“The world belongs to the people of the world, not to a single family’s private domain. The world’s governance and chaos do not depend on a single family’s rise or fall, but on the people’s sorrows and joys.”
Generals guarding the frontiers, regional military commanders, local governors, and court advisors should have been advocating for the common people, yet they had long been shackled, bowing to the throne of a single family.
This catastrophic upheaval overturned a dynasty, and under the ashes, some embers still remained.
The timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony were all in place; the moment of transformation was about to arrive.
When the northern army remained motionless and the court officials in Jinling argued endlessly, unable to compromise, the Jiangnan, Lingnan, and Fujian regional commanders suddenly submitted a petition, requesting the Emperor to approve the northern seven armies’ proposal. The East Sea naval commander followed suit.
Shortly after, the Jiannan regional commander sent an imperial edict from the Grand Emperor, explicitly stating to “widely gather public opinion and carefully decide.”
Fu Shen never expected the three Jiangnan regional commanders would speak up so quickly. He had originally planned to pressure Jinling by recapturing the capital, dragging it out for a month, believing the Emperor would eventually agree. Now, the situation was settled, with even the Grand Emperor supporting them, and the Emperor’s approval was just a matter of time.
On the fourth day of the fifth month, the Emperor issued an edict in Zhouzhou, approving the proposal.
By the end of June, the capital was recaptured, and the Tartar remnant army retreated to Miyun. The Northern Yan cavalry continued northward to clear remaining enemies. By September, Northern Yan’s three passes were back in Han army hands, and the northern border was rebuilt.
That same year, internal rebellion broke out in the Bohai Kingdom, with insurgents surrendering their original monarch, willing to submit to the Great Zhou, paying tribute and becoming a vassal state.
In December, the Emperor arrived in the capital. On New Year’s Day the following year, he received court greetings at the Taiji Hall, rewarded generals, appointed his legitimate son Sun Hui as Crown Prince, and issued the “Hall Conference Law”.
