"It bears the name of a state, yet in truth it is no state."
Hearing those rigid words, without even needing to distinguish the voice, Li Shimin knew they must have come from Wei Zheng.
As a Confucian scholar, especially one from Shandong and Hebei who upheld the kingly way, it was only natural for him to hold objections toward the Mongol Yuan.
In Li Shimin's view, although the Yuan dynasty was born from the Mongols, the habits of the steppe remained far too obvious.
Within steppe tribes, the chieftain possessed unmatched authority and operated without fixed law. Almost any matter could be decided with a single word. In essence, was that not no different from this so called method of local promotion?
Kublai Khan reigned for many years yet never eliminated this defect, and he waged wars frequently. One could easily imagine that whether in court or in the army, key posts were firmly controlled by meritorious nobles.
The resulting problem was no different from that of the Former Han.
The common people became slaves to powerful clans, knowing only the magnates and not their ruler. In the end, the magnates and the central court clashed violently.
Compared again with the Former Han, the Yuan emperors' political skill fell short of the Han rulers by more than a single measure.
They neither knew how to employ harsh officials nor how to allow the people to recover. They merely hoped to eradicate deep rooted problems with a single imperial decree, yet never considered from where the authority of the Son of Heaven truly came.
The result was that over three generations the Han rulers curtailed powerful clans, suppressed land annexation, and reduced feudal domains, achievements that culminated in the accomplishments of Emperor Wu of Han.
The Yuan emperor, by contrast, was assassinated after only three years on the throne. From that point onward, the fall of the Yuan court became unavoidable.
With a sigh, Li Shimin could not help but repeatedly instruct his son.
"Chengqian must understand. The court is like a battlefield. Reforming abuses is like war. Those who accomplish great things must be prepared to shed blood and risk death."
These were weighty words, and for a fourteen year old crown prince they were undoubtedly premature.
Li Shimin did not mind. He had ample time and many years ahead to shape the heir.
One only needed to remember such words. One day their meaning would naturally become clear.
Later generations spoke only of how the Mongol nobles resisted when their interests were harmed. But could emperors and crown princes willingly accept damage to their own interests?
When Chengqian one day traveled the realm and encountered corrupt officials diminishing imperial authority, he would understand the meaning of today's lesson.
Wei Zheng, standing nearby, opened his mouth as if to speak. Yet recalling what the light screen had revealed about the Song and the Yuan, he ultimately only sighed.
Du Ruhui seemed to perceive Wei Zheng's thoughts and said softly,
"Gentle benevolence and fondness for Confucianism are not flaws in a man. They are flaws in a ruler. They are enough to throw the Han house into chaos."
Wei Zheng shuddered. Well versed in history, he naturally knew that Du Ruhui's words echoed the Book of Han's description of Crown Prince Liu Shi as gentle and benevolent, fond of Confucianism. Emperor Xuan had sighed because of this, saying, "He who will bring ruin upon my house is the crown prince."
Then how could one avoid bringing ruin upon the house?
Wei Zheng softly repeated Emperor Xuan's admonition to his heir.
"The Han house has its own institutions. It has always blended the way of the king and the hegemon."
---
[Lightscreen]
[In the Yuan dynasty, the only ruler who properly inherited the throne through father to eldest son succession was Emperor Yingzong of Yuan, and he was assassinated.
To speak frankly, his father's Yanyou land reform did not even last a full year. That alone showed how deep the Yuan dynasty's internal problems ran.
The issues Yingzong faced were nothing new. They were the same recurring dilemma seen in the reform movements of the Song dynasty. Redistribution of利益 was destined to be accompanied by bloodshed. If you did not make the powerful bleed, they would make you bleed instead.
The Mongol nobles were highly skilled at murder, yet astonishingly inept at political struggle.
After killing the emperor, the next logical step would have been to install a puppet. The easiest puppet to control would undoubtedly have been an inexperienced child. The Eastern Han had already provided a clear precedent. One only needed to copy it.
Yet the Mongol nobles did not. After assassinating the twenty year old emperor, they elevated the thirty year old grandson of Crown Prince Zhenjin to the throne. This was Emperor Taiding of Yuan.
Upon ascending the throne, Taiding struck back immediately, executing the very rebels who had supported his rise. Yet in actual governance, he became the least Sinicized of all Yuan emperors. The dynasty once again fell into the struggle over whether to Sinicize or not.
None of this mattered much, because in keeping with Mongol tradition, Emperor Taiding died after only eight years on the throne.
What followed thoroughly exposed the makeshift nature of the Yuan regime.
No sooner had Taiding died than the regent looked at the nine year old crown prince and thought that perhaps he himself could sit upon the throne.
On the path to usurpation there were countless precedents such as Wang Mang, Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Sima Yi, and Sima Shi. Yet this Yuan chancellor chose the most foolish course. He forcibly delayed the crown prince's enthronement ceremony, leaving the imperial seat vacant for more than a month.
This gave another chancellor, El Temur, an opportunity. He swiftly brought the son of Emperor Wuzong of Yuan to Dadu and enthroned him as Emperor Wenzong of Yuan.
Caught off guard, the regent hastily conducted the enthronement ceremony for the nine year old prince as well, intending first to eliminate the rebel before anything else.
Thus two emperors contended for the throne.
The regent's faction was swiftly defeated and beheaded. The victorious Emperor Wenzong declared that according to the earlier agreement between his father and uncle, the throne had always rightfully belonged to him, and the others were the true rebels.
Emperor Taiding and his son were stripped of their posthumous and temple titles and cast out of the ancestral temple. That is why they are now referred to by their era names.
Yet Emperor Wenzong's theatrics were not over.
Perhaps having read too many Confucian texts, he proclaimed that his elder brother, as the legitimate eldest son, should rightfully rule. He forcibly brought his brother, who had been herding sheep on the northern steppe, back and placed him upon the throne as Emperor Mingzong of Yuan. After assisting his brother for three months, Wenzong formally abdicated.
The newly enthroned Mingzong was delighted and appointed his younger brother as crown prince, declaring that he would not take the throne for nothing and that it would eventually return to him.
Yet when Wenzong stood beneath the palace steps as crown prince, bowing alongside the civil and military officials to greet his elder brother, he regretted it. Why relinquish the throne only to wait for his brother's death?
A mere three months later, Emperor Mingzong died suddenly. Emperor Wenzong resumed the throne. Later generations unanimously believe that Mingzong was murdered by Wenzong and Chancellor Temur together. For the Mongols, such methods were nothing unusual.
Still Wenzong was not finished. After only three years on the throne, his body was ruined by wine and excess. On his deathbed he repented, saying he had wronged his brother and wished to return the throne to his brother's descendants. The ministers of Yuan were utterly exasperated.
Nevertheless, Wenzong's empress overruled all objections and placed Mingzong's seven year old son upon the throne. The unfortunate child died after only two months. He was Emperor Ningzong of Yuan.
With the young emperor dead, the ministers had no choice but to painstakingly retrieve Mingzong's eldest son from Guangxi. He became the final emperor of the Yuan dynasty, Emperor Huizong of Yuan, though he is more commonly known by the posthumous title later bestowed by Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Shun of Yuan.
As mentioned earlier, from the moment two emperors appeared simultaneously after Taiding's death, the fate of the Yuan dynasty became impossible to restrain.
That same year, besides the great event of two emperors shining together, another major event occurred.
In Fengyang of Anhui, in Ranteng Temple Village, a son was born to the Zhu family. He was named Zhu Chongba.]