Chapter 324: Chapter 186: Preparations for the Founding of the Country_3
Translator: 549690339
Moreover, speaking of myself, this time I mobilized 200,000 troops to suppress the bandits for the court. Does Shuangxiu really think I am wholeheartedly doing this for the country?
If the court hadn’t offered such conditions, why should I exhaust my own strength to suppress Miao thieves for the court?”
These bloody facts shattered the last illusion in Sun Siwen’s heart.
As a close friend, he naturally understood Lu Yuan’s character; the latter was not a blindly loyal person.
He didn’t have much loyalty to the court.
Lu Yuan initially agreed to take up an official position only because he was concerned about his own safety, so he reluctantly did so.
Such a person would certainly not selflessly dedicate himself and harm his own interests to suppress bandits for the court.
So, there is only one reason why he sent troops.
The court offered a great advantage, and this great advantage was to divide the land and seal the country.
“How could it be… how could it be…”
Although Sun Siwen already knew that the court’s national affairs were deteriorating, it is still difficult for him to accept when he really saw this scene.
Seeing his friend’s slightly dispirited appearance, Lu Yuan sighed, then walked up and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “The replacement of dynasties has always been a common occurrence. Brother Sun, you worry about the court, but what you really want is to settle the world and do good things for the people so that they can live better lives.
However, the current court is unable to fulfill your wishes.”
At this point, Lu Yuan paused and then said earnestly, “I know Brother Sun’s abilities and ambitions. When we were in Yangmei Town, Brother Sun once said that one day, when serving as an official, you would strictly govern the local area, eradicate bandits, prohibit the use of force, and bring peace to the people.
Now that I am about to divide the land and establish a country, I don’t have many talents to use.
If Brother Sun is willing, I would like to make you the Prime Minister of the country, help me stabilize Dongting Prefecture, and lay the foundation for peace.
What do you think, Brother Sun, are you willing to help me?”
Lu Yuan held his friend’s hand and sincerely requested for help.
Assistants like Sun Siwen with both talent and ability whom he could trust were extremely rare in the world.
So rare that apart from Sun Siwen, he could only think of Zhou Qing.
Although Zhou Qing’s cultural cultivation was not bad since he read the classics every day, his knowledge could not be too poor.
However, his current path was heading towards becoming a great military officer.
Lu Yuan had already decided that after the founding of the country, the position of Grand General would belong to his disciple.
So there is already a head of military officers.
However, the head of civilian officials is still temporarily vacant.
Looking at his surroundings, the only one suitable for the position of prime minister was Sun Siwen.
This time, Lu Yuan invited Sun Siwen to entrust the founding of the country, hoping to convince his friend to help him establish the foundation of the country.
After all, the court’s Ten Grandmaster Plan would be completed in more than a year.
By that time, when the ten grandmasters gathered, it would be the moment of the decisive battle between the court and the Zhou People, Shu Thieves, and Miao People.
No matter how much this battle was delayed, it would end in at most two or three years.
By then, it would be time for the court to fulfill its promise and divide the land and fiefdoms for the four great masters of Jianghu.
Therefore, if calculated carefully, Lu Yuan’s founding of the country might be just three or four years away.
Time is tight, and it is important to build a framework now rather than waiting until a complete set of civilian and military officials cannot be found.
So it is necessary to prepare in advance and let Sun Siwen take charge of the administration of the southern three prefectures first, and set up a unified administrative framework.
Once the framework is set up, Lu Yuan would merge Luyang Prefecture and Shaoyang Prefecture into it as well.
At that time, after a period of adjustments, the south’s five prefectures would be integrated into Dongting Prefecture, and Lu Yuan would incorporate the military system into it, truly transforming the local area into a country.
This whole set of steps was carefully considered by him and decided to be carried out gradually.
Now is the first step of the plan.
And the most crucial part of this first-step plan is the help of his friends.
Otherwise, if Sun Siwen couldn’t agree, for a while, Lu Yuan wouldn’t really know where to find someone who could replace him.
So what is Sun Siwen’s opinion?
At the beginning, our Prefect Sun was naturally disappointed and angry at the court’s various compromising actions.
But after the anger and realizing that nothing could be changed, he became lost.
Because he didn’t know where to go after Yue Country ceded Dongting Prefecture.
After all, he was an official of the court, and when others established a country and sealed territories, they might not necessarily accept him.
But when he heard that Lu Yuan was going to establish a country in Dongting Prefecture and was also preparing to let himself serve as the prime minister of the new dynasty.
One cannot deny it.
Our Prefect Sun’s heart couldn’t help but pound.
Don’t laugh at him for being weak. If you were in his position with the prime minister of a country in front of you, could your heart not be moved?
Not to mention, the founding monarch of this country is also his close friend.
So faced with his friend’s invitation, Sun Siwen struggled in his heart for a few seconds, and then solemnly bowed down and saluted: “Sun Siwen has seen the lord, and from now on is willing to run for the lord and serve loyally, without evasion.”
Well, at this moment, Sun Siwen didn’t act as a friend but directly established a master-slave relationship with Lu Yuan, defining their roles.
After all, in the future, one will be the monarch, and the other will be the minister.
With this relationship, even if the monarch is close to you, the necessary etiquettes and protocols must still be followed and not neglected.
As a traditional Confucian scholar, Sun Siwen particularly valued this.
“Hahaha!”
When Lu Yuan saw Sun Siwen’s statement, he burst into laughter. Having his friend’s support resolved a big problem in his mind.
At this moment, he quickly helped Sun Siwen up and said happily, “With Brother Sun’s help, I have no worries about the political affairs of the new country.”
Sun Siwen also said happily, “It is my fortune to be able to assist a wise monarch and exert my talents.”
From the moment the master-slave relationship was set, Sun Siwen no longer considered himself Lu Yuan’s friend. The conversations between the two have since been marked by distinction between monarch and ministers, adhering strictly to etiquette.
Lu Yuan noticed this and couldn’t help but sigh.
However, knowing what was right and that his friend likely wouldn’t be convinced otherwise, he could only feel helpless and grieve in secret.
Fortunately, the preparations for the early stage of founding the country have now begun to take shape.