Han Shizu

Chapter 2142: Sejong Chapter 17: Lifanyuan Affairs
In the first year of Jianlong, on the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, the most majestic and grand imperial banquet since Emperor Liu Wenji ascended the throne was held in the Qianyuan Hall of Ziwei City.

Of course, in terms of the scale and splendor of the banquet, it was far inferior to the many grand banquets during the reign of Emperor Kangzong. However, the prosperity and peace during the reign of Emperor Kangzong were never celebrated in poems and lyrics by many literati and poets in the court who recalled and compared the scene of the prosperous Yongxi era.

In fact, the Han Empire began its glorious era during the reign of Emperor Taizong, and only truly got on the right track after eight years of neglect, decadence and chaos during the reign of Emperor Kangzong, until the first year of Jianlong during the reign of the current Emperor Liu Wenji.

And with the solid foundation laid by the previous generation (the actions of Kangzong during his eight years in power could not destroy the foundation of the Han Empire at all), once things returned to normal, another round of prosperity could be expected, and the results would even be very quick. In the first year of Jianlong, from a national perspective, the many prefectures, states, military regions and counties under the empire showed a thriving development trend. This was why Liu Wenji had the confidence to hold a celebratory imperial banquet in the Qianyuan Hall during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.

Luoyang, Lifanyuan, Fuyuan Hall.

After the lenient case, Xuchang King Liu Yao sat in the middle, his eyes calm and his face calm as he read the reports from various parties inside and outside the empire. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday (as one of the five major festivals of the empire, according to the holiday regulations, officials can get a ten-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. The imperial holiday system is divided into public holidays and private holidays. If an official takes all public and private holidays, theoretically he can rest for 120 days a year), many court offices basically only maintain basic operations, which naturally leads to the accumulation and delay of a large amount of official business.

As the Minister of the Central Secretariat of the Han Dynasty, Liu Yao had the power to assist the Ministry of Border Affairs, so of course, there were mountains of official documents on his desk. Of course, with the satisfaction brought by power, no matter how heavy the official duties were, they were just nutrients to enrich his life.

The Lifanyuan government office had been established for a long time, but among the many central departments of the Han Empire, its ranking was not high and it was often even overlooked. However, the actual power held by the Lifanyuan was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

After nearly sixty years of development, the Lifanyuan has grown into an extremely large, complex and influential department compared to its somewhat sloppy structure during the initial period of Jinglun.

In fact, the power was very great and the scope of authority was very wide, especially after Emperor Taizu conferred titles on the kings. You should know that in the ruling system of the Han Empire, the Lifanyuan could manage all matters related to ethnicity, religion, fiefdoms, diplomacy, border security, economy, taxation, contributions, trade, etc., which were related to foreign affairs, ethnicity, and religion.

In the world where the Liu clan princes are conquering, and the major feudal states are thriving, the power actually held by the Lifanyuan and its influence on the court are much greater than what is stipulated and granted in the "Collected Statutes" and "Chaozhi".

And because he controlled the Lifanyuan, and as a representative of the imperial family who was appointed prime minister through the position of Zhongshuling, Liu Yao had great power in the court. Of course, this was also due to the support of Emperor Liu Wenji. What Liu Wenji needed was to use the Lifanyuan as a platform to effectively reform and customize the relations between the major vassal states.

At this time, Liu Yao was reviewing an official document, which made him frown. It was because the Liaodong Road had reported that the Wanyan tribe of the Jurchens was in turmoil, the barbarians were disturbing the territory, and the prefectures and counties were in turmoil. When it came to the issue of the Northeast Jurchens, the Lifanyuan would naturally intervene.

Of course, barbarian disturbances, even riots and rebellions, were not particularly uncommon in the Han Empire. Since Liu Yao took on the management of the Fanyuan Court, they had become commonplace and nothing surprising.

But the case of the Wanyan Jurchens was different. Not only did they have deep roots with the Han Empire and were granted titles by their ancestor emperor, but they were also connected to the Andong Kingdom. When it came to being involved with the Andong Kingdom, the situation naturally became complicated.

With the continuous advancement of the process of establishing the Andong State and developing the Northeast, the century-long plan for developing the Northeast formulated by Emperor Taizu was almost halfway completed, and the history and development of the entire Northeast had also undergone earth-shaking changes.

After more than 40 years of management by Liu Xu and his son, Andong State dominated the northeast, so there is no need to mention it. Narrowing the field of vision, take the development of Wanyan Jurchen as an example. This Jurchen tribe, which fished and hunted in the border area between Liaodong and Andong, was completely tamed by Qin Wang Liu Xu in the late Kaibao period.

Today, the Wanyan tribe is an important part of the Anzheng system. In the military and political affairs of Andong, there are quite a few Wanyan civil and military officials. Even the Wanyan tribe itself still has a population of about 100,000 (the excess population was registered as civilians by Liu Xu and his son, and counties were established, directly incorporated into the military and political management system of Andong). Moreover, the degree of sinicization has been very high, and the culture, etiquette, and customs of the Han people are deeply rooted in them. Even the production method has become half farming and half herding.

It is hard to say whether such a change has advantages or disadvantages for the empire and Anton, but as a major tribe that once leveraged the development of East Asian history, such a profound change in it also truly reflects the huge shift in the world line under the Han Empire.
Over the past few years, in addition to expanding northward, the infiltration and development of the Liaodong Road by the State of Andong was almost instinctive, with many means both overt and covert. The Wanyan Jurchens, who were distributed in the border areas between the Liaodong Road and the State of Andong, were very active and proactive. It can even be said bluntly that the Wanyan Jurchens were the vanguard of the State of Andong.

At the same time, there are still many tribes like the Wanyan tribe under the Andong system, which are basically the tribes that stabbed the Liao Kingdom in the Northeast battlefield during the Second Northern Expedition. And these people were driven by Emperor Shizu to the Andong Governor's Office at that time.

Take the Wanyan tribe for example. At first, the emperor even promised to grant them Huanglongfu, but he broke his promise in the end. He only allocated a large area of ​​land outside Ningjiang Prefecture (north of Huanglongfu) for them to fish and hunt for a living. In order to prepare for the construction of the Andong Military Governor's Office, he also occupied part of their tribal land in the Yazi River Basin (the lower reaches of the northern Songhua River).

There was no way. Even for someone as confident as Kublai Khan, "Jurchen + Wanyan" was enough to irritate him, and with his usual strong style, he made such an arrangement.

If there was anything that really surprised Emperor Liu, it was probably the management of Andong by King Qin Liu Xu. He tamed and sinicized many northeastern tribes, including the Wanyan, Dalugu, Tangku, Nipanggu, and Tudan, and truly established the Han system among these indigenous barbarian tribes. He truly and profoundly transformed the Northeast region and changed its history.

This process was destined to be difficult and extraordinary, requiring a lot of effort and persistence. The best years of Qin King Liu Xu's life, including his life, were spent on the black soil of the Northeast.

Why did Emperor Shizu love Liu Xu? It was of course because of his love for his eldest son and because he "deeply resembled me", but also because of what the Prince of Qin had done in Andong for twenty years. Those efforts to overcome difficulties, his perseverance, and his solitude all deeply moved Emperor Shizu.

In the eyes of Emperor Shizu, to a certain extent, the actions of Qin Wang Liu Xu, like himself, were all doing things to transform the times and change history. This kind of "sense of confidant" is extremely difficult to find.

Of course, Emperor Shizu had such feelings for all his children, grandchildren, and nephews who worked hard to explore the outside world, such as King of Wei Liu Min, later Duke of Liang Liu Ye, including his nephews and nephews Liu Shu, Liu Xin, and Liu Chun. However, as his eldest son, King of Qin Liu Xu was always more special.

At this time, Liu Yao, the King of Xuchang, could not help but feel a headache when thinking about these origins. The Wanyan Jurchens might not be worth mentioning, but the Andong Kingdom, which was closely connected to them, could not be treated with caution. In the current Han Empire, the Andong Kingdom was also the most respectable and cautious feudal state.

After many contacts and conversations with Emperor Liu Wenji, Liu Yao gradually understood his mission. The emperor entrusted him with an important task. However, it was not easy to reform and adjust the vassal system, to restore the normal international relations between the central court and the vassal states at home and abroad, and to change a habit that had lasted for almost half a century.

Emperor Taizong made minor adjustments, and now it was Liu Wenji's turn to make major changes, and the difficulty was exponentially increasing. However, the emperor's attitude also made Liu Yao feel a sense of determination. Of course, with the current strength of the imperial central court, as long as the people in power were determined, it could still be done, but no one knew what kind of impact and consequences such a change would cause.

However, it was not possible to remain unchanged. As time went on, the vassal states in various places became resentful of the "stinginess" of the imperial court, and the imperial court also felt uncomfortable with the existence of the vassal states. Everyone was unhappy, so it would be better to straighten out the relationship, settle the accounts, and live in peace.

You know, even the three Anxi countries, which fought bloody battles and shared the same hatred, inevitably moved towards independence more than ten years ago, let alone the mother country and these subsidiary countries?
The emperor wanted to reform and improve the vassal system. This trend had been around for a while inside and outside the court and had received a lot of discussion. On this matter, Liu Wenji had the broad support of "public opinion."

At least after so many years of development, there is a consensus within the central court that "the court cannot be the wet nurse of the feudal states." However, Liu Yao's feelings in this regard are more complicated.

From the perspective of the imperial court, he certainly had to support it, and he had already supported it with practical actions, but Liu Yao was not just the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. He also had a fiefdom in Southeast Asia (granted by Emperor Taizong, located in Mindanao. The Philippines was basically divided into three parts, shared by the three branches of Liu Ai, Liu Xuan, and Liu Yao). Although he did not manage it very hard, his branch still gained a lot of benefits in the "feudal era".

For a prince like Liu Yao who was born late and of ordinary origin, he needed support from his motherland in matters of fiefdom. However, he only needed the court to give him something through his fingers, instead of always trying to pry open the fingers of the court like those mature and large fiefdoms.
The emperor wanted to reform the vassal system, which was also detrimental to the interests of Liu Yao's fiefdom. However, compared with the fiefdom in Southeast Asia, the power granted to the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Lifanyuan seemed to be greater.

As for the desire to carry out reforms, Andong, the first feudal state of the empire, is completely unable to avoid this issue. This is destined from historical legacy to geopolitics.

Precisely because he understood the truth, the report from Liaodong Road about the disturbance caused by the Wanyan Jurchens made Liu Yao wonder whether the Kingdom of Andong was behind it. It must have been there. Perhaps this was Anton expressing his attitude to the court?

Liu Yao had little contact with Liu Wenyuan's "nephew", and he only understood many things after assisting the Administrative Office. However, even though Liu Wenyuan had always been restless, he would not dare to challenge the authority of the court at this juncture. After all, this was not the time when Liu Wenji had just ascended the throne three or four years ago.

Regardless of how much he guessed, Liu Yao had a premonition that things would get more sensitive and troublesome with Andong. But the first thing Liu Yao had to solve was the problem of the Wanyan tribe, which was the responsibility of the Lifanyuan.

Liu Yao also heard that Liaodong Governor Zeng Hui had already reported the matter to the court, requesting the court to send troops to wipe out the Jurchen barbarians who were invading the border and disturbing the people, in order to deter the four barbarians and restore peace to the people!
Zeng Hui was in charge of Liaodong for three years. Apart from anything else, his reputation as a "hardliner" was thoroughly established. Under his iron-fisted governance, the atmosphere in Liaodong's officialdom and among the people was greatly changed, and the erosion from the State of Andong was significantly curbed.

No one had ever thought that Zeng Hui, a civil official and an old man from the south, could stir up such a big wave when he came to the north. Zeng Hui's many policies and methods were also praised and criticized in the court, which was also the public opinion torture that anyone who made achievements would have to endure.

Liu Yao was not surprised by Zeng Hui's strong reaction and tough suggestions, but according to his method, it was not to intimidate the barbarians, but to give face to the Kingdom of Andong. Zeng Hui had his considerations, and Liu Yao also had a position.

Therefore, after careful consideration, he took a blank chapter and quickly wrote down his suggestions on how to deal with the "Wanyan tribe disturbing the border incident." According to Liu Yao's estimation, the emperor was probably waiting for his report to make a comprehensive decision.

From Zeng Hui to Liu Yao, and then to Emperor Liu Wenji, they all knew what the problem behind the Wanyan tribe was. Therefore, the Wanyan tribe must be severely punished, and the court's attitude must be clear, explicit, and explicit. Those who violate the border must be punished, and those who harm the people must be investigated. This is the bottom line and cannot be broken.

Of course, Liu Yao also mentioned some problems of Andong State in his memorial, and proposed that the border between Liaodong and Andong should be managed more strictly and in a standardized manner to turn chaos into order and complexity into clarity.

In this matter, Liu Yao still referred to Zeng Hui's previous suggestion. Feeling that the border between Liaodong and Andong was full of good and bad people, evil and disorderly, Zeng Hui suggested setting up an "isolation zone" on the border. As for social exchanges, it was only necessary to open some trading stations along the line.
That memorial aroused strong opposition from Anton. As for Liu Yao's suggestion, it was still a compromise.

(End of this chapter)