Chapter 788: The Grand Court Assembly

On his first day back in the capital, Liu Chengyou did not return to Chongzheng Hall, received no ministers, reviewed no government affairs—he only lingered in the inner palace, spending the night at Spring Orchid Hall.

"Your body is not convenient—don't fuss over serving me. Rest well!" In the early morning, Liu Chengyou, refreshed after a good night's sleep, took the steaming silk cloth the younger Lady Fu personally handed him, wiped his face, and said to her.

Before Liu Chengyou, the younger Lady Fu always played the part of a delicate little woman—full of schemes, jealous in vying for favor, yet never concealing it. After Liu Chengyou's attentive comfort, much of her resentment had already dissolved. On her unpowdered, pretty face lingered a slightly disheveled air, her cheeks flushed—clearly reluctant to part, she asked: "When will Your Majesty come to me again?"

Squeezing her hand, Liu Chengyou replied with a smile: "Whenever I have time, I'll come!"

Perhaps feeling his promise was somewhat perfunctory, Liu Chengyou added: "On ordinary days, walk around outside more—don't always stay cooped up in the hall. Also, spend more time with Liu Jia; yesterday I saw her playing alone, running around the pillars in the hall..."

"Yes!" the younger Lady Fu answered softly.

"Time for court—I'm off!" Once dressed, he checked himself in the mirror, confirmed his appearance was proper, tossed out a parting word, and under the younger Lady Fu's respectful send-off, slowly departed.

In the early autumn palace, a hint of chill had already crept in; above the halls, the sky was clear and pure, giving Liu Chengyou a feeling of crisp refreshment. On the way to Chongyuan Hall, Liu Chengyou mulled over the younger Lady Fu.

Toward the younger Lady Fu, Liu Chengyou's feelings were naturally not as deep as toward the elder Lady Fu, Lady Gao, or Lady Zhe. Even now, he was nearly forgetting his original purpose in taking her in—it seemed to be a collector's obsession with "famous beauties," and also the matter of the sister pair; the goal of winning over the Fu clan had been pushed to the back burner.

Her looks, figure, and bearing were beyond reproach. Though she sometimes threw little tantrums, she had after all been raised that way. Liu Chengyou still held a special affection for the younger Lady Fu—he was quite fond of her.

Stray thoughts flickered through his mind; arriving at Chongyuan Hall, Liu Chengyou snapped back to himself, silently mocking: "What's wrong with me, fretting over harem romance? Beauties are fine, but one must not linger and sink into them..."

Inside Chongyuan Hall, the officials of the various bureaus and offices of the Eastern Capital had already emerged from the waiting hall and filed in, standing in attendance. Collecting his composure, Liu Chengyou strode in steadily, received the hundred officials' homage, and began his first grand court assembly since returning to the capital.

Though Liu Chengyou had not held court assemblies frequently since taking power, he had to admit: seated high behind the imperial desk, watching those renowned, powerful high ministers prostrate themselves reverently before His Majesty, the vanity in his heart was gratified to an unprecedented degree. Towering above all, as if holding heaven and earth in his palm—Liu Chengyou himself wondered how he managed to control his own psychology and emotions.

An ordinary man would long since have been intoxicated, floating on air, puffed up with arrogance and self-satisfaction. One could only say that he, Emperor Liu, was indeed no ordinary man.

"This trip of mine lasted nearly half a year, traversing five circuits and dozens of prefectures and counties, trekking thousands of li—I have gained much reflection. The Great Han has stood for ten years; only now does the realm show signs of peace and order. In military affairs, agriculture, education, and the hundred crafts, there has been great progress—all thanks to the officials, generals, and clerks, both within and without, who dared to take responsibility, fulfilled their duties, and worked with one heart and one mind in assisting me!" Standing before the imperial desk, Liu Chengyou delivered his remarks on the inspection tour.

"This is all due to Your Majesty's wise leadership, and the worthy ministers within and talented men from all quarters who, moved by your call, exerted themselves—hence these achievements!" Li Tao, at the head of the line, immediately spoke up in flattery.

Glancing at him, Liu Chengyou's mouth curved slightly; shifting his tone, he continued: "However, the realm is not yet pacified, the great enterprise not yet complete. I and all of you must still strive—we must not grow proud and slacken. In this age, the livelihood of the people across the four seas remains hard, governance within and without still awaits cleansing, court policies still need to be carried through, disaster-stricken prefectures and counties still need recovery, and treacherous clerks and bandits run rampant in the countryside—local security needs strengthening. There is still much to be done in this realm. Let me and all of you encourage each other!"

"We ministers will heed Your Majesty's teachings and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to assisting the sage sovereign in purifying the realm!" Facing the Son of Heaven's shift in tone, Li Tao was somewhat embarrassed, but his reaction was quick—he took the lead in bowing.

"All of you, rise!" Waving his hand, Liu Chengyou turned and sat back down at the imperial desk, his gaze falling on Li Tao with a warm smile as he spoke.

"Minister Wei, you inspected the Yellow River flood-affected prefectures—tell us what you saw!" He then looked toward Wei Renpu.

"Yes!" Stepping out and bowing, Wei Renpu reported: "Your Majesty, I was ordered to tour the east. I traveled through five prefectures and thirty-two counties, examining governance and popular sentiment. After nearly two years of recovery and development, the local situation has stabilized. The hundreds of thousands of disaster victims have either relocated or returned home to rebuild. Land reclaimed has reached one hundred thousand qing. Within three years, barring major calamities, we can expect bountiful harvests.

However, from what I observed, the people's livelihood is indeed hard, public order is unstable, and disputes frequently arise between villages—some escalating even to armed brawls. Moreover, there are corrupt clerks who exploit their positions, committing unworthy and disloyal acts, twisting the court's good policies to seek private gain and line their own pockets.

In my previous memorial proposing five measures, I suggested that the court strengthen oversight of official conduct, further ease taxes and corvée, crack down on lawlessness and reinforce public order, and open up mountains, rivers, and forests to benefit the poor...

"I've read your memorial, Minister Wei—it shows great insight and hits all the key points, worthy of adoption!" Liu Chengyou nodded, then looked at Li Tao: "Minister Li, you oversee the Ministry of Personnel, governing officials and governing men—the matter of official conduct falls to you!"

"Yes!" Li Tao clasped his hands in response: "I have conferred with the other ministers, and the three offices of Personnel, Justice, and the Censorate have already selected capable officials to cooperate with the circuit and prefecture inspectors in patrolling the localities!"

"Mm!" Liu Chengyou acknowledged, looking quite satisfied.

Scanning the room, Liu Chengyou continued: "Two years ago, I dispatched an envoy mission bearing credentials westward to Hexi. After enduring great hardships, they finally returned east, bringing back much news and information about the northwest. I doubt many of you seated here have a clear picture of the northwest situation; even if you know something, it's likely only fragments gleaned from old archives and books.

I raise this matter only to admonish you all of one thing: the people of Longyou, Hexi, and even the old Anxi territories, though cut off by distance and separated from the court for many years, have always been lands of Cathay, territories of China. Though the time has been long, I will not forget—and I hope you will not forget either. For over a thousand years, the lands where Central Plains civilization spread were left to us by our forebears; as their descendants, we must hold this firmly in mind!"

The Emperor's tone was somewhat grave. The assembled ministers exchanged glances, then, of course, giving face to the Emperor, all clasped their hands and voiced assent.

"The court's grand strategy remains subduing the various states and unifying the realm. Though the northwest cannot be attended to for now, we may as well strengthen ties with the various tribal powers in the prefectures and reopen the Silk Road!" Liu Chengyou said: "However, before that, you might all listen to the current state of Hexi!"

"Lu Duoxun, tell the assembled ministers about it..." Liu Chengyou looked toward Lu Duoxun, attending his first court session on state affairs.

"As commanded!" Under everyone's gaze, Lu Duoxun took a deep breath, stepped out calmly, and spoke at length.

Through repeated explanation, Lu Duoxun could now discourse on the northwest situation fluently, without hesitation. By now, Lu Duoxun had become the Great Han's foremost "expert" on northwest affairs. Essentially, his future career advancement all rested on the "Northwest Grand Plan."

And so, a grand court assembly concluded with Lu Duoxun's "Western Journey Report."

"Your Majesty!" Back at Chongzheng Hall, the two Academicians Zhao Yan and Zhao Pu were waiting in attendance before the throne.

"Zhao Yan, you look rather unwell?" Liu Chengyou noticed the unusual flush on Zhao Yan's face and furrowed his brow.

"Thank you for Your Majesty's concern. With Your Majesty returning to the capital, I merely stayed up a few hours last night organizing memorials—nothing serious!" Zhao Yan replied respectfully.

On the imperial desk, memorials were arranged in neat piles, nearly covering the entire surface, stacked high. Scanning over them, Liu Chengyou couldn't help counting aloud: "One, two, three... twenty!"

"A full twenty stacks!" Liu Chengyou's tone carried surprise.

Seeing this, Zhao Pu reported: "These are all the important matters handled by the Hall of State Affairs during Your Majesty's absence. Additionally, Chancellor Li sent word that the affairs of the Secretariat-Chancellery and all its offices are also prepared, available for Your Majesty's review at any time!"

"So you've prepared everything, ready for me to check the homework!" Liu Chengyou remarked.

The two Zhaos were momentarily stunned, seemingly not grasping the meaning in the Emperor's tone.

Glancing at the two of them, Liu Chengyou said with a wry smile: "Do you remember? In the early days after I succeeded the throne, my only worry was that there weren't enough memorials on the desk—I feared missing some matter of governance within or without. But now, looking at this desk full of memorials, I truly feel a sense of awe and dread!"

"Your Majesty has just returned to the capital—perhaps you might rest a few days before taking up affairs again?" Zhao Pu suggested.

"Rest? That would never do!" Liu Chengyou shook his head: "If I did that, within two days this big desk probably wouldn't be able to hold them all!"

Sitting down, looking at the two men, Liu Chengyou said: "You two—pick out the most urgent matters and brief me on them first!"

"Yes!"