When Chu Fan stepped into the site that was about to become the martyrs' cemetery, he found that Chu Anping and others had already been waiting there.
Behind Chu Anping stood a group of civil and military officials, their expressions solemn as if they were waiting for some important moment.
At the same time, royal relatives also arrived, but they did not mix with the civil and military ministers. Instead, they chose to stand on the other side of the venue, forming a unique group.
Residents of Kaifeng City and the three surrounding citadels flocked here, even though they were blocked by the city guards and could not enter the mausoleum. However, they were still extremely eager, their eyes piercing through the crowd, closely watching every move of Chu Fan and the civil and military officials.
In their hearts, they were still full of doubt and distrust about the emperor's decision. After all, it was almost unbelievable to them that the emperor was willing to let those ordinary soldiers be buried near the royal cemetery.
Soldiers mostly came from ordinary families, and their status and position were vastly different from those of servants in official families. Many servants in official families disdained to associate with soldiers, and would even use contemptuous names to belittle them, such as the nickname "Qiu Ba".
The wealthy class even looked down on soldiers, thinking they were just rude warriors who were not worthy of being on equal terms with them.
Although His Majesty the Emperor once publicly announced that a special martyrs' cemetery would be built for these martyrs who died for the country to commemorate their bravery and sacrifice.
However, despite hearing the emperor's promise, these ordinary people still found it difficult to fully believe it in their hearts. They doubted whether the emperor would really allow ordinary people like them, these soldiers of humble origins, to be buried near those noble royal mausoleums.
To them it seemed like a distant dream, a promise that was difficult to fulfill.
However, Chu Fan's appearance seemed to give them a glimmer of hope. His firm gaze and serious expression made everyone present feel an unprecedented respect.
Chu Fan walked slowly towards the crowd. Seeing this, Chu Anping immediately stepped forward and saluted Chu Fan respectfully: "Greetings, Your Majesty." Now they were in a public place. Even though Chu Anping was much older than Chu Fan, he still had to salute Chu Fan. This was a respect for the imperial power.
Then the ministers in the court also knelt and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Just as Chu Fan was about to ask these people to stand up, he heard the sound of the ministers in the court kneeling and bowing. All the people outside also began to kneel and bow, shouting: "Long live the emperor."
Looking at the people kneeling before him, Chu Fan felt an inexplicable sense of responsibility. He was responsible for these people while he was still on the throne. If he wanted to complete the system's mission, he would try his best not to involve these ordinary people. It would be best if another prince within the royal family started a small rebellion. Then he would directly give the throne to him, or a Mongol came to kill him alone.
Chu Fan said, "Everyone, please stand up."
Eunuch Li stepped forward and shouted, "Your Majesty has decreed: Everyone, stand."
After everyone stood up, Chu Anping stood in front, facing the civil and military officials, the royal family, and tens of thousands of ordinary people. He announced in a resounding voice, "We gather here today to witness a great moment. His Majesty has decreed the establishment of a mausoleum for all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for their country, as a token of the nation's highest respect and eternal commemoration."
Chu Fan stepped forward regardless of the reactions of the audience and said loudly: "From now on, every soldier who sacrifices for the country, regardless of their social status, will receive due honor and respect. After their death, they will be buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery, and their names will be engraved on stone tablets, and their deeds will be passed down to future generations. This is my promise to them, and my promise to the country." His voice was clear and firm, and it spread throughout the cemetery site.
As Chu Fan finished his words, the audience fell into a brief silence. Then the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. At that moment, civil and military officials, as well as ordinary citizens, felt an unprecedented sense of unity and strength. Chu Fan's decision not only won dignity for the martyrs but also injected new hope and vitality into the country.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the people, Chu Fan looked at the cleared ground and said to Chu Anping, "Go get a set of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone."
Chu Anping quickly had the city guards bring a piece of paper. Chu Fan looked at the rough, yellowed paper in his hand and wondered, "Isn't this the paper I've been using for toilet breaks lately? Why did Chu Anping bring such paper to such an important occasion?"
Chu Fan whispered to Chu Anping, "Sixteenth Master, I want high-quality Xuan paper. Why are you using this low-quality paper?"
Chu Anping replied, "Your Majesty, this is top-grade Xuan paper. Is there any better Xuan paper out there?"
Chu Fan looked at Eunuch Li in confusion. Eunuch Li immediately understood and replied, "Your Majesty, this is the best Xuan paper available today. As far as I know, no other country has better paper than this."
Chu Fan already had a rough guess in his mind, and he asked, "Is there no such thing as completely white paper in this world?"
Eunuch Li replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have never seen the kind of paper you are talking about."
After hearing Eunuch Li's answer, Chu Fan was now certain that this world didn't have advanced papermaking technology. Chu Fan wondered if he should try making paper in the future. After all, if he waited for the system to log in and obtain it, he didn't know when he would be able to log in and obtain the papermaking technology.
You should know that when he was still in college, Chu Fan was already a hardcore level 6 boss on Bilibili, and he watched a lot of videos about traditional papermaking techniques.
However, there was no better paper to replace it with, so Chu Fan decided to write a couplet on this paper.
Chu Fan carefully spread the rice paper in his hand on a huge stone. Chu Fan picked up the brush and wrote on the paper:
The sun and the moon shine on the land of Wei for thousands of years, and the loyal souls remain in the world for ten thousand years.
After Chu Fan put down the brush, Eunuch Li picked up the rice paper and showed it to all the royal relatives and court ministers.
When the royal family and court officials saw the couplet written by Chu Fan, they all knelt on the ground and shouted loudly: "The sun and the moon will shine on the land of Wei for a thousand years, and the loyal souls will remain in the world for ten thousand years."
When the people standing on the periphery heard that the ministers in the court had knelt down, they also knelt down and said: The sun and the moon will shine on the land of Wei for a thousand years, and the loyal souls will remain in the world for ten thousand years.
For a moment, huge shouts reached the sky.
When they knelt now, they were not kneeling to Emperor Chu Fan, but to the sun and moon that had always shone on the State of Wei, and to the loyal souls who had made great sacrifices for the State of Wei.
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