I have lived forever since the end of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 424 Game, putting power back in the cage

The light white snow fell and danced in the air with the breeze, rendering the whole world crystal clear, as if there was no dirt at all.

However, no matter how cold the wind and snow outside the house are, the severe cold is still separated by high walls.

At this moment, Chen Luo was sitting in front of the document, listening carefully to Zhao Wan's confession.

When silence returned to the room, he sighed softly, inaudibly.

Half an hour ago, Zhao Wan arrived in a car despite the snow and wind. At first, she thought that the other party was in a mood to enjoy the first snow and have a few drinks.

Unexpectedly, Chen Luo was shocked by the first words he said.

"Boyu, Your Majesty wants me to be the prime minister, and you are also asked to teach me what to do."

This is really a big deal.

And this matter is full of doubts.

Liu Che chose Zhao Wan to serve as prime minister, even breaking the unspoken rule that "non-lords cannot be prime minister" that had been maintained since the founding of the Han Dynasty.

What are the considerations?

In terms of suitable candidates, Zhao Wan was not ranked high in the list of prime ministers.

But Liu Che told Zhao Wan directly that he wanted him to serve as the prime minister.

In an instant, the term "Chinese and foreign dynasty" popped up in Chen Luo's mind.

During the historical period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the term "Chinese and foreign dynasties" did not appear in official documents, laws, or edicts.

But this does not mean that Liu Che did not deliberately guide the emergence of "China and North Korea".

You must know that in history, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ruled the Han Dynasty for more than fifty years. There were a total of thirteen prime ministers under his command, but almost none of them were known to the public.

Speaking of the prime ministers of Emperor Wu's dynasty, except for Gongsun Hong, who was somewhat famous, Li Cai, Zhao Zhou, Shi Qing and others could not even remember their names.

The fame of these prime ministers was far suppressed by the generals of their contemporaries, and was completely inferior to Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Li Guang, Zhang Qian...

Even if it comes to literary ministers, the world is more familiar with Sang Hongyang and Dongfang Shuo.

From an objective point of view, if a prime minister has not made achievements that match his position, it may be a matter of personal ability. But if more than ten prime ministers have not made achievements that match their status, then it can be said that they are Is there a problem with your ability?

After eliminating the problems existing in these prime ministers, we need to change our thinking.

If Liu Che didn't want them to do things, he would use systems to restrict them, bypass them and directly discuss state affairs with other ministers, and then specifically arrange for a specific minister to be responsible when issuing an edict.

In this way, the prime minister became a decoration in the court.

Therefore, even if these prime ministers had original ideas, they had no chance to turn their ideas into practice, so it seems quite normal for their political careers to be written down in history books in just a few strokes.

At the same time that his thoughts suddenly became clear, Chen Luo turned his attention to the system that restricted the prime minister's work.

That is the "Chinese and Foreign Dynasty System".

After such a system was formed, it would undoubtedly greatly strengthen the imperial power.

After all, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty has special characteristics.

It seems that the title of the official position is the same, but it is different from the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, and it is also different from the prime ministers of those dynasties in later generations.

When Liu Bang was conquering the world, Xiao He organized households, unified the people, and formulated laws; Cao Shen was the king's vanguard, attacking cities and villages; Chen Ping made many ingenious plans; and there was also Chen Luo, who bridged the gap between Chu and Han.

They can be regarded as ruling the world together.

Therefore, in terms of power distribution, Liu Bang cannot monopolize all the fruits of victory.

Then the position of prime minister belongs to the historical background, a true response to objective reality, and is a typical representative of the meritorious faction to obtain benefits.

From Xiao He to Chen Luo, and then to Cao Shen and Chen Ping, although they did not express it explicitly, this line of thinking has actually continued.

This is why the unwritten rule that "non-marquis cannot serve as prime minister" came into being.

Emperor Xiaowen re-appointed Jia Yi in an attempt to break this political ecological pattern, but he did not go too far. When Jia Yi became the censor, he first made him a marquis based on his merits to reduce resistance.

However, the emergence of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion made Liu Heng fall short, and the position of prime minister was once again in the hands of the meritorious faction.

Now the ball is passed to Liu Che.

Wei Wan, currently in the position of Prime Minister, is already the weakest and easiest Prime Minister to deal with in recent years.

He obviously wanted to take this opportunity to elevate Zhao Wan to the position of prime minister, making him the first "white" prime minister.

This not only breaks the original unwritten political rules, but also allows the Prime Minister to be firmly controlled in the palm of his hand.

No matter whether he secretly sets up "China and North Korea" later or evades the prime minister, Liu Che will not encounter unstoppable resistance.

After seeing this clearly, Chen Luo hesitated in his heart.

Do you want to stop Liu Che?
After using the "Chinese and foreign court system" to circumvent the restrictions of the prime minister relative to the imperial power, it undoubtedly reduced the wrangling in the middle and accelerated the implementation of the policy.

Liu Che's ideas that were discussed in China and North Korea in the morning can be passed to specific ministers in the afternoon for them to implement them.

The extremely high political efficiency made the Han Dynasty a high-speed and compact machine in the war against the Xiongnu, eventually crushing the grassland.

But it is also a double-edged sword.

While the "Chinese and Foreign Dynasty System" improved efficiency, it also tore a huge hole in the cage that "imprisoned" imperial power. No one in the court could anymore check and balance it.

You must know that this supreme power, in the hands of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, became a sharp sword that stabbed the Xiongnu, and eliminated the threat posed by the grassland to the Xia.

If it were another emperor, would it be possible to achieve a good balance?

Even the great ancestor Liu Bang and the later Emperor Wu made many absurd decisions.

However, Liu Bang's power was controlled by his ministers and did not lead to serious mistakes.

The mistakes made by the elderly Liu Che's decision-making indeed caused irreparable effects.

Under such circumstances, allowing Liu Che to seize uncontrollable power seems to be irresponsible to the entire world.

Chen Luo raised his head and looked at Zhao Wan with deep eyes.

"Brother Zhao, what I say next may not be pleasant to hear. If you don't want to hear it, then I don't want to hurt the friendship between us."

Good medicine tastes bitter, but honest words offend the ears.

Doctors can guarantee that the bitter concoction can cure the disease, but no one can guarantee that the harsh words are really the right words.

Therefore, harsh advice is far more difficult to accept than bitter medicine.

Zhao Wan hesitated for a moment, then quickly made up his mind and said: "Please tell me, Boyu, there are some things I must know. After all, I really serve as the prime minister. In this position, I need to be responsible for the people of the entire Han Dynasty.

Compared with your words later, I am even more unwilling to let the people poke my spine from behind in the future, and let the historians curse me in the history books for my inaction. "

After all, I want to leave my name in history, not be infamy for eternity. Although I want to achieve the latter achievement, it is actually higher than the former, but if I really get it, I'm afraid I won't be able to rest in peace.

After hearing Zhao Wan's answer, Chen Luo said softly and slowly: "Then I will tell the truth.

From my point of view, the reason why Your Majesty chose Brother Zhao as the Prime Minister was not because of your ability or appreciation of your attitude, but because you have no family support and no outstanding achievements, which makes it easier to control. "

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

Even if Chen Luo used more euphemistic words, his words were still like a heavy stone that could smash a fragile heart into pieces.

If it were other unfamiliar people, they would probably get up in anger and walk away. Even those with a fierce temper might regard Chen Luo as an enemy after hearing this.

However, Zhao Wan only turned pale and showed no stress reaction.

He had already thought about countless possibilities on the road. Chen Luo's words sounded very rude, but they were very reasonable and might even be the truth.

If I want to compete with others for the position of prime minister, I really don't have enough confidence.

So His Majesty insists on helping him up. Apart from Boyu saying that he can control it easily, is there any other possibility?

Zhao Wan felt a tightness in her chest and stretched out her hand to rub the center of her brow, "Boyu, then I want to know, does your Majesty have any other purpose for letting me serve as prime minister besides being in control?"

After he accepted Chen Luo's statement, he did not choose to show it off, but wanted to break the casserole and get to the bottom of it and learn the truth.

Chen Luo was silent for a moment, not thinking whether to tell all his inferences.

After all, anyone who knows that he has become a tool will not feel good inside.

However, Liu Che will always be in a dominant position in the process of usurping the power of the prime minister and strengthening the imperial power.

Even if Zhao Wan doesn't cooperate now, he can still find another candidate.

unless……

Chen Luo pursed his lips.

After Zhao Wan took advantage of the situation and became prime minister, he did not follow Liu Che's plan and continued to restrict the imperial power and keep it firmly in a cage.

The first step of Liu Che's plan was to fail. Even if he wanted to adopt a new method, he might not be able to find the right time like now.

Sometimes opportunities only appear in an instant. If you miss it, you may have to wait several years for the same suitable opportunity to come across again, or you may never see it again in your lifetime.

After thinking about this, Chen Luo stared at Zhao Wan and said solemnly: "Brother Zhao, I'm afraid your Majesty not only wants to control you, but also wants to evade the entire prime minister's power and make the position of prime minister lose its original power.

I believe that His Majesty's doing this is just to implement the policy better.

But what about future emperors?
If a ruler like Hu Hai appeared and had supreme power, he would probably be Jie and Zhou of the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, I hope that you can continue to serve as prime minister, and when you become prime minister, you will continue to perform the original responsibilities of prime minister, and follow the example of Marquis Feng Wen and Marquis Yangxia Wenzhen. "

The reason why I chose to tell the truth and tell all my inner speculations was because in the face of Zhao Wan, concealing it would be bad.

If he wants to proceed according to his own arrangement, then Zhao Wan must understand the truth, otherwise he will not be able to implement the entire plan.

Therefore, confessing everything in the first place is undoubtedly the most correct decision.

Zhao Wan fell into silence, lowering her head and thinking quietly.

His desire for power is not very strong, which is actually the reason why he was selected by Liu Che.

After all, if someone who is thirsty for power ascends to the position of prime minister, then it will undoubtedly take a lot of struggle for the imperial power to overwhelm the prime minister and completely eclipse the prime minister.

But it was precisely because Zhao Wan had a weak desire for power that when he learned that Liu Che wanted him to serve as prime minister, he was not dazzled by the surprise, but instead fell into self-doubt.

Therefore, Zhao Wan chose to visit Chen Luo to explore the deeper meaning of Liu Che's move.

He was deeply surprised to get such an answer, but he felt it was extremely reasonable.

This also means that it’s time to make a choice.

You must know that if you follow Liu Che's arrangement, you can get a position and sit in this position below one person. Even if part of it is usurped by the imperial power, you will still be the one with the highest power among the officials.

You can even seek the title of prince by virtue of being the prime minister.

But what are the consequences?

Zhao Wan closed her eyes slightly.

After he leaves office, those successors who want to do practical things will probably yell at him, right?

The prime minister, who was supposed to hold the power, had become a decoration and no longer looked like a leader among officials. Even if he wanted to do practical things, it would depend on the emperor's face, and he would not be able to benefit the people even if he wanted to do so.

Moreover, Liu Che, who is currently sitting on the throne, is a Mingjun, but that does not mean that every emperor of the Han Dynasty will be a Mingjun in the future.

If you encounter a fatuous monarch, the prime minister will have no power.

That would be a disaster for the people of the world.

Thinking of this, Zhao Wan seemed to see words in the history books of later generations that recorded his inaction and scolded himself for being mediocre.

Every word is like a knife.

"Bo Yu said, I can do it, but I'm afraid that I don't have the ability of Marquis Feng Wen and Marquis Wenzhen of Yangxia, and I will end up making mistakes. Instead of doing this, I might as well resign and go back to my hometown to study, so as not to make mistakes. Save the common people." Zhao Wan raised her head and responded in a deep voice.

He had thought about it.

You can not leave your name in the history books, but you can never leave a bad name in the history books.

There is no big pursuit in this life, so we can't wipe out this little pursuit and completely turn it into the opposite.

In this case, there is no shame in running away.

Seeing Zhao Wan's confusion, Chen Luo said slowly: "If you are worried about whether you are capable of doing well, there is actually no need.

You won't face all problems alone.

When faced with difficult situations, I will face them with you and provide all possible support. "

Making such a promise to myself was not just a matter of words.

Looking at Chen Luo for a few seconds, Zhao Wan saw the sincerity in his eyes, took a deep breath, and asked solemnly: "If I do this, I can probably leave a good reputation in the history, right?"

"It must be possible." Chen Luo was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily.

Zhao Wan grinned, "That's it."

----

At the end of the Han Dynasty, famous generals and wise ministers emerged in large numbers, which attracted countless people to talk about in later generations.

In the last program, we talked about Wei Qing's uncle and nephew being admired by Chen Boyu and becoming officials, and they became famous.

Today we will talk about Zhao Wan, the first "White Prime Minister" in the Han Dynasty, a rather legendary figure. ——"Lecture Forum of Hundreds of Schools·Winds and Winds of Han and Wu" (Lecturer: Chen Luo, Professor of History Department of Chang'an University)
(End of this chapter)