Chapter 1068: Move the capital to Luoyang, and the nations unite to protect themselves

"That's a good deal for this old thief!"

Su Mingzhe put out the fire, identified Zhu Wen's body, and had it dragged to Luoyang city and paraded through the streets for public display.

Although Luoyang City was destroyed twice during the Anshi Rebellion and the Huang Chao Rebellion.

However, Emperor Tang and Emperor Liang established their capitals and lived here for a long time, so the traces of the war have long disappeared in the space and time of history.

Today, Luoyang is ten or even a hundred times more prosperous than Chang'an.

As winter was approaching, Luoyang City was still full of flowers. Su Mingzhe was moved and sent someone to Chang'an to convey the imperial edict, ordering all officials to come to Luoyang for court.

End of October.

Queen Cui Yingying, along with all the concubines in the harem and hundreds of civil and military officials, rode a dragon boat downstream and arrived in Luoyang.

After the concubines had been traveling in Luoyang for a few days, they began to whisper in the men's ears, begging the emperor not to live in the palace but in Shangyang Palace instead.

There are two 'imperial palaces' in Luoyang, namely the 'Eastern Palace' and the 'Western Palace'.

'Eastern Palace' is the imperial palace in Luoyang City.

The 'West Palace' is Shangyang Palace, named after its location to the west of Luoyang City.

The Shangyang Palace was first built during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, based on the foundation of the Sixteen Gardens of the Sui Dynasty. It is more than two hundred years old.

It is rumored that when Shangyang Palace was completed, Wei Hong, the Minister of Agriculture who was in charge of the construction, was impeached and dismissed from office because the palace was too luxurious.

From this we can see how luxurious the construction of Shangyang Palace was.

After Shangyang Palace was built, Emperor Gaozong of Tang moved the capital here with Empress Wu Zhou and all his concubines.

Among the many emperors that followed, up to Emperor Zhu Wen of Liang, only Emperor Dezong of Tang did not live here because he did not like extravagance. The other emperors all lived here and handled government affairs.

The long-term residence of so many emperors added a lot of scenery and palaces to Shangyang Palace.

It can be said that the current Shangyang Palace is countless times more prosperous and luxurious than during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

When these women saw the splendor of Shangyang Palace, they naturally did not want to return to live in the palace.

Su Mingzhe was very doting on women and directly let his concubines live in Shangyang Palace.

He himself still had to work in the Luoyang Palace on weekdays.

It's the twelfth lunar month in a blink of an eye.

The officials of various prefectures and cities of Khitan and Liang were redefined.

More than a dozen small vassal states, including Pei, Nanping, Wuyue, Wu, Qi, Chu, Xing, Tubo, Nanzhao, and Min, sent envoys to express congratulations.

Su Mingzhe was not interested in these congratulations.

He directly asked the Ministry of Rites to respond that after the beginning of next spring, he would lead a large army south to gradually quell the rebellion of the vassal states in the late Tang Dynasty.

If the leaders of various countries are knowledgeable and sensible, they should surrender voluntarily.

In this way, you can be pardoned and retain your wealth and status.

If anyone dares to resist, they will be crushed to dust when the army breaks into the city.

Faced with such a tough declaration from the great man, the dozen or so envoys were all terrified and pale-faced, as if they had just lost their father.

……

"Envoy Lu, please stay!"

Lu Yan, the envoy of Pei State, thought that it was an official from the Ministry of Rites of Han State calling him, so he lowered his head and turned around quickly. As a result, he saw the envoy of Qi State smiling and bowing to him.

"It turned out to be Envoy Song!"

Song Qiuqiu was an envoy of Xu Zhigao, the King of Qi.

Xu Zhigao, also known as Li Sheng, the founder of Southern Tang.

After his adoptive father Xu Wen passed away, Xu Zhigao took the position of General of Southern Wu and then proclaimed himself the King of Qi.

This time, the vassal states came to congratulate the Han Kingdom on its victory over the Khitan and Liang Kingdoms, and Xu Zhihao also sent an envoy.

"Lord Lu, how about we find a place to talk?"

Song Qiqiu invited him with a smile. Facing Song Qiqiu's arrangement, Lu Yan did not dare to refuse:

"Then I'll trouble Envoy Song to arrange it."

Everyone outside could see that Xu Zhigao would usurp the throne of Wu sooner or later.

The State of Pei consisted of only three states and had no more than 100,000 soldiers and horses. The reason it was able to establish itself was entirely due to its natural advantages.

The territory of Southern Wu was vast, with nearly 50 states, a population of two to three million, and four to five hundred thousand soldiers.

The gap in national strength between the two countries is too big, so Lu Yan naturally has no confidence in front of Song Qiuqiu.

Not long after.

The two went to a restaurant and asked for a private room.

Lu Yan originally thought that it was just a gathering of two people.

Who would have thought that after a while, more than a dozen envoys from the vassal states who had just dispersed in the Ministry of Rites of the Han State actually gathered together.

……

Zhang Kui, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Division, hurried into the palace to ask for an audience:
"Your Majesty, the envoy of Qi State colluded with other envoys and wanted to join forces to resist the might of the Han Dynasty!"

"These are all lice on a bald head, it's obvious. If we want to attack someone, don't we allow them to resist?"

Su Mingzhe smiled slightly and said nonchalantly:
"Of the nine provinces in the world, our Han Dynasty has already occupied six of them. No matter how many alliances the remaining countries form, they cannot stop the great trend of unifying the world!"

Seeing that Zhang Kui hesitated to speak, Su Mingzhe motioned for him to continue.

Zhang Kui said cautiously:
"Your Majesty, I have heard a piece of news. The Crown Prince Wu Luan sent by the King of Nanping as a hostage is a fake one. The real Crown Prince Wu Luan is now a hostage in Wuyue. It is obvious that the King of Nanping and the King of Wuyue have been secretly connected for a long time."

"In addition, Peiliang, the ruler of Pei State, intends to marry his sister, Princess Qingping, to Yang Cang, the governor of Jingzhou, Southern Wu. Now that Xu Zhigao, the ruler of Qi State, is about to rebel, Yang Cang may take the opportunity to establish himself, or defect to Pei State!"

"King Ma Chu..."

"Well, I know everything. Keep monitoring closely!"

Su Mingzhe waved his hand to send Zhang Kui away and continued to handle government affairs with his head down.

After annexing Khitan and Liang, the Han Dynasty's territory doubled and its population directly exceeded 20 million.

In order to facilitate management, Su Mingzhe plans to implement the "provincial system".

According to the current territory, it is divided into 25 provinces, with prefectures under the provinces, and counties, towns and townships under the prefectures.

Once the Han army is stationed in towns and villages, the Han imperial power can also be extended to the countryside.

In ancient times, imperial power could basically only reach the county level due to a combination of reasons such as roads, culture, and customs.

The reason why Su Mingzhe planned to bring imperial power down to the countryside was because the aristocratic families, powerful clans, and prominent families were greatly weakened by the turbulent times, and a vacuum of local power appeared.

If we wait a few years for new powerful people to emerge and then try to extend imperial power to the countryside, that would be wishful thinking.

In a blink of an eye, the Spring Festival is over.

The fourth year of Jianwu arrived.

Just as Su Mingzhe was preparing to lead his army to war, good news came from the harem: Cui Yingying was finally pregnant.

"It's not easy. It's been four years. If you don't get pregnant, I will depose you!"

Su Mingzhe traveled through the heavens and served as emperor for several generations. When it came to the issue of succession, he always passed the throne to his eldest son.

And this eldest son must be the eldest son of the emperor.

As a result, Cui Yingying had been with him for four years but had never gotten pregnant.

The other concubines in the harem were sharpening their knives, waiting for Cui Yingying to make a mistake, and then they would rise up and replace her.

Fortunately, Cui Yingying did not give these women a chance.

Su Mingzhe thought about it, and before leaving, he called Hongniang and gave her some instructions.

The child in Cui Yingying's belly is her eldest son and must be protected.

After receiving the order, Hongniang took Cui Yingying and moved to the Luoyang Palace that day, separating herself from the other concubines who lived in Shangyang Palace.

(End of this chapter)