Until the very end—
Liu Chen finally spoke on another topic.
"Zhao De, why won’t you let the Gu Clan’s descendants attend court?"
Liu Chen stared intently at Gu Ye.
This was what puzzled him the most; the current Gu Clan had greatly changed from before.
Although there were many mbers of the Gu Clan holding office locally.
At the core of the imperial court, there was only Gu Ye, and Gu Ye was no longer young.
He ntioned multiple tis wanting to promote a mber of the Gu Clan.
But Gu Yi refused each ti.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yi could not continue to just watch and swiftly controlled Gu Ye to say, "Your Majesty, the Gu Clan’s descendants lack talent and cannot take on important roles."
Liu Chen slightly shook his head and sighed helplessly, "Is it truly so....."
He didn’t know how to express his thoughts at the mont.
This was what set the Gu Clan apart from other noble families.
To put it simply, this behavior was sothing worth gratified for an emperor.
After all, just this point alone was enough to show the purity of a noble family.
But for the Yan Han’s Emperor, it was sowhat different.
Without the Gu Clan attending court... it seed Yan Han was missing sothing.
But how could he articulate that?
"On the Liu’s Cauldron, the na of the Gu Clan should be engraved."
This vow he indeed could fulfill, but would forcibly promoting the Gu Clan really benefit the Great Han?
If the Gu Clan were to fall to the level of other noble families due to this action.
What kind of impact would that have on the Great Han?
Liu Chen had pondered about this countless tis, but he never managed to co up with a good answer.
Ti is unfeeling; history must move forward.
Even Gu Yi had to admit it.
As the descendants of the Gu Clan gradually beca diocre, the days of glory belonging to the Yan Han were bound to gradually fade away.
He could take a gamble, perhaps acquire tools through a lottery to cultivate talents.
But for the long-term strategy of the Gu Clan.
Gu Yi could not make such a choice.
There is no eternal dynasty.
Achievent points are tools for Gu Yi to support the collapsing house of the Gu Clan, not rely embellishnt on success.
That night, the sovereign and his minister lay beside each other in bed.
.....
From that day on.
Gu Ye appeared once more on the court.
The Great Han was indeed thriving, with peaceful borders and the absence of any major natural disasters, the nation’s strength was rapidly developing.
Even the results of the imperial examinations were outstanding.
Liu Chen indeed had capability, having kept the entire Great Han on the right path of developnt.
Gu Ye hardly needed to perform much interference, only to control the court.
Liu Chen indeed reached the end.
Following Gu Ye’s return to the capital, it was as if he had fulfilled his last wish, and it wasn’t long before he collapsed directly.
This day arrived sooner than expected.
The thirty-first year of Qianji, on the day of Xinwei in the second lunar month;
—Liu Chen passed away with a smile in the North Palace of Luoyang;
At his deathbed, he entrusted all affairs to Gu Ye.
Crown Prince Liu Jun ascended the throne.
Posthumous title: Mu;
Spreading virtue and upholding righteousness is called ’Mu’; the heartfelt feelings shown in appearance is called ’Mu’; virtuous and trustworthy is called ’Mu’;
Thus becoming the Emperor Xiaomu of the Great Han.
Crown Prince Liu Jun ascended the throne. .....
——————
"The Emperor Xiaomu, nad Chen, was the grandson of Emperor Zhao Wu and the son of Emperor Xiaoren. His mother was the Empress Chen of Reverence. Bright and intelligent as a child, versed in ’The Classic of Filial Piety,’ ’The Analects,’ and ’Gu’s School.’
In the spring month of the first year of Qianji, Emperor Xiaoren passed away, and the Crown Prince ascended the throne as Emperor, granting a general amnesty across the realm. In February, he paid respects at the High Temple.
The Emperor inherited Emperor Xiaoren’s old system of examinations and in the third year of construction issued an edict to add the subjects of ’Advanced Calculation’ and ’Agricultural Strategies.’ From ti to ti, he personally assessed scholars from the terrace, telling his attendant, "Governance is like tuning a zither; too slack and there is no sound, too tight and the strings break. For the examination venues, one should select those who understand worldly affairs."
He thus commanded the Imperial College to include teachings on land systems and waterways.
That year, forty-seven were recomnded for ’Advanced Calculation’ and sixty-three for ’Agricultural Strategies,’ with each awarded appropriate office.
In the second year of Qianji, chaos broke out at the Northern Border.
The Emperor climbed the terrace to appoint Gu Ye as Grand General Ye, bestowing upon him axe and halberd. Ye left Youzhou State, and in one battle, he defeated the bandit hordes, all three tribes surrendered.
In the seventeenth year, Ye descended again to Lingnan, passed through the ancient path of i Pass, and thus broke through Panyu. The Emperor bestowed Ye with the Zhanlu Sword he carried, issuing an edict, "The general’s achievents can be compared to Wei and Huo."
The Emperor had a frugal and simple nature, often wearing washed garnts.
The Si Li Captain petitioned to renovate the South Palace, but the Emperor endorsed it with, "Now Henei suffers from famine and Nanyang from floods, how can we expend millions to build a palace for ?" Then it was halted.
Whenever there were disasters or anomalies, he would don plain clothes and avoid the palace, sending envoys throughout the provinces.
One night, reading ’The Discourses on Salt and Iron,’ upon reaching the ’Virtuous and Literary’ Chapter, he sighed deeply, "The techniques of Sang and Confucius ultimately do not match with Chao Cuo’s ’Treatise on Precious Grain.’"
On the day of Xinwei in the second lunar month of the thirty-first year, the Emperor died in the northern palace’s inner chamber, aged fifty-nine.
In his final edict, he instructed: "The funeral shall be frugal, reducing months to days. All princes return to their fiefs, none shall leave without permission." That evening, a white rainbow traversed the Big Dipper, and the Luo River solidified for three days. On the day of Gengyin in March, he was buried at the Xianling of Mang Mountain.
He was posthumously nad ’Mu.’
——The Yan Han Book. Biography of Emperor Xiaomu
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