Hyper-Dimensional Player

Chapter 795 66: Reopening the Mortal Realm

Prince of Xing's Mansion.

In the third year of Zhenming in the Later Liang (917), Liu Yan, the brother of Liu Yin, the Military Governor of the Qinghai Army, declared himself emperor in Guangzhou, establishing the Xingwang Residence in Guangzhou, adopting the era name Qianheng, and the country name Dayue, which was later changed to Han in the winter of the following year, historically known as the "Southern Han".

The Xingwang Mansion consists of the inner city, Guo City, Renxiao City, West City, and the western urban area. The inner city includes the imperial city and the royal city, with Guo City located to the south of the royal city. Within Guo City, the markets and residential areas are densely populated, making it a bustling commercial residential district.

From the late Tang Dynasty until now, if it weren't for the extortionate taxes and levies imposed by Liu Chang and his family, Guangzhou would have been one of the premier commercial capitals in the entire Central Plains.

Although it was a small court holding a corner of the realm, the imperial city of the Southern Han was extravagantly built.

——"Liu Chang established Meichuan, fixed its taxes, and ordered pearls to be collected from five hundred feet into the sea. The palace he resided in was decorated with pearls and tortoiseshell. Chen Yanshou made various licentious contrivances, costing tens of thousands of gold daily."

Liu Chang squandered the Southern Han's treasury in just over a year after ascending to the throne, resorting to heavy taxes to maintain his daily pleasures, illustrating the opulence and decadence of his lifestyle.

In front of the marble-paved palace gates, a woman dressed in white palace attire knelt on the ground, as serene and cold as a white lotus flower. This was Lu Qiongxi, whom Duncan had once met. To her left knelt a dense mass of eunuchs, numbering in the hundreds, all ranking officers among the eunuchs.

On Lu Qiongxi's right knelt hundreds of beautiful women with various charms, plump or slender, all present. At the forefront was a pair of sisterly beauties, Liu Chang's concubine and beloved, offered as a pair of twin lotuses by Li To. They were meticulously dressed, appearing in splendid attire, one dignified and graceful, the other tender and lovable, humbly prostrated on the ground, performing a full kowtow.

Behind these sisters were the charming Yan, charming Dog, charming Ox, and the like, five women in total. Half of the ten enchanting women were dead, the rest all defected to Lu Qiongxi, following her example to surrender.

Further back were Liu Chang's dozens of concubines and maidservants, with whom he had been intimate, amounting to over a hundred people.

Liu Chang favored using eunuchs and palace maids. At the beginning of his downfall, there were thousands of palace maids in the royal palace, and even after Duncan dismissed most of them, there were still about a thousand remaining in the palace. They were unwilling to leave because there was no place outside for them to go, and many of these palace maids were young and beautiful, with considerable allure.

Liu Chang enjoyed observing large double bodies and often had ruffians from the streets engage in public copulation with beautiful palace maids. If these palace people disobeyed orders, they were severely punished, or worse, tortured to death. Therefore, there were hundreds of palace maids forced into public debauchery.

They feared having no livelihood outside the palace, so many stayed with the eunuchs.

Behind Lu Qiongxi were some palace residents, primarily beautiful women, previously concubines and palace maids of Liu Chang's father, Liu Sheng. Lu Qiongxi initially served as Liu Sheng's palace maid, somewhat reminiscent of Wu Zetian with Li Zhi, and after Liu Chang ascended the throne, he immediately favored Lu Qiongxi and her peers.

Many of these palace residents were outsiders, whereas the Liu clan was mostly exterminated by their hands.

The tradition in their family was "killing off their brothers."

All three emperors of the Southern Han were indulgent and depraved, morally bankrupt and licentious. After Liu Sheng ascended the throne, besides the few who died in battle, he killed fifteen of his brothers, once hosting a banquet to simultaneously poison eight brothers, a record of stunning success, and killed all their offspring, taking their wives and daughters into the harem.

Yue Wang Liu Hongchang, Zhen Wang Liu Hongze, Qi Wang Liu Hongbi, among others, had their wives and daughters taken into the harem by Liu Sheng.

The women kneeling behind Lu Qiongxi were the wives of these royal family members, considered her trusted aides, old ministers of the previous dynasty who were gradually marginalized by Fan Huzi, Mei Pig, and others after they assumed power. As for those beautiful women kneeling further back, with ages similar to Liu Chang, they were the daughters of clan kings, having served in the palace for twelve years, fulfilling numerous duties.

Liu Sheng killed fifteen brothers, and at a banquet that poisoned eight brothers alone, he took nearly a hundred of their wives and daughters into the harem, resulting in a severely bloated harem system.

Due to his profligacy and love of alcohol, Liu Sheng died suddenly at the age of thirty-nine.

Following the example, after Liu Chang ascended the throne, he also thoroughly exploited his lineage, eradicating the veterans of the clan almost completely.

Furthermore, eunuch Chen Yanshou and others, seeking power, falsely accused the minister Zhong Yunzhang of treason, forging testimonies with the collusion of Gong Chengshu, Li To, and others. Convinced by the eunuchs, Liu Chang captured Zhong Yunzhang and executed him along with his two sons, Zhong Yong and Zhong Chang, leaving their bodies exposed for three days.

It can be said that from the start of Duncan's uprising until now, his main opponents have been the eunuchs and palace maids.

Not a single capable minister or general was among them.

Liu Chang himself ruined the Southern Han's foundation completely.

The sound of horse hooves approached.

Duncan's figure appeared outside the palace gates, surrounded by dozens of fully armed, fierce personal guards. As the military sealed and took over the entire royal city, Duncan also ordered Li Fengji and others to take inventory of the gold, silver, and jewels within the royal treasury.

These items were of no use to him; they would first be exchanged for money and grain to aid the tens of thousands of famine-stricken people of the Southern Han.

"Your Majesty!"

Lu Qiongxi's figure trembled slightly, bowing down completely, almost lying prone on the ground.

Behind her, the group of eunuchs and palace maids bowed deeply, performing grand ceremonies. Not a single person dared to raise their head, appearing as a dense mass of people, with eunuchs on the left, many of whom were skilled, and palace maids on the right, primarily the concubines of Liu Sheng and Liu Chang, with Liu Chang having taken in some beauties after his ascension.