Dahan first prince

Chapter 359 Is it a minister?Loyal?

"Belittle loyal and good ministers with capable ministers, reprimand villains with loyalty and goodness, and insult the infidelity of capable ministers with villains..."

"The three are mutual spears and shields, mutually restraining and balancing each other, fighting without breaking..."

"Whoo~"

"I really don't know how many things can be taught to me in the belly of the queen mother..."

Walking out of Changle Palace and sitting on the imperial chariot returning to Weiyang Palace, Liu Ying felt overwhelmed with emotion.

It is no exaggeration to say that before this, Liu Ying's understanding of the word "check and balance" was only at the level of "a bench should have three legs";

As for Liu Ying's understanding, the three parties that should be used to check and balance each other are also classified as the military represented by the meritorious prince, the court represented by the courtiers, and the relatives headed by the Queen Mother Lu Zhi.

In Liu Ying's view, the meaning of checks and balances was nothing more than suppressing civil servants who had the right to speak but no prominent status with the military merits of heroes and marquises; Foreign relatives come to check and balance the heroes.

As for the relatives who have no merit in the country and are suddenly lucky because of their status as relatives, civil servants are naturally used as checks and balances.

But under such three-party checks and balances, Liu Ying will always have a doubt.

——In today's Han Dynasty, the tangent line between Gonghou, Wenchen, and foreign relatives is not very obvious; most of the courtiers have two identities at the same time, and there are even extremely special existences in which all three identities are related.

For example, the brother-in-law of the current empress dowager, Fan Kuai, Marquis of Wuyang, has the dual status of Marquis of Gong and relatives;
In the court, the three lords and nine ministers, including Shaofu Yangchengyan, basically have the dual identities of meritorious lords and courtiers at the same time.

As for the dual identities of foreign relatives and courtiers, after Lu Shizhi was dismissed from the position of Lang Zhongling, it never existed.

But even so, there are still extremely special cases such as Xuanping Hou Zhang Ao, who also cover the triple identities of Gong Hou + foreign relatives + courtiers.

In addition, noble courtiers such as Prime Minister Pingyanghou Cao Can, Neishi Anguohou Wangling, etc., were also in-laws with the former emperor Liu Bang to varying degrees.

Combining this point, we can also reluctantly understand Cao Shen, Wang Ling and other important officials in the court as foreign relatives...

And this led to the "tripartite check and balance of Gong Hou, foreign relatives, and court" in Liu Ying's cognition, becoming almost inoperable at all.

Because in today's Han Dynasty, these three parties are not clearly separated at all, but there is me in you, and you in me, which is extremely intricate!

And after Lu Zhi's reminder today, Liu Ying finally realized: what is wrong with the "three-party check and balance" in her cognition.

Liu Ying originally thought that the core of the tripartite check and balance was to clearly divide the subordinates into three camps based on some obvious and closely related interests;

So Liu Ying took it for granted: the courtiers must be close to the courtiers, Gonghou must play well with Gonghou, and the relatives also wear the same pants as other relatives.

But Liu Ying ignored a crucial point.

——The reason why a courtier is a courtier, why a meritorious prince is a meritorious prince, and why a relative is a relative is not something that these people can decide;

The composition of these groups is not composed of members who gather spontaneously and based on "like-mindedness", but are completely composed of objective facts, and these groups of similar identities are forcibly spelled out.

To be more specific, for a certain Gonghou, the circle of Gonghou and Yuanxun he is in is not necessarily all "friends" who share the same goals and interests.

Let's say that the most famous pair of enemies in the court today are Jiang Hou Zhou Bo and Qu Ni Hou Chen Ping.

As early as Chen Ping carried Chu to Han, and was pushed out by Feng Peiyuan, including Zhou Bo, because of being reused by the former emperor Liu Bang, the grievances and hatred between Zhou Bo and Chen Ping became a group of Han Dynasty meritorious officials. A must-have after dinner.

Whenever the names of Zhou Bo and Chen Ping appear in a discussion at the same time, there will inevitably be the words "Zhou Bo denounces Chen Ping as a thief who steals money from his wife" followed closely.

And these two people are exactly in the same camp as Gonghou, but in private they wish they could play like dogs.

Excluding such specific examples, as far as Liu Ying knows so far, among the founding fathers, there are at least three small camps and hilltops, namely Feng Pei Yuan Cong, the late rising general, and the old Chu descended general. on each other.

This is true for the group of meritorious lords who are an important part of the court, and so are the other courtiers and relatives.

For example, among the ministers of the current dynasty, the tomb of the Marquis of Anguo, the internal history, was extremely at odds with Feng Changshu and Sun Tong;

The reason is also ironic that 'Uncle Sun Tong is fond of Confucianism and has a warm nature', while Wang Ling is fond of Huang Lao, but has a violent temper that is seriously inconsistent with the temperament of the school.

What's more, the imperial servant Ruyinhou Xiahouying and Weiwei Qu Zhouhou's son Li Ji didn't deal with it either;

The reason for this has never been known.

The courtiers and officials were also divided into at least two camps, including "the heroic princes who entered the court with martial arts" and "the scholars who entered the court with strategy and knowledge".

Relatives are better.

——After all, the only person in the Han Dynasty who can be called a "relative" is probably a relative of the Lu family.

Whether it is Fan Kui, Marquis of Wuyang, Zhang Ao, Marquis of Xuanping, or Zhang Yan, the empress of the current dynasty, all of them were from relatives of the Lu family with 'roots are straight and red'.

But one day, the Han family will produce a queen who is not born in the Lu family.

When the queen who was not born in the Lu family became the queen mother after her husband died, the Han family would attract a second relative who used the queen mother as a backer.

At that time, if the former king's relatives of the Lu family can live in harmony with the relatives of the X family who are about to replace him, it is bound to be impossible.

And this is where the problem of using "gonghou, courtiers, and relatives" as a reference for the three parties to check and balance.

——These three groups cannot be regarded as a 'community of interests' at all.

On the other hand, the tripartite reference of 'competent ministers, loyal ministers, and villains' proposed by Lu Zhi today has completely solved this problem.

Gonghou and Gonghou may not play well, but capable ministers and capable ministers will definitely cherish each other;

Courtiers and courtiers may not be able to chat happily, but loyal ministers and loyal ministers will definitely flock together.

The same principle: foreign relatives and relatives may not be good enough to wear a pair of pants, but villains and villains will definitely join forces and report to the group to keep warm.

And compared to the three extremely general labels of "gonghou, courtiers, and relatives" that seem to be forced on the top of these people, the group with "competent ministers, loyal ministers, and villains" as reference subjects is obviously more like It is a community of like-minded and closely cooperating interests.

——If a capable minister wants to do practical things, he must need the help of other capable ministers;

——If a loyal minister wants to be loyal to the emperor, he will definitely find other loyal ministers spontaneously;

It's the same: If a villain wants to be a shit-stirring stick, he will definitely find a few helpers, at least to have the peace of mind of 'we will die together'.

The most important thing is: Unlike the three political labels that may overlap, such as meritorious officials, courtiers, and foreign relatives, the three personality labels of capable ministers, loyal ministers, and villains are basically impossible to overlap.

And now all officials in the court can be clearly classified as one of these three.

Just like yesterday, Shanglin Ling Yang Li, who angered Liu Ying because of the Luban Yuan Ling, is an undoubted capable minister;
And the fuse of this matter: Lu Banyuan ordered Lu Ping to be a loyal minister—although he was a loyal minister of the Lu family, not a loyal minister of the Liu family.

As for the villain...
"Hey!"

"Zhifang Hou Yongchi, isn't that the emperor's shit-stirring stick that my father used to come and call me?"

"Everything has to stand up and jump twice, like a catfish in a school of sardines..."

With a teasing look on her face, Liu Ying turned her head full of admiration, and let out a long sigh in the direction of Changle Palace behind her.

"It's a pity that the queen mother gave birth to a daughter..."

"Do not."

"It should be said that fortunately, the mother gave birth to a daughter..."

"If not, I'm afraid that after winning the Qin Dynasty, Liu Han will no longer stand alone..."

With a sigh on her face, she sighed again, Liu Ying finally smiled and shook her head, put down the car curtain, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

In this world, there is no if.

What makes Liu Ying feel extremely lucky is that Lu Zhi is her mother.

Even if the whole world abandons her, she will still regard herself as her biological mother...

·
"His Majesty!"

After returning to Weiyang Palace, before the imperial chariot drove into Sima Gate, Liu Ying's very familiar voice came from outside the car as expected.

When Liu Ying heard the sound and raised the curtain of the carriage, she saw Yang Chengyan, the Shaofu who had just been granted the title of Marquis of Wu, knelt down on the ground with a terrified expression.

"Your Majesty~"

"minister······"

"minister!"

He said "Chen" several times with a complicated expression, but Yang Chengyan couldn't tell why, so he simply lowered his head and put on a posture of "what I want to say, everything I want to say is in the head of this voice" .

Seeing this situation, Liu Ying didn't feel too embarrassed, she just put down the curtain silently and signaled the chariot to move on.

Waiting for the chariot to enter Weiyang Palace from Sima Gate, and as Sima Gate slowly closed again, gradually isolating the gradually moving imperial chariot, Yang Chengyan raised his head in despair, his face ashen ashes.

Just as Yangcheng Yan was bowing his head in silence, thinking whether to kneel outside the palace until Liu Ying summoned him, or to go home and find a body to hang himself, a figure walked out from the doorway next to the palace gate, and finally lit up Yang Chengyan's heart. fire of hope.

"Mr. Chun!"

With an incomparably loud salutation, Yang Chengyan had long since neglected his Jiuqing and Chehou's high-ranking officials, not even Chuntuo at that time, and stepped forward to hold Chuntuo's arm tightly, as if grasping A life-saving straw has arrived.

Seeing Yang Chengyan's posture, Chuntuo couldn't help but shook his head and let out a long sigh, looked at Yang Chengyan full of sympathy, finally bent down humblely, and took his arm out of Yang Chengyan's hand.

"Duke Yang, don't be like this..."

"Besides slaves and swords, Wan Dang should not be commensurate with 'gong'..."

He said this without any affectation in his tone, and seeing that Yang Chengyan still hadn't reacted and still had an anxious expression on his face, Chuntuo smiled and turned sideways, giving way to the direction of the doorway.

"Please, Mr. Yang."

"Your Majesty, let Duke Yang be in the announcement room..."

·
Following Chuntuo's lead, he walked into the Xuanshi Hall with a nervous expression on his face. Yang Chengyan was about to step forward to kowtow, but he heard Liu Ying's extremely gentle call from above the imperial steps.

"Wu Hou is here~"

"Sit down, sit down."

Hearing that Liu Ying's tone was different from the past, and even slightly different from ordinary people's gentle tone, Yang Chengyan was even more frightened, but he didn't dare to refuse, so he quietly found a place at the side of the hall and knelt down.

After kneeling down, Yang Chengyan pondered for a moment, and just as he made up his mind to 'recognize your mistakes first', another soft and unusual tone came from the imperial steps, and once again rushed ahead of Yang Chengyan.

"I know all about Shanglin."

"—Please ask the Queen Mother to use Lu Ping as the order of Lu Ban. The Shaofu didn't know about it before, right?"

Seemingly casual, but obviously with some deep meaning in the question, Yang Chengyan raised his head hastily.

After seeing Liu Ying's eyes looking at him clearly, there was no trace of impurity in the trust, Yang Chengyan felt ashamed for a while.

"His Majesty······"

"Chen, Qi Zou Your Majesty!"

"I have already known about Lu Ping as Lu Ban's order, my minister!"

"Ran Chen knew from Shanglin Ling's reassignment edict, so I just took it as Shanglin Ling's report to His Majesty!"

"minister······"

"minister!"

The tone was full of excitement when he said this, and Yang Chengyan returned to the state of just now, humming outside the palace gate for a long time, but he couldn't let out a loud fart.

In the end, Yang Chengyan still resigned to his fate, and slammed his forehead down.

"Your Majesty, please! Clarify!!!"

After the almost shrill roar, there was only a rhythmic muffled sound in the huge Xuanshi hall.

Boom!
Boom!
Boom...

Seeing Yang Chengyan knocking his head on the ground unceremoniously, Liu Ying's heart tightened.

But thinking of her embarrassment in Lubanyuan yesterday, Liu Ying finally calmed down, looked at Yang Chengyan silently, and kowtowed twenty times.

"Wu Hou, let's get up."

A whisper without the slightest emotion finally made Yang Chengyan stop the mechanical kowtow, but he didn't dare to get up immediately, he just straightened his upper body slightly, even though his eyes were a little blurred, he still worked hard He raised his head and looked at Liu Ying who was on the imperial steps.

"His Majesty······"

"Today, I am in Changle, and I got a word from the queen mother to teach me."

Yang Chengyan made a vague call, but it didn't attract Liu Ying's attention;

I saw Liu Ying sat down on her own, slowly picked up a roll of bamboo slips from the imperial case in front of her, looked down at it, and said casually: "The Queen Mother said: The way to govern a country is to be able The three of them are indispensable."

"Again, the Empress Dowager said that Shanglin Ling dared to act boldly and was full of courage, so he was called a capable minister;"

"As for Lu Ban Ling, although he has no long-term plans, he was born in the Lu family and has received the abilities of the Queen Mother. He should be loyal and good."

Talking in a tone that seemed to be chatting, Liu Ying couldn't help but pause for a while, then raised her head and cast a glance at Yang Chengyan without deliberately, then continued to lower her head, and continued to look at the bamboo slips in her hand.

"The order of Shanglin is a capable minister, and the order of Luban is Zhongliang."

"Wu Hou thinks that he can be a minister? Loyal and good?"

"And now in the court, who can be worthy of the important task of 'traitor'???"

When she asked this last question, Liu Ying's tone of voice already had a bit of reproach and sternness. Although her eyes were still focused on the bamboo slips in her hand, there was a hint of sternness on her face.

Liu Ying didn't have the slightest doubt about Yang Chengyan's explanation of "I know about this, but I don't know that Yang Li is so bold that he didn't report to His Majesty".

Such a panic, Yang Chengyan didn't have the guts to let it go, and there was no need to let it go;
As long as Liu Ying is willing, she can find two people to investigate, and within two hours, she can investigate the whole matter and get to the bottom of it.

But even so, Liu Ying knew very well: Today, Yang Chengyan must not be allowed to see even a trace of good looks from his face in the announcement room.

for no other reason;

——In the past, Liu Ying was a little too close to these close ministers who thought they could be reused.

The word close, used in other places, may also be understood as a compliment.

But for the emperor, especially Liu Ying, who ascended the throne at a young age and whose foundation was unstable, it was definitely not a good sign.

After the bad things happened to Lu Banyuan, Rao still didn't want to believe it in his heart, and Liu Ying still had to admit that the words that his father Liu Bang repeatedly confessed to him before his death were correct.

"Every wise monarch and hero will inevitably treat the name of his subordinates harshly, and they are often moody and unpredictable..."

"Yu Chen, don't be too close, let alone be close..."

"Be kind and prestige at the same time, reward and punish at the same time, and never let the subordinates find out the king's will..."

Looking at Yang Chengyan's increasingly horrified eyes, and silently reading the confession of her father before he died, Liu Ying only slowly raised her head, looking at Yang Chengyan firmly.

——In the past, Liu Ying was too close to some people.

And from this moment on, the demeanor of an old man who had passed away for many years reappeared in Liu Ying's temperament.

It's not that strong, and it's not that powerful, it's even faintly visible and fleeting, making it impossible to tell whether the inexplicable temperament is real or whether it's an illusion.

But Liu Ying knows: I am walking on the right path...
(End of this chapter)