Chapter 327: Holding Court 3

Speaking of it, Liu Zhiyuan had left Hedong to enter the Central Plains and establish the Han dynasty, with Liu Chong defending Taiyuan, that land of dragon's rise—nearly two years had passed, and he had done rather well, especially in the central Jin region centered on Taiyuan, where there were no disasters or unrest, and the situation among both officials and the people had remained fairly stable.

Of course, it wasn't that Liu Chong's defensive capabilities were particularly strong—there was the foundation Liu Zhiyuan had laid before, and before departing he had made proper arrangements for the various prefectures of Hedong; the Khitan incursions in Daibei were like a mere itch, and the Great Han's troubles were for the central court to worry over, not him. On the Hedong side, as long as one had mediocre talent and didn't stir up trouble, one could achieve a "decent" record of governance.

And Liu Chong did exactly that. In fact, in the two years since the Great Han's founding, Liu Chong's days in Hedong could be described as utterly comfortable.

All along, his support to the court in manpower, wealth, and materials had been fairly substantial, especially during the year Liu Zhiyuan ruled—of course, he wouldn't have dared to harbor much thought of resistance; Hedong at that time could be said to have been bleeding itself dry to support the court.

After Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, the intensity naturally diminished somewhat—after all, Hedong also needed development and to seek its own livelihood. Even so, tribute and taxes were still honestly sent to support the Eastern Capital; when Liu Chengyou pacified Li Shouzhen, Liu Chong also sent a batch of grain and fodder to the front lines.

Although Liu Chong had criticisms of Liu Chengyou's appointments and governance, overall, this land of dragon's rise in Hedong had not yet become a threat or burden to the court.

From Wang Zhang's report at this moment, Liu Chengyou naturally caught that whiff of discord. The senior ministers in the hall exchanged glances—none of them were fools, and more or less they could detect the impropriety in Liu Chong's report. After all, last winter, Hedong had not reported any disaster to the court...

Of course, the clever ones—men like Guo Wei, Feng Dao, and Zhao Ying—whether or not they had accompanied the imperial procession south, couldn't help but turn their thoughts toward the south. No one rashly offered an opinion; they all looked toward Liu Chengyou, watching the Son of Heaven in contemplation.

From his heart, Liu Chengyou's wariness toward his imperial uncle Liu Chong was not that great, nor did he have any intention of damaging their relationship. But many things never bend to human will, and at present, what Liu Chengyou needed to consider was how to respond to and handle this "unexpected" situation while maintaining their relationship.

Of course, thinking of the worst-case scenario—say, Liu Chong rebelling—that possibility was actually not high, even though in this era the cost of a military governor rebelling was very low.

Not to mention anything else, the garrison army commanders of the several prefectures of Hedong—Xin, Dai, Lan, Xian, Liao, and Fen—had been appointed by Liu Zhiyuan. Setting aside their current loyalty to the court, while Liu Chong could suppress them by virtue of his status and rank, if he tried to lead them in rebellion under the present circumstances, their hearts would not be united from the start.

One could think this way, but if Liu Chengyou went too far... heh, even at the end of the "Five Dynasties" era, did one really need to worry about military provinces raising the banner of rebellion, punishing tyrants to save the people, or "cleansing the side of the ruler"?

Liu Chengyou considered seriously for a while, his expression not overly grave. Rather than directly answering what Wang Zhang had reported, he looked around and said: "My imperial uncle is my direct uncle, guarding the Northern Capital, sincere and loyal, defending the borders and governing the people, keeping Hedong free from worry—two years now. I intend to enfeoff him as a prince, to match his title and position. What do my ministers think?"

Though Liu Chengyou's words were phrased as a question, his tone was affirmative and resolute, giving the ministers little sense of room for discussion. Naturally, no one objected; all expressed agreement.

He glanced at Yang Bin—that gentleman remained silent. If men like Yang Bin held power and authority, it was certain that Liu Chong and his kind would never be enfeoffed as princes; when the authority and prestige of the imperial clan rose, that was no good thing for powerful ministers. In the original history, it had been the same.

With no one objecting, Liu Chengyou gave his orders: "Have the Hanlin Academy draft the edict—enfeoff Liu Chong, Defender of the Northern Capital and Military Governor of Hedong, as Commandery Prince of Taiyuan!"

This princely title carried no small weight—at the very least, back then Liu Zhiyuan had received the title of Prince of Taiyuan from the Jin court. Liu Chengyou's thinking was: if he was going to enfeoff, he might as well be generous; after all, the title would exceed the reality.

Having said this, Liu Chengyou shifted his posture slightly, his expression still showing a thoughtful air. He tapped the imperial desk and said again: "The Duke of Lingshou, Liu Chengyun, Military Governor of Xingzhou—the late emperor raised him like my own elder brother. He should be enfeoffed as Commandery Prince of Julu!"

Enfeoffing Liu Chong as a prince—the ministers had no objection, not even finding it strange. But enfeoffing Liu Chengyun truly surprised them. Yet upon reflection, Liu Chengyun did have the qualifications—after all, that fellow Liu Chenghsun had already received a princely title by virtue of being the emperor's younger brother.

Having said this, looking at Liu Chengyou's expression, still pondering, after a few breaths he asked: "The Militia Commissioner of Fenzhou—that's Xue Qiong, isn't it?"

"Indeed!" After a pause, it was Li Tao who answered.

The officials and generals of the realm were numerous indeed, but for the military and political heads of the Great Han's various circuits and prefectures—military governors, surveillance commissioners, defense commissioners, and the like—Liu Chengyou knew them like the back of his hand, committed firmly to memory.

Xue Qiong was the former Prefect of Liaozhou. When Liu Chengyou had marched on Luzhou back then, he had supplied grain to the Longqi Army. Though he had lost face to Yang Ye in the process, after entering Bian, for his contributions in arranging transport, he was appointed Defense Commissioner of Fenzhou.

This time Liu Chengyou was much more direct: "Transfer him to Bozhou, to serve as Defense Commissioner!"

"And Fenzhou?" Seeing that Liu Chengyou seemed to be laying some groundwork, Li Tao followed up with a question.

Liu Chengyou said: "Appoint Liu Chengjun, Chief Commander of the Northern Capital's yamen guards, as Defense Commissioner of Fenzhou!"

At this, the assembled ministers fully felt the weight of Liu Chengyou's "sincerity." To put it finely, all three in Liu Chong's family—father and sons—were being promoted in rank and title. In fact, this heavy reward from Liu Chengyou, beyond placating Liu Chong, was more about proclaiming to the world: though an imperial uncle had been dealt with in the south, this Great Han was still the Liu family's realm, not to be taken lightly!

Having handled this matter, Liu Chengyou felt a sense of mental and visual fatigue. He was about to adjourn the discussion when Wang Jun stepped forward. His movements carried a gust of wind, exuding a distinctive style. Wang Jun's expression was very serious—Wang Zhang and the Liu father-and-son pair had both received rewards in succession, and he felt that he had accomplished no small number of major matters for the court, yet Liu Chengyou had shown him little recognition. He was feeling rather sour inside.

"Your Majesty, this is the reorganization plan for the imperial army garrisons at the Western Capital, Huazhou, Chanzhou, and Yedu, compiled by the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Imperial Guard Command. Please review it, Your Majesty!" Wang Jun was prepared—he drew a memorial from his sleeve.

This was the charter he had taken the lead in drafting during the time Liu Chengyou had been away from the capital, with Guo Wei absent.

Though his brows were lowered, Wang Jun's tone carried strong confidence: "If Your Majesty has no objections, we can issue orders and dispatch generals to carry it out!"

Liu Chengyou's brows furrowed slightly. He gestured to Zhang Dejun, took the memorial, and while browsing through it, asked: "Have you sent anyone to inspect the condition of the imperial army?"

Wang Jun said: "I previously ordered Vice Commissioner Wei to personally go and inspect the military situation!"

Nodding, seemingly satisfied with Wang Jun's efficiency, Liu Chengyou offered a perfunctory remark: "Wang Qing is truly capable!"

But in his words, he still adjourned the discussion citing physical fatigue, giving no concrete answer.

The division and reorganization of the Eastern Capital's imperial army had already been completed, and effectively so—otherwise Liu Chengyou would never have dared leave the capital on his own. But the imperial army stationed outside the capital was not like that under the Son of Heaven's very feet; they bore garrison duties, their numbers were considerable, and they could not be thrown into chaos—caution was needed.

Of course, no matter how cautious, the work had to proceed. It was impossible to let the imperial army soldiers outside the capital remain "unlisted personnel" indefinitely.

But this Wang Jun—with Liu Chengyou and Guo Wei both absent from the capital, without even requesting instructions, he had gone ahead and produced a reorganization plan on his own initiative. Such conduct...