Chapter 1385: The Strange Loop

Emperor Liu continued listening to Zhang Dejun's anecdotes about the Western Capital, from the private secrets of dukes and ministers down to the sentiments of the common folk in the markets. Emperor Liu found it thoroughly enjoyable—this had become one of his recent forms of entertainment.

"Lately, have the nobles been gathering as frequently as before?" Emperor Liu said calmly, looking at Zhang Dejun.

As he spoke, Emperor Liu's gaze was deep and serene, like an ancient well with no visible bottom. Hearing this, Zhang Dejun instinctively hunched his body and lowered his head, replying with some caution: "To answer His Majesty, in recent times, it has been somewhat subdued. They have restrained themselves considerably and have not been recklessly discussing state affairs."

"Is that so!" Emperor Liu seemed somewhat doubtful.

"However, they still cannot avoid private meetings!" Zhang Dejun added.

Emperor Liu could not hide his interest, and asked: "Who are they?"

"Duke of Fenyang Yao Zhongyu, Duke of Pingyuan Sun Li, Marquis of Shian Li Jixun, Marquis of Mayi Dang Jin, Marquis of Haining Liu Guangyi, Earl of Guang'an Cao Yuangong. Additionally, Earl of Guangyang Zhao Kuangyi has also been quite busy with banquets!" Zhang Dejun said.

"Sun Li!" Emperor Liu's brows immediately knitted together.

"Precisely!"

"Not properly enjoying his retirement, and getting mixed up in such matters!" There was a hint of disappointment in Emperor Liu's tone.

Zhang Dejun lowered his head even further. He naturally knew Sun Li's standing in Emperor Liu's heart—a veteran general who had braved life and death, serving at his side through thick and thin for over twenty years. At the same time, he could not help but feel a sense of wariness: if even Sun Li could provoke the Emperor's displeasure, then among all the officials in the court, who could enjoy unending imperial favor?

"Zhao Kuangyi? It hasn't been long since he returned to court!" Emperor Liu seemed to be talking to himself: "What about Zhao Kuangyin?"

Zhang Dejun said: "Duke of Rongguo, apart from entering the palace for his duties, keeps to himself and stays at home, refusing to speak on the matter!"

"These two brothers, heh heh!" Emperor Liu smiled. Among the nobles Zhang Dejun had just mentioned, many had connections to the Zhao family, which inevitably made Emperor Liu think more deeply: "Compared to his elder brother, Zhao Kuangyi is ultimately still young!"

It was quite evident that in matters of building connections, cultivating influence, and raising his reputation, Zhao Kuangyi was far more proactive. Zhao Kuangyin, on the other hand, held high position and great power, yet always remained low-key, concealing all his sharp edges.

"Bring me that memorial submitted by the Ministry of Personnel!" Emperor Liu suddenly raised his head and instructed Yan Tuo on the other side.

"Yes!"

This was a list of personnel transfers involving high-ranking officials both inside and outside the court. It had already gone through several rounds of discussion beforehand, with the Hall of State Affairs reaching a consensus and Emperor Liu having given his approval in principle. Now it only awaited his vermilion endorsement for the final decision.

Emperor Liu's gaze fell upon the proposal to appoint Zhao Kuangyi as Governor of Luoyang. He pondered for a moment, then finally swept his vermilion brush and approved the entire memorial.

"Have Zhang Yong return this memorial to the Hall of State Affairs!" Emperor Liu said to Yan Tuo.

"Yes!"

"What about the five families—Fu, Li, Gao, Zhe, and Guo?" Emperor Liu asked again.

These five families were the most important and most prominent consort clans in the Great Han at present. On this matter, Zhang Dejun dared not conceal anything: as if by tacit agreement, they were all law-abiding and well-behaved, not getting involved, not taking sides.

But in Emperor Liu's view, this was still nothing to be pleased about. In recent days, Emperor Liu had been continuously reflecting on his past policies and past actions, and had gained considerable insight. The consort clans were also one of his important considerations. At some point, he had begun to feel that the power and influence of the Great Han's consort clans seemed to have grown somewhat too heavy.

"How is Duke of Yingguo's illness?" Emperor Liu suddenly showed concern for Guo Rong.

"After the beginning of spring, it has had some relapses. He has been lying stiff and bedridden for a long time now!" Zhang Dejun answered.

Ever since returning to court from the northwest, Guo Rong's health had never been good, with repeated relapses. Despite much treatment, he had never fully recovered. Over a decade of devoted service to the state had been paid for entirely at the cost of his health, and now in his later years, he had been reduced to struggling against illness.

Although he had long since resumed the surname Chai, in many people's eyes, the Guo and Chai families were still one household—and Emperor Liu actually thought so too. The other pillar of the Guo family, Duke of Xingguo Guo Wei, however, remained vigorous in his old age, stubbornly holding on to life, and living quite comfortably.

After considering for a while, Emperor Liu said: "Make preparations. I will leave the palace on a chosen day and visit the Chai residence to inquire after his illness!"

"Yes!"

Emperor Liu closed his eyes slightly and leaned back in his reclining chair, thoughts surging through his mind. Toward the nobles and dukes, Emperor Liu truly had no intention of targeting them. As long as they obeyed the law and performed their duties, spending some salary and provisions to support them was no great matter—they were meritorious ministers and deserved such treatment.

Emperor Liu considered himself not the type to share hardship but not prosperity. When he had originally treated meritorious officials generously and elevated the status of the nobility, aside from being a certain compensation for centralizing power, he had also wanted to create a class that shared the state's fortunes and misfortunes, to guard the imperial authority and protect the empire.

But the development of things never follows human will, even if Emperor Liu was the Emperor, ruling over all under heaven, possessing the four seas. After all these years, he had discovered that the situation was not as he had expected.

The Great Han's nobility—especially the founding meritorious officials and military merit nobles—did indeed play a very important role in the Great Han; they were the cornerstone of the Great Han Empire's rule. But at the same time, the influence of the nobles was inevitably expanding, and gradually penetrating deeply into the court above and the central government within and without.

Not long ago, Emperor Liu had reviewed the roster of military and civil officials at both the central and local levels of the Great Han, and had conducted a comparative analysis of the promotions, demotions, and appointments of officials over the past decade or more.

It could be clearly observed that the proportion of noble descendants among them was inevitably increasing, and they were gradually occupying a large number of key positions. Especially as time passed, with the second and even third generations gradually growing up.

Even starting from the same clerical or honorary positions, those with status and connections rose faster and more securely. This was especially evident after the Kaibao era, and had already formed a trend. Of the remainder, a very large portion had countless tangled connections with the nobles.

In comparison, those who took the imperial examinations or advanced through ordinary clerical positions had a much slower and more difficult path. And in order to improve the "quality" of the examinations, there were considerable restrictions on both difficulty and admission numbers, which likewise led to the slow development of the Great Han's commoner official class. Even by the ninth year of Kaibao, the scholar-official and landlord-bureaucrat groups were still in a suppressed state in the Great Han.

When Emperor Liu had originally supported the creation of a noble class, aside from political considerations of compromise, he had also certainly intended to take "Song" as a warning and suppress the literati, to avoid the situation of civil officials overriding the military.

But facts had proven that the suppression seemed to have gone too far. In the end, for the state to develop normally and stably, civil officials still had to be given important roles. And the growing influence and expansion of the noble class ultimately showed a tendency to encroach upon imperial authority—how could this not make Emperor Liu wary?

And during this period, merely through some ambiguous rumors and some policies still shelved away, there was already discussion and clamor without end. This made Emperor Liu even more displeased. Just a hint of something, and some people could not sit still. If one day, truly for matters of state, the interests of the nobles were infringed upon, what kind of scene would that be? Would they unite to resist policies, resist the court, or even pressure him to abdicate?

Emperor Liu had always harbored the mentality of "there are always treacherous subjects plotting against me," and whenever he thought of these things, his heart itched, as if a venomous snake were gnawing at it.

After all these years, the only thing Emperor Liu had never changed was probably his boundless zeal and love for power. Once he sensed the threat from the noble class, he could not help but develop some unusual thoughts.

What was called reducing noble salaries and restricting noble treatment was only superficial. In essence, it was about limiting their power, so as not to threaten imperial authority or shake the Emperor's position. Among all this, consort clans plus nobles were the most likely to arouse suspicion.

There was no doubt that Zhao Pu belonged to the commoner official class, completely different from those military merit nobles. Of course, the policies he wanted to introduce did not necessarily share the same starting point as Emperor Liu's, but at least to a certain degree, they struck a chord with Emperor Liu's psychology and aligned with him in the general direction.

And going around in circles, in the end, Emperor Liu seemed to be walking back onto the old road of supporting civil officials and supporting the commoner bureaucrat class.

This was like a strange loop, causing people to lose themselves within it, unable to break free—whether going left or right, there was no true way out...