dognovel Chapter 561 The Slanderer
Chapter 561 The Slanderer
Marquis of Shence?
All the officials turned to look at Guan Xing, their eyes filled with surprise and many questions.
In the Han Dynasty, most marquises were prefixed with place names, such as Marquis of Hanshou Pavilion and Marquis of Jiaodong. Regardless of their rank, these titles were always distinguished by a place name. There were also special titles without place names, but they were very rare, such as Marquis of Champion.
Instead of bestowing the title of Marquis of Champion upon Guan Xing, Liu Bei bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Divine Strategy, a title he had never heard of before. What was he trying to do? Did he perhaps want to recreate a supreme honor similar to that of the Marquis of Champion?
It's quite possible. After all, the Marquis of Champion was once the ultimate goal for the men of the Han Dynasty. Now that the Marquis of Champion has been ruined by Emperor Ling of Han, shouldn't a similar glorious position be created for the young men of the Han Dynasty to strive for? Otherwise, what would happen if the young men of the Han Dynasty all gave up?
Having figured out Liu Bei's intentions, everyone bowed and celebrated to Guan Xing.
As for the titles of General Who Guards the East and Attendant to the Crown Prince that were later conferred, the generals showed little interest in them.
Guan Xing has achieved the great feat of annihilating the Wu army, and it would not be an exaggeration to appoint him as a general of four directions. The fact that he has now been appointed as a general of four towns is clearly Liu Bei taking advantage of his youth to suppress him.
The Crown Prince's attendants were even less of a concern; they were officials under the Eastern Palace and part of Crown Prince Liu Shan's inner circle. It was clear that Liu Bei was deliberately suppressing Guan Xing, preventing him from growing too fast and dying young, while also paving the way for Crown Prince Liu Shan and expanding Liu Shan's power at all costs.
After all, Liu Bei was over sixty years old, an age at which he could meet Cao Cao at any time. His son had just come of age and was almost a generation younger than Cao Cao's son. He couldn't be suppressed like Cao Cao had.
Guan Xing stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."
With the imperial edict bestowing honors upon Guan Xing read aloud, the ceremony officially concluded. There was no need to discuss the remaining matters at the grand court assembly; a small meeting between the emperor and the three provincial departments would suffice. Thus, Liu Bei casually chatted for a few moments before adjourning the court session.
Although the court session has ended, the bestowal of rewards has not. The ceremony only announced the rewards for high-ranking officials; the rewards for middle and lower-ranking officials will be issued gradually by the relevant government departments. This is a long process, and it would be good if it could be completed by the end of the year.
In addition, there is another important event to attend in the next few days: Sun Shangxiang's coronation ceremony.
Liu Bei currently has only two wives, Sun Shangxiang and Wu Xian. Now that he has become emperor, he will naturally choose one of them to be his empress and the mother of the Han dynasty.
Liu Bei hesitated for a long time before deciding to appoint Sun Shangxiang as his successor. There were two reasons for this. First, Sun Shangxiang was Sun Quan's sister. Jiangnan had just been unified, and in order to stabilize the hearts of the people in Jiangdong, Sun Shangxiang could not be neglected.
Secondly, Sun Shangxiang had no children, while Wu Xian had two sons, Liu Yong and Liu Li. Moreover, Wu Xian was Liu Bei's legally wedded wife, making Liu Yong and Liu Li his legitimate sons, who have the right to inherit the throne. More importantly, Wu Xian was much younger than Liu Bei. What if, after Liu Bei's death, Wu Xian, who had become Empress Dowager, harbored other intentions and caused trouble for Liu Shan...
In Liu Bei's heart, Liu Shan was the most important person. He was willing to sacrifice anything for Liu Shan, including his two young sons, Liu Yong and Liu Li.
Although we learned from Guan Xing that Liu Shan eventually surrendered and became an incompetent ruler, putting aside the surrender, Liu Shan not only did not make any major mistakes, but also governed Bashu very well. He was a qualified ruler who maintained the status quo, at least much better than those humanoid creatures of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Furthermore, Liu Shan lived a long enough life. The lifespan of an emperor is an important factor in the stability of the court. If all the emperors died before reaching adulthood, like Liu Xiu's descendants, the court would not be able to maintain stability.
As for Liu Shan's surrender, as long as he defeats Cao Wei and unifies the world during his lifetime, there will be no question of surrender.
Given this, Liu Bei still decided to make Liu Shan the crown prince, and his attitude was particularly firm. Therefore, the fact that Sun Shangxiang had no children became a huge advantage for Sun Shangxiang in choosing an empress. If Sun Shangxiang had also had a son, Liu Bei would definitely have chosen Wu Xian.
However, this had little to do with the officials, and they were too lazy to care. After the court session, they quickly dispersed.
Taking advantage of the officials' departure, Guan Xing quickly squeezed in front of Zhuge Jin and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Minister Zhuge. Now that you have become the Minister of Works, the city construction is no longer my concern. We'll hand over the reins later and then I'll leave."
Now that Zhuge Jin has been appointed Minister of Works, civil engineering has become his responsibility, and it is inappropriate for Guan Xing to continue to monopolize it.
Besides, Guan Xing didn't want to continue. He was only responsible for the design and preliminary preparations. As long as Jiangling City was built according to his design framework, it didn't matter who did the construction.
He still has many things to do and doesn't want to put all his energy into manual labor.
Zhuge Jin smiled modestly and said, "That's not a good idea. You should continue working. It's not too late to hand over the work after the new city is completed."
After several months of hard work by Guan Xing, the brick and tile houses of the common people have been completed. Only the mansions of the gentry, the palace and official residences, and the commercial area remain. Moreover, the construction team is in full swing and ready to work, so it is not difficult.
More importantly, Guan Xing had already sold all the mansions and shops, and had recovered most of the money, so he had no shortage of funds for the subsequent construction.
The current situation for city building is excellent, and joining at this time would seem like stealing the fruits of others' labor. Therefore, Zhuge Jin did not want to get involved and gain a reputation for robbing others halfway through.
Besides, who knows if Guan Xing is genuinely handing over the business or just being modest? If it's the latter, and you foolishly accept it, wouldn't you be just asking for trouble?
Guan Xing was about to persuade him again when Zhang Bao and Mi Wei rushed over and forcibly dragged him away. After nodding to Zhuge Jin, they put their arms around Guan Xing's neck and laughed, "Marquis Shence, such a joyous occasion must be celebrated. We must have a banquet tonight."
"That's right, you have to cook for me yourself. Your cooking skills are really good, just talking about it makes my mouth water."
Guan Xing said, "No problem. Let's invite His Highness the Crown Prince, Jiang Wei, and Xia Tong, and have a good get-together for all of us officials of the Eastern Palace."
They've all been transferred to the same unit, and Liu Shan will be their direct superior from now on. How could they not invite their superior to such an important event as a unit dinner?
Mi Wei laughed and said, "Alright, I'll inform Xia Tong later. But Xia Tong probably can't drink. He's now the Crown Prince's inner guard, the commander of the imperial guards responsible for patrolling the Crown Prince's palace and protecting the Crown Prince's safety. He can't get himself drunk and expect the Crown Prince to protect him, can he?"
Zhang Bao complained, "His Majesty must have first appointed Xia Tong as the Crown Prince's Shield General, and then appointed him as the Iron Shield General. Although it doesn't matter if it's a general with a miscellaneous title, this is too arbitrary. It's not as good as the title of Iron Wall General."
Just as they were getting into their rant, they suddenly felt a weight on their backs. Turning around, they found Liu Shan had opened his arms and was pressing down on them. The group quickly bowed and said with grins, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations! Your Highness is now the Crown Prince."
Upon hearing this, Liu Shan's face immediately fell, and he said with a complicated expression, "Don't mention this, I've been feeling so stifled these past few days."
Zhang Bao asked curiously, "What's wrong? Did His Majesty reprimand you?"
Liu Shan has been busy with something lately, and they haven't seen each other for several days.
Liu Shan said miserably, "I don't know what's going on, but I feel like my father's gaze towards me has been strange lately. How should I put it, it's like he's disappointed in me, as if I did something that makes him really want to beat me up. But I haven't caused any trouble recently, so what's wrong?"
"Anguo, please use your wits to think about why this is happening. Could it be that some villain has spoken ill of me?"
"Uh..." Guan Xing felt a sudden panic. If he wasn't mistaken, the treacherous person who had spoken ill of him seemed to be himself.