Chapter 29 Sejong Chapter 30 A quick turn of history
In the early summer of the fifth year of Jianlong's reign, after Wang Dan, Ma Huaiyu, Guo Yi and other veterans and pillars, the Han Empire lost another pillar of national merit. Yang Ye, the founding father and the patriarch of the Five Dynasties, suddenly passed away in the palace. He died without illness at the age of ninety.
two.
Yang Ye's death was obviously something that shocked the government and the public, not only because of his high prestige, but also because of the Yang family's strong influence in the empire's military and political affairs. With the death of Yang Ye, it also meant that Emperor Shizu remained in the world.
The last trace of warmth dissipated, and Yang Ye was the last hero and elder of the Han Dynasty who was of the same generation as Shizu.
For Emperor Liu Wenji, the death of Yang Ye made him feel very regretful. After all, this was the great protector who helped him ascend the throne. His departure somewhat made Liu Wenji's throne lose some luster.
To be fair, among the two elders who made the final decision and helped Liu Wenji succeed to the throne, Yang Ye was the one who gave him unreserved gratitude and trust. In contrast, Liu Wenji inevitably had a trace of fear in his heart towards Zhao Wang Liu Fang.
Many times in the middle of the night, Liu Wenji was frightened that Uncle Zhao would ascend to the throne and declare that he would depose and establish a new king. Even though the possibility was slim, it did not hinder the emperor's suspicion and fear.
There is no need to worry about Yang Ye at all, and Liu Wenji had to show special care even for his kindness. As a result, Yang Yesheng was in the position of a great minister, and when he died, he enjoyed all the sorrow and glory, which was worthy of his reputation.
It is said to be the most politically serious, grandest in scale, and the most resonant funeral ceremony for a hero since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The protagonist is also Yang Ye.
On the day of the funeral, the scene was so grand that many people lamented that no one in the imperial court was more prominent and favored than the Yang family. There were many heroes in the Han Empire, but the last one to be so honored and arouse such emotion was Linqing during the Qianyou period.
After Wang Gaoxing Zhou passed away.
In the past few years, especially when Yang Yanzhao was still alive, the Yang family was the first noble family in the empire. Yang Yanzhao died of illness in the winter of the third year of Jianlong, and with the death of Guo Yi, Minister of War, in the spring of the fourth year of Jianlong,
The mansion, once the three pillars of the imperial army appointed by Emperor Shizu, only remains in people's memory, and the history of the empire is rapidly turning.
As far as the Yang family is concerned, after the death of the old master Yang Ye, its prosperity will inevitably decline. However, who dares to despise the Yang family for this? Not to mention Yang Yanlang, who succeeded Ma Huai and became the privy envoy. As for the emperor's attitude towards Yang
His gracious attitude is enough to make people envious.
After Yang Ye's death, he was posthumously granted the title of Duke of Xin. At the same time, Liu Wenji made some changes to Yang's title. Yang Chuanzhen, Yang Yanzhao's legitimate son, took over the title and changed it to Duke of Yanmen. He also bestowed the title of Marquis of Guo on Yang Yanzhao to Yang Yanlang.
The pattern of one family and two princes of the Yang family was also completely established, and was inherited by Yang Yanzhao and Yang Yanlang respectively. In the imperial era of more than seventy years, more than one family of meritorious officials and dignitaries emerged, and for a long time
Here, the Yang family was just an "ordinary" family, but to the surprise of most people, more than seventy years later, the Yang family could become the most noble family in the empire, even though this "number one" might not last long.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that other families are gradually disappearing from the public. The favor of the Yang family, from all over the court, is similar to that of Rong Guogong, Guangyang Marquis and the Zhao family. And now Zhao
The Yang family has long been inferior to its former glory, and it is difficult to maintain its previous prominent position, so it has been mentioned in the same breath as the Yang family.
With the death of Zhao Dezhao, the lineage of Rong Guogong Zhao Kuangyin declined significantly. More importantly, it faced a serious problem of thin blood. In the fifth year of Jianlong's reign, Zhao Kuangyin's descendants were less than ten fingers alive.
number
As for the others, they either died of old age, illness, or accidents, or were killed by the regent Queen Mother Liu E in Annan Kingdom. Even the third generation Rongguo Duke Zhao Weizheng was a mediocre person, and Zhao Dezhao and others were the only ones who
The eldest brother is still alive. He is nearly sixty years old and has no children. He has already asked the court to adopt one of his nephews.
Compared with the bitter lineage of Rong Guogong, Zhao Kuangyi's Guangyanghou lineage has a better life, but not much. At least Zhao Deshong, the successor who Zhao Kuangyi has high hopes for, still supports the entire family, and the number of people
Much more abundant, he still maintains a good influence in the political arena and among the scholar community.
However, there are really not many outstanding talents. Zhao Kuangyi's second son, Zhao Deming, has shown certain qualifications and has made some achievements in the officialdom. He once served as the deputy chief minister of Jinghu South Road, and then in the turmoil of the rivers and lakes for several consecutive years, he was confused.
After leaving the dust, he was dismissed from his post for corruption and dereliction of duty, and was demoted to a common citizen.
The third son, Zhao Dechang, followed Liu Wenhuan to Annan. After Liu Wenhuan's death, as an important assistant minister, he was also the core backbone of the Zhao family against the regent Queen Mother Liu E. However, this man was too weak in character and his political methods were even worse than Liu E's.
A few blocks away, with huge political resources and prestige, Liu E was forced to retreat step by step, abdicated and gave up power, and finally died in Jiaozhi in despair.
To mention a little more, today's Annan Kingdom, at least the Jiaozhi court, has been completely controlled by a political group headed by the Queen Mother Liu E. Along with this, the death of Princess Zhao of illness and the suppression of the Zhao family.
Many palace battles and political struggles occurred during this process, which were just like all the power struggles recorded in history, exciting, fierce and cruel. After all, Zhao, as the first relative of Annan Kingdom, had several people killed.
Different from ordinary power struggles, the authority of the Queen Mother Liu E has been established and continuously strengthened, always maintaining the stability of the court's administrative coordination. At the same time, although the politics is high-pressure, great progress has been made in the economy and people's livelihood.
, the increasingly abundant output on the Red River Delta Plain also continuously contributed to the consolidation of the Annan Empire. On the other hand, the continuous rise of commerce, handicrafts, and foreign trade accelerated the rise and prosperity of the Annan Kingdom.
From the perspective of the growth of the core ruling population, among the feudal states with the surname Liu in the north and south, Annan actually stood out, thanks to his unique geographical advantages and Sinicization foundation.
After nearly seven years of hard work, Queen Mother Annan Liu E gradually eliminated the "central" opposition forces with Zhao as the core, and basically gained absolute control over the Cochin court. Her next goal was to
Wen, two feudal lords of Wan Er Prefecture.
During the years of fierce struggle in the Jiaozhi court, the two brothers Liu Jiyuan and Liu Jichu developed vigorously in their respective fiefdoms and accumulated considerable strength, covering almost four southwest states. Their dissatisfaction and threats to the Jiaozhi court became increasingly serious.
Of course, compared with the enemies within the imperial court, the threat of the two brothers with doubtful blood is not something Liu E is particularly afraid of. What is more troublesome is that it is difficult to solve the "second princes problem" by political means alone. At the same time, , we have to consider the attitude of the central government of the empire. After all, the two brothers Liu Jiyuan and Liu Jichu are still in the imperial clan genealogy.
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In the fifth year of Jianlong's reign, the Han Empire was undergoing renewal in all aspects, with personnel changes being the most significant feature. After the "aristocratic politics" of the Pingkang-Duangong era, in the fifth year of Jianlong's reign, Kou Zhun , Zhang Zhibai, Wang Qinruo, Ding Wei, Chen Yaozuo and other common people bureaucrats once again took control of the imperial court.
This is a process of ebb and flow, and it is also related to the withdrawal of a large number of powerful nobles from the stage of history. In fact, the combination of the Xungui Group and the imperial system is deep-rooted, and its impact on the imperial military and politics is also all-round, nationwide. Within the country, there are still a large number of key positions occupied by the descendants of meritorious officials, and more bureaucrats hold important positions as "disciples" of the distinguished officials.
However, at the central level of the empire, it is a trend for the nobles to retreat and the common people to advance. At least, it is the first time in more than half a century that only Yang Yanlang, Han Chengjun, and Cao Wei have spoken for themselves. Therefore, after another group of talents rise and Before taking power, it is normal to be somewhat dormant.
During this period, the emperor made a move that aroused dissatisfaction among the broad masses of nobles. On the surface, it seemed that it was just an appointment. Regarding the appointment of Minister of War after Guo Yi, Liu Wenji did not follow the usual guidelines for this appointment. Instead of choosing from among noble ministers, he promoted another bureaucrat from the common people, Zhang Jian, the chief envoy of Shanyang.
Zhang Jian, courtesy name Zhongbao, was born in Wanping, Youzhou. He was the number one scholar in the fourth year of Yongxi's reign. He served successively as censor, Yongchang Ling, Qingzhou magistrate, Luoyang magistrate, and Hebei transfer envoy. He was among the top officials among Yongxi's many famous ministers. figure.
With his rich resume and outstanding talents, there is no need to worry about whether Zhang Jian's talents are enough to take up the post of Shangshu of the Ministry of War. He is not a civil servant with no knowledge of military matters. He also served as an inspection envoy to the northwest and presided over the suppression of bandit rebellion in Qinghai area.
However, the appointment of Minister of the Ministry of War is not just a matter of military and political talents. The rules formed since the time of King Shizu must take into account his identity. Specifically, he must be from the military service, and later it has been developed that he must be from a noble family with military merit.
Although it is just an unspoken rule that has been formed among the upper-class dignitaries of the imperial court for a long time and has not been clearly summarized into regulations and written in the "Han Zhi" and "Huidian", this kind of consensus reached from top to bottom is often the opposite. It is more binding than those systems written in articles.
For a long time, no matter how fierce and extensive the political struggle at the upper level of the imperial court was, the two positions of Privy Councilor and Minister of War were always held by ministers with military and noble backgrounds. This has never changed for more than half a century.
It can be said that the Privy Council and the Minister of War are the private residences of the Han Empire's military aristocracy and the guarantee of their right to speak in the court. There may be life-and-death struggles within them, but the overall interests will never be allowed to be violated. Moreover, such The model also played an important role in the stability and security of the empire during special periods.
Liu Wenji's act of appointing Zhang Jian was obviously an act that broke the unspoken rules and would definitely offend the noble class, especially the dissatisfaction of those military nobles who still had the right to speak in the imperial army, and would definitely cause a backlash.
Liu Wenji was always cautious in his actions and always made decisions before taking action. Of course, he was aware of the so-called hidden rules and the repercussions and even resistance that appointing Zhang Jian would cause, but he still did it, and he did it extremely resolutely.
The reasons are naturally multifaceted. On the one hand, strengthening one's control and influence over the military is on the one hand. The Ministry of War, which is in charge of the logistics and dispatching matters of the national army, is such a less obvious but extremely crucial position for Liu Wenji. It is also a good starting point.
Of course, if it was just because he wanted to take control of the military and strengthen his control over the army, there was no need for Liu Wenji to promote Zhang Jian. After all, through the appointment of some noble sons and the common people generals he had been quietly and orderly promoting, The same can be done.
The fundamental reason is that Liu Wenji was dissatisfied with the "civil and military system" pattern that had been established since the time of Shizu. Breaking the unspoken rules, for the destroyers, the old rules had their shortcomings and had to be broken.
The so-called civil and military system requires a balance, a balance between civil and military affairs, and a balance between nobles and common people. However, to be honest, this so-called balance has long been out of balance.
There has never been a standard and clear line between power and nobility. Even Emperor Shizu, on the one hand, built a military meritorious group that cultivated the pillars of the empire, and on the other hand, he vigorously promoted common people bureaucrats as a check and balance. However, the final balance was still Relying on the emperor's own authority and means.
On the other hand, the imperial nobles, while maintaining a strong influence on the army all year round, have already touched every aspect of imperial affairs. This situation was suppressed by Shizu and Taizong, but Kangzong did not care. When Liu Wenji came, As the emperor's throne became increasingly consolidated and his wings were full, he decided to make some changes.
The appointment of Zhang Jian, a scholar in Xia Guan, can be regarded as a kind of temptation, and this temptation caused a fierce backlash before and after the appointment. Liu Wenji's special favor towards the Yang family was not without this kind of backlash. To bring pressure, he also needs to win over some military elite families to appease the dissatisfaction among the nobles.
If Emperor Taizong's concerns in the process of political reform mostly came from his prudence and tolerance, then many of Liu Wenji's concerns and fears were that he really had no choice and the actual conditions were like this.
In the autumn of the fifth year of Jianlong, Liu Wenji issued an edict to appoint Yang Si, the granddaughter of Privy Councilor Yang Yanlang, as queen (Liu Wenji's original wife, Queen Li, died of illness in the winter of the fourth year of Jianlong). As a result, the Yang family gave birth to two queens (Kangzong's queen was Yang Yan Zhao's daughter), the Yang family's prominence is unparalleled in the world.