There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 212 The First Year of Xinghua
The first day of the first month of the third year of the Jiaqing reign.

The New Year has arrived.

This year's New Year is different from the previous two New Years since the Han Dynasty rose up, because the Han Dynasty will finally have its own reign title.

On the morning of New Year's Day, Nie Yu got up unusually early, getting up before dawn and dressing in a very formal royal robe, with a nine-tassel crown that he never wore before.

According to ancient custom, the emperor had twelve chapters, the king nine chapters, the duke seven chapters, and the marquis five chapters. The King of Han was wearing a nine-tassel crown and a nine-chapter robe.

The imperial robes were very elaborate. The upper garment was decorated with five patterns: fire, mountain, dragon, pheasant, and ancestral vessel. The lower garment was embroidered with four patterns: algae, rice grains, axe, and axe. In total, there were nine patterns. Although the emperor's sun, moon, and stars were missing, the dragon pattern was still used.

Although Nie Yu advised against excessive formality, arguing it would waste public funds, the officials insisted that changing the era name and establishing a new dynasty was meant to boost morale. They argued that a less elaborate and grand ceremony would mislead the people into believing that the Han dynasty was still a rebellious force, not the legitimate one.

Nie Yu couldn't persuade him otherwise. Even Lin Wenchang, who had been struggling with a lack of funds, didn't object this time. Instead, he insisted strongly, saying that the Ministry of Revenue could squeeze out some money from the expenses of changing the reign title and offering sacrifices to Heaven.

Since things have come to this, let these people be!
Grand sacrificial ceremonies are not held every day. Insisting on sacrificial ceremonies is to honor Heaven and ancestors, not to turn back the clock. Even in modern times, people still worship their ancestors during Qingming Festival!
The ceremony took little time; it mainly involved making up for the previous coronation ceremony, offering sacrifices to Heaven to announce the establishment of the Han Dynasty, and determining the meaning of the reign title.

Although it was just a kingdom, a kingdom was still a country, and it was something that the pseudo-Qing dynasty could not tolerate.

After the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven concluded, the reign title was officially changed to Jianxin, with the first day of the first lunar month designated as the first year of Xinghua. The reign title of the pseudo-Qianlong Emperor was abolished, and a telegram was sent to the entire Huguang region.

When the reign title is changed in subsequent years, local governments and schools will gradually notify the people, so as not to affect the four seasons of farming.

After the reign title was changed, they returned to the Prince's Palace for a banquet.

With the New Year approaching, the King of Han, as the monarch, would certainly invite his subjects to a banquet, which would also help to strengthen the relationship between the King and his officials.

The money for the banquet came from the Han King's private treasury, and it certainly couldn't be taken from the national treasury. After the Han Dynasty established its monarchy and system, the national treasury and the private treasury were separated.

The internal treasury is the internal treasury, and the national treasury is the national treasury. The national treasury cannot touch the money in the internal treasury, and the internal treasury cannot take money from the national treasury.

Nie Yu had specifically kept accounts beforehand, and those two ingots of gold and silver were essentially an advance payment from him, not even a loan from the national treasury. Because the money was sample silver brought back by Zuo Guanlan from the Guiyang Silver Bureau, it had not yet entered the national treasury or the inner treasury's allocation plan, so it did not count as the Prince of Han taking money from the national treasury.

Nie Yu divided the money so meticulously because he was thinking about the future. In any case, his generation's imperial system was definitely not going to end, so he could only try his best to establish a system to prevent future generations from messing things up.

As the founder, the national treasury and the internal treasury of the Han Dynasty were as insignificant to him as eggs. If he really wanted to take money, who would object to him?
The New Year's banquet was paid for by the Imperial Treasury, which was considered an invitation from the King of Han to his officials to celebrate the festival. This would become a custom in the future. After the Han Dynasty had an emperor, he would have to pay for the banquets of his officials himself, and he could not expect to be reimbursed by the national treasury.

The banquet was quite lavish overall. While it didn't feature many delicacies, it included basic chicken, duck, fish, and meat. It also used a mysterious spice (MSG) from the Han Prince's Mansion, and the dishes were all new and unfamiliar.

The banquet was a great success, and the ministers were very satisfied with the food. The emperor and his ministers were all in high spirits.

After the banquet, no state affairs were discussed, and the officials were given half a day off to go home and spend time with their families.

Nie Yu also returned to the palace to have a family banquet with the Queen, the Princess, and the retired King.

The old man was quite happy today. It was the New Year, his son had become a king, and he had abolished the reign title of the pseudo-Qing emperor he had knelt before for decades, giving himself a new reign title. Even his daughter-in-law was nearing her due date.

After so many generations, the Nie family is finally going to produce an emperor, and their daughter-in-law is going to give him a grandson or granddaughter.

Three happy events in one day!
Later that evening, the old man was so happy that he accidentally drank too much and had to be carried back to rest.

Nie Yu accompanied the Queen and Princess to listen to the opera for a while. When he was almost asleep, the Queen and Princess, still reluctant to leave, prepared to go back to rest.

The next day.

Nie Yu came out of the Queen's courtyard. Queen Chen Huilan was about to give birth, so he could no longer go to Princess Liu's place. He had to accompany her during her labor as her husband.

Before leaving, the Queen's maid Xing'er thoughtfully presented her with a fur coat: "Your Majesty, the Queen said that although today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, it is still quite cold in the morning. Please don't catch a chill."

Xing'er stepped forward on tiptoe and personally draped the fur coat over Nie Yu's neck, her two soft little hands seemingly unintentionally brushing against his neck.

Such an obvious action, and Nie Yu isn't a clueless straight man, so he didn't notice it, but he just smiled and ignored it, then stepped out of the courtyard.

Even becoming king is tiring!

Despite having only a province and a half of territory, and only one queen and one concubine in the harem, signs of "competing for favor" were already emerging. However, it's also possible that the queen heard rumors and, to demonstrate her virtue and compassion, took the initiative to find concubines for the King of Han to produce offspring.

These maids, though called dowry maids, had no longer been bound by their slave contracts. Their current actions were certainly influenced by the Queen's subtle hints and instructions, but ultimately, they were acting of their own volition. To marry the King of Han and become his concubine, they were undoubtedly taking a gamble.

Nie Yu saw through it but didn't say anything. Anyway, his harem would definitely be busier in the future. So many political marriages were inevitable. There would always be people he needed to win over and unite with, from powerful clans and nobles to vassal states.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were many concubines from foreign vassal states. Even the emperors of the puppet Qing Dynasty had to take concubines from the Mongol and Manchu Eight Banners in order to maintain their rule.

For example, Empress Xiaozhuang, Consort Xiang...

It would be almost impossible to say that these two were good-looking. Those who are delicate and beautiful would definitely not have lived long in the cold environment of Mongolia at that time.

The first year of Xinghua, the second day of the first lunar month.

Wearing a fur coat and cloak, Nie Yu arrived at his office and began his normal work for the new year.

In fact, the Han army had already been preparing to set off before the Spring Festival, and was divided into three routes: one heading north, one heading west, and one heading east.

While the common people could celebrate the New Year, the emperor and his officials could finally rest on the first day of the Lunar New Year. However, the army had no rest at all, and the intelligence offices in places like Xiangyang also had no rest. The fighting could not stop, and as soon as the snow melted slightly, the army had to set off.

Soldiers are valuable and quick.

With the King of Han, Nie Yu, already on duty, the other civil officials naturally had to work around the clock as well. They didn't complain, since they were the ones who were rebelling!
That's how rebellion works; it's not like you're being treated to a meal and expecting to rest. Even a short rest can lead to major trouble.

Nie Yu opened the topmost volume of the memorials, which contained the translated telegram from the Grand General's Office: "The Northern Route Army (Bai Nan) has advanced along the Han River to Xiangyang Prefecture. Yicheng County surrendered without a fight. The army has won its first battle and is now advancing on Xiangyang Prefecture!"

Nie Yu nodded slightly. Good news on the first day back to work after the New Year. He immediately approved, "Understood."

Then came the second memorial, a battle report from the Grand General's Office: "The Eastern Route Army (Yang Fang) has sailed down the river and has now reached Jiayu County. The next step is to advance on Puqi County."

Nie Yu approved: "Approved. We must quell the rebellion in Hanyang and Wuchang this year."

The third battle report reads: "The Western Route Army (He Shun'an) has reached Yichang Prefecture. The White Lotus Rebellion in Badong County is defending the city and refusing to surrender. General He is preparing to attack the city!"

Nie Yu replied: "Approved. The White Lotus Sect is a band of thieves who harm the people. We should not hesitate to send troops to wipe them out."

After reviewing three battle reports from the Grand General's Office, which was a directly administered military agency, the report was given top priority and was usually placed at the top of the list.

After approving the issue of sending troops to Hubei, the next document was another memorial from the Grand Commander's Office, this time from the Naval Grand Commander's Office. Without even looking at the signature, Nie Yu knew it was from Lei Dabiao.

Because the wording is too crude, it's clear that they tried hard to create new words, and there are even some literary phrases in it, but the forced and unrefined style is still there.

Roughly translated, it means: "Your Majesty, I, Lei Dabiao, need your money!"

Shaking his head, Nie Yu still picked up his pen and wrote in vermilion ink: "The Ministry of Revenue should give him the money."

Zhu's comments were also quite rough, as if he was afraid that Lei Dabiao wouldn't understand them. It was already quite impressive that this guy could read and write this memorial.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "The Military Academy will send a civil instructor to be this guy's assistant."

After reviewing the man's petition for money, Nie Yu pulled out the next one, which finally brought some good news.

Jingzhou and Yuanzhou have surrendered!

There was no way around it; the Yao King Lan Jinlong of Baoqing Prefecture was wiped out by the Han army, which immediately triggered a chain reaction, and even the prefect of Jingzhou was terrified.

Although Jingzhou and Baoqing Prefecture are separated by the Xuefeng Mountains, what good is a natural barrier? Southern Jingzhou is still in turmoil. What if the Xuefeng Mountains fail to hold off the Han army, or what if Yuanzhou Prefecture surrenders before Jingzhou? Wouldn't Jingzhou then be attacked from both sides?

Taking advantage of the prefect of Yuanzhou's momentary lapse in attention, the prefect of Jingzhou prefect was the first to issue a letter of surrender and even raised the Great Han flag. When the prefect of Yuanzhou found out, he didn't even bother to think it through before hastily raising the Great Han flag as well.

The last two territories that the Han Dynasty had not yet conquered in Hunan were so frightened by the death of the Yao King of Baoqing Prefecture that they surrendered and submitted to the Han Dynasty.

This was also due to the Han army's series of victories, coupled with the Qing army's continuous losses. To the north were the Miao tribes of western Hunan, to the west were the Zhongmiao tribes of Yunnan and Guizhou, and to the south were the Dongmiao tribes of Guangxi. Jingzhou and Yuanzhou had long been isolated and without support.

It can be said that this is also a butterfly effect brought about by the Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty had not fought so fiercely, how could these Miao and Yao rebel armies have caused such a big disturbance?
(End of this chapter)