WIK/SPL

Volume 2: C37

CHAPTER 37

*Drumming - 击鼓 (jī gǔ), from the idiom 击鼓鸣金 (jī gǔ míng jīn) lit. to beat the drum and sound the gong, meaning to order an advance or retreat

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This 'scholar' was Chang Geng. After the big argument with Gu Yun four years ago, he was 'escorted' back to the capital by the Black Eagle.

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Throughout the ages, many different dynasties and changes, immortalized in the pages of history, no emperor had ever been the same with another. Some had brought to their country peace and prosperity. Some have come to bring ruin to the country and the people. Some were only concerned about enlightenment, neglecting political matters. And some were destined to cook up a storm.

Emperor Yuan He undoubtedly belonged to the 'strive for enlightenment' category; he was forgiving and lenient, senile and incompetent. His son, although sharing similar political views with his own, his style undoubtedly belonged to the kind who would cause stormy winds and turbulence.

Long An Emperor Li Feng had never believed in 'ruling a grand nation like cooking a small fish'*. He was both diligent in political matters and a strong-minded person. Since the beginning of his ascension, he had strived to reinforce the leniency in the handling of government affairs of the previous reign.

*A sentence from Lao Zi's Tao Te Ching(The Book of the Way and of Virtue), meaning that if one meddle in too much when cooking a small fish, will cause it to break apart. If one meddle too much in common people's affairs when ruling a country, it will cause the people to riot.

In the first year, he sent a decree for the Marquis of Order to escort the Heavenly Wolf's Tribes' Prince Jia Lai Yinghuo back to the north. At the same time, he signed the business treaty with many nations of the Western Regions, opening up the Silk Road.

Whether it was repairing the friendship with the Man's tribes, or grounding the Marquis of Order in the Western Region, ordering him to supervise the urgent expansion of the Silk Road - these actions had greatly expressed the emperor's hatred for the national treasury gradually being hollowed out for everyone to see. It was as if he wanted to say 'If, Gu Yun, you cannot make money, then go sell yourself instead'.

Long An's second year, Wei w.a.n.g colluded with Dong Ying people, attempting to build his own kingdom on the sea and to set off a Dragon disaster. Unexpectedly, his conspiracy was revealed while in progress. The Jiangnan Navy captured their leader in the blink of an eye. Wei w.a.n.g was imprisoned, then in the end, drank poison to 'commit suicide'.

Emperor Long An had used this as an opportunity to clean up and reinforce Jiangnan officers. Eighty-six of both large and small officials were implicated, more than forty were executed, there was not enough time to slay them all at the end of fall, it needed to be separated into three parts. The others were either demoted to be a servant or exiled and would never be put to use again.

In the same year, a new law was implemented starting from Jiangnan, then was expanded out to other areas, strictly investigating the land occupied by the local landlords. However, even after the investigation was done, the lands did not get returned to the common people and the farmers but were taken back by the imperial court.

After local powers were gathered and returned to the government, up until Long An's third year, for each and every piece of land, what would be planted or built on them must go through layers of approval. The degree of centralization had surpa.s.sed even that of Emperor Wu's ruling during His time, and the restrictions on Ziliujin have reached an unprecedented level never seen before.