Han Shizu

Chapter 2187 Renzong Chapter 4: Lord Fan is in power and struggling to support

"Fan Xiwen is going back to Beijing!"

In the late spring of the sixth year of Zhengtong, there were many similar sighs and discussions in the capital of the Han Dynasty. It was not until the real master arrived in Beijing that things finally calmed down. Obviously, the real sigh of the dignitaries in the imperial capital was: Fan Xiwen was going to be the Shangshu Ling.
The journey from Jiangling to the north was not too long, but Fan Zhongyan took more than a month. The key was not the time, but the mood during the journey. You know, every time he heard the emperor's call, he would rush to the capital day and night to report his duties and be loyal.

This time, in addition to his reserve as a civil official, a veteran official, and a famous official, he also felt hesitant and uneasy. Perhaps it was a bit hypocritical, but if he did not value and cherish her from the bottom of his heart, he would not have done this.

On the way back north, bureaucrats and dignitaries along the way swarmed over him like flies smelling honey. Fan Zhongyan could neither stop them nor drive them away, and was extremely annoyed.

Even though he was unmoved, Fan Zhongyan was exhausted because he knew very well that the more attentive and kind these faces were now, the more hideous and terrifying they might be in the future.

Traveling north, when he arrived at Longmen Posthouse, south of Luojing, people had come to greet him from dozens of miles away from the capital... It was also at Longmen Posthouse that Fan Zhongyan received a piece of bad news, a piece of mourning news. His close friend Teng Zongliang died of illness on his way to Suzhou to take up his post.

Teng Zongliang, whose courtesy name was Zijing, was also a Jinshi in the second year of Duangong. Under the halo of Fan Zhongyan, Yan Shu, Cai Qi and others, he was not so outstanding, and was even once regarded as Fan Zhongyan's follower.

In his early years, Fan Zhongyan was assigned by Emperor Shizong to preside over the construction of coastal dikes in Huaidong, and Teng Zongliang assisted him. Later, Fan Zhongyan was promoted to the Salt and Iron Commissioner, presiding over the reform of the salt administration, and Teng Zongliang, as a judge, obeyed his orders and assisted him, working attentively and achieving considerable results.

After that, he held many posts. Because of Fan Zhongyan's relationship, he was repeatedly promoted and demoted. No matter where he was, he was praised for his integrity, diligence and love for the people. His most recent outstanding political achievement was when he was in charge of Yuezhou, a large prefecture in Hubei. Although he did not rebuild Yueyang Tower, Fan Zhongyan still mentioned Teng Zongliang's achievements in governing Yuezhou in "Yueyang Tower"...

Teng Zongliang was not only a good friend but also a comrade to Fan Zhongyan. Receiving such bad news at the critical moment of his journey to Beijing was really a heavy blow to Fan Zhongyan.

Even though his ambition to serve his country was as strong as iron, he could not help feeling sad. On this rainy night, Fan Zhongyan wrote a new poem in tears - "Dielianhua: Staying at Longmen at Night".

Fan Zhongyan was not only a politician, a capable official in the court, but also a writer. For a long time after he entered the officialdom, his literary talent was not so remarkable, and most of his articles, poems, political commentaries and other works that have been passed down to the world were completed after he was fifty years old.

This situation is obviously related to the political environment and social background that Fan Zhongyan lived in. You know, from his youth to his middle age, Fan Zhongyan lived in the most prosperous period of the Han Empire, especially the Yongxi era, which was the most clear and bright era in the empire. He first received the favor of Emperor Taizong and then set his goals in his youth. It can be said that this was the beginning of his lifelong ideals and pursuits.

When Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, Fan Zhongyan became a Jinshi and entered the officialdom. Fortunately, he was valued and promoted by Emperor Shizong. He rose rapidly in the past twenty years and was always busy with state affairs, and even became a leading figure among the commoner bureaucrats step by step.

It can be said that the period before the age of fifty was the brightest and most valuable period in Fan Zhongyan's life. He devoted himself to the country and the people, and this continued until he took office in Longyou.

That period was a major turning point in the 27-year reign of Emperor Shizong. The early death of Crown Prince Zhangde triggered a series of political struggles for the throne, which led to chaos in the government and a corrupt atmosphere. Such a situation was obviously more likely to arouse the sighs and concerns of loyal and patriotic people like Fan Zhongyan.

When Emperor Shizong passed away, the young crown prince Liu Weizhen succeeded to the throne, marking the turning point of the Han Empire's peak. However, he watched the corrupt officials in the court of Luojing return and the empire slide downhill.
In this context, Fan Zhongyan's talent and loyalty, accompanied by a pot of wine, can often be transformed into a mellow poem.
The emperor obviously had high hopes for Fan Zhongyan's return and was very considerate in his courtesy. Upon learning that he was close to the capital, he specially sent the chief eunuch Shi Quanbin to lead the imperial guards, with the ceremonial guard of a duke, to meet him ten miles outside the city.

It is impossible not to be moved by such kindness. The more crucial point is that even if he had some hesitations about Emperor Liu Weizhen, he still gained some confidence after this incident.

Liu Weizhen did attach great importance to Fan Zhongyan. After entering the city, he specially arranged for him to bathe and change clothes in the royal bath in the Han Palace. He also gave him a purple gold unicorn robe and a Hetian jade crown, and personally met him in the Chongzheng Hall.

The emperor, at least on the surface, attached great importance to this meeting, and beforehand, Fan Zhongyan had prepared a lot of honest advice and suggestions, which he wanted to report to Liu Weizhen.

However, the meeting between the emperor and his ministers was not long, at least not for discussing state affairs. After a few polite questions, Emperor Liu Weizhen officially issued an edict to appoint Fan Zhongyan as the Minister of the Han Dynasty to take charge of state affairs.

On the contrary, at the imperial banquet later, Liu Weizhen talked a lot when talking about food and drink, which made Fan Zhongyan feel very uncomfortable. Liu Weizhen was not unaware of Fan Zhongyan's temper, and he also knew that such behavior would cause dissatisfaction with the old man. Perhaps, he just wanted to express his attitude through such means, "I have handed over the state affairs to you, so don't bother me with other mundane matters."
In fact, Liu Weizhen had shown enough respect to Fan Zhongyan. You know, in order to meet him, Liu Weizhen even declined the spring outing with the imperial concubine. Liu Weizhen was obviously a romantic emperor. In the Han Palace at that time, there were at least 37 or beauties, if not . By the sixth year of Zhengtong, there were concubines with titles.

Among them, the most favored one was Concubine Han, who almost rivaled Empress Cao in status. Concubine Han's background was naturally not simple. She was the grandson of Han Chengjun, the prime minister of Jianlong.

Now, a hundred years after the establishment of the empire, after rounds of reshuffles, the empire's noble class has undergone earth-shaking changes. The circle of the top dignitaries has become smaller and smaller, and only a dozen or twenty families remain at the center of power in the empire and still have a strong influence on state affairs. These families have been selected through a century of turbulent and changing history.

The rest, due to lack of successors, wrong positions, or major political mistakes, have gone downhill before the Han Empire.
Many families of meritorious officials that were once prominent have fallen into obscurity or even decline, with some even being left with only empty titles. Some families have even begun selling off their ancestral properties to make a living due to poor management.

The arrival of the orthodox era was a blessing for all the nobles in the world, because the oppression from the imperial power was greatly reduced, and even those nobles who had fallen on hard times were able to "make a comeback" and "rebuild their family business."

Then, a question arises. The orthodox era is the spring of civil officials and the era of commoners. The nobles also usher in a revival. So when the cake is limited, on which groups' winter will the spring of the powerful be built?
After Fan Zhongyan became prime minister, he initiated a series of reforms in many aspects of the empire's politics, economy, military, etc., all aimed at answering this question, although in the end it was proved that this problem had no solution!
Just a few days after Fan Zhongyan was appointed prime minister, trouble came to him. Guangling Prince Liu Jizhen broke into the government hall and sued Luoyang prefect Bao Zheng, accusing him of ten crimes including contempt for the royal family, insulting the emperor's uncle, and abusing official power, and demanded that Fan Zhongyan remove him from office and punish him.
Under the revision of history, Bao Zheng, "Mr. Bao", still shines with his glory in the imperial court. In fact, because of his experience in the Political Science and Law University, his status as a close minister of Emperor Shizong, and even his teacher-student relationship with Emperor Liu Weizhen, his reputation within the court is even higher than in official history.

At the age of 45, he was already the prefect of Luoyang. Such a resume was extremely rare in the current Han Empire. You know, in the world, most bureaucrats who took the normal promotion route were those who were outstanding and lucky. At this age, most of them could only reach the level of ordinary prefectures.

Even Fan Zhongyan was appointed prime minister when he was nearly 60 years old, and that was when major changes took place in the court. It is conceivable how serious the "aging" problem is among the upper class in the Han Empire at that time.

And this "young man" Bao Zheng, after serving as the prefect of Luoyang, soon gained the reputation of "Judge Bao" just because of two reasons: he was not afraid of the powerful and always pleaded for the people.

Against the backdrop of strengthening the rule of law during the reigns of King Taejong and King Sejong, the legal profession flourished rapidly across the country. In the capital, a group of "big lawyers" emerged who specialized in representing wealthy families in lawsuits. These people were able to call the wind and rain and were omnipotent.

However, since Bao Zheng took office as the prefect of Luoyang, the "losing rate" of these people has plummeted. Later, when they heard that Bao Qingtian was personally judging the case, they hurriedly advised the "parties" to prioritize cutting their losses.
Liu Jizhen, Prince of Guangling, was the fourth son of Emperor Shizong. He was initially granted the title of Duke of Guangling. After Liu Weizhen succeeded to the throne, he was promoted to king. Among the imperial clans of the Han Dynasty, the only one left, Prince Xu Liu Yao, was left. He served as the Minister of the Central Secretariat for nearly thirty years and played a prominent role in stabilizing the imperial court.

After the death of Liu Zhao, the Prince of Yan, he also assumed the post of the Minister of the Imperial Clan. It was not until a few years ago that he retired from the post of Minister of the Imperial Clan due to his advanced age and focused on the affairs of the Imperial Clan. According to the custom of the imperial clan, Liu Weizhen appointed his second uncle, Liu Jide, the Prince of Anyang, as the Minister of the Imperial Clan. However, by the time of Liu Jide, the authority and role of the Minister of the Imperial Clan were still maintained, but due to personal relationships, they gradually declined.

Liu Jizhen was a relative of the rich and powerful, and he was usually quite obedient. But when Fan Zhongyan first became prime minister, he caused a "breaking into the court" incident, and there must have been a pusher behind it. However, he himself did have a grudge against Bao Zheng, because his son-in-law was caught by Bao Zheng for smuggling salt and tea and killing people, and was sentenced to death in court.

Beforehand, out of consideration for the relationship, Liu Jizhen had to bow his head and behave himself, hoping that Bao Zheng would show some mercy and at least save his life. As a result, "Mr. Bao" was very principled and uncompromising, and sentenced his son-in-law to death before Liu Jizhen found the emperor.

There is another background here. Among the local government offices of the Han Empire, only the Luoyang and Kaifeng prefectures had cases where a death sentence was sentenced on the spot that were almost impossible to overturn. This was an extremely important source of the authority of the two prefects. It also resulted in the two prefectures being unable to easily sentence someone to death, thus achieving a check and balance effect.

Therefore, when Bao Zheng's verdict came into effect, the only one who could save the son-in-law of Prince Guangling was the emperor. However, how could the current emperor challenge the political unwritten rules because of a "county horse" with conclusive evidence of guilt?
Back to Fan Zhongyan, after understanding the cause and effect of the matter, he chose to support Bao Zheng without hesitation. However, facing the unyielding Liu Jizhen, in order to avoid a bad scene, he finally invited Liu Yao, the Prince of Xu, to come out and confined Liu Jizhen for three months, and the matter was finally resolved.

However, this incident also marked the beginning of the struggle between Prime Minister Fan and those lawless nobles inside and outside the court as well as the stubborn and powerful conservatives. Similar incidents occurred one after another throughout Fan Zhongyan's entire ruling career, and each time, Fan Zhongyan was exhausted.

Fan Zhongyan was a man who was eager to do things and was able to do things, but when a large part of his energy had to be involved in the internal disputes of the court, all his efforts for the Han Empire were just a struggle.
(End of this chapter)