60Chapter 60: The Prosperous Era of Wen and Jing, the Birth of Ten Sons
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The fifth year of Emperor Jing's reign, spring.
In the season of revival, war had become much more distant from the Han dynasty, and people began to live peaceful and tranquil lives in groups.
Thanks to the rule of The Late Emperor, also known as Emperor Wen, the early period of Emperor Jing's reign already showed a prosperous and stable atmosphere across the land. After Qing Marquis and Tiao Marquis defeated the rebellious princes, the world presented an even greater appearance of a flourishing age.
At this time, the Han dynasty could truly be said to have reached a "flourishing age."
And regarding this period of history, it was indeed recorded in later generations as the "Rule of Wen and Jing."
Of course, with this period of history involving the Chen clan, it is no longer referred to as the Rule of Wen and Jing, but rather the Flourishing Age of Wen and Jing. This is a very significant difference.
As is well known, the terminology used in history books is always very precise.
Throughout five thousand years of Chinese history, there are only a few periods that can be called a "flourishing age."
There are also distinctions in quality among them.
For example, those referred to as "rule" include: the Rule of Wen and Jing, the Rule of Zhenguan, and the Rule of Hongwu.
And those referred to as "flourishing age" include: the Flourishing Age of Emperor Wu of Han, the Flourishing Age of Kaiyuan, and the Flourishing Age of Yongle.
If one observes carefully, one can find that "the rule of so-and-so" is the prequel to "the flourishing age of so-and-so." Before a flourishing age, there must be a period of governance that can be called a "flourishing age."
This conforms to the laws of development.
Wen and Jing correspond to Emperor Wu of Han. The frugality and governance of the two emperors, Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, allowed Emperor Wu of Han to fully display his military prowess, freely employing the Han iron cavalry to drive out the Barbarians from all directions.
And Zhenguan corresponds to Kaiyuan—in fact, Zhenguan itself could also be called a flourishing age, but compared to Kaiyuan, it lacked a certain grandeur and magnificence, so in current history, it is referred to as the Rule of Zhenguan.
The Rule of Hongwu corresponds to the Flourishing Age of Yongle. The people who followed Hongwu were sent away by Hongwu himself, and the old man's ruthless methods also silenced the literati group for a period. The subsequent Jingnan campaign even gave those literati a brief respite, although they quickly made a comeback.
It is not difficult to see that when a chaotic era is governed by suitable people for a period, a flourishing age can be ushered in.
This is an objective law.
However, in history, only the "Flourishing Age of Wen and Jing" escaped this objective law.
The groundwork before the Flourishing Age of Wen and Jing was too brief; before people even realized it, the flourishing age had already arrived—in some aspects, the "civil governance" of this period had already reached its peak, merely lacking "military achievements," that's all.
Therefore, in this period of history involving the Chen clan, later generations referred to this flourishing age, supported by these two periods and a total of three emperors, as… the "Flourishing Age of Three Emperors," to commend the outstanding contributions made by these three emperors.
And now, these casual remarks of later generations are just a few jokes. The Qian Shou of the Han dynasty know nothing of this, simply living their simple lives.
This was already the grandest wish in their hearts.
Green grass, and a vast, clear spring.
At the picnic spot.
Chen Xi was lying on his side on the grass, with a piece of coarse cloth spread beneath him. Among all the people picnicking around, he was the most leisurely, and also the most "frugal."
The numerous other nobles had priceless silks spread beneath them.
This was another underlying tone of the early Han dynasty—in the vast and magnificent city of Chang'an, the re-energized nobles finally began to brazenly reveal their ferocious claws.
They began to "waste" in a subtle manner.
For example, the First Imperial Prince's eldest daughter, the current Emperor's eldest sister, Princess Guantao, how extravagant and wasteful was she? When she traveled, silk had to be laid beneath her feet, and these silks would be destroyed after only one use, because this princess was unwilling to use them a second time.
As for Emperor Jing?
Although Emperor Jing had not yet reached such extravagance, he had already forgotten the spirit of frugality left by Emperor Wen.
After all… the Han dynasty at this time could truly be said to be "extremely wealthy."
The situation where grain piled in granaries in the original history would only start to rot in the late period of Emperor Jing's reign due to excessive quantity, and strings of copper coins would rot due to being too long, had already appeared.
Chen Xi looked at these extravagant people and slowly sneered in his heart.
The war had just ended, and they were already so extravagant?
They had only enjoyed a few good days!
He was contemplating how to impeach these people, and even subtly impeach Emperor Jing, when he saw the Prince of Liang, looking exhausted, slowly arriving from a distance.
A hint of melancholy flashed across Chen Xi's eyebrows instantly.
This poor fellow…
Was the Prince of Liang pitiful? He was truly too pitiful!
In the autumn and winter of the third year of Emperor Jing's reign, the Rebellion of the Seven Princes was quickly quelled—and after it was quelled, the Emperor seemed to have forgotten the Prince of Liang's contributions. Although he still remained close to the Prince of Liang every day, as soon as the Prince of Liang mentioned "fraternal succession," Emperor Jing would quickly change the subject.
He was just like a scumbag who forgets people after putting on his pants.
When he saw the second person appear, a hint of solemnity finally appeared in Chen Xi's brows. He frowned slightly: "Have these two already colluded so early?"
The person who appeared… was naturally Princess Guantao!
Chen Xi slowly exhaled, looking at Princess Guantao and the Prince of Liang, a trace of gloom settling in his heart.
However… he finally thought of what reason to use as a "starting point" to give these Han nobles a small lesson.
He slowly rose, instructing his attendant to collect the coarse cloth spread on the ground. Unlike many other nobles, or rather, unlike the Chen clan, this coarse cloth would be reused repeatedly.
This was also one reason why the nobles were always dissatisfied with the Chen clan.
Everyone else is enjoying this extravagance, why are you pretending to be so virtuous?
.... .....
The fifth year of Emperor Jing's reign, April, spring.
With a cry, Liu Qi's tenth child was born. This child did not attract anyone's attention—not even the First Imperial Prince Liu Rong paid him any mind.
Because… this child was simply too young!
What use was it to be born now?
Emperor Jing's health was not good. The Late Emperor had reigned for twenty-six years, which was already considered long-lived. Could Emperor Jing reign for twenty-six years? Most likely not. And by then, what threat could a young prince, who had just come of age, pose?
One must know that one can only assist in governance after coming of age!
If after more than ten years of accumulation, Liu Rong still couldn't defeat a young man who had just become an adult and just started assisting in governance, he felt he might as well die.
.... ....
The fifth year of Emperor Jing's reign, May, summer.
Summer rain poured down in bursts, and rumbling thunder sounded.
Chen Xi was ready to stir up a massive storm today