Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 619: Chapter 311: Lao Ba really hasn’t disappointed me

The news of Prince Chu and Zhang Gong’s complete recovery of Shu land spread back to the capital, bringing great joy and excitement to the court.

The recovery of Shu land has always been the emperor’s wish and the deceased former emperor’s last wish. Before his death, the former emperor repeatedly instructed the emperor to crush that turtle grandson Han Zhong and take back the land of Shu. Now, finally taking back Shu land is a great joy for Great Zhou.

For the soldiers who made contributions in this recovery of Shu land, the emperor decreed generous rewards. Even for Han Zhong’s eldest son, who voluntarily surrendered to Great Zhou, the emperor generously rewarded him.

Before rewarding Han Zhong, the emperor had discussed with his ministers how to reward him. Quite a few ministers proposed to enfeoff Han Zhong’s eldest son as a king, allowing the Han Family to guard Shu land for generations so that they would be loyal to the court for generations. However, Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu thought this proposal was unwise.

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu believed that enfeoffing Han Zhong’s eldest son as a different surnamed prince and allowing his descendants to inherit the throne for generations would only breed ambition, and in the future, the Han Family would inevitably rebel and continue to occupy Shu land.

Shu land has been recovered and is a city of Great Zhou; it should not be governed by one family for generations. Shu land must be governed by the court so that it can completely belong to the court.

The emperor agreed with Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu and did not support enfeoffing Han Zhong’s eldest son as a king. Instead, he decreed to appoint Han Zhong’s eldest son as the governor of Shu land, continuing to manage it. In addition, he was rewarded with considerable gold and silver jewelry.

Although Han Zhong’s eldest son can continue to manage Shu land, his power will be greatly reduced. The court will send new officials to take positions in Shu land. As for the previous officials in Shu land, more than half followed Han Zhong’s younger son in rebellion; those who should be beheaded will be beheaded, those who should be exiled will be exiled, those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned, and those who should be demoted will be demoted.

As for the officials who followed Han Zhong’s eldest son, most can stay in their positions, but they cannot hold key positions as before.

In addition to a purge in the officialdom of Shu land, the noble families, gentry, and merchants in Shu land were also purged.

Most of these noble families, gentry, and merchants followed Han Zhong’s younger son in rebellion. The emperor decreed Prince Chu and Zhang Gong to confiscate the property of these people, and the seized wealth was shocking.

Neither the emperor nor the ministers expected Shu land to be so wealthy; the confiscated property was even more than the national treasury’s contents.

If they had known Shu land was so rich and had so much grain, the emperor regretted not attacking Shu land sooner. If they had attacked Shu land earlier, the national treasury would have been abundant.

This time, the emperor still sent Grandmaster Liu to Shu land to handle the follow-up matters. Shu land is large, and there are many things to deal with. Grandmaster Liu will have to stay in Shu land through the new year and can only return to the capital in the spring of next year.

The emperor entrusted the military affairs of Shu land to Zhang Gong and Song Dekang to handle together. A few years ago, Song Dekang managed the military affairs in Yangzhou; he has experience in this area, making him the most suitable to assist Zhang Gong.

Zhang Gong needed to stay in Shu land to deal with military affairs and could not return to the capital with Prince Chu to receive his rewards. However, he sent his son back to the capital to receive the rewards.

Before the end of the year, Prince Chu led the Shu soldiers triumphantly back to the capital. Naturally, Prince Wei accompanied Prince Chu and his entourage back to the capital. Now, they are on their way back to the capital.

Before Prince Chu set out to return to the capital, the emperor originally intended to decree Princess Consort Chu and Prince Chu’s son to return to the capital. However, Princess Consort Chu was pregnant and inconvenient for long journeys for the time being, so the emperor had to let her temporarily stay in Liangzhou. As for Prince Chu’s son, because he was too young, and since Princess Consort Chu was not coming to the capital, the emperor also decided to let him stay in Liangzhou.

The emperor issued a marriage decree, bestowing Li Houci in marriage to Prince Chu as a consort. This marriage decree was personally requested to the emperor by Princess Consort Li.

Li Houci was determined to marry Prince Chu; even if as a consort, she was willing. If she could not marry Prince Chu, she would become a nun. Minister Li and the others had no choice but to fulfill her wish.

Previously, Zhao Yao had visited Li Houci and advised her not to devote all her thoughts to Prince Chu; she could do what she wanted and pursue meaningful endeavors. However, Li Houci loved Prince Chu too deeply. She was taken to the palace by Princess Consort Li to be raised and nurtured from a young age, knowing since childhood that she was destined to marry Prince Chu, so her heart was filled with thoughts of him from a young age. As she grew up, it was impossible for her to marry anyone else.