Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 347 Reopening the Human World
Xingwang Mansion.

In the third year of Zhenming of the Later Liang Dynasty (917), Liu Yan, the younger brother of Liu Yin, the military governor of Qinghai, declared himself emperor in Guangzhou, making Guangzhou the capital of the Xingwang family. He adopted the reign title Qianheng and the state name Dayue. The following winter, he changed it to Han, which is historically known as the "Southern Han".

The Xingwangfu (Prince's Mansion) consisted of the inner city, the outer city, Renxiao City, the western city, and the western urban area. The inner city included the palace city and the imperial city, with the outer city to the south of the imperial city. Within the outer city, markets and wards lined both sides of the main street, forming a densely populated commercial and residential area.

From the late Tang Dynasty to the present, if it weren't for the rampant taxation and tyranny of Liu Chang and his son, Guangzhou would have been a top commercial capital in the entire Central Plains.

Although it was a small, isolated court, the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty was built in a very luxurious manner.

—“Liu Chang established Meichuan as the capital, set a quota, and ordered people to go 500 feet into the sea to collect pearls. His palace was decorated with pearls and tortoiseshell. Chen Yanshou made all sorts of frivolous crafts, spending tens of thousands of gold coins every day.”

Liu Chang had squandered the entire treasury of the Southern Han Dynasty in just over a year since he came to power, to the point that he had to impose exorbitant taxes to maintain his daily enjoyment. One can imagine how luxurious and decadent his life was.

Before the marble-paved palace gate, a woman dressed in white palace attire knelt on the ground, her aloofness like a white lotus flower. She was none other than Lu Qiongxian, whom Duncan had met once before. To her left knelt a dense crowd of hundreds of eunuchs, all of whom were of official rank.

To Lu Qiongxian's right were hundreds of beautiful women of all shapes and sizes kneeling. At the front were two beautiful sisters, Liu Chang's concubine and beauty, who were also presented by Li Tuo as a pair of twin lotus flowers. They had obviously dressed up carefully and appeared in full regalia. One was elegant and beautiful, and the other was delicate and charming. They knelt humbly on the ground and performed the full prostration.

Behind the sisters were five other women, including Mei Yang, Mei Quan, and Mei Niu. Half of the ten bewitching women were dead, and the rest all submitted to Lu Qiongxian, surrendering and submitting to her in the face of battle.

Further on were Liu Chang's dozens of concubines and maids, as well as the palace women he had favored, totaling over a hundred people.

Liu Chang favored using eunuchs and palace maids. At the beginning of his downfall, there were thousands of palace maids in the palace. Even after Duncan dismissed most of them, there were still nearly a thousand in the palace. However, they were unwilling to leave because there was nowhere else for them to go outside, and most of these palace maids were young and beautiful, quite attractive.

Liu Chang enjoyed observing large double bodies and often forced street ruffians to have sex with beautiful palace maids in public. If these palace maids disobeyed orders, they would be severely punished or even tortured to death. As a result, hundreds of palace maids were forced to engage in public debauchery.

Fearing they would have no way to survive after leaving the palace, they stayed there with many eunuchs.

Behind Lu Qiongxian were some palace maids, mostly beautiful women. They were the concubines and palace maids of Liu Chang's father, Liu Sheng. Lu Qiongxian was originally Liu Sheng's palace maid, somewhat similar to Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. After Liu Chang ascended the throne, he immediately made good use of Lu Qiongxian and others.

These palace servants were mostly outsiders; on the contrary, the Liu family members had been almost wiped out by their own killings.

The father and son had a long-standing tradition of "killing all their brothers".

The three emperors of the Southern Han Dynasty were all arrogant, extravagant, licentious, and tyrannical. After Liu Sheng ascended the throne, apart from a few who died in battle, he killed fifteen of his brothers. He once poisoned eight of his brothers at a banquet in one day, which can be described as a brilliant record. He also killed all their children and took their wives and daughters into the harem.

The wives and daughters of Liu Sheng, including Liu Hongchang, the King of Yue; Liu Hongze, the King of Zhen; and Liu Hongbi, the King of Qi, were all taken into the harem.

The women kneeling behind Lu Qiongxian were the wives of these princes and nobles, her trusted confidantes, and veterans of the old dynasty who had gradually been marginalized after Fan Hu Zi Mei Zhu and others rose to power. As for the beautiful women kneeling behind them, they were about the same age as Liu Chang, and were the daughters of the princes who had been in the palace for twelve years, serving the emperor.

Liu Sheng killed fifteen of his brothers, and on the one occasion when he poisoned eight of them in one night of banqueting, he took nearly a hundred of his brothers' wives and daughters into his harem, resulting in a very bloated harem system.

Because of his debauchery and love of alcohol, Liu Sheng died suddenly at the age of thirty-nine.

After Liu Chang ascended the throne, he followed suit and, having squandered his wealth, also ruthlessly slaughtered his own relatives, gradually eliminating almost all the meritorious members of the imperial clan.

Then, eunuchs such as Chen Yanshou, in their quest for power, falsely accused the court official Zhong Yunzhang of treason, and used his associates Gong Chengshu and Li Tuo as false witnesses. Liu Chang believed the eunuchs, arrested Zhong Yunzhang, and executed him along with his two sons, Zhong Yong and Zhong Chang, and their bodies were left exposed for three days.

It can be said that since Duncan started his rebellion, his main opponents have been eunuchs and palace maids.

There were no capable ministers or military generals among them.

Liu Chang squandered all of the Southern Han's resources.

There was a sound of horse hooves.

Duncan appeared outside the palace gates, surrounded by dozens of fully armed and menacing guards. As the army sealed off and took control of the entire imperial city, Duncan ordered Li Fengji and others to inventory the gold and silver treasures in the imperial treasury.

He didn't need these things, so he exchanged them for money and grain to help hundreds of thousands of starving people in the Southern Han Dynasty.

"His Majesty!"

Lu Qiongxian's body trembled slightly, and she prostrated herself on the ground, almost lying face down.

Behind her, a group of eunuchs and palace maids bowed deeply, none of them daring to raise their heads. At a glance, there was a dark mass of people. On the left were eunuchs, many of whom were skilled warriors, and on the right were palace maids, mostly the concubines of Liu Sheng and his son Liu Chang. After Liu Chang ascended the throne, he also took in some beauties.

Duncan walked through the crowd expressionlessly, paused for a moment in front of Lu Qiongxian, hooked her chin with his toe, looked down at her, and then said in a deep voice, "Get up."

This woman is no ordinary person.

If she hadn't switched sides in time, Liu Chang might have had a slight chance to escape from the Prince of Xing's mansion; she was truly a fence-sitter.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Qiongxian rose respectfully, her attitude extremely humble.

She kept the entire palace under control. Even in the midst of chaos, no one was able to steal the palace's valuables and escape. Even those that Liu Chang took were intercepted by her.

This can be considered a success.

Before Liu Chang fled, he wanted to set fire to the imperial city, but she stopped him, thus saving most of the Southern Han's assets.

This can be considered a merit.

Therefore, Duncan was able to tolerate Lu Qiongxian and others. In this era, even a piece of scrap paper has its uses, let alone a living, breathing person with a five-star golden strength mark.

These eunuchs executed the ringleaders, and the rest were handed over to the virtuous mother and others for training, directly controlled by spiritual magic.

Many of them have cultivated the Sunflower Manual, and their strength is between three and four stars, roughly equivalent to Lin Pingzhi who has practiced the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique. In the future, whether in the martial arts world or the military, they can be put to good use. With a little effort, they would be enough to establish the Eastern and Western Depots.

Liu Chang castrated more than 10,000 eunuchs, which Duncan could not possibly use.

As he entered the luxurious palace, the Li sisters, standing to Lu Qiongxian's right, paled in shock. The Emperor hadn't even glanced at them, and their status seemed to plummet to the dust in an instant. Even Lu Qiongxian was too lazy to look at the two sisters any longer and simply dismissed them outside the palace.

Their beauty failed to please His Majesty, and thus they lost most of their usefulness.

Lu Qiongxian had already figured out how to settle Liu Chang's concubines. It was impossible to release them out of the palace, but their status and treatment would definitely be reduced by several levels. As long as they didn't starve to death in the palace, that would be fine.

The palace ahead was extremely luxurious. When Duncan entered, he saw more than a dozen bright luminous pearls. The sides of the palace were decorated with pearls and tortoiseshell, and even the walls were inlaid with colorful pearls. Expensive coral treasures were everywhere. After the palace lanterns were lit, the entire palace was magnificent and dazzling.

However, there were no screens in the main hall; instead, there was plenty of space. Liu Chang's position should have been surrounded by a circle of naked women, which could be called a flesh screen.

"That son of a bitch really knows how to enjoy life."

Even though Duncan once ruled over all of Europe and was revered as the King of Kings, he didn't live a life as extravagant and dissolute as Liu Chang. Keep in mind that the Southern Han Dynasty was only a small territory.

"Take off all the pearls and tortoiseshell."

“Sell those coral treasures to raise money and food,” Duncan said casually.

Lu Qiongxian, who was standing to the side, immediately bowed her head respectfully and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

He pushed open the door of a side hall and was immediately stunned by the scene before him. This was a torture chamber, with punishments including nasal irrigation, tongue cutting, dismemberment, branding, boiling, and so on. Even an emperor like him, who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, could not have imagined so many cruel tortures.

"What's going on?" Duncan asked.

Lu Qiongxian's figure trembled slightly, her expression revealing a hint of fear, and she whispered, "This is the emperor's private punishment, used to discipline disobedient palace servants."

"Liu Chang would occasionally observe it in person."

Their entire family suffered from various ailments, and there are even historical records of emperors drooling while watching punishments.

Liu Chang was mostly lustful, but he also often watched tortures with Meizhu for amusement.

He also invented a form of torture: raising snakes in the Blackwater dungeon and then throwing living people in.

"What's that over there?" Duncan exclaimed again.

He bypassed the palace of punishment and entered a side hall next to it. When he pushed open the door, he was once again amazed by what he saw. The hall was full of ingenious and bizarre craftsmanship, with all sorts of strange tools. There were also lifelike carved objects placed around the room. In the center was an extremely luxurious bed with curtains hanging on both sides, which were a full ten meters wide.

"This is the Hehuan Palace."

Lu Qiongxian lowered her head and said, "Liu Chang and Meizhu often watch executions, or after a double sex session, when the mood strikes them, they arrange for palace servants to attend to them here."

On one side there were even instruments of punishment, like a wooden horse, also used to punish disobedient palace servants.

For example, those palace maids whose expressions weren't fully engaged in the large double-body scene.

Liu Chang was fond of fun and entertainment, and once used methods such as "carriage skills competitions" to select palace maids.

"Damn it, they've really got some serious tricks up their sleeves." Duncan surveyed the scene, then pushed open the front door. Before him lay a meticulously decorated garden, one of the settings for the Great Twins. It featured pavilions, terraces, gardens, and rockeries. Liu Chang, accompanied by Mei Zhu and more than ten concubines from the harem, walked along a paved path. The layout along the way was incredibly convenient, with pavilions, terraces, ponds, and rockeries, all within easy reach of the path. At a glance, one could see the act of lovemaking in almost every corner.

"Tear it down!"

Duncan waved his hand listlessly, glanced at the side hall, and said, "Stay here and move all the torture instruments away."

Several people petitioned to have Liu Chang castrated.

Duncan was still hesitant.

Looking at it today, I think, well, he deserves to be castrated.

Further on, there was a pavilion, which Lu Qiongxian had deliberately arranged. There were even bloodstains on the windows in front of the hall, which had not been cleaned up in time.

Her expression held a hint of self-satisfaction as she respectfully said, "Your Majesty."

"Sealed inside are demonic martial arts techniques, including the Hehuan Secret Manual, as well as martial arts manuals collected by emperors of the Southern Han Dynasty. The Sunflower Manual that Your Majesty is looking for is also among them."

With so many eunuchs, and all of them highly skilled in martial arts, they must have some special techniques.

Duncan nodded in satisfaction and said to the person next to him, "Make a copy of everything and send it to Lu Shanjun, Fu Jianhan, Miss Sun and the others."

The main hall of the imperial city was roughly like this. Other side halls contained strange and ingenious crafts, which were used by eunuchs such as Chen Yanshou to curry favor with Liu Chang. Liu Chang himself was stout and often liked to use various objects. On the southwest side of the imperial city was a pill room, which was used to refine elixirs to enhance Liu Chang's pleasure.

One word: Demolish!

Duncan kept the main structure of the palace unchanged, but all the other treasures were moved away and exchanged for money and provisions for other uses.

It's getting dark.

Lu Qiongxian and the others served her carefully along the way. After checking the sky, they humbly bowed their heads and said, "Your Majesty."

"There are also some palace servants who practice extraordinary skills that can help His Majesty comprehend the secrets of Yin and Yang."

"Would you like to stay and serve me in bed?"

She even arranged for officials in advance and selected many beautiful palace women, keeping several of them, all of whom possessed extraordinary skills, just to please the person in front of her.

Duncan pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Soon, eunuchs lit palace lanterns and lowered curtains. Then, Lu Qiongxian gestured for her attendants to leave and personally led several beautiful palace maids into the side hall. Eunuchs then cleaned the hot spring pool, scattering fresh flowers into it. The luminous pearls emitted a faint glow, and the walls shone brightly. Dozens of palace maids prepared on both sides of the hot spring pool, and several of the most beautiful women, dressed in light clothing, entered the pool to test the water temperature. All the other eunuchs withdrew. In one corner of the side hall, there were as many as eight palace maids lighting incense.

When Liu Chang indulged in pleasure, he was always surrounded by dozens of palace maids. If he made the slightest mistake, they would all be punished.

Dog day.

Castration involved cutting flesh directly with a blunt knife.

Duncan was quite amazed at this point, realizing that the licentious and incompetent rulers of the Central Plains dynasties had far more elaborate ways of playing than those in the West.

The next day, a light drizzle fell.

The entire Xingwangfu seemed to have been greeted by an early spring rain, with countless people flocking to the streets to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

The world is full of wonders.

Duncan was adept at being emperor, issuing several decrees to reorganize everything in the Southern Han.

The laws of the Southern Han Dynasty were cruel. Duncan issued a decree abolishing punishments such as nasal irrigation, tongue cutting, dismemberment, branding, and boiling. Although it was still a time of chaos where harsh punishments were used, it did not take pleasure in torturing people. Instead, it gave people a quick death and only retained the punishment of being cut in half at the waist.

He abolished the system of eunuchs participating in politics and restored the normal bureaucratic system.

And they are preparing for a new round of imperial examinations.

There were relatively few educated people in this era, and before Duncan could enlighten the people, he still had to rely on the scholar-official class.

Subsequently, he established a new supervisory system, drawing on the experience of ancient prosperous times, setting up independent supervisory agencies to oversee officials, constrain power, and even secretly establishing an intelligence agency exclusively for him.

In terms of economics, Duncan reduced taxes, significantly lowered the heavy taxes during the Southern Han Dynasty, and implemented policies such as "one-thirtieth tax" to reduce taxes and corvée labor.

Lingnan has fertile land, and as long as advanced agricultural technology is promoted, grain production can be greatly increased.

This has been going on all along, but now it's being carried out throughout the entire Southern Han territory.

Duncan then formally issued a decree to "open the seas," leveraging the coastal advantage to encourage the development of maritime trade and increase the national treasury's revenue.

As for other minor matters, such as the relatively developed smelting industry in Lingnan and its abundant water resources, there's no need to go into detail. After all, when it comes to farming, he's practically a professional, so he has no problem grasping the general direction.

If Duncan were willing, he could have even started the Industrial Revolution in Britannia, directly scaling epoch-making technologies.

of course.

The first thing to do right now is to recast the coins. The lead coins here are of very poor quality. However, there is a shortage of copper for coin casting. Mining copper is too slow. On the contrary, there are many Buddhist pagodas and copper pagodas in the Buddhist area.

Mining your own cryptocurrency is nowhere near as fast as stealing it!

Buddhist monks like to solicit alms.

Duncan felt that it shouldn't be a big problem for him to ask them for some money, after all, Buddhist temples are incredibly wealthy.

Liu Chang, in his pursuit of pleasure, squandered resources after ascending the throne, leaving little room for profit in the Buddhist community of the Southern Han. If we were to discuss the wealthiest Buddhist community in the land, it would undoubtedly be the Buddhist temples of the Southern Tang, which reportedly boasted 18,000 pagodas, many of which were cast in bronze.

Just right.

Duncan can be used, and incidentally, he can accumulate some merit for Buddha. How can one accumulate merit by sitting idly on Mount Ling in the Western Paradise every day?

You're welcome.

Duncan has no connection to Buddha; it was just a small favor, and he was essentially helping Shakyamuni manage his disciples and followers.

Ok, deal.

Although the wealthiest Buddhist sect in the Southern Tang Dynasty was the Southern Han Dynasty, the Buddhist and Taoist sects in the Southern Han Dynasty also had to pay tribute to them. There was still some profit to be made by squeezing them out. Under Duncan's rule, hundreds of thousands of starving people were starving, and he even scraped off the gold dust from the Buddha and Taoist patriarchs to exchange for money and food.

In the end, Duncan did not dismantle Liu Chang's palace, but he did take away all the rare treasures.

There is still a significant shortage of funds and supplies.

Just right.

The weather is nice today, everything is auspicious, it's the perfect day to confiscate property and exterminate families.

Duncan casually sketched out a few spots, all of which were officials promoted by Liu Chang who had also been embezzling money. His property was confiscated to make up for the deficit in the national treasury.

Even if Duncan killed all the officials appointed by Liu Chang, no innocent people would be harmed.

But we still need to keep some people around. Some people may have made minor mistakes, but they don't deserve to die. At most, we'll assign someone to keep a close eye on them. If they make the same mistake again, we'll settle accounts with them all at once, which will give us a good excuse to get rid of them.

Duncan cannot kill too many people who voluntarily surrender and submit at the moment.

This is also the day.

The monk Bujie, who had not appeared for a long time, came to the Xingwang Mansion to pay his respects to Duncan, who was there today, dragging his injured body.

No, he's now Master Bujie.

A high-ranking Buddhist monk.

As for why the monk Fei Jie's status in Buddhism rose so dramatically, the underlying meaning is self-evident.

………………

(End of this chapter)