Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 555: Fifty Years of Reaching the Pinnacle (Special thanks to book friend Zhuo Kan Feng Yun for two monthly tickets!)

Chai Zongxun said:

“The Ministry of Industry’s plan is great!

Transportation is the lifeline of industry and commerce, and the imperial court must spare no effort to continue national road construction.

After the roads are convenient, they will continuously promote the development of industry and commerce, and the court's future tax revenue will be ten or a hundred times greater than today's construction investment.

The wages of the laborers must be paid on time and in full, so that while increasing employment for the people, the people can also share the fruits of the country’s economic development.”

Wang Qinruo, the Minister of Commerce, came out and said:

“Your Majesty, over the past year, the Ministry of Commerce has reviewed more than 500,000 applications for opening and closing of workshops and businesses, including 370,000 applications for new openings and 130,000 applications for closings. All were processed in accordance with the Commercial Law, and the average approval time was within one month.

We investigated and dealt with more than 30,000 cases of deducting workers’ monthly wages across the country, and all of them made up the workers’ monthly wages. We also fined or forced the illegal employers to close down in accordance with the law.”

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"very good!
The purpose of formulating laws and regulations is not to hope that no one will violate them, but to ensure that "there are laws to follow and they must be enforced strictly."

The imperial court belongs to all people in the world. It must take the interests of the vast majority of the people as its own interests and strictly protect the rights and interests of employees in accordance with the law.

Collusion between officials and businessmen and oppression of the people is the most foolish behavior of the court. If such incidents occur, no matter what the background, they will be severely punished! "

All the ministers bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Minister of Rites Wang Dan came out and said:
“Your Majesty, by the end of last year, more than 200 countries and tribes had pledged allegiance and paid tribute to our Great Zhou.

Among them, more than 80 small countries in the India area sent envoys to pay tribute and submit to the government. More than 50 city-states and tribes in the south of the Mayan continent also sent envoys to pay tribute and submit to the government. More than 70 small countries in Europe and Misira area paid tribute and submit to the government.

Last year, the Ministry of Rites held an imperial examination that admitted more than 8,000 candidates in the four categories of "civil, military, commercial and industrial" with an admission rate of one in twenty. All of them have been granted real jobs by the court. "

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"I have been on the throne for fifty years, and now the world can be said to be well governed!"

All the ministers sang praises and said that the "Kaixi Era of Prosperity" founded by Emperor Chai Zongxun of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the pinnacle of prosperity in the history of China.

After a while, Ding Wei came out and said:

“Your Majesty, after the meticulous work of tens of thousands of top-notch craftsmen from across the country, the “Time Hall” has been completed.

The entire hall is one hundred feet long and thirty feet wide. The golden statue of Your Majesty is eight feet five feet six inches tall, and the statues of twenty-eight famous ministers are seven feet three feet tall. They were all carved by tens of thousands of masters with every stroke of the brush.

Your Majesty, please come and inspect it in person."

The "Hall of Time" was built by Ding Wei under the order of Chai Zongxun shortly after he returned from an expedition to the Mayan continent in the 43rd year of Kaixi.

Due to the heavy responsibility, Ding Wei was extremely cautious and it took him more than half a year to select master craftsmen from all over the country.

The materials used to build the statues of Emperor Chai Zongxun and his twenty-eight ministers in the "Hall of Time" were all selected from rare jade and gemstones. After the production began, they strived for perfection in every step, so it took more than six years to complete the task.

Chai Zongxun was very happy and immediately decided to go to see the newly completed "Hall of Time" in the afternoon.

After retiring from court, Chai Zongxun walked to Baoci Hall to have lunch with Empress Dowager Fu and the second empress and twenty-three concubines.

While chatting after the meal, the concubines were very interested when they heard Chai Zongxun say that the "Hall of Time" had been completed. Many of them asked to go with Chai Zongxun to see it in the afternoon.

Chai Zongxun agreed immediately.

Chai Zongxun said:

"My queen mother is the greatest contributor to my Great Zhou! However, due to her status as a queen mother, she cannot be listed as a statue in the "Time Hall"."

Queen Mother Fu smiled and said:
"With your Majesty's words, your mother is satisfied. Your mother is just a woman, and she doesn't understand the affairs of state. The prosperity of our Great Zhou is all due to your Majesty's efforts!

In the afterlife, your mother will meet Taizu, your father, and Empress Xuanyi, and she will have no shame."

Chai Zongxun said unhappily:

"How could the Queen Mother say such things? With your kindness and good health, I will live as long as the Southern Mountains and enjoy eternal happiness and longevity!"

Empress Dowager Fu's eyes were filled with tears as she sighed:

"My son is kind and filial! Of course, my mother is reluctant to part with my son, concubines, grandchildren and granddaughters.

But since ancient times, no matter if they are saints, wise men or emperors, there will always be a day of separation.

"My mother has watched my son grow up from childhood, wise and brave, creating an unprecedented prosperous era for our Great Zhou Empire, unifying China, expanding territory, enriching the people and strengthening the country. I am filled with joy in this life, without any regrets."

The concubines all consoled him:

"The Queen Mother is the mother of our Great Zhou. She has great merits and great blessings.

With your mother's strong body, even if we die of old age, you will surely be able to walk as fast as a flying bird."

Empress Dowager Fu was born in the third year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (933 AD). As of the fiftieth year of Kaixi (1009 AD), she is already 76 years old.

In recent years, I have felt that I am getting older, and now I sigh.

Seeing that Chai Zongxun was unhappy, Concubine Yi, Zhou Nuying, hurriedly changed the subject and said with a smile:
“Your Majesty is benevolent, righteous and wise, and built the “Hall of Time” to commemorate many heroes.

Your Majesty, I and your concubines have been accompanying you in the harem for a long time, chatting with you and entertaining you, so we can be considered to have made some contributions.

Your Majesty, why don't you build a palace and set up statues for your mother, the queen mother, and your concubines to accompany your statue, so that the people of our Great Zhou can admire you in the future?"

Chai Zongxun's mood improved and he said with a smile:

“My beloved concubine, this is a very good idea.

Although my mother and my beloved ministers cannot be enshrined in the Temple of Meritorious Officials, I can indeed build another palace and erect statues of my mother and my beloved ministers in memory of them."

After Chai Zongxun had taken a nap in the Qingshou Hall for an hour, the chief eunuch Tang Qi had arranged for more than a thousand concubines and imperial concubines who wanted to accompany the emperor to visit the "Hall of Time" to wait in the square outside the hall.

Chai Zongxun immediately ordered his carriage to the "Time Hall" just south of the inner city of Bianjing, and 60,000 imperial guards and the Wude Division escorted him.

The imperial carriage traveled for more than half an hour and arrived in front of the "Time Hall". Ding Wei and his officials had been waiting for a long time.

Chai Zongxun stepped down from the imperial chariot and was delighted to see that the "Hall of Time" covered a large area, had curved eaves and flying corners, and was beautifully built.

After the greeting, Chai Zongxun, surrounded by eunuchs, palace maids and soldiers, walked into the "Hall of Time" with his concubines.

As soon as they entered the hall, everyone was shocked by the many lifelike statues that were several meters tall.

After six years of hard work by ten thousand of the country's top craftsmen, the statues of Chai Zongxun and the twenty-eight ministers in the hall are extremely lifelike, just like real people.

Queen Fifth Chaolu smiled and said:

"Your Majesty's statue is the tallest and most majestic, and it is also the most lifelike. The look in the statue's eyes can actually depict the mysterious aura of Your Majesty, which is as deep as the sea, as if he can see through everything in the world."

Many concubines also nodded in agreement.

Chai Zongxun was also very satisfied with his statue and said with a smile:
“That’s what the Queen said.

The skills of our Great Zhou craftsmen are truly superb, and the artistic value of this "Time Palace" can be said to be unrivaled in the world."

(End of this chapter)