Chapter 1140: This Capital Is Not Easy to Move

Inside Wansui Hall, Emperor Liu stood in a relaxed posture, holding a small bowl of steaming eight-treasure porridge in his hand, slowly stirring it with a spoon, though his gaze remained fixed on the Luoyang city map that Murong Yanchao had presented.

After this period of study, even a blueprint as grand and imposing as this one could no longer arouse his interest. In the twenty years since the founding of the Great Han, thanks to public order and security, Luoyang had naturally experienced tremendous recovery and development.

The heritage of centuries as the Sui and Tang imperial capital was right there. Though far inferior to Kaifeng politically and economically, its status was beyond question—it was the only auxiliary capital of the Great Han today. Except for the first year or two after the founding, every successive Defender of the Western Capital had been a senior minister or capable official.

Although Luoyang had passed through several wars since the mid-Tang, it had basically been preserved intact; its air of decline and desolation was due to the circumstances of the times. During Commandery Duke Wang Yan's tenure in Teng, he had carried out a renovation of Luoyang of no small scale, yet it was only patchwork—without imperial court support, relying solely on the tax revenues of the Western Capital's branch office, a complete renewal of the entire city of Luoyang was simply impossible to sustain.

Murong Yanchao had not only presented a planning map but also a complete construction proposal, along with a preliminary budget based on the circumstances of Kaifeng's expansion and major renovation back then.

Imperial Uncle Murong was clearly a man who delighted in grand spectacles and favored imposing scale. Originally, he had intended to suggest that Emperor Liu demolish the old city outright and build an entirely new Great Han Luoyang from scratch.

However, he later discovered the cost was too great—construction expenses were one aspect, but it also implicated the interests of all strata rooted in Luoyang. At the same time, because the architectural talents under his command had pointed out that surpassing the old city in the magnificent scale of palaces and capital would be difficult—the Sui-Tang Luoyang city could be called a pinnacle work in the history of Chinese architecture.

If cost were no object, one could indeed make it even more splendid and magnificent, as described in historical records, but Emperor Liu would be the first to reject that. Thus, Murong Yanchao's final recommendation was to renovate and refurbish the old city of Luoyang on its original foundation, restoring its former glory while also infusing it with the elegance of the Great Han.

Even so, the scale of the work was still considerable. Of course, the key point was not the construction of Luoyang itself, but the purpose of the construction—moving the capital.

Just a few days prior, Emperor Liu had for the first time formally issued an edict for the court officials to discuss the matter of moving the capital. The result, naturally, was that it stirred up an uproar in the court, touching off a storm of controversy, with everyone above and below debating it endlessly.

Aside from a small number who expressed approval, the majority clearly opposed it, and their reasons were essentially a few points. First, the Eastern Capital had long been the imperial seat, and the capital should not be lightly moved; second, Kaifeng was thriving while Luoyang was dilapidated, and one should not abandon the new for the old; third, Luoyang's resources were far inferior to those of the Central Plains and insufficient to support a great capital; fourth, its location was remote, and making it the capital would increase the court's grain transport burden...

One could list a whole host of reasons against moving the capital, all with sound logic and evidence, but what Emperor Liu felt was that his ministers simply could not bear to part with Kaifeng's prosperity—and this included a great many dukes, ministers, and meritorious officials. In Emperor Liu's view, many of these high officials had deep roots in the Eastern Capital and the Central Plains region, and moving the capital would affect their own interests—that was the real reason for their opposition.

Among the minority who supported moving the capital, those who truly kept the nation's overall interests in mind and understood Emperor Liu's intentions were even fewer. Most of them were people whose interests were not greatly affected, voicing approval merely to cater to Emperor Liu's wishes.

Senior ministers like Wei Renpu, on the other hand, had not expressed their views—they could not easily do so. Wei Renpu in particular, in such circumstances, as Chief Chancellor, if his final position diverged from Emperor Liu's thinking, would not only affect the relationship between ruler and minister but might also destabilize the political situation at court.

The most important reason Emperor Liu wanted to move the capital was just that one critical point: there was no natural defense to rely on. Kaifeng was situated in the heart of the Central Plains—it certainly had its unique advantages, but it was also flat and open, and the Yellow River could not serve as a solid natural defensive barrier, even though the military pressure from the north had already become very small.

"The security of a realm lies in virtue, not in natural defenses"—someone had already raised a similar viewpoint. The words had merit, yet what Emperor Liu considered was that the Great Han Empire could not remain as strong as it was now forever; there would always be times of rise and fall, and if the nation encountered a crisis, a capital with formidable natural defenses would find itself in an awkward position.

At the same time, over all these years, in order to protect the Eastern Capital, the court had deployed too many troops in the surrounding areas and on both sides of the Yellow River. This was both unreasonable and a burden on the court. And it was unavoidable, because the security of the capital had to be guaranteed, whether in times of chaos or times of peace.

And if one wished to move the capital, there was essentially no other choice—only Luoyang. In the realm today, the only region meeting those "three essential elements" was the Yi-Luo area.

Examining the three dynasties of Liang, Tang, and Jin, the choice of capital had also been between Kaifeng and Luoyang. Kaifeng was Zhu Wen's base where he rose to power, so making it the capital was only natural; Li Cunxu established the Later Tang to inherit the Great Tang, and with Chang'an in ruins and its imperial aura dispersed, making the old capital Luoyang the capital was even more understandable; Shi Jingtang replaced the Later Tang and later moved the capital to Kaifeng—the reasons were also obvious: to supply the court with grain and money, and to control the Central Plains and Hebei region from close range.

To be fair, during the era of those three dynasties, the southern states were cut off, military provinces stood in profusion in the north, and the Khitan posed a constant threat. Whether considered politically or economically, Kaifeng was the more suitable capital, and its military defense shortcomings were compensated by the numerous and powerful central imperial army—which moreover enjoyed great convenience in mobilizing troops and launching expeditions.

In extraordinary times, one does extraordinary things and establishes an extraordinary capital. However, now the nation was unified, the empire was strong, and aside from the Khitan, all the surrounding peoples had submitted. On the surface, the defects of Kaifeng as capital had been further reduced—yet in such circumstances, Emperor Liu felt all the more uneasy.

There was no denying it—the impression from the depths of his memory was that Kaifeng was simply unsuitable as a capital, and the fate of the Northern Song dynasty served as an even greater warning to him.

But after all these years, as he reconsidered the matter and began to put it into motion, Emperor Liu's thinking had undergone some subtle changes.

On careful comparison, Luoyang did indeed occupy the center of the realm, possessing all the requisite geographical advantages and vital energies—fully qualified to serve as the imperial capital of the Great Han. However, this centrality aside, the Guanzhong region, relative to the past, had utterly declined, and this in turn affected Luoyang. Moreover, the nation's political and economic center of gravity shifting eastward and southward was an objective fact, accelerated by the chaos of the late Tang—Emperor Liu's construction of Kaifeng was itself a symbol of this—and making Luoyang the capital could, to a certain extent, be said to be swimming against the current.

And Luoyang's geographical advantages, when considered from another angle, were not always so persuasive. Emperor Liu was a student of history; through the lessons of historical experience, he could clearly see that once an empire declined, no matter how formidable its natural defenses, they were difficult to preserve. Over the millennia, Luoyang had been ravaged in war more than once or twice.

And having spent so many years in Kaifeng, Emperor Liu naturally had deep feelings for it, having devoted so much time, money, and grain to its development. Considering the web of interests at all levels that moving the capital would implicate, his hesitation only grew.

At the same time, if the capital were moved to Luoyang, all strata of the Eastern Capital would naturally be greatly affected, and Luoyang would be equally impacted. After all, moving the capital was not simply a matter of relocating the court to another place.

On the Luoyang side, over twenty years, a vested interest class had also formed there. Making Luoyang the capital would certainly be a good thing for them—it represented an elevation of political status—but at the same time, they would also suffer severe shocks.

With the court established in Kaifeng, it already felt pressure from all sides; once in Luoyang, the grain transport distance would be stretched even longer, and to maintain Luoyang's supplies, the increase in pressure would inevitably be significant.

At the same time, one had to consider: if the grain transport from east of the passes were blocked, would Luoyang be safe then?

Turning it over and over in his mind, the contradiction in Emperor Liu's heart was truly difficult to explain to outsiders. Clearly, the difficulty of moving this capital lay not in the resistance from above and below, but in Emperor Liu's own psychology.

Whether to move the capital or not, in the end, still came down to Emperor Liu's personal will. Others' advice could be heard, but it was not important, nor did it play a decisive role.