My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 623 I'll just smile and say nothing.

Next, naturally, came Emperor Xiaojing.

To be honest, Emperor Jing's view of the future of the Han dynasty and how many generations it would last depended on the time period.

—During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Taizong Dynasty, the Crown Prince Qi, who was still a chess player and a mischievous boy, naturally believed that the Liu Han dynasty could last for thousands of years.
But as time went by, and as his vision broadened and his political perspective matured, the late emperor had come to understand that a dynasty could not be unconditionally passed down for thousands of generations simply by virtue of being "ordained by Heaven."

The most typical example is undoubtedly the origin of the late emperor's nickname "Chessboard Hero," which led to the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu that the Han dynasty brought about.

At that time, the various clans and feudal lords in Guandong, despite their dissatisfaction and resentment towards Emperor Taizong Xiaowen who had ascended the throne, only murmured a few words in secret.

Only the Qi Prince's lineage, whose throne was indeed usurped by Emperor Taizong, harbored resentment towards Emperor Taizong, believing that the throne should belong to their own lineage.

Apart from that, the other warlords—whether it was the Huainan faction, or Yan, Zhao, Wu, and Chu—did not actually harbor such strong hostility towards Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

As for Yan and Zhao, their ancestral temples and altars were taken away as early as the reign of Empress Lü. If it weren't for Emperor Taizong's benevolence, they would not have been able to restore their homes!
Whether the two kings of Yan and Zhao were sincerely grateful to Emperor Taizong Xiaowen for helping them and returning Yan and Zhao to their rightful owners, or were forced by circumstances, they ultimately had to adopt an attitude of 'willing to serve like oxen and horses'.

As for Wu and Chu, there's no need to say more.

The State of Chu was originally the lineage of Liu Jiao, the younger brother of Emperor Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang). As early as the generation of Emperor Gaozu of Han, it was already a branch of the Liu family.
He wasn't even a direct descendant of the founding emperor, so naturally there was no reason for him to covet the sacred or resent Emperor Taizong.

The situation was even worse in the state of Wu.

No matter what, the State of Chu was a fiefdom granted to the younger brother by Emperor Taizu Gao. After all, the two brothers were blood-related in Emperor Taizu Gao's generation.
However, the Kingdom of Wu was granted by Emperor Gaozu to his elder brother's son, Liu Bi, who was also his nephew, to fill the huge gap in the southeastern territory of the Han Dynasty after the death of King Jing, Liu Jia.

Moreover, the fiefdoms were granted based on military merit!

His kinship with Emperor Taizu Gao was even more distant than that of the King of Chu. King Wu obviously had no reason to be envious of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen or to think that he should be enthroned.

Yan and Zhao were grateful, or rather, had to be grateful for the kindness of Emperor Taizong. Wu and Chu were distant relatives of the Liu family and had no direct conflict of interest with Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

This led to these four vassal states—especially Wu and Chu—becoming the vassal states that were closest to Chang'an and Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

There's no conflict of interest!
What Emperor Taizong wanted was for his relatives and princes to recognize the legitimacy of his succession and his legitimate rule over the Han dynasty.

At the same time, Emperor Taizong also needed to unite most of the Guandong region—at least the general imperial relatives and princes—to stand on his side in order to contain the Qi faction, which was opposed to him.

The distant relatives of the Wu and Chu families were not concerned about using this as leverage to exchange for some practical benefits from Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

For example, mining rights and the right to mint coins.

This led to a honeymoon period between the Wu Kingdom and the central government in Chang'an, a period that was the envy of many.

All applications submitted by the Wu Kingdom were granted without exception by the Chang'an court under the rule of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

Correspondingly, whenever Emperor Taizong needed a 'relative' to speak on his behalf, Prince Liu Bi of Wu was always there without hesitation, taking the principle of "getting paid to do things" to the extreme.

Liu Bi was the son of Liu Xi, the Prince of Daiqing, and was of the same generation as the sons of Emperor Gaozu, namely Emperor Xiaowen of Taizong and Liu Fei, the Prince of Qi Daohui.

Even Liu Xiang, the King of Qi who raised an army in response to the campaign to eliminate the Lü clan, had to respectfully address Liu Bi as his paternal uncle.

With this seniority, Liu Bi could have easily used his position as an elder to criticize the young men of the Qi King's lineage for being "unworthy of being subjects" and "disrespectful to their sovereign."

Originally, Liu Chang, the Prince of Huainan, who was also a son of Emperor Gaozu and a direct descendant of the Liu family, would have been better able to complete this task.

Unfortunately, Liu Chang brought about his own demise, exhausting Emperor Taizong's patience and leading to his untimely death.

Back then, Liu Chang, the King of Huainan, starved to death in his carriage. As a result, overnight, the children's rhyme "A foot of cloth can still be sewn, a peck of rice can still be pounded, but two brothers cannot coexist" began to be sung throughout the land. The first person to stand up and support Emperor Xiaowen of Taizong was Liu Bi, the King of Wu.

Although it had little effect, the attitude alone was enough to live up to Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's favor.

Understanding all this, it's not hard to see that the relationship between the Chang'an court and the feudal lords and relatives in Guandong after Emperor Taizong Xiaowen ascended the throne was actually very delicate.

On the one hand, the separatist forces at the de facto level of 'feudal states' naturally harbor hostility towards the unified central government—at the very least, they are not on the same page.
On the other hand, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's succession to the throne solely based on his "honesty" caused many of the other princes, who were also members of the Liu clan, to feel dissatisfied.

—On what grounds?
Why him and not me?

Furthermore, when Emperor Taizong Xiaowen ascended the throne, power was in the hands of Chen Ping, Zhou Bo, and other meritorious officials who had helped eliminate the Lü clan. Not only was Emperor Taizong himself in danger, but he also needed these relatives and princes who were stationed outside the capital to "protect" his safety to some extent.

For the Han emperor personally, the only positive effect of the existence of the imperial relatives and feudal lords was to make powerful ministers and relatives of the empress who intended to overthrow the state hesitant to act rashly.
Want to rebel?

Let's see if the princes of the Liu family agree!
Look at the soldiers of these princes, will they agree or not!

This makes the situation very complicated.

Emperor Taizong Xiaowen himself had to guard against those relatives and princes who harbored the idea that "I can do it too" and wanted to replace him—such as the Qi clan.
On the other hand, Emperor Taizong also wanted to win over and befriend as many relatives and princes as possible so that they could better play the role of "external aid to the emperor" and thus support Emperor Taizong Xiaowen in Chang'an, so that he would not be bullied too much by powerful ministers.

Furthermore, there was the claim that his accession to the throne was illegitimate, which Emperor Taizong also needed to clarify by uniting most of his relatives and princes.

—The princes and nobles all say that your accession to the throne is illegitimate. Even if you are the rightful heir, you will only be like the Second Emperor Huhai, who was installed by a powerful minister who forged an imperial edict and was 'unworthy'.
Conversely, if the clansmen and feudal lords—at least most of them—say that you are rightfully in the position, then even if you are Li Er or Zhu Si, no one can say anything about you.

Ultimately, such regime changes, as long as they don't escalate to the point of a complete change of dynasty—as long as the old royal family becomes the new emperor—are none of the people's business.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, whether the crown prince was Liu Ying or Liu Ruyi—since they were both surnamed Liu, the common people didn't care at all.

Wasn't that during the reign of Empress Lü?

Two young emperors came and went, one named Liu Gong and the other Liu Hong. The common people didn't even know how Liu Gong died or how Liu Hong died.

All people know is that Liu Gong's surname is Liu and he is a member of the Liu family;
Liu Hong also has the surname Liu and is a member of the Liu family.

After the rebellion of the Lü clan was quelled, it didn't matter to the vast majority of the people whether the successor to the throne was Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, Liu Xiang, the Prince of Qi, or even Liu Chang, the Prince of Huainan.

Anyway, they're all from the Liu family;
As long as the person sitting on the throne belongs to a man surnamed Liu, it means that the Liu family still holds power and the Han dynasty has not yet fallen.

This is enough.

For ordinary people who are busy making a living all day long and have no time to care about "world affairs", it is enough that there is no change of dynasty or a different surname ruling the country.

Without a change of dynasty, there's no need to learn new laws or adapt to a new order. As for the differences between the new and old emperors, their different measures, or their differing political ideologies…

Frankly speaking, in feudal times, it was very difficult for the emperor, who was high above all others, to make his decrees and political ideas clearly felt by the farmers at the bottom of society.

In most cases, during the feudal period, the emperor's decrees were often based on a ten-fold system, the prime minister's on eight-fold system, and once outside the capital, only six-fold remained.

If you manage to get three or four out of ten people to the county level, that's considered good.

Further down to the countryside, if you're lucky, you might get one left, giving the common people a vague sense of: Oh, the emperor did something like this.

Although I don't know what use it is, and although it won't affect my annual income of 300 shi of millet, it still sounds quite interesting.

If you're unlucky, none of this will benefit ordinary people; it will all be swallowed up by local officials and powerful figures, and the common people will know nothing about it.

To put it simply, less than ten years ago, after Liu Rong took charge of stabilizing grain prices, state-run grain production began to become the norm in the Guanzhong region.

Liu Rong's goal, or rather his idea, was to enable ordinary people to buy grain at around 30 coins per shi (a unit of dry measure) at any time, and to sell their grain at a price of 26 coins or more at any time.

The common people could buy grain, and the Imperial Household Department would provide an unlimited supply.
The common people sold their grain, and the Imperial Household Department consumed it without limit.

This is what was mentioned above as 'The Emperor's Ten Sayings'.

What does 'The Prime Minister said eight' mean?
Back then, when Liu Rong proposed unlimited purchases and sales of grain, aiming to monopolize the grain market through official intervention, the Chang'an court instinctively imposed restrictions almost instantly.

In other words, in principle, the Imperial Treasury shall consume no more than 50 million shi of grain per year to avoid cash flow problems.

At the same time, only 45 million shi of grain are sold each year to ensure that the government granaries have enough grain reserves to cope with possible wars.

Although Liu Rong had some reservations, he knew that things had to be done one step at a time, so he agreed for the time being.

As a result, once this law left Chang'an, it was further reduced to 'six'.

How did it shrink?
—Within the Imperial Treasury, there were some thoughts on the matter of government-run grain.

In Liu Rong's view, government-run grain production, which allowed the government to monopolize the grain market and ensure long-term price stability, was a matter of great political interest.

For the sake of this enormous political benefit, Liu Rong allowed the government to operate grain production without making a profit;

Even if there is a loss, as long as the loss is within an acceptable range, it is still worthwhile!

But this was just Liu Rong's wishful thinking.

Liu Rong thought so, but Shao Fu did not.

In the eyes of the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, whether it was the government-run grain supply or the stabilization of grain prices, it was all just a task assigned by Liu Rong.

It's similar to how Crown Prince Liu Rong/Emperor Liu Rong asked the Minister of the Imperial Household Department for a favor, and in return, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department would do him a favor.

However, the performance of officials in the Imperial Household Department was not judged by whether they helped Liu Rong or remembered his favor.

—In the year-end summary report, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department cannot write in the entry column of the year's income, "helped the Crown Prince/Emperor a favor, so that he remembers the Minister of the Imperial Household Department's favor".

The only achievement that the Imperial Household Department could demonstrate was its profitability.

Therefore, the Imperial Household Department, while trying its best not to violate—or at least not to disrupt—Liu Rong's plans, sought to maximize profits through state-run grain.

For example, Liu Rong said that the purchase price of grain should be at least 26 qian per shi;
As a result, for nearly ten years, the Imperial Household Department never bought grain at a price that was even one qian higher than twenty-six qian.

Tens of millions of shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain were transported annually, and over a dozen years, the total amount of grain was tens of millions of shi. The purchase price was a uniform 26 qian (a unit of currency) per shi.

Not a penny more, not a penny less, and it has never changed!

Liu Rong also said that the people should be able to buy grain at any time for no more than thirty coins per shi.

Similarly, over the past decade, the Imperial Treasury has sold tens of millions of shi of grain to the people of Guanzhong at a price of thirty coins per shi.

It did not exceed the red line drawn by Liu Rong, which was 30 coins per shi, nor did it fall below this red line by even one coin.

Can you say that the Minister of the Imperial Household disobeyed Liu Rong's orders?
Obviously not.

Liu Rong said the purchase price would not be lower than twenty-six coins, and they did it;
Liu Rong said the price would not exceed thirty coins, and they did just that.

If we have to say they did something wrong, it's that within the limits set by Liu Rong, they stepped on the absolute red line to maximize their own interests.

Or rather, it should be said that it was to seek the greatest benefit for the Imperial Treasury and to achieve the greatest political achievements for himself.

This is why, once the government orders leave Chang'an, only 'six' remain.

When they arrived in Jun County, it was easy to change it to three or four.

— Whether it's using a large measuring cup to take in rice or a small measuring cup to take out rice, whether it's new rice going in or old grain going out, those at the grassroots level are adept at it, as if they were born with the skill.

When it reached the grassroots people, the state-run grain program, which was originally full of good intentions, became a measure that the people didn't feel much of—at least they didn't feel any obvious benefits or advantages.

Perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration.

However, for the vast majority of government decrees in the feudal era, this was a common occurrence.

This was during the reign of Liu Rong, the time-traveling emperor;
This is still Guanzhong, at the foot of the imperial city;

In the future, if state monopoly on grain becomes widespread, who knows what kind of trouble it might cause in the Northeast—a place far from the emperor's reach.

Even if, by then, the emperor says ten, the prime minister says eight, six remain outside Chang'an, three remain in the provinces, the people of Guanzhong know one, and the people of Guandong feel a negative one, Liu Rong would not find it strange at all.

(End of this chapter)