My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 562 Let's talk about it?

"I have indeed been quite busy lately."

"It's rare to see the Marquis of Pingyang in the palace, and I just realized that it's been quite some time since I last visited his residence?"

Weiyang Palace, Xuan Room Main Hall.

Liu Rong sat at the head of the table, a smile on his face.

With a gentle remark, Marquis Cao Shi of Pingyang smiled and lowered his head.

My initial anxiety subsided.

—For the Han dynasty nobles, especially the Marquis group, the frequency of the emperor's visits was also an important symbol of whether the Marquis was close to the emperor.

The more trusted and close a family of the Marquis of Che was to the emperor, the more frequently the emperor would be received as a guest, and the more attention they would receive from both inside and outside the court, as well as from other Marquis families belonging to the same group.

vice versa.

The bestowal of titles upon relatives of the emperor is well-known – it meant that every two weeks or so, they would receive the honor of the emperor visiting their homes.

Apart from the maternal relatives, the other members of the Chehou family, especially the Chehou who did not hold office in the court and were idle at home, could only crane their necks and wait, just like the concubines in the harem who were eagerly waiting.

From the later years of Emperor Taizong until the outbreak of the Rebellion of the Seven States, Han Tuidang, the Marquis of Gonggao, who was retired at home, long hoped that Emperor Taizong and the late Emperor Xiaojing would visit his home.

This wait lasted for more than ten years.

For more than ten years, the emperor did not visit them, causing the Gonggao Marquis family to be ignored by other marquises and by those inside and outside the court.

As soon as the Wu-Chu Rebellion broke out, Han Tui resigned his post and went to war. He launched a surprise attack on the Huai-Si estuary in the snow and became the greatest contributor to quelling the Wu-Chu Rebellion, second only to Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu!
Since then, Emperor Xiaojing and Liu Rong, who was then the crown prince, have basically regarded the Gonggao Marquis's residence as the emperor's temporary palace in Shangguanli.

Each month, the late emperor and the current emperor Liu Rong consistently visited the Marquis of Gonggao's residence more than three times.

Thus, the Gonggao Marquis family, which was previously ignored by the court and overlooked by other marquises, suddenly became a highly sought-after family both inside and outside the court.

The reason for this strange situation is that the emperor's visit was not simply to offer a meal.

Let alone the emperor—even for ordinary nobles, visiting the home of another noble family was a symbol of deep friendship and close ties between the two families.

For the party hosting guests, if the other party accepts the invitation, or even takes the initiative to send a visiting card, it is a gesture of goodwill, and may even express the intention to "be friends with you"!

Therefore, when guests arrive, the host will often go to great lengths to receive them.

The fine wine and food go without saying, and the etiquette during the meal is certainly impeccable.

If necessary, even beautiful concubines could be used as a means of entertaining guests.

Moreover, the host would not feel offended if a guest took a fancy to one of their concubines; on the contrary, they would feel very proud.

—Look at this!

—If someone is interested in my woman, it means I have good taste!
—And they don't mind that my woman is dirty!

If the guests enjoy the meal, when they are full and ready to leave, the host will often ask: "Was the woman you met last night satisfactory?"

If you don't mind, please take it back with you; it's a gift for you.

This has nothing to do with the guest's identity, official position, or power; it is not a sign of the host's obsequiousness, but simply a matter of hospitality.

If someone were to visit another person's home and receive such hospitality, they would never think that the other person was flattering or bribing them. They would only think that the other person was very hospitable and treated them as a 'guest'.

If this is the case even among ordinary nobles, it is even more astonishing when there is a difference in status and position between the two parties.

For example, the current prime minister, Wei Qihou Dou Ying, visited the home of a retired and unemployed marquis.

Therefore, regardless of whether the Marquis of Che had any requests of Dou Ying, he would certainly have shown the utmost respect in his hospitality.

Ordinary food is no longer considered presentable.

The dishes that make it onto Dou Ying's table are either rare delicacies made from precious ingredients or unusual snacks with regional characteristics.
Only rare and exquisite brews can be poured into Dou Ying's wine cup.

As for women—ordinary singers, dancers, or even concubines—these were no longer sufficient to express the proper hospitality towards Dou Ying.

If they are prepared, the family will most likely buy a stunningly beautiful young woman in advance who has received specific training in aristocratic etiquette.

If preparations are rushed, the host family may choose a well-behaved and sensible female relative, such as a niece, grandniece, or even a concubine's daughter, to serve as a guest.

It sounds a bit outrageous, a bit inhumane, but in reality, it is the most effective way to bring the two parties closer together.

A concubine's daughter is still a woman!

—If you, Dou Ying, can accept my illegitimate daughter, even if she is just a concubine, you should at least acknowledge me as your father-in-law, right?
Although according to etiquette, my father-in-law cannot be considered my father-in-law, given our relationship, I have given you, Dou Ying, plenty of face, so shouldn't you at least give me some face and treat me as half a father-in-law?

If two people, both marquises but with vastly different actual statuses, could reach such a point, then the relationship between the emperor and the nobles must be even more absurd.

Take Emperor Taizu Gao as an example. Every founding hero and meritorious marquis had received Emperor Taizu Gao when he visited.

Among them, a considerable number of people even went so far as to send their lawfully wedded wives to Emperor Taizu Gao's bed without any psychological burden—not only did they not feel ashamed, but they also felt proud.

Emperor Gaozu also felt no guilt. He not only did not consider himself a traitor to Cao Cao, but he also thought that this minister was really good, even willing to share his wife with him, which showed his true loyalty.

Having understood all this, it's not hard to understand why Cao Shi, the Marquis of Pingyang, felt at ease when Liu Rong's seemingly polite but actually more intimate remark, "It's been a long time since I visited the Marquis of Pingyang's residence," came to mind.

As Liu Rong's brother-in-law, Cao Shi would certainly not do something as shameless and immoral as offering his wife as a sacrifice.

But that's all there is to it.

As one of the top founding marquises of the Han dynasty, and also a powerful maternal relative of the emperor, the Pingyang Marquis family always treated Liu Rong with boundless courtesy, only slightly respecting the basic principles of human relations.

Moreover, Cao Shi was very clear in his heart that Liu Rong chose the Pingyang Marquis family as his wife's maternal relatives not because of the Pingyang Marquis family's rich heritage, nor because of Cao Shi's talent as the contemporary Pingyang Marquis.

With such self-awareness, Cao Shi rarely referred to himself as the "contemporary Marquis of Pingyang" in front of Liu Rong, but only regarded himself as a pure member of the maternal relatives' family who was in charge.

Just like the elders of the Dou clan in the past: Marquis Dou Changjun of Nanpi, and the current head of the Li clan. This made Cao Shi focus almost all his attention on pleasing Liu Rong and getting close to him when dealing with Liu Rong, or rather, when maintaining the relationship between Liu Rong and the Pingyang Marquis family.

At the same time, as a genuine top-ranking Marquis: the contemporary Marquis of Pingyang with a fief of ten thousand households, Cao Shi was not entirely oblivious to the recent public opinion both inside and outside the court.

To be honest, these opinions made Cao Shi feel extremely uneasy.

—The eldest son of the emperor was born to a concubine who was part of the empress's dowry!

Furthermore, the emperor made it clear that the eldest son would not become the crown prince, and the crown prince would inevitably be the eldest son of the legitimate wife!
In other words, the eldest son of the emperor, whether born to a concubine or the eldest son of the emperor, will be born to a woman from the Pingyang Marquis family, the maternal relatives of the current empress!
In the future, the Pingyang Marquis family will not only become the father-in-law of the Han emperor, but also the maternal clan of a powerful and prosperous feudal lord!

The court and the public were deeply worried about this, especially with the added prestige of the "Pingyang Marquis Family," which made many people even more uneasy.

In fact, there was a general idea, both inside and outside the court, that the top marquis families of the Han dynasty, such as the Marquis of Zan and the Marquis of Liu, lost their kingdoms shortly after becoming marquises due to crimes or the extinction of their lineage.

—When things reach their peak, they must decline.

The Han dynasty's suppression of local powerful clans was ultimately aimed at preventing the emergence of aristocratic families and powerful clans.

As a native of the State of Chu during the Warring States period, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang must have been very familiar with the three families that existed in the State of Chu during the Warring States period: the Qu, Jing, and Zhao families.

Emperor Taizu Gao was well aware that the existence of these three powerful clans was by no means a good thing for the country and for the ancestral temples and the state!
Therefore, the Han dynasty established the system of mausoleum towns, which, like harvesting leeks, repeatedly eliminated local powerful families, preventing them from growing into aristocratic clans.

If local powerful families are like this, one can only imagine how the noble families of the Chehou clan, who have higher social status and more abundant resources, are treated.

In fact, as everyone knows, the mausoleum city system was a system that forcibly relocated powerful local families from the Guandong region to the Guanzhong region, where the emperor would reside in his mausoleum city.
However, few people noticed that the Marquis class was also among those forcibly relocated under the mausoleum system!

Unlike local powerful families who were forcibly relocated by local officials through brutal means, the Marquis class was not, in theory, 'forcibly relocated' to the mausoleum, but rather granted a residence in the mausoleum.

As for whether you stay there or not, theoretically it's up to you.
In fact, it all depends on whether you know what's going on or not.

It was precisely for this reason that Lingyi, which should not have been too difficult to govern, became a hot potato that was unique to the Han Dynasty—even more difficult to govern than Chang'an.

For example, of the 147 marquises who were founded, those who had not yet been stripped of their titles due to crimes or the extinction of their lineage were all settled in Changlingyi, the fiefdom of Emperor Gao.

The few families who were granted titles and honors during the reign of Emperor Xiaohui were left to guard Anling County all by themselves.

The fiefdom granted by Emperor Taizong was in Balingyi; the fiefdom granted by the previous emperor was in Yanglingyi.

Of course, not all the families of the Marquis of Che lived permanently in the mausoleum cities of the previous emperors.

Those who held official positions in the court usually resided in Shangguan Lane in Chang'an.

As relatives of the emperor were granted titles and honors, they naturally resided in Chang'an.

Another group, either with the emperor's tacit approval or with the opportunity to become high-ranking officials, also stayed in the Shangguan Lane and refused to leave.

In the past, the Pingyang Marquis family was able to stay in Shangguanli with the emperor's tacit approval, meaning they neither went to Changling nor to their fiefdom in Guandong.
Currently, he remains in Chang'an as a relative of the imperial family.

One day in the future—when the current Empress Cao Shu becomes Empress Dowager and passes away, the era of the Pingyang Marquis family being maternal relatives will come to an end, and the Pingyang Marquis family may move to Changling County.

Of course, it's only a possibility.

—As the second of the eighteen founding marquises, the Marquis of Pingyang, and a descendant of Cao Can, he will most likely remain near the political center of the Chang'an court for a long time.

Meanwhile, the Bo clan, the maternal relatives of Emperor Taizong, have moved to Emperor Taizong's city of Baling to show that they have "no intention of interfering in court affairs."

The Dou family, the maternal relatives of Empress Dowager Dou—specifically, the families of those granted titles of nobility: the Marquis of Nanpi and the Marquis of Zhangwu—will most likely settle in Balingyi in the future.

In contrast, the Wei Qihou family was not, strictly speaking, granted the title of marquis by imperial relatives during the reign of Emperor Taizong, but rather by military merit during the reign of Emperor Xiaojing.

Therefore, the future of the Wei Qihou family will probably be that after Dou Ying's death, his descendants will stay in Chang'an for one or two generations, and then move to Yanglingyi to keep vigil for the late Emperor Xiaojing.

From the above, it is not difficult to see that the Han dynasty's defenses against the nobility and privileged classes were almost comprehensive and without any blind spots.

—Local powerful families, seemingly the core target of the mausoleum system, are in fact only a part of it;

The noble class, including the Marquis of Che and the Marquis of Guannei, were also subject to the suppression and control of the mausoleum system.

As for the imperial relatives and feudal lords, that goes without saying—although the mausoleum system was powerless to deal with the feudal lords, the Han dynasty had other methods.

For example, the policy of weakening the power of regional military governors.

Another example is the relatively mild "Decree of Grace".

The core purpose of the Han dynasty's suppression and defense against the aristocratic class was to prevent the emergence of powerful clans and aristocratic families.

Clearly, from the perspective of the court and the people inside and outside Chang'an today, the Cao family of Pingyang Marquis has already taken on the rudiments of a powerful and influential family.

—The second of the eighteen founding marquises, a founding marquis who truly shared the fate of the nation!

Now she has become a relative of the empress's family!
In the future, not only will they be able to become relatives of the Empress Dowager's family, but they will also have a powerful vassal state that recognizes their family as their 'mother clan' to ensure their safety!
Given this situation, not only those in and outside the court, but even Liu Rong himself couldn't help but feel an instinctive unease.

If it were the late emperor, he would probably have nipped the threat in the bud long ago, even at the cost of deposing the empress, in order to curb the rise of the Pingyang Marquis family.

Cao Shi's initiative to enter the palace today, along with Liu Rong's friendly opening remarks, undoubtedly put both sides at ease.

The rise of the Pingyang Marquis family not only made Liu Rong and the court uneasy, but also made the Pingyang Marquis family itself uneasy!

After all, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot.

Moreover, the special status of the Pingyang Marquis family within the Han dynasty was truly unparalleled.

it's good now.

The Pingyang Marquis family took the initiative to step forward, clearly intending to "disable themselves" to some extent in order to avoid becoming the target of public criticism.

Liu Rong was delighted by this and subtly expressed that he remained as close to the Pingyang Marquis family as ever.

Next, it was Cao Shi's turn to explain how to "disable himself" to dispel doubts both inside and outside the court—especially the unease that Liu Rong felt, stemming from his imperial instincts.

(End of this chapter)