Chapter 1: On the First Day of the Founding of the Nation, Foreign Tribes Came to Extort Money

"By imperial decree, today I establish the nation and ascend the throne, establishing the Later Han dynasty and changing the era name to the first year of Taiping. So be it!"

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!"

…………

In the spring of 1281 in the Central Continent calendar, the chaotic world that had been in turmoil for more than 200 years was finally reunited.

For more than 200 years, there was constant killing and slaughter, bones were scattered everywhere, and only one in ten people survived.

Today, in the Golden Palace.

Liu Laowu, a 58-year-old farmer, ascended the throne and became the new emperor.

"The imperial edict was issued, and the eldest prince, Liu Shan, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Shan."

"The second prince, Liu Dai, is hereby granted the title of Prince of Fu."

…………

"The seventh prince, Liu Jia, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Ping."

"The imperial edict has been issued, concerning the Eighth Prince Liu Fu..."

Liu Fu knelt on the ground, awaiting the imperial edict conferring upon him the title of king.

They were lucky, actually.

He died suddenly in the early hours of last night and transmigrated into the body of a farmer. But this morning, his father unified the country and made him a prince.

It's only noon now, and he'll soon be bestowed the title of prince.

Jumping three levels in one day—you couldn't even win such an outrageous lottery prize, could you?

But Liu Fu's dream of becoming a prince was immediately interrupted by a domineering shout from outside the hall.

"The envoy from the Great Liao Dynasty, by order of the Emperor of Liao, congratulates the founding of the Later Han Dynasty and presents a list of gifts!"

The voice was domineering and powerful, penetrating the Golden Palace and directly interrupting the congratulatory voices of the civil and military officials in the hall.

Liu Laowu and his ministers immediately frowned.

Every year around the beginning of winter, the Liao army would launch a large-scale invasion from the north, seizing enough grain, cloth, and gold and silver utensils to last through the winter.

Not only did they plunder grain and property, but they also committed arson, murder, looting, rape, and other heinous crimes along the way.

The Central Plains and the Liao Kingdom have always been mortal enemies. Would they really come to congratulate the new emperor on his ascension to the throne out of goodwill?

Immediately, a eunuch rushed over and whispered in Liu Laowu's ear:

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! An urgent message from the border says that the Liao Kingdom has suddenly amassed 600,000 troops and set up camp on our northern border, and they could invade the Central Plains at any moment!"

Liu Laowu glared at him.

Liu Fu, who was below, noticed his father's unusual expression and knew something serious had happened.

Before anyone could announce their arrival outside the palace, and before the emperor had even given permission, the Liao envoy strode into the palace and knocked the guards who were trying to stop him to the ground.

A military officer immediately stepped forward and blocked the Liao envoy's path.

"Outrageous! How dare you enter the palace without His Majesty's permission? Who gave you the audacity?"

But this Liao envoy, with an arrogant demeanor, drew his sword from his waist and presented it directly to the general, sneering:

"Here is a precious sword bestowed by the Emperor of my Great Liao Dynasty. If you people of the Later Han Dynasty have the courage, then use this sword to cut off my head."

The Liao envoy appeared extremely arrogant and said:

"I know your Later Han court doesn't have the guts to oppose my Great Liao. If you dare to kill me now, 600,000 Liao soldiers will come to the border immediately and make sure you die without a burial place!"

"you……!"

The general was so angry that his eyes were about to burst. All the military officers in the hall were now filled with murderous intent, wishing they could tear this arrogant Liao envoy to pieces and grind his bones to dust!

But the civil officials in the main hall, led by the prime minister, understood at this moment.

After more than 200 years of war, less than one in ten people survived.

The Central Plains are now too vulnerable to further warfare.

At this critical moment, Prime Minister Jiang Zhengren, who was over eighty years old, stepped forward to resolve the predicament, knelt down, and presented his memorial:

"Your Majesty's ascension to the throne today is a joyous occasion. Although the barbarians from the foreign lands have been rude, since they have come to offer their congratulations, they should be allowed to come in and pay their respects."

With Prime Minister Jiang smoothing things over, Liu Laowu followed the lead and summoned the Liao envoy to the palace.

Unexpectedly, the Liao envoy strode forward, not only showing no sign of obeisance, but also puffing out his chest before the emperor:

"By order of the Emperor of the Great Liao Dynasty, we congratulate the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty on his ascension to the throne. The Liao Dynasty presents a gift of one million taels of gold, ten million taels of silver, five hundred thousand bolts of silk and satin, one million five hundred thousand catties of various fabrics, and three million catties of grain. We request that the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty reciprocate this gift!"

After saying this, the Liao envoy took out a small mahogany box, no bigger than the palm of his hand, from his sleeve and threw it onto the floor tiles of the main hall.

"Your Majesty, the gifts are all packed in this large treasure chest. Please count them one by one."

The courtiers rolled their eyes in anger!

It's clearly a small wooden box, how can you call this a big treasure chest?

One million taels of gold, ten million taels of silver, 500,000 bolts of silk and satin, 1.5 million catties of various cloths, 3 million catties of grain... Could a small wooden box the size of a palm hold it all?

Just as Liu Fu was about to explode, his seventh brother, Liu Jia, with his fiery temper, couldn't hold back any longer and jumped out.

Liu Jia grabbed the wooden box from the ground and opened it; it was empty. He already knew the other party had come to cause trouble, and pointing at the Liao envoy's nose, he cursed:

"You barbarian from a foreign land, trying to extort money from people with this empty box? Don't you even know who you are?"

The Liao envoy snorted coldly, glanced at the Seventh Prince Liu Jia, and smiled contemptuously:

"Who do we have here? It's the Seventh Prince of the Later Han Dynasty. Is it possible that the Seventh Prince's eyesight is so poor that he can't see the many congratulatory gifts in this box?"

The Liao envoy's voice suddenly became extremely harsh, chilling, and he raised his voice, pointing at the empty box and shouting sharply:

“Since the Seventh Prince is blind, then on behalf of the 600,000 cavalrymen on the border of the Great Liao Kingdom, I request that the civil and military officials of the Later Han Dynasty, as well as the other princes and emperors, take another look.”

"What else could this wooden box contain but a congratulatory gift?"

Having said that, the Liao envoy raised his voice and shouted loudly:

"The Emperor of our Great Liao Dynasty has already sent his congratulatory gifts; now we request the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty to return the favor!"

For a moment, no one answered.

The Liao envoy shouted again:

"Please, Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, return the courtesy!"

After a long while, seeing that no one in the court responded, the Liao envoy raised his voice even higher:

"Your Majesty, Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, please return the courtesy!"

The ministers looked at each other, not daring to respond.

Even Liu Laowu, who was sitting on the dragon throne, didn't know how to deal with this situation.

Two hundred years ago, there were 90 million people in the Central Plains.

After years of war and mutual slaughter, the total population of the Central Plains is now less than 10 million.

Men suffered the greatest losses, with only 2 million men remaining today.

Having just unified the country, the Later Han dynasty had a total military strength of less than 300,000 men. Let alone going all out to fight, the question of whether they could defeat the Liao dynasty's 600,000 cavalry was even more pressing.

To the east of the Later Han Dynasty, the Linren Kingdom caused chaos, and to the southeast, the Wa Kingdom landed, burning, killing, and looting.

Liaodong was harassed by the Later Jin, while the northwest and southwest were plagued by barbarians, the Qiang state, and the Black Mountain bandits.

At this time, the Liao Kingdom had 600,000 troops stationed at the border as a threat. Under the pretext of congratulating the new emperor on his ascension to the throne, they sent someone with an empty small wooden box and demanded tens of millions of taels of silver as a return gift.

Knowing it's extortion, yet unable to respond.

Liu Laowu knew that if he accepted this "gift" of tens of millions of taels of silver, he would be an incompetent emperor and become a laughing stock for thousands of years to come.

But if they don't acknowledge it and kill the Liao envoy, the Liao's 600,000-strong army will sweep south and crush everything in its path. At that time, internal and external troubles will erupt at the same time, and not only will the few dozen members of Liu's family die, but also the lives of millions of people in the Later Han Dynasty.

He himself came from a peasant uprising and knew all too well the hardships that ordinary people endured. The country had finally been unified, but before they could even enjoy peace, foreign tribes were causing chaos in the Central Plains again. How many more acts of burning, killing, looting, rape, and suffering would they then face?

At this moment, in the vast Golden Palace, the civil officials were at a loss as to how to deal with the situation, while the military generals were so angry that they stomped their feet, but they were completely helpless.

The princes' eyes were bloodshot with rage, and Liu Laowu sat on the dragon throne, his face so dark it looked like it was about to bleed.

In the silent hall, the Liao envoy burst into unrestrained laughter:

"What? Is the entire Later Han court mute? Doesn't it have a single person who can speak?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone saw Liu Fu, who had remained silent until now, step out from the court ranks:

“No problem, it’s just returning a gift. I agree on behalf of my father.”