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

Chapter 161 The Final Chamber
He enfeoffed fourteen princes and kings.

The size of the fiefdom was nearly 30% of the total territory of the Han Dynasty.

Since Emperor Gaozu, no Han emperor has possessed such skill and ambition.

Strangely, despite the presence of high-ranking officials, nobles, and members of the imperial family from both the Chinese and foreign dynasties, not a single person intervened.

Not only did they stand idly by while the bestowal of titles upon princes took place, but they even went out of their way to select fiefdoms for fourteen crown princes and bestow upon them honorific titles.

Following the established practice of the Han Dynasty, first fiefdoms were granted, then kings were appointed, with the king's title being the same as the fiefdom.

In short, apart from Liu Duan, the King of Jiaoxi, who was born childless, and Liu Zhu, the King of Chu, who was young and childless, fourteen princes, including Liu Pengzu, the King of Zhao, Liu Ji, the King of Jiaodong, Liu Shun, the King of Changshan, Liu Pengli, the King of Chengyang, Liu Jian, the King of Zichuan, and Liu Hu, the King of Jibei, were enfeoffed with a prefecture in the Nanyue region or the southwestern Yi region. Thus, the Han Dynasty first had the titles of "King of Nanhai", "King of Cangwu", "King of Yulin", "King of Hepu", "King of Jiaozhi", "King of Jiuzhen", "King of Rinan", "King of Zhuyai", "King of Dan'er", "King of Wudu", "King of Zangke", "King of Yuexi", "King of Shenli", and "King of Jiaoshan".

The fourteen new kings were recorded in the imperial clan genealogy by the Zongzheng Office, and the Taichang Office burned the memorial to worship the gods of heaven and earth and the ancestors.

The speed was astonishing, leaving no room for regret whatsoever.

Once the investiture ceremony was completed, the court officials of both dynasties could no longer contain themselves, first letting out soft laughter, then bursting into continuous laughter.

A strong sense of unease swept through all the feudal lords in the Xuan Shi Hall.

"what are you laughing at?"

"I remember happy things."

"What's the happy thing?"

"My wife gave birth to my son."

How old are you?

"sixty."

"Still vigorous despite old age."

"What are you laughing at again?"

"My wife also gave birth to a son for me."

How old are you?

"sixty."

"Are your wives the same person?"

"No, they are sons born on the same day."

"You've gone too far. I've tolerated you for too long."

King Liu Duan of Jiaoxi, unable to bear the mockery, pointed at one of the court officials and said, "You're all clearly laughing at me, and you haven't stopped!"

“Your Highness, this is the Xuan Shi Hall, a court meeting before the Emperor. No matter how funny it is, we will not laugh, unless…”

"Unless what?"

"I couldn't help it."

Before Liu Duan could erupt in anger, another court official interrupted him, saying, "How about this, Your Highness, and all the other princes, you should all return to your residences to calm down. Court discussions are not for private matters, and government decrees must be known to the whole country. You will know if there are any problems."

The feudal lords knew they shouldn't go back, but they stormed the palace, entered the hall, and even demanded fourteen titles of kings. If they continued to cause trouble in the imperial court, and any of the Han emperor's ministers said, "You're going to divide up the Han empire," people would really die.

With their sins already committed, and now they were attempting another coup, the Emperor of Han had already shown his subjects the repeated leniency and favoritism shown towards his relatives. If they continued their reckless behavior, he could truly have them all killed. Under the watchful eyes of officials from both dynasties, the vassal kings didn't know how they left the palace, only that as they descended the palace steps, a deafening roar of laughter echoed behind them.

If it weren't for some restraint, and the need to avoid making a major breach of etiquette before the emperor, the act of looking up to the sky and stomping one's feet would have been staged in the palace.

What exactly did they overlook?
As the figures of the feudal lords disappeared from sight, Liu Ju couldn't help but smile, reminding them, "My lords, you may laugh, but don't let yourselves get sick from all the joy."

With the imperial edict granting permission, all the court officials burst into laughter. In the eighty-year history of the Xuan Shi Hall, there had never been such laughter.

The feudal lords were also blinded by greed.

The title of king in the Han Dynasty originated from the victory of the Chu-Han Contention. Emperor Gaozu fulfilled his promise and allowed his former allies to establish vassal kingdoms in their respective territories, becoming vassal kings of different surnames.

The map of the Han Dynasty at that time was terrifying. About half of the empire's territory, east of Hangu Pass, was not under the actual control of Emperor Gaozu or the court.

Although Emperor Gao was called an emperor, he was more like a temporary leader elected by a group of non-royal princes, and their relationship was a fragile alliance.

This was also an important reason why Emperor Gao accepted Lou Jing and Zhang Liang's advice to move the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an.

Luoyang was surrounded by feudal lords of different surnames, which was like placing the emperor in the midst of a pack of tigers.

In order to truly establish a Liu family dynasty and hand over a stable empire to his successor, Emperor Gaozu basically eliminated all the non-Liu family princes before his death.

Problems arose one after another: how to deal with their original territory? There were two solutions.

The first option was to abolish the vassal states and allow the prefectures and counties within the country to be directly under the central government, just like other places. The second option was to retain the vassal states and appoint trusted members of the imperial clan as vassal kings. Clearly, Emperor Gao chose the latter.

Another name for a vassal king is a feudal king.

The character 藩 (fān) means screen or barrier.

The original meaning of the character “藩” is fence. The purpose of the imperial court in establishing vassal states was to hope that they would form a fence to protect Chang'an, so that the vassal kings could effectively defend the emperor in the event of foreign invasion.

Generally speaking, a wall of vassal states composed of members of the same clan is more reliable than one composed of outsiders of different clans. Emperor Gaozu had just emerged from the chaos of the late Qin Dynasty, and his foundation was not yet secure. War could break out at any time, so it was reasonable for him to choose to preserve the vassal states.

However, Emperor Gao was nearing the end of his life and had no time to consider the consequences of his "good ideas," one of the most serious being the excessive power of the vassal states.

At the end of Emperor Gaozu's reign, there were 57 prefectures in the country. The princes occupied 42 of them, leaving only 15 prefectures directly under the imperial court, a stark contrast.

At the same time, the feudal lords had all the power to govern their own countries. Apart from fulfilling certain obligations to the court, such as being a member of the royal family, showing loyalty, and paying tribute, they could freely appoint officials, formulate policies, possess resources such as mountains, lakes, and fields, and control their own private armies. Some large countries, such as Qi and Wu, were no less powerful than the court.

However, the fence theory has a fatal flaw: as generations go by, kinship weakens, and the feudal lords who form the fence gradually become ambitious external enemies of the court.

As descendants of the same emperor, why is it that you can sit on the throne but I can't?

Even worse, if several feudal lords joined forces to rebel, the original "barrier" would instantly become a siege of Chang'an.

Therefore, Empress Lü reduced the lands of the Liu family princes and enfeoffed the Lü family. Emperor Xiaowen adopted Jia Yi's strategy of "establishing many princes while reducing their power." After the Rebellion of the Seven States, Emperor Xiaojing greatly reduced the power of the states and lands. Your Majesty's "Decree of Grace" directly resolved the hidden danger of the princes that originated at the beginning of the country.

The continuous weakening reduced the territory of the feudal lords, but it did not diminish their ambitions. They remained stubborn and ignorant of fate, still dreaming of becoming kings.

Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang exchanged a glance. By burying the direct descendants of the feudal lords in Nanyue and the southwestern barbarians, and by burying the feudal lords and the imperial family of the Han dynasty within the country, the problem might finally be solved.

"No one is more enlightened than Your Majesty!" Gongsun Hong led the way in praising the emperor.

The civil and military officials of both dynasties eagerly anticipated seeing the expressions on the faces of the feudal lords upon learning that the Nanyue people and the southwestern Yi people had all come under the control of the Central Plains. Suppressing their laughter, they chorused in unison, "May Your Majesty live a thousand years and enjoy endless happiness!"

(End of this chapter)