Book 2: Chapter 107: Han Royal Dynasty
Boom!
Gu Hai pushed the shattered rocks and wood shards around him away as he walked out of the rubble.
Gu Qin, Shangguan Hen, Chen Tianshan, and some of the Gu Residence’s old managers came over.
“Master, are you alright?”
“Adoptive Father, are you fine?”
“Milord, why did the Soaring Pagoda collapse?”
Everyone looked at Gu Hai worriedly.
“It’s fine!” Gu Hai turned his head to look at the collapsed Soaring Pagoda.
“Since it collapsed, so be it. In that case, the new royal assembly hall will be named the Soaring Palace Hall!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” Gu Qin answered.
“Send people to tidy the place up. Carefully retrieve all the books in there!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” Everyone answered.
——
One month passed in a flash.
Many areas of the previous five nations had not been properly organized yet. However, the rough structure and system were already set. There were the three thousand evil men and the three thousand cultivators that Chen Tianshan recruited. Gu Hai sent these six thousand cultivators all over his territory to assist the various cities in preparing for the establishment of the nation, preventing any chaos or problems.
A large number of palaces were erected outside what used to be the Gu Residence in Hulao Pass. Although the construction was still very rudimentary, the largest palace was incredibly majestic; it was named the Soaring Palace Hall.
Armored soldiers surrounded the perimeter of the Soaring Palace Hall, more than three hundred thousand of them. A large number of men dressed in scholarly robes stood in the center, officials who had yet to be installed. All of them stood there extremely respectfully.
Many of the countless cultivators who had gone to the Peony Sect remained on Nine-Five Island. They lingered at some of the distant mountains to observe the ceremony.
A tall platform had been erected in between the Soaring Palace Hall and the future officials. Sitting in the middle of the plaza, it looked like an altar.
A large number of guards stood outside the Soaring Palace Hall.
“The auspicious time has arrived! Gu Hai, ascend the altar and petition heaven and earth!” the attendant serving as the master of ceremonies shouted while standing outside the Soaring Palace Hall.
Three hundred thousand people stood solemnly, quietly witnessing everything.
Creak!
The Soaring Palace Hall’s doors suddenly opened.
Gu Hai walked out of the Soaring Palace Hall at a measured pace.
He wore a crown, black imperial robes, and a pair of shoes with cloud dragon motifs. The dragons on the imperial robes were embroidered using gold thread. The imperial robes trailed behind for quite a distance, looking ridiculously long.
[TL Note: The crown mentioned here is not the circlet we normally think of. The Chinese word here has no translation in English, but it does serve the same function as a crown—a headgear that a ruler wears. Here is what it looks like: http://5b0988e595225.cdn.sohucs.com/images/20171025/bf78897cb59c4ae793de7e450888b755.jpeg. This crown is not worn by just the emperor; officials of high importance wear it too. However, the style would be different, and one can identify the position based on this headgear. This headgear was not the only one worn by Chinese emperors; other headgear were used in various dynasties.]
[TL Note 2: Imperial robes are basically ornate robes with dragon motifs on them, especially five-clawed dragons for the emperor. Princes and high officials might be permitted to wear imperial robes but with dragons of lesser claw counts. Of course, this varied between dynasties as well. A literal translation of this would be dragon robes.]
Gu Hai had a solemn expression as he held the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal in his right hand and a scroll of golden silk in his left hand.
Everyone stood respectfully, watching Gu Hai make his way to the nearby altar.
Then, Gu Hai climbed to the top of the altar. Below, everyone remained standing respectfully.
On the altar was a table, which Gu Hai placed the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal and the golden silk scroll on.
After putting down the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal, Gu Hai unfurled the golden silk scroll, revealing it was blank. After taking a deep breath, he suddenly performed a hug-posture salute.
[TL Note: There are many forms of greeting gestures in ancient Chinese culture. The hug-posture salute indicates reverence and respect to a superior. This is what it looks like: http://5b0988e595225.cdn.sohucs.com/images/20200323/b6aca15e43254c63b025c28e4acf4b3c.jpeg.]
“On this day, I, Gu Hai, of the Thousand Islands Sea’s Nine-Five Island, petition heaven and earth to bear witness for me. I will establish my nation today. I offer my blood as a sacrifice to heaven and earth as a sign of my sincere convictions. I, Gu Hai, will treat my citizens well and treat this new nation well!” Gu Hai shouted.
While Gu Hai shouted, he took out a golden knife and slowly slit his right palm. Blood dribbled out.
Then, Gu Hai used the blood to write a large Han (瀚) character on the golden silk scroll.
After that, Gu Hai sprayed his blood all over the altar.
“I now establish this new nation, a new dynasty. This nation will be known as Han, the Han Royal Dynasty. The Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal will be the symbol of imperial power to anchor the nation and the nation’s blessings. The Soaring Palace Hall will be the center of the Han Royal Dynasty to collect all the blessings! I implore heaven to accept the establishment of my nation! I implore the earth to accept the establishment of my nation!” Gu Hai shouted.
As Gu Hai spoke, he slowly raised the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal and stamped it on the Han character on the golden silk scroll.
Boom!
After the imperial seal stamped the nation’s name, there seemed to be a loud crack of thunder.
Dark clouds suddenly appeared in the sky as strong winds blew.
“Three kowtows to heaven!” the attendant who shouted earlier suddenly called out.
“We implore heaven to accept the establishment of the Han Royal Dynasty!” three hundred thousand-odd people shouted in unison.
Then, everyone knelt together with Gu Hai and kowtowed.
——
At the same time, in all the cities of the original five nations, the new officials had arranged for all the ordinary citizens to come out and gather in the plazas.
Attendants read out what Gu Hai shouted in front of the Soaring Palace Hall as he made offerings to heaven. After all, this was an important ceremony. Every word that Gu Hai said had been preplanned long ago.
The attendants followed the time and spread Gu Hai’s words to the entire nation at nearly the same time.
“Three kowtows to heaven!” The various officials’ voices rang out in the various cities.
“Old Mister Gu is establishing his nation? That’s great! It is thanks to Old Mister Gu that our family can survive!”
“Now, we should be calling him His Majesty!”
“Right! Right! His Majesty!”
The ordinary citizens whispered to each other as they knelt.
“We implore heaven to accept the establishment of the Han Royal Dynasty!” the ordinary citizens called out to heaven.
“We implore heaven to accept the establishment of the Han Royal Dynasty!”
“We implore heaven to accept the establishment of the Han Royal Dynasty!”
Countless ordinary citizens in hundreds of cities called out to heaven in worship. The surging voices of the citizens seemed to reach even the depths of the world.
Heaven seemed to sense this call. Strong winds blew everywhere below Gu Hai’s platform as though responding to the plea to establish the nation.
——
At the Soaring Palace Hall’s entrance:
Gu Hai kowtowed three times to heaven extremely solemnly. His subordinates below followed suit, all of them extremely solemn.
The dark clouds in the sky scattered, and a gentle breeze seemed to dance everywhere. However, a strong wind blew towards the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal. Then, the strong wind blew back out of the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal to the nearby majestic Soaring Palace Hall.
The strong wind transformed into a zephyr as it circled in the air.
Gu Hai looked around and saw that the zephyr circling above the Soaring Palace Hall had a faint golden shimmer.
“Providence? Is that the providence from the citizens? It gathered above the Soaring Palace Hall? Indeed, establishing a nation allows me to store providence.” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.
However, Gu Hai did not pay much attention to this, as the master of ceremonies shouted again.
“Three kowtows to the earth!” the master of ceremonies shouted.
“We implore the earth to accept the establishment of the Han Royal Dynasty!”
“We implore the earth to accept the establishment of the Han Royal Dynasty!”
Nearly all the citizens in Hulao Pass and the hundreds of cities shouted at the same time.
Rumble…!
The citizens’ wish entered the earth, causing it to tremble slightly.
“The ceremony is complete! Rise!” the master of ceremonies shouted.
Rumble…!
Everyone before the Soaring Palace Hall stood up and looked at Gu Hai, who was on the altar.
The imperial-robed Gu Hai looked down on all the officials.
“On this day, We established the Han Royal Dynasty, a dynasty of water and virtue. I hereby install the various officials, and we will build the Han Royal Dynasty together!” Gu Hai shouted.
[TL Note: The character for Han means ocean or vastness. It also symbolizes breadth of heart, erudition, and virtue. This Han character (瀚) is different from the one used for the Han (汉) Dynasty of China’s history. The Han in China’s Han Dynasty and Gu Han’s name means the people, men, or the Han Chinese, the main ethnic group of China.]
“Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
“Long live the Han Royal Dynasty! May the Han Royal Dynasty reign for ten thousand years!”
Everyone below cried out.
Then, the master of ceremonies took out a scroll and shouted, “Carrying the mandate of heaven, the emperor commands Gu Qin to be installed as the Han Royal Dynasty’s crown prince!”
Gu Qin stepped forward, and an attendant immediately placed official robes on him. “This official, Gu Qin, accepts the bestowal of the crown prince position. Thank you, my emperor. Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
“Install Tang Chu as the Han Royal Dynasty’s minister of revenue!”
A white-haired old man stepped forward, and an attendant immediately placed official robes on him. “This official, Tang Chu, accepts the bestowal of the minister of revenue position. Thank you, my emperor. Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
“Install Gao Xianzhi as the Han Royal Dynasty’s First Corps commander!”
Gao Xianzhi stepped forward and performed a hug-posture salute. “This official, Gao Xianzhi, accepts the bestowal of the First Corps commander position. Thank you, my emperor. Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
“Install Chen Tianshan as the Han Royal Dynasty’s Second Corps commander!”
Chen Tianshan felt slightly surprised. He had not expected to be appointed the Second Corps commander.
“This official, Chen Tianshan, accepts the bestowal of the Second Corps commander position. Thank you, my emperor. Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
“Install Scar as the Han Royal Dynasty’s minister of war!”
“This official, Scar, accepts the bestowal of the minister of war position. Thank you, my emperor. Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
Nearby, Chen Tianshan felt surprised again. Why was Scar not installed as a commander but as the minister of war? However, since Gu Hai decided that, he did not question it.
The installation continued.
When the various old managers who followed Gu Hai donned the official robes, they all showed joyful expressions.
This group of old managers had long been following Gu Hai to expand his business. As a result, Gu Hai knew all their capabilities in detail. Although this now changed from running a business to running a nation, Gu Hai believed they would excel.
“Install Meng Tai as the Han Royal Dynasty’s Embroidered Uniform Guard’s envoy commander!”
The loud shout caused Chen Tianshan, Scar, Gao Xianzhi, and the others to show strange expressions. Even the countless cultivators whom Meng Tai scared silly in the Peony Sect were set abuzz.
“What? Meng Tai? Didn’t he die in the death puzzle?”
“Gu Hai did not kill him? Doesn’t he have a grudge against Gu Hai?”
“That cold-blooded, insidious villain, Meng Tai? Gu Hai is making him an official?”
“I saw wrong, right?”
Countless cultivators looked at the group of officials in disbelief.
Indeed, Meng Tai donned extremely lavish embroidered robes as he stepped forward respectfully, showing a cold and stern expression.
“This official, Meng Tai, accepts the bestowal of the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s envoy commander position. Thank you, my emperor. Long live my emperor! May my emperor live for ten thousand years!”
Gasp!
Meng Tai’s ferocious reputation still daunted the cultivators. Sharp intakes of breath were audible in the distance.
“It really is Meng Tai? Gu Hai sure is daring, isn’t he?”
“The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s envoy commander? What kind of position is that?”
“Meng Tai? That ambitious and ruthless fellow? He actually submitted to Gu Hai?”
The installation of the officials continued amid the shock.
Nearly everyone who followed Gu Hai was installed as officials of varying importance. Only Shangguan Hen remained seated in a nearby courtyard, drinking alone.
“Milord, why weren’t you…” a subordinate standing at the side asked with a frown.
Shangguan Hen shook his head and smiled. “His Majesty was preparing to install me as a corps commander. However, I will follow him for only twenty years, so I told him not to install me and just let me remain a member of Elite Hall’s Water Division.”
“Yes!” That subordinate nodded but still felt confused.