Chapter 2185: Renzong Chronicles 1: The Zhengtong Era

After all matters concerning the national mourning were handled and the late Emperor Shizong was buried, the new emperor Liu Weizhen, who had succeeded to the throne before the coffin, finally returned to court. Supported by the assembled ministers, on the seventh day of the third month of the following year, the day of the Jiaqing Festival, he ascended the throne at the Qianyuan Hall in the Western Capital, changed the era name to Zhengtong, and granted a general amnesty to the empire.

It is worth noting that Liu Weizhen was the emperor who dragged out his enthronement the longest among all previous emperors of the Great Han Empire, with an interval of nearly half a year. During this half year, the new emperor devoted himself entirely to mourning and observing filial piety for the deceased, while the great affairs of state were entirely in the hands of a group of Jianlong-era chancellors, with Prince Xu Liu Yao, Director of State Affairs Du Yan, and Minister of Personnel Li Zhaoxian forming the "troika" at the helm.

And from this interval before enthronement, one can also see—when the empire welcomes another new emperor—what the empire's political landscape looks like, and where its direction will lead.

At the same time, it was precisely this general amnesty in the first year of Zhengtong that made the "convict labor camps" completely a thing of history in the Great Han Empire. The convicts that had once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, along with the accompanying convict labor camp system, took a full half century—through the reigns of Taizong, Kangzong, and Shizong, into the Zhengtong era—before being thoroughly eradicated. This was also the first of the "Shizu institutions" to be completely abolished.

The direct impact was that the Great Han Empire no longer had labor that could be arbitrarily used through the legal system, and for projects requiring such corvée labor, the court had to expend an additional large sum of money and grain every year.

At the same time, after eliminating this receptacle for crime and refuse, and as the so-called "benevolent governance" further gained ground, the empire's public security situation began to fluctuate once again. Crimes multiplied, the crime rate rose, and social turmoil and popular hardship intensified in tandem...

Of course, it wasn't without some benefits—at least no more "men of benevolence" in court or countryside were attacking and denouncing the matter. On the contrary, many people sang high praises for it. After all, under the broad environment where "rule of law" had already penetrated the empire's very marrow and taken root in the state system, this was a sign and symbol of "rule by benevolence" re-emerging.

For example, a professor named Kong Yanfu at the Academy of Law and Politics sighed over this: "His Majesty is benevolent and sagely; from now on, there will be no more convict laborers under heaven." Kong Yanfu—one can tell his origins from his surname—was something of a celebrity in the empire's academic circles. After all, to be a professor at the Academy of Law and Politics, one must have some real ability. Of course, even more famous was his elder brother Kong Daofu, who in his lifetime reached the post of Vice Minister of Rites and was considered a notable minister in the Jianlong era.

The Qufu Kong clan, since the so-called "Kong Renyu restoration," had in fact been in a state of suppression throughout the Shizu era. At their lowest point, the halo of being descendants of the Sage was almost completely stripped away. This was also one of the backgrounds against which the various schools of thought and lineages in the empire grew and flourished during the Kaibao era.

But the Kong clan had been passed down for a thousand years, their incense never dying out—there were inherent reasons and principles of conduct behind this. Emperor Shizu had no intention of completely eradicating them either. Therefore, after devoting themselves quietly to scholarship and nurturing their reputation, lying low for forty years, they began to re-emerge in the Yongxi era. By the Jianlong era, when Emperor Shizong vigorously promoted civil governance, the Qufu Kong clan had already returned to the central stage of the empire's intellectual and cultural world.

By the time Emperor Zhengtong, Liu Weizhen, ascended the throne, the Kong clan became even more active and aggressive—actively drawing close to imperial power, actively bustling about in politics, squeezing their heads to get into the court.

After all, the Kong clan had truly endured hardship. Some schools had welcomed their spring as early as the Taizong era, while they had lain low for forty years and spent forty years restoring themselves, only truly standing tall and proud in the era of Emperor Zhengtong. As descendants of the Sage, when had they ever suffered such grievances...

And from the gradual revival of the Kong clan, one can also discern a characteristic of the Zhengtong era. The civil governance promoted by Emperor Shizong, setting aside all the dazzling flourishes, was essentially centered on "rule of law." But starting from the first year of Zhengtong, the Great Han Empire's civil governance inevitably began to compromise toward "rule by benevolence."

Of course, whether rule of law or rule by benevolence, at the root both are rule by men, and their fundamental purpose is to maintain the stability of imperial power and the empire's dominion.

Unlike Emperor Kangzong, Liu Weizhen, this imperial grandson, did indeed appear mediocre—even less brilliant and spirited than Kangzong during his days before ascending the throne. If not for his birth, it would be hard to imagine such an ordinary person becoming the emperor ruling over all directions.

Of course, it must still be said: lacking sharp wit does not mean lacking intelligence. Liu Weizhen was still a normal person, not comparable to oddities like Sima Zhong. It's just that, set against the dazzling position of Emperor of the Great Han Empire, he naturally appeared ordinary, even mediocre.

However, Liu Weizhen had one trait that Emperor Shizong had judged truly accurately: he was honest and didn't stir up trouble. The old Grand Tutor Zhang Jian had also judged accurately: he could listen to others' advice—it's just that his ears were a bit soft...

Although from the very start of his reign, the ministerial power that had been suppressed for a full sixteen years since the eighth year of Jianlong by Emperor Shizong began to slowly rise again, throughout Liu Weizhen's entire reign he still counted as a substantive emperor with real power—only his authority was far less formidable than the several ancestors above him, and his control over the court situation and ministers was relatively weak.

The Zhengtong era, for a long period of time, was a continuation of the Jianlong era. From top to bottom, from national policy to the institutional system, the entire empire followed Emperor Shizong's model.

This continuity—whether one calls it respect for Emperor Shizong or the emperor's own mediocrity—at least extended the Great Han Empire's peak period by a few more years. However, as the empire's helmsman, lacking the predecessor's keen insight and outstanding coordination skills, as time went on, continuing to sail as smoothly as before became nearly impossible.

It must also be said that Emperor Shizong's assessment of Liu Weizhen was accurate. He indeed could not be considered an emperor who stirred things up. Throughout his life, he never built palaces or constructed wonders. He wasn't exactly frugal, but neither was he excessively extravagant, and he also declined the local tributes that courtiers proposed.

However, as an emperor, he didn't lack any of the enjoyments due to him—especially in matters of women, with over a hundred beauties in his harem. As for material life, the wealth accumulated by the Shaofu over nearly a century was more than enough to supply him.

On the other hand, throughout Liu Weizhen's entire reign, he never conducted a single in-depth inspection tour with political intent. Only in the middle period, due to grain shortages in Luoyang, did he go live in the Eastern Capital for a few years. Dispatching senior ministers and chancellors to tour and inspect the regions, however, was something he did frequently.

Regarding his attitude toward the profession of emperor, Liu Weizhen was always consistent: "I sit at court in peace; you gentlemen devote yourselves to governing the state." The Chongzheng Hall in the Purple Forbidden City was not renamed, but Liu Weizhen truly governed by doing nothing.

Governing by doing nothing was not as simple as it appeared on the surface—at the very least, one had to grasp the basic reins of power and maintain the dignity of the Son of Heaven. What Liu Weizhen insisted on was: if the state was governed well, there were rewards; if problems arose, then accountability was also mandatory.

Liu Weizhen was not without his bottom lines. For instance, when the ministers once again reached their hands toward the two offices of the Imperial City and Wude, he defended them resolutely, recognizing no kinship, listening to no one. This was solely because of Emperor Shizong's final teachings: these two offices were the emperor's underpants, the most powerful weapon for the emperor to control the court situation, absolutely not to be touched by others, nor allowed to fall out of control.

Emperor Zhengtong clearly remembered his grandfather's instruction, and even developed it further, causing the presence of the Imperial City and Wude offices to be strengthened once again after the late Shizong years.

This also led to the first direct confrontation between the inner court and the outer court since the founding of the dynasty during the Zhengtong era—a confrontation that was long-term, running through nearly all of Liu Weizhen's reign.

Although in the middle period Liu Weizhen, under pressure from the high ministers and grandees, dismissed powerful eunuchs like Shi Quanbin and Chen Wei, the "eunuch faction" remained, its influence remained, and the ministers' enthusiasm for fighting the eunuch faction remained.

The Zhengtong era was also an era of major transformation in the Great Han Empire's thought and politics. Against the backdrop of the flames of civilization burning fiercely and schools of thought blooming like a hundred flowers, many schools inevitably reached a dead end, facing a kind of shackle—including the Xiang school, known for its pragmatism and inclusiveness.

It was precisely in this environment that "Neo-Confucianism," represented by the great thinker and educator Zhang Zai, which blended Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and various miscellaneous learning, slowly began to rise. Of course, the Great Han's Neo-Confucianism was a genuine doctrine of protecting the Dharma, governing the state, and educating the people—in essence, still a doctrine of rule.

As for politics, it inaugurated a power structure in which nobles and commoners took turns "sitting at the banker's seat." This point is epitomized by the origins of successive Directors of State Affairs, until the two sides gradually merged through constant conflict and compromise.

In the final analysis, whether the aristocratic bloc or the commoner-official bloc, both were essentially privileged elites—the ruling class of the Great Han Empire. The space for reconciling their conflicting interests was far broader than that between upper and lower classes.

Even viewed from the entire historical dimension of the Great Han Empire, the Zhengtong era remained an era that connected the past and the future. While continuing the glorious achievements of three generations of governance, the empire also inevitably arrived at an inflection point—a downward inflection point.

This was an era where problems multiplied and contradictions erupted. The institutional defects and national ailments, lacking the suppression and adjustment of a strong emperor, inevitably exposed themselves and gradually deepened.

And the men of benevolence and resolve who had come all the way from the previous era could not sit idly by. In order to maintain the glory of the foundation laid by the previous emperor, they made efforts and put them into action—such as the group of famous ministers and chancellors represented by Fan Zhongyan who had risen in the Jianlong era.