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

Chapter 223 Starting with the People, Emulating Emperor Renzong's Heart Towards Zhuge Liang (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
This sudden news was completely unexpected by Gu Yi.

To know--

In the original history, although Li Heng was also a rather short-lived emperor, the fundamental cause of his death was being frightened.

The reason for this is that he could not fully control the harem and the eunuchs.

But things are completely different now.

Li Fuguo was already dead, and Empress Zhang in the inner palace could not possibly hold any real power at this time.

This actually indirectly helped Li Heng resolve his life-or-death crisis.

But no one expected that his lifespan would be so short, and he died from illness.

Gu Yi was too lazy to think about the reasons behind it.

Even though she was very surprised by this, she could only choose to immediately control Gu Xuan to return to the capital.

This was something he had to do; no matter what, he couldn't guarantee that the central government of the Tang Dynasty wouldn't encounter problems.

Fortunately, the campaign to suppress Buddhism has made real progress; otherwise, it would have caused even greater chaos.

Luoyang.

Under this gloomy sky, Gu Xuan finally returned to Luoyang, bringing stability back to the court that had lost its leader.

Even Gu Yi couldn't help but feel a little fortunate.

Fortunately, he did not hesitate and proceeded to deliver a clear speech directly in the imperial court.

Otherwise—

Given the impact of Li Heng's sudden death, it is feared that the Tang Dynasty will truly return to the old path of history, facing its end amidst repeated power struggles in the imperial court.

But now it's completely different. After the purge, the ministers in the court can now all be considered upright officials.

With these people around, there was no chance of major chaos in the imperial court.

Even if Empress Zhang truly harbored malicious intentions, her current power was simply insufficient, let alone capable of influencing the court.

October of the eighth year of the Zhide era.

Gu Xuan led his ministers to welcome Crown Prince Li Yu to the throne and changed the era name to Baoying.

Compared to his father, Lee Hyung.

Li Yu's personality, however, became much purer.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the Gu family's existence that he experienced less chaos, which instead made his mind much simpler.

His attitude toward the Gu family also far exceeded that of his father, Li Heng.

That's just how young people are.

Whether it's the legend of the Gu family or Gu Xuan's personal suppression of the rebellion, it's enough to make Li Yu admire him.

The ascension to the throne proceeded naturally and without incident.

It is worth mentioning that--

Because Li Yu was not born to Empress Zhang, Gu Xuan even went to see Empress Zhang to show his attitude that the country should not be in chaos.

Empress Zhang was unable to do anything about this as she had in the original historical account.

She could only agree.

Gu Xuan made a special effort to hold an extremely grand ceremony for the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

The money collected from various temples over the years has all gone into the central government, and this influx of wealth has naturally allowed the central government to recover quickly.

Indeed, after careful consideration, Gu Yi did not distribute the money to the people.

This is something that pleases no one.

Burning the loan agreements and mortgage deeds between those people and the temple was already considered a great favor to them.

And this money has come in handy at times like these.

Whether it's boosting morale or using measures like tax exemptions for a new emperor's ascension to the throne to demonstrate the central authority, there's no need to worry about such things now.

Gu Yi was also observing Li Yu.

In fact, he naturally had memories of this emperor's performance in the original history.

To put it bluntly, Li Yu can only be considered a ruler who defended the city.

While it resolved the chaos in the Tang Dynasty at the time, it also left behind extremely serious hidden dangers, which are difficult to evaluate.

But his current performance has given Gu Yi a different kind of hope.

He held Gu Xuan in high esteem.

He even seemed obedient and studious every day, which gradually piqued Gu Yi's interest.

The Gu family never rules out joining forces with the royal family; as long as it has a positive impact, that's enough.

The reason for treating Li Heng the way he did before was also very simple.

That is, Li Heng's desire for power is unstoppable; if you soften your stance, he will become even more aggressive.

Just like when he was still the crown prince, he remained inconspicuous under Li Longji's authority, but as soon as there was a loophole in Li Longji's control, he would immediately seize the opportunity.

For this kind of emperor.

Gu Yi didn't have time to waste on him.

But Li Yu is a bit different. Gu Xuan himself is very willing to teach Li Yu and obviously has high expectations for him.

The chaos that the ministers feared did not occur.

This surprised many people, but it also made many realize that the current court is far more stable than they had imagined.

In fact, that's exactly the reality.

Whether it's this new policy or the suppression of Buddhism, the only real hardship is for the Gu family.

In contrast, the central government of the Tang Dynasty continued to benefit.

In the original history, the Tang Dynasty, which survived the An Lushan Rebellion, was able to last for nearly 150 years, let alone now.

It was precisely for this reason that Gu Xuan did not leave Luoyang again.

Instead, he rose to command all directions from Luoyang.

While overseeing the suppression of Buddhism in all directions, he also taught Emperor Li Yu and all the thoughts he had come up with over the years.

Gu Xuan had been thinking about ways to improve the situation.

The new policies were primarily aimed at the internal affairs of the imperial court.

Now, everything he's thinking about is naturally aimed at the entire Nine Provinces.

It is worth mentioning that Gu Yi did not participate in it.

With the blessing of the "Luoshu Harmony Instrument", Gu Xuan's internal affairs attribute has reached 91 points, which is incomparable to Gu Yi.

Again.

Gu Yi can command the overall situation, but these details that ultimately affect the people should naturally be handled by Gu Xuan.

In short—it's enough to leave it to our ancestors to show off!
Luoyang Palace.

Li Yu looked at the memorials in his hands, his face filled with shock.

Without the slightest hesitation, he carefully examined them, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. After a long while, he finally asked, "Grand Tutor... these..."

"His Majesty!"

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Xuan cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Yu and began to earnestly introduce himself: "Your Majesty! Since the An Lushan Rebellion, I have investigated the territory of our Great Tang Dynasty to this day—"

"Only now do we realize that powerful figures have taken advantage of the chaos to seize land, and nobles have been excessively hoarding property!"

"How many families of former soldiers and displaced people have no land to cultivate?"

"If the land seized from temples during this anti-Buddhist campaign is not thoroughly investigated, clarified, and its annexation prevented, it will immediately fall into the hands of the powerful and wealthy!"

“Since the day I began to persecute Buddhism, I have been pondering the implications of this matter.” — Gu Xuan had indeed been keeping a close eye on the land.

To prevent these temples from being directly annexed by powerful local clans, the land they occupy is not a small amount, and the most appropriate way to handle it must be done no matter what.

What Gu Xuan is thinking now is to rent all these fields to the people.

certainly--

He also wanted to use the new emperor's ascension to the throne as a pretext to reduce the overall tax and labor service quota.

Gu Xuan could not simply distribute the land to the people of the world.

Doing so might help the central government win the hearts of the people and make the Gu family famous again, but if chaos really breaks out, it would be disastrous.

People who are denied land will expose all their evil deeds under such circumstances.

Gu Xuan would never do something so foolish.

However, this rent is different. Under the overall policy of the court, the common people do not have to bear too much burden, and this is also in line with the two-tax law he set earlier.

It can be described as a win-win situation.

As Li Yu listened, his tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a thoughtful look flickered in his eyes.

He's a smart man.

After Gu Xuan's detailed explanation, they naturally understood the connection and their faces gradually showed interest.

Gu Xuan's strategy effectively avoided the pitfalls of land redistribution, put the imperial court in control, genuinely benefited the people, and cleverly suppressed local powerful clans.

At the same time, it can ensure a stable source of rent for the national treasury.

This is truly killing multiple birds with one stone!
Seeing that the emperor was interested, Gu Xuan did not stop there, immediately shifting the topic to another pressing cornerstone: "Furthermore—"

"It is about constructing water conservancy projects!"

"Your Majesty!" Gu Xuan's tone was tinged with anxiety. "During this campaign to suppress Buddhism, I traveled throughout the nine provinces and personally witnessed the suffering of the people."

"What I saw and heard was shocking!"

"The Zhengbai Canal in Guanzhong is silted up and difficult to navigate. The fertile fields that were once crisscrossed by irrigation canals are now barren and swampy when drought strikes!"

"The Yangtze and Huai River waterways, the lifeline of the nation, are also fraught with dangers, making transshipment difficult and causing delays in the supply of grain and fodder!"

"As my ancestor, Marquis Kang of Wencheng, once said, 'Without water, even fertile fields are desert!'"

He quoted his ancestor's words to emphasize the importance of the matter: "Your Majesty!"

"Even if you have thousands of acres of fertile land to rent to the people, without water for irrigation and drainage, it is all just a mirage!"

"A severe drought or flood could render Your Majesty's benevolent rule meaningless and plunge countless people back into famine!"

"Now that the world is at a relatively peaceful state, in order to restore the glorious achievements of the Tang Dynasty and enable the people who rent land to truly live and work in peace and contentment, we must vigorously develop water conservancy. This is of utmost urgency!"

This is the common trait of those who are skilled in domestic affairs.

Even though times change and the world changes.

But when we really pay attention to the most ordinary people, the situation they face is still the same.

—Undoubtedly, it is the land and the living environment.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty has always done a pretty good job in this regard.

After all, Li Shimin's actions in the past are there for all to see, and he has left a very clear template for future generations.

As for the emperors who followed him, although they were not as capable as Li Shimin.

But learning from his actions is quite simple.

Unfortunately, Li Longji became arrogant later on, which led to the current situation.

Gu Xuan has now returned to the basics.

Based on the development of the common people, the aim was to allow the entire Tang Dynasty to quickly recover from this period of chaos.

This was an idea he had set out long ago, and over the years he had developed specific implementation strategies, including maps.

This is what makes Gu Xuan's internal affairs so extraordinary.

The work-for-relief program incorporates various aspects such as water conservancy projects into performance evaluations.

He had already prepared countless strategies and considered everything in an orderly manner.

Besides--

This also includes salt administration, subsequent commercial management, and even detailed taxation.

This is exactly what Gu Xuan has been thinking about over the past few years.

Unlike others who sit atop a mountain overlooking the mortal world, he actually walked every road and devised strategies based on the different circumstances of the people in each place.

Gu Xuan explained every detail, big or small, to Li Yu, making sure that all his thoughts in the memorial were clear and distinct.

These words made Li Yu's expression even more solemn.

But that's not all—

What truly stunned Li Yu was the new agricultural technology that Gu Xuan had decided to promote.

Aside from the upgrades Gu has made to agricultural tools over the years.

The real key lies in genetics technology.

This was undoubtedly the result of Gu Yi's manipulation.

Of course, this is not some advanced knowledge; it simply refers to the idea that superior varieties of grain will yield more, which is relevant to the grains used by ordinary people.

This was precisely the idea that came to Gu Yi after he discovered the progress in the understanding of the people of Kyushu.

He wanted to pave the way for science.

In fact, the people of the Tang Dynasty had already begun to explore this area, which was slightly ahead of the original history, but all of this was too general.

They don't have a corresponding concept.

This was also true in the original history.

my country's agricultural development has been an extremely long process, from early unconscious development to the maturity of seed selection techniques and the diversification of varieties.

This will naturally take time.

What Gu Yi plans to do now is to compile these technologies into a book to provide more practical guidance, and also to provide guidance for the major events to come.

The Gu family today is absolutely capable of doing this.

Regardless of Yun Shao Pavilion's status, Gu Yi had already decided to establish the Gu Family Academy in Kyushu and make it the core of his future career!
To lay the groundwork for the future and attract talent.

When Li Yu heard that Gu Xuan was going to write a book, he was completely stunned.

He stared intently at Gu Xuan, remaining silent for a long time before slowly nodding and then exhaling a deep breath—the shock he felt was palpable.

“Since childhood, I have studied Gu Shuo and have come to know the abilities of the Gu family’s predecessors. I have never dared to belittle them in the slightest, but have always admired them.”

"But today we have the ability of the Great Tutor—"

Li Yu stared intently at Gu Xuan, his gaze sharp, and slowly rose to his feet, saying each word clearly, "I must admit that I ultimately underestimated the vision and methods of the Gu family's scions!"

"Rest assured, Grand Tutor!" His voice was deep and resolute, carrying an undeniable determination. "If you, Grand Tutor, can truly help our Great Tang Dynasty regain its former glory—"

"The Grand Tutor should be Marquis Zhaolie!"

"And I—" Li Yu paused, then said firmly, "I also wish to emulate Emperor Renzong's loyalty to Zhuge Liang!"

—Marquis Zhaolie! Emperor Renzong!
Gu Chen! Liu Shan!
Though not blood relatives, their affection surpasses that of father and son; though nominally ruler and subject, their bond transcends that of ruler and subject!
Gu Yi looked at Li Yu with great interest, never expecting Li Yu to say such a thing.

Clearly, this is him expressing his attitude.

Gu Yi didn't bother to ponder whether there was any deeper meaning behind it. With a thought, Gu Xuan immediately cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Yu:

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my utmost!"

(P.S.: I'm begging for monthly votes! I'd be incredibly grateful for your support, brothers.)
(End of this chapter)