With the help of these two people, Gongsun Jian finally felt a lot less pressure on his shoulders. Especially when Liu Mang was at the funeral, Gongsun Jian personally supported the coffin for the funeral, which won the hearts of many Southern Han ministers. But the matter here has not yet had time to be dealt with, and the state capital that did not occupy the eastern part of the Southern Han Kingdom and declared independence was not only not taken the wrong medicine, but actually raised troops in Kashgar to attack the territory attached to Gongsun Jian, and kept saying that it was to avenge Liu Mang.

This can be regarded as a hornet's nest. Originally, Gongsun Jian was very disgusted with them, and he shouted that he did not use force to conquer them, but actually ate the bear's heart and leopard gall to provoke him. Especially the Zhou State behind it, according to the news from the Intelligence Department, the Zhou court is all behind this matter.

In this regard, Gongsun Jian did not leave half a point of affection, sent envoys to Shangjing, and directly reprimanded the Zhou court in person, if he dared to make some small moves behind his back, after the army wiped out the entire territory of the Southern Han Dynasty, the next step was to directly enter Shangjing and overthrow the rule of Zhou in one fell swoop.

But what I never expected was that this time the Zhou court had an unusually tough attitude. Not only did you not say a soft word, but also high-profile declared that your Gongsun Jian's title of King of Zhou was sealed by the court of my Zhou State, but you did not listen to the orders and dispatches of the court in everything, which is no different from rebellion. Now in the name of the suzerain, the court of my Zhou State will ask your Gongsun Jian to withdraw his troops immediately and withdraw all of them from the territory of the Southern Han Dynasty, otherwise the Zhou State will extinguish you, a rebel, with the strength of the whole country.

It's a big buzz now. The court of the Zhou State not only said this to the envoy sent by Gongsun Jian, but also spread these words to the whole world, recognized the identity of Gongsun Jian's anti-thief, and called on the other six countries in the world, including the Southern Han Dynasty, which has now been formally destroyed, to stand up and eliminate Gongsun Jian and his gang of rebellious ministers and thieves.

When Gongsun Jian saw this text, he couldn't help but be happy. It seems that Qian Hong's guy finally couldn't help it, because he knew that after he completely destroyed and occupied the Southern Han, the next target would definitely be his Zhou State. While Gongsun Jian was thinking that his wings were not yet fully plump, he launched the most powerful blow, and perhaps it was possible to redeem the previous decline of the Zhou State. It is also possible to kill Gongsun Jian desperately, so that the Zhou State can continue. Not to mention that once Gongsun Jian is finished, the territory of the Southern Han Dynasty before that will be completely incorporated into the Zhou State.

Gongsun Jian had to admire his old man's good calculations. It's a pity that Gongsun Jian is the kind of person who will bow his head? Faced with such a situation, Gongsun Jian summoned all the civil and military ministers around him to discuss countermeasures. Even Liu Dayuan and Li Wenfang, who were far away in Linshui County, also came. Originally, Gongsun Jian was the territory of the four provinces, but now only Feng Huaidao was left to guard. However, Feng Huaidao still sent his own letter to Gongsun Jian, analyzed the current situation in his heart, and put forward his own opinions.

And Feng Huaidao's opinion was consistent with the opinions put forward by all the civil and military ministers in the next discussion, that is, to ask Gongsun Jian to ascend the throne and become emperor. In this way, Zhou Guo will no longer have anything to say. Moreover, he can fully mobilize the people in the territory to work together to support Gongsun Jian against the Zhou State, and even take advantage of this opportunity to take the Zhou State in one fell swoop.

Seeing that all the ministers below knelt on the ground and persuaded themselves to ascend the throne and become emperor, Gongsun Jian felt a lot of emotion in his heart. According to his previous thinking and plan, now is not the right time. But in the face of Zhou Guo's aggressive posture, it also made Gongsun Jian have no other way to go. Otherwise, he will always be a prince under the Zhou State who has always been unjustifiable, so naturally everything should be obeyed by the orders of the Zhou State, otherwise he will become a real rebel and thief.

After hesitating for a long time, Gongsun Jian did not agree to the ministers' request on the spot. I returned to my residence in Yingtian City, the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty, and thought about it all day behind closed doors. Then he sent someone to call Qi Shi, Ma Tengding, Ding Feng and a few other old subordinates, and everyone drank wine together, just like in the study of the small courtyard in Shiao Lane, Linshui County, and began to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

"I said, my lord, what are you hesitating about? The king of Zhou is a king, but not an emperor. We have enough territory now for you to ascend to the throne and become emperor. Besides, the ministers outside have also begged, if you don't act at this time, won't it chill everyone's hearts. Ma Teng was the first to speak and persuaded Gongsun Jian again. And Gongsun Jian was still silent, drinking quietly, and raised his eyes to look at several other people. Then he asked coldly: "Lao Qi, you are the oldest among us." Tell me what you think? ”

Qi Shi didn't answer in a hurry, peeled the salted edamame in his hand, and after thinking about it, he looked at Gongsun Jian and said, "My lord, when you asked a few of us to follow you, you said that in the future, we will not worry about food and clothing, glory and wealth." At that time, I didn't think anything of it. I just thought that if I could get a few thousand taels of silver in my hand, it would be enough for my whole life. ”

"Hahaha, do you have a few thousand taels of silver now?" Gongsun Jian interrupted Qi Shi's words with a smile and asked the other party.

"That's enough, now the family's house is allocated by the government, and the compound of Sanjin covers an area of almost four acres. The mother-in-law at home said that the place was too big and it was difficult to clean. Hehe, country women don't know. Qi Shi said as he showed his white teeth and smiled very happily.

"I said, now my home is not the same as before. Your man is a big official anyway. You can't clean it, so you can't hire a few more people. But sir, guess what my aunt said? ”

"Hehe, you still need to guess, you must be reluctant to spend money." Gongsun Jian replied with a smile, picked up the wine glass and touched it with Qi Shi before drinking it all.

"Yes. It is said that the house was allocated by the government, and it was not bought by the family. If I go back and leave the army according to my age, I won't be an official, and the house will not be lived. There are also two boys in the family, the eldest is now seventeen years old, and he is about to marry a daughter-in-law, and he can't say that he will have to live alone in the future, so he will have to buy three properties. Honestly, sir. We have indeed made a lot of money over the years with you, especially the annual dividends of those industries, although they have now been transferred to the local government, but the little shares that are retained are also not worried. As he spoke, Qi Shi slowly took another sip of wine.

"However, it is estimated that the silver that I can take out in my family now is not even 10,000 taels."

"Oh?" Gongsun Jian looked at Qi Shi with a puzzled expression. smiled and asked curiously: "Lao Qi, you shouldn't have an outer room outside, right?" ”

"Shall I have the courage and the time? My lord, I have been in charge of logistics over the years, and it can be said that countless amounts of money have flowed through my hands. But I understand that you are the one who wants to do great things in the future, and I have never touched a penny. Plus subsidize the robes of the dead and wounded. So I really don't have much money left at home. But despite this, my old Qi is also satisfied. So, if you call the emperor or not, my old Qi will always be by your side. ”

When Qi Shi finished speaking, everyone present was silent. That's right! No one thought that following Gongsun Jian would be able to get to this point. The only thing is the sincere heart and the love of the robe. said that they would be rich together, but now they are really rich. How to choose next, although everyone thinks differently. But the final choice is in the hands of Gongsun Jian.

Gongsun Jian shook his head and smiled, then glanced at Wei Meng, who was bored eating, and asked, "Mengzi, how much have you earned over the years?" ”

"Huh? My lord, you ask me? I really don't know. All my money is on the girl's side, and besides, I don't use much money in the army. Every year before the Chinese New Year, the girl will report the number with me. But I don't remember that. ”

"What about you, Lao Ding?"

"My lord, not only Mengzi, but also Xie Lao Wu and Lao Ma's salaries are all collected for us every month. The estimated number is about the same as that of the fierce son. Only the old horse may be less, and he often asks for money to drink flower wine. ”

"Bullshit, when did Lao Tzu ask for money to drink flower wine?" Ma Teng pointed at Ding Feng's nose and scolded.

"Hey, who doesn't know this?" Ding Feng didn't scare at all, and snorted angrily.

Ma Teng was about to turn his face with Ding Feng, but when he saw Gongsun Jian's face turned cold, he pointed at Ma Teng and Ding Feng and said, "It's not a small person, and it's time to become a family." I'll ask a few princesses to help you with this when you get back. Whoever dares not listen, I personally break his legs. ”

"My lord, the topic is a little off-topic. We're here tonight to discuss whether or not you want to ascend the throne. It's not a marriage between us. Xie Wu said faintly on the side.

"Then tell me a few of you, do I want to ascend the throne and become emperor?"

"Yes!" Several people said loudly in almost unison.

Gongsun Jian was slightly stunned for a moment, and then laughed.

Gongsun Jian finally made up his mind to ascend the throne and become emperor after repeatedly considering and persuading the ministers. But Gongsun Jian's title to the emperor is a little different, he is not directly called the emperor, but in the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty, Yingtianfu, held a series of surrender and Zen throne ceremonies. One represents the complete destruction of the Southern Han Kingdom and submission to him, and the other is that his throne comes from the Southern Han Kingdom that was captured by himself, not the Zhou State. This is very important, so that in the next war against Zhou, at least the other side will not occupy the commanding heights.

After a series of large-scale ceremonial events, Gongsun Jian took over power from the former crown prince of the Southern Han Dynasty and officially ascended the throne as emperor. The name of the country was changed to Da Zhou, and the name of the first year was changed to 'Heavenly Grant'.

The territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty encompassed all of the former Southern Han Kingdom and the four provinces that had previously been ruled by Gongsun Jian. However, there are still those territories in the eastern part of the Southern Han Kingdom that were not captured before and are now independent, which are not in the hands of Gongsun Jian. Therefore, Gongsun Jian, who had just ascended the throne and sat in the palace, did not reward the meritorious ministers, but immediately began a mighty journey to conquer the east.

After the countries on the mainland learned that Gongsun Jian had destroyed the Southern Han Dynasty and ascended the throne as emperor, their reactions were different. Several countries such as Xigong, Xichu and Northern Zhao, which are far away, also feel that the situation in the world has changed. But after all, there is still some distance and time from himself. Therefore, while strengthening the investigation of the Great Zhou, an envoy was sent to congratulate him. and Da Zhou established contacts in the shortest possible time.

The state of Wu and the state of Qi, which bordered the Great Zhou, were different. At this time, they finally understood that a powerful new country had appeared around them, and according to Gongsun Jian's style of doing things in the past, this country would definitely have various disputes with their side in the years to come, and even wars would break out. So for the establishment of the Great Zhou, they are more worried and precautionary. On the surface, they also sent people to congratulate them, but in private, they secretly united and deployed heavy troops on the border with the Great Zhou in case of contingencies.

In the end, it was the bitter Zhou State, and after some self-defeating, Gongsun Jian was sent to the throne of the emperor, not to mention, and the other party completely got rid of the status of a vassal of the Zhou State. became an equal party to himself. At the same time, because the Zhou State secretly supported the rebellion and independence in the eastern part of the former Southern Han Kingdom, it was not necessary to know who Gongsun Jian's target would be.

For the counterinsurgency and occupation operations in the eastern region, Gongsun Jian did not personally take action, but appointed Qian Tuan, the king of Chu, as the commander-in-chief, Tian Kuo and Zhu Zequan as deputy generals, and led the previous king of Chu with no less than 20,000 people and the newly reorganized 50,000 former Southern Han troops. And Gongsun Jian stayed on Ying Tianfu's side to deal with the next few things.