Shuhan

Chapter 330 Liu Bei stays behind the scenes because of his illness, while the prince supervises state affairs in front of the stage!
cough~
Liu Bei coughed and said: "My father's body is getting worse and worse. How can I deal with the heavy work? I am now exhausted. How about the prince supervising state affairs for me and recuperating in isolation."

Supervise state affairs?

Liu Chan froze for a moment.

"With regard to domestic matters, there should be no major problems with the military advisors, generals, and a group of good ministers. My father's body will naturally recover. Why should I let my son supervise the country? Besides, the barbarians of Badi are not obedient in the important area of ​​Langzhong. , I am preparing to lead the army to deal with this matter after spring begins."

Seeing Liu Chan's excuse, Liu Bei smiled and said: "In the land of Langzhong, with Yide sitting in charge, there is no need to worry."

"With the right general in charge, it is indeed not a big problem, but the key point is that the right general is in Langzhong, but it is a waste of a powerful general and tens of thousands of troops. I think that if the Badi disaster can be completely solved, it can even be solved If the Badi barbarians are used by Han China, our national strength will be raised to a higher level."

In this era, population is tax revenue and population is national strength.

If the Badi barbarians could be organized into households, it would undoubtedly greatly increase the population of Han China.

The current registered population of Han Chinese, including Jingzhou, is only over 200 million.

This was the population that only existed after Liu Chan pacified the four counties of Nanzhong, captured Jingzhou, and then captured Runan.

According to original history, the original population was less than 100 million.

Although there are many illegal households among them, it is indisputable that there are not many people in Yizhou, and the tax the court can collect is not much.

Now the population has reached 200 million, is that much?
not much.

Not as good as Cao Wei at all.

You can also compare the population with Jiangdong.

And if the people of Badi can be digested, it will undoubtedly add hundreds of thousands more people to Han China.

With hundreds of thousands of civilians, you can support an army of tens of thousands more.

With these tens of thousands more troops, we might be able to reverse the situation when fighting on the front lines.

In the future, the war with Wei will definitely involve a competition of national strength.

Cao Wei lived in the Central Plains, and his national power recovered faster. Even if Liu Chan made small moves, it would not hinder much.

Especially since Cao Pi has compromised with the family, the restoration of his national power will definitely reach a higher level.

If he doesn't do more, won't the gap between him and Cao Wei become wider and wider?
This is definitely not what Liu Chan wants to see.

"It's just that Yide has tried his best in Langzhong. He has tried various methods, but he still can't conquer the barbarians in Bazhong. Does the prince have a way?"

"Langzhong is an important place, and I know its importance. If I go there, I will be able to subdue the barbarians in Bazhong. As for how to conquer it, I only have an idea now. If I really want to solve the disaster in Badi, I have obtained the local area, and then come back Use a plan."

Only the manuscript?

No plan?

If it had been anyone else, Liu Bei would have been angry.

You kid, you don’t have a plan, how dare you talk nonsense?
If you don’t have diamonds, how dare you take on this porcelain job?
But this is his precious son. He has pacified the barbarians in the four counties of Nanzhong, recovered the nine counties of Jingxiang, and even captured the capital of Runan County.

Liu Bei had to believe what he said!

"It's just that if there is chaos in the land of Langzhong."

Liu Chan said: "I know the importance of Langzhong."

In the Shu Han regime, if everyone were asked to rank the generals, I believe [-]% of people would rank Guan Yu first and Zhang Fei second.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both people who followed Liu Bei from the beginning. They can be said to be the top two generals of Shu Han in terms of affection, merit and talent.

However, Zhang Fei, as Liu Bei's confidant general, was a rare general at that time. However, Liu Bei only allowed him to guard the county-level city of Langzhong, which was really overqualified and underused.

By comparing Guan Yu who guarded Jingzhou and Wei Yan who guarded Hanzhong, Liu Bei really felt sorry for his "third brother". Could it be that Liu Bei was already old and confused at that time?

Or do you intend to suppress Zhang Fei?
After all, Liu Bei's three main territories are Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Hanzhong. According to normal logic, Liu Bei should be in charge of Chengdu, Guan Yu should be in charge of Jingzhou, and Hanzhong should be given to General Zhang San.

In fact, the importance of the land of Langzhong is compared to that of Hanzhong, so there is no room for concessions.

First, we need to understand the geography of Langzhong.

Langzhong is located on the northern edge of the Sichuan Basin, in the middle and upper reaches of the Jialing River, at the southern foot of the Qinba Mountain. It is surrounded by mountains on four sides and water on three sides. It is a strategic and military town in Bashu. It borders Bazhong and Yilong to the east, the south to the south, and Jiange to the west. Bordering Cangxi in the north, it is the political and economic center of northern Sichuan.

From Langzhong you can go directly to Hanzhong. If there is a war in Hanzhong and Wei Yan is in a tight situation, Zhang Fei can lead his troops to reinforce in time to ensure the safety of Hanzhong.

If Hanzhong falls, Zhang Fei can build a second line of defense in Langzhong and even arrange the defense of Jiange. In critical moments, he can directly reinforce Chengdu to prevent the enemy from advancing straight in.

Therefore, Langzhong guarded by Zhang Fei was actually at odds with Hanzhong and Chengdu (Jiange), and its significance to the Shu Han regime is self-evident.

Moreover, Langzhong is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Jialing River. If you go down the river, you can go directly to Jiangzhou to support the eastern front and prevent Soochow's sudden attack.

In addition to its internal defensive advantages, Langzhong can also do a lot to attack Cao Wei's Longyou area, directly posing huge pressure on Wudu and Yinping.

Therefore, Langzhong is not just a small town now. For the Han Chinese regime, its position is very important. Only capable generals who Liu Bei trusts can be qualified to guard it.

In terms of the importance of Langzhong, Liu Bei asked Zhang Fei to guard it. Not only was it not "overkill", but he was relying on it very much.

This is also the reason why Liu Bei is afraid that Liu Chan's actions will be too big and may cause turmoil.

After all, the location in Langzhong is too important.

"After spring begins, within a year, I will be able to appease the barbarians of Badi."

a year?
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment. He took a deep look at his son and finally nodded.

He chooses to believe.

"I believe what the prince said, but now it's still some time before I leave Chun. The prince might as well settle the major issues in his life in advance. If you get married, you can let go of your heart."

At the same time, Liu Bei looked at Liu Chan reproachfully and said, "I heard that you took in a few more beauties in Jingzhou, but?"

Liu Chan blushed and said, "It's true."

"Humph!"

Liu Bei snorted softly, looking a little reproachful.

"I heard that one of them is Cao Pi's wife Zhen Mi?"

Liu Chan scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Indeed."

"A thirty-year-old woman is like a tiger or a wolf, her body bones have not yet grown, and she must not indulge in male-female affairs."

Also a woman in her 30s, Mrs. Wu was difficult for Liu Bei to resist.

After learning that Liu Chan had accepted Zhen Mi, Liu Bei became worried about his son.

"My son knows it."

know?

It’s not just singing every night.

The key is that after playing and singing every night, not a single seed was planted?

"Does the prince know about sexual intercourse?"

Liu Bei felt that he still had to teach his son a lesson.

"Cough cough."

Liu Chan picked up the tea cup, took half a sip, and almost spit it on Liu Bei.

"My child, of course I know."

Will I not understand the art of the house?

"Understood? Then why is there no movement in their stomachs?"

I was driven to death by my inner strength.

Liu Chan cursed in his heart.

puff~
Liu Chan could no longer hold the tea still in his mouth, and vomited it all over Liu Bei's head.

Keep talking like this
It didn't end well!
I didn’t expect that Liu Bei, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would be such a person!

"Cough cough."

Liu Chan coughed twice and said: "Father, for the engagement, the father will just set a time. As for the blood of the offspring, I can only say, do your best."

What else can you do besides try your best?
"Come on~"

Liu Bei also knew that if he continued to talk about it, it would be inappropriate for children. "Then Peng Yi, how should the prince deal with him?"

Peng Yi?

Liu Chan chuckled lightly and said, "Since he is treasonous, he will naturally be killed."

"How much is involved?"

If the crime of treason is to be investigated, it will be against the Yi clan.

If enough people are involved, killing thousands of people will not be a problem.

"No harm will come to the mother-in-law."

The crime of treason cannot be easily forgiven, but the crime of treason should not be overly involved.

There is no peace in the world now, and this is not the time to eliminate dissidents.

"Don't involve too many people in this matter. In addition, during this period, the prince will be involved in state affairs first. If there is no major matter, there is no need to report it to me."

No big deal, no need to report?

Liu Chan thought for a moment.

"Father, I do have something that I need to report to my father. This matter can be said to be of great importance."

What's at stake?

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment and said, "Prince, you might as well speak out."

"That's the official selection system of Han China. It needs to be changed."

Changes to the official selection system?

Liu Bei frowned slightly.

"Did the prince see that the Wei State implemented the ninth-rank official law, so he also wanted to imitate the Wei State and implement the ninth-rank official law?"

The Nine-Rank Officials Law does have its benefits. For example, it gave the local powerful the power to select and appoint officials. After all, at that time, someone had to recommend someone for promotion of filial piety and integrity.

And the person who recommended this was naturally from a powerful background.

The Nine-Rank Officials Law reversed the shortcomings of the imperial examination system to a certain extent, but at the same time, he also bowed to the aristocratic family.

The power did not go to the emperor, but from the powerful to the aristocratic family.

Compared to the powerful ones, the force of the Aristocratic Family is obviously more difficult to deal with.

Now that Liu Bei heard that Liu Chan was going to change the official selection system, he immediately thought of the ninth-grade official law.

"My son, I don't want to use the ninth-grade official method."

As a later generation, Liu Chan knows the disadvantages of the ninth-grade official law better than anyone else.

For the sake of temporary stability, it is not Liu Chan's temperament to let future generations take the blame for his decisions.

Future generations have things to do. As a predecessor, he just didn't leave some inheritance to future generations, so he just dug a hole for them?

This is not something Liu Chan can do.

"Then what does the prince want to do?"

for what?

Then of course we need to improve the inspection and examination system!
Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou implemented the "Shiqing Shilu System".

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the ruling class reformed the old system and made the country richer and stronger by appointing people with low status but outstanding talents.

During the Warring States Period, the "military merit system" appeared, and the trend of "nurturing scholars" emerged, recruiting talented and well-spoken talents, regardless of their origin, to serve the king and princes.

By the Qin Dynasty, officials were selected based on "land creation" and military merit.

But these are not complete official selection systems.

In the Han Dynasty, in order to meet the needs of national governance, a complete system for selecting officials was established, called the "Inspection and Examination System".

Chaju is a bottom-up system of selecting talents, also called "election".

Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, first issued an edict to seek talents, requiring counties and counties to recommend worthy officials with the ability to govern the country, which pioneered the "inspection and promotion system".

Emperor Hui and Empress Lu issued imperial edicts for "filial brother Li Tian", and the examination and examination began to have subjects.

During the reign of Emperor Wu, the "inspection and examination system" reached perfection, and various regulations were introduced one after another.

Since then, various subjects have been continuously enriched, especially with unified selection standards and examination methods.

Examination is an important part of the examination system in the Han Dynasty.

After the candidates have passed the examination, the government will hire them according to their talents. This not only ensures that the selection standards can be implemented and real talents are selected, but also ensures that the competition is relatively fair and makes it possible for people at the lower level to enter the national management.

Any system that develops for 300 years will become corrupt and backward.

What Liu Chan has to do is to improve it.

As for why not just use the imperial examination system?
Then we have to know how much resistance there will be to the implementation of the imperial examination system.

The inspection and examination system is a bottom-up selection method initiated by local governments. Although it increases the central talent pool, it weakens the centralization of power.

When you implement the imperial examination system, doesn't this weaken the authority of the local government?
They won't resist?

What Liu Chan has to do now is to accumulate national strength, rather than causing chaos and conflicts in the country.

After conquering the world first, we can then think about completely solving the problem of the inspection and examination system.

Anyway, a compromise system like the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System is definitely not what Liu Chan wants.

And
The imperial examination system was already somewhat of a rudiment of the imperial examination system.

"My son wants to revive Zuo Xiongyang's proposal for a new system."

The shortcomings of the filial piety and integrity inspections were already exposed in the Western Han Dynasty, and became increasingly serious after the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The folk song "Inspecting filial piety and incorruptibility, the father lives away" shows that in the eyes of the people of the time, the results of the filial piety and integrity inspections were exactly what the name means. A kind of irony.

At the same time, there were constant criticisms from the imperial court that "what he did was inhumane."

Therefore, during the Yangjia period of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shangshu Ling Zuo Xiong initiated and Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty implemented the reform of the filial piety and integrity inspection system, limiting the age of inspections, introducing an examination mechanism, and further clarifying talent standards.

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he asked: "The prince wants to change the four subjects into two subjects?"

The "four subjects" for selecting candidates in the examination system of the Han Dynasty are as follows: "The first one is superb virtues and clean moral integrity; the second one is general practice and master's degree in the classics; the third one is knowing the laws and regulations; the fourth one is fortitude and many strategies...all of them are filial, loyal and honest. OK.

In the new system of Yangjia, the four subjects were changed into two subjects, and only two subjects were taken: Confucianism and Literary Affairs.

Those so-called classics and biographies, literature and poetry, are not subject to examination.

In other words, virtue comes second and ability comes first.

In short, that is pragmatism!
For today's Han China, pragmatism is obviously the best choice.

Liu Bei just wanted to agree, but as if he thought of something, his brows suddenly wrinkled again.

"I wonder if the nobles in this country will agree?"

Four subjects were changed into two subjects, and the two most practical subjects were banned. The remaining two subjects were to test the true talents of the school. The interests of the noble family would definitely be damaged.

If interests are harmed, it is inevitable that they will not come out to cause trouble.

"Chaju has long been controlled by the powerful gentry, but in addition to the powerful gentry, there are also emerging small and medium-sized gentry. We can win over these small and medium-sized gentry, and at the same time recruit military officers to the big gentry in the country to show appeasement. It must be If there is no trouble, even if someone is dissatisfied, I can lead the troops to conquer them!"

After all, the great gentry are a minority.

As long as Liu Chan makes more friends and fewer enemies.

He has the skill of slaying dragons.

Is there chaos in Han China?
That's simply not possible!

"Kuang Erchen opened a martial arts lecture hall. People from aristocratic families who have outstanding 'contributions' can also take this path!"

Liu Chan only opened the passage for lower-level promotion, and did not block the passage for those great nobles.

As long as you are willing to work hard, your children will have no shortage of futures and no worries about not being able to get official positions!
After listening to Liu Chan's words, Liu Bei said with emotion: "Since the prince has considered everything, let's follow this method!"

Liu Bei had already made up his mind.

After a few days, Liu Chan's marriage was finalized, and he hid in the palace to recuperate and retreated behind the scenes. Let this precious son take care of this major event in Han China!

(End of this chapter)