Han family achievements

Chapter 420 The new boss

The first year of Jian'an, mid to late March.

Liu Bian appeared outside Pingyuan County. He passed through counties large and small and looked at countless deserted and lonely villages.

A group of people were riding horses, pretending to be ordinary business travelers, and were preparing to enter Pingyuan County.

Liu Bian staggered and looked up at the big sun in the sky. He wiped his sweat and said, "Is it going to be summer?"

Lu Yu held a stack of official documents in his hand and said without even raising his head: "Your Majesty, the Chancellor's Office has doubts about the progress of Bingzhou's 'New Deal' and has asked the Censor's Office to send an inspector to monitor the Censorship, and is considering setting up another postal inspector. "

Liu Bian hummed and said, "That's right."

Lu Yu quickly took a pen and drew a circle on this memorial, then picked up the next one and said: "Wuyuan reported to the Grand Sima Mansion that the Huns seemed to be moving, and they are investigating."

Liu Bian was stunned for a moment, then looked back at Lu Yu and said, "Xiongnu? What did Cao Cao say?"

Lu Yu also raised his head and said: "Cao Sima added a note in the memorial: Don't be afraid, strictly supervise."

Liu Bian nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense."

Hearing this, Lu Yu quickly drew another circle. Just as he was about to turn the next page, he quickly raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is news from the Yushitai that Liu Shijun refused to have sex on their wedding night, which resulted in a disagreement with the Sun family. Sun Ce and others were dissatisfied, thinking that Liu Shijun treated the Sun family harshly and wanted to take the loss back to Wu County. "

Liu Bian's first reaction was that Sun Ce was pretending to be aggrieved and asking for "compensation" from the court, but on second thought he felt that was not right.

Liu Bian pondered for a while, then turned to look at Sima Fang, Lu Yu and others behind him, and said, "Do you think Sun Ce is hinting at something? There are cracks in the alliance between Sun and Liu?"

Sima Fang was startled and said thoughtfully: "I thought it was possible. But, is there another reason why Liu Shijun doesn't sleep with Sun?"

Liu Bian laughed and said: "Everyone of them is not worried, they are just trying to cause trouble for me."

Sima Fang also shook his head secretly, wondering what Liu Bei was thinking.

On this wedding night, you left your beloved wife alone and held a political meeting with others in the main hall?

Even if we don't care about the Sun family, we don't care about the attitude of Marquis Wucheng of Wu County, the Luoyang court and the palace, we should still take one or two things into consideration, right?

"By the way, Your Majesty, Ambassador Liu once served as Prime Minister of Pingyuan." Suddenly, Lu Yu reminded.

Liu Bian nodded and said, "I know this. Is the current Prime Minister of Pingyuan Cui Jun?"

"Yes." Lu Yu said.

Liu Bian couldn't help but laugh again and said: "The influence of this eunuch is really everywhere."

Lu Yu and Sima Fang obviously knew this too, and kept silent with tense expressions.

Cui Jun's father, Cui Lie, bought an official position like Cao Cao's father, Cao Song. He spent 5 million to buy a Taiwei from the eunuch party, thus becoming one of the three nobles, and became prominent for a while.

After Liu Bian succeeded to the throne, he strived for stability in the complicated government situation, so he dealt with the eunuchs very restrainedly and did not kill them wantonly. Therefore, the Cui family was not greatly affected.

Cui Lie was dismissed from office and lived idle, but several of his sons still prospered in officialdom. The second son Cui Jun became Pingyuan County, equivalent to the prefect of a county.

Even though six years had passed, Liu Bian worked hard to eradicate bad governance and eradicate the bad influence caused by the eunuchs and the Yuan family, but the 'legacy' left by Emperor Ling still affected the Han Dynasty all the time and affected the Han Dynasty. Government is like a tarsal worm that cannot be eradicated.

"Your Majesty, Master Cui is quite practical." Sima Fang hesitated and defended Cui Jun.

Pingyuan County is a county under Qingzhou, and Sima Fang must protect it both emotionally and rationally.

"I'll find out what's going on after I go there."

Liu Bian didn't pay much attention to Sima Fang's words and said: "Qing family, your father's health has not been good recently. It is better to go back and take a look when you have time."

Sima Fang's expression tightened, he bowed his head and said, "Yes."

He didn't know if there were any other metaphors in Liu Bian's words, but his father Sima Jun was indeed approaching the end of his life, and it was unclear whether he could survive this year.

Not long after, they entered Pingyuan County. Sima Fang, Jia Heng and others resigned and left. Liu Bian and his party moved into an inconspicuous teahouse.

Lu Yu followed him like a shadow, holding a large number of memorials in his hand, placing them on Liu Bian's desk, and said: "Your Majesty, these are sent from the palace. The minister's desk is busy. Please review them as soon as possible."

Liu Bian hummed, took a sip of tea, looked out the window and said, "Second Young Master, not many people in Pingyuan County know me, right?"

Huangfu Jianchang immediately came forward and said: "Your Majesty, there should be none. Cui Jun has not been summoned in recent years, and other officials rarely have Luoyang's resume."

Liu Bian pondered and said, "Okay, let's proceed as planned."

Huangfu Jian's face showed a serious look on his face, but he still advised: "Your Majesty, this is too risky, please think about it again."

Liu Bian sat down, picked up the memorial and reviewed it, and said: "Everything is ready, what are you worried about? Okay, you sit here and pay attention to the movements of Yanzhou, Jizhou, and Xuzhou. Calculating the time, Cao Cao is expected to go there soon. It’s Yanzhou.”

Huangfu Jianchang was still worried. Seeing Liu Bian's resolute attitude, he did not dare to persuade him any more, but he was slightly surprised and said: "Your Majesty, Cao Sima, are you going to Yanzhou so soon? Bingzhou has been dealt with so quickly?"

Liu Bian read the memorial in his hand, approved a few sentences, picked up the next one, and said with a smile: "You underestimate Cao Cao's methods. What he did openly was for the court to see, but what he did secretly, You may not be able to find out. Bingzhou has a vast territory and a sparse population, so it is relatively easy. He has dealt with the most difficult part, and the rest is left to the Grand Sima Mansion to follow up. Fortunately, the most important thing is Jizhou. "

Yanzhou is the third state in Liu Bian's hands, and it is close to Sili. Therefore, he has always attached great importance to it. Most of the troops and horses are in the hands of Huang Zhong. However, in theory, Liu Dai, the state herdsman, still has military power. Man knows exactly how much he has in his hands.

But with Huang Zhong's checks and balances, and Liu Dai not being ambitious, there won't be any big troubles when dealing with it.

The most difficult thing is Jizhou.

Jizhou has been experiencing chaos all year round. Ying Shao spent a lot of effort to gain a foothold in Jizhou. Later, he was strongly attacked by the Black Mountain Army and almost fell to the whole state. With the help of Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and others, he was able to hold on.

Afterwards, Ying Shao naturally took control of all the power in Jizhou, including the military, taxes, grain, and appointment and dismissal of officials. It can be said that in Jizhou, he was a veritable "local emperor".

Ying Shao has always been a calm and powerful person, taciturn and rarely makes requests to the court. He copes with all difficulties by himself.

While receiving constant praise from the court, his prestige and power in Jizhou were further consolidated.

In addition, Jizhou controls the only salt field of the imperial court. Therefore, the importance of Jizhou has reached a new level. Once there is any trouble, the imperial court will be shaken and shaken three times.

"Wei Chen accepts the decree!" Huangfu Jianchang responded in a deep voice.

Liu Bian hummed and said, "Go ahead." Huangfu Jian was about to say something but hesitated, and finally said, "Wei Chen, please leave."

Lu Yu stood aside, not daring to speak, silently watching Liu Bian review the memorial.

On the other side, Sima Fang received a tip-off before he left Pingyuan County.

"Your Majesty,"

A little old man pretending to be an old farmer came outside Sima Fang's carriage and whispered: "Your Majesty's chariot is making moves and seems to be preparing to leave the city quietly."

Sima Fang sat in the carriage with an expressionless face and said to himself: "Is this another attack on the east?"

The old farmer whispered more and more: "Your Majesty came to Pingyuan County so obviously and brought the envoy with him. I'm afraid that this is not the purpose. Maybe he will kill the carbine and return to Yanzhou."

"It could also be Jizhou." Sima Fang said thoughtfully with his eyes twinkling.

The old farmer quietly glanced around and said: "I can be sure that it's not the envoy, otherwise I wouldn't have summoned the envoy. Besides, the envoy has done nothing wrong in Qingzhou. Even if your majesty sees something dirty, he won't do it." The blame will be placed on the envoy."

Sima Fang thought the same thing, so he was not so uneasy. He remained silent for a while and said, "Let everyone leave. Don't say anything else from Pingyuan County. Let's just pretend we don't know anything. Whoever is unlucky to be hit, I can only admit that I am unlucky, not that I, Sima Fang, will not save me."

"Yes." The old farmer outside the carriage responded.

Sima Fang's carriage continued to move forward at a somewhat fast speed, as if it was in a hurry to get back to Jinan, or as if it was deliberately avoiding something.

Pingyuan County, county government.

In the back hall, Cui Jun, with a square face and thick eyebrows, who was supposed to be the prime minister of Pingyuan County with the appearance of an upright man, had a sad face at the moment, flipping through the account books, and even counting with his fingers.

The household register stood in front of him, and he said bitterly: "Master Fu, don't forget it. I've been calculating it all night, and I really can't squeeze out the money. I'd better think of a way and ask the court to allocate it."

Cui Jun didn't hear anything and continued to count. At the same time, he frowned and said: "You also know the situation of the imperial court. Even if you can give it, don't expect much. Spring is about to start, canals will be dug, cattle will be plowed, grain will be planted, and officials' salaries will be paid. Before the summer harvest, we still have to suppress bandits, provide relief to the victims, and pay back the money we owed in previous years..."

The housekeeper could no longer laugh and could only sigh deeply.

The imperial court has no money, and Pingyuan County also has no money. But having no money does not mean that nothing is done, but more needs to be done.

There are so many people waiting for food with their mouths open. As officials, they cannot just ignore everything.

After a long while, Cui Jun took a long breath and suddenly said: "Can the money from Bingcao be withheld for the time being, or be paid less?"

"Absolutely not,"

The housekeeper was startled and said anxiously: "Master, this is not allowed! If they are forced to panic, let alone cause trouble, even if they do nothing and allow bandits to run rampant, Master will not do anything." There will be big trouble."

Cui Jun's face moved, his expression helpless, he looked out the door, his eyes gradually became firmer, and said: "I will be shameless again and entertain them."

The house editor hesitated at the corner of his mouth, but made no sound.

He knew who the 'they' in Cui Jun's words referred to, the wealthy gentry in Pingyuan County.

In the past, when government agencies were short of money, they would borrow money from them, not to mention the interest, but also came with various conditions.

Such as their transactions, the people they recommend, such as what to do for them, such as what not to do to them.

After years of accumulation, the government office has been at an absolute disadvantage against the big families, and it is almost impossible to obey orders.

Cui Jun knew the consequences of this situation continuing, but he had no choice. The court would not give money, taxes could not be collected, and so many people were crying for food. As a parent official, it would not matter if he gave up a little face. !

Cui Jun packed up the account books and was about to stand up when he suddenly said: "By the way, who is the new head of the household? Have you found out clearly?"

The chief secretary quickly said: "I heard some inquiries, saying that his surname is Liu, and he is related to Shangshutai. He may be a clan relative."

Cui Jun shook his head and said: "He is another living ancestor. Keep an eye on him and don't let him cause trouble. After half a year, he will be released by the county magistrate at some point. It has nothing to do with us."

Under the background of the imperial court's continuous recommendation for official recruitment, scholars who were admitted through the "big examination" often served as the head of the six prefectures and counties. Only those who performed well in the assessment were promoted.

Obviously, Cui Jun regarded the newly appointed head of the house as a descendant of a certain clan who came to be gilded, and would be promoted to other places within half a year at most.

"Your Majesty, I understand." The housekeeper replied, "Do you want your Majesty to accompany you tonight?"

Cui Jun stood up, walked out, and said: "I can do this embarrassing thing alone. By the way, those two villages are fighting again. I have to go there. You tell the soldiers to be more prepared." people."

"Okay, I'll go there right away," the chief said.

Cui Jun didn't say anything more and hurried out of the government office. He now had to stop Qing Zhuang and prepare to dig canals for spring plowing.

The government offices of Pingyuan County are very busy, no one is idle, and it is all the leading role of the Prime Minister Cui Jun.

Early the next morning.

A young man who was gorgeously dressed, with a warm jade on his waist, a gentle face, an approachable yet noble face, walked into the government office with a swagger, holding the official's appointment document.

When the busy people in the government office saw him, they just thought he was a young master from some aristocratic family who came to do something, so they avoided him and no one paid attention to him at all.

Liu Bian stood at the door for a while. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he looked back and forth, laughed, and wandered around the government office of Pingyuan County even more arrogantly.

I don’t know how old this government office is. It is quite old. There is nothing gorgeous about it, but it is relatively neat.

After wandering around for half an hour, Liu Bian felt a little thirsty, so he looked at the door of the 'house' not far away, walked directly over, walked in, and glanced at the somewhat empty check-in room. There were two or three big and small cats. When they saw the teapot on the table, they poured a cup and drank it as if no one was watching.

The three people who were working were stunned for a moment and looked at each other. After confirming that they didn't know each other, a clerk came over and yelled: "Who are you? This is the government office. If you have nothing to do, get out!"

Liu Bian just drank tea and handed over the appointment document in his hand.

The clerk took it doubtfully, glanced at it in a hurry, and saluted hurriedly: "I have seen Master Liu."

Others didn't know why, so they followed over. When they saw the document, they all followed suit and were quite flustered.

Liu Bian put down his tea cup and said with a smile: "No need to be polite. I, Liu Bo, am new here. Everyone should be kinder. Being kind makes you rich."

(End of this chapter)