Chapter 12: The Crown Prince Died While the Emperor Still Lived
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Serve Heaven and Pacify the Crisis!
A faint gleam passed through Liu Bang’s eyes as he glanced at Zhang Liang beside him. At just the right moment, Zhang Liang explained,
“‘Serve Heaven’ originated in the middle section of the Grand Declaration in the Book of Documents. The original passage means: Heaven shows compassion for the people, and the ruler ought to follow Heaven’s will.”
“‘Serve Heaven’ embodies the belief that imperial authority is divinely bestowed. As the Son of Heaven, the emperor is considered to rule by Heaven’s mandate and must therefore act in accordance with it.”
Zhang Liang paused before continuing. “‘Pacify the Crisis’ originated in the Twenty-Fifth Year of Duke Zhao in the Commentary of Zuo. The original passage means: Remove the evil men at the ruler’s side; that is what it means to pacify a crisis. In other words, it means to suppress disorder and eliminate the wicked men surrounding the sovereign.”
After explaining everything clearly to Liu Bang, Zhang Liang said anxiously, “Lord Lu, do you mean that, in the future, a prince of a different surname will invoke ‘Serving Heaven’ as his justification for acting according to Heaven’s mandate, then send troops to Chang’an and eliminate the treacherous ministers surrounding the emperor?”
“It doesn’t sound like a bad thing,” Liu Bang said.
Taken literally, it indeed did not seem like a bad thing.
They would have to hear what Lu Xuan said next.
But Lu Xuan’s next words caused both their expressions to change completely.
“You’ve misunderstood. First, it won’t be a prince of a different surname who serves Heaven and pacifies the crisis, but a prince of the imperial surname—a vassal prince whom the emperor has enfeoffed in some distant region. Second, it won’t mean literally eliminating treacherous ministers. To put it bluntly, it will be a rebellion. This prince of the imperial surname will revolt!”
A prince of the imperial surname would rebel!
Liu Bang’s face instantly turned pale. His mind could no longer remain calm, and his surprise deepened.
All this time, what he, Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and the others had feared most was that the princes of different surnames would cause disorder and rebel.
They had never considered the possibility of a prince of the imperial surname.
After all, at present he had enfeoffed only his eldest son, Liu Fei, as a prince of the imperial surname.
Could it be Liu Fei who would cause trouble?
On closer consideration, it was not impossible. The Han dynasty’s established practice was to appoint the eldest legitimate son, yet the same problem remained: before the Han, there had been only one truly unified empire—the Qin.
The Qin had lasted for merely three generations. In the second generation, Hu Hai had ascended the throne with the support of Li Si and Zhao Gao, while in the third, Ziying had taken power after killing Zhao Gao.
The Han had no precedent to draw upon.
Before that had been the age of the feudal states. Since there had been so many states, some had appointed the eldest son, some the eldest legitimate son, and others the most capable heir.
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As Liu Bang’s eldest son, Liu Fei might well develop designs on the throne and rebel after Liu Bang’s death.
During the Warring States period, the various kingdoms had fought one another endlessly. Qi, having recovered its strength and possessing abundant soldiers and armor, was the wealthiest among them. It could be said that Qi, where Liu Fei had been enfeoffed, possessed more than enough power to launch a rebellion.
Liu Bang’s thoughts were in turmoil. Zhang Liang’s hand trembled involuntarily as well. He, too, had never imagined that this future “Serving Heaven and Pacifying the Crisis” would be carried out not by princes of different surnames such as Han Xin, Peng Yue, or Ying Bu, but by a prince of the imperial surname.
Would Liu Fei, the Prince of Qi, rebel in the future?
“Lord Lu, can you explain this matter in detail? Tell us everything from the beginning.”
“During which emperor’s reign did this act of serving Heaven and pacifying the crisis begin? What caused it? Which prince of the imperial surname rose in rebellion and undertook the pacification? And what was the final outcome?”
Seeing that Liu Bang’s thoughts had become somewhat chaotic, Zhang Liang immediately steadied himself. Their wild speculation would be of little use. They needed clear and specific information from Lu Xuan.
“Very well. I suppose I can spare the breath.”
“Ahem. I’m a little thirsty.”
Lu Xuan hinted at the matter.
Explaining it in full would likely take three days and three nights, for too many causes and complications were involved.
Fortunately, he had plenty of time on his hands. His days of blindness were dull, and Uncle Ji and Uncle Fang were willing to listen to these stories.
Everyone was striving toward wealth and glory.
Naturally, he had to do his best to explain things clearly.
If Uncle Ji and the others failed to understand the entire course of the “Serving Heaven and Pacifying the Crisis” affair, they might not be able to explain it properly once they reached Zhu Yuanzhang. If the message were then passed along in a confused and distorted form, the consequences would be disastrous.
At once, Zhang Liang rose and went outside. He personally brought back three large bowls of fresh water, then thoughtfully fetched three or four bronze cups.
Lu Xuan lifted one of the cups and took a small sip, moistening his throat before continuing.
“I’ve already explained why the current sovereign intends to enfeoff his sons as princes. Next, I’ll tell you about the disadvantages of enfeoffing vassal princes. That was one of the reasons the ‘Serving Heaven and Pacifying the Crisis’ affair occurred.”
“In their territories, vassal princes possess a certain degree of governing authority and military strength. At present, the threat they pose to the central government may not seem particularly great. But as time passes, the power of the vassal princes throughout the realm will gradually expand, eventually becoming too deeply rooted to control. They may even threaten the central government and acquire military strength sufficient to stand against it.”
“His Majesty has many sons. If he continues enfeoffing them in this manner, every vassal prince will receive generous stipends and vast tracts of land. As their descendants multiply generation after generation, the imperial nobility will grow ever larger. Won’t this eventually drain the entire court dry? Won’t the common people of the whole dynasty end up supporting the vassal princes?”
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“The men of the imperial nobility will take wives, and the women will marry, causing their networks of in-laws to grow ever larger. When layer upon layer of such relationships accumulates, the result will be terrifying. Countless privileged classes will emerge. They will seize land, monopolize resources, and intensify social inequality.”
“For all these reasons, the Jianwen Emperor, who succeeded to the throne as the Imperial Grandson, made the reduction of the vassal princes his very first task. Even a fool would understand that if the problem of the vassal princes were not dealt with swiftly, the danger would grow to a horrifying extent.”
Lu Xuan was about to continue when Liu Bang suddenly asked, “The Jianwen Emperor? Is Jianwen his name?”
“No. It is an era name.”
“Uncle Ji, your knowledge of history is far inferior to Uncle Fang’s. You don’t even know what an era name is?” Embarrassment appeared on Liu Bang’s face. He glanced at Zhang Liang beside him, only to find that Zhang Liang looked equally bewildered.
“Lord Lu, could you explain this era-name system to us?” Liu Bang asked.
Lu Xuan sighed helplessly and spoke at an unhurried pace.
“An era name is a title used by a feudal dynasty to designate the years of its reign. As a dynasty develops politically, economically, and culturally, and as the need to strengthen central authority grows, a method of dating with greater symbolic significance as an instrument of rule naturally emerges.”
“In short, you may think of it as another way of referring to an emperor.”
Lu Xuan felt somewhat puzzled. Uncle Fang seemed to know history very well, able to recite the contents of various ancient texts without hesitation. Why, then, had he not explained the meaning of an era name to Uncle Ji?
As he recalled, the era-name system had first been established by Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che. Before Emperor Wu, years were generally dated either according to the traditional cyclical system or by counting the years of a ruler’s reign—for example, the first year of King Ping of Zhou or the third year of Duke Yin of Lu.
Emperor Wu ascended the throne in 140 BC, and that year he established the era name “Founding the Origin.”
“Founding the Origin” signified the beginning and establishment of a new era. This measure marked the start of era-name dating, and from then on, era names became one of the symbols of legitimacy for feudal dynasties.
None of that was particularly important, however. Just as Lu Xuan was preparing to continue, Liu Bang interrupted him once more.
“Lord Lu, there is one more thing I do not understand. You just mentioned the ‘Imperial Grandson.’ What does that mean? Was the Jianwen Emperor an Imperial Grandson? Did he not inherit the throne as Crown Prince?”
Liu Bang and Zhang Liang had not truly understood the meaning of the term “era name” from Lu Xuan’s explanation. Yet, compared with the matter of “Serving Heaven and Pacifying the Crisis,” it was far less important to them, so they had unconsciously set it aside. Liu Bang had instead seized upon the words “Imperial Grandson.”
Unable to suppress his curiosity, he asked about them.
Lu Xuan did not become annoyed at being interrupted. He patiently explained,
“The Crown Prince died while His Majesty was still alive, and the current sovereign did not choose his successor from among his other sons.”
“Instead, he directly chose the Imperial Grandson. In other words, the throne was passed down across a generation.”
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