Chapter 303 Soul: Son of Heaven

Confucius said: To govern with virtue is like the North Star, which stays in its place while all the other stars revolve around it.

The virtues of an emperor include political virtues, but what he needs more is martial virtues.

Taizu said it well: political power comes from the barrel of a gun.

Without Liangshan's 100,000 elite soldiers and over a hundred generals, how could they have replaced Zhao and Song?

Throughout history, whoever has the bigger fist can wear the yellow robe.

Abdication has its advantages. It can fully inherit the power of Zhao Song and achieve great justice.

Then he swept across the world openly.

Just like how Zhao Kuangyin bullied orphans and widows, successfully inherited the Later Zhou Dynasty, and finally secured his throne.

Cao Jie offered sacrifices to heaven and earth in Dongjing City and obtained the abdication of Emperor Song Zhao Ji. He officially ascended the throne and named the country "Da Wei". The Central Plains officially entered the first year of the new calendar.

The moment the yellow robe was put on, a thunderclap exploded deep in the soul, and the soul of that [rebel] rapidly transformed.

Suddenly, a purple-gold light seemed to bloom between Cao Jie's eyebrows. In that light, his soul sat upright in the center of the purple palace. His eyes became deep and indifferent, as if he was looking down at the gods in the sky.

The overall image also changed, transforming into a figure wearing a royal robe, with an indescribable majesty rushing towards him.

[Soul aspect: Son of Heaven (sage within and king without, sweeping across the world, swallowing up the vast land)]

[Experience: Level 1 (108/200)]

[Talent: Heavenly Protection (Heaven’s ways are constant and exist for the emperor)]

In ancient China, "Emperor" and "Son of Heaven" were both honorific titles for the supreme ruler, but they were not simply synonyms.

These two words have different meanings and origins, which deeply reflect the cultural concepts of the time.

The emperor has a certain divinity. The world is ruled by heaven, so heaven appoints his son to govern this land. Therefore, it is reasonable for the emperor to rule the world.

The title of emperor, however, has a certain humanity and is not so mysterious. The emperor is the person who dominates the world and is the actual highest decision-maker.

In ancient superstition, if the emperor did not call himself the Son of Heaven, something might happen. The people only believed in the Son of Heaven and in God.

For example, if a certain emperor's regime was overthrown, the people would say that God sent another virtuous son to replace this foolish son, but they would not say that God sent another emperor to replace this emperor.

The Son of Heaven is granted by God, but the Emperor is not.

This is why Cao Cao’s ability to hold the emperor hostage and influence the princes was so great. The emperor has legitimacy and represents orthodoxy.

Cao Jie's [rebel] soul transformed into [Son of Heaven], which means that he was recognized by Heaven and gained a trace of divinity.

As for the specific function of this divine power, LV1 cannot see anything yet.

After briefly studying the new soul, Cao Jie was escorted by his ministers to the imperial palace.

Although the emperor has supreme power.

Drunk and lying on the knees of a beautiful woman, he wakes up and holds the power of the world.

But being an emperor is also the most miserable job in history. It is difficult to do well, but if you do not do well and a flood occurs, it will be your fault and you will have to issue an edict of remorse.

Secondly, the emperor has no leisure time.

As a lifelong career, the emperor cannot work from nine to five, working five days a week and having two days off.

The emperor would go into workaholic mode every day, almost without a break all year round.

There's no other way. He has to take care of all the affairs in the world and he is really too busy.

If the emperor turns a blind eye to state affairs and just indulges himself in leisure, his imperial power may be weakened.

For example, the power wielded by Prime Minister Zong Ze was astonishingly great.

Only after the position of prime minister was abolished could the emperor truly have centralized power.

In other words, Cao Jie is not obsessed with the rights of ordinary people. He only wants experience, and only then can he live a free and easy life.

Take the famous overworker Emperor Yongzheng for example. He would work until 2 or 3 in the morning of the next day, and would get up to attend court at 5 or 6 in the morning. His working hours were always more than 15 hours a day, and he worked all year round without a day off.

However, that's not all.

As an emperor, he not only had to receive ministers and review memorials, but also had to attend various celebrations.

During every celebration, the emperor had to put on airs and perform and receive gifts, which was much more tiring than the other officials who came to participate.

If you don't have the determination to work overtime until death, don't even think about doing the emperor's job well.

Therefore, in the view of Cao Jie, who is devoted to liver experience, the pace of reform must be accelerated.

If I were to deal with a lot of trouble every day when I went to court, then this time travel would have been in vain.

I was 996 in my previous life, and now that I'm an emperor, I'm going back to my old ways. How can this be tolerated?

The first grand court meeting.

Cao Jie was still quite excited.

The transition of power was relatively peaceful. Except for a few bandit leaders and extremely corrupt officials who were beheaded at Caishikou and their heads pickled in lime and hung on the city gate as a warning to others, the rest, such as Zhang Shuye, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, etc., only had slight changes in their official positions, or even got promoted.

Liangshan was prospering so rapidly that it had no shortage of generals, but it was in great need of civil servants to govern the country.

Now is the time to reform the world and that is when they need to contribute.

"Your Majesty, your servant Li Gang has something to report. Xixia has taken advantage of the fact that our dynasty has just been established and is heading south..."

Li Gang, the "Mr. Liangxi", was a famous minister who fought against the Jin Dynasty during the Song Dynasty and a national hero. Such a person should naturally be reused.

"Lord Li, you don't have to worry about the northwest. Lu Zhishen once served under the old General Zhong. If we calculate the time, he has already led the army to Shaanxi. I believe that the Zhong family can put the overall situation first. Together, they can resist Xixia."

"Your Majesty, in Jiangnan, there are Manichaeism and White Lotus Sect that have bewitched their followers and have gathered hundreds of thousands of people. Now that the new dynasty has just been established, they have already established their own territory. We should send a large army southward. The rich land of Jiangnan must not be destroyed by the evil people..."

Zhang Shuye stood up, holding a tablet in his arms and making a report. He did not look at all like the tough guy he once was, having been captured and taken to the mountains.

Cao Jie smiled and said, "There are hidden dangers in Jiangnan. When the time is right, I will personally lead the army to wipe out the villains in one fell swoop. This is just a minor problem. Don't worry about it."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"I have something to report. Hundreds of thousands of surrendered soldiers from the imperial army of the previous dynasty are imprisoned in the suburbs. I don't know how to accommodate them."

"Quality is more important than quantity. Most of the hundreds of thousands of imperial guards are skilled workers. Prime Minister, build a factory and arrange for them to work in the factory. Without the exploitation of corrupt officials, they can support their families."

Zong Ze said loudly: "I have a plan! To reform industry and commerce... The most important thing now is actually tax reform. Gentlemen, please listen to me..."

During the Song Dynasty, reforms were ongoing.

It has only been a few decades since Wang Anshi's reforms.

Among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are at the bottom and are generally looked down upon.

However, the development of commodity trade in the Northern Song Dynasty led to a significant increase in the status of merchants during this period.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong, Ma Jiliang, a tea merchant from Weishi County, married the daughter of Liu Mei, a relative of the emperor, in order to become an official. He was appointed as the Secretary of Guanglu Temple, and later as the Pacification Envoy, and then transferred to the Langzhong of the Ministry of War.

As for the children of merchants wanting to truly enter the officialdom, this became very common after Emperor Yingzong.

Studying is a luxury in any era. Before the Song Dynasty, only the sons of scholars could enter officialdom. In this era, the children of merchants also have a prerequisite for entering officialdom, that is, wealth.

As the old saying goes, if the father and brothers do not run the business first, the children will never be able to enter the officialdom.

However, this was only the case of the sons of merchants entering officialdom, and there was no precedent for merchants directly entering the court.

"Don't be afraid of natural disasters, don't follow the example of ancestors, don't be concerned about what people say. You should do what the stubborn minister failed to do. As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers. This world will always have a new face. Let's encourage each other..."

The ministers were unable to understand the new emperor's character for a while, so they naturally did not dare to say much.

Just obey orders obediently!
The reform was first launched in Shandong.

(End of this chapter)