I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 440 Advice
As a person in a high position, it is very satisfying to use secret police politics.

Use it all the time, always enjoy it.

It was indeed beyond Liu Bian's expectation that Yin Xiu would be so decisive in asking for forgiveness, but he was still easily able to control him since he already had the intelligence.

However, the fact that Shaofuqing, one of the nine ministers of the dynasty, went to the West Garden to apologize by carrying a thorny stick on his back was no small matter.

On the way back to the palace from the West Garden, at the palace gate, Guo Sheng suddenly said to Liu Bian: "Your Majesty, Minister of Rites Cai Gong is waiting in front and said he wants to see Your Majesty..."

Cai Yong had come looking for him, and it would be bad if he didn't see him. Liu Bian thought for a moment and got out of the carriage. He saw Cai Yong standing by the palace gate, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Hey, Master Cai, why are you doing this?" Liu Bian came to Cai Yong and saw that Cai Yong had a lot of sweat on his forehead because he was being exposed to the afternoon sun.

Seeing the palace gatekeeper waiting nearby, Liu Bian scolded him, "Since you see the Lord of the Temple of Heavenly Monarch here, don't you know how to find something to protect him from the sun?"

"Don't blame him, it's because I don't need him." Cai Yong said, and he didn't forget to mock Liu Bian, "Otherwise, if I don't work harder, how can I see Your Majesty?"

Liu Bian smiled awkwardly and used his old excuse: "Master Cai, please don't be offended. I have been staying in the palace less recently, but haven't I delayed my government affairs?"

"And I read all of Master Cai's memorials without missing a single one."

"Master Cai came into the palace to talk?"

Although Cai Yong was very dissatisfied with the emperor's slackness during this period and could not wait to advise him in person, seeing that Liu Bian's attitude towards him was as respectful as ever and he did not care about the sarcasm in his words, he listened to Liu Bian.

After entering the palace gate, Liu Bian asked knowingly on his way to the palace: "Master Cai is waiting here so anxiously, is there something urgent?"

"If it is a major matter, you can send it to the Shangshutai first when I am not here, or directly inform the Taifu and the two Ping Shangshu."

Naturally, there was an urgent matter. Although Cai Yong didn't know the reason why Yin Xiu came to ask for forgiveness, he could guess it based on the current atmosphere in Luoyang.

He advised, "Your Majesty, Yin Shaofu is a minister after all. His open apology in broad daylight not only undermines the dignity of the court, but also the hearts of all officials."

"Now, because of the matter of the School Affairs Department, the officials in Luoyang are in a panic. Unrest will breed trouble..."

"Master Cai," Liu Bian suddenly interrupted and asked, "I have a question. Is Master Cai afraid of the School Affairs Department?"

"I am not afraid at all!" Cai Yong said with his back straight and head held high.

Liu Bian smiled and replied, "That's it. If Yin Shaofu could be as upright as Master Cai, and act in accordance with his words and deeds, and have a clear conscience, even if I force him to bear the thorns and apologize, would he be willing?"

Cai Yong paused for a moment - what the emperor said did make some sense.

However, he immediately came to his senses and advised: "In the past, Emperor Xiaowu trusted the Embroidered Uniform Envoy, but he entrusted the wrong person. Because of Jiang Chong, the Crown Prince was in trouble. Now the Ministry of Education is growing stronger, but there is no one to control it. Your Majesty, aren't you afraid of the next Jiang Chong?"

In his opinion, the harm caused by the School Affairs Department was even greater than Liu Bian's "lazy governance" which did not delay the affairs of state.

"Who says it's not?"

When Cai Yong heard Liu Bian say this, he was stunned.

But Liu Bian continued, "That's why I placed Wu Fu in the School Affairs Department as the deputy."

Cai Yong immediately recalled the image of Wu Fu in his memory - a man of upright character, who used his mouth as a sword, and who was more like a censor than any other assistant censor in the Censorate.

Wu Fu's character should be fine, but... Cai Yong thought of Jia Xu in his memory. How could such a hidden person be supervised by a straightforward person like Wu Fu?
He was about to speak when he heard Liu Bian say, "But Master Cai's words also make sense. We really need to strengthen supervision. How about this? I send another eunuch to the Ministry of School Affairs. What do you think, Master Cai?"

"Absolutely not! I believe Wu Fu is a man of integrity and capable of taking on this responsibility." After Cai Yong said this instinctively, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

But for a moment, I couldn't remember it.

"Master Cai has a keen eye. I feel relieved after hearing this."

The two continued walking forward and were about to pass by the Shangshu Terrace. Liu Bian suggested, "Master Cai, would you like to go to the Shangshu Terrace with me?"

"I am an outsider, and it is not appropriate for me to enter the Secretariat." Cai Yong declined.

"It's okay, I'm here!"

After entering the Secretariat, the eunuchs headed by Gai Xun did not bother to greet them. After Liu Bian asked them to continue with their work, the Secretariat returned to its original orderly state.

All kinds of memorials and official documents were processed into different categories. Some had been sent to Yuntai Hall for processing and were waiting to be sent to the Sangong Mansion and other executive agencies, while others needed to be processed urgently.

The six ministers of the six departments, Xun Yu, Hua Xin, Chen Qun, Kong Rong, Zhou Bi and Xu Jing, coordinated the preliminary opinions provided by their ministers according to their different division of labor. Eventually, they were summarized by the left and right chancellors, and handed over to the minister-in-chief Gai Xun for review before being sent to the Yuntai Palace.

Liu Bian took Cai Yong to see the current situation of the Shangshutai. Almost everyone was busy. Then he took him into an empty room and asked, "Master Cai, did you see the Southern Guest Cao Kong Gongxu just now?"

Cai Yong nodded.

Liu Bian said: "In fact, when Kong Gongxu first arrived in Luoyang, he made friends with He Boqiu and there was a lot of resentment in their conversation. Although he had some talent at that time, he was more good at boasting."

"But in the past five years in the Shangshutai, he has gradually become less aggressive and no longer makes inappropriate remarks. That's why he was promoted from Shangshulang to Shangshu of the Shounan Zhukecao this year."

"At this moment, if someone brings up Kong Gongxu's complaints from the past, I will not blame him for it, because I know that he has been in the Shangshutai for five years and is no longer the same as before."

"I know this, so I can employ people without doubt."

Cai Yong sighed slightly. He originally came to advise the emperor, but in the end it seemed like he was being persuaded by the emperor instead.

At least, Cai Yong thought that there was no big problem in following the emperor's idea.

Liu Bian added: "In fact, since Emperor Guangwu established the Secretariat, there have been several changes, and the number of officials in the Secretariat and its subordinates has increased."

"Although the six ministers now seem to have clear divisions of labor, in fact, the original division of labor is already somewhat outdated. If it weren't for the wrong timing, I would have wanted to change it again."

Seeing Liu Bian's serious words, Cai Yong asked, "What changes does Your Majesty plan to make?"

Liu Bian said: "In fact, at present, the Shangshutai and the Three Dukes' Mansions are in frequent contact, and after the Three Dukes' Mansions receive the imperial edicts from the Shangshutai, they send the imperial edicts to the Nine Ministers..."

"I intend to simplify this intermediate step."

"Your Majesty, are you going to abolish the Three Dukes' Offices?" Cai Yong asked in shock.

"It is not abolished, but merged with the Shangshutai."

This time, Cai Yong was even more shocked - "Your Majesty wants to abolish the inner court?"

This was the inner court that had been established by Emperor Xiaowu, and Emperor Guangwu had done his best to prevent outside officials from interfering!
(End of this chapter)