The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 786 Renewal of the Era and Restoration
Five days later, Li Xiaogong received Li Yuan's order to surrender to Luo Shixin. At this time, Li Xiaogong's army had run out of food and could no longer hold out. He had no choice but to hand over his 50,000 troops to the Sui army. Li Xiaogong returned to Chang'an in dejection with dozens of his men.

On the sixth day after Chai Shao returned to Chang'an, which was the tenth day of the seventh month, Li Yuan formally stated that he accepted the third reconciliation measure of the Sui Dynasty and abandoned Chang'an.

Ten days later, Xiao Cong, entrusted by Emperor Xiao Xia, led more than twenty key officials, including Cui Hongzhou, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Wei Zheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Li Min, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, to Chang'an to officially take over the city.

Emperor Xiao Xia simultaneously appointed Cui Hongzhou as the garrison commander of Xijing and Li Min as the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Xiao Cong and Li Yuan had a very good personal relationship, and Li Yuan specially invited Xiao Cong to his study and entertained him with wine.

"Is Uncle De all ready?"

Li Yuan nodded. "My family consists of over two hundred people, plus more than 1,300 warriors and retainers, and over seventy subordinates and their families, as well as over sixty artisans and their families, making the total number around two thousand."

Xiao Cong smiled slightly and said, "The Emperor has instructed that you may bring three times the total number of soldiers and armor. You can bring six thousand sets of soldiers and armor, which is enough to establish a country in Ceylon. In addition, the Emperor will send you some ships."

What is Ceylon like?

"I heard the Emperor say that Ceylon is an island nation, shaped like a chicken egg, and larger than Guanzhong. In addition, there is Shangluo County. The climate is hot and rainy, the land is fertile, and crops can be harvested three times a year. The population is over one million. They are Buddhist and have a gentle nature. To its north, across a strait, lies the continent of India. India is a peninsula, with an area equivalent to 30% of the Sui Dynasty. The population is over ten million, but it is said that their military strength is extremely low. One of our Sui Dynasty soldiers can fight ten of them."

Li Yuan then asked, "Does Ceylon have any historical records?"

Xiao Cong nodded. "Our historical records refer to it as the Lion Kingdom or the Sinhala Kingdom. Faxian, a high-ranking official of the Jin Dynasty, even traveled there."

"So this is the Lion Country!"

Li Yuan suddenly realized, "I've heard that the area is rich in gemstones!"

"That's right, that's the place. You can find Faxian's 'Record of Buddhist Kingdoms' there, which will give you a general understanding of the local customs and culture."

"Thank you, Brother Xiao. I feel a little more confident now."

At the same moment that Li Yuan and Xiao Cong were having their conversation, Li Jiancheng was also hosting a banquet for his friend Li Min in an elegant room on the third floor of the Xiao Qingmei Restaurant in Pingkangfang, Chang'an.

Seeing that Li Jiancheng was somewhat downcast, Li Min smiled and comforted him, saying, "You should think about it. If you choose the second option and are willing to become commoners, you will be sent to the wild and uncivilized land of Lingnan. You will have no hope of returning to Luoyang or Chang'an for the rest of your life, and you will be bullied by the local chieftains. What's the difference between staying in the sparsely populated Lingnan and going overseas?"
More importantly, going overseas allows you to establish your own nation. Not every aristocratic family has the opportunity to build a country abroad. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; if you give it up, your descendants will regret it for generations to come.

Li Jiancheng sighed, "It's just that I'm too far from my homeland, and it's hard to ease my homesickness!"

“That’s not necessarily true. In the future, when the population of the Great Sui Dynasty increases to fifty million households and the shipbuilding industry develops rapidly, it will definitely expand overseas in large numbers. You will see large ships full of immigrant families arriving in Ceylon. When there are more and more Han Chinese in Ceylon, this foreign land will become their homeland.” Li Jiancheng drank his wine in one gulp. “At that time, will the Great Sui Dynasty annex us again?”

Li Min paused for a moment and said, "Before leaving, the Emperor asked me to tell you and your father that in the future, the Sui Dynasty will have more than one vassal state overseas. Your Li Kingdom and your Tang Kingdom will also be included. As long as you adhere to the principle of establishing a country without claiming the title of emperor, your kingdom can continue for a thousand years. However, if you claim the title of emperor, the Emperor will definitely let another family replace you. Establishing a country without claiming the title of emperor is the foundation of establishing a country overseas, and it must not be shaken."

Li Jiancheng nodded. "I understand. I hope that one day we can meet again!"

Li Min raised her glass and smiled, "Even if we can't meet again, our children will surely reunite in our place!"

On July 20th, Li Yuan's family, along with over two thousand subordinates, soldiers, and artisans, departed Chang'an aboard two hundred large ships, heading towards Luoyang along the Wei River.

On the third day of the eighth month, Li Yuan met with the emperor in Luoyang. Xiao Xia officially conferred upon Li Yuan the title of Prince of Ceylon and appointed Li Yuan's sixteen-year-old daughter, Li Yilan, as a Zhaoyi (a high-ranking concubine).

On the tenth day of the eighth month, Li Yuan and his party of more than two thousand people sailed south. They first went to Jiangdu, and then changed to sea ships to go to Nanhai County. In mid-September, the Sui Dynasty's navy of three thousand men escorted a fleet of more than three hundred giant sea ships and left Panyu Port in a grand manner to the South Seas.

Of this massive contingent, Li Yuan's two thousand-plus men comprised only thirty of the ten-thousand-stone ships; the rest were merchant vessels, half of which were en route to the Abbasid Caliphate for trade.

In early November, Li Yuan's army, after a grueling four-month journey, finally arrived in Ceylon.

The Sui army peacefully took over Chang'an, which meant that the Sui Dynasty had reunified the country. In September, Xiao Xia came to Chang'an to inspect the city, paid homage to his grandfather Yang Jian's Tai Mausoleum, issued an edict to grant amnesty to the world, and changed the era name to Zhongxing. This year is known in history as the first year of Zhongxing.

However, the restoration of the dynasty could not be achieved simply by changing the reign title; the imperial court needed to do many things in a down-to-earth manner.

That morning, the Council of State Affairs held a meeting to discuss tax reform. This was an extremely important meeting, and the draft was proposed by Fang Xuanling, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The council chamber of the Council of State Affairs, commonly known as the Round Hall, is actually an oval-shaped hall. On the south side are five wide chairs, which are the seats for the five prime ministers. Behind each prime minister are three assistant seats, and there are also seats for observers on both sides. Advisors and officials who have been appointed to the Secretariat-Chancellery are qualified to attend council meetings and can offer their opinions and participate in discussions, but they do not have decision-making power. The final vote is conducted by the five prime ministers.

The emperor's seat is located directly above the north side of the rotunda. The emperor is certainly entitled to listen to the council meetings, but he generally does not participate in the discussions; he simply listens.

The area surrounding the round hall is called the outer hall, which contains many official offices, such as the offices of the prime ministers, the five ministers, the secretaries of the imperial secretariat, the officials in charge of official duties, and the emergency liaison office. Therefore, a meeting of the Council of State Affairs was not just a matter for the five prime ministers; at least a hundred officials participated.

Because Xiao Xia delegated power to the prime ministers quite thoroughly, the prime ministers had great power and were extremely dedicated. Sometimes, when important matters were discussed, opinions would differ, leading to heated discussions and even debates that would last for a long time. Generally, every half hour, they would go back to their rooms to rest for a quarter of an hour to reorganize their thoughts and prepare materials, etc.

For example, today's discussion on tax reform is an extremely sensitive topic involving many significant interests. A draft was provided to the prime ministers a month ago, and everyone has made ample preparations.

(End of this chapter)