宋文帝与父皇刘裕的顾命大臣

刘义隆即位后，并没有急于解决阻碍皇权集中的几位顾命大臣；而是先稳定既有的权力分配格局，但同时却加快了巩固皇权的步伐，他任用心腹，迫使徐羡之，傅亮归政；又采取分化瓦解之策略，将不是“首恶”的王弘、檀道济争取过来。除处置得当外，顾命大臣之间不相谐穆，其妄行废弑又不得人心以及士族之间的矛盾，这些都是刘义隆可资利用的有利因素，此后，刘义隆多设宰臣，分割相权，对他们猜忌重重，以力避颠覆皇权的悲剧重演。

Emperor Wen of Song Dynasty and Liuyu's Ministers Left to Assist the New Emperor

After Liu Yilong ascended the throne, he was not eager to dispose of the ministers of the previous emperor. They prevented him from centralizing the power of the emperor. On the contrary, he stabilized the original distribution of power, and quickened his steps to strengthen the power as well. He assigned his henchmen to the important positions and so forced Xu Xianzi and Fu Liang to take the oath of allegiance to him. He won over Wang Hong and Tan Daoji, who were not the chief criminals, adopting tactics of split and disintegration. Besides his proper management, Liu made use of the beneficial elements like the inharmony between the ministers, their absurd deposition and unpopular killing, and the contradictions between the aristocrats. Later, Liu appointed several prime ministers to decentralize their power. He was always suspicious of his ministers, and tried to avoid the recurrence of the tragedy of subversion of the imperial power.