Chapter 1014: The Way of Governance

In early winter, Kaifeng was still far from the freezing cold season, but the temperature had already dropped noticeably, and people's clothing had become visibly thicker. The heat and mist hanging over the Eastern Capital were also more pronounced—this was both the breath of human habitation and the thriving vitality of the dynasty.

To supply the southern pacification campaign, for a portion of the artisans in the Eastern Capital, this was no small business opportunity. As long as the southern pacification army needed it and it didn't require specialized production by the official workshops, the Ministry of War would purchase it in large quantities. Of course, compared to the northern expedition of years past, this was still small potatoes.

As the weather turned colder, the vitality of life in the city grew ever stronger. The prosperity of the imperial capital had opened a new atmosphere for a hundred years. In recent years, some literati singing the praises of the Great Han's well-governed age and extolling the prosperity of the Eastern Capital had already begun to compare today's Kaifeng with Chang'an during the Kaiyuan era.

Liu Chengyou had heard of this as well. This kind of public opinion that essentially praised his governance naturally pleased him greatly. However, Emperor Liu still had self-awareness. As an empire that had only just emerged from seventy years of great division, it was still far from a well-governed age. Kaifeng was certainly prosperous, but not to mention comparing with the imperial capital of the Kaiyuan era—it would be good enough to match a few aspects of Chang'an during the Zhenguan years.

Looking at the empire as a whole, the gap with the Kaiyuan era was even greater. That required a sufficiently long period of accumulation, and ensuring a sufficiently reasonable and stable political management system operated forward—only then could it be achieved. It also required a sufficiently wise and broad-minded sovereign.

Therefore, since the age of good governance had not yet arrived, how could one speak of an age of great prosperity?

Of course, Emperor Liu had no need to belittle himself. With his achievements of restoring order, eliminating separatist regimes, and unifying the realm, he was already among the outstanding rulers of all dynasties. Moreover, he was still young, his body showed no signs of illness, and he had plenty of time to govern the realm. If he lived long enough, creating an age of great prosperity was not without hope.

In fact, as the fifteenth year of Qianyou was drawing to a close, while the southern pacification war was still ongoing, Emperor Liu had been continuously summoning his ministers to discuss policies and propose methods for how to govern the realm in the future—truly pooling the wisdom of all.

Moreover, there was a fundamental goal: to emulate the Zhenguan governance. Liu Chengyou had always yearned for and admired the Zhenguan era. From a macro perspective, governing the realm well came down to two points: first, strict governance of officials; second, lenient treatment of the people. Every well-governed age in history was like this. Of course, it was easier said than done.

As for governing officials, it did not simply mean combating corruption and punishing graft—that was only one aspect. More important was the reasonable improvement of the institutional and national management systems, and ensuring their long-term stable operation.

In this regard, the Great Han actually had no small number of problems. The current Liu-ruled Great Han was not truly a founding dynasty; it had inherited and carried forward too much from the Later Jin, the Later Tang, and even the Later Liang. Redundant offices, redundant personnel, and redundant affairs had been improved but not thoroughly eliminated. The officialdom's atmosphere had indeed been reformed, but old malpractices remained numerous. The entire national management system also had many complex, contradictory, and even erroneous aspects, with many unclear divisions of authority. This was influenced both by previous dynasties and by Liu Chengyou's own reforms.

Therefore, compared to the three previous dynasties, the Great Han's politics and official governance were gradually improving and progressing, but there was still much room for improvement. Overall, there were still many complex and chaotic areas.

During this period, Liu Chengyou had Xue Juzheng gather personnel to systematically compile a "Han Compendium of Institutions," modeled on the "Six Statutes of the Tang," covering the political, official, and authority systems since the late Tang and the three dynasties, combined with the current Great Han's national institutions, to serve as a guiding political code for governance.

Speaking of former chancellor Xue Juzheng, in the years since stepping down as State Finance Commissioner, with Liu Chengyou's support, he had devoted tremendous energy to compiling books and had produced several results. For example, the completion of the "History of the Three Dynasties," the revision of the "Veritable Records of Gaozu" and the "Book of Tang," and the supervision of the "National History." Recently, he was also writing a political treatise titled "The Fifteenth Year of Qianyou."

Clearly, in many people's eyes, once the sixteenth year of Qianyou arrived, the Great Han court would enter a brand new situation and move toward a glorious era. And in fact, that was indeed the case.

As for governing the people, one only needed to adhere to a single principle: don't recklessly stir things up. Especially those affairs and projects that consumed enormous human and material resources should be undertaken sparingly. As long as the common people were given a sufficiently stable and gentle living environment, plus enough time, rapid recovery and development would naturally follow. In that way, society would progress and the people would prosper.

As for Liu Chengyou himself, wanting to emulate Zhenguan, he would still do the thing of copying homework—though of course, he copied selectively, at least ensuring it suited the current era's development and society's demands.

However, in Liu Chengyou's mind, the most important lesson Tang Taizong was worth learning from was the use of people. The more he understood, the more he felt it made sense. How could one emperor alone manage such a vast empire? One needed to unleash the wisdom and talents of the bureaucratic ministers, letting them, under his leadership, create great undertakings.

In recent years, Emperor Liu had deliberately delegated authority to lighten the burden on himself, partly with the intention of using history as a mirror and emulating his predecessors.

During the Zhenguan era, such a large number of outstanding talents had emerged, adding bricks and tiles to the brilliance of the Zhenguan governance. In his Qianyou era, how many people would stand out and become his great ministers assisting the state?

On this point, some people were already known to the emperor, whether tempering in the central government or in the localities. But Liu Chengyou believed there were still more people undiscovered, and he looked forward to their emergence.

The atmosphere of Kaifeng inspired different perceptions in different people. For example, Xu Xuan, the chancellor of Jiangnan who had come for the first time, felt deeply heavy-hearted at the strength of the north, even giving rise to the lament that heaven's mandate was thus, so what struggle remained.

Initially, Xu Xuan had come north on Li Yu's orders. After crossing the river, he traveled light, choosing to ride north on horseback. Fortunately, despite being from the opposing side in the war, as an envoy, apart from the necessary inspections along the way, no one made things difficult for him. Traveling at a speed of two hundred li per day, he reached the Eastern Capital in less than six days. For Xu Xuan, who was nearly fifty and a man of letters, this was an extremely arduous journey.

Upon arriving in Kaifeng, without resting, he immediately requested an audience with the Han emperor. Liu Chengyou seemed quite interested in Xu Xuan, the literary leader of Jiangnan, and chose to receive him. When meeting the Han emperor, Xu Xuan was neither humble nor overbearing, his face full of righteousness, detailing in detail Jiangnan's respectful service to the court over the years. Though he sincerely sought peace, in essence he was directly pointing out that the Great Han's southern expedition was an unjust war without legitimate cause, raising an unrighteous army...

When it came to smooth talk and citing classics, ten Liu Chengyous were no match for Xu Xuan. But Emperor Liu represented power, and a single sentence—"Unification is justice"—pressed Xu Xuan into silence.

As for Xu Xuan's verbal offense against him, Liu Chengyou did not fly into a rage but instead showed his magnanimity, letting him return to the guesthouse and ordering people to attend to him well, treating him with courtesy. However, after that, Xu Xuan's several requests for an audience were all refused.

"Winter has already arrived!" The courtyard was cold and desolate. Gazing at the apricot tree with sparse branches and leaves, Xu Xuan muttered to himself in melancholy, his mood as bleak as the surroundings: "I wonder how the war is progressing..."

Xu Xuan had a strong scholarly air about him. In ordinary times, he might have displayed his literary talent, but at this moment, he truly had no interest at all.

"Master Xu, congratulations! The palace has replied—His Majesty has agreed to receive you. Please prepare and enter the palace for an audience!" Led by an attendant, the director of the Protocol Institute walked in, his plump face wearing a warm smile as he clasped his hands in greeting.

Hearing this, Xu Xuan was first pleased, then immediately resumed a serious expression. This was hardly a matter for joy—the Han emperor's will was firm, single-mindedly set on pacifying the south. How could he abandon that because of a few words from Xu Xuan?

Therefore, when he re-entered Chongzheng Hall and performed the rites, facing Emperor Liu's questioning, Xu Xuan appeared exceptionally solemn, clasping his hands and saying: "Your servant has come this time specifically to bid Your Majesty farewell!"

Xu Xuan's solemnity, seen through Liu Chengyou's eyes, was as if he had suffered some great grievance, which was rather amusing. Liu Chengyou smiled slightly and said: "Why? Is the Eastern Capital not good enough, or has the court's reception not been courteous enough?"

Upon the question, Xu Xuan said with great gravity: "Your servant came bearing the command of my sovereign. Since Your Majesty has no intention of halting the troops, your servant has no reason to remain. I wish to return south to Jinling, and together with my lord, await the arrival of the great army!"

"Haha!" Liu Chengyou laughed again, the laughter light but his attitude forceful, casually waving his hand: "Why so much trouble? The weather is cold and the roads are difficult, making travel inconvenient. Master Xu need not return to Jinling. Otherwise, when the imperial army breaches the city and you are captured along with Li Yu, it would be both troublesome and humiliating. Better to stay in Kaifeng and await the imperial army's triumphant return together with me..."