Chapter 141: The Early Years of Emperor Wu, the Final Ballast Stone

The sky screen shows Grand Empress Dowager Dou's simple dwelling and attire, contrasting with the increasingly splendid Chang'an city.

The Dou clan's external relatives also were mostly frugal and law‑abiding, daring not to indulge.

The entire imperial family and core power circle, during the wealth‑accumulation phase of the "Wenjing Governance," maintained a rare modesty and restraint.

"Amid prosperity, preserving frugality is especially difficult," Liu Che knew this well.

In the later Wenjing period, the treasury was full, the people grew richer, and the tide of extravagance was already stirring beneath the surface.

The grandmother set an example, suppressing the court's and even the external relatives' desire for luxury, providing the emperor and him with a substantial family foundation and setting a good example.

Thinking of his own expenses after assuming personal rule, Liu Che's face flushed slightly.

Great Tang.

"When the superior acts, the subordinates follow; its effect is the swiftest."

Li Shimin wholeheartedly agreed, "When the empress is frugal, the six palaces dare not be lavish. When the empress dowager is frugal, the external relatives and clan dare not be indulgent."

"Once this custom spreads, how much civilian flesh and fat can be saved, how much national strength and morale can be accumulated. Grand Empress Dowager Dou's virtue may seem slight, yet it is a great measure for consolidating the state."

Great Ming.

"It should be just like this!"

Zhu Yuanzhang wholeheartedly agreed,

"When you have money, you must not flaunt it; flaunting brings you close to ruin!"

"This Empress Dou can make the whole family live frugally, turning the saved money into the nation's capital—that's true household management! It is exactly what a virtuous empress should do!"

【Four, Afterglow: The Early Years of Emperor Wu, the Final Ballast Stone】

By the time Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, she had already become Grand Empress Dowager, and was advanced in age.

At that time, the youthful Son of Heaven was eager to advance, seeking to suppress the Hundred Schools and elevate Confucianism alone, undertaking sweeping reforms.

Then, with her remaining strength, she temporarily restrained this "radicalism," putting a final full stop on the sixty‑plus years of Huang‑Lao governance at the beginning of the Han.

Later generations often praise Emperor Wu's heroic talent and grand strategy, yet few contemplate:

If Grand Empress Dowager Dou had not provided the "delay" and "stability" in Emperor Wu's early years, allowing the national strength to accumulate for several more years, the successive desert campaigns in his later reign would have exacted how many commoners' white bones as a price?

She was not opposed to reform; rather, she spent her whole life safeguarding the most basic principle of "let the people eat their fill first."

When Emperor Wu truly took personal rule, the Han's granaries were overflowing, and ironware had reached every household.

At this point, the empire finally had the confidence to endure the protracted, endless wars.

This foundation includes a share of her own effort.

In the sky screen, the young Emperor Wu Liu Che, full of vigor, discusses state affairs with scholars such as Dong Zhongshu, intending to implement new policies.

However, his many radical ideas were repeatedly rebuffed before his grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Dou.

Grand Empress Dowager Dou sat silently in the Changle Palace, like an invisible barrier that forced the steps of reform to slow.

It was not until several years later, after her death, that Emperor Wu could fully unleash his ambitions.

At this moment, the Han's national strength had reached its zenith.

Seeing this, Emperor Wu Liu Che stood on the high platform of Weiyang Palace, gazing at the sky screen, silent for a long while.

The last trace of resentment in his heart toward his grandmother's "conservatism" and "obstruction" had now vanished, replaced by a belated, profound realization and gratitude.

It turned out that his grandmother neither failed to understand his ambition nor deliberately opposed him.

She was using her remaining time to secure, for him and for the empire, a final—and most precious—period of accumulation.

What she "delayed" was not his ambition, but the potential over‑exertion of the people's strength and premature decline of national power caused by acting too hastily.

What she "stabilized" was the foundation of the empire's distant expeditions.

"Let the people eat their fill first…"

Liu Che murmured the words repeatedly, a glimmer of tears in his eyes.

He seemed to see his grandmother's aged, silent silhouette, under the solitary lamp of Changle Palace, silently guarding the empire's most simple and fundamental lifeline.

Without her final years as the "Ballast Stone," Liu Che's glorious martial achievements might indeed have required an even more tragic price to realize, perhaps even failing midway.

"Your Majesty…"

Wei Zifu sensed Liu Che's emotional turbulence and gently grasped his hand.

Liu Che turned his hand to grip tightly, his voice a little hoarse:

"Zifu, I… in the past, I was young and impetuous, unable to perceive Grand Empress Dowager's deep intent."

"She… she was protecting the final foundation for me, for this Great Han realm!"

Wei Zifu said softly, "Grand Empress Dowager was far‑sighted, cherishing you, and even more cherishing the people of the world."

"Now that you understand, her spirit in heaven must feel gratified."

Not only Liu Che, but all of the myriad people of the empire, were moved upon seeing this passage.

"With her final strength, 'delay' the radicalism, 'stabilize' the foundation…"

Li Shimin let out a long sigh, speaking to Empress Zhangsun as if to himself.

"Guanyin Bi, this is exactly 'parents love their child, thus plan far ahead'! Grand Empress Dowager Dou was no different toward Emperor Wu, was she?"

"She was not blocking her grandson's rise to glory, but using her remaining strength to cement the most solid cornerstone for his hegemony. This earnest effort can be witnessed by heaven and earth!"

Three Kingdoms realm.

"Let the people eat their fill first… guard the simplest baseline…"

Cao Cao fell silent for a long while, sighing, "These words could serve as a timeless maxim for rulers. How many great lords have fallen because they forgot this baseline."

"Dou Yifang, she devoted her life to this path, protecting the early Han's vitality and paving the most solid road for Emperor Wu's brilliance. This 'Ballast Stone' is heavier than Mount Tai."

【Sky Screen Summary:

Dou Yifang lacked Lv Zhi's ruthlessness, lacked Wu Zetian's cunning, and even had few dramatic tales passed down through history.

She resembled a silent dam, for over sixty years of early Han, blocking the sway of state policies, palace intrigues, and the erosion of extravagance.

She takes "non‑troublemaking" as the highest wisdom and "preserving what has been achieved" as the greatest merit.

The reign of Wen and Jing was the golden age of the Western Han, and she was the steadfast guardian within that era's deep palace.

Hence, she ranks fifth among the ten virtuous empresses, a title truly deserved.

The Heavenly Canopy bestows the following rewards:

Reward One: twenty years of longevity.

So that she may witness the full flourishing of the Wen‑Jing governance and share in the joy of the people's peace and health.

Reward Two: hybrid rice seeds weighing one hundred thousand jin, yielding a thousand jin per mu.

To fulfill her lifelong wish of "resting with the people," truly achieving "when granaries are full, one knows propriety," so that the world knows no more famine.

Reward Three: favorable winds and rains for the next ten years.

With heaven's timely harmony and her human concord, protect the Han dynasty's realm, its foundation forever solid.

……

The fourth place is the Empress of the Great Ming, dear readers watching, can you guess who it is?

(Special hint: her husband rebelled as a prince, eventually seized the world, and was the first emperor in history to receive the title "Feng Lang Ju Xu". That's all the hints; any more and you'd all know ✌︎˶╹ꇴ╹˶✌︎)

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