LFHYB -Chapter 226 One Link After Another

Fang Qiao, Du Ruhui, and the others did not oppose him, steadfastly siding with the emperor and Prince Jin.

They had all studied the historical records of natural disasters. In the years before Zhenguan, floods and droughts alternated frequently. If they did not take advantage of the current lull in disasters to repair the Yellow River dikes and dredge its tributaries, would they wait until the damage was done?

During Emperor Yang of Sui’s reign, they had actually encountered a favorable period, with only a few large-scale floods or droughts.

If it had been an emperor with less initiative, even if disasters occurred and the court neglected relief efforts, the common people might have survived on their own. The old ministers of the Sui Dynasty had grown accustomed to such favorable times and could not imagine what it would have been like for floods, droughts, locusts, and plagues to strike in rapid succession.

Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui themselves could hardly imagine it—but Li Xuanba slapped the table, spreading the charts in front of them with a loud “smack.”

When Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui drank together, they would sigh and marvel, in another world, at how the unprepared ministers of the Zhenguan era had survived such natural disasters—and yet forged the prosperity of the Zhenguan era.

“If we cannot do even better, we would be unworthy of the later praise of ‘Fang’s schemes and Du’s decisiveness.’”

“‘Fang’s schemes and Du’s decisiveness’ is not praise for you—it is praise for me, a talent who died too young. I hope that when future generations mention this, I can do so with a clear conscience.”

The lazy Prince Jin personally inspected the Yellow River. If Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui could not properly manage their responsibilities in the court, they would feel deeply ashamed before Wei Zheng, who had worked himself to illness.

Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui also deduced Wang Yun’s identity. Although they were shocked, anything could happen under the emperor and Li Sanlang, so they did not doubt it.

Poor Wei Zheng, however, remained completely in the dark.

According to the emperor, it was not that Li Sanlang distrusted Wei Zheng and withheld the truth about Wang Yun—he simply wanted to see Wei Zheng’s surprised expression.

“Surprise” there definitely was. As for “delight”… even if Wei Zheng became ill with anger, perhaps there was some.

After Li Xuanba resigned from his position in the Department of State Affairs, the positions of Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui remained unchanged, while Pei Shiju was promoted to Chancellor.

Pei Shiju had originally been Minister of Revenue and now took on the responsibilities of Chancellor. The Minister of Revenue was succeeded by Su Wei.

These two of Emperor Yang’s so-called “Five Nobles” had been distanced by Emperor Yang in his later years for giving advice, yet they had preserved their reputations.

Perhaps it was because of the character of the following emperor, or perhaps they were eager to wash away their former reputation as “schemers.” Pei Shiju and Su Wei abandoned their old Sui-era cunning and opportunism—whether proposing policies or giving advice, they were now among the most radical in the court.

Even while still Minister of Revenue, Pei Shiju had suggested reforms to the Sui-era equal-field system that had favored officials, moving it closer to the original Northern Wei version, which had restrained powerful officials.

Su Wei was even more persistent, repeatedly advising that since the noble ministers of Sui were now Tang subjects, they should return the permanent fields they had obtained under the Sui emperor. These people, who had fled during chaotic times, now dared to ask for back their land in a stable realm—they should all be imprisoned!

Su Wei even offered his own permanent fields from Sui as an example.

In fact, Su Wei had raised the issue of excessive land grants to nobles early in Emperor Yang’s reign. Since Emperor Yang did not want to discuss it, Su Wei kept silent. Now, raising the matter again, Li Shimin suggested postponing discussion—but Su Wei would not relent, submitting petitions almost every few days, his upright character commanding respect.

Though Li Shimin did not fully agree with Pei Shiju and Su Wei, with Pei Shiju now Chancellor and Su Wei Minister of Revenue, others sensed a storm brewing.

At this point, ministers no longer cared about debates over Buddhism and Daoism. While religious beliefs were important, land and property were the foundation of noble families. The land monopolized by monks and Daoists could be reclaimed—but the privileges of the elite must not be diminished!

They intended to take action, but upon examining the administrative structure—Three Departments and Six Ministries—they saw Pei Shiju, Fang Qiao, and Du Ruhui as chancellors; Su Wei as Minister of Revenue; Xue Shou as Minister of Personnel; Yu Shinan as Minister of Rites; Changsun Wuji as Minister of War; Li Zhiyun as Minister of Public Works; and Zhao Cijing as Minister of Justice.

Even the old ministers of Sui were all familiar allies of Li Shimin.

Looking beyond Chang’an, the realm was still not fully pacified, with governors stationed across the provinces. These governors were either Li Shimin’s old subordinates—Qin Qiong, Pei Xingyan, Li Jing, Zong Luohu—or members of the imperial clan like Duan Lun, Chai Shao, Li Shentong.

Not to mention the Tang’s elite Xuan Jia army, now under the Princess of Pingyang.

The ministers felt powerless seeing the personnel arrangements both centrally and locally.

The only target of criticism was the Princess of Pingyang. How could military power be entrusted to a mere woman?

But what then? Should it be given to Prince Chu, Li Zhiyun, or to the most troublesome, Prince Jin, Li Xuanba? Since the Xuan Jia army could not be entrusted to anyone outside the imperial clan, it was better to leave it with the Princess of Pingyang—at least she would not complicate matters further.

Li Shimin’s young confidants were untouchable for now, but Pei Shiju and Su Wei, both seasoned veterans, would not hold back.

At this time, a new official gazette was published, featuring several famous Confucian scholars from noble families “rectifying” genealogies. Leading the charge was none other than Wang Yun, the most celebrated young talent of the Langya Wang clan.

With the Langya Wang clan taking the lead, other “adopted” clans—Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao—also had their descendants actively submitting writings.

Don’t even mention the Shandong aristocratic clans—when the Guanzhong clans saw this group of “migrant clans,” their teeth were grinding.

These “migrant clans” were the once-prominent families of the Central Plains who had moved south with the Eastern Jin during the southward migration of the nobility and scholars. The four great families—the Wang clan of Langya, the Xie clan of Chen Commandery, the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery, and the Xiao clan of Lanling—had maintained high positions in the Southern Dynasties after the fall of the Eastern Jin, only to lose their status when the Northern Dynasties eventually defeated the South.

However, the Lanling Xiao clan, being related to Emperor Yang of Sui, regained influence during his reign, gradually rising in power and status once more.

The great scholars of the Wang clan of Langya prided themselves on “rectifying the origin and clarifying the source,” while the eminent scholars of the Xie clan of Chen Commandery spoke candidly about their family’s humble beginnings during the early Western Jin. The Yuan clan of Chen Commandery recounted their legacy back to the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms period.

The Xiao clan of Lanling originally did not want to get involved, but after Xiao Yu received a letter from his sister, Empress Xiao, requesting a meeting, he surprisingly led the Lanling Xiao clan to participate as well.

Xiao Yu, who had originally stood firmly with the old Sui aristocracy, suddenly switched sides, leaving his friends completely unprepared.

Friends quietly asked him why, but Xiao Yu remained tight-lipped, only saying that he wished to continue the Xiao clan’s influence in the Tang Dynasty, so he was simply acting in his own interest.

Yet Xiao Yu was a straightforward and strong-willed man; no one believed he would act purely for power. Moreover, Tang had just struck a blow against the Buddhist sect he believed in, giving him reason for grievance.

The fact remained: the “migrant clans” had gathered together to challenge the ranking of the “established aristocratic families.”

As everyone knew, the preeminent status of the “Shandong aristocratic clans” rested on the Northern Wei. When the Northern Wei court underwent complete sinicization, it emulated the Southern Dynasties to claim high-ranking clans of the north and rebranded the declining old aristocratic families, creating a new class of elite lineages. Clans such as Dou and Changsun, surnamed “barbarian,” emerged this way.

During the period of North-South confrontation, the “commandery clans” and the “migrant clans” simultaneously competed and complimented each other, consolidating their positions in their respective courts.

But after the Sui Dynasty unified the realm, this balance was disrupted. Sui inherited the mantle of the Northern Dynasties, and the “five Shandong surnames and seven lineages,” once elevated by Northern Wei, became the most prestigious aristocratic families in the popular eye.

Were the “migrant clans” unwilling to accept their decline and hoping to regain central legitimacy?

Most of the “migrant clans” had now become ordinary gentry, many of their younger generations becoming military officers. These military officers would now remove their armor, don Confucian robes, raise ancestral tablets, and each claim to be hereditary scholars. The Lanling Xiao clan, which had prospered through warfare in the Southern Dynasties, now proclaimed themselves a family of literary and scholarly heritage with eyes closed.

The Shandong clans’ youth were beside themselves with anger.

Except for the Taiyuan Wang clan.

The Taiyuan Wang and the Langya Wang shared a common ancestor. The Taiyuan Wang had originally migrated south, but political defeat had wiped out the entire family except for one survivor, who fled north and was recognized by the clan head of the Qinghe Cui clan, thereby rebuilding the Taiyuan Wang in the Northern Dynasties.

Thus, the Taiyuan Wang were an anomaly among the Shandong clans. Many people believed they should be removed from the “five surnames and seven lineages,” their status far lower than during their time in the South.

But the Taiyuan Wang shared a lineage with the Langya Wang, so they prospered or declined together. In this “rectification of origins,” they sided with the Langya Wang.

The Guanzhong clans had originally wanted to compete with the Shandong clans for status, while the southern migrant clans had clashed bitterly with the southeastern Wu clans during the migration.

Now, the Shandong and southern clans had started fighting, and these other major clans looked around, then “splashed into the murky waters” themselves, flailing left and right, hoping to take advantage.

Some mid-sized and smaller clans, seeing that the court did nothing to stop them, even included their genealogies in the next issue of the “official gazette,” with special editions, thickened pages, and annotations… heavens! Were these aristocratic families putting their genealogies up just to argue?

The mid-sized and smaller clans, feeling the itch, tentatively dipped their toes in.

These mid-sized families had once been high-ranking clans during the Eastern Han and Wei-Jin periods; now, they all wanted to “rectify origins” and “clarify sources.”

When this fire reached the aristocracy, including the Sui and Tang imperial families, everyone assumed the debate would finally be silenced.

Who didn’t know the background of the Sui emperor’s Hongnong Yang clan and the Tang emperor’s Longxi Li clan?

But no one expected the gazette to continue publishing. Even when the Longxi Li of the Li Tang and the Fufeng Dou clan of the retired empress were exposed, the court did not stop the discussion.

The youth of the aristocratic families, after cooling down from their heated quarrels, began to suspect that some grand scheme lay behind all this.

The Longxi Li quickly stood up: “Don’t spread nonsense. The Li Tang indeed comes from the Longxi Li.”

The Fufeng Dou were even more emotional. All the people of Fufeng Commandery claimed the retired empress was from their land; anyone who dared deny it would face their wrath.

As for the people of Hongnong Commandery, they laughed at others’ jealousy over their commandery producing an emperor—after all, their current governor was a member of the former dynasty’s royal house.

“What is His Majesty trying to do?”

“Can’t understand it, can’t understand it at all!”

…

“The aristocratic families have relied on centuries of privilege to convince the people that they are indeed noble and superior,” Li Xuanba explained to Yuwen Zhu as they toured along the Yellow River.

“But when the disputes among the aristocratic families are dragged into the mortal world, displayed on the streets, and turned into public gossip, will their lofty, mysterious aura still remain?”

“All serious matters cannot withstand entertainment.”

Yuwen Zhu, worried about Li Xuanba’s health and wishing to accumulate more medical case studies while inspecting the work of local doctors along the Yellow River, accompanied him out of the capital.

Chang’an’s medical academy was still being organized, and Yuwen Zhu wanted to temporarily avoid the limelight. Once reforms regarding the treatment of concubines and palace maids were underway, she would return to the capital to continue her work.

As she brewed bitter preventive medicine for Li Xuanba, she asked, “Why would the migrant clans agree to do this?”

Li Xuanba smiled: “It’s human nature, especially for families that were once wealthy. When they see other families surpassing them, it’s more painful than their own decline. Since the migrant clans can no longer reach the peak of the Central Plains aristocracy, they might as well fall together from their pedestals, and then everyone can compete afresh in the Tang Dynasty for their family’s standing.”

Yuwen Zhu extinguished the fire. “Back then, the Xie family of Chen Commandery only rose to become a leading noble house of the Southern Dynasties because of the Battle of Feishui. But now, you’re just repeating your ancestors’ experiences, right?”

Li Xuanba looked at the bitter medicine in Yuwen Zhu’s hand. Though he wanted to keep smiling, he simply couldn’t.

Yuwen Zhu said, “It’s still too hot to drink; you’ll have to wait a while. You can smile a bit longer—no need to pout just yet.”

Li Xuanba: “…” Zhuniang seems to be liking me less and less—must be an illusion.

Without going into how painfully Li Xuanba drank the bitter medicine, from Chang’an to the provinces, all the noble families were drawn to this self-initiated “restoration of true lineage” led by the great clans. Naturally, no one paid attention to Li Xuanba’s inspection of the Yellow River.

Repairing the Yellow River dikes would never attract much notice. The people’s suffering under corvée labor was indeed harsh, but what did it have to do with the court officials?

They had already done their duty by advising; if the emperor insisted on acting alone, all they could do was sigh and lament the hardships of the people.

So Li Xuanba left the task of regulating the Yellow River to Jiang Cheng, who had left no mark in historical records, while news of him and Yuwen Zhu “touring the mountains and rivers” along the Yellow River never reached the capital.

Even if it had, what harm was there in a young couple—the Prince of Jin and his princess—taking a trip? Didn’t the Prince of Chu also get recalled for traveling?

If someone reported this and accused the Prince of Jin of neglecting his duties, what if the emperor ordered him back to the capital?

No one wanted to see a yawning Prince of Jin at court—not a single soul.

Even Wei Zheng, who had once earnestly advised the Prince of Jin to become chancellor, didn’t want that.

So Li Xuanba wandered along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, thoroughly inspecting the estates of the local powerful families.

One local official noticed Li Xuanba’s unusual behavior.

When Li Xuanba was in Weizhou searching for Jiang Cheng, he had briefly interacted with the governor Wang Hongzhi.

Li Xuanba could converse amicably with anyone if he wished. Wang Hongzhi thought of himself as having become “friends” with Li Xuanba.

Wang Hongzhi, governor of Weizhou, was a genuine member of the Langya Wang clan; ancestral calligraphy by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi was preserved in his family, more concrete proof than any genealogy.

Although his family lived in Xi’an for three generations after the fall of the Southern Liang, the prestige of their commandery remained “Langya” even ten generations later.

But once a noble family no longer had members in their original commandery, it meant decline.

Members of the Langya Wang clan were scattered across the country, with many in Chang’an.

When Li Xuanba created a false identity for Wang Yun, he wasn’t connected to Wang Hongzhi’s branch. But once Wang Yun became famous, Wang Hongzhi firmly believed Wang Yun was his kinsman.

Upon hearing that Li Xuanba had met Wang Yun, Wang Hongzhi even hoped the Prince of Jin could help reconnect him with this relative.

He even wanted his son to study under Wang Yun, a great scholar, which almost made Li Xuanba laugh out loud.

Wang Hongzhi’s historical reputation was modest, but his son Wang Fangqing became a chancellor who served well during Wu Zhou—a rare case of longevity and success—and was fairly well-known.

Both Wang Hongzhi and his son Wang Fangqing were upright men.

Historically, Wang Hongzhi had been a friend of Han Wang Li Yuanchang, and after advising him not to hunt excessively to avoid troubling the people, he was distanced by Li Yuanchang. Later, he became close to Jing Wang Li Yuanjing.

Alright, another case of “excessive hunting.” Seems like this was a hereditary flaw Li Yuan passed to his sons.

From this, one can see both Wang Hongzhi’s integrity and the Langya Wang clan’s intent to align with the Li Tang imperial family, attempting to restore the clan’s former glory.

Indeed, Wang Hongzhi’s line succeeded, producing four chancellors—all good ministers. But the last remnants of the Langya Wang remained loyal to the Li Tang dynasty and perished with it; after the Five Dynasties, no one from the clan entered historical records again.

Historically, Wang Hongzhi had always deliberately befriended the imperial family. Now that Li Xuanba had come to him personally, and was a world-renowned capable person, Wang Hongzhi naturally treated him with utmost attentiveness. Even after Li Xuanba left Weizhou, Wang Hongzhi continued to follow his every move.

When he noticed Li Xuanba “touring the mountains and rivers,” Wang Hongzhi initially felt a bit displeased and wanted to advise him to focus on official duties.

But he soon realized there must be a deeper meaning behind Li Xuanba’s actions.

While the Prince of Chu, Li Zhiyun, neglecting duties was normal, the young Prince of Jin, Li Xuanba, had already gained fame in childhood and achieved legendary military brilliance while assisting his brother—there was no way he had suddenly become a playboy prince.

After observing Li Xuanba for some time and mapping out his travels, Wang Hongzhi finally understood, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Calculating without leaving gaps, calculating without leaving gaps… ha.” Wang Hongzhi wiped his brow and smiled wryly. “Was I too included in your calculation?”

He closed his eyes, and his tightly clasped hands trembled slightly.

If his guess was correct, then for such an important matter, the Prince of Jin letting him discover it could only have been intentional.

He seemed to recall Li Xuanba’s ever-confident smile when they once drank tea and discussed philosophy together.

“Enter the game, or not? Do I… enter?”

…

Yuwen Zhu complained, “The people following us have finally left. They were too clumsy—I could hardly pretend I didn’t see them.”

Li Xuanba smoothed Yuwen Zhu’s wind-tousled hair and smiled. “Thank you for your trouble, Zhuniang.”

Blushing, Yuwen Zhu said, “It’s not really trouble, just annoying that there were ill-intentioned people following us while we were out on a trip.”

Now it was Li Xuanba’s turn to blush deeply.

Even though the couple had shared a room, they remained as shy and bashful as when they first met.

Their fingers intertwined under the sleeve’s cover. Faces turned aside. He spoke of the trees along the path; she mentioned the birds above; they chatted animatedly but never looked at each other.

Meanwhile, Chen Tieniu, still refusing to hold an official post, carried his sword as before, trailing behind his lord as a guard, recording the scene with his eyes.

The Retired Empress loved hearing about the little interactions between the prince and his princess. She always summoned him to ask, and now he had new stories to share with her.

Zhang Liang was completely astonished; he hadn’t expected the Prince of Jin to have this side. Seeing this version of the prince, he seemed almost like an ordinary person.

…

Li Xuanba was waiting for Wang Hongzhi to take the initiative, but Wang Hongzhi found it hard to make up his mind. Even when Li Xuanba returned to the capital for the New Year, there was still no movement.

Whether Wang Hongzhi joined or not didn’t affect what Li Xuanba planned to do next; at most, he would lose one helper who was familiar with Hebei and could lend the prestige of a noble family. He could find someone else.

Li Shimin listened to his brother’s plan and said helplessly, “Can you stop always targeting the Wang family of Langya? The leaves they left behind aren’t many—be careful not to strip them bare. How about another family? Isn’t there a Xie family of Chen Commandery among the Wang and Xie clans?”

Li Xuanba replied, “The Xie family of Chen Commandery doesn’t have any outstanding talents now, and their family foundation can’t compare to the Wang family of Langya. Moreover, the Wang family of Langya still has the Taiyuan Wang family of Shandong as internal support, so Langya Wang is still better.”

The current leader of the Xie family of Chen Commandery was Xie Shufang, who had participated in the uprising in Jinyang.

In actual history, Xie Shufang was a subordinate of Li Yuanji and took part in the Xuanwu Gate incident. Li Shimin spared him, and later he performed well as a local official and gained a good reputation.

However, Xie Shufang’s son, Xie You, as governor of Qianzhou, sought to please Empress Wu and comply with the imperial will, forcing Li Shimin’s son, Prince Cao Li Ming, to commit suicide.

Although this was supposedly to flatter Empress Wu, Li Zhi was still alive and well at the time, so this “flattering of imperial will” was likely Li Zhi’s own idea. Li Zhi was innocent in the matter. After Xie You forced Li Ming to die, Li Zhi mourned deeply for his son and dismissed all officials in Qianzhou. Xie You was assassinated by Li Ming’s descendants, and the remaining branch of the Xie family of Chen Commandery in the Li Tang court fell into decline under Li Zhi’s tacit consent. No one from the family entered historical biographies afterward.

From Xie You’s fate, it’s clear that the Xie family of Chen Commandery was eager to curry favor with the Li Tang. If Li Xuanba were to use them, they would be just as diligent as the Wang family of Langya.

But Xie You was too foolish and fell into Li Zhi’s trap. Li Xuanba preferred to find capable people as allies so that his plans wouldn’t fail.

Although Xie You was unusable, Xie Shufang could still be utilized, just not elevated too high. The Xie family of Chen Commandery didn’t have enough talent or foundation to compete with the major Shandong clans.

“Having the Wang family of Langya impeach the Shandong noble families for seizing common lands, colluding with merchants, and selling daughters for money… you really thought of this,” Li Shimin couldn’t help but laugh at Li Xuanba’s idea. “They all think this year is noisy, but they don’t know Year Two of Zhenguan will be even more chaotic. Good! You’re not in Chang’an to see how they quarrel in court—I was holding back laughter until my stomach hurt.”

Li Xuanba grew interested. “Really? That interesting? Then I’ll attend court for a month or two before leaving.”

Li Shimin said, “Good. First, send Xiao Wu out to supervise the governance of the Yellow River on your behalf.”

So Li Xuanba returned to court, taking over Li Zhiyun’s post as Minister of Works.

Xiao Wu had just come to ask how Second Brother and Third Brother spent the New Year, only to be bewilderedly kicked out of the capital.

During the Lantern Festival, he squatted on the ground holding a lantern, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Damn it! So unfair! They’re bullying me! Kicking me out in the middle of the New Year!”

Princess Liu patted her husband’s back, sighing, unsure how to comfort him.

QAQ My husband really is pitiful!