New Han Dynasty 1834

On New Year's Day of the first year of the Han Chang era, after Liu Yulong's enthronement ceremony, the Han court would have a holiday until the seventeenth day of the first month.

Last year was filled with many important events, keeping the entire court extremely busy. Everyone, including Emperor Liu Yulong, needed a good rest and relaxation.

At 7 a.m. on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yulong, who had slept for twelve hours, finally got up.

After leisurely washing up and having his meal, he changed into his imperial robes at nine o'clock in the morning and went to Cining Palace to see his mother.

Upon officially ascending the throne, Liu Yulong also formally honored his biological mother, Empress Wang Ying of Liu Jin'an, as Empress Dowager, making her the first Empress Dowager of the new Han Dynasty.

Liu Yulong's grandmother, Liu Desheng's first wife, died two years before Liu Desheng, and did not have the chance to become Empress Dowager.

When Liu Yulong met his mother, he didn't show any formalities, just gave a slight bow and addressed her directly:

"Mother, your child has come to see you."

Wang Ying was sitting and reading when she saw Liu Yulong come in and raised her hand to greet him.

"The Emperor has arrived. Come here quickly and sit down with your mother. I have something to discuss with you."

Liu Yulong walked to the other side of Wang Ying's soft couch and sat down:

"What do you need me to do, Mother?"

Wang Ying looked her son up and down, and expressed her thoughts in a rather casual tone:

"The emperor is nineteen years old this year. According to the rules set by the founding emperor, he should be getting married next year."

"The emperor's wedding is a major event, and preparations must begin well in advance."

"The daughters of Xun Gui often enter the palace, and many of them have been raised in the palace all along, so the emperor is familiar with them all."

"Tell me whose daughter you like, and I'll make arrangements for you."

After listening, Liu Yulong fell silent. He was being pressured to get married during the Chinese New Year, which made him hesitate and feel conflicted.

Wang Ying found her son's reaction strange. Why did he seem unhappy when he heard about the upcoming marriage? Shouldn't marriage be a joyous occasion?

Wang Ying was very open with her son; if she couldn't understand something, she would just ask him directly.

"Why is the emperor unhappy? Does he dislike all the daughters of noble families he has met?"

Liu Yulong sighed and shook his head, saying:

"I am the emperor, and the emperor's marriage is indeed a major event that requires careful consideration."

"But Father Emperor's anniversary has not yet passed, so it is not appropriate for me to hold a celebration."

"I think that we should at least wait until after Father's third anniversary before preparing for my marriage."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying's expression turned serious.

After a moment of silence, he waved for the ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs around him to leave.

Only Wang Ying and her son Liu Yulong remained in the room.

Wang Ying said to Liu Yulong earnestly:

"The Emperor has already observed the mourning period for your father by using the sun instead of the moon."

"The emperor must have his own offspring as soon as possible in order to appease the hearts of his ministers and the people."

"Only then can your mother and brothers be at ease, and your uncles be able to give up completely."

"Let the courtiers and nobles focus on following you, without any other worries..."

"If your father knew, he would support it too."

Wang Ying's words seemed perfectly reasonable, and Liu Yulong had no way to refute them.

Liu Desheng attempted to innovate the system, but at the same time he strictly rejected Westernization, and the traditional atmosphere of Han society is now exceptionally strong.

Besides his own abilities and prestige, having many children was also a crucial factor in ensuring an emperor's stability on the throne.

The fact that the emperor had his own children meant that the future succession of power could be as stable as possible.

The fact that the emperor had no children meant that chaos could break out at any time.

Liu Yulong also has nine uncles and twelve brothers, two of whom are elder brothers, born out of wedlock.

Liu Desheng did not force the imperial family to implement the Ming Dynasty's system of waiting for the heir apparent.

That is, only after the empress, crown princess, or princess has given birth to a son, or after it is confirmed that she cannot have children, will their husbands visit their concubines or mistresses.

Apart from Zhu Di and Zhu Qiyu, who ascended the throne unexpectedly, all other Ming Dynasty emperors were either the eldest son of the legitimate wife or the eldest son of the legitimate wife. There was never a case where a son born of a concubine was older than a son born of the legitimate wife.

There has never been a case where the elder brother was still alive, but the younger brother succeeded him.

But while Wang Ying was giving birth to three daughters in a row, her father's concubine also gave birth to two sons for him.

Therefore, although Liu Yulong was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, he also had two half-brothers.

In Liu Desheng's later years, the most prestigious first-generation founding heroes had already passed away.

Liu Desheng also took the initiative to get rid of the reckless and long-lived troublemaker.

The remaining nobles were either young when Liu Desheng ascended the throne, ranking relatively low among the meritorious officials, or they were relatively well-behaved.

Either these were new-generation generals specially trained by Liu Desheng in his later years, who had already developed a sense of belonging to the newly established Han Dynasty, and the imperial power had become a deterrent to them.

After his father, Liu Jin'an, succeeded to the throne, he made special adjustments to the military's top officials.

The main nobles and officers now in charge of the army are the people most trusted by his father, Liu Jin'an.

Therefore, after Liu Yulong ascended the throne, there was no need for another large-scale reshuffle of military personnel.

You only need to let your most trusted confidants control a few key positions.

For example, there were military commanders who drafted military orders, officials who conveyed imperial edicts, and eunuchs, captains, and commanders of the imperial guards inside and outside the palace.

Then promote the generals you know best to directly participate in military decision-making.

His grandfather, Liu Desheng, did not arrange for his sons to leave their hometowns; all his descendants remained in Jingzhao City.

After his father ascended the throne, he placed all his uncles and the nobles who were close to them under house arrest.

His own mother, his father's concubines, his brothers-in-law, and his brothers all now support him.

Because as long as they can secure their throne, they can at least live a life of wealth and leisure in the future.

However, if their uncles were to cause any trouble, their fate could be extremely tragic.

After his father passed away, he, as the eldest son, became the pillar of their group, and they wouldn't cause trouble at such a time.

As the eldest son, he had gained prestige in the army through his grandfather, which made his other brothers have no desire to compete with him.

Just like when Zhu Gaochi of the Ming Dynasty died, his eldest son Zhu Zhanji was in Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhu Zhanji's mother appointed Zhu Zhanji's younger brother as regent, and he would immediately succeed to the throne upon Zhu Zhanji's return.

Zhu Zhanji's brothers were very cooperative, and none of them clashed with their brother at that time.

But it is precisely because they support me and have been fully cooperating with me in recent years that they hope I will get married and have children as soon as possible.

After pondering for a long time, Liu Yulong tried to share his thoughts with his mother:

"Based on the history of the Eastern Han and Ming dynasties, once the emperor's rule was stable, it was not advisable to form marriage alliances with nobles."

"That could easily lead to a situation where the emperor's relatives interfere in politics."

"Therefore, I intend to select some daughters of mid- to low-ranking officials or artisans to enter the palace."

"Choose one of them to be the queen."

Wang Ying's father and brother were both founding generals who rose through the ranks from the bottom. Although Wang Ying herself had a wealth of general knowledge, she was not very familiar with history.

"What do you mean by 'interference in politics by maternal relatives'? Your maternal grandfather and uncles haven't done anything wrong, have they?"

"The children of low- to mid-level officials and artisans? They're basically daughters from humble families. Can they be expected to be well-educated, virtuous, and exemplary mothers?"

Liu Yulong felt that his mother did not realize the seriousness of the matter.

Liu Desheng was the founding emperor who rose to power on his own merits, so of course he wouldn't worry about his maternal relatives interfering in politics.

However, later emperors who enjoyed peace and prosperity were likely to be suppressed by powerful and influential figures.

If given a choice, an emperor would rather be sidelined by the bureaucrats of his time than by his relatives and powerful nobles.

Being sidelined by the bureaucracy means at most losing the absolute authority of their words, and decrees that lack the support of the bureaucracy are difficult to implement, just like the emperors of the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.

However, the emperor's supreme status, as well as his regular powers of appointment, selection, and adjudication, are usually not lost, but their effectiveness is greatly reduced.

Moreover, if the emperor is capable of coordinating and controlling the bureaucracy, he can also gain more power.

Once you are sidelined by powerful relatives and nobles, you may not only lose all power, but also your status or even your life.

This is a complicated thing to explain, and people who don't know history will find it hard to accept at first glance.

The key point is that her mother is the Empress Dowager, and her brother is Wang Yong, the Duke of Cao, the Navy Commander. Wang Yong is now a top-level maternal relative, and Wang Ying instinctively resists thinking about this threat.

After careful consideration, Liu Yulong decided to stall for time with his mother before proceeding with his plan and informing her later.

"I will barely be nineteen after the New Year, and the wedding preparations won't take a whole year, so Mother doesn't need to rush this matter too much now."

"I'm not trying to shirk responsibility. I was just too busy before and didn't think about these things."

"I'll take some time to think it over carefully these next few days, and I'll tell you when I've made up my mind."

Wang Ying didn't think too much about it:

"Alright, alright, I won't pressure you too much, but the emperor can't delay too long either. We should decide on a candidate in the next three to five months, and it would be best if the wedding were to take place next spring."

Liu Yulong readily agreed, saying he would make a decision as soon as possible.

Liu Yulong secretly rejoiced, for this new Han Dynasty was not the same as the previous two Han Dynasties; the path of the empress's interference in politics had been blocked.

The power and influence of empress dowagers and empresses were far less than before, not to mention the powerful empress dowagers of the Han Dynasty, they were far inferior to the empress dowagers of the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

All power dynamics revolve around the emperor; if the emperor insists on his own ideas, the empress dowager can't do anything about it.