Han Shizu

Chapter 2148: Sejong Chapter 24: Old and New Nobles, the Kings' Conference

The prefect of Kaifeng at that time was Li Zhaoxian, the Duke of Leping County. Not to mention his resume and qualifications, his background alone was enough to qualify him as the chief official of the "second best prefecture in the world."

His father was Li Jilong, his mother was Liu Jia, his maternal grandfather was Emperor Shizu, and he was also the cousin of the current emperor. The Li family was also considered a family of generals in the Han Dynasty. Whether it was Li Chuyun, Li Jilong or Li Jihe, they were all famous generals of the time, especially Li Jilong, who was a great commander, a mainstay, and the most outstanding talent of the Li family.

However, with the passing of Li Jilong and his brother, Li Zhaoxian's generation began to shoulder the family's responsibilities and also stepped onto the political stage of the Han Dynasty. However, Li Zhaoxian's generation did not have talents like Li Jilong and Li Jihe, and no one in the fourth generation had emerged. Therefore, the Li family had more members, but the momentum of the family's development was declining.

For many years, it was Li Zhaoxian who maintained the Li family's power and influence in the palace and among the government and the public. Even though he had been educated and trained by Li Jilian since he was a child, to be honest, he was just an average person, and his political and political abilities were only steadiness and harmony.

However, for someone of Li Zhaoxian's status, the average qualifications were already enough. The position of prefect of Kaifeng was proof of this. This was not something that an ordinary noble could hold.

To be fair, if the royal family and the imperial court were suspicious of each other, then the Li family, who were a family of generals, had a strong influence and appeal in the army, had produced generals and ministers, were in charge of military and political power, and were also royal relatives, they would be the biggest threat to the imperial power, far greater than ordinary dignitaries.

However, the Han Empire had been developing since the time of Emperor Taizu, and there were many military families that were more prominent and closer than the Li family. And they were not just one family. By the time of the Jianlong era sixty or seventy years later, this problem was no longer a big problem.

This is also thanks to the fact that Emperor Taizu lived long enough and reigned long enough. During his reign, he used his supreme power and prestige to gradually weaken and eliminate threats in this area. Coupled with a series of balancing measures and the various policy regulations of Emperor Taizong to strengthen the system, the current situation was formed.

For the powerful people in the Han Empire today, once they have the opportunity, they will act without hesitation to seize power and erode the imperial authority, but no one dares to think of rebelling and usurping the throne, because that will only lead to people rising up and attacking.

It is very difficult for any ruling class to achieve a fundamental subversion from within. Of course, this is not necessarily the case in the later period of the empire's rule. Before this, it still requires a long period of development and change.

If you think about it carefully, even the princes of the royal family can hold important positions in the court and hold real power and important authority. It is even more common to employ some royal relatives. However, whether it is Shizu, Taizong, or even Kangzong, they all deliberately promoted commoner bureaucrats and suppressed meritorious officials to balance the situation.

Not to mention Liu Wenji, he was the one who needed to balance the power and class of the empire the most. However, in the end, he found that the so-called balance was just to cultivate a group of commoners and nobles in addition to the aristocratic bureaucrats. There was no difference between the two in essence, except that they enjoyed different privileges and the threats to the imperial power were manifested in different forms.
Take Lü Yijian, the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture at the time, for example. The position of "judge" established by the Han Empire from the central government to the local level was not only responsible for judging cases and litigation, but also for judging all matters of the prefectures and courts, big or small. He was the so-called "Tongpan". One can imagine his authority in the corresponding position, which was much greater than the traditional "Shang Sanzuo".

Of course, with the development and changes of current affairs, the position of "judge" is not a common permanent official position. Strictly speaking, it is a envoy dispatched like the imperial court's dispatch of important officials to inspect the local areas. Therefore, although there are hundreds of ministries and prefectures in the Han Empire, there are not many judges. They are only established in special places or under special circumstances, and Kaifeng Prefecture certainly has this special feature.

As for Lu Yijian, he was only in his early forties at the time, and had a great reputation and outstanding talents. However, when people in the court mentioned him, the first person they thought of was his uncle, Lu Mengzheng, the famous minister and prime minister during the Kaibao-Yongxi period.

Of course, although Lü Mengzheng had many children, in terms of achievements, fame and power, Lü Yijian was the de facto successor of Lü Mengzheng in politics. If it weren't for the relationship of being of the same surname, and Lü Mengzheng's guidance and help when he was alive and in the court, even if Lü Yijian had good qualifications, it would have been extremely difficult for him to reach his current political position.

By the time the Han Empire entered the Jianlong era, or perhaps even earlier, it was no longer an era that allowed the poor, common people, and grassroots to rise. Even though many poor and common people entered the officialdom and were appointed officials through the imperial examinations and civil service positions every year, their number was small compared to the billions of people. At the same time, it was difficult to say whether these common people had any "unusual" backgrounds and relationships.

The commoner bureaucrats and generals from humble backgrounds who were once used by Emperor Taizu to check and balance the noble class had already become a new kind of "powerful nobles" over the long years, forming a new inheritance relationship.

After all, in an empire where officialdom is the most important thing, it is a noble thing to serve as an official. Once you become a noble, you achieve a transformation in identity and a leap in class. It is an extremely contradictory thing in itself to want the powerful people of the ruling class to live in harmony with the exploited common people.

If he could do that, it was enough to praise him as a good official with "morality and virtue", which was just the self-awareness of some of the ruling class. Whether it was Emperor Shizu or Emperor Taizong, their so-called checks and balances were just to cultivate a group of "new nobles" within the ruling class, and there was no fundamental change in the class contradictions of the entire empire.

Of course, the educational administration and examination system perfected by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong ensured that common people were provided with basic channels and opportunities for upward mobility, which was already a manifestation of its progressiveness.

On the other hand, the group of meritorious officials and nobles who hold the core discourse power in the empire, their inheritance is basically maintained by blood ties. This is stipulated in the system of titles and salaries, and is also the basic characteristic of the origin and inheritance of meritorious officials and nobles.

In comparison, the "new nobility" have a much broader political inheritance. Blood and kinship are still very important considerations, but they are not limited to this. Teachers and students, classmates, colleagues, comrades and even fellow townsmen can all become the context for the inheritance and development of a political force.

In terms of breadth and inclusiveness, these "new nobles" are obviously superior to the traditional nobles. After all, the overall talent base is very different. This is also the fundamental reason why they can compete with the meritorious old nobles. Moreover, from a relatively long period of time, the old nobles and the "new nobles" will inevitably be a process of one rising and the other falling.
These issues related to the imperial ruling class, some deep-seated class contradictions, Liu Wenji, as the emperor, was obviously aware of them, which is commendable. The solution or mitigation method Liu Wenji adopted was the attempt and development of the central and local two-level civil service school system, which also showed the meaning of reconciliation.

After the imperial carriage arrived in Dongjing, Emperor Liu Wenji first issued an imperial decree to posthumously confer honors on the former prime minister and minister of strategy Xiang Minzhong, generously reward his descendants, and give his two sons sixth-rank officials. The old prime minister Xiang Minzhong died of illness in his mansion in Kaifeng in April this summer.

When Liu Wenji first heard the news of the death, he still expressed his regret and sent people to the funeral to express his condolences. This time he just gave additional rewards on top of the previous condolences. In addition to the benefits, Xiang Minzhong was also posthumously awarded the title of Shangshu Ling.

In fact, for Liu Wenji, the matter of Xiang Minzhong was just a way to change his mood when he traveled to Kaifeng. After dealing with the small tail of the matter, he would face a major event, an event of great significance to the history of the Han Empire.

At the end of midsummer, the city of Kaifeng not only welcomed the hottest season of the year, but also welcomed a group of guests from all over the world - the kings of the Han Empire distributed at home and abroad.

Sixteen in total, together with King Liu Zhao of Yan and King Liu Yao of Xuchang, have gathered in Kaifeng.

There was also a King of Annan, Liu Jidan. Because he was young (less than fifteen years old) and could not handle major events, the Queen Mother sent his elder brother Liu Jiyuan to the north as a representative to participate in the conference. Of course, in fact, the struggle among the upper echelons of the Annan royal family was fierce, and the Queen Mother Liu E did not dare to leave without permission, let alone let her most important card, "King of Annan Liu Jidan", leave Jiaozhou
The sixteen kings basically matched Emperor Taizu's original idea of ​​enfeoffment among his sons and nephews and dividing the world. They also represented the large and small countries that divided the Central and Eastern worlds. If these people were gathered together, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they could overturn the entire world.

The last time the kings sat together and all the clans, big and small, gathered together was during the reign of Emperor Taizong. The first time they discussed state affairs was in the first year of Yongxi, when Emperor Taizong first ascended the throne, which was 28 years ago.

For a country and individuals, twenty-eight years is enough to produce great changes. From the current composition of the princes, it can be clearly seen that the princes of Emperor Shizu have gradually withdrawn from the stage of history. Some are old, some are dead, and the few remaining are relatively old. In addition to being called "imperial uncles", they do not even have an advantage in age compared to some of the emperor's nephews, let alone the development of the country.

In addition to the fact that things and people have changed, the most fundamental change in the past 28 years is probably the change in the relationship between princes and vassals. The weakening and centrifugal relationship between the central government and the vassal states, and between the royal family and the various kings and small clans is inevitable. The decline of the court's control over the various countries is an extremely obvious trend, accompanied by the gradual strengthening of the strength of various countries. This is one of the main reasons for these changes.

By the third year of Jianlong, in terms of national strength, Anxi was undoubtedly the most powerful country, followed by Andong. This was understandable. After all, only these two countries received almost unlimited support from the empire in the early days.

After Anxi and Andong, Kangju, Beiting and Raole followed closely behind. Judging from this unofficial ranking, the world today is still in the era of continental power. Even for the Han Empire, the Age of Discovery has already begun, but in terms of strength, those overseas vassal states are still far behind those on land.

Of course, this gap is not only caused by the strength of the central blood transfusion and the development in recent decades, but also related to the previous level of development of local civilization. The only three countries in the south, or the oceanic countries, that can barely keep up with the northern land countries in terms of national strength and power development are Annan, Linyi, and Linhai.

However, even among the three countries that have basically controlled the Indochina Peninsula, the only country that can truly be compared with Raole in terms of hard power is Raole. Even as the weakest country in the north, if Raole really gets angry, 100,000 soldiers may be exaggerated, but organizing 50,000 cavalry is more than enough.

In the past twenty years, the two countries of Linyi and Linhai, which had frequent wars, had only deployed 30,000 troops at their largest scale when facing Chenla and Pagan. At the same time, Chenla and Pagan still stand in the way of the two countries. Although they are declining day by day, it is difficult to guarantee when the goal of eliminating and annexing them will be completely achieved.

The Kingdom of Zhenla had been almost broken up by Liu Wenyan and Liu Gong, and the Kingdom of Pagan had been compressed in the mountainous area of ​​northern Myanmar and was on the verge of collapse under Liu Wenhai's united front operations. In fact, what really restricted the two countries from completing their annexation was not just military issues, but political, economic, transportation, ethnic, religious and population issues.

This time, all the kings gathered in the capital. Liu Wenji had been planning for a long time before he put it into action. He summoned all the kings to hold a clan kings' meeting, following the example of Emperor Taizong in the past. He took out his long-planned "new clan and vassal system" and jointly built a brand-new clan and vassal system of the Han Empire.

In fact, this trend has been going on for many years, even as early as the Kaibao era, but there has never been a truly profound and thorough change. Liu Wenji just wanted to go a step further on the basis of the "Yongxi Oath".

This trend has already spread to various countries in the past few years. Everyone knows more or less what the intentions of the central government headed by Liu Wenzhi are, but precisely because of this, the kings are somewhat difficult to deal with.

For example, Liu Shu, the King of Chu, is already 65 years old, but he still has not changed his old character. At the same time, as a person whose status among the royal family members is second only to that of the King of Zhao, he naturally acts like the emperor's uncle. After waiting in Kaifeng for two days, he began to complain to others that the emperor did not respect them, and that it was unacceptable to let his elders and distinguished guests wait for so long.

Before Liu Wenji arrived, Xuchang King Liu Yao, who was mainly responsible for welcoming the kings, was almost overwhelmed by the kingship. It was too difficult to deal with. It was okay for Chu King Liu Shu, who relied on his seniority and acted reckless, but Andong Liu Wenyuan was even more famous for being a troublemaker. With these two kings around, plus the innuendos and weirdness of others, it was hard to keep things quiet.

However, all the noise died down as the imperial carriage arrived. After all, he was the emperor of the Han Empire, and the authority of the central emperor was still very valuable in this era.

In the final analysis, the countries still need the great Han motherland. Otherwise, they could have refused the imperial court's call and would not have come to the capital in an orderly manner. The reason for this was not only the deterrence of the central government, but also because the tone of this conference had been set. This was a heavyweight meeting that would determine the internal structure of the empire and the royal family for the next few decades or even hundreds of years. For the sake of the family and the country, they had to go this trip.

In response to the accusation that King Liu Shu of Chu "disrespected his elders", Emperor Liu Wenji gave him face and personally bowed and apologized to him in front of all the kings and ministers. His attitude was very sincere, but the smile on his lips was a bit annoying, and the process also made Liu Shu feel very uncomfortable.
Before the meeting officially began, there was a process of preparation. It was necessary to hold an imperial banquet to entertain. Liu Wenji also needed to warm up the atmosphere and show his identity as the emperor. Then he met with the kings separately, communicated with them, listened to their reports, and tested their attitudes. He was not familiar with many of them, and even did not know them.

After that, there was a grand and solemn ceremony to worship heaven, earth and ancestors. The altar on the outskirts of Kaifeng city, which was the place where Emperor Shizu worshipped in his early years, had already been cleaned up by Kaifeng Prefecture.

After the suburban sacrifice, a solemn worship ceremony was held at the Tokyo Zhaolie Temple to comfort the spirits of all the predecessors who sacrificed their lives in the process of founding the empire and defending the territory. (The Xijing Gongchen Pavilion and the Tokyo Zhaolie Temple are almost the temples of civil and military officials of the Han Empire.)

Then, there was another imperial banquet, which lasted for several days, and the kings were exhausted. Liu Wenji then held a "closed-hall meeting" with the kings in the Chongyuan Hall of the Kaifeng Imperial City.

Originally, Liu Wenji invited Zhao Wang Liu Fang to attend the meeting, after all, he was the head of the royal family and the most respected of the kings, but Liu Fang refused. In his words, this was a meeting of royal vassals, and his lineage had long been passed down to Liu Wengong. At a meeting of this nature, it was inappropriate for father and son to sit at the same table.

This "Chongyuan Conference" lasted for three consecutive days. The specific process was not leaked at the time. People in later generations could only find some records in "Qijuzhu", "Shizong Shilu", "Guoshi" and some family biographies of the kings.

The attendants and guards standing guard around the hall could clearly hear the fierce argument inside the Chongyuan Hall. The scene must have been very heated, but the final result of the argument opened a new "vassal era" for the Han Empire and laid the foundation for the pattern of the Eastern world for the next hundred or even thousands of years.

Liu Wenji made an oath with the kings of the Liu family and, based on the "Yongxi Talks", drafted a new set of "Han Dynasty Vassal Codes". There were significant changes, but the first one was still: the lineage of Emperor Taizong is the eternal successor to the throne of the Han Empire. Of course, when it came to Liu Wenji, he himself had to be added to that.

(End of this chapter)