Chapter 1245: The Eighth Year of Kaibao

After successively receiving the principal military and civilian officials of Hexi and hearing reports on local military and administrative conditions, Emperor Liu's days became completely idle—markedly different from before; previously it was feigned leisure, this time it was genuine.

When he remained in the capital, the operation of the court and the conduct of officials were all under his very eyes, and he could intervene at any time, so he often sat steadily like a fisherman on his stool, handling matters with calm detachment.

But after arriving in Liangzhou, it was different—the bitter cold of deep winter, with ice and snow everywhere, nearly isolated Guzang City into a solitary island. Although external communications were not truly severed, and some memorials from Luoyang or even Kaifeng could still be presented before the throne for his review, as time passed, Emperor Liu began to feel uneasy in his heart.

He could not help but wonder: what was the actual situation in the Luoyang court? Was it truly as peaceful as the memorials reported? Were all affairs proceeding in an orderly manner? Zhao Pu, Song Qi, and the other ministers surely would not disappoint his expectations?

Although confident—even arrogant—in his control over the empire, his nature compelled Emperor Liu to harbor more than a little suspicion. Even though intelligence from all sides indicated that during his absence from the capital on this tour, the court situation was stable and the people's livelihood secure...

In the final analysis, it was because he had too much leisure; when idle, one cannot help but let the mind wander. This was not the longest time Emperor Liu had been away from the capital, but it was the farthest he had ever traveled, and being "trapped" in Liangzhou—experiencing this for the first time—made Emperor Liu feel uneasy.

When in the capital, regardless of season, Emperor Liu could still go out at any time—hunting, sightseeing, making open inspections and secret inquiries. In Liangzhou, aside from holing up for the winter, Emperor Liu truly had little inclination to stroll about or move around.

However, Emperor Liu would never be overly lonely after all. Since his entourage was not lacking in consorts and palace women, even though it was winter, his days were spent in springlike abundance. Emperor Liu, who normally practiced abstinence and self-cultivation, relaxed his self-restraint. The consorts Gao, Zhe, Guo, and Yelu each received his favor in turn. Perhaps it was through these deep exchanges of spirit and flesh that much of Emperor Liu's inner restlessness and unease dissolved away.

In the eighth year of Kaibao, from New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival—the two most important festivals at the start of the year—Emperor Liu spent both in Liangzhou. Although the pageantry was not as grand as when in the capital region, it was equally lively and possessed its own distinctive character, offering Emperor Liu and the nobles from the court some novel experiences.

The same festivals, celebrated in different ways—although he knew there was official arrangement and promotion behind it all—still allowed Emperor Liu to witness a harmonious and congenial scene of people from all ethnic groups celebrating the new year together.

Deeply promoting traditional Chinese festival culture into Hexi was also something Lu Duoxun planned to do. And according to local feedback, the officials and people of Guzang were celebrating the festival and welcoming the new year with such warmth and bustle for the first time—all effects of the Son of Heaven's personal visit.

After the beginning of spring, Liangzhou's climate had already moderated considerably compared to the harshness of deep winter, but it was still cold. Having spent over twenty years in the Central Plains, Emperor Liu had long become a man of the Central Plains in his habits, and thus he found Liangzhou quite difficult to adapt to, constantly feeling the differences between the two regions.

But what was the same was that after the beginning of spring, the common people of Liangzhou had already entered into busy labor. A year's plan begins with spring—indeed, they were even more industrious than the people of the Central Plains.

After all, most people had barely scraped through a harsh winter; if they could not seize the farming season in the new year and work in time, they would likely face severe livelihood problems again.

And Emperor Liu could also catch a glimpse of Liangzhou's normal state: on the roads, merchant caravans engaged in east-west trade were beginning to appear, batch after batch—though small in scale, they were the early birds.

The towns of Hexi in the new spring had consumed large quantities of supplies during the past winter; at this season, as long as one brought goods to sell, there was no worry about the market or failing to make money.

Among them, Guzang City was especially so—not only because it was the capital of Hexi, but also because the Emperor had come. Not to mention anything else, the mere addition of seven or eight thousand people, with their eating and their horses' feeding, could create enormous market demand. It must be said that Emperor Liu's tours did have positive significance in stimulating consumption—of course, provided that the grain and money expended were later made up in full; otherwise, it would be the local government and people who footed the bill...

There were even earlier ones—itinerant merchants and travelers who began transporting goods before spring even arrived. But those were all poor common folk of the lowest stratum, earning their keep by hardship. People of some means were rarely willing to take such risks or endure such suffering.

All along, Emperor Liu had prided himself on observing the people's condition and showing compassion for the common folk. On every tour, he made a point of visiting common households and inquiring about their livelihoods. And he was well aware that the livelihoods of the Great Han's people were not as prosperous as the memorials reported, but in recent years, he had actually developed a measure of self-complacency and pride.

In Emperor Liu's view, he had established an era of peace, bringing stability to the people, and had foreseen early on the people's pursuit of better living standards in the new era, formulating and implementing policies accordingly.

Although the lives of the Great Han's subjects could hardly be called prosperous, and could not even ensure that everyone was fed and clothed, Emperor Liu believed that the lives of the Great Han's people had still improved—that they could see the future and grasp hold of hope.

In his several tours, the common households he visited—every single one, even the poorest—could maintain their basic livelihood needs! Many things he had seen with his own eyes and was willing to believe gave Emperor Liu an immense sense of self-satisfaction.

He knew that in many places conditions were harsh and the common people struggled, but in truth he had no clear conception of it—until he made this journey to the far northwest.

The reason the northwest was renowned for its fierce folk customs was precisely because of the harsh and bitter environment—struggling against men, struggling against nature, toiling and even risking their lives for basic food and clothing—which had honed that famed ferocity known throughout the realm.

It was only after personally inspecting the region that Emperor Liu gained a clearer understanding: his great Han Empire was not as beautiful as it appeared on the surface. There were those with ample food and clothing, but equally there were those crying out for sustenance...

Those past inexplicable, even arrogant, self-assurances now seemed rather laughable in retrospect, leaving Emperor Liu with a feeling of oppression in his heart. At the same time, Emperor Liu had always harbored latent worries about the northwest region, with a constant dread lingering in his mind.

"Before the realm falls into chaos, Shu falls first"—but throughout the dynasties, apart from the threat of the northern barbarian peoples beyond the frontier, the region most prone to unrest was the northwest. Historically, the northwest, with its special geographical conditions and complex ethnic makeup, naturally carried the risk of turmoil...

Now he also felt that such concern was correct—not crying wolf about the sky falling. The northwest problem had to be faced squarely and taken seriously.

Originally, Emperor Liu had some ideas regarding the northwest, but after this journey, he restrained himself. It concerned the supply of garrison troops and soldiers. To maintain stability in the northwest, the court had stationed a total of one hundred thousand troops in the region, and over the past several years, these troops had been primarily supported by the court.

However, after several years, a prominent problem emerged: supporting one hundred thousand essentially fully non-productive troops across the vast and distant northwest placed too great a financial burden.

But for the consolidation of the northwestern territories, they had no choice but to persist. When cornered, one seeks change—the Finance Commission had proposed some reform measures. They had repeatedly petitioned Emperor Liu: either reduce the northwestern garrisons, or lower the standards, or have the four circuits of the northwest bear more of the supply responsibility.

Regarding the Finance Commission's proposals, Emperor Liu shot down the first two outright. Only the third had room for operation. In the past, to strengthen the central court's control over regional armies, especially frontier forces, the supply of weapons, armor, grain, and money had all been uniformly dispatched by the Ministry of War.

This had been implemented in the Great Han's military system for over twenty years, but as the territory expanded, the garrisons and garrison soldiers increased accordingly, and the court's supply pressure naturally soared.

By now, relying entirely on the court to supply blood and transfuse life had revealed its backwardness—low efficiency and great waste of manpower and resources. The Great Han court was not lacking in wise ministers. When Song Qi returned to court, he raised this defect to Emperor Liu. After much deliberation, Emperor Liu felt that the support of frontier troops should combine both the court and the localities.

Originally, he had planned to begin reforms experimentally in the northwest, drafting a reasonable and balanced supply system. But on this journey from Fengzhou through Lingzhou to Liangzhou, Emperor Liu discovered that this matter truly could not be rushed—at the very least, one could not rashly add burden to the northwestern prefectures and circuits.

Or rather, the scope of the target should be narrowed—first trial it in Guannei Circuit, where the political and economic foundations were more solid. As for Yulin, Longyou, and Hexi, wait and see the results before deciding.

Facts proved that the significance of Emperor Liu's western tour was evident. Otherwise, without this firsthand observation, he would have directly implemented the new frontier supply system in the northwest...