Chapter 1894: Silence

Once the arrangements for Liu Fang were settled, leaving aside what others might think, at least Liu Yang, as Crown Prince, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, among the brothers, if Prince Jin Liu Xi was the one he feared most, then Prince Zhao Liu Fang ranked second only to Liu Xi. The reason was simple: after returning to court from suppressing the rebellion in Yulin, Liu Fang had rested for a while, but immediately afterward, like Liu Xi, he was once again appointed by Emperor Liu—and to preside over military-related work. Now he was even serving as Chief Inspector of the Imperial Guard's Cavalry and Infantry, managing the daily affairs of the imperial army under the Imperial Guard Command.

Of the three yamen of the imperial army, although the Imperial Guard Command had been overshadowed by the Palace Command for the past several decades, its strength had always been formidable—at least it held a considerable advantage in scale. Through years of changes and reshuffling, the three yamen had also formed a new structure: the Patrol Inspectorate had completely degenerated into a public security and emergency response force. It appeared most frequently in the eyes of the Great Han's officials and commoners, had the strongest presence, and also wielded the greatest actual political influence—after all, apart from the imperial city itself, most vital locations in the two capitals were guarded by Patrol Inspectorate soldiers.

The Palace Command and the Imperial Guard Command, by contrast, leaned toward military professionalization—the equipment, training, and combat effectiveness of their soldiers could no longer be compared with the Patrol Inspectorate's troops. At the same time, the influence of the Palace Command and Imperial Guard Command troops had long ceased to be limited to the two capitals or the surrounding metropolitan region. Since the Kaibao Northern Expedition, Emperor Liu had deeply implemented the military rotation system and actively promoted the rotation of central imperial troops to guard the frontiers and key locations of the various circuits.

Therefore, the Great Han's imperial army today was not merely a "central army" guarding the capital region—its influence had long since spread to vital locations throughout the realm. And in terms of strength in various regions, the Imperial Guard Command surpassed the Palace Command.

The Chief Inspector of the Imperial Guard's Cavalry and Infantry ranked only fifth in the leadership hierarchy of the Imperial Guard Command. Above this position were the Chief Commander and Deputy Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard's Cavalry and Infantry, as well as the Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard's Cavalry and the Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard's Infantry.

But over the years of change, the actual authority of those four positions had been gradually stripped away. By the twenty-sixth year of Kaibao, they had become retirement sinecures for aging generals—more honorary than substantive. The actual management and command of the various cavalry and infantry armies under the Imperial Guard Command fell to the Chief Generals and Chief Inspectors of each army. These men were the rising stars of the military; the older generation had basically all withdrawn from military service to make way for their juniors.

And the actual leader of the Imperial Guard Command, the one responsible for handling all manner of routine affairs, was precisely the Chief Inspector of the Cavalry and Infantry—this was the true position of power within the Imperial Guard. For Liu Fang, with the dignity of a Prince, to concurrently lead the work of the Imperial Guard Command, it was hard not to attract attention. After all, everyone in court and among the people knew well how much Emperor Liu doted on Prince Zhao.

In this regard, Crown Prince Liu Yang found it hard to deceive himself into saying he could be at ease with Liu Fang. In other matters he might be somewhat hesitant and slow, but regarding the sensitivity and importance of military power, having been steeped in it by Emperor Liu's side, he had long possessed a clear understanding.

Whenever he thought of Liu Fang's past achievements and prestige in the military, and then connected that with Emperor Liu's favor and trust and Liu Fang's leadership of the Imperial Guard Command, Liu Yang felt a certain sense of unease. It was only because Liu Fang was open and upright, never showing any intention of contending for the succession, nor any overstepping behavior, that the relationship between the two brothers hadn't devolved into who knows what. Even so, Liu Yang's wariness toward Liu Fang remained very strong.

Now, hearing Emperor Liu's intention to enfeoff Liu Fang in that remote corner of Anxi to "forage" together with his brothers Liu Min and Liu Ye, Liu Yang naturally relaxed considerably, while his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Prince Jin Liu Xi.

Among the four elder brothers, only this prince-administrator remained—he wondered just how Emperor Liu planned to arrange for him.

However, what puzzled Liu Yang somewhat, and also made him wary, was that in the end Emperor Liu had made no arrangements at all regarding Liu Xi's future.

Compared with Liu Xu, Liu Fang, and Liu Yun, Emperor Liu's enfeoffments for the other imperial princes seemed rather casual—no consultation, just directly announcing the results.

The Seventh Prince, Liu Hui, was enfeoffed as Prince of Xinwu (Sumatra). The Eighth Prince, Liu Ai, and the Eleventh Prince, Liu Xiao, were respectively enfeoffed as Prince of Xinlu and Prince of Xinliang—the two brothers splitting the island of Java between them.

The Twelfth Prince, Liu Han, became Prince of Xinyue; the Fourteenth Prince, Liu Xin, became Prince of Xinsong; and the Fifteenth Prince, Liu Xuan, became Prince of Xinhan—the three brothers dividing up the island of Kalimantan.

Of course, Emperor Liu's enfeoffment of the islands of the South Seas was somewhat taken for granted, and somewhat wishful. At the very least, the three major islands involved still had some indigenous organizations and polities. Han merchants and settlers had so far only obtained some footholds, acquired some land and mines, and built a few small towns and stockades. Unlike Andong or Linyi, these places did not fully possess mature conditions for enfeoffment.

And this was even while avoiding the "local tough guy" of Srivijaya. It was easy to imagine that even just dealing with some South Seas natives, the implementation of the enfeoffments would not be easy.

With Emperor Liu's decree on South Seas enfeoffment issued, it was likely that great waves would once again stir in the south—even brewing into bloody storms. At the very least, the polities on those three islands that Emperor Liu's will had marked as princely fiefs would not readily accept it. After all, this was different from Han merchants and settlers opening up territory—this was actual annexation. And relying solely on those few princes, it was obviously impossible to carry out the enfeoffments.

However, although problems certainly existed, they did not diminish Emperor Liu's grand ambition and unrestrained satisfaction at carving up the realm at this moment. And the ministers, for the time being, could only go along with his whims.

Of course, Emperor Liu hadn't enfeoffed all his descendants at once either. The Sixteenth Son, Liu Yao, had no fief. Likewise, the Tenth Prince, Duke of Yan Guo Liu Zhao, was the same. And one other important figure was Prince Jin Liu Xi.

Therefore, when Emperor Liu had someone roll up the enfeoffment map and slowly returned to his throne, almost everyone turned their gazes toward Liu Xi and Liu Zhao, and those gazes were laden with meaning.

Liu Zhao was the third son born of Empress Fu, nominally the second legitimate son; Liu Xi was the prince-administrator. Both held a certain special status, and Emperor Liu had treated them specially—so one could hardly blame others for reading into it.

Thus, some gazes also turned toward Crown Prince Liu Yang, as if to see what his reaction would be, what expression he would show. Unfortunately, all Liu Yang presented to others was a face of complete calm.

Unconsciously, midnight had passed. The atmosphere in Chuigong Hall did not carry any joy from the settled enfeoffments—rather, it was somewhat oppressive, with everyone silent. Clearly, not everyone was happy to accept Emperor Liu's will regarding the enfeoffments. Those who accepted did so only under the pressure of his authority, not daring to resist...

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Perhaps sensing the princes' hesitation and dissatisfaction, Emperor Liu's cold gaze swept across the room, and he said again: "I'll say it once more—it's entirely voluntary. If you have no such ambition, I can take it back and enfeoff someone else!"

Still, no one believed those words...

"Let's stop here for today!" The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, and Emperor Liu was also tired. In the end, he said no more, waved his hand, and dismissed them.

Emperor Liu needed time to continue thinking through and perfecting his grand enfeoffment plan. The princes also needed to digest this, contemplate their future paths, and find ways to deal with the situation...