A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 110 Travelogue
Zhang Tang presented his memorial.

It began with Liu Pengzu.

This man was the seventh son of Emperor Xiaojing and Your Majesty's half-brother. In the second year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, he was initially established as the Prince of Guangchuan.

The following year, the Wu-Chu Rebellion broke out, and Zhao King Liu Sui participated in it, but was defeated and committed suicide.

Emperor Jing loved his son dearly, so he transferred Liu Pengzu to be the King of Zhao.

It was also after the Rebellion of the Seven States that the central court strengthened its control over the local vassal states. The people who truly held power changed from the original vassal kings to officials of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measurement) such as prime ministers sent by the court. The kings and marquises basically only enjoyed the tax revenue.

As the saying goes, "where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure," and almost all the feudal lords had clever ways to deal with the central government's tightening control.

Exceptions include cases like Liu Duan, the King of Jiaoxi, who directly assassinated the Chancellor Dong Zhongshu while holding the title of King.

Liu Pengzu believed that if the prime minister and others strictly governed the Zhao state according to Han law, it would obviously not be in his own interest.

Therefore, the King of Zhao tried every means to uncover the secrets of his central officials and used them to coerce them.

Whenever a high-ranking official of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure) was sent to the Zhao state by the imperial court, Liu Pengzu would personally greet him in his simplest clothes and arrange lodging for him, which could be described as "humble and respectful".

Then, His Highness Prince Zhao would seek various opportunities and excuses to get close to officials of the rank of 2,000 shi. Once the officials lowered their guard, they might say something taboo.

Liu Pengzu wrote them down one by one.

Upon returning to the royal palace, Liu Pengzu would record the information on bamboo slips. When officials infringed upon the royal palace's interests in governing the Zhao state, Liu Pengzu would use these slips to threaten them. If they were willing to cooperate, the King of Zhao would not hesitate to share the spoils and continue to exploit the people of Zhao. If they were unwilling, Liu Pengzu would submit a memorial to the court accusing the officials of their indiscretions and falsely accusing them of committing crimes and seeking personal gain in the Zhao state. The truth was difficult to discern, as Liu Pengzu was "deeply cunning, fond of the law, and adept at using sophistry to deceive people."

Thus, Liu Pengzu served as King of Zhao for more than 30 years. None of the officials of the 2,000-stone rank sent by the central court to Zhao to enforce the law and govern the country were able to serve for two years. Most of these officials were accused of some kind of crime by King Zhao. Those who committed serious crimes were executed, while those who committed minor crimes were dismissed from their posts and sentenced.

Liu Ju noticed something unusual. From Emperor Xiaojing to his father, the general trend in the empire was to impose increasingly strict restrictions on the vassal kings. It was not uncommon for vassal kings to be dismissed from their posts for minor offenses. In the past thirty years, the State of Zhao had changed nearly twenty prime ministers. Even if the King of Zhao was in the right every time, things could not have gone so smoothly.

If it's understandable to turn a blind eye to the Prince of Zhao because he's Emperor Xiaojing's own son, then what about the Emperor himself?
Deep brotherly affection?

As you can see, Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan, one of the emperor's half-brothers, died at the execution ground on the Wei River. How could the King of Zhao be an exception?

If Liu Pengzu had been virtuous and had no faults, then so be it. But this Wang Bo was notorious for his lust in the Han Dynasty, "having many concubines and children." In terms of the number of princes, although far less than that of the King of Zhongshan, he still had as many as twenty-seven.

Liu Pengzu himself was a womanizer, colluded with local powerful figures, interfered in local commerce, levied exorbitant taxes, and framed imperial officials. His son, Liu Dan, was a beast. With so many "imperial petitions," did Emperor Xiaojing and his father never see them even once? Did they just transfer them to the Imperial Archives like that?
Then there's Liu Pengli, the Prince of Jidong, son of King Xiao of Liang. He was known for his "arrogance and ruthlessness." He had a peculiar and cruel hobby: every evening at dusk, Liu Pengli would personally lead dozens of servants, guards, and outlaws from his palace to ambush people on the road, kill them, and rob them of their property. He wasn't after money; he simply enjoyed it.

The archives of the Imperial Archives contain records of over a hundred people who were killed. Their families appealed, but their appeals went unanswered. It is unknown how many more victims were silenced or threatened by Liu Pengli to prevent them from appealing. All that is known is that "Jidong County is devoid of lights at night, like a ghost town."

In addition to the two cases of the princes' debauchery and illegality mentioned above, the Imperial Archives and the Court of Justice also discovered that Liu Jian, the Prince of Jiangdu, had committed adultery with his father's favorite concubine, Nao Ji, as well as his sister, Zheng Chen. His father was none other than Liu Fei, the Prince of Jiangdu, who had mistakenly knelt by the roadside for Han Yan, the emperor. Liu Jian "killed thirty-five innocent people and was solely for debauchery and cruelty." Knowing that he had committed many crimes and fearing that he would be executed if his crimes were exposed, Liu Jian, together with his queen Cheng Guang, instructed a maid from Yue to use Yue witchcraft to curse the emperor.

Zhang Tang was very thoughtful; at the end of his memorial, he included the name of a Han dynasty prince who had been discovered and punished. Liu Dingguo, the former king of Yan, had an affair with his father's concubine and forcibly took his younger brother's wife as his concubine. Liu Dingguo also illegally murdered Yingren, the magistrate of Feiru County. In the second year of Yuanshuo, Yingren's brother went to the capital to report the affair, which led to the exposure of these illicit affairs.

The ministers submitted a memorial requesting the execution of Liu Dingguo. Liu Dingguo committed suicide, the state was abolished, and the Yan region was incorporated into the Han dynasty as a prefecture.

This matter is clearly recorded as "Zhu Fu Yan initiated the matter," because it was through Zhu Fu Yan's instigation that the accusations made by the Ying brothers came to the emperor's attention.

There are many more cases like this.

But every single time, the imperial court rectified the arrogance and lawlessness of the vassal kings. In addition to enforcing discipline, the fate of the vassal states was often that "the state was abolished and its territory was incorporated into the Han dynasty as a prefecture."

The injustices suffered by the common people were linked to the interests of the imperial court. Liu Ju silently flipped through the files. Spring had arrived, but the chill in the Xuan Shi Hall grew stronger.

"Zhang Tang".

"The minister is here."

"Apart from the King of Zhao, the King of Jidong, and the King of Jiangdu, are there any other innocent people among the vassal kings?"

"Your Majesty, based on the evidence and unconfirmed facts held by the Imperial Archives and the Court of Justice, apart from the three kings of Qi (Liu Hong), Yan (Liu Dan), and Guangling (Liu Xu), the sixteen kings of the Han Dynasty have committed heinous crimes that are too numerous to recount!" Zhang Tang solemnly declared.

The princes of the Liu family truly do everything except human affairs.

Relying on their status as relatives and the fiefdoms that could act as a get-out-of-jail-free card, they acted like they were the most important people in the world, second only to the emperor, and fourth to the emperor, committing all sorts of evil deeds.

"The Imperial Archives and the Court of Justice shall continue to collect the records of the princes' activities. The Prime Minister's Office shall issue an edict, and a special envoy shall proclaim the edict to all the kingdoms, and all the princes shall come to the capital." Liu Ju closed the memorial, shut his eyes, leaned back slightly, and spoke without a trace of emotion.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhang Tang accepted the order and then asked, "Your Majesty, what if the princes are unwilling to come to the capital?"

"The special envoy will be changed to an imperial commissioner, leading local officials and soldiers to surround the palace, arrest the suspects, and escort them to the capital for trial by the Imperial Archives," Liu Ju said in a calm tone.

"Your Majesty, could this incite a rebellion?" Zhang Tang warned.

The lessons of the Rebellion of the Seven States are still fresh in our minds.

"The feudal lords have no chance left." Liu Ju opened his eyes, a flash of lightning seemingly passing through the air.

Before the Rebellion of the Seven States, those large vassal states each had several commanderies and held military and minting power. When they united, they almost brought down the empire. Now, the Sixteen Kingdoms didn't even have sixteen commanderies. They had no soldiers or money. How could they possibly fight against the Han Dynasty's ninety-one commanderies?

Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, or an ant trying to shake a tree!
(End of this chapter)