In March, officials from relevant departments requested to establish a queen. Empress Dowager Bo said, "All the princes have the same surname, so the prince's mother should be the queen." The queen's surname was Dou. Emperor Wen granted a quota of cloth, rice and meat to widows, orphans, the poor and needy, the elderly over 80 years old and orphans under 9 years old because of the queen. Emperor Wen came to Chang'an from Dai State. As soon as he ascended the throne, he showed favor to the people of the world, appeased the princes and the tribes in all directions to make them harmonious and happy, and then rewarded the meritorious officials from Dai State one by one. Emperor Wen said: "When the ministers of the court exterminated the Lü family and welcomed me to the throne, I was hesitant and all my ministers stopped me. Only Lieutenant Song Chang encouraged me, so I was able to respect the ancestral temple. I have promoted Song Chang to General Wei, and now he is named Marquis Zhuangwu. The other six people who came with me were promoted to the rank of nine ministers."
Emperor Wen said: "The sixty-eight marquises who followed Emperor Gao to Shujun and Hanzhong were given an additional fief of 300 households each. The ten officials with the rank of over two thousand stones who followed Emperor Gao in the past, including Liu Zun, the governor of Yingchuan, were given a fief of 600 households each. The ten people including Shen Tujia, the governor of Huaiyang, were given a fief of 500 households each. The ten people including Wei Wei The Guard Captain Hu Ding were given a fief of 400 households each. Zhao Jian, the uncle of the King of Huainan, was named Marquis of Zhouyang, and Si Jun, the uncle of the King of Qi, was named Marquis of Qingguo." In autumn, Emperor Wen named Cai Jian, the former prime minister of Changshan State, as Marquis of Fan.
Someone advised the right prime minister, "You killed the Lü family and welcomed the King of Dai. Now you boast of your great achievements, receive the highest reward, and hold a prominent position. You will be in great trouble." The right prime minister Zhou Bo then resigned on the grounds of illness, and the left prime minister Chen Ping served as prime minister alone.
In October of the second year (178 BC), Prime Minister Chen Ping died, and the court reappointed Marquis Jiang Zhou Bo as prime minister. Emperor Wen said, "I heard that the princes in ancient times created more than a thousand countries. They each guarded their fiefdoms and paid tribute to the court on time. The people did not work hard, and the people were happy and joyful. There were no wise men who were not valued. Now most of the princes live in Chang'an, far away from their fiefdoms. The officials and soldiers supply and transport local taxes, which is lossy and hard, and the princes cannot teach their people. Now I’m ordering the princes to return to their respective fiefdoms, and those who hold official positions in the court and are allowed to stay by imperial decree should send their princes back."
三月，有司请立皇后。薄太后曰：“诸侯皆同姓，立太子母为皇后。”皇后姓窦氏。上为立后故，赐天下鳏寡孤独穷困及年八十已上孤儿九岁已下布帛米肉各有数。上从代来，初即位，施德惠天下，填抚诸侯四夷皆洽驩，乃循从代来功臣。上曰：“方大臣之诛诸吕迎朕，朕狐疑，皆止朕，唯中尉宋昌劝朕，朕以得保奉宗庙。已尊昌为卫将军，其封昌为壮武侯。诸从朕六人，官皆至九卿。”
上曰：“列侯从高帝入蜀、汉中者六十八人皆益封各三百户，故吏二千石以上从高帝颍川守尊等十人食邑六百户，淮阳守申徒嘉等十人五百户，卫尉定等十人四百户。封淮南王舅父赵兼为周阳侯，齐王舅父驷钧为清郭侯。”秋，封故常山丞相蔡兼为樊侯。
人或说右丞相曰：“君本诛诸吕，迎代王，今又矜其功，受上赏，处尊位，祸且及身。”右丞相勃乃谢病免罢，左丞相平专为丞相。
二年十月，丞相平卒，复以绛侯勃为丞相。上曰：“朕闻古者诸侯建国千余，各守其地，以时入贡，民不劳苦，上下驩欣，靡有遗德。今列侯多居长安，邑远，吏卒给输费苦，而列侯亦无由教驯其民。其令列侯之国，为吏及诏所止者，遣太子。”