officials, he was always at the forefront. He was a smart man and knew that his relationship with the emperor was not good as a surrendered official.
He wasn't as close to the emperor's former officials, so sometimes he couldn't hesitate about things that others could. He had to immediately show his resolve to stand with His Majesty.
Thinking this, Li Shanchang said, "Your Majesty, you must not think like that. In the past five years, Your Majesty has worked hard to govern the country and eliminated long-standing problems. Under your rule, the people are prosperous and every household is living happily. According to our Ministry of Revenue's statistics, the population is growing rapidly."
"According to Your Majesty's order, land will be allocated to anyone who gives birth. At the current rate, there will definitely not be enough land in our country to distribute in less than twenty years. At that time, the people will have to live a hard life. But if Your Majesty can expand the territory, the people can continue to obtain land and continue to live in peace and prosperity."
"Therefore, it is not Your Majesty's fault to wage wars abroad, but rather a pioneering achievement for the rejuvenation of the nation, a feat that emperors throughout history have dreamed of accomplishing."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "But I have a sense of righteousness in my heart, and we cannot kill foreign people at will."
Upon hearing this, a man stepped forward. It was Sixi. Sixi said, “Your Majesty, I am in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Recently, I read the reports of border officials. They said that foreign nobles do not value human life. They slaughter the people, which is unforgivable. Many people have come to our Han Dynasty to seek protection.”
"Border officials wrote a letter saying that these people pleaded with the Heavenly Army to come and help them drive away the jackals, as they desperately wanted to become subjects of the Great Han."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Sixi, who had spoken, and said, "These are the words of the common people."
Si Xi then said with great certainty, "I can find the memorial mentioned by the official over there right now, and it is all true."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie replied, "There's no need for that trouble."
Si Xi lowered his head, knowing in his heart that there was no memorial at all; it was all fabricated by him. The border official reported that foreign people often came to the Han people's area to steal things and demanded severe punishment, but it was not wrong for him to ask His Majesty to go and rescue them.
As long as we incorporate foreign territories into the Han territory, our policies will be enough to save the people of that region.
So Si Xi is doing something truly meritorious.
After Si Xi finished speaking, another official chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, foreign peoples are also people; they need us to go and save them!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "This..."
At this moment, the Grand Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, Duke of Jing, Hu Weiyong, knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty."
Chen Jie then looked at Hu Weiyong, knowing that the Prime Minister was about to do something big. He looked at Hu Weiyong and asked, "Prime Minister Hu, do you have anything to say?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Weiyong said, "Your Majesty, the ministers have already expressed their thoughts in detail, so I would also like to offer a few words of advice."
"Your Majesty, throughout history, China has not always been bullied. Why? Because the rulers of the past only had the mindset of maintaining the status quo and had a clear understanding of the country's borders. This meant that while they could manage crises brewing within the country, they could not manage crises abroad."
"This is why dynasties fell one after another, the Five Barbarian Invasions, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties. All of these tell us one thing: there must be no foreign tribes outside our borders!"
"As long as there are foreign tribes, our Chinese nation cannot farm properly and live a good life."
"Therefore, we must fight this war until there are no other ethnic groups around us. Otherwise, no matter how stable our country is now, it will become unstable in the future."
"Our battle is not an invasion, but a defense of our homeland. Whoever prevents us from farming properly, we will plant them in the ground. This is what we should do."
"I know Your Majesty loves your people dearly and fears that others might misunderstand and say that our actions are an act of aggression. However, I implore Your Majesty:"
"I'd rather bear the infamy of aggression for a lifetime than let my descendants enjoy happiness for generations to come. This is called sinning in this generation, but meritorious for all ages!"
After saying this, Hu Weiyong knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to consider the well-being of the people and the future generations."
Good heavens! All the officials and soldiers in the audience turned to look at Hu Weiyong. As expected of the Prime Minister, his words were truly powerful. "The sins are of this generation, but the merits will last for generations"—he actually came up with that, and he even dug into the very core beliefs of the Chinese people. Which of the older generation of Chinese could resist the phrase "for the sake of the children"?
Yes, for the sake of future generations, we should bear some infamy.
Thus, historical records state: On the first day of the first month of the fifth year of Tianwu, the emperor held a banquet for his ministers. In the midst of the banquet, the ministers requested permission to fight. The emperor, mindful of the hardships faced by the people and their suffering, hesitated.
The emperor wavered slightly after being advised by his ministers. Grand Chancellor Hu Weiyong submitted a memorial saying: "I would rather bear the infamy of this generation than fail to bring blessings to my descendants for generations to come. This is a crime committed in this era, but a merit that will last for thousands of years."
The emperor then granted his request, and the entire army prepared for war!
This is the most important chapter in the "Annals of Emperor Taizu". After this chapter, the entire Han Dynasty became a nightmare that the whole world could not shake off, and everyone's beloved father.
The banquet has ended.
Chen Jie left the main hall with the help of Su Yunjin and Zhao Ya. By this time, the ministers had long lost their appetite for drinking and were now arguing about sealing the wolf's lair and watering their horses on the banks of the Onon River.
Upon hearing the ministers' opinions, Chen Jie's lips curled slightly upward. These people were still limited by their thinking, engaging in petty squabbles.
At this moment, Zhao Ya said to Chen Jie, "Husband, your conversation has made my blood boil. Could you also give me an army? I also want to conquer the Xiongnu and drink from the banks of the Onon River."
Chen Jie said, "You, a herdsman of Lan, what are you doing sealing off Langjuxu Mountain? Besides, you're newly pregnant, how can you easily make a move?"
Zhao Ya said, "Husband, I have given birth to two more sons for you in the past five years. I feel that I can't keep having children like this."
Chen Jie said, "That won't do. Didn't I show you the world map the other day?"
“In the future, we will conquer all these places and let our sons become emperors in those places. That way, we won’t have to worry about not having enough people to go around on my throne.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya said, "You should encourage Sister Su to have more children too."
Su Yunjin replied, "I... I have done my best. In these five years, I have given birth to a son and a daughter for my husband."
Chen Jie said, "Including Wan'er's son, we only have six sons. This number is far from enough."
"Moreover, not just my son can become the ruler. He has to go through training first. Only those who are qualified can become the ruler, and those who are not qualified can only be idle princes."
As Chen Jie spoke, Su Yunjin looked at him and said, "Your Majesty, if it really doesn't work, let's select some concubines for you. That way, we can have more men to carry on the family line."
Zhao Ya replied, "Well, that's fine too."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at the two women and said, "What do you take me for? A breeding machine? I don't want a single woman without feelings."
Chen explained, "Actually, it's enough. Let's take it slow. If it really doesn't work, let my grandsons become emperors. I can afford to wait."
As Chen Jie said this, he immediately added, "Come, accompany me back to the palace to see Li'er and the others. I haven't seen them recently."
Su Yunjin said, "By the way, Your Majesty, tomorrow is the sacred festival. Why don't we take the children to see it?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Alright, since we have nothing to do tomorrow and the military meeting is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, let's go see the Holy Sacrifice tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, both Su Yunjin and Zhao Ya replied, "Okay."
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, countless people had already gathered at the Holy Emperor Square in Kyoto. Today was the nationally designated day for the Holy Emperor's worship. As for who the Holy Emperor was, it was naturally Chen Jie himself.
This is Chen Jie's arrangement of the incense and sacred path.
The process of collecting incense offerings was transformed into a festival, and it was directly mandated that the entire country conduct sacrifices to the Holy Emperor. Under Chen Jie's plan, countless statues of Chen Jie, large and small, were erected throughout the country.
Furthermore, the local government needs to maintain the statue regularly to ensure its sanctity.
Furthermore, temples were forcibly built in all temples across the country, with statues of Chen Jie erected there for people to worship.
After five years of development, the sacred ceremony has become quite successful. On this day, the imperial court would spend money to invite opera troupes to perform under the sacred statue. After the performance, a large-scale sacrificial ceremony involving 100,000 people would be held.
These are all included in the itinerary.
This day can be said to be the most lively day in the country.
Chen Jie believes that through his efforts in spreading the word, over ten, twenty, or thirty years, this will gradually become a fixed festival, and then he will not lack offerings.
"Father, there are so many people."
At this moment, Chen Jie held Chen Li's hand in one hand and Chen Wen's hand in the other. Behind them were people disguised as guards, and the nannies were also holding Chen Jie's children.
Three women followed behind her. Su Yunjin remained dignified and proper, dressed in ordinary women's clothes, yet her charm was undeniable.
Chen Jie spent the most time with Su Yunjin, and recently, as his cultivation level increased, he discovered that Su Yunjin seemed to have a very peculiar power within her. This power was initially very small, but when she was with Chen Jie, it would absorb the dragon energy from Chen Jie's body, transform it, and then feed it back to Chen Jie.
This made Chen Jie's dragon energy even purer, and even more miraculously, the power within Su Yunjin's body also quietly grew stronger.
Although Su Yunjin doesn't practice martial arts now, the power within her body is already comparable to that of a martial artist in the Dragon Realm.
This is very peculiar, as neither Zhao Ya nor Huang Wan'er possessed it.
Huang Wan'er's attire at this time made her look elegant and wealthy, while Zhao Ya was wearing a martial arts uniform and looked like a martial arts practitioner.
They stood there in Holy Emperor Square, watching people come and go, observing all walks of life, which was quite interesting.
At this moment, Chen Jie's eldest daughter, Chen Luoning, ran over and said, "Father, look, the ceremony is about to begin."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone saw the crowd in the square gather around the statue of the Holy Emperor. Then, under the direction of the high priest in official robes, a group of people slowly knelt down and kowtowed to the statue.
Five-year-old Chen Wen asked, "Brother, should we kneel too?"
Chen Li then spoke up, "Why are you kneeling? That statue is our father."
"Father!"
Chen Li looked up and saw Chen Jie standing there in a daze.
At this moment, Chen Jie was also quite surprised, because he discovered that his spirit had actually left his body, and he was now attached to the statue. When he opened his eyes, he felt as if he were looking down upon all living beings through the statue—this was too amazing! (End of this chapter)