Han Shizu

Chapter 2193 Renzong Chapter 10 The Political Ecology of the Empire

The period when Fan Zhongyan was in power was also the beginning of a true "commoner era" for the Han Empire. At the central level, the empire's "commoner" bureaucrats truly overshadowed the aristocratic group for the first time.

During Fan Zhongyan's administrative reform, a number of people who were in office but doing nothing were dismissed. Among them were some powerful commoners, but most of them were people who held high positions by virtue of their family background and connections.

At the same time, a large number of talents were promoted, which inevitably enhanced the strength and influence of the commoner bureaucrats. After all, after hundreds of years of development and accumulation, the ideological concepts and social economy have undergone tremendous changes. The talent pool and coverage of the commoner groups far exceed those of the meritorious officials.

Of course, by the eleventh year of Zhengtong, the so-called nobles and commoners in the Han Empire were not two completely opposing factions. As early as the Taizong period, the two sides had begun to merge.

Among the commoners, there are many who seek to advance themselves by joining the powerful, and some even manage to reach high positions. As for the meritorious officials and nobles who have inherited their family's throne, especially those with military merits, the pressure of being demoted to hereditary status increases day by day. In order to ensure the power and influence of their family, they are also recruiting disciples and supporting the training of commoner talents.

Therefore, among the upper ruling class of the Han Empire, the positions and factions were no longer simply distinguished by family background and origin, and the division of various power groups was actually very complicated.

The royal family, relatives of the emperor, aristocratic families, schools, peers, reformers, conservatives, the imperial party, the prime minister's party, the centralists, the localists, and even the interest groups that emerged from the various government offices over the long years have greatly enriched the political factions of the empire.

In contrast, it is the middle and lower-level officials and scholars with low power and narrow vision who pay more attention to origin and family background. Many self-righteous people secretly envy those "stinking" dignitaries and powerful people and rush to pursue them.

The leaders of various factions, regardless of whether they are noble or common, actually have a common identity - the powerful and aristocratic. They all belong to the same class - the ruling class. The group divisions among them are only internal contradictions and differentiations based on different political positions and interests.

While the empire's upper class is becoming increasingly rigid, conservative, slow and degenerate, political stability is actually constantly improving, all because of a balance.

Some people and factions may be strong for a while and hold great power, but they can never control all people and forces. This is also the political ecology of the Han Empire during Fan Zhongyan's reign. This is also the real reason why he, as a "poor man" and a southern minister, was able to rank among the top officials, hold the largest part of the power of the prime minister in his hands despite the obvious lack of support from the imperial power.

The formation of this political ecology not only reflects the rise of new nobles, but also the relinquishment of power by old nobles, which is not necessarily a bad thing for the imperial power. After all, the balance that our ancestors had to work hard to maintain has been truly established in the upper echelons of the empire after a hundred years of vicissitudes.

It is a convention and a habit, and it is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Let's look at what Emperor Liu Weizhen did. If we list them carefully, it seems that he did nothing. Even the Taoist temple he wanted to build was stopped by Fan Zhongyan.

But the state of the Han Empire is that it is as strong as a mountain despite the wind and rain! This is the deep-rooted stability brought about by the political system and ecology that the empire has spent hundreds of years to form.

However, when the superstructure becomes increasingly conservative and stubborn, some problems and ills are inevitable. For example, it is obviously very difficult for people like Fan Zhongyan to change and reverse the natural trend and objective law that is like the flow of the dead.

From the anticipation and cheers of the whole crowd when he returned to Beijing in the sixth year of Zhengtong to the "infamy" and constant criticism in the twelfth year, Fan Zhongyan's many reform measures and policies, while struggling to support and maintain the afterglow of the Jianlong prosperity, also constantly selected his fellow travelers and comrades.

There is no need to say much about the economic rectification. Wine makes people popular, gold makes people's hearts move, and if you touch other people's cheese, they will naturally regard you as an enemy. However, the economic field of the empire is deep and muddy, and there is a lot of room for fish in troubled waters, compromise, and transactions.

The key lies in political measures, especially Fan Zhongyan's ideas on selecting and employing people. It is certainly politically correct and an irrefutable truth in the world to employ people based on their merits, but we cannot ignore the actual political environment.

Therefore, when Fan Zhongyan began to think about the system of imperial favors, even if it was just a reform with some restrictions, it still attracted public attack and was doomed to failure, because he touched the interests of all the old and new nobles in the court, which were far more important than the fundamental political interests of money.

The backlash did not really come until the 12th year of Zhengtong, after the Hebei Rebellion was completely quelled. This was because the instigators understood the greater good, or it was a good opportunity to seize it.
Of course, even if he could not change the deep-seated and fundamental problems, Fan Zhongyan still achieved some major changes to the existing system. For example, it was during Fan Zhongyan's period that civil officials took charge of the military, appearing in the military and political arena of the empire for the first time.

The monopoly of the Ministry of War by the aristocrats with military merit had been broken for decades. During the Zhengtong period, under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan and with the support of a group of commoner forces, they took advantage of the "Shi-Li Dispute" to break the monopoly of the aristocrats with military merit on the military and political power of the Privy Council.

"Shi" refers to Shi Yuansun, and "Li" refers to Li Guangfu. One of them is the descendant of Shi Shouxin, and the other is the great-grandson of Li Yun. Both are descendants of old-time nobles with a good family background in the empire.

After the death of Privy Councilor Zhe Weichang, various factions fought fiercely for the position of Privy Councilor, which triggered a major reshuffle in the imperial military command system.

Finally, Fan Zhongyan joined forces with the Xiao family and promoted Xiao Hui, a famous general during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, to the position of Privy Councilor. But at the same time, Fu Bi, who was then the Inspector of the Northwest, was appointed Deputy Privy Councilor. This was the first time that a civil official truly served in the Imperial Martial Hall, even though he was the last-ranked Deputy Privy Councilor.

Academic scholars such as Fu Bi and Han Qi had already gained fame and received sufficient training during the reign of Emperor Shizong, but they were not truly valued until Fan Zhongyan came to power.

Fan Zhongyan called Fu Bi a talent who could assist the king. Without his strong promotion, Fu Bi would have to work for another ten years before he could reach his current position. Of course, Fu Bi's success was obviously related to his father-in-law, the old minister Yan Shu.

When Pingding Wang Ze revolted, although the chief commander was Shi Yuansun, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, Jing Yanbo, who served as the pacification envoy, was also a scholar and had the power of military command. In the Hebei battlefield, Han Qi also served as the Hebei transport envoy and the camp grain envoy, responsible for the supply of the army's supplies, and also had soldiers under him.
Although there were signs and trends, the reform of the imperial military command system initiated by Fan Zhongyan had obviously caused dissatisfaction among many meritorious officials and nobles. Therefore, this made them directly feel the shaking of their influence on the imperial military and political affairs.

Fan Zhongyan's proposal to reorganize the army by "streamlining the military" also caused a lot of dissatisfaction. Even though he proposed it out of consideration of strict discipline and strengthening the army, it still made people feel disgusted and felt that he was overreaching.

Including the naval system, whose power had declined since Guo Liangping, everyone was dissatisfied with Fan Zhongyan because he tried to cut down the "Twenty-Year Shipbuilding and Artillery Building Plan" formulated by the old Privy Councilor Guo Liangping.

Fan Zhongyan's downfall caused countless regrets among later generations and made countless people who missed the prosperous Jianlong era feel sad. However, in the 12th year of Zhengtong, his downfall was inevitable. It was a counterattack collectively launched by the imperial ruling class and a turbid current of the times that was unstoppable.

Among the many marks of the times left by Fan Gong, the one that was truly accepted by people and triggered imitation by many ruling classes was the "Yi Zhuang".

As early as the Jianlong period, Fan Zhongyan first advocated charity village. With the support of his brother Fan Zhongwen, the two brothers established a "Fan Village" in Suzhou, purchased land, and developed production to accommodate and support the poor members and relatives of the Fan family.

Many people followed suit, gaining both fame and profit. By the Zhengtong period, charity cemeteries established by powerful people across the country had sprung up all over the empire.

The manor economy of the Han Empire ushered in a wave of vigorous development, and the personal dependence relationship that Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong had once tried hard to limit and break was once again established between landlords and tenants, and became even stronger and more stubborn.

History is a circle, and after many twists and turns, it is inevitable to return to the familiar track. It was also after Fan Zhongyan that the various ills and problems that emerged in the rise and fall of dynasties appeared in the Han Empire in a significant and unstoppable manner, and it was difficult to restore it to its former clarity through efforts.

However, compared with previous dynasties, the capital of the Han Empire was more abundant, and the family property could last longer. But how long it could last depended not only on the speed of the degeneration of the empire's ruling class, but also on the quality and behavior of the emperor. After all, the empire was still a monarchy, and the influence of the emperor on the development of the country was still significant.

At the same time, with the large-scale development of the commodity economy, the booming overseas trade, and the increasingly close internal and external exchanges, the sprouts of capitalism also appeared in the Han Empire in an expected manner.

(End of this chapter)