Chapter 652: 100: Putting the People First, Following Emperor Renzong’s Governance and Marquis Wu’s Spirit

This unexpected news greatly surprised Gu Yi. One must understand—

In the original history, although Li Heng was a rather short-lived emperor, his fundamental cause of death was due to being frightened.

The reason was that he could not fully control the harem and eunuchs.

But things are completely different now.

Li Fuguo had long been dead, and Empress Zhang in the harem could in no way hold any real power at this moment.

This had actually indirectly helped Li Heng eliminate the life-and-death crisis.

But unexpectedly, his lifespan was still so short and he succumbed to illness.

Gu Yi was not inclined to ponder the reason behind this.

No matter how shocked he was, he could only choose to promptly direct Gu Xuan to return to court.

This was his necessary action. In any case, the Central Hub of the Great Tang must not encounter any issues.

Fortunately, the campaign to suppress Buddhism had already seen actual progress; otherwise, this matter would certainly have caused even greater chaos.

...

Luoyang.

Under this shadow, Gu Xuan finally rushed back to Luoyang, once again stabilizing the court that had lost its backbone.

Even Gu Yi couldn’t help feeling a bit relieved.

Fortunately, he did not hesitate and conducted a purge within the court.

Otherwise—

The impact brought by Li Heng’s sudden death might have really led the Great Tang back to the old path of original history, facing its doom amid repeated court battles.

But now things are completely different; after the purge, the ministers in the court can all be considered as upright officials.

With these people in place, there was no chance of chaos appearing in the court.

Even if Empress Zhang harbored ill intentions, her power was insufficient to affect the court, let alone influence state affairs.

In the eighth year of Zhide, October.

Gu Xuan, leading the ministers, welcomed Crown Prince Li Yu to the throne, changing the era name to Baoying.

Compared to his father, Li Heng,

Li Yu’s character was much more pure.

Perhaps, due to the appearance of the Gu Clan, he experienced much less chaos, thus making his nature much more innocent.

Including his attitude towards the Gu Clan, which far surpassed that of his father, Li Heng.

The youthful nature was like this.

The legends of the Gu Clan, as well as Gu Xuan’s personal role in quelling the rebellion this time, were enough to make Li Yu admire them.

Thus, the ascension to the throne went exceedingly smoothly.

It is worth mentioning that—

Because Li Yu was not born to Empress Zhang, Gu Xuan even went to see Empress Zhang, expressing the stance that the nation could not afford chaos.

Consequently, Empress Zhang could not act as she did in the original history.

She had no choice but to agree.

For this new emperor’s enthronement, Gu Xuan made sure it was an exceedingly grand affair.

The wealth collected from various temples over the years had now all entered the Central Hub, naturally causing a rapid recovery of the Central Hub due to this influx of wealth.

Indeed, after careful consideration, Gu Yi did not distribute that wealth to the common people.

This would not be a favorable action in any way.

Being able to burn the promissory notes and mortgage deeds between the people and the temples was already considered a favor to them.

Now, at this time, this wealth played its role.

Whether it was to boost morale or to implement measures such as tax exemption during the new emperor’s ascension to demonstrate the authority of the Central Hub, there was no need to hold back at this time.

Gu Yi was also observing Li Yu.

In fact, he had memories of this emperor’s performance in the original history.

To put it bluntly, Li Yu could only be considered a ruler of defending the city.

He solved the chaos of the Great Tang at the time but also left extremely serious hidden dangers, which is difficult to evaluate.

But now, his performance allowed Gu Yi to see another kind of hope.

He held Gu Xuan in great reverence.

There was even a feeling of following whatever was said, showing an eager willingness to learn daily, which involuntarily made Gu Yi increasingly interested in him.

The Gu Clan never excluded the idea of joining hands with the royal family. As long as there was a positive impact, that would be enough.

The reason for treating Li Heng the way they did before was also very simple.

Li Heng’s insatiable thirst for power could not be stopped; if you showed any weakness, he would become even more relentless.

Just as when he was still the Crown Prince, under Li Longji’s majestic presence, he would keep a low profile, but once there was a gap in Li Longji’s control, he would immediately seize the opportunity.

For this type of emperor,

Gu Yi had no time to waste with him.

But Li Yu was somewhat different, and even Gu Xuan himself was very willing to teach Li Yu, obviously holding quite high expectations for him.

The anticipated chaos worried by the ministers did not occur—

This surprised many people, yet it also made many realize that the court was far more stable than imagined.

In fact, reality was indeed like this.

Much like the new policies and the suppression of Buddhism, the real hardship fell only on the Gu Clan.

On the other hand, the Central Hub of the Great Tang continuously benefited.

In the original history, the Great Tang, having survived the An Lushan Rebellion, managed to persist for nearly one hundred and fifty years, let alone now.

Because of this, Gu Xuan did not once again leave Luoyang.

Instead, he commanded all around from within Luoyang.

While overseeing the suppression of Buddhism in all directions, he instructed Li Yu, this emperor, on everything he had contemplated over the years.

—Gu Xuan had always been pondering about initiatives for governance and reform.

The new policies mainly targeted the internal workings of the court.