Chapter 261 The four seas are tending to be unified, and the empire is within reach!

After entering Bashu, Murong Fu realized that this land of abundance was indeed worthy of its reputation.

In most of the county towns in the north, there is not even a butcher's shop or a decent restaurant.

Normally, when farmers entertain guests, they don’t serve pork.

Because if you want to eat pork, you have to kill pigs, which is a big deal.

When farmers entertain guests, they can only kill chickens and ducks and make a few eggs or salted duck eggs, which is considered a major meat dish.

But every county in Bashu actually has a butcher shop and more than one restaurant.

The wealth of Bashu is almost comparable to that of Jiangnan.

The people here eat meat on a regular basis, and it is not difficult for them to do so. Their living standards are almost as good as those of Tokyo residents.

Murong Fu probably understood why the soldiers under Emperor Taizu of Song acted so recklessly in Bashu.

I guess it was the richness of this place and the fair-skinned women that aroused the evil in human nature.

However, Murong Fu was not Emperor Taizu of Song. His prestige was far beyond that of Emperor Taizu of Song. All the generals in the army were promoted and trained by him personally, or controlled by him.

Murong Fu did not bully orphans and widows to usurp the throne. He fought hard and conquered the country.

If he wanted the soldiers to obey his orders, they would obey his orders.

This time, the people of Bashu realized what a royal army was.

Is there an army that doesn't plunder?
There are actually soldiers who get paid for food?
Is there a military unit that doesn't rape women?
The discipline of Murong Fu's army brought a small shock to the Ming Dynasty to the people of Bashu.

This time, word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until the whole of Bashu knew that Murong Fu's troops were the royal army.

The prefectures and counties of Bashu all hung the flags of the sun and the moon. The speed of the Ming Dynasty's advancement was astonishingly fast.

Everything is learned through comparison.

A hundred years ago, after Song Taizu's army entered Bashu, the soldiers raped women on a large scale, even cut off the organs of local women for pleasure, and even killed surrendered soldiers directly.

Emperor Taizu of Song could only give a few verbal admonitions, but in reality he deprived Bashu of its financial resources on a large scale, even to the point where there was not enough copper in Bashu and they had to use iron coins.

In contrast to the Song army, the newly established Ming army, although it had not reached the stage of the Song army and did not have much close relationship between the army and the people, was extremely disciplined by Murong Fu and did not harass or infringe upon the civilians.

This had already greatly shocked the people of Shu, so wherever Murong Fu went, the local people would welcome the royal army with food and drink.

Murong Fu also behaved in a very charming manner. He met with local officials, gentry, and even old people in the village. He was approachable, cheerful and talkative, and his charm was at its peak.

The hard battle has been fought, and Murong Fu is now mainly adopting political means.

He showed a people-friendly attitude and abolished many harsh taxes in Bashu. This political effect continued to produce changes in Bashu, so that when Murong Fu arrived at Chengdu Prefecture, the city gates of Chengdu Prefecture were already wide open, with sun and moon flags flying, and local officials and gentry kneeling to welcome Murong Fu.

Murong Fu rode a white horse, leading the way, looking at the prosperous Chengdu Prefecture, and smiled to those around him: "Isn't this what it means that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world?"

"When my foster father came to Sichuan, he did not harm anyone and imposed light taxes and levies. Compared to Emperor Taizu of Song, he is much better than him." Murong Fei was in high spirits and flattered him. "Now that the four seas are unified and the people are united, my foster father can consider becoming emperor."

"Don't worry, the meat in the pot needs to be cooked until it's softer, so it will taste sweeter." Murong Fu said, "Follow me to Chengdu!"

After entering Chengdu Prefecture, Murong Fu's troops remained steadfast in their duty, sorting out Chengdu Prefecture's archives and taking over the prefecture's treasury.

Afterwards, Murong Fu brought a group of people and local officials to the Temple of Han Zhaolie.

"Move Wu Hou in as well. Wu Hou and Emperor Zhaolie are a legend of monarch and minister that has been passed down through the ages. It would be best to enshrine them together." Murong Fu said.

"Your Highness is right. We will merge the Wuhou Temple into the Zhaolie Temple right now."

Local officials are naturally happy to obey orders, as this is not a matter of principle.

Then, Murong Fu wrote a poem in the Zhaolie Temple, using Lu You's famous line "The first battle he set out to conquer made him famous in the world; who can be compared to him in a thousand years" to praise the friendship between Emperor Zhaolie and Zhuge Wuhou, which won applause from the whole audience.

Then, Murong Fu's sixth teacher concluded:
"I think the Bashu spirit is the spirit of Zhuge Wuhou. Zhuge Wuhou's spirit is loyalty, righteousness and benevolence. You should call on the people of Bashu to learn the spirit of Wuhou and carry forward the spirit of Wuhou. And repair this Zhaolie Temple!"

"I will publish the Tianfu Daily, serializing the stories of the Three Kingdoms and praising Emperor Zhaolie and Zhuge Liang. You can hire someone to write the story. But please note that adaptation is not random writing, and parody is not nonsense. It must be in line with reality and cater to the spirit of the Ming Dynasty."

"My Ming Dynasty is the Han Dynasty. The Mandate of Heaven has returned to Yanhan. If Wu Hou knew about this, he would definitely be very pleased."

All the officials nodded in agreement and listened to Murong Fu's teachings.

Although Murong Fu had not yet proclaimed himself emperor, that was just a title. You are not the emperor just because you call yourself the emperor. Rather, if others think you are the emperor, then you are the emperor.

Now, the whole world recognizes Murong Fu as the emperor, so Murong Fu is naturally the de facto emperor.

To ascend the throne and be crowned emperor was nothing more than completing formalities and holding a ceremony to reward meritorious officials.

"Murong Fei!" Murong Fu said.

"I am here." Murong Fei said, "I wonder what orders His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan has?"

This was a formal occasion, and Murong Fei was very disciplined. He did not address him as his godfather, but referred to him by his title.

"I appoint you as the General of the Southern Expedition and lead 50,000 troops to support the Shiquan and Yongkang armies in Chunzhou. Convey my orders to Duan Yanqing of Dali and the King of Tubo, and ask them to come to Chengdu to meet me. If they obey my orders, I will recruit them. If they don't, you should know how to deal with it." Murong Fu said.

"Your Highness, rest assured. Fei will definitely fulfill the mission." Murong Fei accepted the order.

Three days later. Chengdu Prefecture.

Murong Fei returned triumphantly.

During these three days, Murong Fei incorporated the Shiquan and Yongkang armies. Duan Yanqing knew how powerful Murong Fu was, and that the Longcheng Chamber of Commerce had a huge influence in the Dali army, so he discussed with the Gao family and decided to come to meet Murong Fu.

However, as the King of Tubo, Murong Fu deliberately did not let Jiumozhi persuade him, and he showed his intention to fight to the end.

Therefore, Murong Fei united the Shiquan and Yongkang armies and joined forces with Duan Yanqing's troops to defeat the Tibetan army and captured the Tibetan king and Prince Zongzan.

At this moment, the Ming army was in high spirits, escorting the Tibetan captives into Chengdu Prefecture, preparing to present them to Murong Fu.

Duan Yanqing and Gao Shengtai looked at this scene with mixed feelings in their hearts.

None of them had expected that Murong Fu would achieve such great achievements in such a short period of time and become the master of the world.

In the past, when Murong Fu entered Dali, he was a commoner and a gangster, while Gao Shengtai was the prime minister and a powerful figure in Dali.

Today, Gao Shengtai is just a minor official of a foreign country, while Murong Fu is the ruler of the world.

What's even more embarrassing is that Murong Fu is also the son-in-law of Dali's Duan family.

Gao Shengtai was keenly aware that the Gao family had to exit with dignity. If he refused to do so, Murong Fu would definitely help him do so.

But Deng Baichuan was so excited that he couldn't express it in words.

He didn't expect that Dayan would actually have a day to restore its country. Although the country's name was not Dayan, it didn't really matter. What mattered was that Murong Fu's business was successful and it was almost time to settle accounts.

Deng Baichuan's grandfather followed Murong Longcheng because he valued Murong Longcheng's invincibility in the world and hoped to follow Murong Longcheng and become a duke for generations.

Unexpectedly, Murong Longcheng's rebellion failed, and the four great owners of the manor also lay dormant, passing on their wills to their descendants.

When Deng Baichuan was young, he was also ambitious. He followed Murong Bo, hoping that Murong Bo could accomplish great things.

As a result, if Murong Bo hadn't taken action, it would have been fine. But once he took action, he created the Yanmen Pass and had to fake his death. Deng Baichuan didn't even know the right and wrong of this, but he instinctively felt that Murong Bo was unreliable and felt a little disheartened.

As for Murong Fu, although Deng Baichuan supported him in restoring his country, he was not so enthusiastic. After all, for the past twenty years, Murong Fu had either been practicing martial arts in Yanziwu or messing around in the martial arts world, and no one knew what he was doing.

But last spring, Murong Fu's temperament suddenly changed. He drew up a grand plan to restore the country in Yanziwu, and then began to maneuver and expand his influence.

On January 1st of this year, the winter offensive was launched and the Song Dynasty was destroyed.

By now, Murong Fu has already been chosen by destiny and the situation is set.

As an old minister of the Murong family, Deng Baichuan felt that he would eventually be granted a title of nobility. Thinking that the long-cherished wish of his ancestors had finally come true, he felt excited.

A moment later, a group of people met Murong Fu in the city government office.

Murong Fu, however, brought local officials to appreciate the "Dingjun Mountain" compiled by Li Kuilei.

Now that the southeast has been settled, resources have been allocated to Murong Fu from various departments of Murong Fu, including the Propaganda Department.

The army and propaganda were mobilized together, and Murong Fu was a great success politically!
"Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Yan. Long live His Royal Highness Prince Yan. Long live His Royal Highness Prince Yan. Long live His Royal Highness Prince Yan!"

Duan Yanqing and others took the lead in paying respects. Although they called themselves the King of Yan, they were actually performing the rituals of an audience with the Emperor.

"No need to bow, please stand up! Yanqing, Shengtai, you are all my old friends, come, please take a seat!" Murong Fu first gave seats to Duan Yanqing and Gao Shengtai.

Although Duan Yanqing was not the emperor of Dali, he controlled all the troops of Dali, especially the one thousand monks of Tianlong Temple, who were extremely elite and provided Duan Yanqing with the greatest support.

Duan Yanqing is actually the representative of Dali, and Gao Shengtai has to step back a little.

"Thank you, King Yan."

After expressing their gratitude, the two took their seats.

Gao Shengtai looked at Murong Fu, whose dignity was becoming more and more extraordinary, and felt as if it was a dream. The change of dynasties recorded in history books and the Emperor Taizu Gao of a dynasty actually appeared in front of him and had some interactions with him. In a trance, he felt that this was unreal.

It's ridiculous that he sent his son to learn martial arts from the high priest. But even the high priest himself had no choice but to surrender when he met Murong Fu now!

"Baichuan, you are my old minister, please take a seat with me! You have worked hard to run the Longcheng Chamber of Commerce for me in Dali these days! The Longcheng Chamber of Commerce will be of great use in the future. I just watched "Dingjun Mountain". Huang Zhong, an old man, was able to ride a horse to Dingjun Mountain. You should also learn from Huang Zhong, who is still ambitious and wants to contribute to our Ming Dynasty!" Murong Fu said with a smile.

Murong Fu plans to use state capital to promote the development of productivity. The Longcheng Chamber of Commerce will be a "state-owned enterprise" exclusively belonging to the Murong royal family. In the future, it will form a huge chaebol to protect the power of the royal family and drive the development of the entire society.

Naturally, it plays a big role.

"Your Highness the Prince of Yan is so kind to me. I am so grateful!" Seeing Murong Fu comparing himself to Huang Zhong, Deng Baichuan felt warm in his heart and was so moved that he shed tears. He said while wiping his tears.

After all, it’s because of different identities and statuses.

In the past, he was Murong Fu's elder and took care of Murong Fu as he grew up.

Now, Murong Fu is the emperor, and a word of concern from him carries a thousand pounds of weight.

"Your Highness Prince of Yan, the King of Tubo" Murong Fei reported to Murong Fu that the King of Tubo had been captured after resisting stubbornly.

Murong Fu had a cold face and ordered: "Come here, bring the Tibetan leader Aguri and the Tibetan prince Zongzan!"

(End of this chapter)