Han Shizu

Chapter 2175: Emperor Shizong Chapter 51: The Crown Prince

During the three years, Liu Wenzhi conducted in-depth assessments and inspections on his son and grandson Liu Jiying and Liu Weizhen. When they are placed under a magnifying glass and observed carefully, even the most glamorous and gorgeous appearance will inevitably fade.

Starting from the 21st year of Jianlong, Liu Jiying, Duke of Suiyang, was arranged by Liu Wenji to work in the imperial court departments, where he actually participated in court affairs and learned and developed his ability to judge and handle state affairs.

Liu Jiying successively trained in the Lifanyuan, the Finance Department, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Privy Council, the most core departments of the court, until the 22nd year of Jianlong, when he was granted the title of Shizhong and entered the Political Affairs Hall.
This series of arrangements all indicate that Liu Jiying went further and further on the path of "preparing for the crown prince". Even though Liu Wenji used strong and cruel means to maintain the court and suppress the prince's factional struggle, as time passed, the voice of Suiyang Duke Liu Jiying became louder and louder, which was due to the emperor's highly instructive and confusing arrangements.

At the same time, Liu Jiying did perform well in his ability to govern affairs, especially during the time he followed his great-uncle Liu Yao in the Lifanyuan. He was very down-to-earth and serious, and understood very well the importance his father attached to the relationship between the royal family and the vassal states, and he studied hard how to judge and handle related affairs.

When he was on duty in other departments, he also worked hard. Although there were some omissions, his attitude of striving for improvement was extremely positive and upright. Even those capable officials and administrative experts in the Political Affairs Hall, regardless of their true feelings, praised Liu Jiying and gradually recognized his "virtue" and "ability".

However, after two or three years, perhaps because of the burden of fame or because he was too obsessed with reputation and talent, Liu Jiying began to go further and further away from the path of neglecting the important and pursuing the trivial. He did less practical work and talked more. Gradually, even his mindset changed. He began to concentrate on figuring out the emperor's intentions and winning people's hearts.

Liu Wenji also specifically reprimanded and corrected this behavior of seeking fame and reputation and avoiding reality. It was effective, but Liu Jiying soon returned to his old ways. He was also led astray by his close ministers and staff. The emperor's corrections, after being "translated" by others, became the emperor's will. Otherwise, why would he go to so much trouble?
It can be said that when Prince Zhangde Liu Jili had just passed away, Liu Jiying had a lot of advantages. It was not because of the strong support from the Yang family's relatives and military nobles, or the overwhelming momentum between the court and the public, but more importantly, it was because of the emperor Liu Wenji's liking and love for him.

At least, Liu Wenji preferred him to the slow-witted eldest grandson. After all, Liu Wenji prided himself on being a wise ruler, and when choosing an heir, he always preferred to find someone who was "similar to himself."

Therefore, although Crown Prince Liu Jili is "kind and weak", it does not mean that he is not smart. On the contrary, he is very smart. It is just because of his personality that his style of doing things gives people a feeling of weakness.

For Liu Wenji, it was also a torment to watch his eldest son, who had great hopes, gradually slip away, his bright halo gradually dimming, exposing his "mediocre" nature.

Liu Jiying's mediocrity was not due to any major flaws in his knowledge and wisdom, but as an emperor, he was too unintelligent, and many of his behaviors and methods in the competition for the crown prince were also too unwise. Simply put, the more you do, the more mistakes you make.
If Liu Wenji had appointed a new crown prince in the 20th year of Jianlong, then Liu Jiying would most likely have been the winner. However, this matter was delayed for three whole years, and changes would have occurred later.
As Liu Jiying's main competitor, the eldest grandson of the emperor, Liu Weizhen, seemed much more simple. For two long years, he only did two things, observing mourning and studying. Apart from these two things, Liu Weizhen did not make any extra moves. He seemed indifferent to the fight for the throne. The momentum in the court seemed to be spontaneously formed by supporters and opponents of the Yang family.

Of course, the main reason why Liu Weizhen could sit on the Diaoyutai without worrying about anything, in addition to his personality, was that someone gave him advice. Wang Shilin, who was then the Prince's Assistant, was a famous official in the reigns of Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong, and the grandson of Wang Xuanzhen, the former Wude Envoy, the Governor of Jiangnan Road, and the Prime Minister.

Wang Shilin entered the officialdom with the help of his grandfather, so his career was a little more "bumpy" than those children of powerful and wealthy who entered the officialdom through the imperial examination. Although he might not be as good as others in other aspects, he inherited his grandfather's political sensitivity and ability to judge people.

When the fight for the throne first broke out, he carefully analyzed for Liu Weizhen a series of pros and cons, including the emperor's attitude, the court situation, the strength of the foreign relatives, the attitude of the clan members, the trends of the nobles and commoners, etc. In the end, the advice he gave to Liu Weizhen was only one: be low-key in life and be down-to-earth in work.

There is no need to worry about Liu Jiying's success in taking over the throne. If the emperor has made up his mind, then all efforts will be in vain. If Your Majesty is hesitant, then there will definitely be people in the court who will speak for the emperor's grandson.
Liu Weizhen followed Wang Shilin's advice and acted accordingly, and he did a good job. He was careful in his words and deeds, and harmless to people and animals. Moreover, he constantly adjusted his words and deeds according to the changes in the court. Of course, more often, Liu Weizhen just honestly did his own thing.

Just like that, when Liu Wenji turned his attention to his eldest grandson, he suddenly discovered that this grandson could be so quiet in the noisy environment of the court. This was a rare trait, and Liu Wenji was also surprised for the first time.

Liu Wenji disliked his "pedantry, cowardice and stupidity", but when he was reading one time, he read a passage in "The Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong". The text description had the style of the Spring and Autumn Period, but it clearly pointed out that when Emperor Taizong was young, he was also known for his "pedantry" compared to the three kings of Qin, Jin and Zhao.

This "discovery" was also the beginning of Liu Wenji's change of opinion on Liu Weizhen. It is worth mentioning that it was Bao Zheng, then the Cabinet Lecturer, who put the volume of "The Records of Emperor Taizong" in the emperor's reading list.

When Liu Wenji also shone the magnifying glass on Liu Weizhen, Wang Shilin's advice played a big role. Therefore, in Liu Wenji's eyes, although Liu Weizhen, this grandson, was not so satisfactory, he was at least prudent and pure. He was not wise, but "not tossing around" was also a rare trait of an emperor.
It should be from the 22nd year of Jianlong that Liu Wenji first looked at his son and grandson with equal eyes. While Liu Jiying was handling affairs in the Government Affairs Hall, he summoned Liu Weizhen for questioning more frequently.

In the 22nd year of the Yellow River, the water level was abnormal during the summer flood. Liu Wenji issued an edict, appointing his grandson Liu Weizhen as the river defense envoy for the first time in history. He led a team out of the capital to inspect the river defense conditions in the counties and prefectures in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Then something went wrong during the inspection. Liu Weizhen was assassinated when he arrived in Puyang. Although he was fine, he was very frightened. The assassin was a deadly warrior. When the assassination failed, he committed suicide decisively without leaving any useful clues.

On the advice of Wang Shilin, Liu Weizhen did not report the matter to the higher authorities or complain about it. Instead, he put national affairs first and continued to obey the imperial edict, inspecting the downstream prefectures and counties to help the people in distress.

But obviously, this matter could not be concealed from the court, and the dense spies quickly reported the matter to Emperor Liu Wenji. It is hard to say what Liu Wenji felt about this, but he quickly issued a secret order, requiring the matter to be suppressed and covered up, and no leaks were allowed.

Although the matter was suppressed, it continued to ferment in some areas unknown to ordinary people. The impact was so far-reaching that it can be said that it completely changed the situation of the fight for the throne.

Of course, Liu Weizhen’s “assassination in Puyang” is also one of the major mysteries of the Jianlong court. It is not about the incident itself, but about the series of struggles for the throne involved behind the assassination.

As for the impact on the situation of the fight for the throne, the assassination was just a trigger. As the biggest "criminal suspect", in accordance with the imperial decree, the Imperial Envoy Chen Wei normally launched an investigation into Sui Yang Gong Liu Jiying.

As a result, the assassination case was indeed not linked to the Suiyang Palace, but Chen Wei found some other things, such as Liu Jiying's secret contacts with court officials, collusion with the inner court to spy on information, and using Yang's influence to reach out to the three divisions of the imperial guards, trying to get involved in military power, and even some generals who were bribed by him were exposed.
There are also some old accounts. For example, as early as when Prince Zhangde was still alive, Liu Jiying had already been preparing to make moves, secretly cultivating power, and even planting spies in the East Palace.
One by one, it was enough to give Liu Wenji a brain hemorrhage. Of course, Liu Wenji still did not bring these things to trial. The majesty of the royal family still had to be maintained, and the illusion of harmony also needed to be maintained. However, the proposal to make Liu Jiying a king was completely shelved.

Since the second half of the 22nd year of Jianlong, Liu Wenji has already had some inclinations about the succession. In the final analysis, although Liu Wenji's succession to the throne was a matter of luck and conspiracy, he did not like his descendants to do the same thing, or the way Liu Jiying did it.

Liu Wenzhi was really upset to see such a good hand of cards played so badly.

Of course, even though Liu Wenji had the highest and final decision-making power over the crown prince, he was inevitably influenced by others in the process of making decisions. After all, the Han Empire did not belong entirely to him alone.

For example, Empress Yang, thanks to her good family tradition, was very wise and Liu Wenji was quite respectful to her. However, since the "leak of Liu Jiying's affairs", Liu Wenji's fear of Yang once again prevailed, and Empress Yang's plus points turned into minus points.

Among the imperial clan, Liu Wenji also consulted the opinions of the head of the clan, Prince of Yan Liu Zhao, and the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Prince of Xu Liu Yao (Prince of Jin in the 15th year of Jianlong). Prince of Yan Liu Zhao was still slippery, just like his nickname "Old Fox", he did not express any accurate opinions on the matter, and if the emperor asked, he would say "Your Majesty is the one who decides".

In contrast, Xu Wang Liu Yao, who had been a minister for more than 20 years and was already very familiar with Liu Wenji, carefully pointed out some of Liu Jiying's performance in the Lifanyuan, expressing his concerns that Liu Jiying was not practical.
Of course, Liu Wenji had to discuss the issue of the crown prince with his trusted ministers. He once had a heart-to-heart talk with Xiao Gong, the Minister of War, who pointed out that many people inside and outside the court sympathized with Prince Zhangde and the emperor's grandson!

He even dared to say something heartbreaking. Given their personalities, if Liu Weizhen succeeded to the throne, the harmony of the royal family could be preserved. But if it was Liu Jiying, that might not be the case. At least the lineage of Prince Zhangde might not be preserved.
Liu Wenji was always worried about Liu Weizhen's "weakness" and proposed to establish other princes and grandsons as the emperor. To this, Xiao Gong firmly opposed it and bluntly said that it was a way to cause chaos.

Not long after that conversation between the emperor and his ministers, Xiao Gong was dismissed from his post and sent by Liu Wenji to Shanyang as governor. Xiao Gong was happy with the job. He suggested that he was not seeking wealth and fame, but it was necessary to stay away from the emperor in his old age.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the twenty-third year of Jianlong's reign, on the day of the grand court, Emperor Liu Wenji officially issued an edict to appoint his eldest grandson Liu Weizhen as the Crown Prince, formally establishing the heir to the throne of the Han Empire and ending the three-year-long struggle for the throne.

But the result did not mean the end of the struggle, at least Liu Jiying was extremely dissatisfied. The enthronement of the crown prince was also the beginning of another round of political struggle in the court, but this time, the old emperor Liu Wenji personally took the lead.

For the rest of his life, Liu Wenji's most important job was to pave the way for the Crown Prince Liu Weizhen. This job included clearing away the thorns on the way to succession. The powerful "Sui Yang Faction" was disintegrated step by step by Liu Wenji, and the core of the Yang family was torn to pieces by Liu Wenji.

The descendants of Yang Ye were either demoted or killed, and even Empress Yang was almost placed under house arrest in Kunming Palace and was not allowed to interact with the children of the Yang family. Of course, the Yang family, with its deep roots, was not so fragile, and Liu Wenji had no intention of uprooting it. However, under the emperor's ruthless hand, the Yang family, which had been glorious throughout the Jianlong era, began to decline, and its reputation as the "first noble family" fell.

As for Liu Jiying, in the 24th year of Jianlong, Liu Wenji directly drove her to Nanchang Prefecture.
　I went back to my hometown, so I delayed the update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)