Jimo.
Lu Chan stared blankly at the edict delivered to his marquisate state. In truth, this edict had little effect on the Jimo Lü Clan.
But he had something of a knight-errant's spirit and placed considerable weight on loyalty to his fellows.
He had organized the Petition at the Public Carriage Gate, and he had been one of the leaders of the Jingnan Campaign.
And in the end...
The High-ranking Marquises of East of the Passes were indeed enjoying the utmost wealth and honor now.
One Jingnan Campaign had secured stability for three generations. Most of them were probably quite satisfied. After all, they had fought for their lives on the battlefield precisely to perpetuate their families' wealth and honor.
But Lu Chan felt somewhat saddened, even more so than when he had left Chang'an and returned to Jimo to grow flowers. The Original Followers and Meritorious Officials had been completely excluded from the court's core of power.
More frightening still, the emperor had treated the Pacification Meritorious Officials far too generously. Their titles were hereditary in perpetuity, greatly reducing turnover. The sword that had always hung over the High-ranking Marquises' heads had been taken away.
With the pursuit of power gone, and the incentive to preserve their wealth and honor gone, the outcome was plain to see. Human sloth began to swell within that void.
Lu Chan was Liu Xun's maternal uncle, so he remained relatively restrained in the face of Liu Xun's choice. The others, however, were not so easily appeased.
One High-ranking Marquis even complained outright, "What does the emperor mean by this? Does he doubt this old man's loyalty? He might as well cut out my heart and see whether it holds Loyalty of Pure Blood!"
Some High-ranking Marquises said angrily, "We risked our lives to