Chapter 505: Chapter 248: Long-term Endeavors

“How dare that scoundrel offend me!”

In the city of Jinling, the newly enthroned Emperor Jianwu was filled with anger after receiving news of Southsea, Ninghai, and Changsha countries announcing their independence from the Ningguo Dynasty.

“Your Majesty, please calm down.”

Li Xian, the Minister of the Ministry of War who was attending to him, hurriedly advised.

“Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down?”

Shen Qiu picked up the letter from the table and waved it angrily at Li Xian, “From the time of the previous Yue Dynasty, Lu Yuan, Yan Wangqiu, and Su Xuange have been plotting together, colluding with each other and forming a clique against the court.

Yet now, even when the previous Yue Dynasty has perished and a new dynasty has been established, these rebels are unwilling to submit and instead want to go further by breaking away from the court and declaring independence.”

What do they think they are?

What do they think the court is?

If this matter really allows these Three Nations to break away, the court will truly lose its prestige, and even our Ning Country will be a laughingstock among the nations.”

At this point, Shen Qiu’s hand trembled with anger.

It’s no wonder that the new Heavenly Son of the dynasty was so angry.

The actions of Lu Yuan and the others have indeed shaken the hearts of the people in the new dynasty.

Just think about it.

You say the old Yue House was tyrannical and oppressive to the world, and that the collapse of the Altars of Soil and Grain was due to them. The Ning House replacing the Yue House was what people wanted and the desire of the masses.

Then why, during the time of the former Yue House, even when the Heavenly Son was cruel and tyrannical, did the local lords still respect the Heavenly Son and regard the Yue Court as the legitimate ruler?

Not only did they willingly follow the orders of the Yue State court, sending troops to the Northern Expedition and paying tributes year after year, but they also said the Yue House was the rightful ruler.

Can it be said that the Yue House did not win the hearts of the people?

Now that you, as the Heavenly Son of the Ning Dynasty, have taken the stage, the previously deferential lords have jumped out to rebel.

Not only do they not recognize the identity of the Heavenly Son of the Ning Dynasty, but they also refuse to pay tribute altogether, each of them claiming they want to break away and become independent.

Oh, there was no problem when the former Yue House was so oppressive, but as soon as you, the seemingly popular Heavenly Son of the Ning Dynasty, stepped up, everything ceased to work.

Tell me, tell me, when this matter is revealed and the world knows about it, how will they view Ning Country and how will they view Shen Qiu, the new Heavenly Son?

Originally, due to Emperor Hongdao’s lack of cooperation, Shen Qiu had no choice but to commit regicide and usurp, which was already quite disgraceful.

In the end, it even led to the invasion of Liang Country, causing the already struggling Yue Country to be overwhelmed by disasters of war once more, making people suffer and stirring up the resentment of the masses.

Only after much difficulty did Shen Qiu lead his army to repel the people of Liang and clean up the mess. With the momentum of the victory, he successfully ascended the throne, founding the new dynasty.

Now it is the time for the new era of the new dynasty to implement reforms and eliminate the accumulated abuses of the old Yue House in order to create a stable and prosperous world.

And yet, at this juncture, those local lords have decided to break away from Ning Country.”

Isn’t this equivalent to saying that the newborn Ning Country and the new Jinling court have really usurped the right to rule and not won the hearts of the people at all?

If not, why would the local lords not recognize you as the Heavenly Son?

All these points I have raised are only about the internal affairs of Ning Country itself. It will not be able to provide a reasonable explanation to its subjects in terms of legal principles.

Regarding external affairs, if Changsha, Southsea, and Ninghai countries break away,

The situation would change drastically with the loss of these three countries, and the former status of the Yue State court as the ruler of the Five Counties and Five Countries would collapse immediately.

Not only would the formerly united territories be torn apart due to the three separate countries, but the enclaves of Xichuan, Hanzhong and Jiuzhen would separate Ning Country into two parts.

There’s no need to elaborate on the potential dangers of a broken country with severed connections in the middle.

With the communication between Xichuan and Hanzhong countries and the Jinling court cut off by the Changsha Country, who knows whether they will change their hearts in the long run and ultimately follow the trend and declare independence?

Even forget about these two countries, what about Jiuzhen County?

This newly established annexed territory was only obtained after a hard struggle in overthrowing Jinghai Country. If it remains as an enclave for a long time, isolated and separated, who knows if it would seek independence once more, transforming the region into its own country?

Yes, the court has Marquis Wuping, Xie Ning, and fifty thousand Forbidden Army troops stationed in Jiuzhen to guard the territory.

But wouldn’t there still be domestic enemies even if there were no external ones?

Marquis of Wuping, Xie Ning, being separated for such a long time, would he really not develop any intention to rule the region independently and establish his own kingship?

After all, there are plenty of examples set by Lu Yuan and others right before him that he could just follow closely.

There would be no difficulty or burden at all.

As for the matter of his family in Linhai County,

Aristocratic families were never short of cases of division for the sake of expanding their clan or avoiding risks.

As long as Xie Ning and Linhai County’s Xie family separate, turning into two families, it would work.

At that time, since they would no longer be members of the same family and only related to each other, you can’t really blame the Xie family members who remain in Linhai County, right?

If you really want to involve all the relatives, since all our six or seven families are intermarried, who isn’t related to whom? You might as well blame yourself, too?

As for the Xie family there,

If they have the opportunity, I believe they would be more than willing to have a separate branch that would be stationed in Jiuzhen County, to create a new and distinctive royal descent.

After all, being an aristocratic family in Linhai County is indeed satisfying, with generations holding high-ranking positions, but ultimately it’s unlikely for them to become emperors.

However, if they become the great kings of Jiuzhen County, it would be a different story.

With the power in their hands, this kingship could be passed down through generations, remaining under the Xie surname forever.

If these three nations and territories also secede from the Ningguo Dynasty, the newborn Ning Dynasty would be left with only the four counties of Jiangdong to govern.