Chapter 130 Emperor Wen of Han (End)
Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng frowned almost imperceptibly.

His living environment when he was a child was not good. He was held hostage in the State of Zhao and had seen the sufferings of the world. But even so, he could never imagine sucking pus and blood - whether he gave it to others or others, such as Fusu, sucked it for him.

As soon as Liu Qi ascended the throne, he dismissed Deng Tong from his post. Later, someone reported that Deng Tong had secretly gone abroad to mint coins. Liu Qi imprisoned Deng Tong for interrogation and found that the report was true. So he made a decision and not only confiscated all of Deng Tong's property, but also made him owe hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

When Princess Guantao gave money as a reward, the officials immediately confiscated it and used it to pay off debts. Deng Tong didn't even have a hairpin on him.

Helplessly, Princess Guantao could only send people to provide Deng Tong with food and clothing so that he could barely make ends meet. In the end, Deng Tong did not get a penny and died in the family where he was staying.

Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Liu Heng and his eldest son Liu Qi looked at each other silently, and both of them were very emotionally stable.

The father and son were silent for a long time. Finally, Liu Heng took the lead in turning his gaze back to the sky, and then Liu Qi also turned his gaze away - Deng Tong was indeed guilty at that time, and the matter of sucking pus and blood...

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang raised his eyebrows and smiled: "This kid named Liu Qi, his character and methods..." are much more straightforward and cruel than his father Liu Heng. It is entirely possible to infer what choice such a new emperor would make in the face of the situation of the Han Dynasty at that time.

That is, a big move will come soon - even if it is not the case, it will definitely not be the way Liu Heng did, who was gentle on the surface and slowly eroded away in secret.

However, this is also a good thing.

He had not forgotten the various problems that Jia Yi mentioned in his memorial to the Han Dynasty when he was talking about Jia Yi before the curtain. He did not think that those problems could be basically solved during Liu Heng's reign. On the contrary, it would probably be the turn of this successor monarch to clear these obstacles.

Ming Dynasty, Yongle period.

Zhu Di did not care about Liu Qi's incident, but he thought of Liu Qi's reputation later: "In the early period, Emperor Jing of Han was a man of virtue and abiding by his duty, but later he became jealous and unkind, lacking the measure of a ruler, being mean and harsh, and ruling his people with deceit and force. It's really..."

He sneered slightly and tapped the armrest with his fingertips.

It is undeniable that Liu Qi is indeed different from Liu Heng in character. He has a proud and aggressive side, and his actions are in line with his character. Basically, he would not wrong himself if he could. But, is there any problem with this?

Criticisms against him focused on his reduction of the power of the feudal lords which led to the Rebellion of the Seven States, his deposing and enthroning of the empress and the crown prince, and his killing of ministers.

But, in all honesty, what's wrong with this?!
Even though he was a vassal king, Zhu Di still agreed with Liu Qi's reduction of vassal powers. Reducing vassal powers is reducing vassal powers, and politics is politics. It has nothing to do with clan ties or brotherhood. In the face of national troubles and political crises, should we still be obsessed with petty personal feelings?
Then there was the issue of deposing and enthroning the empress and the crown prince. This was indeed not a good thing. After all, if you had to argue, the empress was a private matter of the royal family, but the crown prince was not a simple matter, but a matter of national importance. However, these issues were not a problem, because the new crown prince and future emperor was Xiaowu, who was outstanding enough.

And killing ministers...don't those people seek their own death and deserve to die?

The more Zhu Di thought about it, the more he associated it with his own reputation - wouldn't his deeds be smeared with ulterior motives by those worthless and untalented people, yes, that group of literati in Jiangnan whom he hated?
[On the first day of June in the seventh year of Houyuan, Liu Heng died in Weiyang Palace at the age of 47.

He carried out the frugal style he had always adhered to to the end. In the will he left behind, he requested a simple burial and that the common people and officials only need to mourn for three days. He also did not prohibit marrying wives and daughters, offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods, drinking alcohol and eating meat.

The ministers gave Liu Heng the posthumous title of Wen, adding the word "filial piety" as was customary in the Han Dynasty, and he was named Emperor Xiaowen.

After Crown Prince Liu Qi ascended the throne, he created the "Zhaode Dance" for the Temple of Emperor Xiaowen on the grounds of Liu Heng's glorious virtue. He also ordered that "the Temple of Emperor Xiaowen should be the Temple of Emperor Taizong" because "no one in the world has made greater contributions than Emperor Gao and no one has greater virtue than Emperor Xiaowen".

Therefore, Liu Heng became one of the few emperors in the Western Han Dynasty who had a temple name, Taizong.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che still admired Liu Heng's frugal style: "Emperor Taizong was frugal and thrifty, benefiting the people. He did not collect tribute from farmers, did not collect treasury for crimes, did not build new palaces, and did not build high tombs in the mausoleums. This is truly the kingly way."

Of course, although he admired him, he really couldn't do it.

As the Son of Heaven, he should have everything he should have. The Han Dynasty was not in such a predicament. Besides, it was impossible for him to have a simple burial. His imperial mausoleum had already been built, and he had the goal of making it the most magnificent imperial mausoleum. Otherwise, would he be unable to live like a human in the afterlife?

Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Liu Heng reached out and rubbed Liu Qi's head.

He felt Qi'er's filial piety. He didn't need anything else, nor did he need to treat himself, the favorite minister left by his father, well. As long as he could publicize his merits and give him a temple name as done in the sky, it would be a great manifestation of filial piety.

Liu Qi didn't care. Isn't this as it should be? Hasn't his father done a good enough job in governing the country? Isn't he worthy of the title of Taizong?
However, Tianmu was very happy that his words had further solidified their father-son relationship.

The posthumous title "Wen" is indeed very suitable for my father: he is morally knowledgeable, benevolent and loving, compassionate and courteous to the people, and grants titles to the people.

Cultivate virtue and come far, be strong and not violent, be gentle and respectful...

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang was in a very happy mood. He was happy for his good son and for the fact that the Han Dynasty had such a ruler. So he drank heartily and was in high spirits.

Xiao He and Zhang Liang were equally delighted and drank up the wine in their cups.

During Liu Heng's reign, he rested the people, reduced the number of criminal cases, encouraged farming and sericulture, reduced land rent and taxes, relaxed restrictions on mountains and swamps, and promoted the development of the salt and iron industry and economic recovery. Politically, he adopted the suggestions of Jia Yi, Chao Cuo and others to "establish many princes and reduce their power" and to reduce the power of the princes, weakening the power of the princes and consolidating the central power; and through various means of political appeasement, compromise and balance, he struck a blow to the military merit group that once controlled the political trend in the early Han Dynasty, and returned more power to the emperor.

However, Liu Heng was restricted by the political environment at the time, the external environment of the Han Dynasty, and his own personality and style, and also left behind many problems.

As Jia Yi once pointed out, "There are one thing for which weeping is enough, two things for which weeping is enough, and six things for which we sigh deeply. As for the others that go against reason and hurt the Way, it is difficult to list them all." The problems left by Liu Heng are closely related to the policies he promulgated.

Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Without waiting for Tianmu to tell the story, Liu Heng began to speculate and estimate the problems that the Han Dynasty would face in the future.

Needless to say, the Xiongnu was definitely one of the problems, and a big one at that. But apart from the Xiongnu, the remaining problems were mostly internal, problems within the Han Dynasty.

In this case, the expansion of the power of the princes, especially the princes of the same clan, should have a place; what else is there? Could it be the issue of official administration?
Liu Heng did not think about the national economic problems for the time being. After all, the understanding of the economy was not very complete at that time. In the eyes of Liu Heng, Liu Qi, and the ministers, Liu Heng's reduction of taxes and corvee labor and encouragement of farming were already a great way to promote economic development - and such an approach had only benefits, no harm.

But Jia Yi...

Liu Heng shook his head. It would be better to find a way to make this man feel relieved. He could ask a doctor to see him and ask him to take care of his health. After all, even if the court situation during his reign did not allow him to employ him, he could still leave him to the crown prince.

[The problem of the Xiongnu does not need to be described in detail. This was a major concern of the Han Dynasty, and it was not until the reign of Emperor Wu of Han that it was resolved to a certain extent. Although Liu Heng generally adhered to a peaceful policy, he had already begun to address issues such as horse administration and food and fodder. If things continued to develop, one day the Han Dynasty's troops would be able to fight the Xiongnu head-on and reach the Xiongnu royal court.

Then, the next question is also a commonplace, that is, the princes. However, unlike the threat of princes of different surnames when the Han Dynasty was just established, after several generations of emperors and Liu Heng's policies, the situation has become "the world is at peace and no longer worried about the princes of different surnames."

Yes, no longer worry about the princes of different surnames. The princes of different surnames have long ceased to be a problem of concern to the central government and the emperor. Instead, the princes of different surnames have replaced them and become the number one threat, which is the huge group of princes of the same surname.

At first, they did help Liu Heng to maintain a check and balance, but with Liu Heng's tolerant policy and other policies, the power of the princes with the same surname became increasingly huge, and because the princes had reached adulthood and the imperial tutors sent by the court were mostly old and retired, the princes with the same surname became increasingly difficult to control.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che agreed. The appetites of those princes with the same surname were growing bigger day by day, and their ambitions were about to be exposed. If this was not a serious threat, then what was?
Take the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms during the reign of his father as an example. Some people always use this to accuse Liu Qi of being stingy, disregarding family affection, and provoking war. But was the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms really just due to Liu Qi's policy of reducing the power of the princes?
How can it be!

Take the Wu State, which was led by the Han Dynasty, for example. They bribed people everywhere and asked central officials to cover for them. They also minted copper coins and sold salt and iron in their fiefdoms. Over the years, they had already built up the power to rebel!
And with the power of rebellion, wouldn't the heart of rebellion arise? Without the emperor's policy of reducing the feudal lords, these feudal states would have rebelled sooner or later!
As for accusing Liu Qi of being mean to Guan En and disregarding family affection...isn't this the basic behavior of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty? Is there anything worth specifically criticizing?

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang sighed: "So, in the end, we still have to go to the track of the county system." He enfeoffed the princes of the same surname because he thought that the Qin Dynasty would collapse so quickly because the Qin royal family was weak at the time. Therefore, in order to prevent the Han Dynasty from facing the same problem, he decided to distribute titles to those clansmen with the same surname.

However, he still felt - he had felt before the sky fell - that the county system was more appropriate, and the enfeoffment was just to prevent himself from falling into the same situation.

Now it seems that this is true. In the short term, these princes with the same surname are indeed useful, but over time, not only are they useless, but they have become a stumbling block that prevents him from further developing the Han Dynasty.

[Another aspect is Liu Heng’s economic policy.

On the one hand, Liu Heng reduced taxes to encourage farming. This was indeed a good thing, but it also had a negative effect, which was that the central government received less tax revenue and the treasury was empty.

The treasury is empty.

Upon seeing these four words, officials in charge of taxes and treasury collection in countless dynasties, as well as emperors who were troubled by the empty treasury, could not help but shudder.

The treasury is empty, what a terrible thing!

[Liu Heng was willing to implement such a policy despite the problem of an empty treasury, simply because he wanted to restore the people's economy as soon as possible and achieve the result of "keeping wealth among the people."

The idea was good and it was indeed implemented. After all, the population growth during Liu Heng's reign was able to illustrate the economic recovery of the people.

However, this policy had to be combined with another one, which was to restrict the moneylenders, lift the ban on mountains and swamps, allow merchants to participate in trading, and then allow private coinage, allowing merchants to make a lot of money...

Under such policy conditions, a large number of wealthy merchants soon emerged in the Han Dynasty. They expanded themselves through business, and established relationships with court officials through bribery and marriage. At the same time, they became local tyrants and influenced local policies and economy.

However, with the emergence of many wealthy merchants, the Han Dynasty's original expectation of "keeping wealth among the people" was interrupted by these merchants, and wealth began to circulate and concentrate in the hands of a few people.

The same economic policy was applied to the princes of various places, that is, the princes had the power to mine minerals and mint coins. Through the accumulation of these things, coupled with some wealthy merchants who wanted to speculate, and some court officials who wanted to change the world, the power of the princes seemed to have developed too much. 】

Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Liu Heng was silent. After Tianmu said this, he also realized the problem.

Wanting to share the wealth with the people may also lead to the problem of an empty treasury. If the treasury is too empty, it is obviously not conducive to governing the country and resisting foreign enemies. But this needs to be considered in the long run. After all, under the current economic conditions, encouraging farming and restoring production should always be the first priority.

As for the wealthy merchants, that is another issue. We need to find a way to deal with them in a way that does not affect the circulation of commerce but can effectively restrict them. The key is to prevent these people from becoming a force that can influence the local areas and thus affect the implementation of the Han Dynasty's policies.

The focus now is on the princes. Liu Heng thought, although he really wanted to use the power of the princes of the same surname to compete with the military merit group and prevent the military merit group from arbitrarily controlling the emperor as before, but now it seems that he should impose some restrictions on the power and strength of these princes, rather than waiting until problems arise in the future and then thinking about how to solve them.

Otherwise, just like the situation in the sky, there will inevitably be a rebellion during Qi'er's reign, and the scale of the rebellion will be far greater than the two childish rebellions during his reign.

(End of this chapter)