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

Chapter 282 An Unprecedented Prosperity, Gu Rui Dies (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The Liao Kingdom finally submitted.

Faced with the pressure from Gu Rui, they dared not have any thoughts of resistance and provided sufficient compensation in accordance with their original promise.

Of course, the Western Xia was no exception.

Even if the elite troops returned to the territory.

However, faced with the overwhelming advantage of the Song army, their resistance was still very difficult, and they could only sue for peace.

Ceding territory, paying money and grain reparations
All of this is the result they have to bear.

Gu Rui did not refuse this offer either.

All of this was his strategic goal. Now that it is impossible to unify the world directly, he naturally will not covet any unparalleled achievements. He should accept all of this and create opportunities for future generations.

Time flies by.

With the end of the great war, the world once again entered a period of relative calm.

But this period of easing is different from the past.

If there might have been some suspense in the past, now almost everyone can see the weakening of the Western Xia and Liao dynasties, including those within their own borders.

The Song Dynasty was too powerful.

A series of indemnities and the cession of territory and grain supplies have all elevated the strength of the Song Dynasty to a new level.

This is a strength that everyone in the world can feel.

This also raised another issue: almost all the people longed to settle down in the Song Dynasty.

Unfortunately, both the Western Xia and the Liao Dynasty suffered severe setbacks after this battle.

Most importantly, neither country gained any clear benefit.

In addition, they were already weaker than the Song Dynasty.

This ebb and flow had already sealed the fate of everything.

For their own benefit.

They can only oppress the people within their own country.

Of course, this does not mean that the people in the Western Xia and Liao territories are completely corrupt.

It's just human nature.

Throughout history, regardless of the original historical circumstances, even with the Gu family's emphasis on governance, it is impossible to completely erase the oppression of the people by the privileged class.

Not to mention the Western Xia and Liao dynasties of today.

All of this accelerated the people's flight, as they all wanted to rush to the Song Dynasty to seek a way to survive.

Given this situation, neither the Western Xia nor the Liao Dynasty dared to make any demands on the Song Dynasty.

They can only further restrict the people.

And a series of targeted systems were formulated.

Times are quietly changing.

Even Gu Yi could see that the era of the Three Kingdoms was fading away, and the development of the entire Kyushu was moving towards unification.

Unfortunately, it seems Gu Rui will not live to see that day.

Gu Rui's health is indeed getting worse.

Years of exhaustion have completely drained his energy and spirit, leaving him in agony almost every day. Even the most potent remedies cannot solve his current problems.

In fact, given the current situation, he really has a chance to unify the world himself.

The Song Dynasty is indeed very powerful now.

Both countries are relatively weak.

Unfortunately, Gu Rui cannot be so selfish.

—Reintegration with the Western Regions, including the reform of a series of newly acquired territories, will all take time.

Under these circumstances, if he rashly launches a military operation, the current situation could very well be ruined if any unexpected event occurs.

And the most important thing is——

Even if he were to truly unify the world, countless people in every region would undoubtedly die or be injured.

Perhaps he, being young, will seize this opportunity.

But he doesn't now.

Of course, this is not impossible.

With the Song Dynasty's current strength, completing all of this wouldn't take much time either, but how much time would Gu Rui have left?

He could only leave all of this to fate.

Time keeps passing.

Gu Rui adopted the same strategy as before for the newly conquered territories. At the same time, he accepted the people from various places, replenished the population, and made various reforms according to the terrain, so that these territories could be quickly integrated into the current economic operation of the Song Dynasty.

It must be said that the commercial system of the Song Dynasty was indeed very mature.

Especially with the smooth flow of maritime transport.

All of this led to a relatively perfect economic cycle for goods from all over the Song Dynasty.

It is worth mentioning that--

Today, the Gu family's expertise in the shipping industry has grown stronger, and they have gradually established themselves in various overseas locations. They have built a complete trade system based on shipping routes and are constantly spreading the Gu family's influence in various ways.

And all of this has had an equally astonishing impact on Kyushu.

It not only constantly stimulated the already mature commercial system of the Song Dynasty, but also under the absolute supervision of the Censorate.

All of this also affected ordinary people.

With this foundation in place, it is naturally not a problem to rapidly develop these territories.

Gu Rui's core focus is also on the Western Regions.

Even with the Gu family's existing foundation in the Western Regions, the interests of all parties must still be considered when trying to re-establish contact with the Western Regions.

This includes the redevelopment of business channels.

Establish systems and regulations.

Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, its main business model has always been based on navigation and canal transport.

But now, if we want to accept the Western Regions, we must overthrow all of this.

This is naturally a very serious problem.

To prevent commercial monopolies and avoid any single entity becoming too powerful, Gu Rui must leave enough profits for merchants across the land so as not to affect the overall situation of the Song Dynasty. All of this will require time to work out.

Fortunately, the Gu family still wields considerable influence in the Western Regions.

In addition, there was interference from the Censorate.

In particular, the quality of officials in the Song Dynasty is not low, so Gu Rui does not need to spend too much effort on this.

Almost everyone hoped that Gu Rui could take a good rest for a while.

Especially the descendants of the Gu family.

The Gu family has already paid far too high a price for the unification of the world.

The arduous struggle of generations.

Now they are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and they all want Gu Rui to fulfill his ambitions.

But how could someone like Gu Rui possibly stay idle?
It wasn't because of his personality, but because of his status.

The Gu family has enjoyed a glorious history for a thousand years.

However, looking at the development of the Gu family as a whole, in terms of the current close relationship between the Gu family and the Song Dynasty, it can definitely be called the most prominent among them.

The imperial court, the entire nation, and even the royal family.

All of this is inseparable from Gu Rui. Although he doesn't have the title of emperor, Gu Rui has done everything an emperor should do in many ways.

It's not just him.

This has been the case for almost all the Gu family members over the past few generations.

The various problems of the Song Dynasty all required them to solve themselves.

This was also constantly draining Gu Rui, and he had no way to escape it.

The key is--

The emperors of the Song Dynasty were indeed quite incompetent.

In Gu Yi's opinion, their abilities were not even comparable to those of the original group.

Her only advantage was that she didn't like to cause any trouble and simply enjoyed herself in the palace.

From many perspectives, this might actually be considered its biggest advantage.

However, this will inevitably make the burden on the Gu family heavier and heavier.

Gu Rui cannot stop.

Time flies, the years are like a shuttle.

—In the blink of an eye, three years have passed.

Three years is enough time for this land, which has been ravaged by war and is now giving birth to a new life, to undergo earth-shattering changes.

In these three years, the national strength of the Song Dynasty has once again reached an unprecedented peak.

Shaanxi, the Hetao region, the Hexi Corridor, and even parts of the newly annexed territory of the Central Capital Circuit, rapidly recovered from the wounds of war under the impetus of a strong assimilation policy and a mature commercial system.

As grain seeds, agricultural tools, craftsmen, and technology from the Central Plains were continuously introduced along the newly built official roads and restored post stations, local animal husbandry, minerals, and specialty products were able to develop rapidly and were integrated into the economic cycle of the Song Dynasty.

The annual revenue of the Maritime Trade Office in Kaifeng has been rising year after year, with rare and exotic goods from overseas piling up like mountains.

On the reopened trade routes to the Western Regions, the sound of camel bells once again filled the air. Glass from Persia, spices from Arabia, and jade from Khotan mingled with silk from Jiangnan, porcelain from Jingdezhen, and brocade from Sichuan, forming a unique trade system.

The wealth of the Western Regions supported the rapid consumption of these goods reserved for nobles, constantly stimulating the economies of various regions.

Meanwhile, in the imperial court, under Gu Rui's leadership, the special administrative offices established in various regions for the newly annexed territories have already begun to show results.

The overall global landscape, including the world order, has quietly solidified over these three years.

The Western Xia and Liao dynasties were like two wounded beasts, licking their wounds and trying their best to maintain a semblance of dignity, but their internal decay and turmoil were already hard to conceal.

Even Gu Yi was somewhat surprised by this situation.

As one generation passes away one after another.

The quality of officials in both the Western Xia and Liao dynasties was declining at a visible rate.

There are many factors involved.

It wasn't just because of their oppression of the people, but more so because the Song Dynasty was simply too powerful, having already absorbed far too many talented individuals before them. This, of course, had a devastating impact on a dynasty.

This is a vicious cycle.

Those profit-seeking groups don't care about the rise and fall of a country; they only care about their immediate interests.

These problems occur at the end of any dynasty.

This is the current situation of the Liao and Western Xia dynasties.

—Especially the Western Xia!

The Song Dynasty's act of reclaiming the entire Western Regions completely cut off any possibility for the Western Xia to develop again, and directly restricted the entire Western Xia's commerce.

The merchants and nobles of the Liao Dynasty had a lot of experience in this regard.

Because that's how they've always been.

But the Western Xia was completely different!
This undoubtedly exacerbated the oppression of the common people by these nobles.

All of these events were extremely devastating, making the situation of the entire Western Xia Dynasty increasingly worse.

Faced with this situation, everyone has clearly realized a crucial issue.

—After many years, the opportunity to unify Kyushu has finally arrived!

Even officials within the Song Dynasty court no longer resisted fighting.

Over the past few decades, every time the Song Dynasty launched a military campaign, it brought them considerable benefits. Who would resist fighting?
Almost everyone was eager to get started, waiting for Gu Rui's orders.

Unfortunately, Gu Rui, who was the one who most eagerly awaited to see this scene, had already reached the end of his life and could no longer hold on.

Kaifeng, the Grand Tutor's Residence.

Gu Rui lay on his sickbed, looking emaciated. His once insightful eyes were now deeply sunken, with only a glimmer of light occasionally flashing when they opened and closed.

Gu Hong and a group of Gu family members stood quietly outside the screen, even their breathing was extremely soft, for fear of disturbing the person on the bed.

Several old ministers who refused to leave waited in the courtyard, glancing at the tightly closed door from time to time, their expressions solemn.

"Lin'er."

A faint call broke the silence, and Gu Lin immediately leaned closer.

"The military farms in Xijing Road," the old man's voice was as thin as a whisper, yet every word was clear, "How did the spring planting go?"

"Have all the corrupt officials reported by the Censorate been eradicated?" He paused, then asked with difficulty, "Have they all been wiped out?"

Even at this moment, his heart was still set on this country and its people.

Gu Lin grasped his father's withered hand, suppressing a sob in his throat: "Father, rest assured, Xijing Road has had abundant rainfall this spring, and all the new farm tools have been distributed."

“The Censorate and the Ministry of Justice jointly investigated the case last month. All the officials involved have been dealt with according to the law, and the ringleader was beheaded in public.”

Gu Rui nodded slightly, his fingers gently moving in his son's palm. His gaze slowly shifted to the map of the Nine Provinces on the opposite wall, a map that generations of the Gu family had gazed upon throughout their lives. When his eyes swept over the untouched territories of Western Xia and Liao, a hint of undisguised regret flashed in his eyes.

How could one not feel regret?

This map of territory embodies the dreams of four generations of the Gu family.

Since Gu Jin's time, it has been hanging here, hoping to one day witness the reunification of Kyushu, but one regret after another has come to an end.

Today, it's his turn.

"As your father, I won't live to see the day when the world is unified," Gu Rui gasped, each word seemingly uttered with all his might, "but the inevitable trend of unification is already set."

His gaze refocused on Gu Lin's face, carrying his final words of advice: "The Gu family's thousand-year-old reputation is not built on power struggles, but on a deep sense of responsibility for the fate of the nation."

"You must not let each other down."

The old man took a deep breath and, with his last strength, said, word by word, "Do not let down the hard work of these generations and the expectations of all the people in the world."

The voice gradually lowered until it fell silent.

Those eyes that had been gazing at their son, at the future of their family, and at the vast land finally closed slowly.

The hand that had been tightly gripping the offspring gradually loosened its grip and fell limply to the ground.

In an instant——

The cries of anguish echoed throughout the world.

The cries of weeping traveled from the quiet room, through the main hall, and across Kaifeng, eventually spreading throughout the entire country.
------

Spring of the fifteenth year of Longhe.

Grand Tutor Gu Rui, the head of the Gu family, died at his residence in Kaifeng.

Gu Rui inherited the aspirations of his predecessors, governed for decades, expanded the borders, reorganized the army, enriched the country and strengthened the military, which was the key to ushering in the golden age of the Song Dynasty.

However, the land of China remained divided, and the unification of the world was not yet achieved. He passed away suddenly, carrying with him this unfulfilled ambition.

However, his legacy is far-reaching, leaving behind an unprecedentedly strong foundation and a strategy to unify the world. His successors, following his example, ultimately achieved the grand vision of "unifying the four seas," all thanks to the foundation he laid for generations to come.

—From the History of the Song Dynasty, Volume 1, "The Gu Family"

(End of this chapter)