Chapter 196: What Is Fairness?

The court assembly system was a political institution primarily designed to display the nation's mighty power and the supreme authority of the throne, showcasing grand ceremonies—a distinctive feature of ancient Chinese political life.

The deliberation of important affairs itself was secondary, often merely going through the motions.

The Tang dynasty was the period that synthesized the court assembly system (also called court congratulations), with its ceremonial regulations already quite complete.

Both the "Great Tang Kaiyuan Rites" and the "Comprehensive Institutions" classified the grand court assembly as auspicious rites, belonging to the auspicious rites portion of the Five Rites.

Tang dynasty court congratulations included: New Year's Day court congratulations, Winter Solstice court congratulations, Qianqiu Festival birthday court congratulations, and the first day of the fifth month court congratulations—five in total.

However, the "court assembly" that Brother Ji spoke of was merely a colloquial term, not the Tang dynasty's formal court assembly, or court congratulations.

Rather, it was a meeting of high court officials held in the Purple Radiance Hall of the Daming Palace, attended by the emperor in person—essentially a "private meeting."

There was no helping it: the Tang dynasty's court assemblies conducted no official business; they were pure ceremonies. Even if Brother Ji wanted to stir up something at a court assembly, the procedures would not permit it.

The operating model of the Tang central government during the Kaiyuan era was completely different from previous dynasties, and even from the Taizong era.

Ordinary affairs were handled by the Policy Deliberation Hall, where both the Left Chancellor and Right Chancellor worked, gathering the finest talents of the Secretariat and Chancellery. Major matters were reported to the emperor, and after completing a series of procedures, were promulgated in the form of edicts.

Minor matters were handled internally within the Policy Deliberation Hall—this was the daily routine for Li Linfu and the others.

When matters arose that required deliberation and resolution, generally the chancellors or those holding the concurrent rank of Third Rank in the Secretariat and Chancellery, along with officials closely related to the matter at hand, would gather in the study of the Qinzhengwubenlou at Xingqing Palace to discuss with Brother Ji.

If a matter of paramount importance needed to be handled, it would be resolved in the Purple Radiance Hall of the Daming Palace, and the number of court officials participating would also increase.

The Taiji Palace, which was the core area of Chang'an's imperial city, Brother Ji generally did not visit—unless it was for holding a court assembly, that is, the kind of court congratulations held only five times a year.

On this morning, quite a number of officials had already gathered in the Purple Radiance Hall.

There were generals from the Dragon Martial Army, such as Fang Youde, who had just been appointed Grand General of the Dragon Martial Army, and Zhang Lingxin, Grand General of the Right Dragon Martial Army; there were also key generals of the Southern Guard Imperial Army, such as Pei Min, General of the Right Gold Crow Guard; and there were high officials of the central government, such as Zhang Yi, Vice Censor-in-Chief, Zheng Shuqing, Prefect of the Capital Prefecture, the ministers and vice ministers of the Six Ministries, and so forth.

As for the Left Chancellor and Right Chancellor, it went without saying that they had to be present.

For this court assembly, no one was permitted to request leave, no one was permitted to be late!

Fang Chongyong had been promoted to Commander of the Dragon Martial Army (commanding five hundred troops, one battalion's establishment), specifically responsible for security around Brother Ji, following him wherever he went. At this moment, he was standing guard within the Daming Palace, patrolling and setting up defenses, and was not qualified to enter the Purple Radiance Hall.

"Whatever matters there are, speak up."

Li Longji sat on the dragon throne and calmly addressed the assembled ministers.

Here there was no need to observe much formal etiquette; the main purpose was still to discuss matters, or rather to announce major decisions.

Brother Ji did not want to waste time on pointless formalities, and therefore also asked the assembled ministers to speak their minds directly and not deal in empty talk.

"Sage, your humble servant has a memorial to present."

Fang Youde stepped forward, clasped his hands in salute, and spoke.

"What important matter does my beloved minister have?"

Li Longji asked with a puzzled expression. In his view, Fang Youde should not be the one stepping forward to speak at this point.

"In reply to the Sage, Li Heng's rebellion was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision.

The county magistrates of Chang'an County and Wannian County were utterly oblivious to it. Within Chang'an City, there are twelve county lieutenants, and not a single one reported this matter.

When your humble servant arrived at the outskirts of Chang'an, it was still Zheng Shuqing, Prefect of the Capital Prefecture, who was requesting rescue and troop deployment from the Southern Guard Imperial Army.

Therefore, your humble servant recommends executing the magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian counties, as well as the twelve county lieutenants within Chang'an City, to make an example of them.

Let the officials of the central government understand their duty to be loyal and diligent in their posts. I beg the Sage to investigate clearly!"

Fang Youde bowed in salute, performing a deep bow without rising, and spoke.

Earth-shattering!

How many years had it been since anyone had heard such a brain-dead proposal!

Two capital county magistrates and twelve county lieutenants, all executed in one breath—this damn guy really knew how to play!

Everyone present, including Li Linfu, broke out in a cold sweat at Fang Youde's arrogant proposal!

They had seen people act recklessly, but never anyone so unreasonable. If they really executed two county magistrates and twelve county lieutenants, that could be considered the greatest political upheaval since the Kaiyuan era!

"Sage, this matter must absolutely not be done."

Before Li Linfu could speak, Zhang Yi, Vice Censor-in-Chief, was the first to step forward from the ranks, bowed to Li Longji, and spoke.

Why was Fang Youde's move so ruthless? Why did it make even a Censorate official like Zhang Yi unable to hold back?

Were they not just two county magistrates and twelve county lieutenants?

At the height of the Tang dynasty, there were a total of 1,607 counties. Even at this very moment, exceeding fifteen hundred counties was an absolute certainty without any doubt.

If one also counted capitals like Chang'an that required twelve county lieutenants, and super-prefectures like Luoyang in Henan and Wuwei in Liangzhou that required more than four county lieutenants, then at the very least more than two thousand four hundred county lieutenants would be needed to fill the establishment.

Killing twelve in one breath was less than one percent of the total number of county lieutenants—it didn't seem like that many.

Outsiders who did not understand Tang politics would certainly see it this way.

However, the county lieutenants and county magistrates of Chang'an City had another designation: the "reserve team of central government high officials"!

For those serving as county magistrates here, their next promotion would often be to a bureau director within the Six Ministries or even vice minister of the Six Ministries. For those serving as county lieutenants here, their next promotion would be to investigating censor or palace censor!

Killing these fourteen people was tantamount to wiping clean the reserve corps of the existing political factions! It would greatly affect the political landscape of the central government for the next three to five years!

This move devised by Fang Chongyong made Fang Youde draw a clear line between himself and the civil official faction—the key was striking fast, accurate, and ruthless! He had spent over five years studying the various systems and unspoken rules of Tang officialdom, and in this regard, Fang Youde was completely a "junior."

This proposal could be described as "small in commotion"—merely killing a few seventh-rank and eighth-rank officials; yet "great in effect"—thoroughly offending the entire body of civil officials, at least on the surface.

The Chang'an county magistrate went without saying, being essentially a "half-step Six Ministries high official," but why was the Chang'an county lieutenant also not easy to touch?

Because the county lieutenant of Chang'an City was a very peculiar position. Not only was the position itself a trap, there was also the problem of "six monks with no water to drink."

Put in simple and clear terms, it was one unlucky fellow doing hard labor with no hope of promotion, plus five connected people who did no work yet soared up the ranks—such was the dynamic.

Within Chang'an County, only the county lieutenant in charge of public security and military affairs, also called the "Bandit Bureau Lieutenant," actually did real work. The other five county lieutenants were all idlers. These people were destined to become chancellors in the future. Such pure-stream officials, due to their different backgrounds and education, also lacked any practical ability to serve well in what appeared to be an inconspicuous county lieutenant post.

Wannian County was the same.

Yet what was even more frightening was that the Bandit Bureau Lieutenant generally could not obtain promotion, and there was no place for them in the central government either—they were truly "doing the work without getting the benefits."

It would be like Zhang Jiuling serving as a county lieutenant—he certainly had the ability to write poetry, to write essays, and even to offer advice to the emperor.

But he definitely would not have the ability to judge cases, to deal with common folk at the grassroots level, or to collect taxes, nor would he stoop to such things.

Therefore, if Zhang Jiuling were in the position of a Chang'an county lieutenant, he too would be an "invisible man"—to put it bluntly, an idler.

This time when Li Heng rebelled, Chang'an and Wannian counties actually had no reaction whatsoever—they were not even as good as Zheng Shuqing, who had received advance word. The key reason for this lay precisely here. It was not that they did not want to act, but rather that "the Great Tang has its own particular circumstances."

These well-connected people all treated the Chang'an County Commandant as a stepping stone; this position was a "pure and noble office" in the eyes of many officials.

Given this, who would actually do any real work?

And the one who actually did real work, because he went long without promotion, simply gave up and lay flat, hardly bothering to manage affairs anymore!

In fact, there were many powerful nobles in Chang'an City; even the Mayor of Jingzhao, Zheng Shuqing, had to call everyone he met "godfather." So what could a minor grassroots official like the Chang'an County Commandant or the Wannian County Commandant actually do?

If Prince Xue's entire family was going to rebel, the Wannian County Commandant within whose jurisdiction it fell—that is, the Thief Bureau Commandant—even if he caught wind of it, would he dare to investigate? Would he dare to report it?

If it turned out to be false, killing his entire family would not be enough to fill the hole—so wouldn't he just turn a blind eye!

So the "kill one to warn a hundred" that Fang Youde spoke of, viewed from this angle, did not actually wrong those people.

There were many such "slacker officials" in the Chang'an center of power—for example, the Collator that everyone envied. Bai Juyi once mocked himself, saying that when he held this office he was a thoroughly professional slacker, doing absolutely nothing while collecting a paycheck.

As for the various systemic abuses of the Great Tang officialdom, Brother Ji no longer had the energy to deal with them, so when he heard Fang Youde's words, he only slowly shook his head.

"The county magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian counties are to be dismissed from office."

Li Longji continued at a leisurely pace:

"Among those twelve county commandants, many of them simply managed storehouses. Li Heng's rebellion was none of their business—dismiss those ones from office.

As for the two Thief Bureau Commandants responsible for apprehension, simply execute them directly as a warning to others.

The other ten county commandants are to be dismissed and not reemployed within five years.

Let this matter end here."

Brother Ji's punishment was raised high and set down gently—he only executed two front-line Thief Bureau Commandants who actually handled affairs and had no backer.

"Genu, if you have something to say, then just say it."

Seeing Li Linfu bow with hands crossed in salute before him, Li Longji said at a leisurely pace.

"This humble servant requests that the Ten Princes' Residence be abolished, and that the imperial princes be sent out to the prefectures and counties around Chang'an, to prevent trouble erupting at one's elbow!"

Li Linfu bowed deeply to Brother Ji and said.

Send the imperial princes out!

The great hall fell into a deathly stillness.

This topic was a taboo.

Once, when Brother Ji had not yet secured his footing, close branches of the imperial clan—such as Brother Ji's own brothers—had been sent out as prefects. But after Brother Ji had thoroughly consolidated his power, he successively built the Hua E Xiang Hui Tower, the residences of the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Xue and others, the "Ten Princes' Residence," the "Hundred Grandsons' Residence," and so forth, keeping the close branches of the imperial clan "penned up" in Chang'an.

Their treatment was not even as good as that of the distant branches of the imperial clan.

For example, Prince of Xin'an Li Yi, for example Li Shizhi, or even Li Linfu himself—these distant branches of the imperial clan were all far more carefree and happy than those imperial princes bearing the title of "Wang."

So Li Linfu's proposal, in a certain sense, could be considered a kind of "setting things right."

But these words were highly taboo—unless Brother Ji himself was already thinking this way. At this moment, everyone in the Purple Radiance Hall, apart from a few who knew the inside story, was waiting for Brother Ji's answer.

"What do you all think?"

Brother Ji looked around at everyone and asked.

"Sage, the Ten Princes' Residence is an established institution. If it is abolished, what is to be done if those imperial princes raise troops and rebel in the future?"

Left Chancellor Zhang Shougui stepped forward and said.

Why did he oppose it?

Because whatever Li Linfu supported, barring any surprises, he would firmly oppose! Besides, sending the imperial princes out from the Ten Princes' Residence was indeed somewhat inappropriate! The first point was that the impact on the existing system was simply too great!

"This matter is no small thing. I believe it can be discussed again later."

Li Longji nodded slightly and said.

Hearing these words, Zhang Shougui's pupils suddenly shrank!

Many times, "discussing again later" was itself a gesture of compromise. Otherwise, he could have simply scolded Li Linfu with a casual remark. If he had not himself wanted to send the imperial princes out, why would Li Longji say so much unnecessary talk?

The imperial princes were actually going to be sent out!

Who would believe such a thing if it got out!

Zhang Shougui slowly retreated to his original position, head lowered, not saying a word.

"Li Heng's rebellion has caused me deep sorrow. But after thinking it over, this was largely brought about by the long vacancy of the Crown Prince's position—it is my own failing.

Therefore, I wish to establish a Crown Prince. What do you, my beloved ministers, think? Who is fit to be Crown Prince?"

Li Longji tossed out his second agenda item—the kind that made jaws drop.

Who could be Crown Prince?

It seemed that among the many imperial princes, quite a few had a chance to become Crown Prince!

Because Li Longji's principal consort, Empress Wang, had already been deposed, and no new empress had been installed afterward, there was no so-called "legitimate son."

Since there was no legitimate son, then all the sons born of concubines were eligible, were they not?

Prince of Di Li Yan, Prince of Rong Li Wan, Prince of Yi Li Sui, Prince of Ying Li Jiong, Prince of Yong Li Lin, Prince of Shou Li Chang, Prince of Yan Li Bin, Prince of Sheng Li Qi, and others had all already come of age. Who exactly should be made Crown Prince?

In fact, the vast majority of Brother Ji's children had already come of age; even the youngest, Prince of Bian Li Tao, was already over ten years old.

Theoretically, any of these people could become Crown Prince, but only one could be chosen.

So who should be chosen?

The amount of information at today's court assembly was enormous. Zhang Shougui found that many people, including himself, could hardly keep up!

"Sage, this humble servant recommends that Prince of Shou Li Chang be established as Crown Prince!"

It was Li Linfu again who stepped forward and was the first to propose it!

Ah, yes, yes—many years ago, when Consort Wu Hui was still alive, Li Linfu had already been proposing that the Prince of Shou be made Crown Prince. So Li Linfu standing on the Prince of Shou's side now did not seem surprising, did it?

For a moment, many people in the Purple Radiance Hall fell into doubt and contemplation, rapidly calculating in their minds who exactly would be the better choice.

Previously, Li Heng's qualifications had certainly been the best, and his network of connections the broadest.

But now Li Heng had already rebelled and died!

"Choosing the Prince of Shou as Crown Prince is a fine proposal. Do any of you beloved ministers have another candidate?"

Li Longji asked with a smile.

The Purple Radiance Hall fell into a deathly silence.

(End of this chapter)