Chapter 1529 (1528): The Grand Finale (Thirty-One) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Zhai Huan was reincarnated in the former territory of the Qu Kingdom.

In this life, he will still bear the surname Zhai, but he has not yet been given a name.

Zhai Le, with his bewildered daughter, peeked over the mud wall of a house. A two- or three-month-old baby was lying in a cradle by the window, sucking on his hand, while a young woman sat nearby doing odd jobs. Before coming, Zhai Le had ordered someone to find out everything about this family.

"Look, this is your uncle."

Unlike Zhai Le's open-mindedness, his daughter was in a slightly depressed mood.

Hearing this, he forced himself to look over.

The baby in the cradle was fair-skinned, with delicate features and full, rosy cheeks, indicating that the family was well-off. She asked in surprise, "How did Father know this was my eldest uncle?"

She suspected that her father had been deceived by a charlatan.

Her uncle had been dead for many years; if reincarnation truly existed, he would have been reincarnated long ago. How could he have just been born? Her first thought was that someone had used a scheme to deceive her simple-minded father, who was so eager to see his brother. She pursed her lips, preparing to secretly send someone to investigate.

Zhai Le said, "Your uncle appeared to me in a dream."

He was also loyal and didn't betray Shen Tang.

Otherwise, it would be even harder to explain.

Zhai Le had seen it all, but he wasn't satisfied with that.

So he ordered someone to knock on the door and enter openly and honestly.

This family wasn't originally surnamed Zhai. The male head of the household was merely a low-ranking official, a seventh-grade official, who had struggled for over twenty years to finally achieve his goal. When Zhai Le learned that his elder brother had been reincarnated into this family, fearing for his brother's future, he, while still the ruler, preemptively found a pretext to bestow the surname upon the low-ranking official and placed him on a guaranteed path to advancement, ensuring he could continue serving as a minor official in Kang State. The family's economic status was thus secured.

Shen Tang was not very willing at first.

This person has no chance of official advancement.

The Investiture of the Gods would select souls with special destinies to be captured, and Shen Tang took a shortcut, subtly incorporating a touch of metaphysics when choosing and promoting former subordinates of the Qu Kingdom. Under equal conditions, those with stronger official luck were given consideration. This minor official lacked official luck, but was suited for business; with honest management, he could build a century-old brand. However, the Kang Kingdom did not allow officials to engage in business.

Zhai Ledao: [I can't bear to see my brother suffer a loss.]

If we don't intervene, the male head of this household will face setbacks in his official career and will have to resort to business with only N+1 salary compensation to support his family. He'll have the money, but with the traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, it will be difficult for the elder brother, as a member of the family, to enter officialdom again if he has a merchant background.

In that case, we might as well intervene from the beginning.

Shen Tang: [Whatever you say.]

Anyway, it's a matter between the brothers.

The family was flattered to hear of Zhai Le's arrival. Zhai Le, a seasoned ruler of over a decade, naturally knew how to use his advantages to instill gratitude in the family. With a slight signal, a wet nurse brought out the newborn boy to greet the guest.

Zhai Le tensed all his muscles and carefully took it.

"Has the young master chosen a name?"

"Reporting to the Lord...Reporting to the Duke, not yet."

This was exactly what Zhai Le wanted to hear, and he eagerly volunteered, "How about I name him?"

"It is my honor."

Zhai Ledao said, "Huan, courtesy name Yuewen."

The male homeowner was like: "???"

No, is there something wrong with his ears?

What name should we give our child?

He broke out in a cold sweat, filled with trepidation.

"What merit or ability does my son possess to dare share the same name and courtesy name as the late lord?"

"To tell you the truth, my elder brother appeared to me in a dream yesterday and said that he had been reincarnated into your family. I immediately sent someone to inquire, and to my surprise, a young man was indeed born into your household. Look at his eyebrows and eyes; he vaguely resembles my elder brother."

The male head of the household was stunned.

Looking at his son, then at Zhai Le, he questioned the meaning of life.

He held a low-ranking official position and struggled for many years to finally achieve his goal. He had worked so hard that he didn't even have the right to meet Zhai Le, let alone Zhai Huan from years ago. Having never met Zhai Huan in person, he couldn't judge whether Zhai Le's words, a mix of coaxing and deception, were true or false, and could only remain skeptical.

He cautiously tried to guess Zhai Le's true intentions—Zhai Le was no longer the ruler of Qu State, but he was still the Duke of Wu State of Kang State, whose rank was equivalent to that of a first-rank prince, and his status was extraordinary. His current future was also due to the other party's promotion: "Since we are so destined, why don't we become godparents?"

Zhai Le's eyes suddenly lit up.

It's good to be adopted as a godparent. It won't affect the brother's parental relationship in this life, and I can also take care of him legitimately. It's the best of both worlds.

He was about to agree immediately.

The baby in his arms, who was diligently chewing on his fingers until they were shiny and white, suddenly looked up, his dark, clear eyes staring straight at Zhai Le. As a martial artist, Zhai Le was extremely sensitive to gazes, and following his intuition, he looked down, meeting those flawless eyes.

The two, one big and one small, stared at each other for a few breaths.

Zhai Le couldn't help but shudder.

He chuckled dryly, lowering his voice to say in a dry tone, "Godfather-son relationship is out of the question. If your son is truly destined to be with my brother, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to recognize him as my adopted son. However, our two families can maintain more contact in the future."

After saying that, he looked down at the baby in his arms.

The baby continued to struggle with its curled-up fingers.

He ate with great relish and utmost focus, as if it were the most delicious food in the world, making Zhai Le unable to help but swallow his saliva faster.

Are a few short, chubby fingers really that easy to chew?

Zhai Le was, after all, an adult and a high-ranking official who had held a position for many years. He simply couldn't bring himself to gnaw on the baby's fingers in front of the father. He held the baby tightly, refusing to let go, and finally returned the baby to the father amidst his resentful gaze.

Before leaving, he inquired whether there were any girls nearby whose age matched that of his sister-in-law reincarnated. Perhaps his questions were too detailed, as they drew strange looks from his older brother and father. Fortunately, however, they gave him face.

Yes, there are.

And there's more than one.

Zhai Le took the opportunity to glance at them all.

His intuition told him that none of these were true.

"Could it be that my sister-in-law has really promised herself to someone else and gotten married?" The thought of this possibility gave me a headache. "No, I have to think of something."

He muttered to himself as he went to find Shen Tang.

"Youli, just tell me the whole story again."

Shen Tang: "What do you want to do?"

Zhai Le expressed his concern: "Women who marry too young are very likely to die during childbirth. I'm worried that when my brother grows up and regains his memory, my sister-in-law will be reincarnated because of early marriage and childbirth. It would be too torturous for them to keep missing each other."

He wanted to stand up for his brother and sister-in-law's relationship.

Shen Tang quickly calculated and concluded, "She won't die during childbirth."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Le stopped asking questions.

His daughter, on the other hand, couldn't help herself.

"Why don't you ask around, Father?"

Zhai Ledao said, "I know what you're thinking. The past life is the past life, and this life is this life. There's a difference of more than ten years between these two. I can't force a young girl to wait for her newborn child to grow up, can I? Since there's no danger to her life, let's leave it to fate."

The elder brother will recall memories of his past life.

My sister-in-law might not remember.

This misaligned relationship can only be resolved by the parties involved; his rash intervention is likely to make things worse. Zhai Le sighed and left with his hands behind his back.

A short while later, someone jogged up behind them.

The person who came was Shen Youli's person.

"Did she give any further instructions?"

"This is from the Lord for you, Duke."

A slip of paper with only one address.

Zhai Le opened it and was momentarily unsure of Shen Tang's attitude. However, since she had given her consent, he figured he might as well take a look to put his mind at ease.

What he didn't know was that if he didn't interfere in Zhai Huan's affairs, Zhai Huan's reincarnated parents would be unable to afford the local rent due to their unsuccessful careers, forcing them to move away. The young woman living next door in their new home would be the reincarnation of Zhai Huan's wife. Zhai Huan's biological father would discover that this poor neighbor girl had considerable talent for cultivation, and, feeling a sense of appreciation for her talent, would indirectly help her escape her family's predicament.

If Zhai Huan doesn't move, she will lose her chance to defy fate.

The opportunities to change one's fate are too few for ordinary people at the bottom of society.

Once you miss it, life becomes as different as heaven and earth.

Zhai Le dug the pit, so let him fill it himself. Two days later, another message came from Zhai Le: he had brought back a skinny little girl from the border and was making a big show of taking her in as his goddaughter.

Those unaware of the situation once suspected it was a hidden gem of Zhai Le's.

There was no way around it; he was laughing too arrogantly that day.

His white teeth were practically showing.

Shen Tang: "..."

Zhai Xiaofang is incredibly audacious.

So, you're either going to be your brother's godfather or your father-in-law, right?

Whether or not they get a good beating is irrelevant, but the seniority must be doubled.

Because the conditions offered by Kang were sufficiently generous and their attitude sufficiently sincere, the surrender of Qu was met with little resistance, and the entire handover ceremony was peaceful, without even bloodshed. The common people only knew that one day they woke up to find that the ruler had changed and the country's name had been altered.

Even the reign titles are not calculated from the first year.

The Ministry of Rites suggested whether or not to revise the reign title.

Shen Tang has always been impatient with these things.

"Why rewrite it? I think Yuanhuang is quite useful."

Changing the reign title repeatedly is not friendly to ordinary people.

This time, the court officials didn't blindly follow Shen Tang's ideas. Even Qi Shan and others felt that they could change the era name, just for good luck. Their lord had broken the curse of the Wu Kingdom and was about to complete the unification, which showed that he was truly destined by Heaven.

This change of era name can further unite people's hearts.

Incidentally, it also serves to deter the few remaining traitors who have not yet submitted.

Shen Tang thought it over carefully: "That's fine too."

The reign title change would have to wait until the following year.

The Ministry of Rites initially drafted more than twenty alternatives.

Each one has a good meaning.

Shen Tang opened the long list and glanced at it: "Yongxi, Yongping, Yuankang, Yongkang, Yongning, Taining, Jianwu, Guangxi, Yongjia, Jianxing, Shenfeng, Taiping, Shiyuan..."

She was somewhat speechless.

"Is this list a result of Emperor Hui of Jin's descendants smuggling in their own agenda?"

Shen Tang chose a reign title that looked more pleasing to the eye: "The first reign title is Yuanhuang, and the second reign title will be Yanhuang."

The ministers: "..."

The reign title Yanhuang has a better homophonic sound and connects with Yuanhuang. Compared with the others, it is only slightly inferior in terms of connotation and depth.

But who can blame us when the Lord likes us?

What you like is the most important thing.

Changing the era name was a major event. For example, the calendar compiled by the Imperial Observatory would need to be revised accordingly, and local governments would also need to issue notices to the common people so that they would know the new era name and avoid confusion in the dating system. These matters would be handled by officials, and Shen Tang did not need to worry about them.

Just digesting Qu Guo's food kept her incredibly busy.

Every time Zhai Le came to see Shen Tang, she was busy.

Not only was he busy, but there were also dark circles under his eyes.

Yu Hai was also conscripted.

He was so busy that he began to question the meaning of life.

Did the Kingdom of Qu have so many problems before?

Or is Kangguo being too nitpicky?

Yu Hai's complaints were drowned out by endless official duties, and after more than a month, he felt as if his life force had been drained by a demon. But he couldn't just quit; he was now acting as a bridge between the former officials of Kang and Qu, trying his best to mediate the conflicts between the two sides.

After all, as the conflict escalates, Zhai Le is the one most affected.

Fortunately, most of the conflicts remained at the level of conflicting interests. In addition, Kangguo always made sure that its efforts to eradicate insects were justified, and the bloodshed was able to stand firm on the legal grounds. As a result, Kangguo did not encounter any resistance from the common people and had a very positive reputation and public opinion.

As for those people who were secretly killed by Kang Guo...

They were all convinced and have not received any negative reviews so far.

Qi Shan coldly poured cold water on the idea, saying, "If the expansion is too fast and the foundation is not solid, it will easily breed insects and ants."

Yu Hai: "I would like to have the opportunity to run the business in peace and quiet."

Unfortunately, the political situation did not allow it.

In chaotic times, if you don't conquer others, you'll be conquered; even if you manage to govern peacefully, you still have to wait for your enemies to give you the opportunity.

Of the entire continent, only nearly half of the northeastern continent remains unrecovered.

Why nearly half of the Northeast mainland?

This is naturally because the Qu state had previously expanded and annexed a part of the northeastern region, and this part of the territory was naturally accepted by the Kang state.

Kangguo was not in a hurry to take the remaining territories.

The main reason is that Shen Tang can't afford to accept money.

As the saying goes, war is all about burning money, and what Shen Tang needs most right now is money. Rather than going into war with debt, it's better to rest for two years and wait until his wallet recovers before taking the last bite.

The ministers had no objection to this.

The Kingdom of Qu surrendered voluntarily, but the central continent did not.

The former was easier to digest, but the latter was a different story. Every now and then, remnants of the rebellious forces, secretly funded by powerful families in the central region, would rise up in revolt. It was like playing whack-a-mole; you knock one down, and another pops up, it seemed endless.

The court officials held several court meetings to discuss the matter.

They gradually integrated everyone's opinions.

The consensus was that we should first focus on improving people's livelihoods and restoring the economy.

Once internal stability is achieved, the last piece of territory can be seized by the military.

However, some things can be put on the agenda first.

Shen Tang raised an eyebrow: "Is there anything else?"

Hasn't the change of era name already been agreed upon?

The official from the central region, enduring the murderous glares of the crowd, smiled and said, "Your Majesty, it is not a change of reign title, but a change of capital."

Shen Tang suddenly remembered: "You meant to relocate the capital?"

The official replied, "That's right."

She rested her chin on her hand and yawned: "...I don't really want to move."

That's quite audacious of you to say.

Upon hearing this, the officials who had been glaring at him stepped forward.

Everyone wants the capital to be closer to their ancestral home. The capital is the political center of a country, rich in economic resources, and naturally offers more opportunities. This is especially true for officials from the Northwest. They have been cultivating their influence in Fengluo for over a decade and know all too well how much they have benefited. If the capital is moved, it will be their interests that will be harmed.

However, even if it's hard to part with it, we must persuade the emperor to re-establish the capital.

At the beginning, Kangguo and Fengluo had a good geographical location.

With Kangguo now so large, Feng Luo is in a somewhat awkward position.

It lacks strategic depth and cannot reach the entire country.

Continuing to establish the capital here would make it difficult to take care of the entire territory.

Taking all factors into consideration, relocating the capital is imperative.

Shen Tang asked, "If that's the case, where should we move to?"

That's a good question. Where should we move to?

|ω`)