novelraw Chapter 397 - 8: What Is a Flourishing Age? Julu’s Declaration of Resolve
Chapter 397 - 8: What Is a Flourishing Age? Julu’s Declaration of Resolve
Although after a long journey, Li Shimin appeared somewhat disheveled, the resemblance between his brows and those of Li Yuan was still clearly discernible.
"Second son of the Li Clan, Shimin pays respects to Lord Gu!"
Li Shimin was evidently well-prepared, for the moment he saw Gu Yu, he seriously bowed to him.
"I’ve met the young lord."
Gu Yu returned the courtesy solemnly, then gestured for them to enter, leading them inside.
Everything within the Gu Mansion bore the marks of time.
Li Shimin had been casual throughout the journey, but upon stepping into the Gu Mansion, he suddenly felt a bit nervous.
Gu Yu did not display any particular attitude.
He treated him with the appropriate rites as he would with other lords, even though he had already guessed Li Shimin’s purpose, he never mentioned it from start to finish.
He was indeed a bit surprised, not expecting Li Shimin to have the audacity to come to Julu.
But it wasn’t enough to make a decision based just on that.
However, what surprised him was that Li Shimin seemed to have forgotten the purpose of his visit, as he hadn’t mentioned it in the first two days.
He observed the Gu Mansion; observed everything within Julu.
From governance;
to the daily lives of the people;
he grew more silent.
It was like this until three days later, when he again sought out Gu Yu, seriously bowing and saying: "I ask Lord Gu to enlighten me."
"I will speak all I know, without reservation." Gu Yu seemed to have already prepared for this, even bringing Li Shimin into the study.
Gu Yi could feel it.
Gu Yu seemed to have also developed an interest in Li Shimin.
Li Shimin’s actions over these three days were completely unexpected.
The study was extraordinarily quiet.
Gu Yu looked at Li Shimin and calmly asked: "What questions does the young lord have?"
Li Shimin furrowed his brows slightly, remained silent for a long while as if organizing his thoughts, before finally speaking: "How can one build a prosperous age?"
Julu had completely surpassed his understanding.
It raised many questions for him.
"In the young lord’s view, what kind of world can be called a prosperous age?" Gu Yu responded with a question instead.
This time, Li Shimin did not hesitate and directly replied: "It should be like Julu."
This came sincerely from his heart.
Everything about Julu was something he had never witnessed before.
But this time, Gu Yu shook his head: "The young lord is mistaken, Julu has had centuries of stability to achieve today’s state. Are you only asking about the prosperity of a single county?"
"The world!" Li Shimin immediately shook his head.
Gu Yu smiled: "Then I can tell the young lord, if one day you can allow more than half of the world’s people to have food, that can be called a prosperous age."
His tone was very casual.
Throughout history, perhaps no one understood the so-called prosperous age better than Gu Yu.
Even in the reign of Emperor Kai, they could not achieve this.
Yet it was still considered a prosperous age!
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin once again fell into silence, his brows furrowed tightly.
He was still too young now.
From the chaos-stricken lands, to a sanctuary like Julu, to Gu Yu’s evaluation of a prosperous age.
The stark contrast made his thoughts increasingly confused.
Gu Yu did not continue speaking, allowing Li Shimin to digest for a long time before softly speaking again: "Having come this way, what insights has the young lord gained about this world?"
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
Li Shimin remained silent for a moment, then spoke earnestly.
This time, Gu Yu couldn’t help but nod, praising: "The young lord is wise, truly a remarkable person."
With those words, the entire study once again fell into silence.
Li Shimin’s expression was extremely complex.
He actually had a lot to say, but didn’t know where to start.
All this—
For him, perhaps it was indeed too early.
Gu Yu was truly interested in Li Shimin. Seeing Li Shimin’s state, he was surprisingly willing to show him the classic texts left by the ancestors of the Gu Clan.
Since the era of Emperor Xiaoshun.
This was the first time a lord had enjoyed such treatment.
Li Shimin felt incredibly honored and wanted to thank Gu Yu, but didn’t know what to offer.
As for those so-called rare treasures.
He had long given them to Xue San, feeling it inappropriate to offer those as gifts.
But Gu Yu assured him to view them at ease.
This period wasn’t particularly lengthy, as Li Shimin was naturally gifted and especially diligent?
Gu Yi had been keeping an eye on all this, wanting to see firsthand what changes would occur.
This was actually not particularly important.
Especially after the Gu Clan had experienced a gap in talented individuals for so many years, those classic texts could no longer keep up with the world’s changes.
They mostly consisted of exhortations from ancestors.
Simply put, they served to keep the family’s descendants clear-headed.
But this was often the most difficult thing, especially for those in power.
Only by maintaining constant vigilance.
Can one avoid making too many mistakes.
Li Shimin read with great diligence, observing the efforts and sacrifices made by generations for the Gu Clan, he seemed to gradually comprehend some of the underlying truths.
Prosperity;
Compromise and sacrifice....
It was through generations of effort that today’s reality was shaped.
Li Shimin’s gaze grew increasingly firm.
Half a month later, he seemed to have been revitalized, returning to his former spirited state.
Even compared to before, his gaze was even more determined!
Gu Yu asked what Li Shimin had realized.
Li Shimin didn’t say much, only requesting Gu Yu to take him to pay respects at the Gu Clan’s ancestral hall.
According to past customs—
Li Shimin would at most have paid respects to a few statues, most notably Gu Chen.
But now, it was different.
Li Shimin earnestly conducted a ceremony concerning the entire Gu Clan, and only at the end did he kneel before Gu Chen’s statue, speaking resolutely:
"Today I realize, a prosperous age is not granted by the heavens, but made by man!"
"In this life, I, Shimin, am willing to uphold this resolve, to wield the three-foot sword and create peace for a thousand ages!"
He was declaring his aspirations!.....
——————
"In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the fourteenth year of the Daye era, the land was in chaos. Li Shimin journeyed east from Chang’an, seeking to visit the Gu Clan, and encountered:
On the northern bank of the Wei River, starving corpses blocked the roads, and elderly women used bones for fuel; in Hedong, children were sold to stave off hunger, and dry bones lay exposed in the wilderness.
But upon entering the territory of Julu, suddenly he saw:
The fields were orderly, farming tools echoed; children recited ’The Deer Call’ in schools, old men distributed gruel at crossroads.
The litigation court had no backlog; the markets had public scales.
Subsequently, after consulting with the Gu Clan about the world and observing governance for three days, and spending half a month reading the Gu Clan’s classic texts, he declared before Gu Chen’s statue:
"Now, having seen Julu, I realize ’when the foundation is strong, the state can be peaceful’ is truly the result of farming and cultivation efforts.
May I uphold this resolve, so that the people of the Kyushu can all stand under benevolent governance!"
——"Chinese Dictionary · Aspiration of Julu"