Chapter 1983: The Western Campaign Finally Ceased

Perhaps somewhat surprising, after Wang Ji'en and Yan Tuo died one after another, Emperor Liu was genuinely grieved for two days, even silently shedding some tears in places where no one could see. What he wept for was perhaps not those two old servants, but rather the memories of the past several decades and the splendid times—after all, those two had truly witnessed how Emperor Liu had arrived at where he was today.

Some habits formed over decades are truly not easily changed, nor can they be severed at will. With the men gone, in those days, whenever Emperor Liu dispatched palace eunuchs, he still could not help calling out Yan Tuo's name, which both threw those around him into panic and added to the grief.

Yan Tuo's death had a great impact on Emperor Liu's personal life as well. Finding a replacement was not difficult; what was difficult was getting Emperor Liu accustomed to it—but as it happened, he was thoroughly unaccustomed.

The new head of the palace eunuchs was named Hu De, a eunuch who had served in the Autumn Splendor Hall under Worthy Consort Zhe, and had been forcibly requisitioned by Emperor Liu. Clearly, what Emperor Liu trusted was not this man, but Worthy Consort Zhe. Perhaps even Emperor Liu himself realized that in this time of old companions withering away, those he could trust with confidence were rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns—Worthy Consort Zhe was evidently one of them.

This matter even stirred up jealous complaints from Noble Consort Gao, for she now presided over the affairs of the inner palace—though without the title of Empress, she held the substance of it. If the Emperor needed close attendants, he ought by rights to have asked her opinion; even setting that aside, if Worthy Consort could train servants well, were the people of her Autumn Splendor Hall not loyal enough, not capable of serving His Majesty properly?

Hu De was also a senior eunuch, not yet fifty years old, in the prime of life, and his "professional competence" went without saying. More importantly, he had an air of honesty and propriety—one look told you he was someone who had come from beside Worthy Consort.

But no matter how good the man was, he was not Yan Tuo—that was the greatest difference. At the same time, Emperor Liu made further, more rigorous and comprehensive improvements to the system governing his personal attendants. The most basic principle was that no one was to attend the Emperor alone; especially when he was sleeping, anyone who approached the imperial bed alone, for whatever reason, was to be executed on the spot.

Even when summoning consorts to attend him at night, two palace maids had to be present watching. Of course, given the old Emperor's physical condition, he had long been unable in desire and strength alike—that business had long ceased to function—but the system and its principles were just so.

All these regulations and arrangements of Emperor Liu's reflected one mentality: there are always treacherous subjects plotting against the Emperor. Wang Ji'en's warning before his death had a great effect; the fate of that Liao Emperor Yelu Jing, assassinated by his own servant, was indeed worth taking as a warning.

Back when the news had arrived, Emperor Liu had already been on his guard and had summarized the reasons for it, and so he had been fairly lenient toward those around him. But for the old Emperor of today, if even Yan Tuo and Wang Ji'en could be killed, then there was no one else he could not suspect. So even if it was troublesome and laborious, he had to remain on guard.

Emperor Liu could accept dying of old age or illness, but he was absolutely unwilling to die by some "accident" for inexplicable reasons. This late-life mentality of Emperor Liu's was probably beyond anyone's ability to comprehend; likewise, it was hard for anyone to imagine that the old Emperor had become so deeply paranoid.

Emperor Liu's mood had clearly been very poor lately; he looked gloomy and dispirited, and had aged even more, like a piece of rotten wood about to rot through to the core. But this piece of rotten wood, even decayed, seemed to carry potent poison, making people fear it all the more.

What others thought, Emperor Liu no longer cared about at all, but the feeling of having the will but not the strength he tasted ever more deeply. Yet the more so, the more he doubted whether he could still keep the ministers in check, the more he suspected whether someone was slighting the imperial majesty and stirring up trouble, and the more he wanted to make some noise to demonstrate his existence.

This mentality was clearly even more severe than before, and to make Emperor Liu settle down, one would probably have to wait until he no longer had the strength to stir things up. Compared with other old emperors who loved to stir things up, Emperor Liu's greatest difference was roughly that he stirred up the meritorious nobles and bureaucrats more, while doing his best not to disturb the common people.

Of course, this might just be Emperor Liu's not-quite-accurate self-perception. For the actual situation, one need only look at the northwest and southwest of today, at the situation in Helong, Gaochang, and the Sichuan-Tibetan regions, to find the answer. Even Andong—without the court's blood transfusions of support, without Liu Xu's painstaking management with great perseverance and great talent—might not enjoy its current stable situation, and would very likely have become another bleeding point for the Great Han.

On this point, Emperor Liu clearly did not have an adequate understanding. Thus, whenever he was quiet for a period, he could not help jumping out to stir things up. The older he grew, the less calm and composed he was compared to his prime years—that was just how it was.

On the fifth day of the third month, there was only one day left until Emperor Liu's birthday. The Jiaqing Festival was celebrated every year, but in recent years, for various reasons, it had not been celebrated well, and the overall atmosphere had been lacking. But this year, it was clearly being done on a grand scale, as if trying to dispel bad luck through a joyful birthday celebration.

Of course, the most important thing was that this was Emperor Liu's fifty-ninth full year, formally crossing the threshold into the age of sixty, which carried a certain special significance—a grand celebration was only natural.

Within the palace, the atmosphere was already immersed in festivity; everywhere was decorated with lanterns and colored banners, longevity scrolls were pasted up, and the palace halls and roads were being cleaned—a scene of bustling activity throughout. Of course, the entire Western Capital, and indeed the whole Great Han, was the same. At least from the public sentiment report of the new Commissioner of the Palace City, Zhang Bin, the gentry and commoners of the capital region were all "welcoming the Jiaqing Festival with joyful spirits, celebrating the birthday with high delight," and the people of Luoyang were all beaming with smiles—far more lively than within the palace.

Zhang Bin succeeding Wang Ji'en as Commissioner of the Palace City was only natural. After all, a major upheaval that had shaken things to the core had just occurred, and there had been great breakthroughs and adjustments in regulations and authority—someone with sufficient seniority and familiarity with affairs was needed to preside over the situation, and it was not suitable to transfer in someone new. So after years of patient service, Zhang Bin was finally promoted to the full position, becoming the new Commissioner of the Palace City and another figure of prominence both inside and outside the palace.

Between deputy commissioner and full commissioner there was only a half-rank gap, yet only when one actually sat in that position did one feel the heaven-and-earth difference. Of course, the current Zhang Bin did not dare get too carried away with pride—after all, Wang Ji'en's fate was a bloody lesson from the past. He did not have the deep master-servant bond with Emperor Liu that Wang Ji'en had had, and at least he did not dare act too flamboyantly when first taking office. He stayed quiet and diligent, putting on an air of hardworking dedication.

The late spring sunlight was especially bright, lifting people's spirits. Leaning on his bamboo staff, Emperor Liu strolled along the palace-market imperial road, accompanied by Crown Prince Liu Yang.

The bamboo staff in his hand had been in use for nearly two years now. Even though the material was of fine quality and it received careful maintenance daily, it still showed signs of age. Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to it, Emperor Liu simply could not bear to replace it.

The bamboo staff tapped against the ground with a "tap, tap" sound, while Emperor Liu chatted desultorily with Liu Yang: "I hear you plan to appoint Wang Ming as Administration Commissioner of the Capital Circuit?"

"Yes! We were just about to request Your Majesty's approval on this matter!" Liu Yang nodded, explaining the reasoning behind the decision: "Duke Wang is a pillar of the state—loyal, diligent, and meritorious. Though there were errors in the maladministration of Hexi, upon reflection it is understandable. Therefore, after discussion, we ministers believe he can be placed in charge of the Capital Circuit, to comfort the heart of a meritorious old minister."

Liu Yang had just accomplished a major deed—together with Zhao Pu, he had formally pushed forward the action to "cease the Western Campaign and its various policies," and it had been implemented. This was a truly major event for the Great Han court, officials, and people alike. In fact, after long suffering from its ills, those who wanted to overturn it numbered not in the hundreds or thousands, but in the tens of thousands.

And to implement this matter, to formally issue the edict and announce it to the world, first and foremost required Emperor Liu's approval. Clearly, after Wang Yucheng's earlier petition, Emperor Liu's attitude had softened and wavered. However, Liu Yang and Zhao Pu both knew Emperor Liu too well. To accommodate that "old man's" heart and to reduce Emperor Liu's suspicions, the conclusion reached under Liu Yang and Zhao Pu's direction also emphasized a certain "flexibility."

Ceasing the Western Campaign did not mean completely abandoning Anxi or the Western Expedition army. What changed was the political philosophy; what was adjusted was the level of support. At the very least, from now on, they could no longer endlessly bleed the state and the people to supply and support the fighting in Anxi.

At the same time, the many policies that had exhausted the people and arisen from the Western Campaign were all to be halted; the many abuses and even outright illegalities that had arisen were to be gradually cleaned up and settled. Burdensome levies like the "Four Exactions" were expressly abolished. The court needed to soothe the people's hearts and cut to the bone to cure the poison—and the most severe situation was unquestionably the Helong region.

This was clearly a major undertaking. There were many who opposed the Western Campaign, and with the revelation of the enfeoffment intentions, their numbers had multiplied over the past two years. Emperor Liu had not been entirely unaware of that pressure before.

One thing Emperor Liu was reluctant to admit was that from the very beginning of the enfeoffment, it meant the separation of the fiefs from the court, and this centrifugal tendency would only grow farther apart with time, never closer. This was bound up with interests and human nature, and did not shift according to personal feelings or will.

There were also many who supported the Western Campaign—this was a matter of political stance. Over the roughly ten years of the Western Campaign, a large number of bureaucrats, military officers, and merchants had risen, reaping great benefits from it. A change in court policy would be moving their cheese.

These people's strength was naturally somewhat weaker than that of the opposition, but they were fresher in composition and more cohesive, and to a certain extent had the Western Expedition army as their backing. Their power was not to be underestimated, so they too needed a measure of appeasement.

And Wang Ming was one of the most representative figures among them—a major power in his own right. The conclusion regarding Wang Ming could also be seen as a signal. Of course, the most important thing was still to take Emperor Liu's feelings into account.

After all, the Western Campaign ultimately reflected primarily the old Emperor's will. This kind of "compromise" handling—rather than wholesale criticism or completely condemning the Western Campaign—was precisely giving Emperor Liu a step down and saving face. The object of the compromise was not the interest groups dependent on the Western Campaign policies, but the old Emperor himself; otherwise, no matter what small group it was, it could not withstand the court's heavy fist.

The court's change of course did not mean abandoning support for the Western Campaign—after all, there were still several imperial princes and grandsons in Anxi. It was merely changing from full support to limited support, from recklessness to refocusing on domestic affairs, prioritizing the court's fiscal security and the well-being of officials and commoners.

Outside of official channels, Emperor Liu himself funded support from his private treasury—no one could interfere with that. If there were righteous men who went west to Anxi to seek their fortunes, or commoners who went to Anxi to make a living, the court supported that too. If younger brothers of meritorious nobles or bureaucrats wanted to go to Anxi to strive for a fief, that was even more welcome.

All sorts of criminals sentenced to exile could still be transported to Anxi. If a famine year came and disaster victims were willing to go to Anxi, the court would still formulate measures in due time to support them.

Some even proposed that local governments could organize efforts, calling upon prominent local clans, gentry, and common people to actively donate money and goods to support Anxi. However, this point was decisively rejected by Liu Yang, without a moment's hesitation.

Having governed for many years, Liu Yang knew the nature of those bureaucrats all too well. If such a measure were truly implemented, once it reached the localities, it would likely become another abusive policy before long. "Donations of money and goods" could be manipulated with a little maneuvering into another miscellaneous tax, and the revenue collected would most likely not go to the Anxi it was nominally for.

The maladministration of Helong was exactly the same in nature. Wang Long, the Prefect of Lanzhou, had done precisely this—of the large quantities of supplies and funds raised in the name of supporting the Western Campaign, less than one-tenth was invested in Anxi, and the remaining nine-tenths were divided up cleanly among the officials up and down the chain.

It was precisely because of these fully considered and weighed measures that Emperor Liu had no objections to the resolution to cease the Western Campaign policies, but silently supported it. Now, the appointment of Wang Ming once again took the old Emperor's feelings into account, and Emperor Liu felt that respect—a smile naturally appearing on that ugly old face.

Glancing at Liu Yang, Emperor Liu said: "Wang Ming is a weighty minister of the state—incorruptible, capable, and meritorious. As for the maladministration of Hexi, he certainly bears responsibility for inadequate oversight, but for it to have festered into such accumulated abuses harming the people, that must be the doing of those corrupt worms. These matters, you must see clearly.

In the current high ranks of the court, there are truly few who excel in both civil and military affairs—Wang Ming is one. With his seniority and merits, he could long ago have ascended to the chancellorship. It was I who held him back, making him plug the leaks for me in Hexi.

These years, if Hexi had not had Wang Ming, how could that boy Liu Min have achieved such accomplishments in Anxi?

I owe Wang Ming a debt—even the Capital Circuit post is not particularly high!"

Hearing the old Emperor's mouth full of recognition and praise for Wang Ming, ripples stirred in Liu Yang's heart as well. After all, back then Emperor Liu had sternly reprimanded Wang Ming, nearly stripping him of his office and rank.

This current trust and regard, in Liu Yang's interpretation, probably came down to that same issue—the "rise and fall" of the Western Campaign. What Emperor Liu cared about was still his own face and authority.

Still, from his attitude, his and Zhao Pu's handling this time had been judged correctly, fitting His Majesty's wishes perfectly.

"Your subject has had several conversations with Duke Wang. In governance and the arts of managing the people, he is indeed richly experienced, with much worth learning from!" Liu Yang said modestly, his head slightly lowered.