Chapter 7 King Sejong Chapter 10 Three Years of Duan Gong
Chapter 2135 Sejong Chapter 10 Duan Gong in the third year
On the first day of the sixth month in the summer of the third year of Duangong, Liu Wenji held a royal court in the Qianyuan Hall. Witnessed by hundreds of officials and envoys from various countries, he issued an imperial edict, bestowed a gold title, crowned Liu Jili, and officially named the eldest son of the emperor Liu Jili as the crown prince.
Liu Jili was the eldest son of Liu Wenji and Empress Li. He was born in the sixth year of Yongxi's reign. He was under nineteen years old at the time. Under the constraints of the heir apparent system, it was impossible to avoid him if he wanted to establish a prince. And Liu Jili had been a child since he was a child.
Be filial and have a good reputation
Therefore, for the nobles and bureaucrats of the empire, they had no objection to the emperor appointing a prince or the person he appointed, but they could not help but turn their attention to another young prince of the Han Dynasty.
From the eyes of many people, one can see the enthusiasm. Obviously, a new round of political speculation will inevitably begin. The most valuable investment in the empire should be the prince, even Emperor Shizu.
In the Han Dynasty, three princes of the Han Dynasty have achieved enlightenment. In the Han Empire, the success rate is 100.
Liu Wenji did not pretend to have high hopes for his eldest son. According to the regular system, he was assigned East Palace subordinate officials and guards. Most importantly, Zhao Wang Liu Fang was appointed as the crown prince and tutor.
Before establishing the crown prince, Liu Wenji consulted two people for their opinions, one was the Queen Mother Xiao, and the other was Zhao Wangshu Liu Fang. Both of them agreed with this proposal. The reasons were surprisingly consistent. The country has an established system and the heir apparent.
There is no shortcoming or fault, it should be established.
In order to show support, when Liu Wenji asked Liu Fang to be the Taifu of Liu Jili, after a little hesitation, he finally spoke up and agreed to come out again. This is the second time Liu Fang has served as the Taifu of Liu Jili, and it is also a brand new one.
Perhaps for King Zhao, raising an emperor was not as difficult as cultivating a qualified successor to the empire.
In any case, after the crown prince was appointed, the physical and mental pressure on Emperor Liu Wenji brought by the death of Annan King Liu Wenhuan was greatly reduced, so he picked up his mood, went back to battle, and continued his career as emperor.
In the autumn of the third year of Duangong, floods occurred continuously in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The counties along the Jinghu North Road were particularly severely affected, with millions of victims and countless casualties. In fact, in the past few years, floods in the Yangtze River have occurred frequently and have never stopped.
The autumn floods of the third year were concentrated.
This is the first major disaster that Liu Wenji has faced since he came to the throne, with far-reaching impact, wide spread, and serious losses. Whether it is to perform meritorious service or to establish virtue, he must show the emperor's responsibility of compassion for the people and make a gesture of rescuing people.
.
Therefore, from top to bottom, the imperial court mobilized capable personnel, raised grain, rice, clothing and medicine, and devoted all its efforts to disaster relief. Amidst the torrent of disasters, heroes showed their true colors. This flood was a great disaster for the people in the counties along the Yangtze River.
It was a hardship, but for Emperor Liu Wenji, it was a good opportunity to rectify Hubei's officialdom.
After half a year of Pingkang, including the two years of Duangong without much overhaul, some problems and shortcomings have appeared throughout the empire. This is an undeniable fact. When he was dormant in Jiangling Mansion, although Liu Wenji did not ask about the government or do anything,
, but don’t really think that he went to rest. While he was unknown, he had a clear view of the politics and people’s livelihood of Jinghu North Road. After he ascended the throne, there was more detailed and comprehensive intelligence from Wu Desi to support it.
, the understanding becomes deeper.
The administration of officials is the most obvious and easiest thing to do, but the least effective. But taking advantage of this flood, Liu Wenji directly carried out a large-scale rectification of Hubei's officialdom.
Those in yamen, those on the Yangtze River, those in the navy, those who are corrupt, those who take bribes, those who fail to provide disaster relief, those who deceive the emperor and harm the people
A large number of people were held accountable and punished after the incident. Emperor Duangong's first fierce wind blew through the officialdom of Hubei, making Jinghu North Road spend an unforgettable year.
During the Yangtze River flood, the imperial court lost two important officials. The local governor of Hubei Province was Chai Zongjie. He was severely punished by the imperial court because of his lax governance, lack of preparedness, and ineffective disaster relief.
According to the inspection envoy, Chai Zongjiao was not young and had a great temperament. After entering Sichuan, he petitioned the Fengjie Post House to be promoted to an official position. Liu Wenji directly approved his resignation and demoted him one level further to the official position of participating in politics in Dongchuan.
The face of the top nobles has been completely lost.
Chai Zongjie died in the second year after the incident. He died of illness, anger, or drunkenness. According to rumors, he died in various ways. In short, it was not a good death. He felt that he had been wronged until he died. How could human power resist God's will?
But his complaints are obviously unfounded. For example, Feng Duan, the prefect of Jiangling, and Xue Kui, the prefect of Ezhou, were promoted because of their outstanding performance in the disaster relief process (one was dedicated and the other was successful in the rescue).
It is God's will that some people die, some are demoted, and some are promoted and make money. This is the most obvious difference. It is a mediocre act to blame others.
There is also a minister who fell due to the Yangtze River floods. His powerful position is very special. The financial envoy Xiang Minzhong, with his ridiculous negligence and disorderly allocation, led to the delay in emergency disaster relief. For Xiang Xianggong, who has always been known for his maturity and prudentness.
, it is obviously abnormal for such a major fallacy to occur.
The specific reason and the hidden story behind it are unknown. Judging from the results, another prime minister was removed from the imperial center during the Duan Gong period. Xiang Minzhong is also a person who knows how to advance and retreat. After being criticized, he took the initiative
He submitted a petition to the emperor to resign, saying that he was too old and too dim to bear the heavy responsibility.
But obviously, Liu Wenji had no objection to Xiang Laoxiangong's character and talents, so he directly left him in Zhong. After discussing with Kou Zhun, he decided to let Xiang Minzhong go to Jinghu North Road to take over as the chief envoy and preside over the post.
After the flood, the officials and people of Hubei were pacified and dealt with the aftermath. The ministers and ministers of the Han Empire had precedents from the time of Shizu. It is not too surprising to elaborate on this matter.
However, after Xiang Minzhong was released to the outside world, many people suddenly looked back and suddenly discovered that in less than three years, the political situation in the first year of Duangong had completely changed.
You must know that during the Kangzong Dynasty, in order to drive away those auxiliary ministers, they struggled for several years, and every time they went to war. In the short three years of the Duangong Dynasty, there were also many political struggles.
This is known to everyone, but with so many people changing in the Zhengshitang, in everyone's impression, it is as dull as boiled water, and the court is obviously becoming more peaceful both inside and outside the court.
Many things are terrifying to think about carefully. The difference between Emperor Duangong and Emperor Pingkang was already widely known in the second half of the third year of Duangong. In the first two years, Liu Wenji was among the people in the government and the public.
There is a lot of talk about the succession issue, but three years after entering Duangong, similar people and things have disappeared, at least in the capital.
Under the leadership of the Imperial City Envoy Cai Jing, the Imperial City Division has become more and more powerful. Although it has not yet reached the point of biting people randomly, its fangs and sharp teeth have been sharply displayed in front of everyone, making people dare not ignore them.
Even in the Andong Kingdom, after receiving the news of the changes in the Luoyang Dynasty, everyone became more peaceful. Whether it was the Shuibin Mansion or the area at the junction of the northeastern part of Liaodong Road and the Andong Kingdom, the chaos was reduced a lot. Anton merchants did
Business has become more disciplined, and the frequency of various criminal cases has also decreased.
Of course, in addition to the macroeconomic impact of the revival of imperial power and the increasing stability of the central court, the emergence of such a result also played an important role in the new Liaodong Province Chief Minister Zeng Hui. In two years, Zeng Hui took the lead and governed by officials.
The Liaodong Road was comprehensively managed in terms of business order and commercial order, and both of these were inevitably influenced by the Andong Kingdom.
Especially in the summer of the third year of Duangong, the Zenghui Joint Command carried out several months of public security rectification in the northeastern border areas, thoroughly teaching the people of Anton how to abide by the Han Dynasty and the rules of Liaodong. Even if Liu Wenyuan, the king of Anton, came forward, there was no one.
No matter how powerful Liu Wenyuan was in Anton's country, he could only show his powerlessness when facing Zeng Hui.
Zeng Hui has become a man of the hour in the Northeast region during the Pingkang-Duanggong era, a much-talked-about figure in the Northeast political arena. He made outstanding contributions to the stability of the situation in Liaodong and the suppression of Anton.
Although he was sitting far away in the court, after hearing about Zeng Hui's political performance in Liaodong, Liu Wenji greatly praised him, and even once had the idea of suggesting Zeng Hui to return to Beijing to pay homage to the prime minister. In the end, the trip failed because Liu Wenji felt that Liaodong
The matter cannot be solved in three or two years. It will take Zeng Hui, a minister, to guard him for a few more years.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Liu Wenji chose Zhang Zhibai, the chief envoy of Guangnan East Road, as the financial envoy after Xiang Minzhong. This time, he did not let various factions compete for it, but made his own decisions.
For the first time since taking the throne, no one has spoken out against it.
Zhang Zhibai's appointment first received strong support from Kou Zhun, the Minister of Civil Affairs, for three reasons: Zhang Zhibai was a Jinshi, Zhang Zhibai was from the north, and Zhang Zhibai had sufficient qualifications.
There is another reason why Liu Wenji chose Zhang Zhibai. There was a long-standing relationship between the emperor and his ministers. If we trace back carefully, it was more than 20 to 30 years ago, during Emperor Shizu's last southern tour.
When the camp was passing through Jiangling, Shizu carried out some rectifications on the Hubei Navy and Jiangling officialdom. At that time, Liu Wenhuan was left, and the two brothers Liu Wenji were left to deal with the aftermath. Zhang Zhibai was a staff member of the Prime Minister.
At that time, Liu Wenji was still young, but it was the first time that he really participated in and experienced national affairs, and it was still a major event. That special experience was an important trace of his growth and was of great significance. It had a great impact on the people and events at that time.
His memories are also very profound, including Zhang Zhibai, who helped him a lot at that time.
Because of this origin, Zhang Zhibai was able to enter the court and become the Prime Minister at one stroke when he was about to become an official. Under normal circumstances, for a common official who has not entered the court at the age of sixty-two, there is basically no chance.
In the twelfth lunar month of the third year of Duangong, another major change occurred in the center of the empire, which could be said to completely overturn the situation of the Duangong Dynasty. Shangshu Ling Xiang Deming suddenly suffered a stroke while in charge of the political affairs hall.
When the respected Xiang Laolinggong was rushed to the hospital, it also meant that the prime minister of the Han Empire was about to change again. Xiang Deming's fall was a big surprise to Emperor Liu Wenji, and it completely shattered his conception of the court situation.
and arrangements.
According to his original intention, he wanted to maintain the current court structure for a while. It is not easy to be a minister, and a qualified prime minister is even rarer. Obviously, in Liu Wenji's mind, Xiang Deming, who has been tested for a long time and knows how to advance and retreat,
A capable military and political person with an overall view is a qualified prime minister. The more important point is that the imperial military and political administration can recognize him, which will help Liu Wenji maintain the stability of the court.
But the sudden arrival of the unexpected caught people so unprepared. In fact, with the drastic changes in the court situation in the past three years, especially the major changes in the personnel and power structure, even if nothing happened to Xiang Deming, he still wanted to maintain the early years of Duan Gong.
The situation is also a very difficult thing.
Fundamentally, it was the emperor who showed his sharpness and took many actions to control the imperial court, which had a huge impact. However, many things were not completely controllable by Liu Wenji.
After Xiang Deming, who should be the prime minister and enforce the law became Liu Wenji's primary consideration. It was also a matter of concern to everyone in the court, and it affected almost everyone's hearts.
Just when Liu Wenji had a headache, another moth arose in the palace. It should be said that Empress Dowager Murong was unwilling to be lonely again. I don’t know where Empress Murong got the energy. She was nearly seventy years old, lost her husband, her son, and her power.
Even though she was not completely defeated, she was still thinking about tormenting her in her twilight years.
Empress Dowager Murong summoned Liu Wenji, but Liu Wenji had no choice but to go to Ciming Hall and salute respectfully. Empress Dowager Murong's purpose of calling Liu Wenji was also very clear. Although she spoke in a roundabout way and made insinuations, the underlying meaning was clear.
It was expressed that she was aiming at the post of Shangshu Ling, and she hoped that Liu Wenji could appoint Murong Dechen.
In the past three years, whether it was to show "filial piety" or to appease the huge political power of the Murong family, Liu Wenji has always been more tolerant of the Empress Dowager Murong and took back some of her political interference.
, don’t care about small things.
In terms of personnel issues in the imperial court, more than a dozen people from the Murong family were appointed to important civil and military positions. In this process, Liu Wenji kept giving in, and the anger in his heart continued to accumulate and expand. If it weren't for Empress Dowager Xiao's
Advice, he had already taken measures against Murong.
I won’t mention it before, but now it is the third year of winter in Duangong. Empress Dowager Murong still doesn’t know how to advance or retreat. Liu Wenji’s patience has reached its limit. Regarding the empress dowager’s appeal, he rejected it on the spot. His expression was calm and his tone was gentle, but his attitude was
Determined.
Empress Dowager Murong was furious at that time, but what made her even more angry was yet to come. When Liu Wenji asked Empress Dowager Xiao again about Murong's incident, Empress Dowager Xiao remained silent for a long time and asked Liu Wenji to decide what to do.
So Liu Wenji took action decisively. Soon afterwards, the former Wude envoy, the former Ducha envoy, the Prime Minister, the Governor of Shanyang, and the Monan Xuanwei envoy Wang Xuanzhen was seriously ill and could not govern, so he sent the Prime Minister Murong Dechen to Shanyang.
, the governor plugged in.
What a familiar plot, it was the same more than ten years ago, Murong Dechen was released to Huguang, and ten years later, the same experience happened again. Even the relatives of the emperor and the dignitaries of the dynasty, in the power struggle at the top of the empire, also suffered.
Can only become a victim
At the same time, Liu Wenji issued an edict and banned the Empress Dowager Murong. To be precise, it should be called "forbidden government". She was fully treated and could travel under surveillance, but no further interference was allowed in military personnel.
After Empress Dowager Murong's incident, Liu Wenji seemed to have got rid of the shackles, and dealt with the state affairs vigorously and resolutely. Xiang Deming failed to survive the winter of the third year of Duangong, and passed away in the palace of Duke Wen half a month later.
After that, Liu Wenji formally issued an edict, appointing Kou Zhun, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and appointed Han Chenggang, the Chief Envoy of the Gyeonggi Province, as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Tong Ping Zhangshi, and paid homage to the Prime Minister. Han Chenggang, the late ancestor Yuan Cong, was the founding general of the People's Republic of China.
Grandson of Han Tong, "Prime Minister", the second son of Han Hui, Duke of Hanoi.
Liu Wenji was also tangled up in letting Kou Zhun be appointed as Shangshu Ling. This man was upright and strong, and he could really do things. However, it was also true that he did not get along well with the courtiers, and he was not the kind of person who really followed the rules. This particularly worried Liu Wenji.
But in the end, Kou Zhun was chosen. He needed a prime minister who could do things, and Kou Zhun had almost all the qualities. At the same time, after Xiang Deming, an old nobleman, he also needed a prime minister from a commoner family.
Han Chenggang's promotion to the prime minister had similar considerations, and he needed to use this to balance and appease the aristocratic bureaucracy. Speaking of the Han family, Han Tong, who started his career, was a martial artist with different literary skills. The Han family was also a military aristocrat, but whether it was Han Hui or this
Both Han Chenggang and Han Chenggang were good at civil affairs and could be regarded as a rare flower among the military aristocrats of the empire. It is a good story that both father and son worshiped the prime minister.
When the cold winter passed and time entered the spring of the fourth year, on the first day of the first lunar month, at the great court meeting in the Qianyuan Hall, Emperor Liu Wenji delivered a New Year's message and at the same time announced an imperial edict to change the Yuan Dynasty to Jianlong.
Also modified was the Chui Gong Hall, which was reorganized. Liu Wenji moved into it in the summer of the third year of Duangong. This was the office of Shizu, Taizong, and Kangzong. Although Ziwei City was large, it was most suitable for the emperor.
The multifunctional palace for living, governing, studying, and cultivating the mind is exactly the Chui Gong Palace.
Liu Wenji changed his name to "Chongzheng" to inherit the aspirations of his ancestors and follow Taizong's legacy, officially starting his era of "Jianlong and Chongzheng". At this point, the "true face" of the Han emperor was finally exposed to the people of the world.
PS: In the Zhengshitang during the Jianlong period, there were still nine prime ministers: Shangshu Ling Kou Zhun, Zhongshu Ling, Xuchang Wang Liu Yao, Ministry of Personnel Shangshu Han Chengjun, Privy Councilor Ma Huaiyu, Finance Minister Zhang Zhibai, and Capital Inspector Wang Qinruo.
Guo Yi, the Minister of War, Chen Yaozuo, the Minister of Rites, and Zhang Shixun, the Minister of Pushe. Under the leadership of these people, the Han Empire also ushered in a period of stable development.
