Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 463: The feudal system (Special thanks to book friend daddycool for two monthly tickets!)
The next morning, after Duke Rick received the letter from Princess Anna's personal maid, he thought for a while and felt that under such conditions he should be able to return to Constantinople and report to Basil II.

So, three days later, on September 28th, when Chai Zongxun summoned Duke Rick again, he stated the conditions for peace talks. After Rick pleaded for a few times in vain, he finally agreed.

In the following month, Minister of Rites Kou Zhun accompanied Duke Rick to visit Bian Jing, Yangzhou, Jiangnan and other places. Rick was amazed by the prosperity and strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

After returning to Bian Jing at the end of October, Chai Zongxun ordered the Ministry of Rites to send back some rare treasures as gifts for the Roman delegation to take back to Basil II, and sent Rick and his party back to Constantinople.

After a journey of more than four months, Rick returned to Constantinople to report to Basil II.

Basil II was furious when he saw that the Emperor of Great Zhou only agreed to hand over the three former Roman states. But when he heard that Chai Zongxun agreed to allow Nestorians to preach in the newly occupied territories of Great Zhou in Central and West Asia, Basil II, a devout Nestorian, was overjoyed.

The Eastern Roman emperor and his ministers argued for more than a month over whether to make peace or go to war with the Great Zhou. In the end, the group that feared the powerful military force of the Great Zhou prevailed.

In the end, Basil II had no choice but to accept the peace proposal of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He sent troops to take over three of the five states, including Donkwo. At the same time, he ordered the Nestorian missionaries in the country to actively preach in the central and West Asian territories of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

As for the 400,000 troops that were attacking the Black Caliphate, Basil saw that there was no possibility of conquering them, so in order to avoid a recurrence of the incident in the five states of Donkovo, he simply withdrew all of them back to the country.

After receiving the imperial edict, the 13th to 16th Corps of the Longxiang Army set out from Bian Jing in early July of the 33rd year of Kaixi, marched for more than three months, and arrived in Central and West Asia in mid-October.

After Huyan Zan and Jingsheng handed over the defense areas to the four newly arrived corps, they waited until they were familiar with the local situation, and then led ten corps of the First and Second Front Armies and set off back to Bianliang in early November.

In early September, Yang Ye led the Eighth Corps from Khwarezm back to Bianliang.

On October 15, when the army arrived at Bazhou and had lunch, they heard the news that the Great Zhou and Eastern Rome were negotiating a peace agreement.

Yang Ye was impulsive and threw his bowl to the ground in anger, saying:

"It's a pity that the heroic blood of the soldiers of the Eighth Corps is not worth a few soft words from a woman!"

The generals in the tent were horrified and hurried to dissuade Yang Ye. Yang Ye then realized that he had spoken out of turn and dared not discuss it again.

……

Between September and October of the 33rd year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun conferred the title of prince on six princes who had reached adulthood and were married, and sent them out of the capital to be enfeoffed in various prefectures in the interior.

For example, the fourth son of the emperor, Yu Yu, who was born to Princess Wang Xuan of Goryeo, one of the nine concubines, was given the title of "King of Han" and established his fiefdom in the capital.

For the safety of the princes, Chai Zongxun created the "Prince Guard" system:
When the prince was enfeoffed, a guard force composed of 10,000 elite soldiers of the Longxiang Army escorted the prince, his family and officials to his fiefdom.

Afterwards, these ten thousand guards became the prince's personal army, obeying the prince's orders. Their salaries were paid by the court, second only to the eight taels of silver per month of the imperial guards, which was six taels.

Chai Zongxun raised the prince's salary to 6 taels per year, granted him acres of land, and strictly prohibited the prince from annexing the land of local people.

Chai Zongxun took advantage of the situation to reform and improve the vassal system of the Great Zhou Empire, and also established it as one of the "ancestral systems":

First, each prince had greater freedom in his fiefdom. Except for not interfering with the central court's financial, taxation and military power over the fiefdom, the prince could make his own decisions in other aspects.

Second: Abolish the previous system set by the imperial court that "vassal kings are not allowed to leave their fiefdoms", and vassal kings can move freely within their fiefdoms.

Third: In order to strengthen the role of the vassal kings in protecting the country and the people of the Great Zhou Empire, and also to ensure the safety of the emperors who would be enfeoffed in various Zhou territories around the world in the future, Chai Zongxun limited the number of personal guards in the vassal kings' palaces to one percent of the imperial royal army.

For example, the Imperial Royal Army now has 25 Dragon Army Corps and 160,000 imperial guards; the Royal Navy has two fleets, the First Fleet and the Second Fleet, with 2,000 warships and 200,000 soldiers.

The navy and army totaled 2 million men, and the princes' personal guards were limited to 6 men, with salaries paid by the emperor's inner court.

Every three years, the princes could bring their families to the capital city of Bianliang to visit their father, the emperor, and their mother, the empress/concubine. This was called "paying respects leave". The stay in the capital was limited to three months, and the number of attendants was limited to one thousand.

Fifth: If a vassal king encounters an invasion or riot by a foreign enemy ruling the Great Zhou Empire, he can lead his personal guards to quell the riot. After the imperial court puts down the riot, the vassal king will not be regarded as treason or overstepping the line.

On October 12, Chai Zongxun and Guiyi Wang Xuan saw off the fourth prince, Prince of Han, Chai Jiyu, and his entourage at the Chaoyang Gate of the Imperial Palace to go to Goryeo to establish their fiefdom.

Chai Zongxun took the hand of the fourth prince, Chai Jiyu, and said:

"My son Yu'er has grown up and is about to be enfeoffed as a king.

Thinking of the time when Yu'er was young, playing with the imperial brothers and sisters, hugging and playing on the cotton mat in Baoci Hall, the scene is as if it was right in front of his father's eyes!
After Yu'er arrived in Kaijing City to take up his fiefdom, he remembered what his father had always said: the royal family and nobles should regard the interests of the people as their own interests. As long as the people can live and work in peace and contentment and lead a prosperous life, the great Zhou Empire will be able to last forever.

I have appointed Yu'er as the King of Han so that you can monitor the illegal behavior of local officials in Goryeo on my behalf and contribute to the country."

Chai Jiyu said:

"I will remember my father's teachings! When I arrive in Kaijing, I will learn from my father's teachings of 'putting the people first and the world for the public good', cherishing the people and monitoring lawlessness."

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and instructed:

"We, the descendants of the imperial family of the Great Zhou Dynasty, should carefully guard the country, strictly abide by the laws, and set an example for all the people.

I have greatly increased the salaries of the princes. Yu'er must not annex the people's land and seize their shops after arriving in his fiefdom.

If anyone violates this, I will punish him."

Chai Jiyu bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, I understand!
As the saying goes, "A family that cuts ice does not raise cattle or sheep." My salary, as a son, is already paid by my father from the national treasury. It comes from the hard work of the people. How can I compete with the people for profit?

If the people live and work in peace and contentment, and lead a prosperous life, then the country of our Great Zhou Empire will be stable and will last for thousands of generations!"

Chai Zongxun nodded. He was confident in the children's comprehensive abilities as he had received new-style education and humanistic care from a young age.

Guiyi Wang Xuan said:
"Yu'er, as the fourth prince, you must be a wise prince when you arrive in Goryeo, and you must not bring shame to your father and mother.

Mother hopes that Yu'er and the princess will give birth to a grandson soon and bring him to see his father and mother as soon as possible."

Chai Jiyu said:

"Please rest assured, mother. Whenever I have a "holiday", I will bring the princess and grandson to visit you!"

Wang Xuan nodded, took Princess Han Zhao Rui's hand, and explained in detail for a long time.

The auspicious time had arrived, and Chai Zongxun and Wang Xuan watched the fourth prince Chai Jiyu and his entourage leave the city of Bianjing.

(End of this chapter)