Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 531: Duke Zhang Wugong (Special thanks to book friend 2017…8585 for the monthly ticket!)

More than 1.4 million family members of the rebels were exiled to the Northern Ming Dynasty and imprisoned for life.

Children of prisoners aged three years and under were exempted from punishment and were given to civilians for voluntary adoption or to be raised in "wolfstowns".

When government officials from all prefectures across the country paraded the "Lu and Zhao Rebel Party", the people lined the streets to watch.

When the prisoners' car passed by, the people cursed it and many of them threw vegetable leaves and stones at it.

"Damn you traitor! The emperor today is such a holy ruler, benevolent and loving to his people, the people are prosperous, and everyone has a path to advancement!
You actually want to restore the privileges of the bureaucrats and the aristocracy, and want to shit and piss on the heads of ordinary people like us, you really deserve to be killed!"

"You're not enjoying the good life of a scholar or a juren, but you actually want to rebel?
He is truly a traitor who deserves to be cut into pieces!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!
Fortunately, your majesty has insight and has made decisions for us, the people, and has captured all of you traitors in one fell swoop!"

Under the attacks of millions of people throwing objects at them, many prisoners, who had already been frightened half to death, fainted.

Within a few days of enforcement, all 320,000 rebels in all states across the country were executed, and the people applauded.

After the "Lu Zhao Rebellion", the stubborn conservative forces with official-centered and privileged thinking in the Great Zhou were almost wiped out by Chai Zongxun.

The Zhou people who grew up during the Kaixi period, whether they were common people or those who passed the imperial examinations and entered officialdom, were all brought up with the concepts of "equal emphasis on agriculture, industry and commerce" and "nobles who break the law are subject to the same punishment as common people". It has been more than 40 years now, spanning two generations.

This made the enlightened monarchy and commercial society led by Chai Zongxun the mainstream that was firmly supported by the people of the Great Zhou Empire.

After more than a month of statistics, all the military achievements of this expedition to Maya had been counted, and Chai Zongxun issued an order to reward the three armies.

The commander of the imperial guards, Chen Jixing, and the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Corps, Zhang Ning, were already dukes, and their fiefs were increased by 5,000 households, bringing the total to 15,000 households.

Cao Kefan of the Tenth Corps was promoted to Duke and given a fief of 10,000 households.

The Royal Navy transported civilians and the royal army twice and opened the Maya route for the first time, which was a great contribution. Seven people were conferred the title of marquis.

Ding Wei made appropriate suggestions and was awarded the title of marquis, with a fief of 5,000 households, and was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

All soldiers were awarded 200 taels of silver and above, and were promoted three ranks. The pension for soldiers killed in action was 500 taels and above, and the disabled were given retirement money and lifelong support.

In order to reward the ministers in the court for their contributions in stabilizing the country during his expeditions at sea over the past few years, Chai Zongxun promoted the ranks of all civil and military officials by one level, and rewarded dozens of important ministers with treasures and beauties brought back to Beijing from the Mayan continent.

Upon hearing that these rewards were specially prepared by "Prince Ya" Chai Jijun before Emperor Chai Zongxun's departure, all the ministers praised Chai Jijun highly.

On the afternoon of November 8, the 42nd year of Kaixi, when Chai Zongxun was reading memorials from various places in Yanfu Hall, a eunuch came to report that Zhang Yongde, Marquis of Jizhou, was critically ill.

Zhang Yongde was born in the third year of Tiancheng in the Later Tang Dynasty (928), with the courtesy name Baoyi. He was a Han Chinese from Yangqu, Bingzhou.

When Zhang Yongde was four years old, his biological mother Ma was divorced, so he was raised by his grandmother. Later, Zhang Yongde served his stepmother Liu and became famous for his filial piety.

When Guo Wei, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was a royal guard, he was on good terms with Zhang Yongde's father, Zhang Ying, so he married his daughter to Zhang Yongde.

After Guo Wei conquered Bian Jing and proclaimed himself emperor, he named his daughter who married Zhang Yongde the Princess of Jin, and appointed Zhang Yongde as the General of the Left Guard, the Chief of the Four Classes of the Inner Palace, and the Commandant of the Son-in-law of the Emperor, and from then on he was highly valued.

After Emperor Taizong of Zhou, Guo Rong, ascended the throne, he appointed Zhang Yongde as the commander-in-chief of the palace guards, and shared the charge of the imperial guards with Li Chongjin. They were the two most prestigious and powerful people in the army of the Great Zhou at that time.

After receiving the report, Chai Zongxun immediately decided to go to the "Jizhou Marquis Mansion" to visit Zhang Yongde tomorrow afternoon.

The next day, at 3:00 p.m. on November 9, the 42nd year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun set out for Zhang's mansion under the escort of the imperial guards and the eunuchs.

After about two quarters of an hour, the imperial carriage arrived at the "Jizhou Marquis Mansion" in the southwest of the expanded new inner city. Zhang Yongde's eldest son Zhang Cheng had already led the people in the mansion to welcome the imperial carriage in front of the mansion gate.

Zhang Cheng is 47 years old this year. He is a mediocre person and failed to pass the imperial examination in four subjects. Fortunately, Zhang Yongde's grandchildren are very capable. The eldest grandson Zhang Wenwei and three others passed the imperial examinations and became imperial scholars in literature and commerce respectively.

After greeting, Chai Zongxun said, "Take me to visit the Marquis of Jizhou."

Zhang Cheng led the way and the group walked into the "Jizhou Marquis Mansion".

Compared to before the expansion of Bianliang, Zhang's mansion has expanded by about two times.

Although Chai Zongxun ordered officials and civilians to apply for the expansion of their houses at their own expense, it certainly did not mean that they could expand as much as they wanted.

When expanding Bianjing, the unspoken rules formed between the government and the public were:
For princes, princesses and high-ranking officials of the second rank and above, the maximum expansion is three times that of the original building; for officials of the third to sixth rank in the capital, the maximum expansion is two times that of the original building; and for ordinary people, the maximum expansion is one time that of the original building.

According to Zhang Yongde's title of "Marquis of Jizhou" and his position as deputy commander of the imperial guards, he could have expanded the new house three times. However, he only expanded it two times, which shows his respectfulness and humility.

More than a quarter of an hour later, Chai Zongxun arrived at the main hall in the backyard of Zhang's mansion, only to see Zhang Yongde sleeping in the main wing with a frown on his face and a haggard look.

Zhang Cheng quickly walked to the bedside and called out to Zhang Yongde several times:
"Your Majesty is here to visit, Father, please wake up!"

After several times, Zhang Yongde's eyelids trembled and he slowly woke up.

After recognizing Emperor Chai Zongxun, Zhang Yongde struggled to get up and pay his respects, but he was unable to get up. He said weakly:

"Your Majesty has arrived, and I, an old minister, cannot greet you with courtesy. I shall be punished by death!"

Chai Zongxun waved his hand and said:

"No need to be so polite, Mr. Zhang.

I heard that Mr. Zhang was unwell, so I came to visit him."

After sitting down in the chair that Zhang Cheng had brought, Chai Zongxun sighed:

"When I went to the sea to conquer Maya, Lord Zhang was still as strong as an ox. I didn't expect that after more than four years, he has aged so much!"

Fu Yanqing, Han Tong, Li Chongjin, Li Yun and other veteran generals and ministers left over from his father's dynasty were all over eighty years old. Chai Zongxun originally thought that Zhang Yongde was only seventy-four years old and still had a lot of years to live.

Zhang Yongde said:

“Your Majesty, when I was young, I served under Taizu and Taizong, and I fought in many battles, and I have many hidden injuries.

You don't feel anything when you are young, but once you get old, your body will fall apart in an instant.

I can no longer serve Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

Chai Zongxun knew that Zhang Yongde had always been cautious and said:
"Lord Zhang is a relative of the Zhou Dynasty. During the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, you made countless contributions. I know that you are a loyal minister to the country.

Your three grandsons all passed the imperial examinations and became officials in the imperial court. The Zhang family can now be said to have successors.

In the future, I will not hesitate to promote your descendants based on their talents!"

Zhang Yongde was overjoyed. He also knew that Chai Zongxun had always been wary of his power to command troops as a veteran general, which was why he had been idle for decades. Now, hearing Chai Zongxun say this, he knew that Chai Zongxun still remembered his contributions in his heart. Once he died, as long as the descendants of the Zhang family had real contributions, they would be able to be used.

Zhang Yongde said:

"Your Majesty is the eternal sage of China. Under your wise rule, our Great Zhou has unified China, expanded its territory, and destroyed hundreds of countries. Even the Qin Emperor and Han Emperors could not match your achievements in civil and military affairs!

I am honored to be here at the right time!"

(End of this chapter)