Chapter 429 New Emperor
As the successor personally designated by Liu Jin, there was no trouble at all. Liu Dan accepted the congratulations of his officials in Changle Palace and ascended the throne as emperor.
In Changle Palace.
Liu Dan touched this and that excitedly, with great surprise filling his whole body, "Master, I, no, I, what should I do now?"
The Grand Tutor twirled his beard and said, "Your Majesty, the late emperor has granted you the throne. Now you should establish your authority. If you want to establish your prestige, you must win the hearts of some court officials and the people of the world, and then make achievements."
Liu Dan paced in circles after hearing this, then clapped his hands and said, "The biggest event in my brother's life was the defeat of the Southern Kingdom, which even made him die in depression.
As a brother, it is not in line with filial piety if you do not avenge your brother.
It is said that there is a fierce debate in the court, and many people want to start a war again. It is unlikely to last long if you don't follow the will of the people.
If I can defeat the Southwestern Yi, I will not only avenge my brother, but also gain enough prestige and satisfy the people's hearts in the court.
Master, I think this is the right thing to do."
The Grand Tutor smiled and said, "Your Majesty, what you said is correct. That is what should be done. Summon all the ministers into the palace and announce the news to them."
War is the continuation of politics and a means to achieve political goals. The current situation in the Han Dynasty requires this war very much. No matter victory or defeat, as long as the depressed mood is dissipated, this dispute involving the entire court will at least stop.
All the ministers entered the palace with their own thoughts, especially the important ministers. They looked at each other and wondered in their hearts how many people would be left here in the next few years.
A new emperor has new ministers. The emperor's relatives, old friends, and subjects of the kingdom all have to come to the court to serve. There are only so many positions, so naturally someone has to give up their position.
The court officials sat down one after another. Liu Dan looked around the hall, which was full of unfamiliar faces, and said, "My lords, I have gained the trust of my brother and am able to inherit the Han Dynasty.
It has only been a few days since the Changle Festival, but I have been unable to sleep or eat, and have been worried day and night, fearing that I have let down my brother's trust and damaged his kindness.
I have been thinking hard in Changle, but cannot find a solution, so I ask you, my dear ministers, to share my worries. "
Most of the officials present were shrewd people. As soon as they heard this, they knew that the emperor was going to ask what to do next. The general stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I have received reports from the front line that the Southwestern Barbarians heard that the late emperor had passed away and actually congratulated him loudly, saying that 'the emperor of the Han Dynasty died at the hands of the gods of the Li people'. This is simply outrageous.
The king is the face of the world. When the king is humiliated, as a subject, you should fight to the death. I ask to fight to pacify the Southwestern Yi, present the head of the Yi king to Changle Palace, and hang it on the tower of Chang'an City. "
Liu Dan was immediately furious when he heard this: "Are the Southwestern Yi so rampant?
I am really shocked.
My royal brother is a king of high moral character, and he treats everything in the world with kindness. He trusts me and hands the world over to me. What kind of favor is this?
If I cannot avenge my royal brother, how can I still sit on the supreme throne of the world with dignity?
I should conquer the southwestern barbarians!
My dear ministers, there are more than one family that has hatred against the Southwestern Yi.
In this vast Guanzhong area, how many people want to go to the South to seek revenge and retrieve the bodies of their loved ones?
This is what I care about.
When I was still a prince, my father once told me that there were countless loyal ministers guarding the Han Dynasty, so there was no need to worry.
Therefore, if we want the Mandate of the Han Dynasty to continue forever, we must wipe out the barbarians from all directions and prevent them from invading the land of the Han Dynasty.
Make the Chinese kingdom forever strong and prosperous, and the emperor Su Wang will protect the destiny of the Han Dynasty.
Now that the Southwestern Barbarians dare to attack the other states, I cannot sit idly by and watch my people being slaughtered by the barbarians. That is not what a king or father should do.
Calling upon all the dukes, princes, and common people in the world, I am going to go to war with the Southwestern Yi again.
Command the whole army to demolish their houses, erase their language, destroy their bodies, and exterminate them. This is my order."
Liu Dan was a really violent person. When he was a teenager following Huo Qubing in the Liaodong Protectorate, he would fight and kill people at will. He treated the Hu people like non-human beings and his methods were always cruel.
The Grand Tutor sat in the hall and nodded continuously. Although the Emperor was uneducated, at least he had a good memory, and he said all these words without missing a single word.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
As soon as Liu Dan finished speaking, a thunderous roar like the sound of a tsunami rang out in the hall. A large group of people stood up and shouted. Upon closer inspection, they were all the ministers who had previously submitted a petition requesting another battle.
The general and others were very excited. After such a long tug-of-war, which even resulted in the death of an emperor, this huge debate finally came to an end with a great victory for the pro-war faction. The future of officials who were unwilling to go to war was a little bleak. Coupled with the suicide of the prime minister, a considerable number of officials were driven out of Chang'an to local areas.
Liu Dan looked at them one by one and found that most of them were military generals, and the personnel were mainly composed of three parts.
The first part is naturally the marquises, representatives of military merit and honor.
The second part consists of high-ranking generals who are not yet rank marquisates. They have made considerable contributions, but have not yet reached the standard for being rank marquisates, so they hope to continue fighting in order to get promoted.
The third part is somewhat similar to the second part. It is about those distant branches of the royal family. The vassal kingdoms are in a state of being abolished, or are about to be abolished. Now they need merits to transform into noble families with military merits, or they need military merits to maintain the existence of the kingdom.
When Liu Dan saw that this group of pro-war members were so widely distributed, he shook his head helplessly. He didn't quite understand why his royal brother wanted to stop the war. Public sentiment had become so overwhelming that he had to fight the battle even if he had to bite the bullet.
Besides, Liu Dan really didn't take the Southwestern Yi seriously.
Because of the establishment of the Liaodong Protectorate, the northeastern front of the Han court was greatly moved forward. The King of Zhao, who once controlled the military affairs of Zhao, Dai, Yan and other places, lost his wartime command power and was replaced by the Liaodong Protector-General.
After the death of Guanjun Jinghuanhou, his position as the King of Northern Yan became very important in the power structure of Liaodong Protectorate.
According to Liu Dan's idea, it was easy for me to defeat those strong and powerful nomads in Liaodong. The Southwestern Yi were like monkeys, and it was easy to defeat them.
Liu Dan read the battle report of the Han court's expedition against the Southwestern Yi. He thought it was outrageous. The Han army completely gave up its advantages and suffered from extreme unlucky. Lack of food and disease caused the Han army's combat effectiveness to be greatly reduced. In the end, they were dispersed by a wave of barbarians, lost their command, and the camp was completely destroyed. It is unknown how many people were trampled to death.
At that time, Liu Dan commented to the Grand Tutor: "Your Majesty has never read military books, and has never seen the Battle of Changping where Bai Qi of Qin defeated Zhao.
It is extremely terrible that a war broke out in this mountainous area.
Once the enemy has taken control of the pass, there will be no way out, no way in, and a single mistake will lead to the annihilation of the entire army."
Liu Dan took out the strategy he had formulated. He was quite confident in military affairs, so he asked the eunuch to hand it to the ministers and said with a smile: "This is my strategy. You can take a look at it, my dear ministers."
————
Although the Han court's pacification of the Southwestern Yi had its twists and turns, it was generally smooth. This was a completely war of national strength. The Southwestern Yi, with their extremely backward civilization, faced the Han court's higher-level civilization. As long as the Han court's rulers did not make mistakes, the author does not see any chance of the Southwestern Yi winning.
This indirectly proves that Emperor Ding of Han was indeed not an emperor who was good at martial arts. The southwest, as a territory, remained firmly under the management of the Xia system and even the central dynasty.
Although the Han court was reluctant to develop the southwest due to the complex terrain and the cost of ruling, the sacred sovereignty was unquestionable. This was an immortal achievement that greatly enhanced the emperor's prestige and secured his throne. Then the Han Dynasty began everything that followed, which I will describe in detail. - "History of the Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
