Chapter 1421: Invested as Prince

In the ninth year of Kaibao, on the first day of summer's sixth month, this was a special day—Emperor Liu was about to enfeoff his sons as princes. This was a major event that would rock the court and the country, and it was also the court's grandest gathering in the first half of the year.

News of the enfeoffment had actually spread long ago and circulated widely within the imperial household and the court—a perfectly natural development. Even by established precedent, it was only fitting that the Emperor's sons be granted princely titles and ranks, and no one would raise any objection.

As for Emperor Liu, he had long harbored this intention. It was only that, constrained by his philosophy of "no title without merit," he had always shown some restraint. Even though this philosophy could not truly hold up when applied to members of the imperial household in actual practice, Emperor Liu could hardly avoid a certain "wanting both the praise and the position" mentality.

By the ninth year of Kaibao, among the Great Han's imperial clan, only three people held princely titles: Yong Prince Liu Chenghsun, Xu Prince Liu Chengyun, and Liu Min, who inherited the line of the Wei Prince. Even counting the Zhou Prince that Emperor Liu had conferred in earlier years and the line of Taiyuan Prince Liu Chong, whose title had been stripped, that made only a paltry five.

When Liu Chong had been sent to Luoyang to live out his days in retirement, his title had been preserved. However, after his sudden death, his descendants were placed under house arrest, and the title was demoted three grades in succession, inherited by Liu Chengjun.

Aside from the several sons who had successively received ducal titles, among the remaining imperial clansmen, those with titles could be said to be as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. This was not only because the imperial bloodline was thin, but more importantly, it lay in Emperor Liu's subtle suppression.

It could be said that during Emperor Liu's reign, the Great Han's imperial clansmen did not enjoy the power and status they ought to have had. On one hand, Emperor Liu insisted on granting titles only for merit; on the other hand, he was stingy with trust, giving the clansmen no opportunity to strive forward.

Over time, how could the Great Han's imperial clansmen not harbor resentment? And Emperor Liu did not believe they bore none. This was why, when Emperor Liu lifted the restrictions in one stroke previously, the Great Han's clansmen all broke into smiles, with some even weeping for joy.

Now, with new policies and institutions for the management and appointment of the imperial clan, and for his own sons—the core members of the Great Han's imperial house—Emperor Liu naturally ought to make further arrangements.

Enfeoffing them as princes was naturally a matter of course. Moreover, before any word had leaked out, many had already anticipated it: in the northern expedition war, aside from the Crown Prince, the brothers Liu Xu, Liu Xi, and Liu Fang had all rendered distinguished service, yet when the court deliberated merits, there was no reward of sufficient weight—the twists and turns of this naturally invited speculation.

And just as many had guessed, the reason he had held back all along was that Emperor Liu was truly waiting for the return of Liu Fang and his brothers. Even after they returned to the capital, he still spent over a month in preparation.

Emperor Liu also displayed the utmost importance for the enfeoffment ceremony, and the scale was extraordinarily grand. The investiture ceremony was held in the Qianyuan Grand Hall, with Grand Academician of the Inner Cabinet and Yu Duke Wei Renpu serving as master of ceremonies. Attendees included imperial kinsmen, maternal relatives, high ministers, and all officials of the sixth rank and above in full attendance, and envoys of the various tribes and states in the capital were specially invited to observe the rites.

Such a grand and solemn ceremony was enough to show how much importance Emperor Liu attached to the matter. And the imperial princes to be enfeoffed numbered only three—Liu Xu, Liu Xi, and Liu Fang—so at the ceremony, they became for the first time the most dazzling supporting figures beneath Emperor Liu, drawing the gaze of all.

In the Qianyuan Hall, nobles gathered in force. The ruling class of the Great Han, all impeccably dressed and elegant, stood with the fullest enthusiasm in the highest-specification hall of the Great Han, and to be able to stand here was, for them, itself a manifestation of power and status.

"Begin!" Emperor Liu, clad in formal ceremonial robes, sat high upon the dragon throne, his face full of majesty and solemnity, as calm as an ancient well, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Upon receiving the command, Wei Renpu formally commenced the investiture ceremony according to ritual protocol. In the past, he had held such tedious and complex ritual processes in utter contempt, even regarding them with disdain, wishing that all matters could be resolved crisply and directly to the point.

But with the growth of years, and with the perfection of the complete system of institutions and social governance that he had built at his own lead, he had come to a deeper appreciation of such formalities, even savoring them. He had long realized that these rules and rites were the embodiment of authority, a means of maintaining the ruling class—and as the Emperor standing at the very pinnacle of that ruling class, how could he still detest them?

Emperor Liu's "maturity" was all-encompassing, and his assimilation was likewise all-encompassing. His thoughts and spirit had long since merged into this era, into this era that he himself dominated—though of course, the era was also devouring and assimilating him.

Sitting in the highest place, one's field of vision was broader, seeing farther and more completely. Of course, the Qianyuan Hall was too large, and there were too many people; though they stood in neat order, that dense sea of dark heads was still hard to take in at a single glance.

But this did not hinder Emperor Liu from observing his ministers and reading their emotions. Of course, his focus rested on only two people: first, the Empress; second, the Crown Prince.

Today's grand investiture ceremony would, without question, have an important impact on the entire court, and to put it more strongly, it even held far-reaching significance for the empire's future.

As for the present moment, those most likely to develop thoughts about it, in Emperor Liu's view, were his Empress and the Crown Prince. The elder Lady Fu would not oppose the enfeoffments, but making the occasion so grand and solemn could hardly help but invite speculation about his intentions. As for the Crown Prince, even though he had had many heart-to-heart talks with Emperor Liu, he could hardly avoid being affected by such favor shown to the princes.

What pleased Emperor Liu considerably was that the Empress still maintained a demeanor of grace and magnanimity, seated upright on the phoenix throne, fully displaying the bearing of the mother of the realm. As for Liu Yang, he was calm as ever, his face warm and genial, a smile at the corners of his mouth, as if rejoicing for his brothers.

The entire ceremony proceeded smoothly according to procedure, without the slightest ripple, and no one dared to stir up trouble on such an occasion. This was a play, and everyone present was an actor immersed in it—even those playing an insignificant extra performed with twelvefold enthusiasm, solemnly and earnestly, blending into the scene.

Of course, in this scene, there were only three protagonists. Their titles required no separate deliberation—Emperor Liu had clearly laid the groundwork years ago. The fact that he had changed Meng Chang's Zhao Duke title and transferred it to Liu Fang was proof of that.

Liu Xu was enfeoffed as Qin Prince, Liu Xi as Jin Prince, and Liu Fang as Zhao Prince—nothing surprising in any of this. It was only that the investiture edict was somewhat lengthy, personally drafted by Wei Renpu, and Emperor Liu's role in it consisted solely of affixing the imperial seal—though that was also the most functionally significant part.

Although these were merely princely titles, and Emperor Liu had not endowed them with feudal significance—the princes had no actual fiefs, no administrative or military authority, and even the matter of revenue from their estates was left undecided—for the present Great Han, the establishment of these princes was absolutely a sensational event, at least as far as these first enfeoffed imperial princes were concerned.

The Great Han's title system had long been perfected, yet there had always been a short board; now, it could be said to have been filled in. In this pyramid of power and status, beneath Emperor Liu and the Crown Prince, a batch of the most top-tier nobles had finally been born. Emperor Liu's original intention was also to safeguard the imperial house and consolidate imperial authority.

Wei Prince Liu Min had also accumulated merit in the distant expedition to Mobei, but given his position, there was no higher title to bestow—he had stood at the pinnacle of life since birth, and he did not fear that his achievements might overshadow the sovereign.

No title, but there were rewards—and heavier ones than those given to his brothers. Emperor Liu bestowed upon him one imperial estate from each of the two capitals, along with a series of gifts including imperial utensils, famous horses, precious armor, gold and silver. Since his rank and title could not be elevated further, compensation was made in material terms. At the same time, Emperor Liu also added a hundred guards to the Wei Prince's household, drawn from the imperial bodyguard.

Clearly, this showed Emperor Liu's fondness for Liu Min—though undoubtedly not without the influence of the Empress, the elder Lady Fu, loving the raven because one loves the house.

Apart from the three newly enfeoffed princes, Emperor Liu took this opportunity to also grant titles to his other sons who had reached the appropriate age. The fifth prince, Qi Duke Liu Yun, remained where he was; this son was somewhat carefree and simple, showing not a trace of disappointment or resentment, grinning cheerfully all the while.

The seventh prince Liu Hui was enfeoffed as Wu Duke, the eighth prince Liu Ai as Lu Duke, the ninth prince Liu Shu as Chu Duke, the tenth prince Liu Zhao as Yan Duke, the eleventh prince Liu Xiao as Liang Duke, and the twelfth son Liu Han as Yue Duke.

These were all imperial princes over ten years of age, and this was a grand distribution of titles by Emperor Liu—for his own sons, he ultimately showed his generous side.

After the rites concluded, the hall naturally erupted in acclaim, with congratulations flowing without end and the festive atmosphere rising to a climax. A royal banquet was unavoidable, and Emperor Liu specifically summoned his sons who had received titles to a side hall for words of encouragement and admonition.