Chapter 181: The Question of Rewards

On the eleventh day of the second month, the Emperor held court at the Hongwen Hall.

"Let's take 'Hao'." In the hall, among the "imperial names" submitted by a host of Confucian ministers and academicians, Liu Chengyou picked the character "Hao."

"'Hao' means bright, pure, vast, and far-reaching—it accords with the virtue of water and also displays His Majesty's broad mind. Excellent!" As Liu Chengyou's words fell, Tao Gu, seated at the side, opened his mouth to flatter.

As a minister who had followed Liu Chengyou since his days in the princely residence, Tao Gu naturally rose in rank—promoted from Supervising Secretary to Secretariat Drafter, Academician of the Hongwen Hall, and Administrator of the Ministry of Rites. In the Hongwen Hall, he stood only below Grand Academician Su Yugui, and Su Yugui was a chancellor. Tao Gu's goal was now even clearer—one more step, and he would have a seat in the Hall of State Affairs.

Liu Chengyou was already accustomed to such flattery and reacted flatly. As for the imperial name, Liu Chengyou did not take it to heart—an emperor's name was not meant to be spoken by the people of his own dynasty; at most, it would be mentioned once when writing history. Liu Chengyou's change was merely following precedent, for the convenience of his ministers and subjects. Changing one person's name was, after all, far less costly than having the whole realm avoid the taboo character in speech, writing, and composition.

Those waiting before him were all elder ministers, men of Confucian learning—Zhang Zhao, Zhang Yun, Li Song, He Ning, Li Huan, and others—truly a gathering of literary brilliance. Among these men, some like Li Song and He Ning had been chancellors of the previous dynasty. Though they held official rank, and not low rank, they had all been placed in the Three Halls to compile books and edit records—essentially kept as mascots, not much valued.

Since the founding of the Great Han, it had greatly despised men of letters, from top to bottom. Yang Bin, for instance, held Confucian scholars in extreme contempt, considering literature, ritual, and music all empty pursuits not worth mentioning—how could they compare to the importance of a full treasury and a strong army?

Therefore, receiving this special summons from Liu Chengyou to present matters filled them all with delight.

"Your Majesty, the late Emperor drove out the barbarian hordes, rescued the realm from drowning, and reordered the mountains and rivers to found the Great Han. After our repeated deliberations, we propose the late Emperor's honorific title as Gaozu, with the posthumous name Emperor Ruiwen Shengwu Zhaosu Xiao." Master of Ceremonies Zhang Zhao stepped forward, presenting the memorial tablet, and said: "The ritual music we offer is to be named 'Observing Virtue,' with the dance tunes and lyrics to be composed separately. We request Your Majesty's final decision."

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou took it. Though he only skimmed through it once, to show solemnity he still pondered for a few moments before saying: "Approved!"

These men may have been outstanding in literary talent, but to Liu Chengyou at this time, they were not urgently needed talents. Moreover, given Liu Chengyou's own cultural cultivation, he did not yet have the ability to discuss literature and rhetoric with them. To avoid an awkward conversation, he made a slight show of valuing literary talent, hinted at a "bright" future, and then, without saying much more, dismissed them.

After ascending the throne, Liu Chengyou moved the Hall of State Affairs to the side of Guangzheng Hall.

Stepping into the Hall of State Affairs, he raised his hand to excuse the assembled staff of the Secretariat-Chancellery from their bows and went straight inside. The same old faces were there—Yang Bin, Wang Zhang, the two Sus, and Li Tao were all present. Yang Bin and Su Fengji were arguing about something. Yang Bin said with a stern expression: "Those men have neither virtue nor talent. In their posts, they neglect government affairs and cannot fulfill their duties. Not stripping them of their authority and office is already an act of grace—how can we further promote them?"

It had been a while since he had heard Yang Bin raise his voice so loudly in the Hall of State Affairs, or be so agitated.

Su Fengji's rebuttal followed immediately: "His Majesty has just ascended the throne and is rewarding the civil and military officials. Are we to treat some favorably and others unfavorably? How will the assembled ministers view His Majesty?"

"Those you propose are all greedy, base characters! Not even a single constable or clerk should be approved, let alone officials of the Six Ministries!" Yang Bin glared at Su Fengji: "As long as this old man is here, I will never allow incompetent men to steal seats in the court and corrupt the governance of the dynasty!"

"What big talk!" Su Fengji's expression turned very ugly—this was practically cursing the mulberry while pointing at the ash tree. He coldly stared back at Yang Bin and sneered: "Can you, Chancellor Yang of the Bureau, still make decisions on His Majesty's behalf?"

"You!"

Su Fengji was a very insidious man. Every time he debated with Yang Bin, he would naturally drag Liu Chengyou into it, as if he represented Liu Chengyou's will, making it appear to others that Yang Bin stood in opposition to Liu Chengyou. Having heard this so many times, Liu Chengyou was growing impatient with it. He had already developed dissatisfaction with this practice of borrowing authority to satisfy private desires. Of course, the root cause was that at this stage, Liu Chengyou no longer needed Su Fengji to counterbalance Yang Bin.

Standing outside the hall listening for a while, Liu Chengyou had a good idea of what the two were arguing about—nothing more than Su Fengji wanting to use the opportunity of Liu Chengyou's ascension and rewards to the assembled ministers to secure promotions for his partisans, and perhaps line his own pockets as well, while Yang Bin refused.

"Ahem, ahem." He coughed lightly twice.

But perhaps because the sound was too soft, it did not draw the chancellors' attention. Only when Liu Chengyou appeared in person did the "sharp-eyed" Su Yugui notice him and rise first to bow.

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty!"

Liu Chengyou sat down in the main seat with a cold, hard expression. Before he could speak, the assembled chancellors all habitually sat down. Taking this in, Liu Chengyou seemed momentarily dazzled, squeezed his eyes forcefully, swept his gaze over Yang Bin and Su Fengji, and spoke to knock them into line: "You are all chancellors, charged with assisting in the governance of the state. Arguing like this—if word of it spreads, it would be a great loss of decorum! When three men claim a tiger exists, it becomes a tiger. Those in the know would understand that the two of you are merely expressing differing views on state affairs, but those ignorant commoners might well think that the chancellors of the Great Han are at odds, with some hidden conflict or grudge between them!"

At Liu Chengyou's words, both Yang and Su's expressions turned somewhat unpleasant. Su Fengji glanced at Yang Bin and said to Liu Chengyou with little sincerity: "Your Majesty speaks truly. Your ministers have been remiss."

Yang Bin's angry expression receded. He raised his head to meet Liu Chengyou's eyes, then slightly inclined his body: "I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

Waving his hand casually, Liu Chengyou asked knowingly: "What matter has caused the two Chancellors to argue so fiercely?"

At the question, Li Tao, who had kept a stern face throughout the two men's argument, took out a booklet and presented it to Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, this is the roster we have drafted for the promotions, rewards, and transfers of the civil and military officials. The two Chancellors have disagreements over some of the officials on it, hence the argument. I request Your Majesty's perusal."

The attendant eunuch respectfully presented the booklet to Liu Chengyou. He took it, flipped it open, and skimmed through it roughly. Of the officials listed, apart from a few, he had no impression of most—or had only heard their names.

As for the so-called official transfers—things like Ministers of the Six Ministries, Vice Ministers, temple directors, Grand Generals of the Six Armies, Generals, and the like—they were merely rotated around in a circle: Ministry of War to Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel to Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice to Ministry of Revenue... It was the actual posts in the State Finance Commission, the Six Ministries, and the various temples and directorates that were the crux of Yang and Su's dispute.

"I have basically no objections to what you gentlemen have proposed." Though he had read it casually, Liu Chengyou made his decisions quickly. He picked up his brush and made a few marks on the list—for instance, moving Wei Renpu to the position of Direct Academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and promoting Fan Zhi to Secretariat Drafter and Drafter of Edicts.

"As for those with objections, have the relevant officials of the Ministry of Personnel conduct a comprehensive evaluation and review, then decide!" Liu Chengyou glanced sidelong at Su Fengji: "I wish to bestow grace, but I should not recklessly hand out offices. The state has just been founded, and though talent is scarce, the court of the Great Han is no place for men without virtue or ability to sit!"

At these words, Su Fengji was stunned, and Yang Bin was also somewhat surprised—this time, Liu Chengyou's attitude was actually leaning toward his side. He studied Liu Chengyou's calm face for a moment, then quickly averted his gaze before it swept over him.

At the same time, Liu Chengyou's words were, in truth, somewhat high-sounding. In the court and the provinces, men without virtue or ability occupying positions of power were by no means few!

"Additionally, regarding the matter of increasing salaries..."

Liu Chengyou deliberately left his words unfinished, but Wang Zhang caught on quickly and reported with some excitement: "Your Majesty, at present the state treasury is exhausted, the granaries are empty. There is war abroad and famine at home. State expenditures are already insufficient—how can we speak of increases? All the great ministers and meritorious nobles, having received the grace and emoluments of the Great Han, should naturally share the state's weal and woe and understand the difficulties of state affairs. I believe salaries should not only not be increased, but should be reduced, to alleviate the pressure on the court's finances..."

In the Great Han at present, the problem of redundant officials was not yet particularly severe. But the court was poor, and what that meant was that supporting those meritorious nobles accumulated over successive dynasties cost a great deal of money and grain.

"I oppose!" The moment Wang Zhang finished speaking, Su Fengji immediately jumped out: "The hundred officials are the wings of the state, governing the realm for Your Majesty. How can they be treated harshly?"

Hearing this, Wang Zhang immediately shot back at Su Fengji: "This is not treating officials harshly—it is simply implementing extraordinary measures in extraordinary times. When the state becomes prosperous and the treasuries are full in the days to come, we can restore them."

"That is utterly wrong! If salaries are reduced, how are the court officials to maintain their clothing, food, and daily expenses, and support their families?" Su Fengji coldly rebuked, then clasped his hands toward Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, Wang Zhang's proposal will surely lose the hearts of the ministers. This must not go unexamined!"

"Chancellor Su owns several mansions and a thousand qing of fine farmland—does he still care about that bit of salary?" Wang Zhang directly exposed Su Fengji's weakness.

Su Fengji's face changed drastically. He glared viciously at Wang Zhang and seemed about to explode.

"Enough!" Liu Chengyou interrupted: "Let this matter be discussed later..."

With that, he brought the argument to a close. As for increasing salaries, that was no longer worth thinking about. As for whether to reduce them as Wang Zhang had suggested, Liu Chengyou would need to proceed cautiously. Of course, this applied only to court officials and meritorious nobles—for the imperial army, their treatment would not be reduced in the slightest, no matter how poor the court was.

"What about the Military Governors of the various garrisons?" Liu Chengyou turned to another topic.

This time, Su Yugui presented a memorial roster to Liu Chengyou, which basically covered all the Military Governors currently submitting to the Great Han. It was very uniform—besides retaining their previous posts, they were also made Chief Ministers, with some slight differences being additional honorary titles and elevation of noble ranks, such as Liu Chong, Gao Xingzhou, Fu Yanqing, An Shenqi...

But if this were done, the realm of the Great Han would be full of Chancellor-Governors everywhere!

Chancellor-Governors everywhere you walk, Militia Commissioners worth less than dogs?