Reign As Emperor
As emperor, Emperor Yuan immediately started a regimen of reducing governmental spending, with the objective of reducing the burdens of the people in mind. He also started a program for social assistance to provide stipends for the poor and new entrpreneurs. He also, contrary to his father's governing philosophy, heavily relied on Confucian scholars and put them into important governmental positions.
In 48 BC, Emperor Yuan created Consort Wang Zhengjun, the mother of his first born son Prince Ao, empress. In 47 BC, he created Prince Ao crown prince.
In 46 BC, alarmed at the high human and monetary cost of occupying Hainan and suppressing the frequent native rebellions, Emperor Yuan decreed that the two commanderies on the island be abandoned. Similarly, in 40 BC, alarmed at the high cost of maintaining imperial temples, he reduced the number of standing temples.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Yuan Of Han
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