FIMA Ch98: Sharing the Glory

Whether it was Gu Siyuan or Xie Xuan, both were people who handled matters extremely decisively.

About a month after the imperial edict establishing Xie Xuan as the Crown Prince was proclaimed to the world, Emperor Jianzhao’s edict of abdication was also issued.

On the eighth day of the eleventh lunar month, having reported to heaven and earth above, and the ancestral temple below, under the witness of the civil and military ministers, Xie Xuan officially ascended the throne as Emperor.

Standing on the steps in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, looking at the dense mass of people below, he suddenly felt a sense of the vastness and emptiness of heaven and earth…

However, as soon as he turned his head, he could see Gu Siyuan standing beside him with a sword strapped to his waist. No matter what heaven and earth were like, this person would always be by his side.

The grand ceremony concluded.

Xie Xuan and Gu Siyuan returned to the inner palace. He couldn’t wait to throw the imperial crown with its jade beads on his head to the side. The twelve strings of beads on it bumped into each other, making a slight, soft sound.

Like usual, he threw his whole self into Gu Siyuan’s embrace and said acting spoiled: “I’m exhausted to death.”

Gu Siyuan hugged the person, weighed him, and said calmly: “So tired, it seems the plan to go to the Jinluan Hall (the main throne hall) tonight has to be canceled.”

“…” Xie Xuan.

Gu Siyuan, if you can’t get it up, just say so directly.

However, although Xie Xuan had thought about it for a long time, and Gu Siyuan had also secretly thought about it for a long time in his heart, this matter ultimately couldn’t be accomplished on the day of the ascension.

Because just that evening, an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch arrived; news came simultaneously from the Northern Frontier and the border passes. The grassland people had raised an army of a hundred thousand and directly attacked the three cities of Xueling.

In just a few short days, two cities had already fallen successively. If the final Xuanzhou was also lost, the grassland people could open the gates to the northern borders and directly point their troops toward the capital in the future.

Over the years, the grassland people had never been peaceful at the northern borders.

Especially after entering winter, they would rob merchant caravans and harass border cities almost every so often. However, it had always been small-scale skirmishes; they had never directly invaded with a large army like now.

Upon receiving the report, Xie Xuan was so angry he laughed: “The grassland people are keeping a rather tight watch on my capital. I’m afraid they estimated the changes in the royal court; since I have just ascended the throne and the situation is not yet stable, they specially chose this time.”

Gu Siyuan held his hand and said softly: “Watch this general vent Your Majesty’s anger.”

Xie Xuan nodded taking it for granted: “Mm-hmm.”

For the next few days, both Xie Xuan and Gu Siyuan were so busy they forgot to eat and sleep.

The lights in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were not extinguished all night. Preparing rations, preparing military equipment, issuing mobilization orders—all sorts of affairs were jumbled together.

It wasn’t until the day before Gu Siyuan was appointed as the commander-in-chief and led the troops to rush to the rescue of the northern borders that the two finally had time to stay together.

The matter they had looked forward to for a long time also finally had a chance to happen.

Perhaps because they were about to separate, Xie Xuan, who was always passive and lazy in such matters, was uncharacteristically active for once.

Looking at the person sitting on him, Gu Siyuan said with a serious face: “After returning from the northern borders, we must try it like this again.”

Xie Xuan stretched his slender neck and took a difficult breath: “Don’t want to…”

Moving by himself was truly too tiring.

This was a special circumstance.

Gu Siyuan was not too satisfied. He reached out and pulled the person into his embrace, and his little brother correspondingly entered the house a bit further.

“Hiss…” Xie Xuan hummed.

His fine, jade-like, slender feet stepped on the golden-yellow dragon throne and curled up tightly.

That night, Xie Xuan was tormented more fiercely than any previous time. In the end, he truly completely fainted.

When he woke up the next day, there was no trace of the person beside him.

Looking at the continuous purple and blue marks on his body, Xie Xuan bit that person a million times in his heart.

But he didn’t say a single harsh word. On this journey, swords and spears have no eyes; he couldn’t bear to say anything, deeply afraid it would truly come true.

Next came dispatch after dispatch, flying out from the imperial palace.

Since Gu Siyuan had already gone to the battlefield, he had to arrange the grand rear properly.

Gu Siyuan led light cavalry to the border this time, bringing only the Cavalry Camp and the Divine Engine Camp (firearms division) of the Capital Camp.

Two of the three cities of Xueling were lost. Many of the soldiers and civilians of those two cities retreated backward, fleeing to the final city, Xuanzhou, but more were left in place.

Although the commander-in-chief of Xuanzhou couldn’t be said to have the talents of a grand marshal, he did possess some resilient will. No matter what, he consistently and tightly defended Xuanzhou to the death, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

Meanwhile, Xuanzhou city had already been besieged by the grassland people for nearly a month. Plus, because a large number of people from the other two cities had recently poured in, the grain and fodder were already stretched to the limit.

When Gu Siyuan arrived outside Xuanzhou city, the first thing he encountered was a line of Xuanzhou grain transport soldiers being besieged by the grassland people outside the city.

His gaze sank, and he said coldly: “Save them!”

The eyes of the people in the Cavalry Camp and Divine Engine Camp behind him lit up; they had been waiting for a long time.

During the forcing of the palace, the Great General resolved it almost without a single drop of blood being shed; they didn’t even have a moment to show off.

The grassland leader commanding the siege on the Xuanzhou soldiers naturally also spotted Gu Siyuan and the others at this time. His eyes instantly lit up, and he rejoiced greatly: “These must be their reinforcements. Immediately blow the horn to let our compatriots in other directions surround them at once, catching them all in one fell swoop!”

The besieged Xuanzhou soldiers also changed their expressions, even feeling slightly aggrieved in their hearts. Since they were reinforcements, why didn’t more people come? Weren’t these few thousand people just serving as food?

However, very quickly.

They watched as that pitifully weak reinforcement army had a portion of their people pull out a black, hollow thing from their horses’ backs, while another portion pushed out an iron thing resembling a large rolling barrel from the ranks.

The commander of the Cavalry Camp rode forward and shouted loudly: “All Xuanzhou soldiers, hold your heads and squat down, otherwise bear the consequences!”

As soon as his voice fell.

The next moment, faint yellow flames spat out uniformly from the mouths of those two types of iron things.

Above the plains, rumblings sounded in waves, and fresh blood and minced meat flew across the air.

The Xuanzhou soldiers besieged in the middle immediately didn’t hesitate anymore, squatting down directly and hiding behind the carts.

Not knowing how long had passed.

The commotion gradually died down, the flames extinguished, and the smoke of gunpowder completely dissipated.

The soldiers of Xuanzhou slowly stood up. Looking at the scene before them, they opened their mouths blankly, completely unable to recover their wits.

That iron cavalry of the grassland people which had forced them to retreat again and again, just fell down so casually?

What kind of divine objects were these?

No wonder with so few people, the reinforcements still dared to come over so grandly.

Before Gu Siyuan followed these Xuanzhou grain and fodder soldiers into the city, he encountered the reinforcements the grassland people had just summoned by blowing the horn.

This time, a clean and neat encounter battle was fought directly.

For this border invasion, the grassland people had arranged exactly one hundred thousand men in total. After these two battles, ten thousand were directly sacrificed.

When the news transmitted back to the grand camp, the central army was shocked.

Afterward, that group of grassland people no longer hesitated, intending to break the cauldrons and sink the boats (fight to the death). They arranged all their forces, pressing directly in front of Xuanzhou city, swearing not to return unless they broke the pass.

However, this plan naturally fell through.

The firepower suppression from the nearly one hundred large cannons and several thousand muskets Gu Siyuan brought directly pressed down all the grassland soldiers who wanted to forcefully siege the city.

After a wave of city sieging, outside Xuanzhou city, only mountains of stacked corpses remained.

Those grassland people could only kneel on the ground, begging for the heavenly gods’ protection.

However, in front of Gu Siyuan’s weapons, even the heavenly gods could only yield.

After one night passed, of the grassland people’s ninety-thousand-strong grand army, less than twenty thousand defeated soldiers and wandering braves remained, fleeing desperately in the direction they came from.

Another month later, the other two cities of Xueling occupied by the grassland people returned to Great Liang’s embrace once again.

However, the original population of Great Liang’s common people left behind in the cities had decreased by nearly one-third during these two months of occupation.

Because of this, Gu Siyuan directly rejected Xie Xuan’s imperial edict summoning him back to the capital.

The grassland people occupied two of their cities and killed so many of their common people; how could it just be left at that?

Therefore, afterward, the attacking and defending sides directly switched.

Consequently, this war between Great Liang and the grassland people was fought for a year without stopping.

It wasn’t because the grassland people were so brave and skilled in battle that even Gu Siyuan’s thermal weapons couldn’t deal with them, but rather because this ghostly place of the grasslands was vast and sparsely populated.

Most of the time, Gu Siyuan’s grand army wasn’t wasted on fighting battles, but on hurrying along the road.

By the summer of the third year, over a dozen tribes of the grassland people united to offer a document of surrender. The remaining stubborn large force of the grassland people was forced to expedition westward, heading toward foreign continents.

Great Liang’s border passes and strategic points were built directly into the interior of the grassland people’s territory.

On the grasslands, one city after another was also built.

Great Liang could be considered a feudal society, but the grasslands were a slave society. The vast majority of people were slaves, beaten, killed, and traded at will by slave owners; their lives were a hundred times more miserable than the common people of Great Liang.

After Gu Siyuan had people occupy these places, all slaves directly regained their free status. Those willing to stay locally would be under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate General from then on, becoming subjects of Great Liang; while those who wanted to leave the local area and enter Great Liang to make a living were processed with household registrations and distributed to various prefectures, counties, towns, and villages.

Furthermore, to prevent these people from colluding and causing trouble, no more than two households were distributed to each village.

After announcing these basic governance policies, it was also time for Gu Siyuan to return to the capital.

…

Meanwhile, at this time inside the capital.

Xie Xuan angrily threw the memorial submitted from Xuanzhou to the side.

Hmph, he finally knows to return. Why didn’t he stay on horseback for a lifetime?

According to his original plan, after ascending the throne, the two of them should have lived a shameless and immodest life. As a result, Gu Siyuan, this annoying guy, made him guard the dragon bed alone for more than a year.

After that guy comes back, I will absolutely leave him hanging and ignore him for a month.

Mm, Xie Xuan hesitated somewhat and frowned his good-looking brows… Is a month too long? How about ten days, ten days?

But Gu Siyuan was expanding the territories and borders for him. Isn’t punishing him like this too inhumane? Then three days, I won’t pay attention to him for three days, nor let him touch me.

Xie Xuan thought viciously.

Just at this time, Yuanbao walked in: “Your Majesty, news came from the Jingchang Temporary Palace over there.”

Yuanbao was originally Xie Xuan’s personal little eunuch. After Xie Xuan ascended the throne, he became the Chief Eunuch. The Directorate of Ceremonial, originally managed by Wang Chengying, was also handed over to him.

The Jingchang Temporary Palace was located in Fangshan. It was built by the Great Ancestor of Great Liang and was normally used for escaping the summer heat and vacationing.

However, after Xie Xuan ascended the throne, he placed Emperor Jianzhao and Xie Huan under house arrest there.

Xie Xuan looked up at him: “What have those two caused again? Did they secretly contact the garrison troops of local guard stations in private again, wanting to rebel against my throne and pull me down? Their courage is this big?”

Yuanbao chuckled lightly and said attentively: “They naturally don’t dare to now. It’s an internal contradiction that arose among themselves.”

Although Emperor Jianzhao and Xie Huan were initially intimidated by Gu Siyuan using armed force, as Gu Siyuan left the capital and went to the northern borders, those two guys became restless in secret again.

Emperor Jianzhao had been an emperor for so many years after all. Whether through enticement with benefits or other means, he actually really pulled together a wave of forces.

Just a year ago, they secretly communicated with the outside world several times, and even had people pass messages to the garrison troops of guard stations in Tongzhou, Bazhou, and other places, preparing to force the palace and drive Xie Xuan from power.

However, naturally, they didn’t succeed.

Everything was already in Xie Xuan’s eyes. Before those garrison troops even entered the gates of the capital city, they were intercepted by a large army with firearms dispatched by Xie Xuan. In the end, on the official road entering the capital, blood flowed like a river, directly dyeing half the sky red.

Since then, the people of the world, including Emperor Jianzhao, also knew that Xie Xuan had a batch of divine artifacts in his hands. No matter how unwilling they were in their hearts, they didn’t dare to harbor any more thoughts of rebellion.

Otherwise, isn’t that seeking death?

This batch of weapons was naturally left to him by Gu Siyuan before he left. It was out of concern that shortly after he ascended the throne, some scoundrels would take the opportunity to cause trouble. He didn’t expect it would actually come in handy.

Thinking of Gu Siyuan, Xie Xuan felt both sour and soft in his heart.

…How about I just forget the three-day punishment?

No.

Xie Xuan resolutely denied it again. Wouldn’t Gu Siyuan never know his mistakes then?

He hurriedly forced himself to change his mind, diverting his attention to look at Yuanbao, and asked gloatingly over their misfortune: “You just said a problem occurred internally among them. What problem? Could it be that fellow Xie Huan beat up my good Imperial Father?”

“…” Yuanbao almost rolled his eyes.

Your Majesty, you truly can imagine things. Ever since the last failed operation, Xie Huan has been trembling with fear all day, deeply afraid of making a mistake and that you would find an excuse to kill him. How would he dare to beat the Supreme Emperor?

However, on his face, Yuanbao still smiled and explained: “It’s the wife of the sinner Xie Huan, the Lady Jiang. I don’t know what happened, but yesterday Lady Jiang suddenly went mad, took those scissors, and snip, snipped off that thing underneath the sinner Xie Huan…”

“What did you say…” Xie Xuan also widened his eyes in shock.

After all, men could still empathize greatly regarding an injury up there.

He swallowed his saliva: “What about Lady Jiang, how is she now?”

Yuanbao said: “When the Supreme Emperor found out, he was furious and wanted to kill Lady Jiang, but the Imperial Guards of the temporary palace stopped him. Now Lady Jiang is locked in the woodshed of the temporary palace.”

Xie Xuan laughed loudly a few times and joked: “How can she be locked up? Go, transmit my order to release the person. Only when dogs bite dogs is it interesting, right?”

Yuanbao, however, hesitated somewhat.

Xie Xuan looked at him: “What is this about?”

Yuanbao slowly sneaked a glance at him, and only then explained: “That Lady Jiang is truly mad. In her mouth, she even disrespected Your Majesty, saying things like she is your wife, she is the Sixth Prince’s Consort, and should be the Empress now… She even clamors continuously wanting to see you…”

Hearing this, Xie Xuan sneered: “If not for that bastard Gu Siyuan, I actually truly almost married her back then.”

(ˉ▽￣～) Tch~~, why am I thinking of this bastard Gu Siyuan again.

He thought for a moment and said: “There are not many political affairs today, and I haven’t seen Imperial Father for a year either. I shall make a trip to the Jingchang Temporary Palace today!”

“Yes.” Yuanbao hurriedly responded.

After Xie Xuan arrived at the Jingchang Temporary Palace, he originally went to see Emperor Jianzhao and Xie Huan first.

However, after Xie Huan woke up and learned he had become a eunuch, he was in agony so much he wished he were dead, constantly clamoring that he wanted to die. Emperor Jianzhao and Consort Li were forcefully holding him back.

Seeing this harmonious scene of a family of three, Xie Xuan truly found it hard to interrupt, so he changed paths to see Jiang Yuanyuan.

Naturally, he didn’t stoop to go to the woodshed, but sat waiting in the main hall.

Before long, the guards of the temporary palace escorted Jiang Yuanyuan over.

It was somewhat different from what Xie Xuan imagined. Jiang Yuanyuan’s eyes were clear, and her clothes and hair were neat. Although her appearance seemed a bit more haggard than when she was in the capital back then, she was absolutely not the kind of lunatic suffering from hysteria that Yuanbao had described.

Upon seeing Xie Xuan, Jiang Yuanyuan’s eyes instantly shone, and she enthusiastically pounced over: “Your Highness… I knew it, you would come see me.”

“What are you doing, what are you doing? How dare you be so insolent toward His Majesty?” Yuanbao immediately stepped out and scolded loudly.

Jiang Yuanyuan was also startled by him.

The next moment, she was directly forced to kneel on the ground by the guards behind her.

Xie Xuan raised his eyebrows, looked at her, and said calmly: “I heard Madam wishes to see me; I wonder what the matter is?”

Jiang Yuanyuan knelt on the ground, seemingly not having reacted. It was only after a good while that her mouth muttered: “You are the Emperor, you are the Emperor, it’s different from the previous life…”

Xie Xuan heard her words clearly and frowned: “Previous life… what previous life?”

Jiang Yuanyuan abruptly closed her mouth. She moved forward a few steps on her knees: “Your Highness, I should have been your wife. I should have married you. In the previous life, you liked me the most and treated me the best. Take me away. Xie Huan is not a good thing, I have already taken revenge on him.”

Xie Xuan raised his eyebrows: “Truly crazy. It seems there is nothing left to say.”

With a casual sentence, he prepared to leave.

Jiang Yuanyuan’s attitude became intense. She grabbed the hem of his clothes: “Your Highness, I know my wrongs. In the previous life, I shouldn’t have united with Xie Huan to betray you, and ultimately even caused your death. Forgive me, okay? You have always treated me so well, you will definitely forgive me, right?”

Xie Xuan’s footsteps paused, his icy gaze looking straight at her: “Caused my death? Previous life?”

After a long while.

Xie Xuan picked up the clear tea beside his hand and took a sip, digesting those so-called matters of the previous life he heard from Jiang Yuanyuan’s mouth.

He once again looked at the person kneeling on the ground, his expression calm as he said: “So in the previous life, starting from the sacrificial ceremony case, my journey was full of frustrations. In the end, I was betrayed by you, executed by the Supreme Emperor, and afterward, when the sly rabbit dies, the hunting dog is boiled (used and then discarded); you were despised by Xie Huan for having been married and were abandoned.”

Jiang Yuanyuan nodded. Remembering how Xie Huan treated her in the previous life, a look of incomparable hatred flashed in her eyes.

Xie Xuan chuckled softly: “This story sounds quite interesting.”

Next, he put down the teacup in his hand, stood up, and walked toward the door.

Jiang Yuanyuan instantly panicked. She reached out again wanting to pull him, but was forcefully shoved aside by the guards.

She fell to the ground, reaching out her hand and crying: “Your Highness, Your Highness, I am your wife, do you not want me anymore?”

Xie Xuan glanced at her, as if looking at some insignificant dust: “Not to mention that just now was only a story, but even if it were true, do you think I have some kind of problem, that I would want someone who once betrayed me like that?”

After speaking, he strode out the door; outside the hall, the sun was shining brightly.

Jiang Yuanyuan’s expression changed abruptly: “Your Highness, but I already know my wrongs. You truly liked me once, how could you have the heart to…”

However, Xie Xuan could no longer hear this voice.

After Xie Xuan left the Jingchang Temporary Palace, he hurried toward the capital again.

Sitting in the horse carriage, he thought of Jiang Yuanyuan’s earlier words.

Although he appeared very composed at the temporary palace, the events in Jiang Yuanyuan’s words were too realistic. He ultimately took them to heart, and even felt some lingering fear.

Thinking carefully, starting from the sacrificial ceremony case, if it hadn’t been for Gu Siyuan’s sudden alertness, then perhaps everything truly would have proceeded exactly as she described.

Gu Siyuan…

Xie Xuan chewed on this name in his mouth, wishing he could chew this person up and swallow him together as well.

This annoying guy actually dared to leave him for more than a year.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt out of breath.

Xie Xuan raised his hand and lifted the curtain of the horse carriage window.

The weather was very good today; the sky was a vast expanse of green, and from time to time, flocks of wild geese flew past.

Even wild geese formed pairs, while he alone was solitary and single.

Hmph, when Gu Siyuan comes back, I must make him taste my ferocity.

Unless… unless he appears right in front of me right now, then I might have a tiny bit of a possibility of forgiving him.

Xie Xuan’s thoughts wandered wildly and unconstrained.

Right at this moment, the curtain of the horse carriage suddenly fluttered.

Xie Xuan blinked, turned his head, and looked over, thinking Yuanbao had some matter to report to him.

However, the next moment.

He widened his eyes, blankly looking at the person half-squatting opposite him.

Gu Siyuan also looked at the person opposite him, still as refined, noble, fair-skinned, and beautiful as before he left. Although his eyes were widened too large at this moment, making him look somewhat dazed, it still did not detract from his beauty and temperament.

All the longing in his heart transformed into a rolling flood pouring out in an instant.

He reached out and pulled his little Majesty into his embrace. His weather-beaten face rubbed against Xie Xuan’s soft and tender cheek, and a sigh of satisfaction issued from his throat: “I missed you to death.”

He left the large troop behind, riding alone day and night to rush back to the capital, all just for the person in his embrace.

What he didn’t expect was that just as he entered the boundary of the capital, he saw the imperial procession.

They truly have a telepathic connection.

Gu Siyuan held the person in his embrace for a good while, but this guy, who was usually like a little goblin, was abnormally quiet today.

He released the person slightly, only to see that his little Majesty was still stiff in body, still carrying a dazed expression. It seemed that from the moment he entered the horse carriage, this person had maintained this appearance.

Gu Siyuan couldn’t help but feel somewhat novel. He pinched the person’s warm and soft cheek, then leaned over and gently bit his bright red lips a few times, but his little Majesty still remained motionless.

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes, directly lifted the person up to sit on his lap, and his large palm started from the waist, slowly caressing and measuring upward bit by bit.

The little Majesty seems to have not changed from before.

Gu Siyuan felt somewhat relieved, yet also somewhat unreconciled.

He actually didn’t lose any weight at all. Does this mean he didn’t miss me in the slightest?

However, Gu Siyuan quickly found a reason. It was probably because Xie Xuan was currently wearing clothes, so the measurement wasn’t accurate.

He immediately reached out to untie the person’s waistband.

A gentle breeze passed through the horse carriage window and seeped in.

Xie Xuan’s body trembled, his mind dizzy; why do I feel somewhat cold?

He subconsciously looked down, “Hmm?”

Only then did he realize that his outer robe was gone at some unknown time, and a large palm was resting on his thin inner garment.

“…” Xie Xuan.

Suddenly, all his memories rushed back. Just now, did he seem to see that bastard Gu Siyuan?

Xie Xuan abruptly raised his head, meeting a pair of calm, familiar eyes perfectly.

Gu Siyuan pinched his chin and said leisurely: “Your Majesty has finally recovered your wits. Just now, this subject even thought Your Majesty’s soul had left your body?”

Xie Xuan immediately opened his mouth wide and took a bite on his shoulder—it was a familiar sturdiness.

Next, his abdominal muscles; yes, that was also the feeling.

Finally, he solemnly reached his hand further down; still correct, it was exactly this.

At first, Gu Siyuan remained as unmoved as a mountain, but following Xie Xuan’s actions, his breathing still couldn’t help but become a few degrees hurried.

His family’s little Majesty was straightforward after all, heading directly for the ultimate goal.

He habitually weighed the person sitting on his lap, secretly thinking: It just so happens my family’s second brother also misses his old home; it’s been over a year since he entered the house.

Xie Xuan finished confirming everything, proving that everything before his eyes was indeed not his illusion.

He immediately raised his head, glaring at the person, preparing to scold him, and to ask clearly.

However, “Wu…” his mouth didn’t even have a chance to open.

And from this moment on, all the way until they entered the palace gates, he lost any chance to rest.

…

For this expedition, Gu Siyuan expanded the territories and borders for Great Liang; his merits would last for a thousand autumns (generations).

The next day, when Xie Xuan held court, he directly bestowed Gu Siyuan the title of King of Liang, and granted him the Son of Heaven’s Sword.

These two awards immediately stunned everyone.

“Liang” is the title of the state! How can it be used as a title for a King of a different surname? King of Liang, King of Liang, if this spreads to foreign states, wouldn’t they think Gu Siyuan is the actual master of Great Liang?

And this Son of Heaven’s Sword—it’s usually given to a regent by the late emperor on his deathbed when the reigning Son of Heaven is young, so that he can strike a muddled ruler above and execute sycophantic ministers below. But Your Majesty, how old are you? Is there still a need for this?

Moreover, this King of Liang just returned from the northern borders, and the military tally is still in his hands. Aren’t you afraid his merits are so high they threaten the ruler?

However, Xie Xuan naturally wouldn’t take their words seriously.

Not only did he not take it seriously now, but even the subsequent bullshit like establishing an Empress or filling the inner palace, he similarly didn’t take seriously.

And Gu Siyuan also very “disappointingly” did not become a powerful minister whose merits threatened the ruler.

When there were battles to fight, he went to fight battles.

When there were no battles to fight, he acted as a civil minister, recording the Diaries of Activity and Repose for his little Majesty.

Of course, occasionally he also dabbled in small inventions to improve the living conditions of the common people.

Thus, twenty years after Xie Xuan ascended the throne, the entirety of Great Liang had ushered in earth-shattering changes, and the lives of the common people were prospering day by day.

Under Gu Siyuan’s guidance, Xie Xuan began to revise the laws, change the educational model and the system of selecting officials, and imperceptibly change the political system, moving from a hereditary system to a constitutional monarchy.

Perhaps in the near future, it should turn into a more equal and just people’s democratic system.

In the autumn of the fifty-eighth year of Xie Xuan’s reign, he passed away in the Huangji Hall. The entire nation mourned deeply.

The next day, the King of Liang also passed away.

The new Emperor followed the late Emperor’s testament and buried the two together in the imperial mausoleum.

…

“Alright, today we are going to talk about Emperor Wu of Liang, Xie Xuan. During his administration, our country’s territory reached its largest in history and has been maintained to the present day. And as the monarch of a feudal dynasty, he was able to proactively reform corrupt laws and return political power to the world, making our country transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society. His insight was even more far beyond his contemporaries…”

In a history class at a certain university, the teacher opened a PowerPoint presentation and began to speak torrentially.

Below, discussions were already chattering away, but the content was completely unrelated to what the teacher had just said.

“Every time I hear this posthumous title of Emperor Wu, and then look at the Beauty Xie painted by our Prince Gu’s brush, I feel the face completely doesn’t match,” a female student smiled playfully.

The beautiful girl at her desk was also very active: “Yeah, with such a fierce posthumous title like Emperor Wu, how could it be such a gorgeously dazzling great beauty!”

“Hey, who told him his achievements were too great?”

“Bah, bullshit achievements. He’s just a piece of trash carried to ascension by Gu Siyuan,” a male student sitting behind suddenly uttered malicious words.

The two girls glared back uniformly: “What did you say?”

This male student was clearly a hardcore fan of Gu Siyuan: “What did I say? Haven’t you read the historians’ records? Whether it was the Wenhua Hall Incident back then, or driving out the grassland people, expanding the territory, or the various subsequent inventions, including political reforms—which of these wasn’t Gu Siyuan’s political achievement? Xie Xuan merely had good luck and happened to rub off on him.”

The two girls were unresigned: “So what if he rubbed off? Gu Siyuan was happy to let him rub. He didn’t just rub off on his achievements; at night, they slept in the same blanket and rubbed each other, hehe…”

That male student instantly became even angrier: “You stop talking nonsense. Rotten cancer has entered your brains! General Gu is not that kind of person.”

“Yo, weren’t you just mentioning the historians? Did your historians not write ‘At that time, Siyuan frequently shared a bed and rose together with the Emperor’? Or are you selectively blind to it?”

Those two girls clearly had a very solid foundation in history, and continued: “Also, Great General Gu never married his entire life. Guess why? The day after Emperor Wu passed away, the Great General also passed away. Guess why again? After they died, they were buried together in one mausoleum. Why do you think that is?”

Just at this moment, the class dismissal bell rang.

That male student left huffing with anger, thinking to himself that he must immediately go flip through more historical materials. He must prove that his idol liked women and couldn’t be rubbed off on for his achievements by this trash Emperor Xie Xuan anymore.

…

Volume 6: The Cannon Fodder in the Period Setting Koi Fish Novel

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