Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 529 Granting fiefdoms to the princes, shielding China

"what happened?"

Inside Changqiu Palace, Wang Jifeng, her face contorted with anger, rebuked him: "Before the examination, I repeatedly instructed you that since you are not outstanding in either literature or martial arts, you should at least demonstrate filial piety so that His Majesty would know of your benevolence and filial piety. However, not only are you inferior to your brothers in literature and martial arts, but you are also inferior to them in virtue. What makes you think you can stand out and please His Majesty?"

Zhang Luo looked dissatisfied and muttered, "Father asked about my third brother's ambitions, but not mine. So naturally I can't answer. Besides, although my studies aren't outstanding, they're not bad either."

"How dare you talk back!"

Wang Ji's phoenix eyes narrowed, and anger flared up. He snatched the thin strip from the maid's hand and lashed it at Zhang Luo.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

"It hurts~"

"Mom hurts!"

The slender willow branches whipped at Zhang Luo, who cried out for his parents and hurriedly dodged. Fortunately, the thick clothes prevented any scars from being left on Zhang Luo's body.

Wang Ji lashed Zhang Luo more than a dozen times, causing him to run all over the room in pain. Although the maids felt sorry for Zhang Luo, none of them dared to step forward to protect him because of Wang Ji's intimidation.

"Do you dare to talk back?"

"I don't dare anymore!"

"Do you know you were wrong?" Wang Ji asked while smoking.

"I know I was wrong!"

Zhang Luo dared not retaliate; the dignified crown prince of the country was actually beaten to tears by Wang Ji.

"Your Majesty!"

Wang Ji's prominent chest heaved as he spoke.

Seeing that his mother's anger had not subsided and not daring to resist, Zhang Luo could only kneel down in grievance.

Should I be more diligent in my studies from now on?

Be diligent!

"What should I do when I see my father in the future?"

“Filial piety, so that the Emperor may know the son’s benevolence and filial piety,” Zhang Luo said.

"And what about the gentlemen?"

Faced with the enraged Wang Ji, Zhang Luosheng could not muster any resistance. He answered according to his mother's previous instructions, saying, "Be courteous to the virtuous and respectful to your subordinates, and do not presume upon your status!"

Don't forget!

Wang Ji's anger subsided, and he said, "Your Majesty's founding of this dynasty was not easy. The reason you hesitated to establish a crown prince before was because you were worried that he would ruin the foundation. So now that you have been established as crown prince, if you are not capable and have a bad character, then don't blame Your Majesty for establishing another crown prince!"

"promise!"

Zhang Luo was filled with frustration. From a young age, he had been strictly disciplined by his mother, and he could hardly disobey her in anything. If he disobeyed his mother, she would threaten him with the title of Crown Prince, which always made him feel a sense of crisis and envious of the lives of the other princes.

Seeing her son's aggrieved expression, Wang Ji felt a pang of heartache. If she had any other choice, why would she have pressured Zhang Luo?

But as the heir apparent, if Zhang Luo cannot satisfy Zhang Yu or win the approval of the court officials, how can he secure his position as crown prince?

"Have your meal first. Continue your studies as usual, but from now on, pay your respects to your father more often!" Wang Ji said. "Also, your grandfather is still alive, so you must greet him every day to avoid giving anyone cause for gossip!"

"promise!"

Not to mention that Zhang Luo corrected his mistakes under Wang Ji's 'tutelage'. Meanwhile, in a side palace not far from Changqiu Palace, the Li siblings were chatting and laughing.

"Sister, how did Zhang'er do in the exam today?" Li Song asked.

"Although Zhang'er is neither good at literature nor martial arts, he is very filial, which pleases His Majesty. He just sent someone to bestow some Shu brocade upon him, saying that I have done a good job in raising my son," Li Suyi said with a smile.

More than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye. Time may have taken away her youthful appearance, but it has left behind an air of elegance and nobility. However, her years of martial arts training have kept Li Suying in good shape, and she has not experienced the middle-aged weight gain that often comes with age.

"Where is the prince?"

"I heard from Zhang'er that the Crown Prince is mediocre in both literature and martial arts. He is not as good as He Yan and Cai Xi in literature, and not as good as him and the Prince of Dai in martial arts." Li Suying said with some heartache, "I guess he will not escape the Empress's reprimand after returning to the palace!"

After a moment's hesitation, Li Song waved for the maidservant beside Li Suying to leave and said in a low voice, "Sister, you've been in the palace for many years. Have you ever thought about making Zhang'er the crown prince?"

“Zhang’er?” Li Suyi looked surprised and said, “The position of Crown Prince has already been decided. How could Zhang’er have a chance to become Crown Prince? Besides, Zhang’er is naturally brilliant, but he is not as good as He or Cai in literature, nor as good as the Prince of Dai in martial arts. How could he be the Crown Prince!”

Li Song said, “Sister, if you look at the events of the previous dynasties, such as Emperor Gaozu almost changing the crown prince, and Emperor Shizu then establishing a new crown prince. Your Majesty is young and vigorous now, and when you were vying for the throne, you were even younger than Emperor Shizu. Therefore, if we take the past dynasties as a warning, how can you know what will happen in the future?”

"I observe that Zhang'er is intelligent. It is only because his younger sister is lax in disciplining him that he has not excelled in either literature or martial arts. However, he is naturally bright, considerate of His Majesty's difficulties, and respectful to the virtuous and talented. He has already surpassed the Crown Prince!"

Li Suying frowned in thought and said, “The Empress has treated me well, and vying for the crown prince will inevitably lead to enmity with her. Moreover, it is unknown whether His Majesty intends to establish a new crown prince. My brother is a key minister of His Majesty, assisting in the administration of the country, founding the nation and being enfeoffed as a marquis, and his family is at its peak. If he were to fight for the throne, his life or death would be uncertain. For the sake of peace, my brother must not force the issue.”

As she spoke, Li Suying added, "I ask for nothing more than that my brother and His Majesty be in good health, and that our children marry good men!"

"I understand my sister's meaning!"

Seeing that Li Suying had a Buddhist-like personality and was content with the status quo, Li Song nodded and sighed, quite understanding of his sister's thoughts.

Given the relationship between the Li and Zhang families, his position in the court was undoubtedly high, so why would he get involved in the dangerous struggle for the throne? Besides, his brother-in-law had no intention of changing the crown prince. If he were to force his way into this mess, he might be betraying his brother-in-law, Zhang Yu. Unless, of course, Zhang Yu intended to replace the crown prince!

"correct!"

Li Suying recalled something and said, "Recently, I overheard His Majesty say that the princes are getting older and he intends to enfeoff them as kings. I wonder if you, brother, are aware of this matter?"

"Have heard a little bit!"

Li Song took a sip of tea and said, "Now that His Majesty has ascended the throne and the Crown Prince has taken over the Eastern Palace, the princes should be granted the title of king according to the established rules."

“Brother, could you perhaps speak to His Majesty and help Zhang’er secure a good fiefdom?” Li Suyi said.

"Hmm~"

Li Song pondered for a moment and said, "Apart from the title of Prince of Dai, which has already been decided, the fiefdoms of the other sons are unknown. Since my sister has made a request, I will pay my respects to His Majesty later."

"Thank you for your trouble, brother!"

"It's your job!"

Li Song said, "Zhang'er is still young. According to His Majesty, she can only be appointed to govern a region at the age of eighteen. Her fief can be changed at any time, so you don't need to worry too much, sister!"

"That's good!"

While the Li siblings were discussing the princes' fiefdoms, Zhang Yu was pondering how to distribute fiefdoms among his sons.

A vast map of the thirteen provinces of the Eastern Han Dynasty hung on the wall. Zhang Yu sat in front of it, his eyes fixed on the map, and he fell into deep thought.

"Your Majesty wishes to enfeoff your sons, why not follow the system of the Later Han Dynasty, where they are nominally rulers of their own fiefdoms, but in reality governed by a prime minister?" Guo Tu said cautiously.

Zhang Yu said calmly, “If the old system is continued, the fiefdoms will become prisons for the princes. Why not stay in Chang’an? This will save the princes the expense of granting fiefdoms!”

"Then what is Your Majesty's intention?" Guo Tu asked.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I wish to follow the system of the Zhou and Han dynasties and enfeoff my sons in border regions to serve as a bulwark for China."

The feudal system and the prefecture-county system have different advantages and disadvantages. From the perspective of the imperial system, the prefecture-county system is definitely more conducive to centralized power than the feudal system. However, from the perspective of society, the results are different.

For example, in a state under a prefecture-county system, local autonomy is constantly restricted in order to strengthen central authority and maintain political stability. Conversely, in a state under a feudal system, external enemies constantly drive the state to strengthen itself in order to maintain a powerful army and advanced technology.

Of course, the most important role of a state under a feudal system was to eliminate internal conflicts and expand the boundaries of civilization.

The term "Huaxia" originated from the Zhou Dynasty, but during the Zhou Dynasty, the area covered by Huaxia civilization was only the capital region from Luoyang to Chang'an. The Jin state was enfeoffed in Hedong to defend against the Chi Di, and the Wei state was established to control the former inhabitants of the Yin Shang Dynasty. There were even barbarians in the Xiong'er Mountain area of ​​Luoyang at that time. The states of Qi and Lu, needless to say, were established to defend against the Dongyi and Huaiyi.

The reason why the State of Yan was enfeoffed in Youzhou was that the Zhou people pursued the remnants of the Shang dynasty along the Taihang Mountains all the way to Yan, and were then enfeoffed in Youzhou by the Zhou royal family. Due to the severing of roads, the people of Yan were cut off from the other states of China for a long time, and even almost lost their country to the barbarians. In the end, the State of Qi sent troops to the north to help the people of Yan, thus helping the State of Yan to continue its life.

However, the Zhou civilization (Huaxia civilization) rose because of the enfeoffment system, and its dynasty also perished because of the enfeoffment system. But the enfeoffment of various states made the concepts of China and Huaxia deeply rooted in people's minds.

The feudal states established before the mid-Western Han Dynasty greatly expanded the concept of the Han people and the territory of the early Han Empire. Through the Confucian reforms of Emperor Wu of Han, the concept of a unified empire took root in people's hearts. However, due to ethnic and cultural conflicts in peripheral regions, the concept of a unified empire could not be fully realized, and the Chinese civilization could not cover these areas.

Therefore, Zhang Yu had a personal mission: to continue the policies of the Zhou and Han dynasties and further expand Chinese civilization outwards. In particular, although the Nanzhong, Jiaoling, Liaodong, Hexi, and Hetao regions were occupied by the Han Empire, Han civilization did not penetrate into these areas, and the barbarians remained powerful there.

Therefore, based on the above ideas, enfeoffing the various sons in the border regions would be beneficial to the expansion of Chinese civilization and would also allow the concept of unification to be deeply rooted in the border regions.

"The enfeoffment of princes during the Former Han Dynasty led to the Rebellion of the Seven States. Your Majesty should reconsider!" Guo Tu advised.

Looking at the map of the world, Zhang Yu said confidently, "The seven kingdoms occupy rich and prosperous lands, so it is not surprising that they would rise up in rebellion. However, I have enfeoffed my sons to guard the borders, such as in the counties of Nanzhong, Liaodong, Hetao, Hehuang, and Jiaoling, to protect them from the barbarians. These poor and impoverished lands are not as rich as China, so how could the kingdoms possibly rebel?"

Zhang Yu was not worried that his enfeoffment system would endanger the central government. After all, aside from the fact that the barbarians in the above-mentioned prefectures needed to be Sinicized, their power was far inferior to that of China.

If a feudal lord could destroy the central government with a small territory and replicate Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign, how could Zhang Yu not be happy?

Was Zhu Di not as good as Zhu Yunwen?
(End of this chapter)