Han family achievements

Chapter 368 There’s a long way to go

‘There are too many officials in Yingchuan’.

Liu Bian's words were plain and calm, as if they came out casually, but to Xun Yu's ears, it was like an explosion in his ears, which shocked his heart.

"His Majesty!"

Xun Yu quickly calmed down, raised his hands, lowered himself to the ground, and said, "I have no intention of forming a faction. Please tell me clearly!"

Liu Bian looked down at him and stayed quiet for a moment, then stretched out his hand to pull him and said with a smile: "I just said it casually, the Qing family doesn't need to care."

Xun Yu did not get up, but fell to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to revise the rules of procedure at the Chancellor's desk."

"Need not."

Liu Bian took back his hand, his smile still on his face, and said: "I am also thinking about the Qing family. It is not just today that the 'Yingchuan Party' frequently appears in memorials. I trust all the Qing family."

Xun Yu's head hit the ground, his mature face became more solemn than ever before, and his heart beat like a drum.

He has been back to Luoyang for several years and has been the prime minister for a year. Although he has faced many doubts and pressures, he has never felt such fear.

Today, he was afraid.

"Party formation" is a very sensitive matter nowadays.

Not far ahead is He Jin, the general of the eunuch party and his relatives, and further ahead is the 'disaster of party imprisonment'. These are topics that are closely guarded by both the government and the public today, and few people dare to mention them.

The "Yingchuan Party" is spread by word of mouth by those who do good things. Up to now, it seems to be worthy of its name and it is difficult to defend.

The prime minister, the servants on the left and right are all from Yingchuan, there are two more ministers of the Six Cao Cao, and other officials, large and small, occupy half of the court.

Not to mention it is a place where officials and officials select them!

The reason for this situation is related to the fact that when Liu Bian succeeded to the throne and cleaned up the Yuan family, he encountered resistance from the gentry, very few people became officials, and most of the official positions were vacant.

During that time, Xun You tried his best to persuade countless people to become officials. These people were either from Yingchuan or had inextricable connections with Yingchuan people.

The "Yingchuan Party" appeared unconsciously.

Xun You had no intention of forming a party, and Xun Yu, Zhong Yao and others had no intention of forming a party.

But today, the ‘Yingchuan Party’ has become an unavoidable problem.

Not only was there fear in the palace, opposition from the government and the public also came and went, never ending.

Xun Yu knelt on the ground, thinking about countermeasures, but he couldn't find a proper solution for a while. His thoughts whirled and he said: "I ask your servant to no longer serve as the official Cao Shangshu."

Liu Bian took a sip of tea and said, "Didn't I just say that I will continue to hold the concurrent position for the time being? Get up and tell me what you think of Cao Cao."

Xun Yu heard something from Liu Bian's words, so he didn't insist on explaining. He stood up and raised his hands and bowed again. Then he calmed down and said slowly: "Your Majesty, there are many obscure and difficult things in Cao Cao's campaign against Dong Zhuo. Ming's actions, especially Liu Yao, Zhuge Xuan, Liu Bei and other soldiers and horses were ambushed by Dong Zhuo. Of course, it was Yuan Shao's plan. Why could he escape? What is his relationship with Yuan Shao? Moreover, his soldiers and horses are not only Forty thousand, and the food and grass seem to have come from somewhere, and there are many doubts, including Shangshutai, Liucao and others."

Liu Bian remained calm, holding the tea cup and narrowing his eyes slightly. He was also disturbed by Xun Yu's words.

There were many things Liu Bian didn't understand about Cao Cao's actions, and Cao Cao's explanation was not enough to eliminate Liu Bian's confusion and suspicion.

‘Cao Cao, is it true that he is not well-raised? ’

Liu Bian raised his head and looked outside the forest. Unconsciously, it started to snow again.

Cao Cao is a thorn in the imperial ambitions, so why not Liu Bian's.

Regarding Cao Cao, Liu Bian's mentality often went back and forth. With Cao Cao's various abnormal actions and great achievements, he showed trust and uneasiness.

And this time, whether Cao Cao conspired with Yuan Shao to eliminate all the princes who wanted to challenge Dong, Liu Bian, like Xun Yu and others, was inclined to 'yes'.

Yuan Shao had the ambition to invade Yu and Xu states, and Cao Cao probably had the same ambition.

For example, a few years ago, he suddenly sent troops to seize Qiao County and single-handedly changed the situation in Jiangdong. At that time, the government and the public were furious, thinking that Cao Cao had ulterior motives.

Liu Bian was also noncommittal about Cao Cao's explanation afterwards.

Liu Bian sighed softly in his heart, and Liu Bian was also a little helpless.

In the last years of a dynasty, there are always those who are loyal and courageous, and there are also those who are treacherous and evil.

As an emperor, it is really difficult to judge whether he is loyal or evil.

Even with the perspective of later generations, it is still difficult for Liu Bian to make a judgment on Cao Cao.

'He is Qi Jin...'

Liu Bian looked towards Yuzhou in the south, his heart fluctuating.

Yuan Shao shouted to "respect the king and repel the barbarians", which is actually the same as Cao Cao's historical "coercing the emperor to order the princes". On the surface, he obeyed the Han Dynasty for his own benefit.

After all, Cao Cao was a traitor, and his son usurped the Han Dynasty and became independent.

"Let him return to Beijing."

Liu Bian's complicated and uncertain thoughts were suddenly swept away, he took a sip of tea and said calmly.

Xun Yu couldn't guess what Liu Bian was thinking, so he raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty, what is your position?"

Liu Bian's eyes were firm and he said: "It's time for the Grand Sima's Mansion to make some changes. The Grand Sima will have left and right Sima and four generals. The Qing family will discuss the specific official positions with the Grand Sima. However, when Cao Cao comes back, he will be responsible for the promotion." Yu and Xu are already in charge of the separation of military and political affairs. Everything in the north is basically stable and cannot be delayed any longer."

For many reasons, in the northern states in the hands of the imperial court, such as Jizhou and Qingzhou, the implementation of "separation of military and political affairs" has been suspended or taken in small steps, and has not been fully promoted.

Xun Yu also put aside his panic at this moment, thinking over and over again in his mind, and said: "Your Majesty, although the Minister of War is a civil official, he is also in charge of commanding the army. Can Cao Cao be the Minister of War?"

In Liu Bian's reforms, the Bing Cao was responsible for commanding the troops, and the Grand Sima Mansion was responsible for deploying the troops.

The meaning of Xun Yu's words was very simple. He still didn't want Cao Cao to have access to the power to mobilize troops.

Liu Bian shook his head and said: "Back then, I made an agreement with Cao Cao to let Cao Cao return to Da Sima's house. When Yuzhou is stabilized, the Qing family will find a time to communicate with Da Sima and transfer him back. There was opposition in the court. The Qing family wants to talk to them, don't hold on to them all the time, the country's affairs are complicated, and we still have to focus on doing things."

Xun Yu understood and said: "Your Majesty, should Liu Bei also be transferred to the imperial court? Sun Ce has repeatedly defeated Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, even more fiercely than his father. I am worried that Liu Bei will not be able to defend Xuzhou."

This sentence made Liu Bian hesitate, and then he pondered.

Liu Bian still trusts Liu Bei's ability, but judging from his current performance, Liu Bian does not yet have the ability of the later Han Lie Emperor. He has been losing battles and has not performed amazingly.

Historically, he seems to have missed Xuzhou, right?

Liu Bian thought about it for a while and said: "Let him also go to the Grand Sima's Mansion. Let Zhang Liao be transferred to Xuzhou. Over in Hanzhong, let the Grand Sima's Mansion select others."

Liu Yan was dead, and Liu Zhang returned to Yizhou. After a hard struggle, he reluctantly took over Yizhou, but he was not the shepherd of Yizhou, his name was not justified, and he was still in a rather difficult situation.

In Yizhou, many officials did not recognize Liu Zhang, and under the banner of "loving the imperial court", they repeatedly made things difficult for Liu Zhang.

Therefore, Hanzhong, which guarded the main road between Jizhou and the imperial court, was not so dangerous. "What about Xuzhou Mu?" Xun Yu asked. He had no objection to transferring Zhang Liao to Xuzhou.

Liu Bian glanced at him, picked up the tea cup again, and said: "Tune Zhu Fu to Xuzhou Mu temporarily."

Xun Yu's expression moved slightly, Zhu Fu?

Zhu Fu, Zhu Jun's son, was originally the governor of Jiaozhi. Faced with the attacks of foreign tribes and Yuan Shu, he disappeared after his defeat. Did he return to Luoyang alive?

Xun Yu nodded obediently and then said: "Your Majesty, have Yu and Xu decided to take action against Liangzhou?"

In the entire north, only Liangzhou was not in the hands of the imperial court.

In the past few years, the "Three Qiang" have been hoping to "submit themselves to the imperial court". In fact, they were asking for benefits, but Liu Bian rejected them all.

Seeing that the imperial court continued to gain momentum, Sanqiang once again submitted a letter to reduce the "chips", with the meaning of "everything is safe" both inside and outside the words.

Liu Bian felt that the tea cup in his hand was a little cold, so he made tea again, his eyes turned, and said: "I heard that Wuhuan is also ready to make a move?"

The weather has been extremely cold in the past two years, and life has been very difficult for the nomads outside the Great Wall. Therefore, Liu Yu's appeasement strategy began to loosen, and things that disturbed the border areas occurred again.

Xun Yu sat opposite Liu Bian and said, "Yes. Xianbei seems to want to unify the desert. They have repeatedly launched troops against Wuhuan, Xiongnu, etc., and the Xiongnu has asked for help many times."

Liu Bian stopped making tea and said calmly: "How is the cavalry training going?"

Xun Yu asked Qu Zhiya what he meant, and said: "There are ten thousand cavalry in the Forbidden Army camp, plus other places, the total is about thirty thousand."

Liu Bian hummed, refilled his cup of tea, held him in his arms, looked at him, and said, "The Qing family thinks, when will our Han cavalry be able to reappear in the desert and wipe out the barbarian troubles?"

Xun Yu's heart tightened, and he bowed and said: "Your Majesty, as I see it, it will last at least ten years."

He didn't explain, he just said the number 'ten years' flatly.

I think back then, the reason why Wei Huo was able to defeat the Xiongnu was because he had a strong family background accumulated over several generations.

In each battle, hundreds of thousands of logistics personnel were mobilized. Not counting money and food, there were at least three horses per person, and the losses on return were more than 60%!

Such an intensity was not something the weakened Han Dynasty could bear.

Xun Yu didn't say anything because Liu Bian knew it well.

Liu Bian took a sip of tea, smiled and said, "If you all work hard, it may not take that long."

Xun Yu bowed and did not make any 'quibbles'.

The reason why I said 'ten years' was to appease His Majesty in front of me, and I deliberately said it less.

The Han Dynasty was troubled by internal and external troubles, and the court could not make ends meet every year. The "New Deal" was too difficult to implement, and it took only ten years to calm the world.

If you want to regain your strength, twenty years is the starting point.

"Sanqiang's matter is not urgent."

Liu Bian did not continue the topic of the desert and said: "On the Xiongnu side, send appropriate troops to support them and give them some food and grass. On the Wuhuan side, we must pay equal attention to kindness and power, and don't be polite."

The Xiongnu and Wuhuan are basically the younger brothers of the Han Dynasty, but they gradually started to rebel as the Han Dynasty weakened.

Xun Yu responded knowingly and said: "Your Majesty, Liu Biao from Jingzhou and Shi Xie from Jiaozhi, I think they can still be won over. They should be loyal to the imperial court."

After being beaten repeatedly by Liu Bian, Liu Biao had already chosen to sit on the sidelines and watch the situation change, waiting for the opportunity.

The performance of the scholar family was different. On the surface, they respected the Han Dynasty court very much. They paid tribute persistently and spoke sincerely in their memorials. They seemed to be loyal ministers and good generals. But behind his back, he held Jiaozhi tightly in his hand, unable to splash water.

Liu Bian took a sip of tea and said: "Just show your heart to the imperial court. Send them a document and reward them. Sun Ce attacks Marquis of Wucheng, and Sun Jing becomes the prefect of Wu County. In this way, the south may be quiet for a while."

Xun Yu knew that the person in front of him was not a 'quiet' person, so he said: "Your Majesty, after the change of Yuan Dynasty, will you inspect the two states of Ji and Qing?"

Liu Bian was startled, what does this mean?

After thinking for a while, Liu Bian did not figure out what Xun Yu was implying, and said: "Inspection should also be regarded as inspection of the world."

When Xun Yu saw this, he understood and said: "Your Majesty, destroying Dong Zhuo is the sign of ZTE. Should you enshrine him in Mount Tai?"

Liu Bian raised his eyebrows, and that was what he meant.

After thinking about it, Liu Bian still shook his head and said, "It's not interesting. By the way, what do the Qing family think of the ninth-grade Zhongzheng system?"

"There is quite a bit of criticism in the court, and the ministers are still discussing it." Xun Yu continued.

The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System was proposed by Chen Qun on the surface, but the news revealed from the palace was the result of the guidance of His Majesty.

This nine-level Zhongzheng system divides officials into three, six or nine grades. The most controversial point is that this 'nine-level Zhongzheng system' has changed the previous 'inspection and promotion system' and usurped the recommendation of officials, especially high-ranking officials. right.

The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System has been around for several years, and there have been constant disputes in the court, which Liu Bian can understand.

“When it comes to big exams, there’s not enough going on.”

Liu Bian changed the topic again and said: "The two states of Yu and Xu are about to return, and the court needs more officials, big and small. Starting from next year, the standards of Qiuwei will be upgraded. The Minister of Li Cao and the Minister of Taichang Temple will jointly be the chief examiners. The first fifty When I enter the Chongde Hall, I will personally take the exam, award and appoint him in person. Officials recommended by various places will also participate in the Qiu Wei, and those who are unqualified will not be appointed."

Xun Yu felt the strong pressure, took a deep breath and said: "I accept the order."

As a result, there will be more disputes between the government and the opposition.

This will be a huge test for him as prime minister.

"Tai Xue, how is the implementation of Hongdu School?" Liu Bian asked again before Xun Yu could react.

At this point, Liu Bian's purpose was already obvious.

Xun Yu's face moved and he said: "With the promotion of Taichang Temple and others, more than 70 schools have been established in various states, with more than 30,000 enrollments. Next year, more than 100 students will pass the Qiu Wei and become officials. "

"Hundreds?"

Liu Bian frowned, then nodded slightly.

It is difficult for ordinary people to enter school, and it is even more difficult to persist until the completion of their studies. It is even more difficult to think of Luoyang passing Qiuwei.

Here, it is not only the gentry that monopolizes the opportunity to study, but also the reason why the common people do not have the financial resources to support themselves until the end of their studies.

In an extremely rigid society, even if Liu Bian opens a hole and gives him a chance, the people still need to try their best and have enough chance.

Even among the hundreds of people who have joined the officialdom, more than half of them are probably inseparable from the aristocratic families.

Liu Bian knew in his heart that these things could not be rushed, but he still couldn't bear it and wanted to give the common people a certain 'share'.

But he knew that even if there was such a share, not many of it would actually fall into the hands of the common people.

If we want the common people to grow up and break the monopoly of power by aristocratic families, there is a long way to go.

(End of this chapter)