Chapter 2142: Taizong Chronicles 10: Three Years of Duan'gong

On the first day of the sixth month of summer in the third year of Duan'gong, Liu Wenji held a grand court assembly at the Qianyuan Hall. Before the assembled ministers and officials and the envoys of various states, he issued an imperial edict, bestowed the golden book, and added the tassels to the crown, formally establishing his eldest son Liu Jili as Crown Prince.

Liu Jili was the eldest son born to Liu Wenji and Empress Li, born in the sixth year of Yongxi, not yet nineteen years old at the time. Under the constraints of the system of primogeniture, it was impossible to bypass him when establishing a crown prince. And Liu Jili had been upright, cautious, and filial since childhood, enjoying a reputation for virtue.

Therefore, for the nobles and bureaucrats of the empire, they had no objections whatsoever to the person the Emperor chose as Crown Prince—they could only turn their gazes toward yet another young crown prince of the Great Han.

From the looks in many people's eyes, one could discern a fervent eagerness. Clearly, a new round of political speculation was inevitably about to unfold. Throughout the empire, the most investment-worthy target was the Crown Prince. Counting even Emperor Shizu, the Great Han had already seen three crown princes ascend to the throne—a one hundred percent success rate in the Great Han Empire.

Liu Wenji's high hopes for his eldest legitimate son were not feigned. Following the established system, he assigned him the officials of the Eastern Palace and palace guards, and most importantly, made Zhao Prince Liu Fang the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

Before establishing the Crown Prince, Liu Wenji had specifically consulted two people: his mother, Empress Dowager Xiao, and his uncle, Zhao Prince Liu Fang. Both expressed their approval of the proposal. Their reasons were also strikingly consistent: the state had established institutions, and the eldest legitimate son was without fault or flaw—he should be established.

To show his support, when Liu Wenji asked Liu Fang to serve as Liu Jili's Grand Tutor, after a moment of hesitation, Liu Fang finally opened his honored mouth and agreed to come out of retirement once more. This was already the second time Liu Fang had served as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and it was another entirely new challenge. Perhaps for the Zhao Prince, supporting a Son of Heaven was not as difficult as cultivating a qualified successor to the empire.

In any case, after the establishment of the Crown Prince, the pressure that the death of Annam Prince Liu Wenhuan had brought to Emperor Liu Wenji's body and mind was greatly alleviated. He thus gathered his spirits, returned to the fray, and continued his imperial career.

In the autumn of the third year of Duan'gong, major floods broke out successively along the middle reaches of the Yangtze. The prefectures and counties along the river in the Jinghu North Circuit suffered especially severe damage, with victims numbering in the millions and casualties beyond counting. In fact, in recent years, Yangtze floods had occurred frequently without cease, and by the autumn flood season of the third year of Duan'gong, they had erupted in concentrated fashion.

This was the first major disaster Liu Wenji had faced since ascending the throne—one with far-reaching impact, broad scope, and severe losses. Whether to establish merit or virtue, he had to display the responsibility of an emperor who pitied his people and strike the posture of one who rescues the suffering.

Thus, from the top down, the court mobilized capable personnel, gathered grain, rice, clothing, and medicine supplies, and threw all efforts into disaster relief. It is amid the torrent of calamity that heroism truly shows itself. This flood was suffering for the people of the riverine prefectures and counties, but for Emperor Liu Wenji, it was an excellent opportunity to rectify the officialdom of Hubei.

But his complaints were clearly untenable. For instance, Jiangling Prefect Feng Duan and Ezhou Prefect Xue Kui were both promoted for their outstanding performance in disaster relief—one for his wholehearted dedication, the other for his effective rescue methods.

Under the leadership of Commissioner of the Palace City Cai Jing, the Palace City Office grew ever more rampant. Though not yet at the point of biting people indiscriminately, its fangs and sharp teeth were now prominently displayed before everyone, making all dare not take it lightly.

There was another minister who fell due to the Yangtze floods, and his power and position were quite special. Finance Commissioner Xiang Minzhong, through his absurd negligence and disorderly allocation, delayed the urgent disaster relief efforts. For the Old Chancellor Xiang, long renowned for his maturity and prudence, such a major error was clearly abnormal.

Even over in Andong, after receiving news of the political changes in Luoyang, they became much more subdued. Whether in the Shuaibin Prefecture or the northeastern border regions of the Liaodong Circuit bordering Andong, the chaos was greatly reduced. Andong merchants conducted business more properly, and the frequency of various crimes decreased.

But clearly, Liu Wenji had no objections to Old Chancellor Xiang's character and talent, and he simply left his resignation memorial unanswered. After consulting with Kou Zhun, he decided to send Xiang Minzhong to the Jinghu North Circuit to take up the post of Administration Commissioner, presiding over the pacification and rehabilitation of officials and people in Hubei after the flood. Precedents for this existed throughout the Great Han Empire's chancellors from the time of Emperor Shizu onward, so upon closer examination, this matter was not particularly surprising.

Chai Zonghui died the year after the incident—died of illness, died of anger, died of drink; rumors in the streets attributed all manner of deaths to him. In any case, he did not die a good death, and to the very end he felt himself wronged. How can human strength resist the will of Heaven?

The specific reasons and any hidden circumstances behind it remain unknown. Only from the results can one see that another chief minister had been removed from the empire's central government during the Duan'gong period. Xiang Minzhong was also someone who knew when to advance and retreat. After being criticized, he proactively submitted his resignation to the Emperor, citing advanced age and dim-wittedness, unable to bear heavy responsibility.

Especially in the summer of the third year of Duan'gong, Zeng Hui had jointly commanded the command headquarters in a several-month-long public security rectification of the northeastern border regions, thoroughly teaching the people of Andong how to observe the rules of the Great Han and Liaodong. Even when Andong Prince Liu Wenyuan personally intervened, it was useless. No matter how formidable Liu Wenyuan was within Andong, when facing Zeng Hui, he could only express his powerlessness.

Of course, besides the macro-level influences of the revival of imperial power and the increasingly stable central court, the newly appointed Administration Commissioner of the Liaodong Circuit, Zeng Hui, also deserved great credit for this outcome. Over two years, under Zeng Hui's leadership, comprehensive governance of the Liaodong Circuit was carried out from two aspects—official administration and commercial order—and both were inevitably influenced by the Andong side.

Official administration was the most obvious and easiest to tackle, yet the hardest to produce real results. But taking advantage of this great flood, Liu Wenji directly carried out a large-scale rectification of the Hubei officialdom. From the circuit office down through the prefectures, counties, and towns at every level of government—those on the Yangtze, those in the navy, the corrupt, the bribe-takers, those ineffective in disaster relief, those deceiving the sovereign and harming the people—

a large wave of people was held accountable and punished afterward. The first harsh wind of the Duan'gong Emperor swept through the Hubei officialdom in this manner, giving the entire Jinghu North Circuit an unforgettable year.

Many things are deeply unsettling upon reflection. The difference between the Duan'gong Emperor and the Pingkang Emperor had become widely known by the latter half of the third year of Duan'gong. In the first two years, there were still those in the court and among the common folk who gossiped about Liu Wenji's succession, but after entering the third year of Duan'gong, such people and matters had completely vanished—at least in the capital.

In this Yangtze flood disaster, the court lost two major officials in total. Locally, Hubei Administration Commissioner Chai Zonghui, for lax governance, inadequate prevention, and ineffective disaster relief, received severe reprimands from the court and was demoted and transferred to Jiannan to serve as Judicial Commissioner. Chai Zonghui was advanced in years and had a fiery temper. After entering Sichuan, he submitted a memorial from the Fengjie post station requesting retirement. Liu Wenji directly approved his resignation and demoted him one more level on the spot, letting him retire with the post of Dongchuan Counselor, thoroughly losing face for the top-ranking nobility.

The same is the will of Heaven—some die, some are demoted, and equally some are promoted and enriched. This is the most obvious difference among them. Blaming Heaven and others is the act of mediocrities.

One should know that during the Kangzong court, getting rid of those regent ministers had taken years of struggle, and every time it involved great upheaval. Yet in these short three years of the Duan'gong court, political struggles were equally numerous—this was well known—but with so many changes in the Hall of State Affairs, in everyone's impression it seemed as bland as plain water, and the court inside and out was clearly growing increasingly tranquil.

Zeng Hui had already become a figure of the times in the northeastern region during the Pingkang–Duan'gong era, a man of maximum topicality in northeastern politics. He made outstanding contributions to the stability of the Liaodong situation and the suppression of Andong.

After half a year of Pingkang, including the two years of Duan'gong without much major rectification, various problems and maladies had emerged throughout the empire—this was an undeniable fact. When he had been lying low in Jiangling Prefecture, although Liu Wenji did not involve himself in any governance or handle any affairs, one should not truly think he was there for rest and recuperation. While remaining obscure, he had observed the politics and people's livelihoods of the Jinghu North Circuit with complete clarity. After ascending the throne, with the more detailed and comprehensive intelligence from the Wude Office corroborating this, his understanding deepened even further.

It was only after Xiang Minzhong was sent out that many people turned back and suddenly realized that in less than three years, the political landscape of the first year of Duan'gong had been completely transformed.

Though sitting far away in the court, upon hearing of Zeng Hui's administrative performance in Liaodong, Liu Wenji praised him greatly, and even at one point entertained the idea of recalling him to the capital to serve as chancellor. In the end it did not come to pass, because Liu Wenji felt that the Liaodong matter could absolutely not be resolved in just two or three years, and he still needed a capable minister like Zeng Hui to keep watch there for him for several more years.

Thus, for the Finance Commissioner position after Xiang Minzhong, Liu Wenji, after careful deliberation, selected Zhang Zhibai, the Administration Commissioner of the Guangnan East Circuit. This time, he did not allow the various factions to fight over it, but decided by his own sovereign authority alone—the first time since his ascension—yet no one spoke out in opposition.

The appointment of Zhang Zhibai first received strong support from Minister of Personnel Kou Zhun, for three reasons: Zhang Zhibai was a jinshi degree holder, Zhang Zhibai was a northerner, and Zhang Zhibai had sufficient seniority. But Liu Wenji's selection of Zhang Zhibai had an additional reason—there was an old connection between sovereign and minister. Tracing it back carefully, it was nearly twenty or thirty years ago, during Emperor Shizu's final southern inspection tour.

When the field headquarters passed through Jiangling, Shizu carried out a rectification of the Hubei navy and the Jiangling officialdom. At the time, Liu Wenhuan and Liu Wenji, the two brothers, were left behind to handle the aftermath, and Zhang Zhibai was one of the assisting staff.

In those years, Liu Wenji was still young, but that was the first time he truly participated in and underwent state affairs—and major affairs at that. That special experience was an important mark on his path of growth, of extraordinary significance, and his memories of the people and events of that time were also very deep, naturally including Zhang Zhibai, who had helped him greatly back then.

With this connection, Zhang Zhibai, at an age close to retirement, was able to enter the court in one stroke and ascend the hall to become chancellor. Under normal circumstances, for an official of commoner origins, if one had not entered the hall by sixty-two, there was basically no chance left.

And in the twelfth month of the third year of Duan'gong, another great upheaval occurred at the empire's center—a change that could be called a complete overturning of the Duan'gong court situation. Director of State Affairs Xiang Deming suddenly suffered a stroke while handling affairs at the Hall of State Affairs.

As the venerable Old Director Xiang was rushed to medical care, it also meant that the Great Han Empire's Chief Chancellor was about to change again. Xiang Deming's collapse came as a great surprise to Emperor Liu Wenji and completely shattered his plans and arrangements for the court situation.

According to his original intention, he had wanted to maintain the current court structure for a while longer. The post of Director of State Affairs was not easy to fill, and a qualified Chief Chancellor was even rarer. Clearly, in Liu Wenji's mind, Xiang Deming—a long-tested military and civil talent who knew when to advance and retreat and had a sense of the big picture—was a qualified Chief Chancellor. More importantly, he was recognized by both the military and civil branches of the empire, which helped Liu Wenji maintain the stability of the court.

But the sudden arrival of the unexpected is precisely what catches one off guard. In fact, given the drastic changes in the court situation over these three years, especially the great transformation in the landscape of personnel and power, even if Xiang Deming had not fallen ill, maintaining the state of the early Duan'gong years would have been a very difficult matter.

Fundamentally, it was still the Emperor's sharp-edged display of ability and the enormous impact generated by his many moves to achieve control over the court. Only, many things were not entirely within Liu Wenji's control.

After Xiang Deming, who would become Chief Chancellor to preside over governance and enforce the law became Liu Wenji's foremost consideration, and also a question of concern to the entire court, one that touched nearly everyone's heart.

Just as Liu Wenji was racking his brains, trouble arose again in the palace—one should say that Empress Dowager Murong was restless once more. One did not know where Empress Dowager Murong found the energy. Nearly seventy years old, having lost her husband, her son, and her power, none of it had completely crushed her, and at the twilight of her life she still wanted to stir things up.

When Empress Dowager Murong summoned him, Liu Wenji could not but respond, and could only obediently go to Ciming Hall to perform his rites with filial respect. Empress Dowager Murong's purpose in summoning Liu Wenji was also very clear. Though she spoke in roundabout and indirect ways, the meaning beyond her words was clearly expressed—she was aiming at the post of Director of State Affairs, hoping Liu Wenji would appoint Murong Dechen.

Over the past three years, whether to demonstrate "filial piety" or to appease the enormous political force of the Murong clan, Liu Wenji had been constantly yielding to Empress Dowager Murong. For some of her interference in governance, he pushed back on major matters and did not quibble over minor ones.

Even in matters of court personnel, he had reinstated more than a dozen members of the Murong family, all in important civil and military posts. Throughout this process, Liu Wenji kept retreating, while the anger in his heart kept accumulating and swelling. Had it not been for Empress Dowager Xiao's counsel, he would have taken measures against the Murong clan long ago.

Past matters aside, it was now already the winter of the third year of Duan'gong. Empress Dowager Murong still did not know when to advance and retreat, and Liu Wenji's patience had reached its limit. To the Empress Dowager's request, he pushed back on the spot—his expression calm, his tone gentle, but his attitude resolute.

Empress Dowager Murong was furious at the time, but what made her even angrier was yet to come. When Liu Wenji once again asked Empress Dowager Xiao about the Murong matter, Empress Dowager Xiao, after a long silence, told Liu Wenji to act at his own discretion.

Thus, Liu Wenji acted decisively. Shortly thereafter, citing that the former Commissioner of the Wude Office, former Chief Censor, chancellor, Shanyang Grand Coordinator, and Monan Pacification Commissioner Wang Xuanzhen was critically ill and unable to handle affairs, he sent chancellor Murong Dechen out to Shanyang to serve as Grand Coordinator of the frontier.

What a familiar plot. A dozen or so years ago it was the same—Murong Dechen had been sent out to Huguang. Ten years later, the same experience came again. Even imperial relatives and current nobles could only be reduced to sacrificial victims in the empire's topmost power struggles.

At the same time, Liu Wenji issued an edict placing Empress Dowager Murong under house arrest. To be precise, it should be called "suspension from governance"—all her entitlements remained intact, and she could go out under surveillance, but regarding military, state, personnel, and other matters, she was no longer permitted any interference whatsoever.

And after this affair with Empress Dowager Murong, Liu Wenji seemed to have shed his shackles, handling state affairs with thunderous efficiency. Xiang Deming ultimately could not survive the winter of the third year of Duan'gong and passed away half a month later at the mansion of Duke Wen of the State.

Afterwards, Liu Wenji formally issued an edict making Minister of Personnel Kou Zhun the Director of State Affairs, and bringing Metropolitan Administration Commissioner Han Chenggang into the hall as Minister of Personnel and Chief Minister, establishing him as chancellor. Han Chenggang was the grandson of the late Han Tong, a founding follower of Emperor Shizu and founding general, and the second son of "Sack Chancellor" and Duke of Henei, Han Hui.

Liu Wenji had also been somewhat conflicted about making Kou Zhun the Director of State Affairs. The man was upright and formidable, truly capable of getting things done, but it was also a fact that he did not get along well with his fellow courtiers, and he was not the type to strictly follow the rules—this last point especially gave Liu Wenji pause.

But in the end, Kou Zhun was settled upon. He needed a chancellor who got things done, and Kou Zhun possessed almost all the necessary qualities. At the same time, after the old noble Xiang Deming, he also needed a chancellor of commoner origins.

Han Chenggang's elevation to chancellor was based on similar considerations—the need to balance and appease the aristocratic official bloc. Speaking of the Han family, the founder Han Tong had been an unlettered military man, and the Han family was a military aristocracy. But whether it was Han Hui or this Han Chenggang, both excelled in civil governance—quite an anomaly among the empire's military aristocracy. Father and son both becoming chancellors was not without merit as a fine tale.

When the cold winter passed and time entered the spring of the fourth year, on the first day of the first month, at the grand court assembly at the Qianyuan Hall, Emperor Liu Wenji delivered his New Year's address and simultaneously proclaimed an edict changing the era name to Jianlong.

Also renovated was the Chuigong Hall, which had been spruced up anew. Liu Wenji had moved in during the summer of the third year of Duan'gong. This was the working office of the three courts of Shizu, Taizong, and Kangzong. Though the Ziwei Palace was vast, the most suitable multi-functional palace for the Emperor to reside, govern, study, and cultivate his mind was precisely the Chuigong Hall.

Liu Wenji renamed it "Chongzheng," to carry on the aspirations of his ancestors and continue the legacy of Taizong, officially inaugurating his era of "Jianlong Chongzheng." At this point, the "true face" of the Great Han Emperor was finally revealed to the subjects of the realm.

PS: During the Jianlong period, the Hall of State Affairs had nine honored chancellors: Director of State Affairs Kou Zhun, Director of the Secretariat and Prince of Xuchang Liu Yao, Minister of Personnel Han Chengjun, Commissioner of Military Affairs Ma Huaiyu, Finance Commissioner Zhang Zhibai, Chief Censor Wang Qinruo, Minister of War Guo Yi, Minister of Rites Chen Yaozuo, and Vice Director of State Affairs Zhang Shixun. Under the governance of these men, the Great Han Empire entered a period of stable development.