Chapter 464 : Government Posts (4)
Chapter 464: Government Posts (4)
Wi Jin-hak countered Zhuge Mun’s suggestion with a raised brow.
"I’m already well aware that we need to name the empire. However, is there really a compelling reason to go so far as to prepare for moving the capital?"
"There are three primary reasons, Your Majesty. First, Your Majesty has cast down a corrupt empire and ushered in a new era. It is ill-fitting for you to govern the world from the Forbidden City, the very symbol of the previous dynasty’s corruption. As the saying goes, new wine must be poured into new wineskins."
Wi Jin-hak nodded and gestured for him to keep going.
"Second, our current empire is vastly larger than the territory of the old Han Dynasty. Trying to rule over the far western reaches of Xinjiang or Qinghai all the way from Beijing poses a significant problem due to the sheer distance."
"Indeed, the distance from Xinjiang to this place isn't exactly a short stroll."
Seeing the Emperor warming up to the idea, Zhuge Mun delivered his final point.
"Third, the Inner Palace of the Forbidden City have already been entirely demolished by explosives, and much of the Outer Palace lies in ruin as well. The difference between restoring the Forbidden City for continued use and constructing a new Imperial Palace elsewhere for the purpose of relocation is not so great. Given this, I submit that it would be more proper to proceed with the transfer of the capital."
When Zhuge Mun had finished his explanation, Wi Jin-hak turned to look upon those assembled in the hall.
"If anyone holds a differing opinion, now is the time to speak your mind."
Whether Zhuge Mun's reasoning had entirely swayed them or they had already felt the need for relocation from the start, not a single person stepped forward to object.
"I’ll take that as a unanimous agreement, then. The only question left is where we’re going."
Zhuge Mun was the first to speak, clearly having anticipated the question.
"I believe our best options are Luoyang in Henan or Xi'an in Shaanxi. Both are positioned much further west than Beijing, which instantly solves the problematic distance between Xinjiang and Qinghai. Furthermore, both carry such excellent feng shui that ancient dynasties once established their capitals there."
That opened the floodgates, and a few other officials added their opinion.
While some of their suggestions were unrealistic, a few were supported by sound reasoning.
"Places like Changsha near Dongting Lake or Wu'an, where the Martial Alliance was previously headquartered, are situated in the very heart of the Central Plains. They, too, would be fitting choices for the capital of our new empire."
Once it looked like they had exhausted the map, Wi Jin-hak raised his hand to silence the ministers and fell into brief contemplation.
After a moment of deliberation, Wi Jin-hak reached his decision and spoke.
"The capital of the new empire shall be Xi'an. Our Divine Cult maintained a foothold there for a long time during the war, making it suitable for us to lay down our foundation. Moreover, viewed in terms of geography, it lies at the center of our Cult's territory and should prove well-suited to governing the empire as a whole."
Beyond this, there was one further reason he chose not to voice.
The Wudang Sect and the Qingcheng Sect had retreated to their home provinces after the war. Their homes—Hubei and Sichuan—shared borders with Shaanxi.
In other words, moving the capital to Xi'an essentially meant setting up a watchtower right on their doorstep to ensure they didn't harbor treacherous intentions.
"I will issue an edict immediately to begin construction of a new Imperial Palace in Xi'an. The people of Xi'an shall be employed as laborers, and the wages paid to them shall be drawn from the wealth unjustly accumulated by the Imperial Family of Han and its corrupt officials."
Hearing this, the Beggar King looked like he might weep from joy. He bowed deeply and shouted, "Leave it to the Ministry of Welfare, Your Majesty! Your humble officials shall take charge of selecting the laborers and tracking down the illicitly hoarded funds of those corrupt officials!"
The Beggar King saw in this an opportunity to aid the countless people who had been left orphaned or stripped of their livelihoods by the recent war.
Wi Jin-hak gave an approving nod.
"Excellent. But keep in mind that there remains much that must be done hereafter. We cannot devote all funds solely to relocating the capital. Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and finalize the plans together."
The Ministry of Finance.
To Il-mok, it sounded the same as the modern Ministry of Economy and Finance he remembered from his past life, except for one glaring difference.
They had swapped out one of the Hanja characters. Instead of the usual character for Administration (政) in the Ministry of Finance (財政部), they used the character for Righteous (正).
They essentially named the department the "Ministry of Spending Money Righteously (財政部)."
At Wi Jin-hak's command, the Beggar King bowed again and then cast a sidelong glance toward Zhuge Mun. After all, the man who got appointed to be the Minister of Finance is none other than Zhuge Mun, who had been absent for the past several days. Furthermore, the Vice Minister of Finance was Cheon Ryang, a former high-ranking official who had previously served as the Left Commissioner of Gansu.
Once the broad framework for the capital's relocation was established, the focus of the meeting naturally shifted to the matter of a name.
What should the new empire be called?
All manner of names came pouring out.
"We have purged the rotten Han Dynasty and parted the clouds for a new heaven! Therefore, the empire must be called the New Heaven!"
Il-mok had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting into a laugh.
‘Oh, great. We’re already a cult, and now you want to name the country like a doomsday cult!’
But since it was an official court gathering, he forced his face to remain impassive.
"We are an empire forged upon the sacred teachings of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! It stands to reason that the name should be the Ma Empire (魔, Demon)!"
The Demon Empire.
Bravo! What a brilliant name! Surely, the empire wasn't run by madmen, right? RIGHT?!
‘Well fuck me. Half of the people here are indeed madmen.’
Il-mok massaged his temples as a wave of dizziness hit him.
Historically speaking, there was a pretty standard formula for naming a new dynasty. You either named it after the region where your rebellion started, or you just used whatever noble title the founding emperor used to hold.
But the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had spent its entire existence being branded as treasonous rebels by the Han Dynasty, and their base in Xinjiang wasn't even considered part of the Central Plains.
Right in the middle of this trainwreck, someone shouted out.
"We’ve shattered the corrupt Han and will usher in an era of brilliant radiance for the people! Therefore, we should be the Ming (明, Bright) Dynasty!"
Il-mok flinched at the wildly unexpected suggestion.
‘Wait, even if the timeline is completely botched, is history trying to course-correct itself?!’
Of all the things to hear in this room, the Ming Dynasty was the last thing on his bingo card.
Come to think of it, one of the prominent theories behind why Zhu Yuanzhang named his empire the Ming Dynasty was rooted in religion. The Hongwu Emperor was a monk in his youth, and he had been a member of the White Lotus Society after all.
And to Il-mok's horror, a good chunk of the room was actually nodding along, clearly loving the name. It was probably a side effect of that hymn the soldiers had belted out every single day during the war.
You had to admit that seeing an entire army screaming out “LIGHT!” day after day was bound to have an effect on you, especially when the hymn was such an earworm.
And the very person who had spread that hymn was none other than Il-mok himself.
Seized by the distinct sensation that the karma he had accumulated was now coming back to bite him, Il-mok scrambled to intervene.
Knowing the fate that had ultimately befallen the Ming dynasty, he could hardly sit still and watch the same name being adopted.
"Why should light be the only gift our Divine Cult must bestow upon the world? We have secured a territory without precedent in the history of the Central Plains, and we must spread light and the doctrines of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult far and wide across all the land. I propose we name our new nation the Heavenly Demon Divine Nation, the Hong (弘) Dynasty!"
The character Hong (弘) carries the meaning of vast or grand, but also implies the spreading of something far and wide, much as the phrase of spreading outward to benefit humanity (弘益人間).
Hearing Il-mok step forward to block the name Ming, Wi Jin-hak let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha. How grand is the intent of Our Left Guardian. We should embody the aspiration not to be satisfied with the empire's current territory, but to spread the Divine Cult's doctrines to even broader lands and share the light with all sentient beings throughout the world. A fine name, indeed."
Wi Jin-hak had entirely misinterpreted Il-mok’s desperate save as a glorious declaration of world conquest.
"I find the name Hong to my liking. What say the rest of you?"
As the ministers responded with approval to Wi Jin-hak's question, Zhuge Mun opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, there is one matter I wish to raise."
"Do you have an issue with the name Hong?"
"The name Hong is brilliant. However, I submit that the national title preceding it ought not to be Heavenly Demon Divine Nation (天魔神國), but rather Demonic Way Imperial State (魔道皇國)."
Heavenly Demon Divine Nation and Demonic Way Imperial State.
What was the distinction between the two expressions that had moved Zhuge Mun to interject?
While Wi Jin-hak and the rest of the court traded confused glances, the answer already flashed in Il-mok’s modern brain.
"Minister of Finance, are you advocating for the separation of the religion and the state.”
A theocracy that worshipped the Heavenly Demon as their living god, thus the Heavenly Demon Divine Nation (天魔神國).
Versus a nation governed by an Emperor who follows the doctrines of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, thus the Demonic Way Imperial State (魔道皇國).
They might sound the same at glance, but the ultimate seat of power was fundamentally and completely different.
The moment Il-mok said it out loud, Wi Jin-hak realized exactly what Zhuge Mun was trying to convey. The air instantly dropped in temperature as the suffocating weight of Wi Jin-hak’s Qi flooded the hall.
"Minister of Finance. Is what the Grand Preceptor just said true?"
Despite the crushing weight bearing down on him from Wi Jin-hak’s Qi, Zhuge Mun answered without flinching.
"It is, Your Majesty."
It was such a brazen proposition that the entire hall plunged into silence.
Just before the room could explode into chaos, Zhuge Mun spoke once more.
"During the war, this official had the opportunity to fight alongside the Heavenly Demon Cult and learn about its history and doctrines. On the surface, a system in which the strongest individual always rises to lead seems ideal. But it suffers from one fatal flaw."
What he had investigated during the war was not limited to the doctrines and history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Throughout the war, Zhuge Mun had remained at Wi Jin-hak's side and had come to know what kind of man Wi Jin-hak is.
Wi Jin-hak is a sovereign of immense capacity.
A man who could embrace even words he did not wish to hear, so long as they were of benefit to the Cult.
"An organization whose leader changes at every turn can never achieve lasting stability. The Heavenly Demon Cult itself is proof enough. Every time a Heavenly Demon ascends, the Divine Cult is left without a true leader until the next one emerges. Those interregnums have lasted decades at the shortest and on more than one occasion, well over a century."
Therefore, rather than offering empty flattery, delivering the blunt truth was the only way forward.
That was the gamble Zhuge Mun had decided to take.
"This new empire holds far too much land and way too many innocent lives. If the throne of an entity this massive is constantly changing hands—or worse, left entirely empty for years—the Hong Dynasty would crumble like a castle of sand before long."
Even beneath the vicious Qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts bearing down upon his entire body, Zhuge Mun trusted his own eyes and gave voice to his words.
"Your Majesty will surely bring about an age of great peace. Of that, I have no doubt. But what happens decades from now? When the time finally comes to crown a new Holy Emperor. The resulting power vacuum will spark endless civil wars. This beautiful empire will be ripped into pieces, and we’ll be thrown right back into a hellish era of warring states."
Zhuge Mun concluded with a solemn and reverent bow toward Wi Jin-hak.
"Please, Your Majesty, I beseech you to see reason!"
When Zhuge Mun's words had come to an end, the vicious Qi that threatened to crush his body receded, and Wi Jin-hak's expression became one of complex and tangled thoughts.
Those gathered in the hall also sank into deep reflection with expressions of varied hues.
Il-mok was not much different.
Yet it was not Zhuge Mun's reasoning that gave him pause.
Il-mok had been thinking along similar lines for some time already.
Zhuge Mun may have recently made a study of the Demonic Cult's history and doctrines, but how could that compare to Il-mok, a man who had actually lived and breathed the Cult for almost his entire life?
Even for Il-mok, every time he opened a history book on the Demonic Cult, he wanted to tear his hair out.
Once in a while, a halfway decent Heavenly Demon would rise to power, and just when it looked like the Cult was finally getting its act together, they’d die and the whole thing would go right back down the drain.
Even now, the main reason why the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was able to enjoy this current golden age was that an extraordinary figure had emerged.
That person was none other than his Master, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi.
It was all thanks to his Master devoting his entire life to laying the foundation of the Divine Cult that the current Divine Cult could enjoy its glory today.
For that reason, Il-mok couldn't say Zhuge Mun was wrong.
And yet, one thing continued to trouble him.
If the positions of Cult Leader and Emperor were to be separated, the next Emperor would naturally be a descendant of the current monarch, Wi Jin-hak.
And currently, there was only one Empress capable of bearing the next imperial heir.
Zhuge Mun’s daughter, Zhuge Eun-yeong.
Il-mok stared at Zhuge Mun's back as he knelt prostrate upon the floor, and thought to himself,
‘Is this loyal counsel for the sake of the empire's stability? Or is it honeyed flattery from a man blinded by the lust for power? That’s the million-dollar question.’