Chapter 824: The Emperor's Reflection

"... In the month or so since, within the city of Chengdu, over 240 households have been ruined and scattered, among them more than 30 merchants of various sizes, the rest all being Shu's powerful aristocrats and high ministers. From Chancellor Wu Zhaoyi on down, none with substantial family wealth escaped. Their money, goods, and land were all confiscated, and their families and clans were gathered together in Chengdu, where camps were set up to detain them. Commander Xiang, through the field headquarters Fiscal Commissioner Zhang Mei, was put in charge of the matter exclusively."

"Outside Chengdu, the prefectures of Zi, Mian, Han, Jian, and Mei were all handled the same way. The commanders all imitated this method, and in the prefectures of the plains, meritorious ministers, officials, and powerful magnates scarcely any escaped. In total, those detained in succession numbered over fifty thousand. When Zhao Pu arrived in Chengdu to take up his post, he had intended to move them all out of Shu, but then the rebellion broke out, and so this was delayed."

"The money, grain, and silk confiscated were incalculable, and all the armies, from the officers on down, profited from them. After the rebellion broke out, the remaining local commanders and officials who had originally submitted, fearing this, gathered their men and held their cities, resisting the imperial army..."

In Chongzheng Hall, Li Chongju, with a grave expression, carefully reported the situation in Shu to Liu Chengyou, who sat high behind the imperial desk. Hearing this, Liu Chengyou suddenly interrupted him: "They arrested over fifty thousand people and confiscated all their family property?"

Li Chongju nodded.

Upon hearing this, Liu Chengyou cursed softly: "Acting so ruthlessly, so impatiently—no wonder the backlash came so fast!"

Of course, some things had to be done ruthlessly, but the problem was that it hadn't been coordinated well, and the manner of it was too ugly...

"When the rebellion broke out, military discipline among the various armies slackened somewhat. The officers and men all thought of enriching themselves, and within Chengdu city, there were already cases of soldiers looting the common people and extorting the gentry. Fortunately, Commander Xiang discovered this in time and strictly ordered it stopped. All officers and men who broke the law were beheaded in accordance with military law, and so order was restored throughout the ranks. Before the confiscations began, Commander Xiang had also issued strict orders that without superior orders, no one was permitted to seize property privately, and that ordinary commoners were not to be harmed."

"The situation in Chengdu is still under control, but the local garrison troops lack restraint. Since the top issued orders to squeeze wealth, the bottom overdid it, and this provoked popular uprisings."

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "During the liquidation, which of the generals and commanders performed most enthusiastically?"

It was clear the Emperor was speaking ironically, and Li Chongju had nothing to hide, so he said directly: "Wang Quanbin, Wang Renshan, Li Yan, Guo Jin, Cui Yanjin, He Chongjian, Han Jixun, Liu Guangyi, Murong Chengtai, Ma Renyu..."

"Well, well! A whole host of senior generals, all on the list!" Liu Chengyou smiled faintly.

"Wang Renshan amassed tens of thousands in money and silk, and took four Ladies of Beauty from the Shu palace; he resold the confiscated grain and cloth, profiting considerably. Wang Quanbin indulged his subordinates, and among all the armies, the Fengguo Army had the worst discipline. Because his subordinates extorted people, they were punished by Zhao Kuangyin, and a conflict arose between the two..."

"Enough!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand to stop him, feeling a sense of anger at their failure: "Which of these men has not received my praise? The moment they entered Shu, were they all blinded by money and beauties? This Wang Quanbin too—throwing away a lifetime of reputation, indulging himself like this in Chengdu?"

Seeing the Emperor somewhat angered, Li Chongju couldn't help but say: "Among the generals and commanders, there are also those of integrity. Zhao Kuangyin, Zhang Yongde, Zhang Yanqing, and others were all unmoved. Zhang Yongde garrisoned Yu Prefecture, and Yu Prefecture was quickly pacified; Zhang Yanqing handled the transport of goods and money, taking not a single coin for himself; Zhao Kuangyin restrained his subordinates, repeatedly admonished them, spoke many good words, and enforced strict military discipline..."

"Zhao Kuangyin! The wealth of Yangzhou is no less than Chengdu's. Back then in Yangzhou, he was utterly unmoved, so his conduct in Chengdu is hardly surprising!" Hearing Li Chongju mention Zhao Kuangyin, Liu Chengyou muttered a remark, then suddenly asked: "Back then, during the long-distance raid on Chengdu, Zhao Kuangyin arrived first, but he did not enter the city, nor did he accept Meng Chang's surrender. Instead, he waited until Xiang Xun arrived with the northern route army?"

Somewhat surprised by the leap in Liu Chengyou's thinking, Li Chongju still answered honestly: "Exactly so! According to what I've heard, Zhao Kuangyin had three opportunities to enter the city first, and he gave up all of them, saying it was to avoid friction between the eastern and northern route armies, lest contention over merit cause conflict. In the end, the resentment among the northern route troops did indeed subside!"

Coming back to himself, thinking for a moment, Liu Chengyou looked up at Li Chongju and instructed: "Make arrangements—have the Wude Office commissioners, clerks, and all the secret agents in Shu record for me, in every detail, the conduct of all the officers and men of the armies that pacified Shu, for future reference. Be careful to keep it secret."

"Yes!" His mind tightening slightly, Li Chongju immediately acknowledged.

"Also, the spy network in Chuanshu must be spread out. Keep a close watch for me on the reactions of the old Shu officials and commanders in every region!" Liu Chengyou added.

"Yes! I will give the orders at once!" Li Chongju clasped his hands.

After Li Chongju withdrew, Liu Chengyou was once again alone, his expression returning to its usual severity. After pondering for a long while, he finally let out a low sigh.

In truth, Liu Chengyou was not at all surprised that Chuanshu would erupt in rebellion—he had even long since prepared himself mentally. What surprised him was that the rebellion had come so urgently, so quickly. And the Han army's conduct in Shu had truly "carried out" his imperial will a little too thoroughly.

Liu Chengyou felt some regret inwardly—not regret at moving against Shu's upper class, but that the preparation time had been too short, the methods too hasty, and the matter considered too simplistically. The Han army's actions had been swift and fierce, but the supporting work had completely failed to keep pace. The most important step—the redistribution of productive assets such as land—had not been carried out at all, and yet the Han army had already pushed things to a point of "heaven's wrath and popular resentment."

This time, Liu Chengyou once again experienced how difficult the implementation of policy was, and how vital smooth communication from the top down was. Without a bureaucratic corps of sufficient capability, pushing reform would absolutely cause problems.

Fortunately, the situation in Chuanshu was in the midst of great change. While the reconstruction of the Great Han's governing order was erupting with some problems, it also concealed some others. Of course, the rebellion actually proved the correctness of Liu Chengyou's original decisions and strengthened his resolve to intensify his rectification efforts.

But Liu Chengyou still could not help reflecting that he had been somewhat arrogant. Years of continuous victory had made him proud; easily breaching the Shu passes, entering Chengdu, and destroying the Meng Shu had made him complacent.

Viewing affairs and making decisions with a proud and overbearing mindset inevitably led to obstinacy. Still, as always, Liu Chengyou did not think his choices were wrong—he merely reflected that his preparations had been insufficient, and that the problems of Chuanshu could have been handled more calmly.

On the other hand, Liu Chengyou was somewhat alerted, vigilant about the problem of the military. The conduct of the great army that pacified Shu, in Liu Chengyou's view, was like releasing a hungry tiger from its cage. The upper class of Shu had suffered a heavy blow because of it, but as for the Han army itself, its discipline had been greatly damaged.

Even though Liu Chengyou had long given his admonitions, even though commanders like Xiang Xun and Zhao Kuangyin had been on their guard, once the restraint began to loosen from the top, the speed of the whole army's corruption was still alarming. Of course, this was understandable—after all, the soldiers had fought for the state, trekking over mountains and rivers, fighting bloody battles, and defeating the enemy through bitter struggle. As victors, enjoying themselves a little was only proper.

In the final analysis, Liu Chengyou had somewhat taken for granted an overestimation of his control over the army. The sovereign commands the generals, the generals command the troops—when the sovereign is arrogant and the generals lax, the result is easy to imagine.

The Han army had long been renowned for strict discipline, yet once relaxed, they were still a pack of proud, fierce soldiers. The limitations of a feudal army were displayed to the fullest in Shu. And Liu Chengyou once again realized that his years of "loyalty to the sovereign, service to the state, killing enemies, and building merit" indoctrination did not prevent the army from becoming a flood of beasts.

The realm was not yet at peace, the chaotic age was not yet over, and the calamity of the warrior class still demanded serious attention.

Take the pacified-Shu Han army, this unleashed tiger—getting this tiger back into its cage was no easy matter. Fortunately, there were two things: first, the commanders, and second, military law. With these two, the reins could still barely be put back on. Of course, what was even more important was that the soldiers had already eaten until "their mouths dripped with oil"—their desires had been satisfied—so driving them back into the pen would be easier, and matters would be simpler to handle...

But the problems in Shu had truly sounded an alarm for Liu Chengyou: the army could not be allowed any slackening, and the established rules could not be casually broken, or harm would surely follow.

Perhaps because he sat in the emperor's seat, and moreover often contemplated the order and chaos of recent ages and the rise and fall of dynasties, Liu Chengyou's feelings ran especially deep. Judging from Zhao Kuangyin's earlier conduct, his anxieties perhaps also stemmed from this—a kind of "gift," though naturally not as clear-sighted as Liu Chengyou's.

And from the Shu rebellion, Liu Chengyou also thought that in the future, when pacifying the Southern Tang, Wuyue, and Lingnan, things could not be done this way again. Attention had to be paid to methods and means; preparations needed to be sufficient, investigations needed to be detailed, and hidden dangers and unrest needed to be limited to the smallest possible scope. Solving things crudely with the army left too many aftereffects.

Yet on careful reflection, using the army—that instrument of violence—to smash everything and rebuild anew achieved effects that no other method could match.

Everything has two sides, its advantages and disadvantages; it all comes down to choices. On this, Liu Chengyou had gained an even deeper understanding.

Ideally, the army should still serve as the backing for all reform and the elimination of abuses. Once Shu was thoroughly pacified, military construction would still need to be strengthened—discipline, morale, all needed clearer guidance and education...

Overall, the root of the Shu rebellion lay with Liu Chengyou himself. As emperor, he bore the primary responsibility. On this point, Liu Chengyou admitted it. Of course, as emperor, he could not actually take responsibility.

Someone had to carry the blame for him! And as for who would carry it, he already had candidates in mind. Perhaps even before the Shu rebellion, Liu Chengyou had already considered who would take the blame...

His thoughts surging through his mind, Liu Chengyou considered many things, but a clear thread had already formed.

After deliberating for a long time, Liu Chengyou worked his somewhat stiff neck, his expression once again regaining its composure. He ordered someone to bring a sheet of yellow silk, picked up a brush, and wrote an imperial directive on it. After affixing his seal, he sent a rider flying to Chengdu to deliver it into Xiang Xun's hands.

Liu Chengyou's handwritten directive was very clear in meaning: as for the affairs in Shu and the conduct of the soldiers, past matters would not be pursued. They had already earned their fill; now they should strive to suppress the rebellion. Before next year's "National Day," he wanted Shu completely pacified—the kind with no lingering troubles.

Next year would enter the eleventh year of Qianyou, the juncture of Liu Chengyou's ten full years on the throne ruling the Great Han. A grand celebration had already been decided upon, to summarize and commemorate the ten years of governance under the Qianyou reign.

At that time, for Liu Chengyou, perhaps the best congratulatory gift would be the pacification of the Shu rebellion!