Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 568: Amnesty for the World (Special thanks to book friend 2019…6907 for the monthly ticket!)

Chai Zongxun walked into the main room on the second floor to find Li Qingluo and said:
"Qingluo, I have arranged everything. The captain of the personal guard will arrange for you to stay in Bianjing City first, and will marry you in a few days."

Li Qingluo nodded her head and said shyly, "Everything is decided by the master."

Chai Zongxun smiled slightly, said goodbye to Li Qingluo, and returned to the palace under the escort of eunuchs and guards.

A few days later, New Year's Eve of the 52nd year of Kaixi arrived.

This year's New Year's Eve banquet in the palace was attended by more than 5,000 concubines, 56 princes and 58 princesses.

Chai Zongxun now has 108 princes, 52 of whom have reached adulthood and have established their own fiefdoms.

Fifty-six princesses came of age, got married, and were granted a Princess's Mansion and fiefdom in Bian Jing.

Because King Ya Chai Jijun and his family came from afar to visit relatives this year, Chai Zongxun ordered them to attend the New Year's Eve banquet as well.

After the Youshi banquet began, the imperial family wished each other good luck in the new year, ate thousands of delicious dishes served like water, and enjoyed the performances of more than 800 singing, dancing and acrobatic troupes from all over the country of the Great Zhou and its vassal states in the hall.

After several rounds of drinking, Chai Zongxun said some words to encourage the imperial family's descendants to put the country first and pass on the Zhou dynasty for thousands of generations. All the princes and princesses solemnly responded.

Chai Zongxun looked at Chai Jijun and said:

"Jun'er, have you visited the "Time Hall" and the "Holy Zhou Ancestor's Instructions" monument? What do you think?"

Chai Jijun had taken his whole family to visit two places a few days ago. Seeing that his father had established the "Holy Zhou Ancestor Instructions", he knew that with his father's unparalleled prestige in founding the Great Zhou Dynasty to unify the world and make the people rich and the country strong, he no longer had any chance of luck. The only remaining thought in his heart of competing for the throne was extinguished immediately.

Chai Jijun said:

“My father, you are wise and benevolent. You built the “Time Hall” to commemorate the twenty-eight heroes who helped you establish a foundation that will last forever. This will surely make your deeds of creating a prosperous era for the Great Zhou Empire live forever!
The "Holy Zhou Ancestor Instructions" established by my father will ensure that the governing philosophy of "putting people first and the world for the public" will be passed down forever, and ensure the prosperity of my Great Zhou for generations to come!"

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"The imperial family of the Great Zhou Dynasty is blessed by Heaven and shepherds the people on behalf of Heaven. We should put the welfare of the nation and the people first!
In recent years, there have been many new innovations in production techniques in various industries. When the one-year "holiday" is over, Jun'er can bring some craftsmen back to the Maya continent and bring these new technologies back."

Chai Jijun readily agreed.

Amid the festive noise of firecrackers and fireworks, as the hour of midnight approached, Empress Dowager Fu began to distribute "lucky money" to all the underage grandchildren of the emperor and the great-grandchildren of Prince Ya's family.

In recent years, due to the issuance of large-denomination silver bills, which are much more convenient to use than gold ingots, gems, etc., Empress Dowager Fu has used large-denomination silver bills to distribute New Year's money.

In recent years, with the annual growth of the imperial treasury and the national treasury, the "New Year's money" given by Empress Dowager Fu has increased to 5,000 taels for each imperial grandson and 3,000 taels for each imperial granddaughter.

But Empress Dowager Fu was old after all, nearly eighty years old. Although she was still in good health, her memory had declined a lot. She could not remember the names of many of the new children born to Chai Zongxun in the past five or six years.

It was not until the twelfth day of the lunar year that the number of princes and ministers entering the palace to pay New Year's greetings to Emperor Chai Zongxun gradually decreased.

On the 13th day of the first lunar month, while resting in the Qingshou Hall in the afternoon, Chai Zongxun asked:

"Manager Tang, how many people are there in the Beiming area now? How is the development going?"

Tang Qi thought for a moment and said:

"Your Majesty, it has been more than 25 years since the Beiming was returned to our Great Zhou territory in the 27th year of Kaixi.

With the court's encouragement of immigration and the sending of criminals to serve prison sentences, the entire Beiming region now has a population of over 12 million, including two Longxiong garrison corps.

After more than 20 years of vigorous development, except for the northernmost one-third of Beiming where the weather is too cold and there are no people, 352 small and medium-sized provincial capitals have been built in the rest of the area, and the government seats have all been built into small and medium-sized cities.

The people generally have enough food and clothing, and nearly half of them have a well-off standard of living. Their main occupations are growing crops, logging, fishing, hunting, and using medicinal materials. "Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"It seems that the development of Beiming has been quite successful and the rule is stable.

For those serving time in prison in the harsh climate of Beiming, it seems possible to show some mercy and improve their living conditions. "

The lively and festive New Year holiday passed very quickly. On January 20th of the 52nd year of Kaixi, the Ministry of Internal Affairs held the wedding of Emperor Chai Zongxun and Li Qingluo as his concubine.

Ever since the day when Li Qingluo was chosen as the "Oiran" by Chai Zongxun and taken to an unused Duke's Mansion in Bian Jing by the commander of the Imperial Guards Chen Jixing, she originally thought that Chai Zongxun was the Duke.

Unexpectedly, that evening, the chief eunuch Tang Qi sent dozens of eunuchs and palace maids to the Duke's Mansion to take care of her.

Li Qingluo just found out that Chai Zongxun's true identity was the current emperor. She was immediately overwhelmed with joy and a little frightened.

After completing the royal wedding ceremony on January 20th, it was already the hour of Xu when they entered the bridal chamber.

Chai Zongxun lifted Li Qingluo's red veil in a new palace in the East Six Palaces. Under the candlelight, her smiling face looked as beautiful as a fairy.

Li Qingluo stood up and saluted:

"It is my great honor to meet your majesty."

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:

"I am also very happy to meet my beloved concubine."

He put his arms around her and sat down beside the bed.

Chai Zongxun said:

“My beloved concubine’s grandfather and his family were loyal subjects even though they resisted our Great Zhou army.

I have decided to grant amnesty to the entire nation. All prisoners can be released and return home to become citizens of our Great Zhou.

My beloved concubine is so beautiful and charming that I will confer the title of Viscount on her grandfather and grant him a house in Bian Jing so that the whole family can move to Bian Jing to live.

So that you can enjoy the wonderful life that you deserve in our Great Zhou Empire."

Li Qingluo cried like a begonia, saying:
"I thank your majesty for your kindness! Your majesty is so kind, how can I ever repay you even a fraction of it?"

Chai Zongxun saw the tears on Li Qingluo's cheeks, and her expression was very delicate. He said:
"Qingluo, the best reward for me is for you and me to be happy together."

Kissing the tears on Li Qingluo's cheeks...

The morning court session on January 26, the 52nd year of Kaixi.

Chai Zongxun issued an edict to grant amnesty to the whole country. There were now more than 2.3 million prisoners in the country, including about 1.5 million in the "Lu Zhao Rebellion Case", about 600,000 prisoners from conquered countries including the Angkor Dynasty, and more than 200,000 prisoners of all kinds in the country. All of them were pardoned and released to return home and become citizens of the Great Zhou.

After the imperial edict was announced to all places, the prisoners' families were all grateful and praised Emperor Chai Zongxun for his wisdom, kindness and compassion.

When Mr. Wen from "Yan Gui Pavilion" learned that it was the current emperor who selected the most beautiful girl that day, he was both surprised and delighted.

After thinking for a few days, he spent a lot of money to hire skilled craftsmen and calligraphers to make a huge plaque with golden characters based on the poem "Shengcha Zi" written by Emperor Chai Zongxun, and hung it on the wall at the entrance.

After the news spread, "Yan Gui Ge" became famous and immediately became the leader among brothels in Bian Jing and even in the whole country, and its business was booming.

(End of this chapter)