Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 164 Lingyan Pavilion (Seeking monthly votes)
An invisible shadow loomed over the entire Tang Dynasty.

—Gu Quan has passed away!
Although on the surface this may not seem to affect the Tang Dynasty, in reality the impact is enormous.

The Gu family was also included.

Gu Quan was like a brother and a father to the entire Gu family of this generation.

When Gu Yu traveled the world, it was always Gu Quan who carried the Gu family and took care of them, and they had a deep affection for Gu Quan.

Not long after, Gu Zi also passed away.

An era is gradually flowing away with the wheels of history.

Li Shimin was also deeply saddened by this.

He originally intended to give Gu Zi a posthumous title, but Gu Zi had repeatedly instructed before his death that he should never give himself a posthumous title.

He felt that his contributions were insufficient.

Whether it's for the Gu family as a whole or for the entire world.

Li Shimin was also utterly helpless in the face of this.

Western Regions.

Standing tall amidst the wind and sand, Gu Yan ordered the army to rest, suppressing the churning in his throat and refusing to cough in front of his troops.

As the policies of the Tang Dynasty gradually spread to the Western Regions.

The entire Western Regions was once again engulfed in a wave of rebellions, and Gu Yan had no choice but to lead his army to quell the uprising.

Only when this day truly arrives and Gu Yan takes over the heavy burden that Gu Quan once carried can he fully understand just how heavy the burden on Gu Quan's shoulders truly is.

Actually, things are much better now.

After all, Li Shimin sent many officials to the Western Regions to share his burden.

But in just a few short years, Gu Yan was already struggling to keep up.

His body is no longer young.

Especially living under such high pressure, coupled with continuous battles, constantly takes a toll on a person's inner and outer strength.

It wasn't that Gu Yi didn't want to save him; Gu Quan brought him another 150,000 achievement points, including a special achievement called "Guardian" with a special effect.

He has no shortage of achievements now.

Unfortunately, Gu Yan had developed the same symptoms as Gu Quan, and he was powerless to do anything since he hadn't drawn the item. He could only watch as this generation came to an end.

Even with his body in this state, Gu Yan had no intention of leaving the Western Regions.
It wasn't until they were back inside the camp that Gu Yan finally couldn't help but cough.

"uncle!"

"Brother!"

Seeing that Gu Yan actually vomited blood, the expressions of all the Gu family members changed drastically.

But Gu Yan waved his hand to quiet everyone down: "There must be spies in Taohuai Kingdom and Xiuxun Kingdom trying to find out about me. We must not let them know that I am sick."

—He was not wary of the Tang army.

These are the core elite troops of the Tang Dynasty, a battle-hardened army, so he has no need to be on guard against them.

Gu Yan was truly worried about the spies from those small countries.

His reputation is too great.

Everything Gu Quan had done had been placed on him, and he had to make good use of this reputation in order to quell any rebellion as quickly as possible.

Gu Yan's destination was a small country located in the Alai Valley in northern Pamir, at the western end of the southern route of the Silk Road, which was quite far from the Tang Dynasty.

It is precisely because of this that, after so many years of effort,

The policies of the Tang Dynasty have only just begun to be implemented here.

There was no other way; whether it was Gu Quan or Gu Yan, the entire Gu family and the Tang Dynasty were making various efforts for this.

Such speed is already a miracle.

This is a road paved with the blood of countless patriots. Not to mention the fallen soldiers, no fewer than twenty of the Tang Dynasty's officials died in the Western Regions, including nearly ten members of the Gu family.

Gu Quan was right; countless people could not return to Yumen Pass alive.

How could Gu Yan possibly leave?

He was breathing heavily, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.

The entire tent was silent.

The news of Gu Quan's death had been delivered, and coupled with Gu Yan's deteriorating health, everyone's mood was naturally low.

After a long while, Gu Yan finally spoke up to discuss tactics.

Gu Yi has already integrated the Luoshu Harmonizing Device into Gu Yan's body.

Although his attributes are not top-tier, dealing with some small kingdoms in the Western Regions is not a problem.

After a day of rest, we set off again.

The Gu family now possesses extremely detailed geomantic maps of the entire Western Regions, making it no problem to deal with some small countries.

However, a great deal of effort was still put into it.

The key is--

Even if the rebellion is quelled, it doesn't mean all the problems will be solved.

The Tang Dynasty wanted to completely integrate the Western Regions into the Nine Provinces.

Whether it's coercion or leniency, Gu Yan will have to worry about it, since he is nominally the highest-ranking official of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions.

Under these circumstances, Gu Yan's health was naturally affected even more.

"Brother, let's return to court."

All the members of the Gu family were trying to persuade Gu Yan.

Gu Yan ignored the younger generation, but looked at his brothers who were now only a few of them, and smiled, saying, "If it were you, would you go back?"

His tone was very relaxed, but it instantly silenced everyone.

They couldn't answer.

Because they never thought about going back.

Seeing everyone silent, Gu Yan smiled again, then looked up at the starry sky and sighed, "My elder brother has dedicated his life to the Gu family."

"As the one who has benefited, I cannot possibly disgrace my elder brother, can I?"

"Don't worry."

"I'll be fine."

Under a sky full of stars, tears unknowingly slid down his cheeks.

Seeing Gu Yan silently shedding tears, the other members of the Gu family also fell silent and wept. Some of the younger generation looked at this scene with increasingly complicated expressions in their bright eyes.

Teaching by example is always the best way to educate.

Even if Gu Yan dies, this tradition will never be broken.

The Gu family will cultivate this land.

until—

It has become completely integrated into the Nine Provinces.

Changan.

Whether they were Li Shimin's former subordinates or court officials, everyone clearly felt the ruthlessness of time.

Li Shimin was getting old.

The ailments he had sustained on the battlefield gradually manifested in his body, and one by one, the ministers who had risen up with him also passed away.

An overwhelming sense of heaviness enveloped the entire Tang Dynasty temple.

Li Shimin also became increasingly silent, no longer as spirited as he had been in the past.

Time will eventually take everything away, and a new generation will replace the old.

Tai Chi Hall.

After discussing the affairs of the court, Li Shimin once again recalled the events of the past.

Perhaps that's just how people are.

Once people reach a certain age, they begin to reminisce about the past, and Li Shimin was no exception.

He reminisced with his ministers about the past.

Gu Quan was mentioned, as were the process of getting to know everyone, including the time when the decision to rebel was made, and even Li Jiancheng was mentioned.

His eyes grew redder and redder as he spoke, and in the end, he even shed tears.

In fact, Gu Yi had once sighed about this.

Li Shimin has changed; he is no longer as easily moved to tears as described in the original historical records.

But as he got older, his sentimental nature gradually became apparent.

Loneliness—this seems to be the hardship that every emperor with extraordinary abilities must eventually face.

The courtiers were also deeply moved.

At this moment, Li Shimin seemed to suddenly remember something and abruptly stood up: "I want to build a pavilion!"

"I will enshrine all those who have rendered meritorious service to me and to my Great Tang Dynasty within this place!"

"Share in the sacrifices of future generations with me!"

The sudden decision surprised everyone, but then their eyes lit up.

Who wouldn't want to be worshipped by future generations?
During the reign of Emperor Zhenguan.

Even up to this day, this dynasty is unprecedented.

These ministers are destined to be remembered by history!
"Your Majesty is wise. If this pavilion is built, scholars throughout the land will surely marvel at Your Majesty's heart in welcoming talent!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

In an instant, shouts rang out.

Everyone agreed to this.

Li Shimin was not a man who hesitated, and he immediately made the decision, ordering the construction of a pavilion in the Taiji Palace of the Imperial City.

They even named it—

Lingyan Pavilion!
The entire court was focused on this matter, and everyone longed to be selected for the cabinet.

This achievement was unprecedented for them, even surpassing the dream of scholars throughout history to be remembered in history.

Only Li Shimin could decide who might enter this pavilion.

Li Shimin clearly cared a lot about this matter.

He handed over the administration of the court to Li Chengqian, while he himself began to seriously ponder the situation.

While we are remembering the meritorious individuals, it is naturally not just about remembering them.

Every action of an emperor must be considered for political purposes, let alone that of a wise emperor like Li Shimin.

All eyes in the court were on the Lingyan Pavilion.

Everyone is looking forward to it.
It wasn't until several days later that Li Shimin finally made his choice.

—A total of twenty-seven meritorious officials.

Its target was not only the Zhenguan era, but also the Wude era, and various forces were involved.

Guanlong Group, Shandong heroes, Jiangnan gentry, maternal relatives and imperial clansmen.

Actually, regarding this list...

Although the courtiers were very much looking forward to it, they had already made their own guesses. After all, the Tang Dynasty had only been established for a short time, and it was easy to judge who had made great contributions and how close they were to Li Shimin.

But when they saw the list, everyone was still shocked.

There's no need to elaborate on ministers like Changsun Wuji, Li Xiaogong, and Du Ruhui; even ministers like Wei Zheng were among them.

That's not even the point.

What truly shocked the court officials was that Li Shimin had actually arranged the order of these events.

and--

The person at the top of the list was actually Gu Quan.

This name had not appeared in the court for many years, so everyone was naturally surprised when they saw this ranking.

Gu Quan's contribution was indeed significant.

However, the court officials did not believe that he deserved to be ranked first in the Lingyan Pavilion.

After all, in their view, Gu Quan died too young.

He had no merits to speak of during the entire Zhenguan era, and some people even went to Changsun Wuji and others, wanting to offer advice together.

Without exception, Changsun Wuji and the others all refused.

Regardless of Gu Quan's actual achievements.

Judging from Gu Quan's temperament, they all felt inferior to him.

The cut surface may be tolerable.

But Gu Quan's act of giving up a lifetime of merit and prestige was something they could never do.

Gu Yan and Gu Zi were also among them.

There's no need to say more about Gu Yan; he truly inherited Gu Quan's merits and prestige, which resounded throughout the world. Even if he were placed at the top of the list of officials, no one would say much.

Gu Zi was also a man of great merit for the entire Tang Dynasty.

Among the list that has led countless people to speculate about its political implications, these three stand out like a breath of fresh air, naturally drawing attention only to the core of this building.

The news kept spreading.

In today's culturally vibrant world, Li Shimin's move instantly caused a sensation.

—The Holy Emperor!

This title has become a consensus among people all over the world.

Unsurprisingly, Li Shimin's move made scholars across the land yearn for the imperial court even more.

As the saying goes, "a wise ruler and virtuous ministers."

For those ambitious scholars, who wouldn't want to serve under the current holy emperor?
Today, Kyushu has reached a point where culture is flourishing, especially after the Gu family established the "Yunshao Pavilion," this trend has become even more prevalent.

Poems and songs praising Li Shimin spread from all over the country.

From the imperial court to the common people.

All of them were grateful for his virtue.

The entire Tang Dynasty was once again swept by a frenzy.

But beneath this apparent frenzy, Li Shimin felt increasingly lonely.

Lingyan Pavilion.

Li Shimin walked slowly into the pavilion alone, passing by portraits and lighting incense and candles for those who had passed away.

Yin Kaishan; Qu Tutong; Zhang Gongjin; Du Ruhui; Qin Shubao.
Li Shimin did not give him the slightest perfunctory response.

While offering incense, they can even recount the merits they made and why they died.

Tears had already flowed without my noticing.

Until the end——

He walked into the deepest part of Lingyan Pavilion, where Gu Quan's portrait hung.

"Ziyuan".

Li Shimin lit incense and candles, disregarding decorum, and sat directly next to the portrait, just as the two had sat and chatted when Gu Quan was alive.

"I am getting old..." he said calmly, without a trace of fear of death in his tone. "Wait for me, I'm afraid my days are numbered."

His gaze fell upon the figure in the painting, and he sighed deeply: "Time flies, and old friends are passing away one after another... I am so lonely."

After a brief pause, his voice revealed an undeniable firmness:

"But don't worry."

"My ambition has never been extinguished. Many people think I'm old and should retire." A slight smile played on his lips, revealing a sharp insight into the ways of the world. "But I'm just waiting!"

"Wait until the Western Regions are pacified, and until the great ship is completed!"

“I have never forgotten what Lord Gu said in the past.”

"The most difficult thing for a ruler is to stay true to his original aspirations."

"I now wholeheartedly agree."

"Rest assured, even if I cannot complete the journey ahead in this lifetime, I will still be able to tread through the mud and take this step for future generations!"

"."

I now understand this deeply.

"Rest assured. Even if I fail to reach the end of the road ahead in this lifetime," his voice suddenly deepened, carrying a resolute determination to forge a path through mountains, "I will certainly strive to clear this muddy path for future generations and take this step!"

Li Shimin then slowly recounted the turmoil in the court, his inner thoughts, and even his considerations for Crown Prince Li Chengqian, all while facing the portrait.

Gu Quan's legacy gradually melted away his resentment towards the Crown Prince.

Although there was no intention of intimacy, it did add a touch of recognition.

"Ziyuan, rest assured," he said to the portrait as if making a vow, "I will not be confused!"

Only when the candle wax had dried up and the embers were still warm did Li Shimin slowly rise.

Alone, he stepped out of the Lingyan Pavilion, where portraits of meritorious officials were enshrined, and disappeared into the sunlight outside the hall.

(P.S.: This is just a transitional chapter. The Zhenguan era won't end like this; there's more to come. Please give me your monthly votes, brothers! Mwah!)
(End of this chapter)