Dahan first prince

Chapter 194: Public servants and officials, many private slaves?

It was in this seemingly random atmosphere that the emperor Liu Bang finally gave the final answer to a big problem that had made courtiers and officials uneasy for several years and made the entire political structure of the court unable to settle down.

——Prince, don’t change!

——Liu Ying, determined to become the next emperor, the second emperor of the Han Dynasty!

In an instant, the huge Changxin Palace of Changle Palace was occupied by an inexplicable sense of peace of mind and a little nostalgia.

Perhaps for ordinary people, the affiliation of the position of prince and crown prince will only have a slight impact on the future development direction of the Han Dynasty.

Even this little influence should slowly appear after the death of Liu Bang and the arrival of the new king.

Apart from the negligible impact of this point, which does not need to be considered for the time being, whether it is the current Liu Ying or Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi sitting on the crown prince, the gap does not seem to be very big.

But in fact, the unceasing storage space, or not enough stability, will not only have a negative impact on the future Han Dynasty, but at present, every moment when the storage space is pending, it will make the entire Han Dynasty The political landscape casts a shadow called 'unknown'.

At that time, Liu Bang, who was defeated in Pengcheng, got the support of his uncle Lu Ze, why didn't he hurry up to gather up the defeated soldiers and regroup, but immediately made Liu Ying the crown prince?

——Because for the soldiers of the Han army who had just returned from the disastrous defeat in Pengcheng at that time, establishing a reserve was the most effective way to boost people's hearts and rebuild the morale of the army!
Because the crown prince means the future;

Having a prince means having a future;

Han Wang Liu Bang, who had just experienced the disastrous defeat in Pengcheng, actually still wanted to establish a crown prince, which means: a defeat in Pengcheng did not defeat the Han King Liu Bang at that time!

Liu Bang still has the confidence to regroup and start all over again!
This is the stabilizing effect that the prince in the feudal era can have on the morale of the army.

So, in terms of the political structure of the ruling and opposition parties, what role will the ownership of the prince play?

In fact, judging from the order of importance, the court is most concerned about who is the crown prince and who is attacking the crown prince.

Unless the prince is a treacherous person with a face full of sores and pus oozing from the soles of his feet, what the court wants to see the most is that the prince will always be as stable as Mount Tai!

Because of the feudal era, the court first considered, and at the same time, it was also the most fancy. It will never be 'how to do better', but 'stability'.

It is no exaggeration to say that for the feudal regime, a policy that can maintain stability must not be an evil government in the absolute sense!
Conversely, a policy that may destabilize and cause turmoil is by no means undisputed good governance.

And the crown prince, the crown prince, is the center of any feudal era, and they all pursue 'stability' the most, and none of them.

Whether the prince is outstanding or not is of course an important proposition related to the future of the dynasty.

But before discussing the prince's ability and potential, the court will always pay more attention to another issue.

--Stablize!
In the most easy-to-understand words, it is: a prince can't do it, but he can be cultivated;
If the cultivation is not good, cultivate it slowly;

It doesn't matter if you can't cultivate it, it doesn't matter, the court is in the bottom line, don't let the new prince mess around too much, wait until the "successful king" survives the dynasty, and then train the next prince.

But the candidate for the crown prince must be determined as soon as possible, and it is best not to have variables.

Because a prince who is as stable as Mount Tai, a crown prince who is sure of himself, is no less meaningful to the feudal regime than the magic needle of Dinghai.

In the past few years, the precarious Crown Prince was the main source of the Chang'an court's inability to settle down and its constant undercurrents.

——The prince is not favored, and Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi appears again. As a courtier, who should the officials be loyal to?

Loyalty to the prince is obviously contrary to the will of the emperor Liu Bang;
Loyalty to King Zhao is even more inappropriate in terms of emotion and reason!

What's more terrible is: the emperor Liu Bang is not the emperor in his prime!

At the moment when Prince Liu Ying was just fourteen years old, and King Zhao Liu Ruyi was just nine years old, Emperor Liu Bang was already over sixty years old!

Coupled with Liu Bang's current physical condition, it is no exaggeration to say: the current Chang'an court has reached the point where "accidents" come at any time and is always ready for regime change!
At such a delicate and sensitive time point, if the position of the prince is always in doubt, it will inevitably make the entire court feel uneasy.

——In case Liu Bang falls down in a second, who should inherit this huge community?

If Liu Bang 'falls completely', it's okay to say-no matter how unstable the prince is, he will still be the prince; the prince will inherit the throne, and no one can make a mistake.

But what if, after Liu Bang's fall, a "return to the light" happened by chance and left behind the edict of "abolishing the prince and succeeding the king of Zhao"?
How could Queen Lu Zhi calmly accept this result?
If you don't accept it, what kind of turmoil will Chang'an usher in?
Therefore, from the establishment of the Han Dynasty to the day when Liu Bang made it clear that 'Prince Liu Ying is my chosen heir', this scene is lingering in the minds of all the court officials.

——Liu Bang insists on easy storage, and the queen refuses to sit and wait for death. The dragon and the phoenix are fighting;
This is the reason why the Chang'an court has insisted on persuading Liu Bang to "get rid of the idea of ​​easy storage" for many years to ensure the stability of the court.

It's not that Liu Ying is really good enough, nor is it because Liu Ruyi is not good enough;
But no matter which of the two brothers is more worthy of the position of crown prince, the Chang'an court, and even the Han Dynasty today, absolutely cannot afford a political turmoil that begins with the candidate for the crown prince!

In other words, the candidate for the prince is not whoever is outstanding should sit, but whoever sits on it can better ensure the stability of the ruling and opposition parties, and whoever should sit.

Today's ending is undoubtedly the most perfect ending.

——Emperor Liu Bang dispelled the idea of ​​Yi Chu, and clearly designated Prince Liu Ying as the heir!

Liu Ying has also proved her ability, absolutely no worse than Liu Ruyi who is called "Zaohui" in the market!

Liu Ying's reserve position is stable, and the queen Lu Zhi will naturally not cause turmoil; while Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi's mother's relatives have no ability to cause turmoil at all.

It can be said that this ending is a happy ending.

If there is anyone who is unhappy, it is only Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi, and Mrs. Qi, mother and son...

"When the society has a queen, the ruling and the opposition will be stable."

"Whoo~"

"Finally..."

For a moment, all the officials and courtiers in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately looked around with joy, smiling and bowing to their colleagues on the left and right, as if congratulating each other.

And under the imperial steps, when he heard Liu Yingman solemnly said the phrase 'I will live up to my father's entrustment', Xiao He also smiled reassuringly, and immediately got up from his seat.

"Your Majesty is sage, the prince is virtuous and benevolent; the prince will continue to supervise the country, and I have no objection..."

Hearing this, Liu Bang finally nodded with a smile on his face, and immediately took Liu Ying's hand and went up the imperial steps.

So far, "the crown prince continues to supervise the country" has become an established fact under the premise that the emperor Liu Bang and the prime minister Xiao He reached an agreement.

But regarding this, none of the officials in the palace had a different opinion.

Because Liu Ying, the "Prince of the Supervisory Kingdom", is no longer a prince for today's Han Dynasty.

——but: quasi-emperor...
"When I was about to set off for the expedition, I entrusted the crown prince with the water conservancy renovation work in Guanzhong."

All the officials in the hall were thinking about it, when they heard Liu Bang's high-pitched inquiry from the imperial couch.

When everyone followed the sound and raised their heads, they saw Liu Bang with a faint smile on his face, looking softly at Liu Ying who was holding a thick bamboo slip by his side.

"Not only this matter, how is the prince doing?"

Asking calmly, Liu Bang raised his head towards the bamboo slip in Liu Ying's hand again: "What is this?"

As soon as Liu Bang finished speaking, without waiting for Liu Ying to answer, all the officials in the hall showed a little excitement on their faces!
Sure enough, Liu Ying's next words of response also confirmed the conjectures of the courtiers and officials.

"I report to my father."

On the imperial steps, Liu Ying bowed to Liu Bang respectfully, and immediately held up the bamboo slips in her hands.

"My father entrusted me with the water conservancy work in Guanzhong, and my son did not dare to neglect it. On the day my father's army set out, my ministers called Prime Minister Xiao and the Shaofu to discuss the water conservancy work."

While speaking, the bamboo slip in Liu Ying's hand was also taken by Liu Bang with a smile.

Taking advantage of Liu Bang's opportunity to read the bamboo slips on the imperial case, Liu Ying also gave a brief overview of the renovation of Zheng Guoqu.

"Hou Shaofu said, "The water conservancy in Guanzhong has lost most of its 'water conservancy' effect since it fell into disrepair in the second generation."

"A few years later, the Kanto has been fighting endlessly for years, and the water conservancy renovation has continued to this day and remains unsolved."

As she spoke, Liu Ying turned around with a light smile, and cupped her hands at Xiao He, who was the most seated teacher, and Yang Chengyan, who was beside Xiao He.

"In the end, I have to discuss with the Shaofu: Guanzhong Water Conservancy should take Zhengguo Canal as the first priority; if Guanzhong Water Conservancy is repaired, Zhengguo Canal should be the first."

"Guer called all courtiers and officials to plan to build the Zhengguo Canal at the beginning of the year; so far, the canal has been fully repaired and reopened. There are hundreds of thousands of households and tens of thousands of acres of fields on the banks of the canal. Fill it!"

After saying that, Liu Ying bowed her hands to the officials in the hall: "This is only possible if the officials work hard!"

Then, Liu Ying turned around with a smile, and pointed lightly at the bamboo slips in front of Liu Bang.

"As for this slip, when my son wanted to build the canal, there was a shortage of coolies; and when the father and emperor went out to fight, he had already recruited soldiers and civilians from Guanzhong, but my son did not dare to call for labor to repair the canal."

"Houer has to build the policy of the Marquis, and use the money of the Shaofu to hire hundreds of officials and private slaves in the Marquis' family."

"This slip is the number of private slaves and labor slaves produced by hundreds of officials and marquises."

Hearing Liu Ying's words, Rao had known about this for a long time, and Liu Bang also nodded in cooperation.

Then Liu Ying continued to say in a soft voice: "My son wants money and asks for a slave, but all the princes in the court are righteous, and they all say 'this is all their duty', and they are all private slaves at home, and they don't accept money from my son."

"My son respects the righteousness of the princes, but also feels guilty, so he came up with this policy, recording the slaves offered by the princes, and presenting them to the father and the emperor..."

As Liu Ying softly reported the origin of the scroll of bamboo slips, Liu Bang's eyes finally moved away from the densely packed numbers on the bamboo slips.

Nodding his head with a gentle expression, he saw Liu Bang's complexion froze for a while, and then looked up at Liu Ying with a little playfulness.

"The crown prince intends to ask for a reward from me for the public officials who want to replace private slaves to build the canal?"

Hearing this, Liu Ying also smiled shyly, and bowed to Liu Bang slightly.

"Father's eyes are like torches..."

Seeing that Liu Ying fulfilled her promise without any discount, the courtiers and officials in the palace also nodded with satisfaction, and immediately shifted their expectant eyes to Liu Bang's faintly meaningful face.

In fact, the courtiers who can have a place in today's Changxin Palace, even if they are not Chehou with thousands of households in the city, are basically high-ranking officials with a rank of more than a thousand stones.

It is also impossible for the emperor Liu Bang to promote the ranks of the people in the palace, or increase the number of Chehou Shiyi because of the credit of "giving a private slave to help the prince build the canal".

Everyone in the hall couldn't be more than ecstatic that Liu Bang might give a royal sword, or several batches of cloth and silk as rewards.

But no matter what, this is also an opportunity to gain a sense of presence in front of the emperor and the prince, leave an impression of "well, this person can get along, if something happens, it's true", and by the way, gain a wave of fame.

Even if you don't like the three melons and two dates rewarded by Liu Bang, such an opportunity is definitely not worthless.

Liu Bang, who was sitting on the imperial couch, had a panoramic view of the expectations of the courtiers in the palace.

"Hey······"

But Liu Bang lowered his head again, looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, and then looked up into the hall again.

"Even if the crown prince invites you personally, I should not be stingy."

"—Anyone who becomes a private slave to help the prince build the canal will be given a sword, ten pieces of gold, and ten bolts of cloth!"

"In addition, under the Marquis of Jueguan Neihou, those who rank Qianshi and below are all prepared in the Prime Minister's Mansion; in the future, there will be a vacancy in Jiuqing, and he will be moved to be the chief official of Qianshi first!"

As soon as this remark came out, all the courtiers and officials in the palace showed joyful smiles and got up to pay respects to Liu Bang.

"Honor, thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity!"

After thanking the gift, more than half of the courtiers and officials who sat back on their seats showed uncontrollable joy.

——One imperial sword, ten pieces of gold, and ten bolts of cloth, these are all second to none!
For most of the courtiers whose rank is less than a thousand stones, and without a high rank, what is really worth looking forward to is the phrase "there is a vacancy in the nine ministers, and they will first move to be the chief official of a thousand stones"!
Chief of Qianshi!
——You must know that nowadays, even those Jiuqing deputies at the level of a thousand stones or even two thousand stones, such as Shaofu Cheng, Feng Changcheng, etc., are all junior officials in the absolute sense, not long officials!

The chief officials at the Qianshi level refer to nothing more than the chief officials who control a department or a department by themselves and are directly responsible to their immediate superiors—Jiuqing himself!

And the chief official of Qianshi who belongs to the Yamen of Jiuqing is almost equivalent to the candidate of Jiuqing on half a couch!
After a few years of qualifications in the position of Qianshi in Jiuqing's yamen, and then sent to the Kanto as a county guard for a few years, and then made some martial arts, and then returned to the center, Jiuqing is a certainty!
Such an opportunity is undoubtedly extremely precious for those officials in the court whose rank is less than a thousand stones, and who have even been in the position of a thousand stones for more than ten years.

——No matter how bad it is, the chief official of Qianshi under Jiuqing's command is also the first county guard to be released!
Even in the future, if Jiuqing, who can't be a middle-class two-thousand stone, becomes a county guard at the two-thousand-stone level, it will undoubtedly be a very rich legacy for future generations.

Just as everyone in the hall was secretly delighted by the promise of "reserve as the chief official of Jiuqing and Qianshi", on the imperial steps, there was a little playful expression on the face of the emperor Liu Bang.

"Hmm~"

"Governors and officials in the court have so many private slaves..."

Seemingly saying something casually, Liu Bang shifted his sharp gaze from the bamboo slips in front of him to the frightened faces in the hall.

After hearing Liu Bang's words, everyone in the hall couldn't help but lock their eyes on Liu Ying's harmless, even somewhat dazed face after a short period of horror...

(End of this chapter)