Chapter 305: Changes in the Supervisory System

The first year of Qianyou was already down to its tail end. Due to the bitter cold, the Great Han and indeed the entire realm had fallen into a placid stillness — a bleak, chill tranquility. As the reorganization of the imperial army in the Eastern Capital drew to a close, the heart that had been tugging at Liu Chengyou gradually settled as well.

The Great Han court also enjoyed a rare spell of calm, with no troublesome affairs arising. Those selected through the special examinations were gradually filling the lower clerical posts in the various offices of the capital. Though he remained dissatisfied with the entire bureaucratic system, still finding it backward, the infusion of fresh blood was, after all, an improvement for the better.

Moreover, compared to the earlier days when the court seemed to drift beyond his control, the current situation was far better. Regarding the appointment of officials, Liu Chengyou had already recovered most of his authority, and the greatest remaining obstacle was only the objection of Yang Bin, who still held the post of Chief Chancellor.

Still, even in the depths of the twelfth month, when everyone above and below wanted nothing more than to pass the winter in peace, Liu Chengyou could not resist making a few fine adjustments.

Since the start of the twelfth month, the greatest change in official posts at court had been the reshaping of the Censorate. Since the end of the Tang, the supervisory functions of the Censorate had been steadily weakening, until now even the post of Vice Censor-in-Chief had become little more than an empty title. Faced with this situation, Liu Chengyou acted decisively to make adjustments. The lax governance of the Great Han was due in part to the flaws in its supervisory system.

By imperial decree, the structure and functions of the Censorate were reorganized. The Supervising Secretaries and Reminders of the Chancellery, who had shared part of the supervisory duties, were all transferred to serve in the Censorate, and more than a dozen jinshi from the special examinations also entered the Censorate to serve and gain experience.

Of course, it was not enough merely to staff the offices properly — a strong and capable person was needed to lead.

The former Vice Censor-in-Chief, Bian Wei, was dismissed by Liu Chengyou. It was not that the man had committed any fault, nor that he had any major deficiency in ability — it was simply that he was old, already sixty-five years of age. There were simply too many old men in the court of the Great Han, and the Son of Heaven, Liu Chengyou, preferred to employ the young.

Replacing Bian Wei was Bian Guidang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Though the two men shared the surname Bian, they had no close connection — one was from Youzhou, the other from Huazhou.

When this man had earlier dared to admonish Liu Chengyou regarding public order in the capital and the arrogance of the imperial guard officers, he had left a deep impression on him. Moreover, Bian Guidang's record was fairly rich — he had the talent of a Dali judge, was an incorruptible official, kept public and private matters strictly separate, and his style was resolute enough. He was also only just past forty, which made him very suitable.

As for Bian Wei, though Liu Chengyou dismissed him from office, he did not treat him shabbily. After all, he was a veteran minister who had served through several reigns, with rich experience in governance, and his reputation had been quite good both in the provinces and at the center. Liu Chengyou appointed him Prefectural Administrator of Tongzhou, with the concurrent title of Vice Minister of Justice, making him the second senior official selected from the court to exercise full authority over a prefecture's military and civil affairs in the Great Han.

As for Nie Wenjin, who had previously been selected by Liu Chengyou as Prefectural Administrator of Tongzhou, before he had even warmed his seat, he was transferred to be Prefectural Administrator of Huazhou. There was no helping it — Bian Wei was from Huazhou, and although given the current state of the Great Han, Liu Chengyou did not actually fear appointing officials to serve in their home prefectures (and fearing it would be useless anyway), he still tried as much as possible not to set that precedent. The effect and utility of serving in a place away from one's hometown were considerable.

Having moved from a sinecure to a substantive post, becoming the court's censor-in-chief with the support of the Son of Heaven, Bian Guidang naturally was eager to make his mark and do great things. However, after taking office, he did not seize the opportunity to aggressively concentrate power or inflate the authority of the Censorate. Instead, he vigorously reasserted and reorganized the supervisory regulations, rectifying the rules of the Censorate — especially the trend of false accusations that had existed since the founding of the dynasty — intending to forge the Censorate into a "combat-effective" office.

Within a few days, the atmosphere throughout the Censorate was completely renewed. Bian Guidang's approach actually won him even greater favor in Liu Chengyou's eyes. Additionally, Zhao Li, who had previously been promoted by Liu Chengyou to the Eastern Capital as Palace Censor, was also elevated to Supervisor of the Palace Section, assisting Bian Guidang.

By now, the situation at the founding of the Great Han, when "the entire court was corrupt and venal," had improved enormously. In fact, whether in the prefectures or at the center, there was no shortage of talent. Especially at the center — at any time, it could be described as a gathering of brilliance. As long as one took care to distinguish and discover, usable talent could always be found.

However, even if talent existed, when it came to their loyalty to and sense of belonging with the Great Han court, even a question mark would not suffice. At the founding of the dynasty, even though the court was filled with corrupt veteran ministers, there was no helping it — at least they were the meritorious officials and foundation stones of the Great Han.

Only now, with Liu Chengyou on the throne, his authority and position gradually stabilized, the alien barbarians driven back, state affairs initially at peace, and no worry of the realm toppling, had things begun to improve. Liu Chengyou also had more time and energy to recognize people, distinguish talent, promote the worthy and capable, and sort out internal affairs.

After entering the twelfth month, Liu Chengyou finally felt somewhat more relaxed. Though he was still ceaselessly occupied with affairs of state and still held military and national matters firmly in his own hands, at least he was no longer spinning like a top as before. He could now spare time to read books, practice martial arts, and cultivate his temperament.

Even so, the scope of his daily activities was basically confined to Chuigong Hall and its surroundings. The weather was cold, compounded by rain and snow, and apart from the inner palace, there was nowhere else to house his rarely idle heart.

The spacious imperial hall was warmed slightly by two stoked braziers, but Liu Chengyou frequently ordered the doors and windows opened for ventilation, so the temperature never rose much. There was a rumor circulating in the palace that His Majesty liked the cold and feared heat. In truth, Liu Chengyou was merely being careful with his life, afraid of the toxic gases produced by incomplete coal combustion — he actually quite enjoyed the warmth the braziers provided.

Beside the imperial desk, Liu Chengyou stood holding a brush, his posture very proper, his expression serious, practicing calligraphy stroke by stroke. Fewer than fifty characters, yet they consumed no small amount of time.

"Master Yang, how do you find my calligraphy?" Setting down the brush and rubbing his hands together, Liu Chengyou asked the old man waiting at his side.

The old man was gaunt of frame, with hair and beard both white, yet his bearing was distinctive. Though dressed in an official robe, he exuded a wild, unrestrained air, while his countenance showed humility, maintaining proper courtesy before Liu Chengyou.

This gentleman was named Yang Ningshi, a celebrated "great calligrapher" of the time, and in history, he had dominated an entire era in the art of calligraphy, a master who bridged the Tang and the Song. Of course, throughout the entire Five Dynasties, calligraphy had declined, which only made his reputation stand out all the more.

Earlier, when the Son of Heaven wished to study calligraphy and sought a renowned teacher, someone had immediately recommended Yang Ningshi. This gentleman had always been rather detached in his official career, going with the flow, and to preserve himself, he had even feigned madness in his youth, earning the sobriquet "Yang the Madman." But he was happy enough to instruct Liu Chengyou — after all, one still had to eat, and among the many old ministers and nobles in the Eastern Capital, not many were truly living well.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ningshi glanced briefly at the writing, a hint of hesitation crossing his face before he answered with relative fairness: "What Your Majesty has written shows great progress."

What Liu Chengyou practiced was the Yan style, and writing regular script was somewhat "easier"; as for the Yang-style running script that Yang Ningshi excelled in, he could not learn it.

As for the present piece, it was an excerpt from Han Yu's "On Horses," and overall it looked neat and square, but it was clearly stiff and lifeless.

Liu Chengyou, for his part, had self-awareness. Noticing the expression that flickered across the old master's aged face, he pursed his lips and said: "It has only the outer form, with not a trace of spirit or vitality. On that point, I am well aware."

Hearing this, Yang Ningshi pointed at the two words "Bole" and "thousand-li horse" and said in his aged voice: "What Your Majesty has written carries the aura of the true dragon. Your Majesty's intent in seeking talent and promoting the worthy leaps off the page!"

Seeing the old master guess his thoughts, Liu Chengyou could not help but be amused, and he accepted his words as valid.

"The punctuation marks Your Majesty has established are indeed remarkably effective for clarifying sentence breaks and meaning!" Saying this, Yang Ningshi offered Liu Chengyou another compliment.

Hearing this, the corner of Liu Chengyou's mouth curled up slightly. Previously, since the memorials of the various ministers mostly lacked any separation or spacing, many sentences were difficult to parse, requiring Liu Chengyou to guess at the meaning. Troubled by this, Liu Chengyou had brought out "modern punctuation marks," established a standard specification, and promoted it within the Secretariat. Of course, these were only the commonly used symbols — he could not possibly remember the complete compendium of punctuation.

At first, some ministers were puzzled, but after a period of promotion, it had already settled onto the right track, and now basically everyone felt its convenience. The scholars compiling books at the Three Institutes were the first to accept it. At present, it was already being promoted throughout the realm — a process that required time, but with little resistance, and with the court pushing it forward, time was not a problem.

Though it was nothing to be particularly proud of, Liu Chengyou's mood was nonetheless quite good.