I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1316: Side Story: The Mighty Great Qi (6)

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If Qi Xiuyuan had no choice but to voluntarily abdicate power to Qi Wenchen due to his health issues, that was a special case at most. It was Qi Wenchen’s voluntary abdication of the throne to his son that started a tradition in Great Qi.

This was also believed by historians to be the reason why Great Qi had existed for the longest time.

When Qi Wenchen abdicated power to his son in his 28th year of rule, the Emperor Emeritus, Qi Xiuyuan, was still alive. Not only did Qi Xiuyuan get to see the throne passed down to his grandson, but he also saw Great Qi becoming more and more prosperous.

After Qi Wenchen left office, he focused on serving his father. It was not until Qi Xiuyuan passed away that he began to travel around like his Royal Father and Fourth Uncle in their later years and helped his son supervise the provincial governments.

The officials of Great Qi were already used to the Emperor Emeritus ordering the capture of corrupt officials from time to time. Therefore, very few officials in the provinces dared to act recklessly.

Since nobody knew when the Emperor Emeritus, who was traveling around the country, would suddenly show up to deal with the corrupt officials, all the provincial officials were vigilant and kept a low profile. Not only must they steer free of corruption, but they also had to do their job well. This was because in Great Qi, inaction was considered malfeasance, and an official guilty of malfeasance would be investigated.

Therefore, Great Qi remained free of corruption for nearly a hundred years since the founding of the country, the longest period ever recorded in history. Incorruptibility and frugality had also become a social culture. Even if the officials became more extravagant later, signs of corruption were quickly corrected.

The revival of the abdication system made it rare for Great Qi to have a monarch who started off wise in his early years and became muddle-headed in his later years. Any emperor who had lived long enough and ruled long enough would usually follow in Emperor Taikang’s footsteps and abdicate the throne voluntarily.

And because Emperor Taikang was only 54 years old when he abdicated the throne, he had been in power for 27 years. Therefore, an Emperor who ascended the throne late would not remain in power for more than 27 years. Emperors who ascended the throne at an early age would pass on power to his descendants when he was 54 years old or before.

Because of this, the battle for the throne of Great Qi was way less intense than the previous dynasties.

The past emperors also regarded abdication as a virtue. Therefore, after Great Qi, there were seven more emperors who abdicated the throne after reaching this limit. It had to be said that the Qi royal family was blessed with longevity.

Historians had researched this before. According to the Imperial Institute of Medicine’s medical reports during Emperor Taikang’s era, be it Emperor Taikang or Emperor Yuanfeng, they all lived a long life despite not being in great physical conditions.

While Emperor Taikang lived to 86 years old, Emperor Yuanfeng even lived to 91 years old. In fact, Emperor Yuanfeng even outlived several sons and grandsons.

Everyone was very interested in the royal family’s health preservation ways. If even outsiders were like this, the Qi royal family revered these two ancestors even more.

Therefore, it was rare for the Qi royal family to have an extravagant and lecherous Emperor.

The average lifespan of the Great Qi Emperor was 52 years, an unbelievably high number. Among them, the one with the shortest lifespan was Emperor Xiaogong in the middle stage of Great Qi. He was only 32 years old when he passed away, a mere five years after ascending the throne.

Because most of the Great Qi Emperors were wise, and many of the economically and militarily strategic industries were in the hands of the royal family, even if there was a short period of revolutionary war, the royal family still stood tall in the end. Even if the Qi royal family only became a symbol of the country in the end, they still held a lot of power.

Not only were the historians of Great Qi studying the reason behind the longevity of the Great Qi Dynasty, but the entire world was also studying it. Be it domestically or abroad, the abdication system was widely recognized to be one of the main reasons why Great Qi could survive for such a long time.

A wise monarch ascended the throne in his prime and retired before he became old and muddle-headed, allowing Great Qi to continuously thrive with the injection of fresh blood and enthusiasm.

It was a pity that the Great Qi royal family was unwilling to release Emperor Taikang and Emperor Yuanfeng’s handwritten notes and court records in this regard. Otherwise, they would have been able to figure out why the two Emperors made such a pioneering move at that time.

However, even if the Great Qi royal family was unwilling to release it, historians managed to peek into the truth through clues.

The historians generally believed that King Rong and Queen Consort Rong played a part in this.

This was because the two of them were present when Emperor Taikang abdicated, and Emperor Yuanfeng specially went to King Rong’s Residence when he decided to abdicate. There were historical records of these events.

It was said that the three of them sat in the study for nearly four hours, and after Emperor Yuanfeng returned to the palace, he decided to abdicate the throne. As for what was said, only the three of them knew.

Of course, Emperor Yuanfeng had the habit of keeping a diary. If the royal family was willing to release Emperor Yuanfeng’s handwritten notes during this period of time, the citizens of the country would learn what actually happened.

Qi Xiuyuan didn’t know that the future generations would one day be in a dilemma over this. At this moment, he seemed to have finally put down the treasure on his back. Although there was a mixture of regret and disappointment, he also felt a sense of relief.

He brought his wife to stay in the temporary imperial residence for more than a month. After adjusting his mentality, he ignored Qi Haoran, who had been seeking a sense of presence by his side. One day, he secretly left the capital with his wife and went to the north.

When Qi Haoran eagerly ran to the temporary imperial residence to invite him to fish, he realized that Qi Xiuyuan had left. He said in surprise, “Big Brother never told me he was going on a long trip.”

The young eunuch who was left behind to pass the message stood far away. After confirming he was a safe distance away, he relayed the message with a bitter expression. “Before the Emperor Emeritus left, he said that he wanted to see what’s so interesting out there that led you to constantly travel. Taking a leaf from King Rong’s book, he decided to act first and report later, and also disobey orders…”

Qi Haoran immediately glared at him. “How many years has it been? He’s already the Emperor Emeritus. What’s the point of bringing up this old score?”

Qi Haoran went home angrily to look for Mu Yangling. “Pack your things. Let’s go chase after Big Brother. Hmph, since he doesn’t want to see me, I’ll make sure he sees me every day!”

Looking at his childish behavior, Mu Yangling couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Tilting her head, she asked, “Didn’t you say that you were taking me out to sea? Well, now that the ship is finally ready, are we not going?”

Qi Haoran rolled his eyes and said, “Of course we are. We’ll take a trip first. If it’s fun, we’ll come back and bring Big Brother along.”

He then sympathized with Fan Zijin. “After Big Brother and I leave, Zijin will be slogging away in court all by himself. How pitiful.”

“If you don’t look like you’re gloating when you say this, I’ll believe that you’re really sympathizing with Zijin.”

Fan Zijin had already entered the Cabinet and been appointed Chancellor nine years ago. Later, he even succeeded Rong Xuan as the Grand Secretariat’s Chief Minister. Now that Little Treasure has just ascended the throne and still needed his help to stabilize the government, he couldn’t just walk away like Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran did.

Thinking about it this way, it was indeed a little pitiful. But how could someone who wasn’t a fish know the joy of a fish?

Anyway, from how Mu Yangling saw it, Fan Zijin quite liked this job, and this had once been his dream.

Qi Haoran left the capital quietly with Mu Yangling. By the time Fan Zijin found out, he was the only one left in the entire capital.

He stared at Little An for a long time until the latter’s hair stood on end. Then, he said calmly, “It’s time for you to gain more experience and prepare to take over my position. I’m getting old too.”

Little An said carefully, “Father, you’re in your prime. How can you be considered old?”

Fan Zijin snorted and said, “Well, I’m older than your Fourth Uncle and he’s already retired. Do I have to continue working hard?”

Fan Zijin emphasized, “I’m older than your Fourth Uncle!”

The corners of Little An’s mouth twitched. He thought to himself, ’Aren’t you just two months older than Fourth Uncle? The other three Cabinet Ministers are all older than you.’ Of course, Little An didn’t dare to say this out loud.

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