Chapter 495: Chapter 244: Plotting to Seize the Throne_3
At this time, the Changsha Kingdom was also filled with opportunities.
As a result, under the combination of these factors, the handling of domestic governmental affairs accelerated.
All kinds of policy decisions were implemented to a great extent.
The newly recovered eight prefectures in Jiangbei quickly recovered their local stability under this trend of diligent and clean governance. The military administration that lasted for as long as a year came to an end, and the normalization began.
With the efforts of these new officials, the immigrant resettlement and population census policies, which had been in place for a long time at the local level, were quickly implemented.
Therefore, by the time of the sixth month in the ninth year of the Hongdao Era, Lu Yuan finally received a complete household report from his country.
“Your Majesty, in my Changsha Kingdom, there are three provinces and seventeen prefectures. After half a year’s sorting and counting, the number of households in each region has been clarified.”
Sun Siwen, holding a household register, handed it over to Lu Yuan inside the Hongwen Hall.
Lu Yuan took it and began to flip through it.
Next to him, Sun Siwen continued, “Among them, there are ten prefectures in Dongting Province. In the original Jiangnan area, there are 420,000 households and 21.3 million people. After the Northern Expedition, we recovered the Tianmen Prefecture and later accepted 300,000 immigrant households from Hanzhong Prefecture.
As a result, the entire province has ten prefectures, with a total of 740,000 households and 38.1 million people.
Then there is Xichuan Province, which has three prefectures. These three prefectures were originally poor due to their mountainous terrain and were even more impoverished after the war.
However, later on, you relocated 50,000 Hanzhong residents and 60,000 Xichuan residents there, replenishing the local population.
Now, after counting the original population and newcomers from both provinces, Xichuan Province has three prefectures with a total of 160,000 households and 830,000 people.
Lastly, there is Xiangyang Province, which has four prefectures.
Xiangyang Province has always been a prosperous land, with convenient water transport along the Han River and the Yangtze River, and it serves as a border between the three nations, with merchants and travelers from the north and south passing through this area.
The provinces are irrigated by two rivers, with abundant farmland supporting countless people.
After the statistics, although Xiangyang Province has not received immigrants, the original four prefectures, even after experiencing a round of war, still retain 200,000 households and 1.07 million people.
In summary, our Changsha Kingdom has a total of 1.1 million households and 5.71 million people across the three provinces.
With a population of millions and a territory stretching thousands of miles, Changsha can now be called a great power in the world.”
Sun Siwen concluded with a tone of pride and satisfaction.
Indeed.
With 1.1 million households, nearly 6 million people, occupying three provinces and seventeen prefectures, a territory spanning thousands of miles, and a standing army of 240,000 men.
This strength is already doubled or even several times that of Ninghai and Southsea countries.
When compared to smaller states like Xichuan and Hanzhong, the difference in national power is more than tenfold.
If we consider the southwestern Yi nations of Dongting Province, the difference is like the bright moon and stars in the sky, incomparable in their brilliance.
Even when facing powerhouses like Zhou, Liang, and Yue, Lu Yuan has one-tenth or one-fifth of their national strength when compared to a powerful and well-maintained Liang.
For Yue, it’s one-third.
With such strength, how can they not be considered a great power?
Upon hearing this statistic, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment in his heart.
After all these years of hard work, he finally created a great country. The sense of achievement was self-evident.
However, amidst his happiness and pride, he didn’t forget the current situation, so he just indulged in it for a while before regaining control of his emotions and said, “The prosperity of our country can only be attributed to the assistance of wise ministers such as Brother Sun. My Changsha can have this scenery.
However, the current situation is difficult, with many changes and uncertainties.
Since the death of Wuan Marquis, the situation in Yue House has become turbulent again, seemingly facing the danger of extinction.
Under these many disputes, the world’s armed conflict may erupt at any time. As a vassal of the Yue State, my Changsha Kingdom cannot stay out of it.
If a war breaks out, it will inevitably be involved.
At this moment of stability, we don’t know how long it will last.
Therefore, while we still have this time of peace, I hope that Brother Sun and other wise ministers will devote your hearts and minds to our country and help me overcome this difficulty.”
Over the past few months,
As Lu Yuan ordered Honglu Temple to dispatch envoys and spies to various countries to investigate and collect information,
News from all over the world continuously flowed back to Changsha City.
Among them, the news brought back by Li Tingjing from Jinling City was the most worrying.
Since the death of Wuan Marquis, without Bai Mengyang as the Pillar Holding up the Sky, the situation in the Yue State court has not only failed to lower their tails and pass through this crisis well,
On the contrary, during this critical moment, rumors of the Xiao Family’s failed virtue leading to chaos in the world and the decline of the Yue State spread in Jinling City, suggesting that it was time for the country to change its ruling family.
Along with this rumor, another one spread as well;
It was said that on the same night, dozens of people in Changzhou County dreamed of the sun rising in the sky. Sure enough, the next day, thousands of people saw the golden crow crossing the sky, and auspicious beasts and signs appearing.
At the same time, in Jinling City, divine birds flew in, perched on a mound, spit out a jade, engraved with the character Shen on it.
The current ruling family of the Yue State has the surname Xiao.
And Changzhou County is the base of the Shen Clan, where the Grand General Shen Qiu lives.
The golden crow represents the sun, and two suns in the sky mean that a day must pass, right?
In Jinling City, a divine bird perches on a mound and spits out jade bearing the character Shen.
With a mound and a Shen, isn’t this talking about Grand General Shen Qiu?
These two rumors spread and verified each other, directly conveying to people that the Xiao Family will withdraw, and the Shen Family will rise.
The Yue State is about to change its dynasties.
For some reason, after the death of Wuan Marquis, Grand General Shen Qiu seems to have become impatient, wanting to replace the Xiao Family and become the ruler of the four prefectures in Jiangdong.
As the chief of Honglu Temple and a knowledgeable person who has read historical records, how could Sun Siwen not understand what these rumors were hinting at?
First rumors, then auspicious signs, followed by remonstrations by officials, Shen Qiu’s occupation of the throne, the emperor’s decree of abdication, and the Yue State’s change of power.
The process of usurping the throne has begun.
No, for the Linjiang aristocratic families, this should not be called usurpation, but rather a selective vote to remove the incompetent Xiao Family and replace them with the more preferable and powerful Shen Family.
It represents the will of the people and should not be considered usurpation.
However, even so, as a person who was part of the Yue State for the first half of his life, Sun Siwen still felt complex and indescribable emotions upon hearing the news of the coming downfall of the Yue State.
However, as the right prime minister, his personal emotions did not sway him, and he replied solemnly after hearing Lu Yuan’s words, “Your Majesty entrusts us with the affairs of the state, placing great trust in us. We are honored to bear this responsibility. We will exert every effort and exhaust every consideration to serve the country. We are not afraid to die for Your Majesty.”
His words were decisive, full of emotion, and showed no hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan could not help but feel moved and reassured.
Indeed, at critical moments, his close friends remained the most reliable.