Chapter 220 Visiting the Sick
It was with great difficulty that Shan Xiongxin was convinced that no one was boasting about his achievements. Seeing that Shan Xiongxin was exhausted and shaky after being excited, he forced him to rest and recuperate.

After leaving the palace, across two blocks is Qin Shubao's residence, which is roughly the same in style. Li Jiancheng instructed Li Wei who was accompanying him: "Order the Palace Department to select new residences for the two county dukes, and all expenses will be allocated from my treasury."

"promise."

After arriving at Qin's Mansion, Li Jiancheng went straight into the house. Naturally, no one dared to stop the emperor. Li Wei went into the backyard first and drove away the women of Qin's Mansion.

Then the emperor led people to the bedroom. The room was a little dark. There was a charcoal fire burning in the middle, making the room warm. Qin Shubao was lying on the couch not far away with his eyes closed. His face was sallow and pale, like paper.

Li Jiancheng couldn't help but feel worried, and walked slowly to the bed. Xu Shiji didn't feel anything, but Zhang Huli was also very worried. The two had fought together on the battlefield for a long time, and had rescued each other, so they already had a deep friendship.

Zhang Huli took a closer look and whispered, "I heard that he was coughing up blood a while ago, and his condition was much more serious than it is now. He survived that, so he must be able to recover. Your Majesty, don't worry too much."

Seeing that his two trusted generals were so seriously injured, Li Jiancheng finally understood why Liu Bei threw A Dou to the ground in anger. He was now itching to hang Li Shimin up and beat him up.

Xu Shiji whispered, "General Qin is sleeping soundly. Do you want me to wake him up?"

Li Jiancheng pointed to a chair not far away and said, "No need. I will sit for a while and then go back to the palace. You can sit down and rest for a while."

Li Wei came in and whispered, "The wife of the Duke of Xinli is outside the door paying respects to His Majesty. Would you like to come in?"

Li Jiancheng didn't want to see his wife any more, so he didn't let her in.

After a while, Li Jiancheng stood up and was about to leave. Several people hurried to follow him. At this time, Qin Shubao suddenly coughed a few times, but did not open his eyes. He just weakly asked for water.

Li Jiancheng turned around and poured a glass of water from the table, then returned to his previous position, helped Qin Shubao up with the help of Li Wei, and then fed him the warm water.

After drinking the water, Qin Shubao opened his eyes drowsily. He was still a little dazed when he looked at the emperor in front of him, and obviously thought he was dreaming.

Li Jiancheng thought that he had not drunk enough, so he fed him another sip of water. Qin Shubao then realized that it was true. He suddenly exerted force and wanted to crawl down to the ground to bow and apologize, but the pain from pulling the wound was so severe that his eyes went black.

Li Jiancheng said hurriedly: "Don't move, I'm here to visit you, if anything happens to you, where are you going to put me?
Qin Shubao wept and said, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How can you bow down and serve a lowly minister? This is to make me disloyal and unfilial. I will die!"

"Alright, alright, we made friends before, and this isn't the court, so why bother with formalities? Besides, I should thank you both publicly and privately.

Publicly, you drove the Turks north into the grasslands and beheaded more than ten thousand people. This is a great achievement for the court. But privately, the King of Qin underestimated the enemy and made a rash move. If you and Xiong Xin had not sacrificed your lives, I'm afraid you would not have been able to return alive."

"It is my duty as a minister, and I do not deserve your Majesty's thanks."

After learning that His Majesty had been sitting quietly beside his bed for a long time, the weak Qin Shubao suddenly said, "Your Majesty wants to bring peace to all the people in the world, and it is time for me to contribute. Not only can I not serve Your Majesty, but I also cause Your Majesty to worry about me. I feel... feel... cough, really uneasy."

Li Jiancheng comforted him, saying, "Since you followed me to Zhuo County, whenever the enemy's brave generals and sharp soldiers showed off, I ordered you to charge into the enemy's camp to seize their momentum. You always fulfilled your mission, riding a horse and holding a spear, charging into the crowd and helping me stabilize the world.

It has only been two years since the Great Peace, and we, the ruler and the minister, still have many achievements to accomplish. You should now take good care of your health, and this is loyalty."

"I accept your order!"

...............

On the first month of the third year of Taiping, the emperor offered sacrifices to the Taimiao and tilled the land in the eastern suburbs.

At the first official court meeting after New Year's Day, the civil and military officials of the capital stood on both sides in shifts, and the provincial governors stood in the middle, with everyone standing close to each other, with almost no room to move. Li Jiancheng sat up in court robes and crowns, and the eunuch in charge came forward and announced: "The emperor has ordered that because there are many people in the hall, the kneeling ceremony can be omitted, and everyone can just hold the tablet and bow."

All the officials bowed in front of Li Jiancheng and shouted "Long live Li Jiancheng" three times. The sound was loud and spectacular.

Pei Ji, the Minister of the Left, then made a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, there are now hundreds of counties in the world, big and small, all with governors. The governors are directly in charge of the affairs of the states and the six ministries of the Shangshu. There have been many mistakes and omissions in the past two years, so it is clear that the system needs to be changed."

Li Jiancheng nodded: "Indeed, what do you think the Prime Minister should do?"

"I have discussed with other ministers and decided to divide the country into ten regions, namely Guannei, Henan, Hedong, Hebei, Shannan, Longyou, Huainan, Jiangnan, Jiannan, and Lingnan.

Abolish the counties and turn them into states, with each circuit governing a number of states. This move can relatively centralize the affairs of the states, streamline the procedures for reporting matters, and more directly examine redundant personnel and make corresponding cuts. "

"What do you think, sir?"

"I second the proposal!"

"Good, prepare the imperial edict immediately and announce it to the world."

The local officials were stunned by the speed and efficiency. How could it be decided before they even expressed their opinions?

But they also knew that such a major event must have been planned for a long time, and it would be impossible to oppose it.

Through the personal experience of Dugu Huai'en and others, it can be clearly known that the troubled times are over. Unless Your Majesty or the future Majesty is like Yang Guang, there is no way to survive by rebelling in this world.

So he could only accept it and hope that the Taoist official under him was not a figure like Wei Zheng.

After all the important matters were finalized, the ministers bowed their heads and waited for His Majesty's instructions.

Li Jiancheng stood up and walked to the front of the imperial platform and stood still. He slowly scanned the hall. There were many people, most of whom were familiar to him, and there were not many unfamiliar faces.

He held onto the imperial platform and said, "It is very rare that all the ministers have come here in such great numbers. I haven't seen some of you for nearly ten years."

The officials who felt that they were old friends of the emperor raised their heads consciously, met the emperor's gentle gaze, and felt that their future was bright.

"You are able to attend the court to discuss state affairs, and when you return to your posts you have to govern the local areas. This is not easy."

The ministers replied in unison: "Your Majesty has worked day and night for the country. We can only work harder and do our best to repay your kindness."

Li Jiancheng's eyes fell on one person: "Is the governor of Xingzhou here?"

A man over fifty years old, tall, with a white beard, wearing a Jinxian crown and a green official uniform, stepped out and saluted: "I am here, long live the emperor."

This year, you are the only one who got the top grade in the Ministry of Personnel examination. You have changed the trend of being mean and honest, promoted the custom of being kind, and helped the people to save them from disasters. This is rare."

...............

(End of this chapter)