Furthermore, in other words, even if you really wanted to rebel, you first had to manage your own fiefdom well, right? This process always takes a considerable amount of time. With so much time, wouldn't the imperial court be stagnant? The Chosen Ones progressed rapidly, and so did the imperial court.
Therefore, this move was incredibly ingenious. In one fell swoop, it minimized the impact of the Chosen Ones on the imperial court.
However, there's always a "but." This move directly freed the Chosen Ones from the control of the powerful families.
Before the imperial edict was issued, the Chosen Ones, cooperating with the aristocratic families, were definitely at a disadvantage. After the edict was issued, the Chosen Ones gained some initiative. After all, they were regional lords, still quite prestigious. With the unspoken rules in place, many underhanded methods could no longer be used.
For example, they might capture the chosen one's parents, wife, and children, and blackmail them into serving their own purposes. This tactic is simple, practical, and consistently effective; it's truly the only way for aristocratic families to deal with chosen ones. Of course, when implementing this, the aristocratic families certainly won't be so direct. They'll be more subtle, but the essence remains the same.
“I think we should just grant fiefdoms. Our Han Dynasty has never been afraid of ambitious people. Putting these things out in the open might actually be better. At worst, we can just consider it as buying peace with money,” Cai Yong said.
Cai Yong was certainly aware of the underhanded dealings involved. However, the Cai family was not a prominent clan, and Cai Yong himself was a staunch royalist. Therefore, he directly expressed his approval.
"Yes, when the first cycle began and the Chosen Ones appeared, the imperial court didn't pay attention and instead ignored their interests. As a result, first Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launched the uprising, and later the Chosen One Xiang Yu directly burned his boats and destroyed the imperial army in one battle. We must be wary of these lessons from the past."
"Later, when the second cycle began, the chosen one, Wang Mang, directly usurped the throne. No one opposed him at the time, wasn't that because the court ignored the interests of the chosen ones? Therefore, just in case, I think it's best to agree," Xun Shuang said.
Although the Xun family was one of the most powerful clans of the time, Xun Shuang still possessed a basic sense of responsibility. In other words, he understood the principle that without the skin, where would the hair attach? With the Han Dynasty gone, how many of these powerful families, after the trials of war, would be able to survive?
The reason the Chosen Ones rebelled in the previous two cycles was simply due to unequal distribution of benefits. Now, by immediately allocating territory to the Chosen Ones as a sign of sincerity, why not give it a try?
“Indeed, Your Majesty is farsighted. This plan is excellent, and I think it’s feasible. Moreover, it would be only right to bestow titles upon them. As long as they are willing to bring advanced technologies from other worlds into our world and promote the world’s evolution, then rewarding them for their contributions is only natural, isn’t it?” Cao Song said casually.
Seeing this, Yuan Feng could only sigh. To return the imperial edict, at least six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet would need to oppose it. Currently, at least three—Cai Yong, Xun Shuang, and Cao Song—had already clearly expressed their support. If Yuan Feng persisted, he risked offending both the chosen one and the emperor.
“Well then, let’s proceed according to His Majesty’s decree. However, while granting fiefdoms is permissible, the territories must be limited,” Yuan Feng nodded.
"For example, their fiefdoms can only be in the frontier. If they are in the interior, they are very, very small."
"Yes, there should be some restrictions."
Soon, having set the tone, the nine Grand Secretaries, one after another, drafted a beautifully written and profoundly meaningful imperial edict. This edict was then sent back to the palace at top speed, requiring only the imperial seal to be affixed.
Soon, in less than an hour, the palace eunuchs, carrying identical imperial edicts, set off for the prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty.
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Chapter 20: As long as you don't die, you'll always have a chance to rise to the top!
Qingzhou, Donglai County. The county governor at this time was a scholar named Zhao Feng, who cultivated the Way of Literature and was a third-level expert in terms of cultivation.
"This imperial edict is truly, truly, truly astonishing. I never imagined that the third cycle of reincarnation would have already begun," Zhao Feng stammered. Although he had some suspicions beforehand, he was still quite surprised when it actually happened.
"Your Excellency should issue the imperial edict as soon as possible," the eunuch advised.
"Um."
Then, Zhao Feng picked up his prefectural governor's seal. This bronze seal was no ordinary item; it was a genuine low-grade magic treasure.
The holder can directly manipulate the fortune of the entire Donglai Prefecture. With this seal in hand, even a fourth-tier expert could be suppressed by Zhao Feng. This is naturally one of the many strengths of the imperial court. Otherwise, why would everyone listen to the imperial court? Isn't it because the imperial court has the strongest fist?
"The Emperor decrees..."
The instant Zhao Feng read the imperial edict, a massive edict appeared in the sky above the entire Donglai Prefecture. With each sentence Zhao Feng read, another sentence appeared on the edict. It was absolutely guaranteed that everyone in Donglai Prefecture could clearly see the contents of the edict.
"Young Master, being granted a title is an official appointment! We'll suddenly become nobles. From now on, we'll be high-ranking noble lords," Su Qing'er said happily.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile. Moreover, in the original owner's memories, this was only the first time a title had been conferred, and due to various reasons, only a little over a hundred of the chosen ones had actually shown themselves.
To show their sincerity, the court then bestowed upon them all the title of viscount. Of course, members of the Han imperial family were directly granted the title of earl, all of whom received fiefs. However, these fiefs were located on the frontier and required them to cultivate the land themselves.
And then, a great era began. More than a hundred energetic chosen ones arrived at the frontier, using advanced technologies acquired from other worlds to build their fiefdoms.
Meanwhile, the Han Dynasty court carefully observed the actions of the Chosen Ones, adopting their good practices and correcting their bad ones. As a result, the entire Han Dynasty entered a golden age of vigorous development.
It can be said that if Emperor Ling hadn't encountered Zhang Jiao and Dong Zhuo, his plan would have been quite successful.
“That’s right, we’re already lords, nobles. The next step is to reach the capital and choose our fiefdoms,” Lin Yang said happily.
Since entering this world, Lin Yang has been in a state of high tension.
First, Lin Yang had to confront the greedy Wang Kun, forcing him to be extremely cautious and use all his strength to try and eliminate him. Otherwise, if Su Qing'er's tragedy were to repeat itself, Lin Yang himself would likely not fare any better.
After killing this person, I entered the cycle of reincarnation. Fortunately, my teammates, Shi A and Cai Yan, were not malicious. The subsequent missions were quite simple, and I returned alive without incident.
Upon his return, he faced Wang Hua and numerous inspectors. Although Lin Yang always appeared nonchalant, completely unconcerned about killing officials and rebelling, he was actually more nervous than anyone else. Having retained the original owner's memories, he understood, of course, just how powerful the Han Dynasty was at this time.
Fortunately, nothing changed. History remained the same, and Emperor Ling ultimately issued the imperial edict.
Moreover, unlike other chosen ones, Lin Yang can take out the technologies from the original owner's memories that will be greatly developed in the future and contribute them in advance. At that time, he will definitely be awarded the title of Earl.
Even a duke with a fiefdom, whose territory is on the frontier and which he has to develop himself, still occupies the size of a county. This is a county, not a village or a township, but a county seat.
A county town entirely of its own, but it all had to start from scratch, slowly cultivated. It would take countless hardships to develop. But a bright future was already destined.
...
It must be said that, regardless of the era, the center of every city is always near the municipal government. Even in this Three Kingdoms world, this is no exception.
At this moment, Lin Yang held a crystal in his hand, and the crystal automatically emitted a seven-colored light, which looked very beautiful.
Upon seeing this, Magistrate Hu Feng's eyes widened. He then exclaimed, "Feipeng is indeed a promising young man, a true prodigy! This crystal was issued by the imperial court, specifically for testing those destined for heaven. Only the legendary chosen ones can make this crystal glow."
He couldn't help but feel emotional, thinking about his own humble origins (that is, a small landlord, a local tycoon, similar to Old Wang's family background), his poor family circumstances, which were completely incomparable to those scions of noble families.
It could be said that there was no path to immortality, and the path of physical cultivation was also blocked due to lack of money. Later, he discovered that his aptitude for martial arts was really not good, and the path of martial arts was also blocked, so he began to wholeheartedly cultivate the path of literature.
Later, he secluded himself for twenty years to study and then began to participate in the imperial examinations. Now, he is over forty years old and has only managed to obtain the position of county magistrate, which is equivalent to a marquis of a hundred li. The hardships and suffering he endured are beyond the comprehension of outsiders.