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after a desperate struggle the tactics or the good fortune of Lieou Pang prevailed. The path to the throne being thus cleared of the last obstacle, the successful general became Emperor.

His first act was to proclaim an amnesty to all those who had borne arms against him. In a public proclamation he expressed his regret at the sufferings of the people "from the evils which follow in the train of war," and his desire that all should enjoy under his rule the advantages of peace abroad and tranquillity at home. This act, at once of discretion and clemency, confirmed public opinion in favour of one who had already shown himself to be a successful soldier and a shrewd statesman, and did more to consolidate his position than his assumption of the glowing title of Lofty and August Emperor. During the earlier years of his reign he chose the city of Loyang as his capital-now the flourishing and populous town of Honan-but at a later period he removed it to Singanfoo, in the western province of Shensi. His dynasty became known by the name of the small state where he was born, and which had fallen, early in his career, into his hands. Varied as were the incidents of his reign, none was of more permanent importance than the consolidation of the Imperial power under the Hans. Kaotsou, imitating in his policy his great predecessor, the Tsin Emperor, sanctioned or personally undertook various important public works, which in many places still exist, to testify to the greatness of his character. Chinese historians declare that much of the credit for these great enterprises was due to his general and minister, Changliang, but all history can do is to associate his name with undertakings which tended to increase the brilliance of the reign.

Prominent among these works must be placed the bridges constructed along the great roads in Western China. The city of Singanfoo was in those days difficult to approach, by reason of the mountainous country which surrounded it on most sides. Long detours were necessary in order to reach it from the south, and while its position possessed apparent advantages for the capital of the Empire, it was imperative that something should be done to render it more accessible.

FLYING BRIDGES.

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One hundred thousand workmen were consequently engaged to construct roads across these mountains, and, where required, to cut through them. Valleys were filled up with the mass of the mountains which had towered above them, and where this did not suffice, bridges supported on pillars were thrown across from one side to the other. In other places bridges were suspended in air, and these, protected on each side by balustrades, admitted four horses to travel abreast. One of the most remarkable of these "flying bridges," as the Chinese call them, measured one hundred and fifty yards in length, and was at an altitude of more than five hundred feet above the valley. It is believed to be still in perfect condition. The Chinese may fairly take great credit to themselves for these wonderful engineering feats, which were achieved nearly two thousand years before suspension bridges were included in the category of European engineers. By these means Singanfoo became easy of access to the Chinese and all their tributaries, who could reach it by some of the grandest highroads in the world. Not content with laying down these roads, post-houses, travellers' rests, and caravanserais were constructed at short intervals along the chief routes, so that travelling over the vast distances of the Empire was made as much a task of pleasure as possible, and no excuse was left for the subject not repairing to the capital whenever his presence was required. The effect produced on trade by these increased facilities for locomotion must also have been very beneficial, and no act of Kaotsou's reign places him higher in the scale of sovereigns than the improvement of the roads and the construction of these remarkable bridges.

Although Kaotsou commenced his reign by evincing a moderation towards his opponents which, while it was prudent, was certainly rare in the annals of the country, it was long before he could be pronounced to be safe from the machinations of his enemies; and in his later years the danger to his family was increased by, in some cases, the discontent, and in others, the disappointed ambition of his generals, who had in earlier days been his comrades, and had assisted to make him Emperor. In all his actions the presence of magnanimity is to be traced, and he appears to

have been always peculiarly susceptible to generous impulses. One officer, a devoted follower of his opponent Pawang, had been fined a large sum of money for having spoken treason against the Emperor. Unable to raise the amount, he sold his family into slavery, and took service himself with a silversmith, in order to satisfy the demands of the Emperor. Fortunately, his friends interceded for him, and Kaotsou, struck by the singular harshness of the gallant soldier's misfortunes, not only pardoned and released him and his family, but also gave him a post of honour at his own Court. Kipou proved a devoted minister, and his faithful services amply recompensed the clemency of the sovereign.

Notwithstanding that Kaotsou had won his way to supreme authority by the sword, it would appear that contemporary opinion denied him any claim to be considered a great general. He himself frequently declared that he owed his success to his capacity for selecting the best commanders and administrators, and although this affectation of modesty often appeared to be only intended as a studied compliment to his followers, there was perhaps more truth in it than might be supposed. Such, at least, was the opinion of Hansin, one of the first generals of the time, who, in the following conversation, showed that he was the first man in history to draw a distinction between the now admitted radical difference of the ordinary general and the great commander. The Emperor asked him how many men he thought he could lead efficiently in the field; to which Hansin replied, "Sire! you can lead an army of a hundred thousand men very well, but that is all." "And you?" said the Emperor. "The more numerous my soldiers, the better I shall lead them," replied the confident general. So far back as this remote period, this conversation would show that the truth of the modern colloquial phrase of there being “generals and generals" was recognized in China.

Another instance of the estimation in which military skill rather than brute courage was held at this period is afforded by the high honours and awards which were conferred on Siaoho, who, without engaging in the active bustle of battle, had planned and drawn up all the Emperor's campaigns.

A CHINESE MOLTKE.

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Great discontent was caused by the preferment of Siaoho, of whose distinguished services very little was known by the army at large, and on these murmurings reaching Kaotsou's ears, he summoned his principal officers, whom he addressed in the following speech: "You find, I hear, reason for complaint in that I have rewarded Siaoho above his fellows. Tell me, at the chase who are they who pursue and capture the prey? The dogs. But who direct and urge on the dogs? Are they not the hunters? All you present have indeed worked hard for me; you have pursued your prey with vigour, and you at last overthrew and captured it. In all this you deserve the same merit as the dogs of the chase. But Siaoho has conducted the whole of the war. It was he who regulated everything, he who ordered you to attack the enemy at the opportune moment, he who by his tactics made you the master of the cities and provinces which you have conquered; and on this account he deserves all the credit of the hunter, which is the more worthy of reward."

But while showing special marks of favour to Siaoho, he left none of his followers without reward, thus giving a stability to his régime greater than was possessed by any of his immediate predecessors. Alone among his supporters, he overlooked the claims of his father. This was probably due to inadvertence, and we are told that no one was more surprised at the apparent neglect than the father himself. However, he took prompt steps to remind his son that in the distribution of rewards he had as yet received nothing. Dressed in his most costly garments, he presented himself before Kaotsou, protesting in a speech of studied humility that he was the least and most obedient of his subjects. Kaotsou understood the reproach contained in his father's action, and at once called a council of his ministers for the purpose of proclaiming him "the lesser Emperor." Taking him by the hand, he seated him on a chair at the foot of the throne. By this deed Kaotsou appealed to and propitiated the best feelings of the Chinese, with whom filial respect and veneration rank as the first of duties and the greatest of virtues.

Kaotsou loved splendour, and sought to make his receptions

and banquets imposing by their brilliance. He drew up a special ceremonial, which must have proved a trying ordeal for his courtiers, and dire was the offence if it were infringed in the smallest particular. At the same time he hesitated to sanction the proposal of Siaoho for constructing at his new capital, Singanfoo, the magnificent palace which that general, not less skilful as a statesman and minister of public works than as the framer of a campaign, had planned for him. His hesitation was not removed until Siaoho observed that "Your Majesty should regard all the Empire as your family. If the grandeur of your palace does not correspond with that of your family, what idea will it give of its power?" For the first time in his reign Kaotsou tasted the sweets of power during the festivities which he kept up at Singanfoo during several weeks. On one of these occasions he exclaimed, "To-day I feel I am Emperor, and perceive all the difference between a subject and his master!"

Kaotsou's attention was rudely summoned away from these trivialities by the outbreak of revolts against his authority and by inroads on the part of the Tartars. The latter were the more serious. Already has frequent allusion been made to the incursions of the tribes holding possession of the deserts to the west and north-west of the country, and it has been seen that the Princes of Tsin and the Emperor Hwangti, grappling with the difficulty in a bold manner, had done much towards remedying the evil. The disturbances that followed Hwangti's death were a fresh inducement to these clans to again gather round a common head and prey upon the weakness of China, for Kaotsou's authority was not yet recognized in many of the tributary states which had been fain to admit the supremacy of the great Tsin Emperor. About this time the Hiongnou Tartars, probably the Huns, were governed by two chiefs in particular, one named Tonghou, the other Mehe. Of these the former appears to have been instigated by a reckless ambition or an overweening arrogance, and at first it seemed that the forbearance of Mehe, or Mete, would allow his pretensions to pass unchallenged. Mehe had become chief of his clan by murdering his father Teouman, who was on the point of ordering his

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