Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

"promise."

Everyone bowed and greeted each other, then sat down in order of their official rank.

They glanced at each other and, upon realizing they were both officials from the Three Departments, their faces lit up with delight.

"They were chosen to compile the 'Hongmeng Laws'!"

The most excited among them were Wang Wenduan and Xin Maojiang, who had not received much benefit from the rewards bestowed upon the emperor upon his ascension to the throne.

Now that the King of Han has given them the opportunity to make contributions, they may also have the chance to be ennobled after the "Hongmeng Law" is completed!

Another cup of tea's time passed.

Liu Ji, Zhao Hongzhi, Xu Jingzong, Linghu Defen, Lai Ji, and Yan Liben also came over together.

"Greetings to the King of Han."

Their expressions held a mixture of doubt and anticipation.

Du He pointed to the cushion on the left and said, "Sit down."

Wait until they sit down.

Du He got straight to the point: "I invited you here because I want you to be in charge of compiling the 'Hongmeng Law' and revising the 'Zhenguan History'."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy.

As expected, it's about revising the laws and compiling history!

After a moment of excitement, they all stood up and bowed.

"Thank you for your patronage, King Han!"

Du He waved to them, gesturing for them to sit down.

He chose these officials to revise the laws and compile history not only because of their talent, but also because of their good character.

Du He said softly, "The compilation of the 'Hongmeng Law' is led by Cui Shenji, with Sun Fujia and Liu Dewei as his deputies, and the rest of the team members."

"The core of the Zhenguan Law was leniency and caution in sentencing. The specific sentencing was very vague, and local officials often mixed their own standards into their judgments."

"The Hongmeng Law must not only clearly define specific standards for judgment, but also be applied uniformly in all states and counties!"

The current Zhenguan Code is rather crude, failing to address many detailed issues, which could easily lead to inconsistent sentencing standards.

Choi Sin-ki, Sun Fujia, Liu Dewei, and others stood up and responded.

"Subordinate to obey!"

Everyone looked at the young Choi Shin-ki with envy in their hearts.

Following the right person can bring huge benefits; the young Choi Sin-ki has already climbed to the high position of Minister of Justice.

It is no exaggeration to say that Choi Shin-ki was promoted by the King of Han.

"Sit down."

Du He waved to them, then turned and said, "Liu Ji will be the main person in charge of compiling the History of Zhenguan, Linghu Defen will be the deputy, and the rest will be team members."

"History writing must adhere to the principles of truthful recording, recording both good and evil, and learning from history. We must never maliciously distort the facts."

"Once discovered, they will be severely punished!"

Everyone has their own selfish motives, and these historians will definitely embellish the stories of those who are involved with them.

Instead, they will belittle and vilify their opponents or those with whom they have had conflicts.

As long as they don't deliberately distort the facts or intentionally exaggerate, their revised national history can be approved.

Liu Ji, Xu Jingzong, Linghu Defen, and the other four stood up with solemn expressions and responded.

"Subordinate to obey!"

"Please rest assured, King Han, we will certainly not praise or criticize, but will record history according to the facts!"

After they finished speaking, they all turned their gazes to Xu Jingzong, their faces showing a hint of disdain.

It was Xu Jingzong, that treacherous minister, who ruined the reputation of history compilation.

Xu Jingzong, however, was thick-skinned. He ignored the disgusted looks from the crowd and kept his eyes fixed on Du He.

After they all sat down.

Du He said softly, "Revising the laws and compiling history are the top priorities at present, and you must complete them within two years."

"You may also tell me who you need to cooperate with."

Revising laws and compiling history are both massive undertakings, and they certainly couldn't complete them with just their limited number of people.

These people were just the main people in charge; there was a large group of clerks assisting them, and even local officials from prefectures and counties had to cooperate.

Everyone bowed and responded.

"As ordered."

Du He then gave them some more instructions, and only after they had no more questions did he wave them away.

It's approaching noon.

Pei Xingjian walked in carrying a list of rewards: "Your Majesty, I have drafted the details of the rewards. Please take a look."

Du He exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?"

He thought Pei Xingjian would need a day or two to think it over before providing him with the list of rewards.

After reviewing the reward list, Du He found Pei Xingjian's distribution to be quite reasonable: those who made significant contributions received 70% of the rewards, while those who assisted received 30%.

"Not bad!"

"Keep your promise, and the reward will be as you have proposed!"

He truly lived up to his reputation as a capable official; he was not only decisive and efficient in his work, but also able to handle things beautifully.

Pei Xingjian cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

Du He smiled and asked, "Shouyue, are there any urgent matters at the Ministry of Personnel and the Privy Council that require your attention today?"

"Your Majesty, there is nothing urgent at the moment."

"Since that's the case, let's sit down and have a chat. I happen to have a new idea that I need you to carry out."

"it is good."

After bowing respectfully, Pei Xingjian walked to the cushion on the left and sat down.

The Ministry of Personnel actually had some important matters that required his approval, but the matter concerning the King of Han was more important, so he could only tell a white lie.

A few breaths of silence.

Du He said softly, "Shouyue, the Emperor Emeritus told the Crown Prince a few days ago that he wants to tour the country."

"But the Emperor Emeritus's health does not allow it, and he cannot endure the long journey. He can only choose to tour around Yongzhou."

Ultimately, the problem lies in the inadequacy of the means of transportation.

There was a pause.

Du He continued, "Now the territory conquered by the Tang Dynasty is growing larger and larger. In the future, it will conquer territories tens of thousands of miles away, and even territories across the ocean."

"For officials or commoners of the imperial court to travel to a certain vassal state in the Western Regions, it would take half a year or even several years to make the round trip."

"In order to shorten travel time and prevent commoners and officials from getting lost, I want to create something new."

Upon hearing the King of Han's words, Pei Xingjian guessed what the King of Han was going to do.

Revolutionizing new manned vehicles!

Pei Xingjian cupped his hands and asked, "King Han, do you have specific ideas in mind?"

"This humble official is foolish and would appreciate your guidance."

He knew that since the King of Han had raised this question, he must already have some initial ideas, or even relatively mature ones.

Du He said softly, "Shouyue, what I want to do is called a steam engine, and its driving principle is the same as using water power to transport water."

"However, the principle of a steam engine is to burn coal and use the steam produced to drive a piston, which in turn drives the gears."

Steam engine?

piston?

Are the gears turning?

When Pei Xingjian heard these three words, his face was filled with confusion.

He understands the individual words, but when put together, he is completely clueless.

Du He added firewood to the stove that was already filled with water, and after the water boiled and the lid was lifted, he explained with a smile.

"Shouyue, the steam released when water boils can blow the lid off; that's the power of steam."

"The core power of the steam engine comes from this."

Then Du He explained the basic principles of pistons and gears, and even drew the shapes of these two things.

Half an hour later.

Du He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Shouyue, I only know a little bit about steam engines. The specific implementation of the technology still depends on the craftsmen to keep thinking and experimenting."

"Developing a steam engine cannot be rushed; it must be accomplished step by step by skilled craftsmen!"