Prime Minister.

Chapter 52 [On Loyalty and Treachery]

Emperor Zhao of Han, Liu Fuling, was the youngest son of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che. He ascended the throne at the age of eight and thwarted the coup plot of his elder brother, Prince Yan, Liu Dan, and his advisors Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang at the age of fourteen. He then heavily relied on Huo Guang to fully implement the national policy of allowing the people to rest and recuperate. He died of illness at the age of twenty-one.

His life was as short as a shooting star, but he laid the foundation for the reign of Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan in just thirteen years after ascending the throne, which revived the national strength that had declined in the later years of Emperor Wu's reign, making it the last glorious period in the history of the Western Han Dynasty.

Today, Xue Huai specially selected this story from the fragments of history, which made Crown Prince Jiang Xuan quite curious.

As the eldest son of the emperor, who received rigorous training from a young age, Jiang Xuan was very familiar with the life of Emperor Zhao of Han and was also quite familiar with the historical materials that Xue Huai was going to talk about. He was just curious about what kind of unique interpretation this young Hanlin Academy reader would give him.

Xue Huai spoke slowly and deliberately.

Before his death, Emperor Wu of Han appointed Liu Fuling, who was only eight years old, as the crown prince, and appointed Huo Guang, Jin Midi, Shangguan Jie, and Sang Hongyang as regents to jointly assist the young emperor.

Just one year after Liu Fuling ascended the throne, Jin Ridi died, and the court became an arena for Huo Guang and two others to vie for power.

Over the next five years, Shangguan Jie was stopped by Huo Guang for expanding his power, Sang Hongyang was deposed by Huo Guang for his political views, and Prince Liu Dan of Yan coveted the throne. These forces colluded with each other, and with the participation of Princess Eyi, the elder sister of Emperor Zhao, a conspiracy against Huo Guang gradually took shape.

At that time, the fourteen-year-old Emperor Zhao of Han, Liu Fuling, personally presided over the court assembly and, with clear and meticulous logic, publicly refuted the false accusations made against Huo Guang by Shangguan Jie and others, thereby ensuring the stability of the court and Huo Guang's position.

In the end, Shangguan Jie and his associates had no choice but to take a desperate gamble. However, their plot to seize power by force was leaked, and they were jointly executed by Emperor Zhao of Han and Huo Guang. Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang were almost completely wiped out, and Prince Liu Dan of Yan and Princess Eyi also committed suicide one after another.

At this point, Huo Guang held absolute power. With the support of Emperor Zhao of Han, he changed the national policy of the late Emperor Wu, which had led to the depletion of resources. He abolished the wine monopoly, relaxed the control of salt and iron, reduced taxes and corvée labor, stopped the war against the Xiongnu, pacified the Wuhuan, abolished cruel punishments, and so on. The Han Empire ushered in a period of revival.

In this historical record, especially in the crucial Yuanfeng rebellion, Huo Guang's presence is not particularly strong. On the contrary, the young Emperor Zhao of Han, who was only a little over ten years old, is dazzling, and his intelligence and skill are admirable.

Xue Huai was a skilled storyteller, and his clear articulation and expressive intonation allowed him to embellish and refine the few words in the historical records, thus unfolding a dramatic and unpredictable court struggle before Crown Prince Jiang Xuan.

This was a very novel experience for Jiang Xuan.

He received instruction and training from various great Confucian scholars from a young age. These scholars were undoubtedly superior to Xue Huai in terms of knowledge alone. However, their rigid and dogmatic teachings, which were not stern and meticulous in their words, made Jiang Xuan quite bored. No one had ever narrated the classics and history in the way of a storyteller like Xue Huai, and did not change the important details of the historical materials.

After more than half an hour, Xue Huai finished his lecture, and Jiang Xuan showed a slight hint that he was still not satisfied.

"Attendant Xue, please sit down and have some tea to soothe your throat."

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Xuan's face, clearly satisfied with Xue Huai's performance.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Xue Huai bowed and took his seat.

Jiang Xuan, still savoring the "story" he had just heard, asked, "Xue Shidu, do you think Huo Guang was a loyal minister or a treacherous minister?"

Upon hearing this question and seeing the Crown Prince's thoughtful expression, Xue Huai immediately pictured the face of Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi.

Historical records and reality cannot be forcibly applied. Ning Hengzhi did not have Huo Guang's unique advantages, and the current crown prince was not Emperor Zhao of Han, who ascended the throne at the age of eight and died suddenly at the age of twenty-one. If he could successfully ascend the throne, the Great Yan would not have faced a situation where the ruler was young and the country was in turmoil, and it had to rely on powerful ministers.

However, Xue Huai's intuition told him that the Crown Prince's question was very likely a veiled reference to Ning Hengzhi.

Upon thinking of this, Xue Huai calmly and honestly replied, "It's hard to say."

"Ok?"

The crown prince was slightly surprised.

Xue Huai considered carefully and said, “Your Highness, Huo Guang never coveted imperial power throughout his life. Moreover, in addition to implementing a series of national policies that benefited the people, he also stripped the military power of the princes of Yan and Guangling, effectively maintaining the authority and stability of the emperor and the central court. From this perspective, it is not an exaggeration to call him a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the Book of Han praises him as ‘saving the country and securing the state.’”

The Crown Prince naturally disagreed, shaking his head and saying, "But after he seized power in the court, he also deposed the King of Changyi for absurd reasons, forced Emperor Xuan to make his daughter empress, and allowed his sons to act recklessly. The Book of Han also says, 'When visiting the Temple of Emperor Gao, Huo Guang rode in his chariot, and the emperor was in awe of him, as if he had thorns in his back.' Just this record is enough to imagine Huo Guang's illustrious power and his domineering contempt for the emperor."

"In my opinion, Huo Guang merely did what Wang Mang did, but did not usurp the throne."

As the Crown Prince, Jiang Xuan naturally despised powerful ministers like Huo Guang who disregarded imperial authority.

Xue Huai was fully aware of the reason why the Crown Prince had summoned him to the palace to give lectures today. He had no objection to it. Although the current situation in the court was unclear and the Crown Prince might not be able to last, and he had already made plans to seek a transfer to a post outside the capital as soon as possible, this did not mean that he would deliberately resist the Crown Prince's favor.

Xue Huai knew how weak he was at the moment, so he tried his best to be kind to Jiang Sheng, a guard in the princess's residence. How could he possibly act recklessly in front of the crown prince?
The reason he is reciting this historical material to the Crown Prince today is to see what kind of person the prince is.

In retrospect, the Crown Prince is not an ordinary person, but he is still unable to escape the shackles of the millennia-old relationship between ruler and subject.

Therefore, Xue Huai calmly said, "Does Your Highness think Emperor Zhao of Han will realize that Huo Guang will become an uncontrollable powerful minister in the future?"

The Crown Prince understood the deeper meaning of this question. If Emperor Zhao of Han was completely unaware of Huo Guang's ambition, then he would be the root cause of the disastrous consequences. However, judging from Emperor Zhao's achievements and skill, he was able to see through the conspiracy of Shangguan Jie and others at the young age of fourteen and quell the storm with ease.

How could someone with Emperor Zhao of Han not have foreseen that after the downfall of Shangguan Jie and others, the power of the court would inevitably be concentrated in the hands of Huo Guang alone?
But he did it anyway.

The crown prince fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, he said softly, "Emperor Zhao of Han had no choice but to do this."

"I do not understand."

Xue Huai appeared puzzled, and slowly said, "Judging from the situation at the time, the two regents, Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang, did not initially collude with Prince Liu Dan of Yan. They were merely vying for power with Huo Guang. Emperor Zhao of Han increasingly favored Huo Guang during this process, which led the other two to gradually develop ulterior motives. Unable to gain Emperor Zhao's support, they could only find another way to collude with Prince Liu Dan of Yan. Only when Liu Dan ascended the throne could they completely eliminate Huo Guang and his supporters."

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment and said, "What Xue Shidu means is that if Emperor Zhao had chosen to heavily rely on Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang from the beginning, allowing the two to check and balance each other, perhaps the disaster of Huo Guang's monopolization of power could have been avoided?"

Xue Huai replied, "Looking back from the back, this choice seems more reasonable. The two men are equally capable and powerful, and neither can easily defeat the other. If Emperor Zhao chooses them, he may be able to adopt a system of checks and balances, making them restrain each other, which is more reasonable than Huo Guang's family dominating the country."

The crown prince gave him a meaningful look.

He felt that the young attendant was hinting at something, but the other party's words had no flaws and always stayed close to the historical materials in the old books.

Even so, he couldn't help but wonder to himself who was Shangguan Jie, who was Sang Hongyang, and who was Huo Guang in the current court.
Returning to the topic itself, the Crown Prince said solemnly after a moment: "The reason why Emperor Zhao chose to support Huo Guang was based on the fundamental interests of the court."

Xue Huai said, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

The Crown Prince took a sip of tea, composed himself, and said, "Just now, the Attendant-in-Ordinary mentioned that Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang, as regents appointed by Emperor Wu, were staunch supporters of the national policies implemented during Emperor Wu's reign. Specifically, they continued policies such as the state monopoly on salt and iron, which had already caused immense suffering for the people. To maintain stability, it was necessary to revise Emperor Wu's later policies and allow the people to recuperate. In essence, Emperor Zhao and Shangguan Jie had irreconcilable differences in their political views, while he and Huo Guang shared the same stance."

Xue Huai said admiringly, "Your Highness is wise."

"Emperor Zhao was acting from the perspective of national security. His decision to heavily rely on Shangguan Jie and others meant supporting their political views. Conversely, his decision to heavily rely on Huo Guang would ensure harmony between the emperor and his ministers. As for the subsequent changes in the political landscape—"

The crown prince paused, then sighed softly, "Those who share the same path will reap the benefits, while those who share different paths will only suffer the harm."

When Huo Guang shared the same political views as Emperor Zhao of Han, he was a capable minister who helped restore the dynasty.

When his interests clashed with those of Emperor Xuan of Han, he became a powerful and treacherous official who exterminated his clan.

Right and wrong, merit and demerit, loyalty and treachery, success and failure, are left for future generations to judge.

"As Your Highness said, Emperor Zhao of Han may have realized that Huo Guang was too powerful to control, but he had no choice but to give Huo Guang important positions for the sake of the stability of the country. This led to the prosperous reign of Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan, but it also laid the groundwork for the later extermination of the Huo clan."

Following the Crown Prince's lead, Xue Huai calmly expressed his opinion: "While reading this historical material, I have always had a question in my mind: Is Huo Guang in the sixth year of Emperor Zhao of Han's reign (Shiyuan era) the same person as Huo Guang in the first year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign (Dijie era)?"

After careful consideration, the crown prince succinctly replied, "Human hearts are fickle."

When a person holds absolute power, their mindset will naturally change.

Xue Huai nodded, and said with a hint of curiosity, "I suddenly want to know if Huo Guang could have foreseen the fate of his family before he died."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince's heart stirred, and his expression gradually became serious.

(End of this chapter)