Chapter 1881: The Kingdom of Linyi

The very next day, Emperor Liu's enfeoffment edict was issued, and for a moment the entire court was shocked—yet after a brief ripple, it quickly subsided, without causing any violent upheaval.

The ministers were more surprised than anything—not by the edict itself, but by the question of why it was Liu Shu.

There was no opposition to the enfeoffment, not even a dissenting voice. Not only because they dared not, but also because there was no reason to oppose it. The former territory of Champa—what a barbaric, remote wilderness. Although Champa rice had long since spread throughout the Great Han and become one of the staple foods on the people's tables, renowned across the realm, Champa in the eyes of Great Han officials and commoners remained a savage land beyond civilization.

After all, the conquest of the Champa kingdom back then had been far too easy—it was merely done in passing by the southern expeditionary army while recovering Annam, in pursuit of remnants of the Ding clan. What was gained easily received little subsequent investment of effort, so naturally it was hard to take seriously. Granting such a poor, desolate place to an imperial prince was hardly cause for alarm.

On the other hand, over the years there had always been a voice within the court holding that the Great Han's territory was overly vast—that in two or three decades of gobbling things down wholesale, it had occupied too many barren and remote lands that yielded no profit whatsoever, but instead continued to lose money and drain national strength. They therefore suggested the court should have the resolve to abandon such places, like scraping off scabs, cutting losses and reducing burdens.

Those holding similar views were actually not few, but this was not the mainstream opinion, being firmly suppressed by the authority of the upper echelons (especially Emperor Liu).

If outright abandonment would betray the sacrifices of soldiers, officials, and commoners, and wound the Great Han's enterprising spirit of expansion, then enfeoffing imperial princes appeared to "satisfy both sides." On the other hand, this too could be traced to precedent—had the Zhou royal house not enfeoffed the realm, how could today's Great Han stretch ten thousand li?

As for the drawbacks of enfeoffment, some likewise had things to say, but on this point, in the present Great Han, it seemed untimely. Were some remote barbaric borderlands to be abandoned because the cost of governing them could not be sustained, rather than handed to imperial princes to manage?

Of course, the most essential factor in this matter lay with Emperor Liu himself! When the old emperor had decided something and already published the announcement, how could there be any possibility of retracting it? And by the simplest, most crude measure—all under heaven belonged to the Son of Heaven—if Emperor Liu's head went muddled and he enfeoffed the core heartland under direct imperial administration, could anyone oppose it, and would their opposition even succeed?

Compared to this, what the ministers cared about more was obviously: how could it be Liu Shu, such an absurd prince?

As for enfeoffment, this was not without precedent—Emperor Liu had more than once expressed similar intentions in the past, though often rather obliquely, yet how could that escape those sharp-eyed veterans of the court?

In the eyes of some senior ministers, even if Emperor Liu one day truly resolved to enfeoff, the first batch would be either Andong or Anxi—after all, the rumor of the "King of Andong" had once been rampant.

Moreover, Andong, after more than a decade of management by Prince of Qin Liu Xu, had long since become a system unto itself. Whether in merit, prestige, strength, or even Emperor Liu's private affection, it should have been Liu Xu.

Even Prince of Wei Liu Min, still holding fast in Anxi and locked in bitter battle against the Arab coalition, was more persuasive—yet it happened to be the Ninth Prince Liu Shu, the most absurd and most worthless among all the princes. One could only call it Emperor Liu's peculiar taste.

Of course, looking at it from another angle—if even Liu Shu had received a fief, then were Andong and Anxi far behind? Were the other princes far behind?

Even more—if one drew an analogy with the Zhou Son of Heaven enfeoffing the realm, those enfeoffed were not only of the Ji clan's bloodline but also meritorious ministers. If one dared to think further, did that mean the Great Han's meritorious officials and nobles also had a chance?

They did not dare hope for enfeoffed kingdoms and princely titles, nor dream of directly administered heartland territories, but who could truly disdain having a piece of land beyond the borders? Moreover, with the tireless exploration of these past ten or twenty years, the horizons of the Great Han's powerful and noble had long since opened, and they understood that beyond the borders was not all barbaric wilderness—there were likewise places of wealth and prosperity.

Although many who had followed the Great Han's expansion to colonize beyond the borders (especially overseas colonization) were local emperors in their own right, holding nearly all power except in name, the gap between doing things privately and receiving official recognition and formal enfeoffment from the court was an absolute chasm. The concept of legitimacy and legal principle remained deeply rooted in the consciousness of the Great Han's subjects.

Therefore, the rumor that Emperor Liu was about to conduct another great round of rewards spread, diffused, and fermented along with the news of Liu Shu's enfeoffment, exerting enormous influence and even stirring the court and the public to a boil.

The key point was that this was not merely a rumor—it was itself secretly spread by people Emperor Liu had sent, and he did indeed have such intentions. The purpose was simple: to continue diverting the attention of the Great Han's powerful and noble, giving the common people of the Great Han more room to breathe.

And returning to Liu Shu's enfeoffment—there were indeed those who opposed it. Though they dared not act rashly on the surface, their discontent was clearly perceptible to Emperor Liu.

These people were naturally the Crown Prince's faction. For them, everything that threatened the Crown Prince's position—people and matters alike—ought to be controlled; if it could not be controlled, they would rather it never happened.

They were not worried about Liu Shu himself—after all, Liu Shu truly lacked the qualifications. What they feared was that Emperor Liu, having opened this precedent, would inevitably follow with successive actions. If in the future the Great Han's periphery were filled with independent enfeoffed kings like Liu Shu, that would not necessarily be entirely beneficial to the central court, and would inevitably impact the Crown Prince Liu Yang's position. At bottom, what they dreaded were princes like Prince of Qin Liu Xu and Prince of Wei Liu Min—those with troops, power, and money—especially Prince of Qin Liu Xu, who held the status of eldest son.

However, these people's worries were somewhat useless. Not to mention that Emperor Liu would not care about their opinions—even Crown Prince Liu Yang might not heed them. In Liu Yang's heart, enfeoffing those brothers, especially the capable ones, around the periphery might truly be the best choice.

As for the troubles that might arise in the future, in Liu Yang's eyes they were far less harmful than letting these brothers stir up trouble within the realm. Thus, unbeknownst to others, Liu Yang was secretly anticipating Emperor Liu's next move, especially curious about what arrangements would be made for Prince of Jin Liu Xi.

As things stood, what Liu Yang truly dreaded was no longer the eldest, Liu Xu, but this Prince of Jin Liu Xi—who, with the rank of Prince, wielded the power of chancellor and assisted in managing the Hall of State Affairs. This was the first real threat Liu Yang had felt since becoming Crown Prince. Yet Liu Yang concealed this dread very well—when facing Liu Xi, he was always all smiles, forever wearing an expression of appreciation and approval toward this third brother...

The title granted to Liu Shu was naturally not something like "Champa" or "Campadesa" carrying indigenous cultural connotations. Tracing historical records, he was ultimately enfeoffed as King of Linyi, and thus the Great Han gained a new vassal state: the Kingdom of Linyi.