My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 442 Peaceful Breakup
"Since the fourth year of the previous emperor, Tao Hou has been the prime minister until now, although it has been less than five years;"

"However, Marquis Tao is in charge of the Prime Minister's Office. His orders are carried out both inside and outside the court, and all the ministers are dissatisfied."

"——Since I was crown prince, I have been in charge of stabilizing the grain prices in Guanzhong. Later, the government also started to sell grain to ensure the people's safety;"

"When the previous emperor passed away, I was still a young ruler and the country was in doubt..."

...

"Moreover, the northern barbarians, the Xiongnu, took advantage of my youth and my lack of a long-term ruler, and they fiercely raised their weapons in the north."

"Then, it was my youthful passion that gave the northern barbarians, the Xiongnu, a wake-up call in the Hetao-Mayi battle!"

"Today, I am 'unwilling to be lonely' - I am dissatisfied with the status quo, and I am implementing the law of reform for the dukes and ministers..."

Confirming that Liu She had made up his mind, and for the umpteenth time, to take advantage of this reform of the dukes and ministers and the reshuffle of the court to retire completely, Liu Rong also let out a long sigh.

Having sincerely expressed his reluctance to part with Liu She, the "lucky and treacherous prime minister", Liu Rong then naturally listed Liu She's entire career as prime minister and what the Han Dynasty had experienced.

Again, the same thing;
Liu She's term as prime minister overlapped greatly with the nearly five years since Crown Prince Liu Rong began to govern the country.

Even if the two sides don't have a tacit understanding in cooperation, at least they are a harmonious relationship between the ruler and his subjects.

From a personal perspective, Liu Rong was reluctant to part with this "lucky and treacherous prime minister" who served him so well.
From the perspective of the country and the Han emperor, Liu Rong also understood that Liu She had reached the limit of his age, energy and physical condition, and if he did not step down, he would have to stay in office for the rest of his life.

Especially the time when Liu She chose to retire at the peak of his career was so appropriate and appropriate.

But no matter what - no matter how reluctant he is emotionally or how much he agrees rationally, there are some things Liu Rong must say.

Everyone knows that no matter for emperors, princes or ministers, the posthumous title is the final judgment that summarizes the merits and demerits of a lifetime.

And when a minister - especially a heavyweight minister like the prime minister - voluntarily offers to retire at a very appropriate time, the emperor's remarks after failing to retain him will be the final verdict on the minister's tenure.

For example, when Xiao He, Marquis of Ying and Prime Minister Xiao, passed away, Emperor Xiaohui once said: Without Prime Minister Xiao, half of the pillars of the country have collapsed;
When Pingyang Marquis Cao Shen and Prime Minister Cao passed away, Emperor Xiaohui said: Pingyang Marquis followed Emperor Gao and left. How cruel he was to me and the people of the world.

This is undoubtedly the best evaluation.

For example, when the third Han Prime Minister Wang Ling passed away, Empress Dowager Lu did not even provide the funerary objects, rewards, and funeral standards of the princes level that were tacitly given to the prime minister.

Obviously, he was resentful of Wang Ling's firm opposition to Empress Dowager Lu's decision to grant titles to all the Lü clans in the early years, and he expressed his dissatisfaction with Wang Ling through such negative comments.

The evaluations received by the subsequent prime ministers were also intriguing and worth savoring.

——When Chen Ping, the Marquis of Quni, passed away, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen gave him enough respect by granting him a golden jade burial robe and a yellow intestine memorial, and he also shed tears and sighed in court.

That was when Xu Chenping was buried with "emperor's rites", as he almost didn't carry the coffin himself.

But when it came to giving Chen Ping his final verdict and deciding on his posthumous title, they quietly gave him the word "Xian"!

Qu Ni Xian Hou!
The "Book of Posthumous Titles" says: "A wise and intelligent person is called Xian" - he is intelligent and capable of understanding things;

The one who knows the nature of a sage is called Xian - he is knowledgeable and has no obstructions.

To put it simply, it means that he is smart and wise, knows everything, understands a little bit about everything, and no one can deceive him.

At first glance, it seems pretty good?
Don't worry.

Not finished yet.

——A favor without inner virtue is called dedication!
——Without inner virtue, no kindness can be achieved!
The direct translation means: Although he is a little clever, Chunchun is a morally corrupt villain!

He has absolutely no morals, so much so that his little cleverness cannot be used in the right way!

Just guess.

Guess whether Emperor Taizong of Han, Xiaowen, who is hailed as a "living saint" in this era, was saying that Chen Ping was wise and clever, or that he was "benevolent but without inner virtue."

Anyway, you can say whatever you want.

If there were opinions inside or outside the court, Emperor Taizong could just say: What's the matter?
Isn't it good to offer a few words?

Isn't it okay to say he's smart?!

But Liu Rong was more inclined to the latter - Emperor Taizong Xiaowen. Because he had not yet completely secured the throne at that time, he could only show respect to the deceased Chen Ping on the surface.

But after all, Chen Ping was also a half-powerful official, and he worked together with Zhou Bo to reduce Emperor Taizong to a clay statue.

It is also a very small probability event to say that Emperor Taizong had no resentment - and did not think of using the derogatory meaning of the word "献" to disgust Chen Ping and intimidate the remaining Zhou Bo.

——It is true that Emperor Taizong is a living saint and a sage ruler through the ages;
But don’t forget: Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, Liu Heng, was also an extremely typical Liu emperor!

If we were to talk about the common characteristics of the emperors of the Liu family, it would be nothing more than their special hobbies that are generally not acceptable to the public, and their stereotyped vindictiveness.

To put it bluntly, he is petty and holds grudges...

Chen Ping becomes more interesting later on.

——Shen Yiji, Marquis of Piyang!
As the first prime minister in Chinese history who was hit to death on the street outside the imperial palace in broad daylight by royal children and incumbent princes with a hammer, Shen Yiji's treatment after his death was extremely miserable.

Of course;
Emperor Taizong was a "living saint". It was impossible for him to do anything bad to Shen Yiji after his death just because of his hatred and the fact that Shen Yiji was a "remnant of the Lu family".

But just from one incident, we can see the attitude of Emperor Taizong at that time towards the fact that King Huainan Liu Chang beat Shen Yiji to death in the street.

——As a prince, Liu Chang smashed the former prime minister to death in the street, and he died!
As a result, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen simply scolded Liu Chang for "acting rashly" and forgave his tearful brother Liu Chang.

Emperor Taizong angrily rebuked Liu Chang: How can you be so reckless? You are simply lawless!
Liu Chang cried and said: When Empress Dowager Lu killed my mother, Shen Yiji was right beside her, but he didn't even plead for my mother.

I am beating him to death today only to avenge my dead mother.

Emperor Taizong: Ah...

OK then……

It’s hard for you too…

It can only be said that this matter from beginning to end - from the actions of the parties involved to the subsequent handling of the matter by Emperor Taizong, is abstract from the inside out.

Liu Changchui killed Marquis Pi Yang and was finally punished with a fine of four taels of silver, which was excusable because he was avenging his mother.

Four taels!

A quarter pound!!

Just over 60 grams!!!
Any accessory of Liu Chang's is worth more than four taels of gold!

In the Weiyang Palace, four taels of gold were not enough to bribe even an ordinary temple servant!

It can only be said that this "fine of four taels of gold" was not so much a punishment for Liu Chang, the King of Huainan, but rather a murder of Shen Yiji, the Marquis of Piyang.

——Hey;

——I will compensate you with four ounces of gold;
——Your worthless life is only worth this price...

……

In the end, Pingyang Hou Shen Yiji was posthumously named "You Hou" by Emperor Taizong.

There is no need to look up the "Book of Posthumous Titles" to know whether the word "幽" is a compliment or criticism.

There is even less to say about this.

The allusion of "the nobleness of the jailer" alone is enough to illustrate Emperor Taizong's attitude towards Zhou Bo.

As for the posthumous title, Zhou Bo got the rather objective and fair "Wu".

This shows that no matter how dissatisfied he was with Zhou Bo's abuse of power, Emperor Taizong still recognized Zhou Bo's great achievements in the establishment of the Han Dynasty.

In order to make Zhou Bo's posthumous title as consistent as possible with Zhou Bo's achievements in the process of founding the country, Emperor Taizong was even willing to exclude Zhou Bo's actions after the Rebellion of the Zhu Lu Sect from the considerations when making the final judgment and deciding on his posthumous title!

I can only say that the emperor of the Zhou and Liu families was truly very kind and righteous...

Later came Guan Ying.

This is more normal.

After all, he was considered a meritorious official in the campaign against the Lü clan, especially as he blocked King Liu Xiang of Qi outside Hangu Pass during the campaign, thus indirectly facilitating Emperor Taizong's smooth succession to the throne.

In addition, after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, Guan Ying did not control the government with Chen Ping and Zhou Bo to sideline Emperor Taizong;

Therefore, Emperor Taizong generously gave Guan Ying, a decent man, the posthumous title of "Yi".

The "Law of Posthumous Titles" says...

Don't be vague about it;
Just look at the word "懿", its literal meaning is: beautiful!

And the beauty here often refers specifically to virtue!

The fact that Emperor Taizong gave his minister a posthumous title that means "good moral conduct" shows how satisfied he was with Prime Minister Guan Ying.

Of course, Emperor Taizong was satisfied with Guan Ying, but not because of how outstanding he did as prime minister.

——In the final analysis, Guan Ying was still a relatively pure warrior;

When it comes to internal governance, although Guan Ying is not completely ignorant, he is at best just qualified and barely adequate.

Emperor Taizong was satisfied with Guan Ying for roughly the same reason that Liu Rong currently approved of Liu She's performance as prime minister.

——Sufficiently obedient, stable, and able to give the emperor the maximum space to display his abilities, rather than being constrained by the prime minister...

In fact, the emperors of the Han Dynasty usually evaluated their prime ministers after their death.

And it is basically expressed through the way of final judgment and decision on posthumous title.

The main reason for this is that in the past few decades, the Han family, from inside to outside, has unanimously believed that the prime minister is either dismissed for making mistakes;

Otherwise, you have to stay in office until you die.

It is even an honor to be able to serve for the rest of your life!

This means that you did an outstanding job as prime minister. Until your death, the emperor was reluctant to change him!
Therefore, the prime minister's resignation means the prime minister's death. Naturally, the Han emperor's evaluation of the prime minister can only be determined after his death.

The situation this time is obviously somewhat special.

To be precise, this was the first time that a prime minister retired from office without fault since Emperor Taizu Gao established the Han Dynasty.

Before that, Xiao He, Marquis of Ling, and Cao Shen, Marquis of Pingyang, died in office one after another.
Wang Ling, Marquis of Anguo, was demoted to the position of Emperor's Grand Tutor by Empress Dowager Lü because he opposed the enfeoffment of all the Lü clans. Soon after, he resigned from the post due to illness.

Shen Yiji, the Marquis of Piyang, was forced to resign after Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne because he was a member of the "remnants of the Lü Party";
Chen Ping, Marquis of Quni, remained in office until his death.

Zhou Bo, Marquis of Jiang, was dismissed by Emperor Taizong.

Guan Ying, Marquis of Yingyin, spent his entire life in office.

Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping, was dismissed by Emperor Taizong.

Therefore, An Hou Shentu Jia basically stayed in office for the rest of his life.

Marquis of Tiao Zhou Yafu resigned on the surface, but in reality he was brutally dismissed from his post!
After that, he became like Liu She today.

Starting from Xiao He to Liu She - excluding Liu She, there were a total of ten prime ministers of the Han Dynasty, five of whom served until their death and five of whom were dismissed.

Before Liu She, there had never been any Han prime minister who retired normally, completely voluntarily, willingly, and reasonably without any fault on his part.

Now, Liu She is going to set this precedent.

To be precise, Liu Rong wanted to take this opportunity to set a precedent for the future Han Dynasty.

What precedent?
——Even if he is not wrong, the prime minister does not necessarily have to stay in office until his death!
Going further: spending the rest of his life in office may not necessarily be a good thing for the Han family!

Regular iteration - it is best to have a fixed term and regular changes of office to ensure that the prime minister is always energetic and capable of handling the affairs of the country;

Instead of an octogenarian who is so old that he has few teeth left and cannot even chew and swallow a piece of meat by himself.

Furthermore, although the power structure of the Han Dynasty is generally a pyramid structure, from the highest emperor and queen mother to the next level of prime minister and general, and then to the three dukes, nine ministers, and the two thousand stone officials of the prefectures and states;

But within the same level of this pyramid, there is also a chain of contempt in order of precedence.

For example, the Nine Ministers, although all of them were middle-ranking officials, the chief officials of the Shaofu and the Neishi would always be treated as superior to the other Nine Ministers!
In the past, Nei Shi even held the status of "quasi-Three Dukes", and the next level was the Grand Censor and Imperial Secretary!
In contrast, the other nine ministers, with the exception of Shaofu Liu She, had to become an internal historian first if they wanted to move up and become one of the three highest officials.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the past Han Dynasty, if an ordinary Nine Ministers was transferred to the position of Internal History at the same level, it would be a definite promotion!
However, this chain structure of Nine Ministers < Grand Coachman < Junior Officials ≈ Internal Secretary < Chief Censor < Prime Minister created a very awkward problem.

——If the people above don’t step down, the people below won’t be able to move up!
It is like a prime minister, who either dies of old age or disease, or makes a mistake and is dismissed;

Otherwise, the Grand Censor would never become the Prime Minister.

If the Grand Censor cannot be promoted from Deputy Prime Minister to the Grand Censor, the Internal Secretary cannot be the Grand Censor, and the other Nine Ministers will not be able to get the opportunity to serve as the Internal Secretary and prove themselves.

Continue to go on - if the Nine Ministers do not resign, the unemployed marquises and local county governors will not have the opportunity to enter the court, and the officials below will not have the opportunity to replace the vacant county governor position...

It can be said that one move affects the whole body.

When the prime minister steps down, all the officials will have to move forward;
However, if the prime minister lived longer, the entire court would remain the same for decades, like a stagnant pool of water.

This is exactly why Liu Rong forced himself to accept the reality and accept Liu She's request to leave his bones even though he was reluctant.

——If Liu She doesn’t move, other positions in the court will be difficult to move!

On the contrary, once Liu She retreated, the entire court would move forward one step, and it would also give Liu Rong the opportunity and space to intervene.

However, compared with those predecessors who either served their entire lives and received the final verdict from the emperor, or were pardoned for their crimes and received a severe scolding from the emperor, Liu She's situation was really special.

Therefore, Liu Rong had to tell the world in this way - by praising Liu She without reservation and giving him extremely high evaluation: Liu She was unable to stay in office for the rest of his life not because he made a mistake.

I neither forced Liu She to abdicate, nor was I dissatisfied with Liu She's request to retire.

We broke up peacefully!

Everything is based on national interests and the future of the ancestral temple and the country!

(End of this chapter)