At the beginning of establishing the Yanhuang Empire, Ye Chen immediately set the rules for attending court.
They were basically copied from the system used in ancient Huaxia, except that kneeling and kowtowing were not required, and officials could attend court while seated.
Of course, allowing officials to sit was mainly because some of them were elderly. Making them stand through court sessions would only put them through needless suffering.
The time for court sessions was also set at around seven in the morning. It was neither too early nor too late, and would be adjusted according to the changing seasons.
This way, the ministers would not have to crawl out of bed one by one in the dead of night, before dawn, then brave the cold wind to come over once winter arrived.
Not only would that serve little purpose, it would also make them suffer for nothing.
Of course, Ye Chen did not need to rise so early every time and suffer alongside the civil and military officials.
After all, although his original reason for establishing the empire had been to complete the system's mission, it was also so he could enjoy life better—not suffer.
If he had to suffer like this while ruling for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, how was he supposed to live?
Looking at all the civil and military officials, Ye Chen said in a deep voice, "Now that the empire's education system has been fully established, and all teachers and officials have entered their designated posts, I will reward everyone who contributed during this period..."
After Ye Chen finished speaking, Yuan Long, his personal guard and secretary-general, stepped forward. He walked to the center, opened the imperial edict that had been prepared long ago, and began handing out rewards.
"Zhou Li."
"I am here."
Upon hearing his name, Zhou Li rose excitedly and walked into the central aisle.
Zhou Li's hair was completely white, and his deeply wrinkled face now resembled a chrysanthemum. His frail body had also become surprisingly robust.
The surrounding ministers looked at Zhou Li as he stepped out, unable to conceal the envy in their eyes.
At the same time, they were curious about how Ye Chen would reward him.
After all, as his subjects, they knew how generous Ye Chen was—especially toward those who had rendered meritorious service. His generosity was astonishing.
It could be said that as long as one had ability and was capable of doing real work, Ye Chen would not only ensure that person enjoyed wealth and honor for life, but would also bestow glory upon them and publish their achievements in the newspapers for the entire nation to see.
They might even enter the Profound Yellow Records of the empire, leaving their names in the annals of history and earning everlasting fame.
In other words, every pursuit a person could have in life could be fulfilled under Ye Chen.
Of course, if anyone dared to act recklessly and harm the people, then once Ye Chen found out, there was no need to say more—they would be executed publicly, and their entire family exiled.
In serious cases, a stone statue of atonement would be erected locally, forcing them to kneel there for generations while suffering the people's curses.
Ye Chen's meaning was very clear: if you wanted to become an official, then do your job properly. If you refused to work properly or had evil intentions, then honestly remain a commoner and live a good life. Do not entertain any other foolish ideas.
A century ago, during the early days of the empire, the system had been incomplete, and many native tribes in various regions had refused to submit to him. The entire land had been in chaos, and Ye Chen had slaughtered so many people that heads had rolled like waves.
In the end, he had killed so many that merely mentioning his name made them tremble. One by one, they became as obedient as sheep. That was also how Ye Chen earned his reputation as a tyrant.
Faced with that situation, Ye Chen had known that reason would be useless. Only forceful suppression through military strength had been the proper path.
Furthermore, he had been rushing to complete the system's ten-year mission at the time and simply had no time to slowly win over those he had conquered. As a result, internal conflicts had been severe when the empire was first established, forcing him to use slaughter to intimidate everyone else.
In the end, he relied on his long lifespan to outlive those who refused to obey, while subtly indoctrinating the new generation and strengthening their sense of belonging to the Yanhuang Empire.
"Zhou Li has rendered outstanding service and endured great hardship during the construction of the empire's education system..."
"By this edict, he is awarded one million Yanhuang Coins, one bottle of Longevity Elixir, promotion to a seventh-grade noble rank, and a residence in the Sky Wisdom Domain of the imperial capital. So decreed."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"
After hearing the rewards, Zhou Li immediately bowed deeply. Although he had no idea what this Longevity Elixir was, he was delighted as long as it had been bestowed by His Majesty.
Because it represented the empire's recognition of him.
An inner attendant then brought the rewards forward. On an exquisite jade plate lay ten stacks of banknotes bearing Ye Chen's portrait, a property deed, and a beautiful jade bottle.
At the beginning of establishing the Yanhuang Empire, Ye Chen had established the use of paper currency.
Ye Chen knew how convenient paper money was to carry, and it also saved a great deal of resources.
Looking at these things, Zhou Li respectfully accepted them.
Looking at the expressions of everyone below, Ye Chen smiled and said, "My honored subjects must be very curious about what this Longevity Elixir is, right? Hehe, its effects can improve one's constitution and increase one's lifespan."
"Hiss~"
As soon as Ye Chen finished speaking, everyone in the hall widened their eyes.
Lifespan had always been something all living beings pursued. These ministers were no longer young, so how could they remain calm after hearing that there was something capable of increasing their lifespans?
Seeing everyone's reaction, Ye Chen felt deeply satisfied. It had not been a waste to spend such a great price exchanging a batch of gene-repair agents from the system.
The Longevity Elixir was a diluted product Ye Chen had made from the gene-repair agents he had exchanged. After consumption, it could repair the body's cells, thereby improving one's constitution and extending one's lifespan to a certain degree.
Now that the empire's education system had been completed, the empire was about to enter a period of soaring development. The ministers before him were all pillars of the empire whom he had painstakingly cultivated. Losing even one of them would make Ye Chen ache for a long time.
Therefore, Ye Chen had spent a considerable number of Civilization Points to exchange a batch of gene-repair agents from the system as rewards, so these people could live longer and shoulder more of his burden.
Inside the Star Palace.
After all the meritorious officials had been rewarded one by one, only a handful of the ministers had received Longevity Elixir.
Although those who had not received any were envious, they could only sigh that they had not contributed enough.
Looking at the expressions of the ministers below, Ye Chen felt deeply satisfied. This was how a ruler ought to act.
He had two purposes in bestowing the Longevity Elixir this time. The first was that he did not want those exceptionally talented ministers to die of old age so soon.
The second was to give his subjects a goal to pursue—to dangle a carrot before them so everyone would work with greater motivation.
After all, a long lifespan had always been a goal pursued by all living beings. Now that this goal was right before them, would they work hard or not?
If they did not work hard, they would grow old and die. If they worked hard, they would have a chance to extend their lifespans.
Inside the main hall, after Zhou Li and the others drank the Longevity Elixir, they immediately felt heat spreading throughout their bodies, accompanied by slight pain. Fortunately, the pain was not severe, and they could endure it.
As time passed, the medicinal power of the gene-repair agents repaired the cells in their bodies.
At the same time, after the large number of cells that had lost their vitality were revived, the formerly white-haired and wrinkled faces of Zhou Li and the others began to change.
Their white hair gradually turned black, their wrinkles faded, and their bodies slowly grew stronger. In a short time, Zhou Li and the others underwent a complete transformation, as if they had been reborn.
This miraculous sight made the ministers who had not received the Longevity Elixir stare with burning envy.
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