Chapter 25: Watching the Tides, Gazing at the Moon, and Admiring the Sun
Li Jiancheng clearly remembered that Yang Jian's death occurred in the 7th month of the year before the change to the Dàyè era, which was July 604 AD. Now it had been brought forward by five months, leaving him perplexed and bewildered.
Perhaps it was because this wasn't the space of his original era. He used such a reason to comfort himself, otherwise he really couldn't find any reason for Yang Jian's early death. However, now isn't the time to care about these things, what needs to be done is to know the specific situation.
Li Yuan said again, "Today I was in court when a eunuch suddenly came to the crown prince's ear and whispered something. Then some lower-ranking officials left, and the crown prince told us that the emperor had passed away. Because he was worried that something would happen, the crown prince ordered the entire city to be on high alert, and the news of the emperor's passing will not be officially announced until tomorrow. So all of you should stay at home for the next few days and not go anywhere. Especially you, Cheng Er, don't run around outside." Li Yuan said sternly to Li Jiancheng.
"The child understood." Li Jiancheng also knew that this was a crucial moment, so he wouldn't run around wildly either.
"It's fine if you know!" Li Yuan said to Li Jiancheng, then continued: "Alright, since there's nothing else, go back to your room and rest. I'll go to the study and think about some things." Seeing Li Yuan's expression, Li Jiancheng guessed that he would be working late again, and could only helplessly shrug his shoulders.
The next day, the imperial court announced Yang Jian's death, and the whole country mourned together.
Yang Jian: In February 581 AD, he was enthroned as Emperor in the Lin Guang Hall, with the national title of Great Sui, and changed the era to Kaihuang. He declared a general amnesty throughout the country. In the ninth year of Kaihuang (589 AD), Yang Jian sent a large army to conquer the Chen Dynasty, which had been occupying the south, unifying China and ending the division that had lasted since the end of the Western Jin Dynasty. The same year, the Ryukyu Islands surrendered to the Sui Dynasty. The Turkic Khan expressed his willingness to be a vassal state forever and surrender to the Sui Dynasty as cattle. Yang Jian ended the long-term chaos in China, conquered various barbarian tribes, and brought China back to peaceful times.
After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian carefully governed and the Sui Dynasty rapidly became strong and prosperous. He not only completed the great cause of unifying China but also made the Sui Dynasty a country with stable politics, social stability, rapid population growth, rapid increase in cultivated land, abundant accumulation, and cultural development, known as "Kaihuang Governance". A series of reforms were carried out in terms of political and economic systems. The three provinces and six ministries system was implemented in the central government, and the three-level system of prefectures, counties, and counties was changed to a two-level system of prefectures and counties. Local officials were generally appointed by the central government, which consolidated the centralization of power. After Yang Jian ascended to the throne, he began to build palaces on a large scale and ordered the construction of the capital city Daxing (the original form of Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty). The design and layout ideas of Daxing City had a profound impact on urban construction in later generations, as well as urban construction in Japan and Korea. In 584 AD, Emperor Wen of Sui ordered Yuwen Kai to lead the people in opening up irrigation canals. From the northwest of Daxing City, the Wei River was introduced, roughly following the ancient Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and then eastward to Tongguan into the Yellow River, with a length of over 150 kilometers, named Guangtong Canal. This marked the beginning of the construction of the Grand Canal, which connected two civilizations and gradually made the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin a whole.
What's more important is that he established the imperial examination system, which gave many scholars from humble backgrounds a chance to shine. It can be said that Yang Jian made great contributions throughout his life.
For the next seven days, Yang Jian's funeral was held. After that, all officials thought that a country could not be without a ruler for a single day, so Yang Guang succeeded to the throne. He forged Emperor Wen's will and strangled Yang Yong to death. Although everyone knew it was fake, no one opposed it now. Yang Yong was already in the past tense, of course, there were still some people who mourned him at home, but that's not the point.
……
Yang Guang has been on the throne for a year now, and this year Li Jiancheng is already 9 years old, second brother Li Shimin is 7 years old, third brother Li Yuanji is 6 years old, and Li Xiu Ning is also 4 years old. Li Yuan Bao was born in his speculation, and he is 2 years old this year, still breastfeeding. In this year, what made Li Jiancheng happy was that he finally made toothpaste. One time when he was experimenting, he crushed pearls into powder and added them to the toothpaste, which finally solidified. He excitedly started using it. When Li Shimin saw him brushing his teeth with toothpaste, he curiously started using it too. Then Li Yuan and Dou Yi found out and couldn't stop praising him, asking him where it came from. He said it was an accidental discovery, so the whole family started using toothpaste. From then on, their teeth were fresh and clean, without any strange smells, and they felt refreshed and energized every day. This is not important for now, let's talk about Yang Guang's ascension to the throne.
Yang Guang's ascension to the throne meant little change for ordinary people, but it had a significant impact on Li Jiancheng. Now that Yang Jian's death time was not right, and Yang Guang originally recorded in the book that he personally inspected Luoyang in the year of his accession, and then moved the capital to Luoyang this year, but so far he has not reacted at all. Was it changed by the birth of this butterfly? Of course, things like his improvement of the imperial examination system and the construction of the Grand Canal had not changed.
However, these changes have made Li Jiancheng more vigilant. Originally, he thought that according to the records in the history books, there would be no mistakes, but now it seems that some plans need to be accelerated.
Firstly, regarding the training plan for those orphans, he wrote a document about pre-reincarnation special forces training and gave it to He Qing, also asking He Qing to send a copy to He Taichong. Now, nearly a thousand orphans are under the command of He Qing and He Taichong's subordinates, undergoing rigorous training. Under their sugar-coated cannonballs, those leaders who trained for us have become completely loyal to Li Jiancheng, although they don't know who the real boss is.
Secondly, Li Jiancheng asked He Qing to find some blacksmiths, alchemists, and craftsmen, totaling nearly two hundred people. He had He Qing bring them all to Taiyuan, where they were well-fed and supported. With the current profits from the wine tower, it was enough to support these people, and they were also being slowly screened. Those with poor conduct were directly eliminated, and only those who passed would be reused by him.
Apart from this, there is another very important thing that must be solved in his view, that is, the shortage of manpower, to know that in order not to expose himself, many things have to be done with great care, which leads to a bit of inefficiency, so he wants to find some people who completely obey him.
At present, the five steps of foundation building in "Changsheng Jue Ri Zhi Pian" have been fully practiced, but now it is only at the second level boundary. To practice to the great completion boundary of the tenth, so for him, the road is still far away. However, he can now practice some martial arts and learn some simple array methods. It's worth noting that since the Five Barbarians' invasion of China, many cultural relics have been lost in the Central Plains, which has also made array methods a rare thing nowadays. Looking at some records of later generations, except for Li Jing and his disciple Xue Rengui, there are few records of using array methods, so sometimes using array methods can completely reverse the situation. "Changsheng Jue Ri Zhi Pian" recorded many practice methods, with eighteen kinds of weapons available. However, because Li Jiancheng personally felt that swords looked better, he chose swordsmanship and selected three styles from the many swordsmanship methods in "Changsheng Jue Ri Zhi Pian": Guantao Sword, Wangyue Sword, and Yangri Sword.
Guan Chao Sword: The ancestor, Guang Chengzi, observed the rise and fall of the great ocean tides, from which he gained insight into this sword technique. When the sword is wielded, it's like a wave, one after another, unending and with increasing power. As the inner energy grows according to the "Long Life Secret Daily Chapter", so does the Guan Chao Sword's power, meaning that if the inner energy reaches a certain level, the Guan Chao Sword can be stacked multiple times. Currently, my inner energy is at two levels, which means I can stack it twice. This can be said to be a good stealthy weapon, and once the opponent doesn't understand what's happening, they may die under the stacked attacks.
Wang Yue Jian: The ancestor's Guang Chengzi gazed at the bright moon on a clear night, and thus comprehended this sword technique. This sword technique can be used for both offense and defense, its power is as warm as the bright moon to people's hearts, making one's mood tend towards peace, causing people to unknowingly fall under its influence, ultimately having no strength to resist, only able to submit to defeat. The second sword technique has many variations, divided into four types of changes: with internal energy up to the third layer, one can use the first variation - Yue Ya Bian; with internal energy from the fourth to sixth layers, one can use the second variation - Ban Yue Bian; with internal energy from the seventh to ninth layers, one can use the Ying Yue Bian; when internal energy reaches the tenth layer, one can finally use the ultimate variation - Man Yue Bian.
Yang Ri Jian: The ancestor Guang Chengzi enlightened under the sunlight, and thus understood the swordsmanship. This swordsmanship is powerful and vigorous, with a strong momentum, emphasizing a single-minded determination to never retreat. This swordsmanship only has an attacking path, no defensive path. It is divided into five levels of realm: First level - Sunrise in the East, inner power up to two layers can be used; Second level - Sun on the mountain top, inner power third and fourth layers can be used; Third level - Sun hanging in the sky, inner power fifth and sixth layers can be used; Fourth level - Sun slanting towards the western mountain, inner power seventh and eighth layers can be used; Fifth level - Sunset glow, inner power ninth and tenth layers can be used. Once used, everything turns to dust, like a desolate sunset. Therefore, it is not easy to use the fifth level Yang Ri Jian, even if used, it cannot be released with ten layers of inner power, as this move harms the harmony of heaven.
