A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 253 Unification

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to our investigation, shortly after Li Guang entered the grasslands, he encountered a rare whiteout. After the storm subsided, Li Guang and his four thousand cavalry disappeared. There are many legends and tales about this incident both inside and outside the Great Wall..."

"What legend?"

"Chinese and foreign herders have seen mad crowds and bloody skeletons after the white blizzard."

Zhang Tang continued solemnly, "The legend of the grasslands says that the Eternal Heaven sent down demons that ate people, while the people of Youbeiping County in our dynasty say that a monster that looks like a human, is covered in white hair, walks silently, and makes a 'clucking' laugh emerged from the white-haired wind."

Faced with immense panic, both foreigners and fellow countrymen habitually attribute the cause to the gods and spirits of heaven and earth.

Zhang Tang and the Embroidered-Robed Imperial Censor could not offer any other explanation. Leaving aside the mad crowd and the white-haired monster, Li Guang's army had truly disappeared, and the Embroidered-Robed Imperial Censor had also seen the bloody skeletons of cattle, sheep, and horses.

The grasslands harbor great terror.

Liu Ju frowned slightly. "There's no need to mention gods and ghosts anymore. I believe more that Li Guangjun got lost in the White Feather Wind and should continue searching."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhang Tang accepted the order.

Make a note of this matter; if things go wrong, it should be handed over to the successor of the Embroidered Robe Envoy.

"Is there anything else urgent?"

"Your Majesty, King Yu Shan of Dongyue is dead, and the Kingdom of Dongyue has surrendered," Gongsun Hong reported.

"Your Majesty, I offer my congratulations!" Zhang Tang followed closely behind, offering his praise.

With the surrender of the Dongyue Kingdom, Yangzhou, one of the nine provinces during the Xia and Shang dynasties, was completely recovered. Previously, the Nanyue Kingdom and the Southwestern Yi had already surrendered and submitted to the central government. Thus, after eight hundred years, the nine provinces were unified.

Liu Ju was taken aback.

In the third year of the Jianyuan era, the Minyue Kingdom launched an attack on the Dongou Kingdom. The King of Dongou appealed to the Han court for help, and the Emperor ordered the Grand Master Yan Zhu to dispatch troops from Kuaiji to provide assistance.

Before the Han army arrived, the Minyue army lifted the siege and left. At the request of the King of Dong'ou, the Han court relocated his people to the area between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, and the land of Dong'ou thus came under the control of Minyue.

In the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, Minyue launched another attack on the Nanyue Kingdom, and King Zhao Mo of Nanyue appealed to the Han court for help.

The emperor appointed Grand Chancellor Wang Hui and Grand Minister of Agriculture Han Anguo as generals, leading troops from Yuzhang and Kuaiji respectively to attack Minyue. King Ying of Minyue divided his troops to defend the Xianxia Ridge area.

With the Han army pressing in, Yu Shan, the younger brother of the King of Minyue, seized the opportunity to launch a coup. He incited the nobles of Minyue to say that Ying had attacked Nanyue without consulting the Han court beforehand, and therefore the Han army had come to punish him.

The Han army was numerous and powerful. Even if the Minyue Kingdom managed to win a temporary victory, the Han army would continue to arrive until the kingdom was destroyed.

The only way to save himself was to kill Ying and apologize to the Han court. With everyone's consent, Yu Shan killed Ying and presented his head to Wang Hui.

Since the problem had been resolved, the Han army withdrew north before crossing the Xianxia Ridge. When discussing the successor king of the Minyue Kingdom, the emperor said that "Ying and others were the first to do evil, and only Wuzhu's grandson Yaojun Chou did not participate in the conspiracy." So he sent Langzhongjiang to establish Chou as the King of Yueyao and to carry out the sacrificial rites for the former king of Minyue.

Yu Shan was resentful. Ever since Yu Shan killed Ying, his prestige had spread throughout the country, and most of the people in the country submitted to him. So he secretly declared himself king.

The King of Yueyao was powerless to control the situation. When the Emperor learned of this, he thought it was not worthwhile to mobilize troops again for Yu Shan's sake, saying, "Yu Shan repeatedly conspired with Ying to rebel, but later he killed Ying first, thus saving the Han army from the suffering of war."

Therefore, Yu Shan was established as the King of Dongyue, and he lived alongside the King of Yueyao.

After Yu Shan ruled Minyue, he maintained peaceful relations with the Han court for more than ten years. However, last year, during the Nanyue Kingdom's affairs, Yu Shan made a pact with the Nanyue prime minister, Lü Jia, to rebel against the Han. Before he could act, Lü Jia died, and the pact was exposed. Having been the King of Dongyue for more than ten years, Yu Shan may have gone mad. Instead of immediately writing to the Han court to apologize, he attacked the Han army first.

Lu Bode and Zhang Cigong immediately wrote back to the court, requesting the annihilation of the Dongyue Kingdom. After receiving permission, they set off for the Dongyue Kingdom.

Yu Shan sent troops to resist the Han army's inevitable route. He also bestowed the title of "General Who Swallows Han" upon Dongyue General Zou Li and others. The army entered the three strategic passes of Baisha, Wulin and Meiling, attempting to hold these key positions.

Lu Bode and Zhang Cigong captured key passes, killed Zou Li, and entered Fujian. Yu Shan put up a stubborn resistance and personally led a large army to build a city at the strategically important Quanshan Mountain to defend it.

The last time Liu Ju received military intelligence from Lu Bode was when Yu Shan secretly carved the "Emperor Wu" seal in Quanshan, declared himself emperor, and openly rebelled against the Han court. Lu Bode and Zhang Cigong attacked from both sides, and Yu Shan, besieged on all sides, had no choice but to abandon the strategic Quanshan and retreat to Yedu. His newly built palace was burned down by Lu Bode.

Unexpectedly, I heard news again about Yu Shan, the King of Dongyue, who was appointed by the Han Dynasty. It turned out that Yu Shan had died at the hands of the Minyue people and the Minyue Kingdom had surrendered.

Liu Ju had no thoughts about the destruction of the small Yue state, only the joy of recovering his homeland. He nodded and said, "According to the previous court's decision, all the men of Minyue should be relocated to the Jianghuai region. Lu Bode's army and Zhang Cigong's army should be stationed locally, marry Minyue women, and assimilate the barbarians into the Han."

The Dongyue region is small and treacherous, and the Minyue people are fierce and fickle. If no measures are taken, the southeast will become a scourge again in a few years. Therefore, Liu Ju devised a plan to allow Minyue men to enter Han territory and Minyue women to marry Han men, so as to completely change the bloodline of the region.

Slightly kind.

According to the consensus of the officials, nobles, and members of the imperial family of both the Chinese and foreign dynasties, the goal was to kill all the fickle men of Minyue and leave only the women of Minyue to marry Han women.

Keep the women, but not the men.

However, the Minyue people killed their king and surrendered, recognizing the will of Heaven and thus winning a glimmer of hope for their own survival.

However, with a small country and a small population, a large clan emerged. Decades later, the world may not even know that there was once a Minyue tribe in the southeast of the Han Dynasty.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gongsun Hong accepted the order.

After the fall of the Minyue Kingdom and the unification of China, every piece of land acquired thereafter was an expansion of the Han Dynasty's territory, and was considered by later generations as "since ancient times".

Liu Ju's military prowess and virtuous conduct surpassed those of all the Chinese monarchs since the Xia and Shang dynasties.

"When will Father Emperor return to Chang'an?"

"The snow is falling heavily, and the roads are muddy and slippery. Even with the speed of the Emperor's imperial entourage, it will probably take five days," Zhang Tang replied.

The Ganquan Palace is only two hundred li from Chang'an, but His Majesty deliberately delayed his apology. He could only travel forty li a day. If he could arrive in five days, that would be considered a stroke of good fortune.

Liu Ju pondered for a moment, "Five days from now, I will have the Imperial Observatory choose an auspicious day for me to hold a sacrificial ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, personally informing the gods of heaven and earth, my ancestors, and praising the military achievements and virtues of our dynasty."

One in front, one behind.

His Majesty apologized, and the Crown Prince reported his merits.

Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang had very interesting expressions. After their two reports, they really didn't know how His Majesty would maintain his position in the world.

Liu Ju smiled helplessly. He had no ulterior motives, nor did he intend to humiliate his father. It was just a coincidence.

After all, merits cannot make way for mistakes.

Suddenly, Zhang Tang had a flash of inspiration. After hesitating for a while, he finally said, "Your Majesty, I request that you follow the example of Qin Shi Huang and ascend Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan ceremony!"

(End of this chapter)