My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 445: Setting a precedent for future generations
Liu Rong had a good idea of ​​what everyone was thinking about his actions.

Liu Rong knew that his actions might cause a public opinion storm.

——Liu She, does he deserve it?
Especially compared with his predecessors such as Wang Ling, Zhang Cang, and even "obviously better" former prime ministers such as Shentu Jia, does Liu She really deserve such glory?
Liu Rong’s opinion on this is: They are really a perfect match.

Speaking of which, Liu Rong seemed to have promised a lot of rewards to the retiring Prime Minister Liu She;

——Especially when he became the Emperor's Tutor, he was allowed to be praised or worshipped without being named, did not have to bow when entering the court, was included in the family tree, was granted palace status, and was even allowed to enter and leave the palace freely.

But in reality, there are far fewer things than what it seems.

The first one: Promote to the Emperor’s Grand Tutor, with a rank of Wanshi.

Is it necessary to do this?

necessary.

The reason is very simple: Liu She was almost the first prime minister since the Han Dynasty who simply "retired" for no personal reasons, no conflicts with the emperor, or the emperor's preferences.

Think about what happened to the ten prime ministers before Liu She?
——The five people, including Xiao He, Marquis of Ling, Cao Shen, Marquis of Pingyang, Chen Ping, Marquis of Quni, Guan Ying, Marquis of Yingyin, and Shentu Jia, Marquis of Gu'an, basically stayed in office for the rest of their lives, and worked until they died.

The remaining five - Shen Yiji, Marquis of Piyang, was simply dismissed, forcibly removed from a position that did not belong to him in the first place;
The situation was similar for Marquis of Jiang Zhou Bo. He was originally a representative of the 'heroes who killed Lu' who hindered Emperor Taizong. With a little trick from Emperor Taizu, he set an example for the people of the world and returned to his fiefdom instead of staying in Chang'an and causing trouble for the court.

Zhang Cang was even more direct - he was brutally dismissed from his position as prime minister because of the conflict between the emperor and the prime minister!

Shentu Jia was relatively better, saying that he took the initiative to ask for his bones to retire so as to vacate the position of prime minister for Zhou Yafu, a hero in suppressing the Wu-Chu rebellion who the late emperor could not deal with and could not be given any more titles.

But in fact, Shentu Jia's situation at that time was such that he had no choice but to retreat.

——Even if Shentu Jia did not voluntarily withdraw, the late emperor would definitely find a way to make him withdraw.

In order to make room for Zhou Yafu in the position of prime minister, the late emperor might even let Shentu Jiaren stay in office until the end of his life!
However, compared with his predecessors such as Shen Yiji, Zhou Bo, and Zhang Cang, Shentu Jia was sensible in the end and saved enough dignity for himself - he neither made things difficult for himself nor for the late emperor.

The most special one is the tomb of Marquis Anguo.

When Emperor Taizu Gao was dying, Empress Dowager Lü asked him about the matter of the prime minister.

Empress Dowager Lu asked: Xiao He is already old. After his death, who should be appointed as prime minister?

——The Emperor Gao replied: Cao Shen can succeed Xiao He and become the Prime Minister of Han.

Empress Dowager Lu asked again: Cao Shen is also old. If Cao Shen dies, who should we worship?
——The Emperor Gao thought for a moment and replied: If Cao Shen is also dead, then let Wang Ling be the prime minister.

However, Wang Ling was honest and straightforward, and didn't know how to adapt.
Let him and Chen Ping be the left and right prime ministers respectively - with Wang Ling as the main one and Chen Ping as his assistant, there will be no problems.

When Empress Dowager Lu wanted to ask more, Emperor Taizu Gao shook his head and laughed, saying: “When the two of them die, what will happen in this world will no longer be something we can predict or arrange in advance.”

Let the emperor at that time decide for himself...

This incident is also well known to later generations.

From this incident, it can be seen that Wang Ling, Marquis of Anguo, was ranked third in the list of candidates for prime minister after Xiao He and Cao Shen!
It may be a bit exaggerated to say that such a person is on the same level as Xiao He and Cao Shen.

But there is basically no problem in saying that he was better and more suitable to be the prime minister than Chen Ping, Guan Ying and even Zhang Cang who came later.

However, just one year after he served as prime minister, when Emperor Xiaohui's body was still warm, Empress Dowager Lu demoted him to the position of "Emperor's Tutor" and expelled him from the core decision-making body of the court.

The situation at that time was also very simple.

Empress Dowager Lü wanted to enfeoff all the Lü clans, but was afraid that the opposition inside and outside the court would be too strong, so she called in a representative from the outer court: Right Prime Minister Wang Ling.

Empress Dowager Lu asked: What do you think, Prime Minister, if I confer titles on Lu's relatives as kings and dukes?
It was just as the Emperor Taizu Gao said—Wang Ling was honest and straightforward, and inflexible;
Facing the question from Empress Dowager Lu which was obviously meaningful and even hinted at the answer, Wang Ling replied: Emperor Taizu Gao once swore an oath by beheading a white horse with the ministers!
The oath was: No one other than the Liu family could be king!
Why not make an agreement and let the whole world attack him together!
Therefore, if the Queen Mother conferred titles on all the Lü clans, the final result would be just as Emperor Taizu Gao had vowed: people all over the world would rise up and attack him together.

Of course Empress Dowager Lu was unhappy that Wang Ling was so disrespectful.

——The Emperor Taizu Gao killed a white horse and swore an oath, and it was not done in secret;

As the founding queen, how could Empress Dowager Lu not know about this?

Although he knew it, he still went to Wang Ling to ask "What do you think?", obviously in order to gain the support of the outer court represented by Wang Ling.

As a result, Wang Ling did not appreciate the favor, and Empress Dowager Lu was naturally "unhappy".

Although she failed to get a satisfactory answer from Wang Ling, Empress Dowager Lu still did not give up and found another prime minister - the left prime minister Chen Ping, who was the deputy designated by Emperor Taizu Gao as the right prime minister Wang Ling when he was dying.

At the same time, in order to find out the opinions of the military, Empress Dowager Lu also summoned the highest representative of the military: Taiwei Zhou Bo.

Faced with the same question, Chen Ping and Zhou Bo's answers were completely opposite to Wang Ling's.

Chen Ping and Zhou Bo both answered: In those days, Emperor Taizu Gao established the Han Dynasty and became the emperor of Han, and he conferred titles on all the Liu clans as princes;
Today, the Empress Dowager is a woman who holds the great treasure and controls all the power in the world, just like the Emperor Taizu Gao of the past.

The Emperor Taizu Gao was able to use his power to confer titles on the Liu clan. Now, the Empress Dowager, who is also in power, can of course also confer titles on her mother's clan, the Lu clan...

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Empress Dowager Lu was immediately "very pleased".

At the same time, he couldn't help but start thinking: Prime Minister Wang Ling is disobedient.

Chen Ping is very obedient.

Instead of letting Wang Ling be the right prime minister, it would be better to promote the left prime minister Chen Ping to preside over the government affairs of the prime minister's office.

As for the deputy left prime minister, giving the old acquaintance Shen Yiji a taste of the prime minister's life can be regarded as a reward for his hard work over the years.

Of course, Empress Dowager Lu knew best what kind of person Shen Yiji was.

So although he was appointed as the Prime Minister, Empress Dowager Lü did not let Shen Yiji, the "Left Prime Minister", go to the Prime Minister's Office to assist the Right Prime Minister Chen Ping who was in charge of the Prime Minister's Office.
Instead, he was sent to the Weiyang Palace to perform the duties of the Imperial Palace Master to monitor the young former Emperor Shao: Liu Gong.

As for why Shen Yiji was asked to monitor the Weiyang Palace?

This has to do with the fact that after Chen Ping was "promoted" to the position of Right Prime Minister, the original Right Prime Minister Wang Ling was promoted to the position of Emperor's Tutor by Empress Dowager Lu.

——The position of the Emperor's Grand Tutor is naturally an honorary title of "Emperor's Teacher" when the emperor is an adult or even a middle-aged emperor.
But for the former Emperor Shaodi Liu Gong, who was only four years old at that time, the Emperor's Tutor and the Imperial Preceptor were serious teachers.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Lu asked the Left Prime Minister Shen Yiji to monitor the Weiyang Palace in order to keep an eye on Wang Ling. She was afraid that Wang Ling, the Emperor's Tutor whom she had promoted in name but demoted in reality, would corrupt Emperor Shaodi Liu Gong again.

After all these operations, Wang Ling knew that he was promoted in name only but demoted in reality, and was also under surveillance by the new Left Prime Minister Shen Yiji, so it was impossible for him to really "teach" the young emperor Liu Gong;
So in a fit of anger, he resigned from his post on the grounds of being seriously ill, and went home to shut himself in and sulk. The above is how Wang Ling, the most unusual of the ten prime ministers before Liu She, eventually resigned from his position as prime minister.

As for why Wang Ling is the most special among the ten prime ministers before Liu She, it is because: Wang Ling's resignation from the post of prime minister was the most decent and beautiful example among these ten people, especially the five who "did not stay in office until their death", such as Shen Yiji and Zhang Cang.

Shen Yiji was a member of Lu's party, so he was dismissed.

Zhou Bo - to put it nicely, he was "the first in the world" and set an example for the people of the world, but in reality, he was dismissed from his official position and sent back to his hometown.

Zhang Cang - disobeyed the emperor, so he was dismissed.

Shentu Jia - He said he wanted to leave his bones, but he had to retreat. He had to either retreat or give up, or even "die if he didn't retreat".

Only the royal tomb!

Only Wang Ling did not beat about the bush, nor did he retreat in a confusing manner;

But it was a serious matter: he was promoted to the position of Emperor Taifu and Teacher of the Han Emperor!
Promote, get promoted!
This is the special point of Wang Ling. At the same time, it is also the reason why Liu Rong wants to help Liu She, who is about to retire, to become the emperor's tutor.

Because according to past experience, there are only a few possible outcomes for Han Prime Ministers;
There are four types: staying in office for life, being directly dismissed, being dismissed indirectly, and being promoted in name only but demoted in reality.

Only an open increase in prices and a hidden decrease in prices can be considered the most convincing, decent and cost-effective option.

Let’s get back to the present.

Why should Liu She retire?

What political purpose did Liu Rong want to achieve through Liu She's retirement, and what kind of political convention or precedent did he want to set?
The answer is: by using the special case of Liu She's "pure retirement", a precedent was set that a prime minister of the Han Dynasty did not have to stay in office until his death, and could still be highly respected even if he did not stay in office until his death.

Therefore, Liu Rong had to do his best to ensure that Liu She, the old prime minister who had retired normally, received the honor and treatment comparable to his predecessors who had "stayed in office until the end of their lives".

As for the specific means, he would follow the existing precedent - following Wang Ling's promotion to the Emperor's Grand Tutor, he would promote Liu She to be his own Emperor's Grand Tutor.

The emperor of the current dynasty wants you to be his teacher. Isn’t that a great honor?

You've become the emperor's teacher, so why would you still want to be the prime minister...

Furthermore, the two precedents of Wang Ling and Liu She will undoubtedly provide valuable experience for future rulers of the Han Dynasty.

——Look at this;

——No matter how much Empress Dowager Lu hated Wang Ling, she did not rudely dismiss him from his position as prime minister. Instead, she promoted him in public but demoted him in secret to the position of Emperor's Tutor.

——Emperor Xiaox Liu Rong gave the honor of the title of Emperor Taifu to the retired Prime Minister Liu She from the royal family.

——Do you understand?

——If you meet a prime minister you don’t like, don’t rudely dismiss him, which would only cause a stir in the government and the public.
——Empress Dowager Lü and Emperor Xiaox Liu Rong have already set a good example for you...

Therefore, Liu She's promotion to the Emperor's Tutor after he resigned as Prime Minister seemed to be a reward from Liu Rong, but in fact, he was just taking advantage of political factors and riding on the coattails of Liu Rong's "setting a precedent for future generations."

The second rule: One does not need to name one’s name when praising or bowing, and one does not need to bow when entering the court. The reason is basically the same.

If Liu Rong wanted to make future prime ministers no longer obsessed with "staying in office for the rest of their lives", he had to tell future prime ministers through his retirement this time: retiring while alive is no worse than staying in office for the rest of their lives.

You can be honored while serving your whole life, or retire alive, and I will still give you enough face!
Of course, praising and bowing without being named, entering the court without rushing, and wearing swords and shoes in the palace are, after all, the three-piece grand slam set specially prepared by the Han Dynasty for the "extremely awesome" ministers.

Liu She obviously did not meet the standards.

So removing one of them and giving Liu She two of them can be regarded as a statement of attitude - I also think Liu She is not as good as Xiao He and Cao Shen~
——But I also acknowledge Liu She’s achievements, or at least his hard work.

Then it all makes sense.

As for the remaining third and fourth items: inclusion in the family tree, granting palace status, free entry and exit of the palace, and the ability to meet the emperor at one's own will, they can actually be combined into one item.

Being included in the family tree means that one is a member of the Liu family and a close family member of Liu Rong.

The people who have palace registration, apart from the Empress Dowager's maternal relatives, are basically the Liu clan.

Furthermore, people with palace status can enter and leave the palace freely.

So the actual situation is: Liu Rong granted Taohou family entry into the genealogy, making them the royal family of the old Liu family;

As members of the royal family, they were entitled to palace status.

Having palace status means one can enter and leave the palace freely...

Only the last one, 'going to see the emperor on one's own initiative', can be considered Liu She's privilege - a unique one in the Han Dynasty today.

But this one is also just a superficial effort.

Just like the honor of "sword and shoes in the palace", if you are not a thief like Cao, even if you get it, no one will really enter the palace to see the emperor without taking off their shoes and swords;
For such an honor as to meet the emperor on one's own initiative, no one would really walk silently from outside the palace to Liu Rong's bed.

At least Liu She wouldn't.

In this way, what Liu She really got was actually a royal status for his family.

Apart from that, it basically has nothing to do with Liu She himself. Either Liu Rong made a deliberate move and used Liu She as the first crab to be eaten, or it was a symbolic honor - it could only be displayed for viewing and could never be used for real.

At this point, Liu Sheli's retirement was a foregone conclusion and the procedures were completed.

Then, naturally, the next step was for everyone inside and outside the court, from top to bottom, to collectively "move" forward a step like a wriggling worm.

——Liu She left office, and the position of Prime Minister was vacant, so naturally, the Imperial Censor Dou Ying took over;

Dou Ying became the prime minister, so what about the vacant position of the Grand Censor?
There is also the newly promoted Grand Chancellor who is one of the Three Dukes. We can't let the Chief Censor, who originally had only a thousand stones, directly skip the promotion to two thousand stones, two thousand stones, and real two thousand stones - and jump four levels to be promoted to middle two thousand stones, right?

Further down: After the internal history is split, who will be the Minister of Agriculture?
Lieutenant Tige is promoted to Praefectus Urbi, who is of the rank of Nine Ministers. Should the original lieutenant be promoted, or should another veteran official with qualifications that meet the rank of Nine Ministers be appointed?

There is also the Shaofu;

Even if Shi Fen is still the Shaofu, then the new Lord Commandant...

(End of this chapter)