My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 582 Taking too big a step will tear your balls

Therefore, even though he knew that in the Han Dynasty at that time—in this era—it was not a particularly urgent matter to reduce the presence of the term "local clique" within the army, Liu Rong still did it anyway.

The reason is very simple: I fear that future generals will become like Zhou Yafu again, and future armies will become like the Xiliu Camp again.

Emperor Taizong's military review at Xiliu was not a simple incident of the emperor being ordered to get off his carriage due to military orders!

There is a wealth of deeper information worth exploring in this event!

First, the military review at Xiliu by Emperor Taizong did not occur in the early stages of his reign, when Emperor Taizong had just ascended the throne from Dai and arrived in Chang'an, before he had established his prestige.
It actually happened in the fourteenth year of Emperor Taizong's reign, during the great battle in which the Xiongnu Chanyu Laoshang's army pressed in, with their forces pointing directly at Chang'an!

Emperor Taizong reigned for only twenty-seven years!
Even within those twenty-seven years, there were at least three to five years when Emperor Taizong was seriously ill and bedridden, and the Crown Prince, who was the late Emperor Xiaojing, oversaw the state affairs.

Considering that Emperor Taizong actually held power for just over twenty years, it is not difficult to conclude that Emperor Taizong's fourteenth year was after his political prestige, popularity, and reputation had reached their peak!
In other words, Emperor Taizong at that time was already considered a 'living saint' in the eyes of the people.

In this way, the problem becomes clear.

—The emperor, recognized by millions of households and nearly thirty million people throughout the Han Dynasty as a 'living sage,' is actually being forced off the imperial carriage at the gates of your Xiliu Camp!

Even after they clearly learned of his identity as "Emperor Liu Heng," the soldiers guarding the camp gate at Xiliu still insisted that Liu Heng, the living saint and the reigning emperor, obey the military orders set by General Zhou Yafu of Xiliu!
what does this mean?
This means that the living sage universally recognized by the people, Emperor Xiaowen Liu Heng, did not receive the approval of the generals and commanders of the Xiliu Camp.

This means that the identity label of "Emperor of Han" could not be ranked ahead of "Commander Zhou Yafu of Xiliu" in the hearts of the soldiers of Xiliu Camp.

Even in the most optimistic scenario, the soldiers of Xiliu Camp at the time might have acknowledged Emperor Taizong's transcendent status as a "living saint," but they valued their own general Zhou Yafu even more than Emperor Taizong himself.

If we were to estimate based on the most pessimistic scenario, the Xiliu Camp at that time might have already "only known General Zhou, and had no knowledge of the Han Emperor."

This is already very serious.

An army—a well-trained, disciplined, and incredibly powerful centrally-administered field army—regarded its commander as more important than the emperor, and even more important than the living sage, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen!
This problem is already very serious.

But it's not over yet.

The fact that the Xiliu Camp regarded Zhou Yafu as more important than Emperor Taizong was not the only issue that Liu Rong needed to consider and summarize during Emperor Taizong's Xiliu military review.

That's not even the main problem.

After all, Emperor Taizong, this "living saint," was not a saintly ruler in the absolute sense, but rather in a relative sense—in fact, he was a saintly ruler in the hearts of the common people.

As the saying goes, "Where you sit determines where you think, and your stance determines your attitude."

For the common people, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, who reduced taxes and allowed the people to rest, was indeed a saint in the world.

But for the soldiers, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, who compromised and made humiliating marriage alliances, could probably only be considered a mediocre ruler or a ruler who maintained the status quo.

Considering this aspect, it is understandable that the soldiers of Xiliu did not have much reverence for Emperor Taizong Xiaowen—they were not interested in Emperor Taizong's label as a 'living saint'.

He's a martial artist.

Compared to the living sage Emperor Wen of Han, it was clearly the militaristic Emperor Wu of Han who was more to the liking of these 'great men'.

This is precisely why Emperor Taizong didn't take the matter too seriously back then, and instead received praise from everyone.

Firstly, the country was facing a crisis at the time;
Compared to the majesty of the emperor, Emperor Taizong at that time clearly valued the army's combat effectiveness and whether the Xiliu Camp could keep the Xiongnu north of the Wei River, rather than whether etiquette and manners were appropriate.

Secondly, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen himself knew in his heart that although he had been emperor for so many years and had a clear conscience towards the people, he had wronged the generals and commanders in the army to the extreme.

The entire nation has endured humiliation for many years, especially the generals and commanders in the military. It is only natural that they would have some complaints.

But in Liu Rong's view, things were not that simple.

The issues revealed by Emperor Taizong's military review at Xiliu were far more complex than simply the Xiliu garrison complaining about the lack of battles.

First of all, the rule of Xiliu Camp that "no one may enter the camp by vehicle" is essentially a military order.

In the Han Dynasty, apart from the general military regulations, the specific military orders for each unit were basically formulated by the generals.

For example, the troops of Marquis Bowang, Cheng Bushi, often had strict wartime and peacetime training regulations such as "not allowing free entry and exit from the barracks, and not allowing changes of posts".
For example, the army of General Li Guang often had regulations that were very humane but extremely lacking in tactical discipline, such as "it is permissible to drink alcohol to relieve tension when necessary" and "it is permissible to coordinate sentry posts privately within reasonable limits".

The special rule of "no one is allowed to enter the camp by vehicle" in Xiliu Camp was obviously written by Zhou Yafu.

In short: This is Zhou Yafu's rule;

To put it nicely, it was the "military order of Xiliu Camp"; to put it bluntly, it was Zhou Yafu's personal preference.

The rule that no one may enter or leave the military camp by vehicle is not inherently wrong.

Liu Rong also believed that Zhou Yafu's formulation of such a rule was not intended to target Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, who was present at the military review.

—Because Liu Rong knew that Zhou Yafu's regulation had a second half: officers of the rank of platoon leader and above were not allowed to ride horses in the military camp unless absolutely necessary.

To put it bluntly, Zhou Yafu set this rule with the intention of promoting "treating generals and commanders equally" within the Xiliu Camp, and preventing situations where generals and commanders leisurely rode by or even rode in carriages to watch the soldiers on foot during their training exercises.

The regulation itself is correct, and even positive.

However, after Emperor Taizong Xiaowen reviewed the troops at Xiliu and made the joke that "the emperor is no greater than the military law of Xiliu," this rule changed its meaning.

Liu Rong could roughly guess that Zhou Yafu, in order to thoroughly implement this ironclad rule within the Xiliu Camp, probably said something more symbolic than practical: even if the emperor arrived at the Xiliu Camp, he would still have to dismount and get out of his carriage.

But while that's the theory, if we actually did it, things would get really messy.

What is the Son of Heaven?
emperor!

In this era, the emperor was ordained by Heaven and ruled the people on behalf of Heaven!
The emperor's supreme status stemmed not only from the universally accepted consensus of "national law," but also from the ethereal heavens and gods!
Therefore, Emperor Taizong's military review at Xiliu was no longer a simple accident or a sudden event.

The emperor, or Son of Heaven, is ordained by Heaven and governs the people on behalf of Heaven. He is revered by all people under Heaven and established by the gods of Heaven!
General Zhou Yafu of Xiliu was a unique figure since the Han Dynasty, and there have been no other two since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Even in the five thousand years of Chinese history, he was one of the best appointed by Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty.

An emperor recognized by all and empowered by the heavens and the gods was blocked from entering the garrison of a field army by a non-standard military decree issued by his appointed general, Zhou Yafu? If this doesn't constitute a colossal rebellion, then there's probably nothing strange left in the world.

This is like a company's CEO being cornered outside the finance department by his finance manager;

The reason given is: financial confidentiality regulations.

This is pure nonsense...

Digging even deeper, the information uncovered was truly earth-shattering.

—In feudal times, although the emperor could not be on par with the gods, he was at least in a certain category or at a certain level.

Zhou Yafu—whether he was just a lieutenant and commander of the Xiliu garrison at that time, or later became the Grand Commandant and even the Chancellor—was ultimately just a subject.

To put it somewhat loosely and exaggeratedly: Emperor Taizong was a god, while Zhou Yafu was a man.

The result was actually quite good;

The rules set by 'humans' are actually governing the gods!

Moreover, this person is the servant of this 'god'!

what does this mean?
This means that within the Xiliu Camp, Emperor Taizong, the Son of Heaven and the only being in the world who was close to a 'god,' was not as good as Zhou Yafu, a 'human'!
The rules set by Zhou Yafu were so strict that even Emperor Taizong, a quasi-god, had to abide by them!
In other words, in the minds of the Xiliu Camp, Zhou Yafu, who could control the 'quasi-god' Emperor Taizong with just one rule, was probably already a genuine god.

Liu Rong neither rejected nor opposed lower-ranking officers, and he held a personality cult of personality towards his superiors, the generals.

Liu Rong even advocated and encouraged senior generals to make their subordinates admire them as much as possible, so as to conduct combat command more smoothly.

But everything has its limits.

Liu Rong could accept the soldiers' worship of Cheng Bushi, calling Cheng Bushi the 'Invincible General';
It is also acceptable for the soldiers to admire Li Ji and regard him as a "founding father who is still as sharp as ever".

But all of this is based on the premise that no matter how much the soldiers admire their general, they must remain within the realm of 'human beings'.

As a soldier, you might idolize your general and see him as someone incredibly awesome.
But you absolutely, absolutely must not treat a general as a god.

Even the most worthless and second-rate folk deity is absolutely unacceptable.

There's a joke circulating in later generations: After the founding of the People's Republic of China, supernatural beings were not allowed to exist.

If this statement were applied to the Han Dynasty today, it would mean that living people are not allowed to become gods.

Perhaps saying this makes Liu Rong seem a bit too sensitive.

—Aren't they just soldiers of the Xiliu Camp who value Commander Zhou Yafu's rules more than anything else?
As for?
Liu Rong could only say: As for it.

That's fucking serious!
This is because this is not the first time that the Zhou family's "general" has done something that seems to be deifying himself.

Think back: After the Lü Clan Rebellion was quelled, what was the most prevalent rumor circulating in Chang'an?
It is neither a speculation about who among Liu Xiang, King of Qi, Liu Heng, King of Dai, and Liu Chang, King of Huainan, would become emperor, nor a discussion of the future development of the Han Dynasty after the suppression of the Lü Clan Rebellion.

Instead, it was that incredibly abrupt statement, as if it had sprung from a crack in a rock: Emperor Taizu Gao once said, "The one who will secure the Liu family's rule will surely be Bo."

What do you mean?
—Decades before the Lü Clan Rebellion broke out, Emperor Taizu Gao had predicted: Only Zhou Bo could stabilize the Liu family's empire!
Otherwise, how do you think Zhou Bo ultimately came to understand the value of a jailer?
Do you really think that Emperor Taizong, after being flattered and hailed as a "living saint," is some kind of virtuous man or woman?!
He was a real emperor with real power, a figure whose imperial cunning was at its peak!
Could Zhou Bo's petty schemes possibly escape this man's discerning eyes?
Okay, let's go back to the incident of Zhou Bo's son, Zhou Yafu, and the "Emperor Taizong's military review at Xiliu".

If you still can't see anything, then look further—add Zhou Yafu's suppression of the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu as well, and look at the three events together.

Zhou Bo, who became a father, quelled the Lü Clan Rebellion, which almost overthrew the Han Dynasty. Then, a label appeared in the archive: "Emperor Taizu once said, 'The one who will secure the Liu family's rule will be Zhou Bo.'"

More than a decade later, Zhou Bo's son, Zhou Yafu, governed the army at Xiliu. His military regulations were even stricter than those of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen. The soldiers revered Zhou Yafu as a god, while regarding Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, the "living saint," as an "obedient" who should be bound and controlled by Zhou Yafu's rules.

More than a decade later, Zhou Yafu turned the tide and quelled the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu, which had nearly changed the fate of the Han dynasty, when the Han dynasty was in dire straits.

So, what was Zhou Yafu's historical status at this time?
Liu Rong could only recall the rumor that had resurfaced on the streets of Chang'an years ago.

The one who will secure Liu's rule must be Bo.

At that time, the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu had just been quelled, and it was not Zhou Bo who quelled the rebellion, but Zhou Bo's son, Zhou Yafu.

Thus, the somewhat mythical saying, "The one who will secure Liu's rule will surely be Bo," was popularly interpreted as: "The one who will secure Liu's rule will surely be Zhou."

Those who bring peace to Liu must be Zhou.

The implications of this are truly intriguing...

It was from that time that Liu Rong made up his mind to accelerate the 'nationalization' of the Han army, even if it was not necessarily necessary—or at least not urgently needed.

Even though the current historical juncture and the level of development of Chinese culture have not yet reached the point where it is absolutely necessary to do so, Liu Rong still decided to do it.

Of course, although he was very determined, Liu Rong was still extremely cautious when it came to the actual implementation.

—The rotation system for commanders-in-chief applies only to the highest-ranking military commander at the rank of captain, namely the captain himself.

The next rank of captain is not included in this list.

In other words, from the rank of colonel down, Liu Rong still tacitly approved and even allowed military organization to be based on region and 'local ties' to maintain order.

In the future, Liu Rong may further change this situation, gradually transforming this "local army" into a force of local heroes.

But in the end, it all comes down to the same point.

You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to go step by step.

Taking too big a step can lead to trouble.

(End of this chapter)