LFHYB -Chapter 220 First Cut, Strike Your Own People

A new emperor, a new era.

Originally, Li Shimin intended to give Li Yuan some face. Though he ascended in December, he had planned to wait another year before changing the era name.

This time, Li Yuan voluntarily gave way, allowing Li Shimin to declare the era change.

With public opinion boiling over, it was better to go along with it. Li Yuan was already a retired emperor and no longer cared about titles.

Li Xuanba quietly told Li Shimin that perhaps Father had believed his claim that future emperors of subsequent dynasties would remove him from the founding emperor lineup, so he only thought about extending the Tang Dynasty’s life, to ensure that the ancestral rites for their family would last longer.

Li Shimin clenched his fists and told Li Xuanba not to talk nonsense. Since Father was doing a good deed, A-Xuan’s mouth shouldn’t be so sharp.

With Li Yuan voluntarily agreeing to the era change, Li Shimin had no choice but to comply.

Thus, the following year, Li Shimin changed the era name to “Zhenguan” and widely conferred honors to meritorious officials.

Li Xuanba finally received the stipend of a prince of the second rank and, with Li Shimin’s prior promise, in the future, all his children except the heir would be titled: sons as princes of commandery, daughters as princesses.

Li Xuanba coldly rejected Li Shimin’s offer to confer a commandery prince title to his second son: “I have studied past dynasties. Supporting the imperial clan has always been a burden throughout history. If my children are capable, they will naturally achieve high office; if they are not, I will teach them to support themselves. The emperor need not grant extra favors.”

No matter how many times Li Shimin insisted, Li Xuanba refused.

Li Shimin then turned to Li Zhiyun, who, as the third brother, naturally followed whatever the emperor decided.

Li Zhiyun smiled: “Since I am close to His Majesty, my sons will naturally be close to the crown prince. They are already in a favorable position. If they cannot earn titles by their own merit, it is because their abilities are insufficient. My elder brother once said: one cannot hold onto wealth or rank beyond one’s capability. That is a calamity, not a blessing.”

Li Shimin sighed and had no choice but to retract the decree.

Both Li Xuanba and Li Zhiyun refused the emperor’s extra rewards. The other imperial clans, originally lavishly granted titles by Li Yuan, also petitioned to reduce their ranks.

After pacifying everyone, Li Shimin re-conferred titles to meritorious members of the imperial clan and stripped excessive titles from distant relatives that Li Yuan had granted.

The first cut of the Zhenguan era was, surprisingly, on the imperial clan themselves. The court sensed the storm to come.

As expected, after reducing the imperial clan’s privileges, Li Shimin’s trusted ministers stepped forward, requesting to reduce excessive hereditary positions held by themselves and their descendants.

Their reasons varied: some said their merits did not justify their descendants receiving so many hereditary posts; some said relying on ancestors’ achievements would violate family traditions; some used Li Xuanba’s words, conveyed by Li Zhiyun, that “one cannot hold wealth beyond one’s ability,” as an excuse…

Thus, the second cut of the new era was on the emperor’s own confidants.

Most notable among them was the maternal Changsun clan.

The Changsun family were not only Li Shimin’s in-laws but also founding contributors to the dynasty. Changsun Sheng, Li Shimin’s father-in-law and mentor, was titled Duke of Wei; Changsun Wuji, Li Shimin’s brother-in-law and trusted general, was titled Duke of Zhao. A dual-duke family, with merits truly deserved.

After returning from the Western Regions, Changsun Sheng personally led the elders of the clan to petition Li Shimin not to overly favor the Changsun family.

“I, of the Changsun clan, have both talent and merit, and that is why I am counted among the founding contributors of the empire. If Your Majesty overly favors the Changsun clan, future historians will focus more on our status as imperial relatives and overlook our actual achievements.”

Li Shimin refused and, astonishingly, left court halfway through the session.

Changsun Wuji supported Changsun Sheng at the palace gate, unwilling to leave, while Empress Changsun continued pleading.

Eventually, Li Shimin could bear it no longer and beat Changsun Wuji and Li Xuanba himself. Li Zhiyun, who happened to be passing by, accidentally got kicked a few times by his second elder brother before grudgingly agreeing.

When he did agree, he even cried in front of the court officials, saying, “My younger brother refuses to accept my goodwill; my father-in-law and brothers-in-law also refuse my goodwill. Is my goodwill really so hard to handle?”

Wei Zheng publicly shot back at Li Shimin: “Your Highnesses the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Chu cherish Your Majesty and the Tang dynasty, and act as examples to prevent the abuse of over-favoring imperial kin; Lord Wei and Lord Zhao consider family honor and set rules for future imperial in-laws. They are all loyal to Your Majesty and the Tang dynasty. Yet instead of being moved, Your Majesty complains that they will not accept your goodwill, and even strikes the Prince of Jin and Lord Zhao with your fists. Is this the way of a ruler?!”

Li Shimin felt almost tearful at Wei Zheng’s rebuke.

He clenched his fists until they creaked.

That old cur Wei Xuancheng clearly knows both me and A-Xuan well—doesn’t he understand why I’m upset? I want to reduce the privileges of the imperial clan and meritorious officials, but I do not want to reduce A-Xuan’s family or Guanyin’s family’s benefits! Not at all!

All the ministers understood the emperor’s reluctance and sympathized with his frustration, so they coaxed and comforted him.

Especially Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui, when it came to several of Li Shimin’s former teachers, they led the way in advocating for reducing privileges while knowing Li Shimin was unhappy, coaxing and comforting him like children.

Only Wei Zheng was stubborn.

“What grievance? The ones truly wronged didn’t even speak up, and you’ve beaten them!”

Li Shimin’s face turned dark as iron, his teeth gnashing with rage.

Seeing Li Shimin about to jump down from the imperial couch in anger, Wei Zheng softened his tone: “Precisely because Your Majesty is close to the Prince of Jin and Lord Zhao, they want even more to ease Your Majesty’s worries. If Your Majesty were to resent them for that, wouldn’t they be most distressed?”

Li Shimin ground his teeth: “I would never harbor resentment toward A-Xuan and Changsun Wuji because of this!”

Wei Zheng’s tone returned to cold: “If Your Majesty understands the intentions of the Prince of Jin and Lord Zhao, why hesitate?”

Li Shimin: “…”

Changsun Wuji, seeing Li Shimin on the verge of storming down, cursed Li Xuanba silently for being unreasonable and skipping court, then stepped forward to smooth things over: “Rationally, we know what is correct, yet emotionally it is hard to accept. This proves Your Majesty values your ministers, for which we are deeply grateful.”

With Changsun Wuji leading, the other ministers quickly echoed him.

Wei Zheng obediently returned to his place, no longer provoking Li Shimin.

Li Shimin took several deep breaths and finally suppressed his anger.

The first three “cuts” were made. Zhongshu Ling Fang Qiao, Shizhong Du Ruhui, and Shangshu Pushe Gao Jiong then submitted petitions to reform the old Sui dynasty system of hereditary officials, revealing their true purpose.

Li Shimin first reduced the privileges of the imperial clan and in-laws, then moved on to his own close aides. The other ministers saw Li Shimin’s resolve, and seeing that many supported his bureaucratic reforms, they no longer obstructed him.

Later records state that during the Zhenguan era, the emperor said: “The foundation of good governance lies in careful selection. Appoint officials according to talent, and reduce redundant positions,” cutting the number of central and hereditary officials by two-thirds.

After trimming the central officials and meritorious hereditary posts, Li Shimin then reformed local administration smoothly, without obstruction.

By Grain Rain, as mid-spring passed, the initial reforms of the Tang bureaucratic system were successfully completed.

Once the first step was taken, future reforms of the Tang bureaucracy faced almost no resistance.

However, governing a great state is like cooking a small fish; after such major reforms, court life settled down. The focus shifted only to summer sowing and harvesting, with no new political changes.

Ministers, worried about Li Shimin acting too frequently, kept half-finished memorials under wraps and breathed a sigh of relief.

The summer harvest went smoothly, and even disaster-stricken areas managed to pass the lean season.

This year, Li Shimin reduced taxes in most regions, and the people ate their fill at the harvest celebrations. They stored the remaining grain, smiling with relief.

As long as there were no natural disasters, this harvest would sustain them until autumn without hunger.

If the autumn harvest went well too, taxes could resume next year, and they would still have enough to survive until the next harvest.

“Prince Qin really is the true Son of Heaven!”

At the summer solstice, the entire Tang court had a three-day holiday, and Li Shimin also took three days off, bringing wine to visit Prince Jin’s residence.

Since being beaten, Li Xuanba had used one excuse after another—first to heal injuries, then to recover from seasonal illness—and had not attended court.

Although he continued working, it was only after a full night’s rest that he went to the palace to join Li Shimin’s daily core court meetings.

Wei Zheng once impeached Li Xuanba for laziness.

Fang Qiao then impeached Wei Zheng for arrogance, pointing out that the Prince of Jin was weak and that his absence from court was by imperial and empress dowager order. To impeach him anyway was disrespectful and merited punishment.

Li Shimin almost verbally clashed with Wei Zheng, but seeing Fang Qiao’s memorial, he quickly stepped in as peacemaker, realizing Wei Xuancheng had no ill intentions.

“A-Xuan, you haven’t been at court, so you don’t know how chaotic it is,” he complained. “Outside it seems calm, but actually Fang Xuanling and Wei Xuancheng are constantly at odds. Every day, their memorials are full of mutual accusations. Wei Xuancheng accuses Fang Xuanling of overstepping, controlling appointments, and harboring unloyal intentions; Fang Xuanling accuses Wei Xuancheng of usurping authority, meddling in matters beyond his jurisdiction, intending insubordination… They’re trying to get each other killed!”

Li Xuanba lounged in a rattan chair, lazily sipping the wine his second brother had brewed himself, and drawled, “They know these impeachments won’t get the other killed. They just want each other demoted, and if they could be relieved from office to reflect, that would be perfect.”

Li Shimin collapsed in frustration: “Why?!”

Li Xuanba set down his wine glass. He was self-disciplined—only one glass of wine a day, since drinking too much would harm his health.

“Their memorials are very clear. Wei Xuancheng thinks Fang Xuanling is overstepping, while Fang Xuanling thinks Wei Xuancheng is being presumptuous. That’s the reason,” Li Xuanba explained. “They are seriously impeaching each other, with not a trace of falsehood.”

Li Shimin held his head, going mad—completely mad!

Weren’t my subordinates always friendly before? Why did they suddenly start fighting?!

“A-Xuan, I’m so tired.” Li Shimin squeezed past Li Xuanba, and the two of them crowded together on the rattan chair.

Li Xuanba, feeling hot, had someone bring another rattan chair, and he lay down again.

“Being emperor is tiring,” Li Xuanba yawned. “It’s only been half a year, and you’re already complaining. What will you do in the future?”

Li Shimin sighed: “True enough.”

The two brothers lay on the rattan chairs, a gentle breeze blowing, shadows of the trees flickering over their drowsy faces.

“A-Xuan, you’re so idle.”

“Rich and idle kings are like this—leisurely idle.”

“Heh.”

The brothers turned over on the rattan chairs, instinctively reaching for the sleep masks on the bamboo table next to them and putting them on at the same time, taking a nap.

After the summer solstice holiday ended, the Minister of Personnel, Gao Jiong, resigned from his post to guard Yiwu City.

Li Shimin approved and appointed Prince Jin, Li Xuanba, as Minister of Personnel (Shangshu Pushe).

Since Li Shimin had concurrently served as Minister of Personnel when he was Crown Prince acting as regent, the office of Minister of Personnel (Shangshuling) was no longer established, and the Minister of Personnel (Shangshu Pushe) became the head of the Department of Personnel.

The heads of the three main departments—the Minister of Personnel (Shangshu Pushe), the Chief of the Secretariat (Zhongshu Ling), and the Attendant to the Chancellery (Shizhong)—were all considered chancellors, with the Shangshu Pushe ranking first, also called Prime Minister.

Li Xuanba, half-asleep at home, was shaken awake from his bed to receive the imperial edict, and in a daze, he became the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty.

“Second brother said he knew you wouldn’t get up in the morning, so you and Third Sister-in-law are staying in the palace, so you can sleep a bit longer.” Li Zhiyun shoved the imperial edict into Li Xuanba’s arms, gnawing on a jujube by the bedside as he said, “I just got married and am being sent away; second brother can’t slack off either. Brothers share hardships together.”

Li Xuanba rubbed his eyes, stared at the edict for a long while, and said in disbelief: “Didn’t I tell Second Brother? Royal family members shouldn’t serve as prime ministers, so they won’t interfere too much in court affairs.”

Li Zhiyun smiled: “Second brother said he isn’t worried. He’s too busy right now to care about anything but himself. If future generations fear the royal family, let them figure it out.”

Li Xuanba asked: “Why didn’t he tell me personally?”

Li Zhiyun laughed even harder, almost choking on the jujube flesh: “Of course he was afraid you wouldn’t accept, so he issued the edict and went with sister-in-law, the Retired Emperor, and the Empress Dowager to Renshou Palace to escape the heat. Of course, my mother went too. Now in the capital, it’s just the two of us… oh, I’ll be leaving soon too, so only you will remain in Chang’an.”

Renshou Palace? Didn’t Renshou Palace get destroyed in the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty… Li Xuanba tapped his half-asleep head, realizing that the timeline now differed from his previous life.

Since Master Gao was stationed in the Western Capital, he and Second Brother had also arrived early, so Jingzhao hadn’t suffered much from the wars, and Renshou Palace’s damage was minor; with some repairs, it could still be lived in.

Li Xuanba had supervised its repair himself, worried about his family’s hereditary high blood pressure and intolerance of heat. Although his Second Brother hadn’t yet shown signs of heat intolerance, using labor-for-relief after the earthquake, he had taken some craftsmen from the Tangquan Palace repairs to prepare a summer retreat for his brother in advance.

So Father, Mother, Aunt, Second Brother, and Second Sister-in-law all left me alone in the capital to escape the heat?!

Li Xuanba’s face was full of confusion.

Li Zhiyun finished the jujube, tossed the pit on the table, wiped his hands, and was about to joke about Second Brother again when Yuwen Zhu, pale-faced, ran in holding up her skirt.

“My lord! Guanyin is really terrible! She actually issued an imperial order letting me manage the palace consorts and the Grand Consort while she goes to escape the heat?! What is she thinking?! How can an outsider like me manage the harem?!”

Yuwen Zhu’s shrill voice made Li Xuanba’s eardrums ache. He had never heard his wife speak so sharply.

Li Zhiyun almost choked laughing.

Li Xuanba rubbed his ears and said expressionlessly: “Second Brother also ran off, letting me be Prime Minister and concurrently the caretaker of Chang’an.”

Yuwen Zhu stopped screaming, exchanging a look with her husband.

…

“Erlang, do you think Sister-in-law and Third Brother will be angry?” Changsun Kangning leaned on Li Shimin’s shoulder while Li Shimin pinned flowers in her hair.

Li Shimin pinned all the flowers he had onto Changsun Kangning’s hair, smiling as he worked: “It’s good if they get angry. Their couple is lazy, only doing what they like, and never come to help us.”

Changsun Kangning wholeheartedly agreed: “Exactly! Sister-in-law always claims she’s busy with medical school and never comes to the palace to see me. She insists I go out to visit her—so she deserves to be a little scolded.”

The young couple felt perfectly justified.