A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Wei Ming then produced another memorial, which detailed the division of the Western Regions and the selection of prefects and magistrates for each prefecture.

Wei Ming divided the Western Regions into 6 prefectures and 30 counties.

They are Luntai Commandery, Cheshi Commandery, Hotan Commandery, Shule Commandery, Kucha Commandery, and Yanqi Commandery.

Of the six commanderies, Wei Ming only selected three governors, leaving the other three to Emperor Xuan of Han.

Emperor Xuan of Han's expression softened slightly, and he appointed three ministers in the court to be in charge of three prefectures in the Western Regions.

What saddened Emperor Xuan of Han was that he didn't know whether these three men were loyal to him or to the Wei family.

It's quite pathetic for an emperor to end up like him.

It's really too hard for him.

Emperor Xuan of Han was greatly affected by this incident.

He began to indulge in wine and women, neglecting state affairs.

He entrusted everything to Wei Ming.

However, there were people in the court who did not want to give up, namely the royalist group led by the Liu clan and supported by the Wang and Shi families, who were related to the imperial family.

They began to oppose the Wei family at every turn, leading to intense factional strife in the imperial court.

At first it was alright, but after the struggle intensified, they began to disregard everything and oppose for the sake of opposing.

They opposed any policy proposed by the Wei family.

Whether it's right or wrong.

In the eleventh year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, the second phase of the Zhuohe River management was completed.

Wei Du returned to Chang'an to report on the results of this campaign and submitted a memorial requesting that preparations begin for the third and final phase of governance.

However, his suggestion was rejected by the royalists because his surname was Wei.

Just as Wei Ming was preparing to push forward forcefully, someone unexpected stepped forward.

That person was Emperor Xuan of Han.

Having been away from politics for so many years, Emperor Xuan of Han had always observed the development of the court from the perspective of an outsider.

He gradually realized that the ones who truly cared for him and the empire were precisely the enemies he considered—the Wei family.

The real royalists who actually used his name were parasites who did little of anything but plenty of bad deeds.

These parasites have been undermining the foundation of the Han Dynasty.

After the controversy surrounding flood control occurred, Emperor Xuan of Han became even more certain of this.

So he stepped forward and supported Wei Du's request.

With his support, the imperial court approved the preparations for the third phase of flood control.

This support greatly eased the tension between the Wei family and Emperor Xuan of Han.

In July of the eleventh year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, Emperor Xuan resumed personal rule.

This time, Emperor Xuan of Han chose to encourage frank and honest advice, and often personally went to the countryside to observe people's lives.

He issued several edicts to lower salt prices and reformed the judicial system that had become chaotic at the end of Emperor Wu of Han's reign.

He also eliminated the position of Minister and personally intervened in government affairs with various departments.

In order to rectify official corruption, he conducted extensive investigations and research, and established a complete assessment and reward/punishment mechanism for officials.

In order to allow officials to listen more to the voices of the people, he ordered the prefects of various regions to implement a system of holding hearings every five days.

Furthermore, envoys were dispatched periodically to tour various prefectures and kingdoms to assess the implementation of this matter.

The official's promotion or demotion is determined based on the assessment results.

Based on his observations over the past few years, he has found that as the country becomes richer and stronger, corruption among officials has become increasingly serious.

The royalist party was the most prominent.

The Liu clan members and their maternal relatives wanted to move everything into their own homes.

Logically, as the emperor's relatives, they should be the ones who best safeguard these assets.

But in reality, they were the ones who were most corrupt.

Emperor Xuan of Han also issued decrees requiring the punishment of corruption.

He appointed a group of outstanding scholars of law and Taoism as officials and assigned them to various departments to severely punish any corruption that was uncovered.

Later, in order to prevent officials from protecting each other, he specially established four Court of Justice officials.

They are specifically responsible for reviewing criminal cases and conducting secondary reviews of cases where prisoners have objections.

In the thirteenth year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, the court began to calm down due to Emperor Xuan's intervention, and land annexation began to occur in various regions.

The two sections along the banks of the Zhuohe River that had been treated were the most severely affected.

Emperor Xuan of Han ordered the relocation of powerful local families to Pingling and Duling to prevent them from harming the local people.

In the same year, he began to vigorously develop education, encouraged the establishment of private schools in various places, and broke free from ideological constraints, ordering that his name no longer need to be avoided in relation to those in high positions.

In the fourteenth year of Emperor Xuan of Han, he ordered a reduction in the poll tax levied on the people throughout the country. In the autumn, he again ordered a reduction in the tax levied on the people of the whole country.

In the same year, he publicly promised the people that once the Zhuohe River was completely cleaned up, the whole country would be exempt from taxes for a year.

In the fifteenth year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, with his support, the final phase of the Zhuohe River management officially began.

He even went to the front lines in person to check whether the stones there were up to standard.

Then he personally installed the first stone brick.

In the twenty-first year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, after another six years, the management of the Zhuo River was finally completed during his reign.

From the moment the Zhuohe River enters Kansai, all the way to the moment it flows into the East China Sea.

The river stretches for nearly 3000 kilometers, and includes the major tributaries of the Zhuohe River, as well as the irrigation canals attached to them.

The mobilization of millions of people and decades of effort to clean up the Zhuohe River has finally been completed.

Even without maintenance, the Zhuohe River will not cause any harm for the next 100 years.

Moreover, the water from the Zhuohe River irrigated 100,000 mu of land, greatly increasing the yield per mu of land for the people around the Zhuohe River.

It was because of this achievement that he was awarded the posthumous title of Xuan.

A person's virtues are widely known; a person's actions that are not successful are also called "public announcements."

Asking questions thoroughly and comprehensively is called "Xuan"; giving without keeping secrets is also called "Xuan".

Sincerity beyond words is called "Xuan"; the bright sunshine is called "Xuan";

A person who is righteous and thorough in their understanding is called Xuan; a person who can spread virtuous orders is also called Xuan.

To be virtuous and capable is called Xuan; to exert one's power in all directions is called Xuan.

The wise and benevolent are proclaimed; the good and well-informed are proclaimed.

The posthumous title "Emperor Xuan" reflects the high regard people have for Emperor Xuan of Han's civil and military achievements, territorial expansion, political reforms, and cultural accomplishments. It is a rare and highly regarded posthumous title.

In the twenty-second year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, Emperor Xuan kept his promise and exempted the entire country from taxes for one year.

In the same year, Emperor Xuan of Han suddenly died of a serious illness, and his son, Crown Prince Liu Shi, succeeded him before his death. He was later known in history as Emperor Jing of Han.

Perhaps due to the butterfly effect, Emperor Xuan of Han and Emperor Zhao of Han were clearly different people, and even their empresses were not the same person. However, it is ingenious that Emperor Xuan of Han still named his son Liu Shi.

Upon learning of this, Wei Ping became somewhat curious. As the ruler of the world, he was aware of the existence of destiny.

Is this fate?

It's still the inertia of history.

But now history has been distorted like this: the Southern Xiongnu were destroyed, the Northern Xiongnu were driven to the far north, and the Western Xiongnu were firmly contained by the Western Regions, daring not to have the slightest thought of advancing eastward.

The northern grasslands, the Goguryeo region in the northeast, the Wa (Japanese islands) in the east, the Baiyue region in the south, the lands of the southwestern barbarians, and the various kingdoms of the Western Regions have all become the territory of the Han Dynasty.

The territory of the Han Dynasty was more than twice as large as it was in history.

Is there still historical inertia in this situation?

Wei Ping discovered that he was gradually becoming curious about the course of history.

Especially Wang Mang, a time traveler from the late Western Han Dynasty, and Liu Xiu, the chosen one of the worlds and a great mage.

Coincidentally, the year he awoke was also the year Wang Mang was born.

It must be said that things were full of coincidences.