Chapter 342 Empress

After entering the city, the first thing Gao Yuan did was not to rush into dealing with the court officials and the major Powerful Families, nor was he in a hurry to reward merit; instead, he immediately helped Liu Rengui build his team.

Liu Rengui was not skilled at leading charges, so Gao Yuan left Nan Jiyun with him as his deputy. The Jiangdong Corps was organized into five divisions, with a total authorized strength of 41,000 troops.

After the Battle of Jiangzhou, the Jiangxi Corps had only one and a half divisions left, fewer than 14,000 men, meaning only about 6,000 could be allocated to him.

Gao Yuan then ordered a rigorous selection process for the captured soldiers and those who had surrendered from various regions who were willing to remain in service. He screened out over 23,000 men and divided them equally between the two corps.

By the time he finished all of this, it was already the end of the eleventh month of the sixth year of Qiande, and Gao Yuan finally had the time to meet with the anxious Xiao Yu, Cui You, and the others.

The loss of power and the uncertainty about the future had caused these once high-spirited men to age rapidly; after only a few months, Gao Yuan almost failed to recognize them.

Seeing them like this, Gao Yuan felt a mix of emotion and secret satisfaction. He suppressed his inner glee, gave a slight cough to draw everyone's attention, and then spoke, " Having set down the burdens of the Imperial Court, I imagine you all must have been resting quite well these days? "

Everyone present was speechless, thinking to themselves, ' Can you not see how decadent we look? ' Yet, they could only smile and say, " We are free of all worries and have rested very well. Thank you for your concern, Duke of Yue. "

Gao Yuan nodded slightly, a smile still on his face. " You are all advanced in years and have labored for many years for the sake of the country and your families. It would be better to return home early, enjoy time with your grandchildren, and live a life of leisure. There is no need to worry about national affairs or the people and land of your families anymore. I am sure His Highness, the Prince of Yue, is benevolent and will certainly not mistreat you, the meritorious officials of the nation. "

Although Xiao Yu and the others had long since considered the situation, they were still somewhat reluctant when it came down to it. " Duke of Yue, the land and the people in our households were passed down by our ancestors... "

" Under the vast heaven, all is the King's land; within the borders, all are the King's subjects. What 'yours' or 'ours'? Isn't it all the Imperial Court's? Rest assured, the Imperial Court will manage everything well for you; it will certainly not be left to waste. "

Gao Yuan's tone had become somewhat stern. He scanned the crowd. " Besides, His Highness, the Prince of Yue, will not let you suffer any losses. All due compensation will be provided, and the talented youths of your families will be properly placed. Is there anything else you are worried about? "

Zhu Bai, the head of the Zhu Family, was the first to stand up. He picked up a wooden box beside him and presented it respectfully with both hands. " The Duke of Yue speaks the truth. My Zhu Family is willing to hand over all land deeds and servant contracts to contribute to our Great Qian. "

Gao Yuan nodded with satisfaction and gestured. Li Siye stepped forward and took the wooden box.

Everyone was shocked. They had not failed to conspire during these past few days and had agreed to stand together against Gao Yuan to secure as many benefits as possible. They had not expected the Zhu Family, one of the four great families of Jiangnan, to betray their alliance.

What they did not know was that two days prior, Gao Yuan had met with Zhu Bai privately and offered his terms: Zhu Song would be transferred to the Tianzhu Circuit to serve as the Deputy Governor of the Tianzhu Circuit, and the Imperial Treasury would purchase all of the Zhu Family's land and population at a price slightly below market value.

At the same time, Gao Yuan issued an overseas trade license to Zhu Bai, allowing the Zhu Family to participate in the increasingly prosperous overseas trade and enjoying a preferential policy of half-price tariffs for the first year.

Of course, this was a special favor for the Zhu Family for being the first to surrender. For the Xiao Family and the others, if they were sensible, they could be given a way out; if not, they would simply have to be made to disappear into the long river of history.

Gao Yuan could see that Xiao Yu and the others were struggling. These Powerful Families were able to remain prosperous for so long because, on one hand, they monopolized education, and on the other, they monopolized land.

Gao Yuan asking them to give up their core interests was essentially digging up their roots, which was unacceptable. However, the current situation was stronger than the people involved, and they had no choice but to bow their heads.

Seeing them still hesitating, Gao Yuan knew he needed to soothe them slightly. He gave a light cough and said, " Do you really think your centuries of heritage cannot compare to those who climbed up from the bottom? Do you really think that anyone with genuine talent would worry about not being given important responsibilities? "

Following this, Gao Yuan brought out a stack of papers. These were the names of some descendants of the Powerful Families whom he had decided to appoint after personal examination, following recommendations by Zhu Song.

Although none were in high positions and all were appointed to posts away from their home regions, this effectively tied these Powerful Families to his chariot.

Of course, Gao Yuan had another intention: to break up these clannish Powerful Families, throw them into the Indian Peninsula and the Indochina Peninsula, and let these families take root and sprout in those local areas.

This would not only accelerate the rate of Sinicization in those regions but also disperse the power of these Powerful Families, ensuring they could not stir up any major trouble.

Sure enough, with the presentation of this list, those Powerful Family heads who had been somewhat wavering made up their minds, stood up, and made their commitments to Gao Yuan.

After much turmoil until the end of the year and the expenditure of vast sums of money, Gao Yuan finally purchased back all the land and population held by the Powerful Families, which almost completely emptied the national treasury.

Coupled with pension payments, as well as the costs of recruiting new soldiers and repairing equipment, the national treasury had to take out another loan from the Bank after several years.

Gao Yuan had no time to worry about these matters; he had already set out with the Xiaoguo Army on the journey back to Panyu. On the first day of the New Year, Zhao Xiyao would ascend the throne as Empress, becoming the first female emperor in this timeline.

Originally, Zhao Xiyao was not very willing; she had wanted to find a member of the Zhao clan to be the emperor, but she had not expected that after searching high and low, she could not find a single registered male heir.

For the Imperial Family, the verification of the lineage of any descendant was extremely complicated. It required the golden seal and precious registers issued by the Court of the Imperial Clan; one could not simply drag someone over and claim them to be an illegitimate son to be called a prince.

The Zhao Imperial Family had no remaining descendants, and since Zhao Xiyao had a legitimate son, that became the best option.

Therefore, under the persuasion of Gao Yuan, Mu Sheng, Song Jinglian, Zheng Ji, and others, coupled with the fact that officials like Gao Yao and Yu Qian had submitted petitions urging her to ascend, Zhao Xiyao finally made up her mind to ascend the throne as Empress.

As for the reign title, following Gao Yuan's suggestion, they abolished the practice of constantly changing reign titles and directly adopted the method of the Great Qian Era.

The first year of the Great Qian Era, chosen by Zhao Xiyao, was the time when Gao Yuan had brought the three women in a sorry state to West City; next year would be the twentieth year of the Great Qian Era.

By the time Gao Yuan returned to Panyu, the date had already reached the thirtieth day of the twelfth month. All preparations were complete, and they were just waiting for Gao Yuan, the " Empress " with the special status.

The only thing Gao Yuan was relieved about was that the formal court attire prepared for him did not have any phoenixes embroidered on it; instead, it was a dragon robe just like Zhao Xiyao's.

This was a special treatment given to Gao Yuan by Zhao Xiyao. In her heart, eighty percent of the credit for the Great Qian realm today belonged to her husband.

Everything was ready. On the first day of the first month of the twentieth year of the Great Qian Era, the thirty-four-year-old Zhao Xiyao took the hand of her husband, Gao Yuan, and stepped down from the magnificent, massive carriage. The couple walked hand in hand, step by step, toward the high platform.

Zheng Ji, acting as the representative, read the imperial edict announcing the ceremony to heaven and earth. Zhao Xiyao personally burned the yellow paper and cast it into the sacrificial cauldron, then stepped back three paces and knelt on the prayer mat to pay homage to heaven and earth.

The ceremony concluded, and the two returned to the carriage and headed back to the Imperial Palace to receive the obeisance of the officials and confer titles upon the meritorious officials.

Xia Luqi, Huo Jun, Mu Sheng, Liu Rengui, and Gao Zhong, those who had followed Gao Yuan the earliest, were all conferred the first-rank title of Duke. Those who followed later, such as Wan Sanqian, Xue Linfeng, and Hong Wantong, were all conferred titles ranging from Commandery Duke to Marquis.