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

Chapter 240 A Hundred Schools of Thought Contend, Two Kingdoms Destroyed, and the World Becomes Famous (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
This was undoubtedly a very powerful counterattack.

Whether it was Zhao Kuangyin's actions at the Gu Family Academy or the Gu Family disciples leaving Julu to pursue Zhao Kuangyin, these two events gradually spread, instantly causing an unprecedented upheaval throughout the entire land.

—Thoughts will eventually blossom and bear fruit.

The ideas of the new era have long been known to the world, but they have never been able to take them to the next level.

The chaos of the times inevitably affected many things, but it was precisely in this chaos that the seeds of a new era were sown.

Just like in the Warring States period of the past, heroes will eventually emerge to sweep away the chaos and unify the world.

And now, this opportunity seems to have arrived.

Why has the Gu family always attracted so much attention?
It was not because the feudal lords coveted their talent or because of the power of Julu.

Before they became famous, even if Gu Jin and others were indeed talented, they wouldn't have attracted so much attention, let alone Julu.

The real key is that, on many occasions, the Gu family truly represented the will of the people.

When news of Gu's decision to finally step into public life spread, rumors of an impending unification of the empire grew increasingly rampant, with even older Confucian scholars declaring that "the Song Dynasty has received the Mandate of Heaven."

Even if Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of Song did not accept the concept of destiny.

This couldn't stop them from having their own ideas.

This kind of influence that wins the hearts and minds of the people is what all the warlords desire most.

This influence, in turn, laid a solid foundation for the spread of new ideas.

This is precisely the case in an era of great contention.

When the Song Dynasty destroyed a country in just one year, and just as Emperor Taizong of Tang had invited the Gu family to join him, thus gaining their support, it paved the way for the transformation of the entire country.

Among the nations, there are always many students influenced by new ideas who hope to seize this opportunity to rise up and promote reforms in their respective countries.

It seemed that in that short period of time, the atmosphere of the entire era had completely changed.

Even within the Gu Clan Academy, countless young students flocked to various countries to prepare for this unprecedented upheaval.

An era that Gu Yi had never seen before had finally arrived.

It's just like the warring states of the past.

But it is completely different from what it was before.

The reason is also quite simple.

In this context, the idea of ​​a unified empire already had an effect.

The core of all reforms is to achieve unification.

Amidst this dazzling trend, diverse ideas have emerged once again, just as before, leading to a hundred schools of thought contending.

Gu Yi had been watching all of this from the shadows, and even he had never imagined that this matter would have such a huge impact.

When Gu's Academy was first established.

He did indeed consider using the Gu Family Academy to gradually change people's thinking and build a scientific foundation.

This was indeed a success.

But besides that—many things happened that Gu Yi had never imagined.

However, Gu Yi was not afraid of this.

The land of Kyushu is different now.

If everything the Gu family did this time were truly passed down to future generations, its influence and achievements would far surpass everything they had done before.

A diverse range of schools of thought is not a bad thing.

Only through the clash of ideas can new thoughts that are most in line with the current era be generated.

His real concern was simply the necessary adjustments that the Gu family would need to make.

Don't forget, the Gu family hasn't produced talents like Gu Kang and Gu Xi, who can be considered the best in the world, for a long time.

This is perhaps due to the impact of this matter.

However, Gu Yi was not too flustered about this.

The Gu family has to do things.

If he were to do nothing and let history proceed along its original course, why would he bother entering this game at all?
This is the price of this path.

As I said before, the Gu family generals will continue to advance.

Even though this road is fraught with peril, the Gu family has no way out.

Time flies by.

Kaifeng.

Zhao Kuangyin did not break his promise. The first thing he did upon returning to Kaifeng was to promote Gu Jin to Grand Tutor.

The courtiers naturally had no objection to this.

To this day, the position of Grand Tutor seems to have become exclusively held by the Gu family.

Even if someone else gains his name.

It was also a posthumous conferment.

To honor his immortal achievements, but in the imperial court, only the Gu family was worthy of the title of Grand Tutor.

Subsequently, Zhao Kuangyin fulfilled his promise.

He redistributed power throughout the Song Dynasty.

He transferred all command of the Song army to the position of Grand Tutor, making him the highest commander-in-chief, and issued an imperial edict that the position of Grand Commandant would be hereditary and permanent for the Gu family.

This is completely different from before.

Although for the officials of the Song Dynasty, Gu would surely become the head of the court once he entered the court.

They can accept it.

But such a hereditary succession of the leader of the martial sect was not something they could accept.

Not to mention the civil officials, even many military generals disagreed.

Including members of the imperial clan such as Zhao Guangyi!

But in the end, they couldn't stop Zhao Kuangyin.

Gu Jin didn't really care about this. Although the Gu family had been glorious all these years, they had never had the position of Grand Tutor in every generation. But Zhao Kuangyin's attitude was very firm.

He first reasoned with his ministers.

When he realized that reasoning with him was futile, he simply swung his sword.

He was never a soft-hearted person.

This was the founding emperor of a nation in a time of great strife; no one could stand in his way or stop his already determined ideas.

Zhao Kuangyin made no secret of his intention to heavily rely on the Gu family.

He didn't care about his reputation in later generations.

Similarly, he was not worried about a lack of officials, as countless students in the Gu Family Academy were willing to follow Gu Shizi.

This gave him complete confidence.

As for the military generals, Zhao Kuangyin originally intended to reason with them.

But Gu Jin stopped him this time.

Unlike civil officials.

As for military generals, a single major victory is enough to win over the enemy.

And this is precisely what Gu Jin excels at.

With the enhancement of the "Luoshu Harmonizing Instrument", his martial prowess and leadership stats reached a full 80 and 81 points respectively.

This group can already be considered one of the most outstanding commanders of our time.

Throughout the entirety of history.

There are very few people who can reach Gu Chen's perfect score; those who exceed ninety are extremely rare.

He must personally win over these people in order to truly secure his position as the head of the Martial Sect.

Moreover, for Gu Jin...

He always remembered one sentence.

The Gu family has reached where it is today without anyone's help!
His first target was the Southern Tang, along with the Southern Han and other states!

This coincided with Zhao Kuangyin's idea.

Gu Jin and the other two were not people who would hesitate. After determining their target, Gu Jin personally led the army straight to the south!

November of the fourth year of the Qiande era.

A great battle suddenly broke out.

The eyes of the world are now focused on this.

Countries not only wanted to use this opportunity to probe the true strength of the Song Dynasty, but also wanted to see the talents and strategies of the Gu family members.

This marks the first real move by the Gu family after years of seclusion.

How could it not attract the attention of the world?

Gu Jin was fully aware of this.

In this battle, he held nothing back, utilizing the prestige and strategies accumulated by the Gu family to the fullest extent, intending to conquer two countries in the shortest possible time and completely restore the family's prestige. This was not out of Gu Jin's personal selfishness.

The fact that the Gu family had joined forces with the Song dynasty had already shaken the other states.

The rise of the Gu family brought fame to the Song Dynasty.

He neither wanted to nor could afford to waste time.

Today, various states are implementing reforms, and even the Khitan have changed their name to "Liao," intending to adapt to the general trend of the nine provinces and undergo a complete transformation.

All of these are variables on the road to unification.

Gu Jin absolutely would not allow any unexpected events to occur during this unification process.

Against this backdrop, the outcome of this battle was almost a foregone conclusion.

When Liu Chang, the ruler of the Southern Han Dynasty, heard that Gu Jin was leading the Song army, he was intimidated before even engaging in battle.

He had already lost the hearts of the people, and with a formidable enemy at hand, he lacked the courage to personally lead the army and boost morale. Instead, he adopted an extremely foolish strategy:

He actually wrote a letter to Gu Jin, claiming to be a "descendant of the Han dynasty," and earnestly requesting that the Gu and Liu families join forces again to restore the Han dynasty.

This was a plan suggested to him by the eunuchs around him.

Liu Chang agreed wholeheartedly. In his view, the historical ties between the Gu and Liu families should far surpass those between the newly emerging Zhao Song dynasty.

He not only made a promise similar to that of Zhao Kuangyin, but also proposed to bestow the title of king upon the Gu family.

This move seemed shrewd, but when Gu Jin made the letter public, the last vestige of morale in the Southern Han army completely collapsed.

Even before the Song army reached the city, internal strife had already broken out within the Southern Han court.

Liu Chang was bound by his own ministers and taken out of the city to surrender to the Song Dynasty.

In less than three months, the Southern Han dynasty fell to the might of the Song dynasty.

certainly--

Despite this, there were still some people in the Southern Han Dynasty who were loyal to the royal family.

Although the rites and music had collapsed.

But within the Nine Provinces, there is no shortage of such heroes.

Gu Jin did not initially suppress these people, but instead sent people to persuade them to surrender.

Only when he saw that persuasion had little effect did he personally lead his army to attack and completely crush all potential resistance.

When the news spread, the world was shaken!
Even though the Southern Han was not particularly powerful to begin with, and its ruler Liu Chang was incompetent and foolish, it was still a kingdom. Before the main army even reached the city walls, internal strife had already erupted, and the ruler had been captured and surrendered—such power was enough to make other kingdoms hold their breath!
The Southern Tang ruler Li Yu sent an envoy with a letter of state almost immediately.

Unlike Liu Chang, Li Yu, though not a wise ruler, was renowned for his poetic talent and was not a tyrannical one. Ultimately, he could not commit the same foolish acts as Liu Chang.

He was willing to relinquish his imperial title and reduce himself to "Lord of Jiangnan," and even offered to send his younger brother and son to Kaifeng as hostages.

In the Warring States period, this would have been a huge concession.

However, the world today is not what it used to be.

Unification is the key!
No second emperor can appear in the Nine Provinces!

June of the fifth year of the Qiande era.

Gu Jin officially launched the war to pacify the Southern Tang.

In fact, the real key to destroying the Southern Tang was the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, which was also one of the problems that trapped the Song army in the original history.

But things are completely different now.

—The development of the Jiangnan region far exceeded the original historical records.

That's just how trade is.

Even though the world was still in chaos, it was not completely affected.

Although not as grand as the Tang Dynasty.

But it is far from comparable to the original history.

All nations rely on the enormous benefits brought by trade, which fundamentally guarantees their continued prosperity.

The merchant ships upon which this trade depended are now playing an unexpected role.

Kyushu's shipbuilding industry has been developing steadily.

Although Gu Yi did not directly promote it, and its progress did not leapfrog the times, it was still constantly improving.

Don't forget, cargo ships are born to carry cargo.

Even if it is not as capable as a seagoing warship, its carrying capacity is by no means ordinary.

Furthermore, Gu Jin did not forget the natural advantages of being a member of the Gu family.

This is the overwhelming trend!
He constantly used various means to stir up unrest within the Southern Tang territory, thereby instigating chaos within the country.

No one is not afraid of death!

Not to mention that the common people naturally have a favorable impression of the Gu family.

Under these circumstances, Gu Jin personally led a large army across the river, even though the Southern Tang had taken precautions.

However, given the current situation, it is ultimately insufficient to reverse the overall trend.

There's no need to even care about other places.

Gu Jin's only goal is Jinling!
Whether it was to expand this victory or to besiege the enemy and lure reinforcements, it was all part of the strategy.

These are the best tactics available right now!

The army arrived in force and Nanjing was besieged.

Ultimately, Li Yu's situation was different from Liu Chang's. Although Li Yu promoted officials who were not very capable, their loyalty to him was beyond doubt.

They were willing to die for the Southern Tang Dynasty.

The same is true in the original historical records; Li Yu only surrendered to Zhao Kuangyin at the very end.

But this time it's different.

Perhaps it was due to the ideological shift brought about by the Gu family over the years, or perhaps it was because he realized that he would ultimately be unable to become the wise ruler who unified the world.

Li Yu only held out for three days before choosing to surrender with his ministers.

He even sent letters to people from all over the country who wanted to come to his rescue.

He only made one request to Gu Jin.

If he could survive, he hoped to go to Julu and live in Yunshao Pavilion.

As for Li Yu...

The path that suits him is that of a literary sage, not the path of an emperor.

Gu Jin readily agreed to this.

Li Yu's actions were indeed unexpected. Although he knew that Li Yu was not suited to governing a country, he could be considered a gentleman from any perspective.

November of the fifth year of the Qiande era.

The Southern Tang Dynasty was formally incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Within a single year, two countries were destroyed.

When the news spread, the entire land was in shock!
------

Gu Jin, courtesy name Huaiyu, was the 25th generation descendant of the Gu family.

He was well-versed in classics and history from a young age, and was especially skilled in military strategy. He graduated from the Gu Family Academy and in the fourth year of the Qiande era, he followed Emperor Taizu out.

He was appointed Grand Tutor and Commander-in-Chief of all the armies in the empire.

Emperor Taizu bestowed upon him a certificate of merit and an iron token, decreeing: "The Gu family shall inherit the title of Grand Tutor and command the Imperial Guards, and shall forever be the foremost martial emperor in the land."

The courtiers were in uproar, and some advised, "Excessive power is not a blessing for the country."

Emperor Taizu drew his sword and shouted, "Having the Gu family with me is like a fish finding water; how dare you speak recklessly about them!"

Jin also said with a sigh, "I should repay your kindness with my sword; why should I seek hereditary wealth?"

In November, he was ordered to lead a southern expedition.

At that time, Liu Chang, the ruler of the Southern Han Dynasty, was muddleheaded. Upon hearing of Jin's arrival, he sent an envoy with a letter, intending to persuade him to "restore the Han Dynasty."

Jin burned the books in public and proclaimed, "The Gu family assisted the new dynasty; how could they be considered usurpers?"

Upon hearing this, the Han army collapsed.

Before the battle could even begin, Chang was captured by his subjects and surrendered in his coffin.

Jin led his troops into the city, committing no offenses against the people, except for the execution of more than thirty eunuchs, and thus Lingnan was pacified.

They then turned their attention to attacking the Southern Tang. The last ruler, Li Yu, fearing the attack, relinquished his imperial title and became the ruler of the Jiangnan Kingdom, requesting that they send a hostage.

Jin said, "There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two kings on the land. I wish Your Majesty would unify the four seas."

Emperor Taizu granted his request.

Jin then deployed his troops at Caishiji, crossed the Yangtze River at night, and set fire to hundreds of warships.

After a three-day siege of Nanjing, Yu, dressed in plain clothes, surrendered and presented the imperial seal at the army gate. With the two campaigns completed, forty prefectures and one million households were gained.

—From the Biography of Gu Jin in the History of Song Dynasty

(End of this chapter)