I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 601 Planning Personnel

When Lu Zhi woke up, he found Jia Xu quietly waiting for him to wake up. Seeing this, he immediately asked his youngest son, Lu Yu, who was already fifteen years old, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu quickly said, "Please forgive me, Lord Lu. I was the one who stopped you from waking him up."

Lu Zhi was helped up from the recliner by Lu Yu and invited Jia Xu into the house. After they sat down, he said with a gentle expression, "Since I became ill, I have become increasingly sleepy. I originally wanted to sort out all I have learned in my spare time, but now I don't have the energy to do so."

Having said that, Jia Xu looked at Lu Zhi's mood and did not feel sorry for himself.

Jia Xu thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty once said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. You have traveled more than ten thousand miles. And your deeds, when people hear about them later, are worth more than a thousand words!"

Lu Zhi lived a very contented life after retirement. After listening to Jia Xu's words, he couldn't help but smile. He was indeed worthy of being Jia Wenhe, speaking so nicely.

He asked, "Wenhe is busy in the school affairs department. How come he has time to come to my place today?"

He trusted his two sons who had already entered officialdom, and did not doubt that Jia Wenhe came on official business.

Jia Xu then told Lu Zhi that he had left the Ministry of Education and was about to go to the Secretariat.

Lu Zhi was indeed well-informed. After a few words, he realized that Jia Xu had probably stayed in the school affairs department for too long. When he left, even though he had a better place to go, he still felt a little confused.

In fact, according to their past friendship, Jia Xu and Lu Zhi were not very close. But then again, Jia Xu was in the School Affairs Department, and how many people were close to him? It was impossible for him not to look for Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo at this time!
Once the problem is found, the rest is easy to solve.

"Wenhe, do you know what I thought when I first met you?"

"I don't know." Jia Xu certainly didn't know. He remembered that when he was summoned to Luoyang by General He Jin, Lu Zhi was already a famous scholar throughout the world and was also responsible for teaching the prince.

At that time, he was just an ordinary minor officer from the border area. If he were in Luoyang, throwing a stone into the sky might hit one or two people.

Lu Zhi said: "When I heard that you were recruited as an official in the Prince's Palace, I deliberately inquired about your news. After all, the Prince's Palace should not have treacherous people. Then I heard the story of the general testing you. I knew that you chose to hide your incompetence. At that time, I knew that you must have experienced many setbacks when you were young, which should not have happened..."

Jia Xu was quite moved when he heard this. Lu Zhi's words really touched his heart - who didn't have a passion for life when they were young? Back then, he was selected as a filial and honest official by the county. It should be noted that there were not many places for filial and honest officials in Wuwei County, Liangzhou, and he was also a talented person at that time.

But the reason why he became what he is now is because he has been in the Third Office for many years but never got a chance to advance further, and there is always a lack of people with white hair in the Third Office. No matter how outstanding one's talent is, it cannot compare to family background and wealth...

Even the gate and wealth were unreliable, because Jia Xu once watched a tall building collapse and burn to ashes overnight.

At that time, realizing that he, who came from Liangzhou, would never have a chance to make a name for himself in Luoyang, Jia Xu resigned from his position as a Langguan in the Three Departments due to illness.

Thinking of the past...Jia Xu thought of the present.

Things are different now. He has wasted half his life and finally met a wise leader. Instead of taking the opportunity to realize his ambitions, he is acting like a child?

Thinking of this, Jia Xu immediately bowed to Lu Zhi and said, "Thank you for your explanation, Lord Lu. I understand now. I will go to the Shangshutai to take up my post and visit Lord Lu again someday."

"Go!" Lu Zhi waved his hand with a smile, and said, "I am old, so I won't see you off. Yu'er, you can do it for me."

Lu Zhi looked at Jia Xu's back as he left. In fact, Jia Xu had long been different from before, whether he was making suggestions or taking responsibilities. It was just that the position of the Colonel was special, so Jia Xu had not come to the front, so he was not yet used to his changes.

When Lu Yu came back, Lu Zhi said, "I've had enough sleep today. Let's prepare the carriage and go to Kang Cheng's place to have some tea..."

"Yes!" When he heard that he was going out, Lu Yu, whose situation was much better than in history, immediately became happy.

"By the way, let Kang Cheng test your knowledge."

Having Zheng Xuan test his knowledge was an opportunity that ordinary scholars would only dream of, but it immediately made the smile shift from Lu Yu's face to Lu Zhi's face.

On the other side, Jia Xu said goodbye to Lu Yu after leaving Lu Zhi's house and returned to the carriage, thinking in his heart - no matter what others think of him, as long as he just does what he has to do, it is enough!
It is said that Jia Xu came to the Shangshu Tai. After all, he was the leader in building the organizational structure of the School Affairs Department. He discovered the problem after staying there for less than a quarter of an hour.

He asked Xun Yu, "Wen Ruo, I noticed that the six departments of the Shangshutai have clear division of labor and responsibilities, but why do the Shangshu Langs under each department still maintain the previous unclear division of power and responsibility?"

Xun Yu explained, "The Secretariat has many affairs to deal with, and every night, a secretary must be left in the Secretariat to keep watch in case of emergency. Therefore, the secretary should have the ability to handle affairs on behalf of the secretary at critical moments. In this way, when the secretary arrives at the Secretariat, he only needs to learn from his colleagues for a period of time, and he will be able to master the relevant affairs... Whether they are sent out as officials or as secretaries in the future, it will be beneficial to them."

Jia Xu thought of the situation he had faced before and asked, "Isn't Wen Ruo worried that the newcomers will not be able to meet the requirements when faced with a lot of official duties?"

"No!" Xun Yu replied, "These official duties are simple to begin with. Even if the new Shangshulang cannot learn them all at once, it will only take him a little longer at most."

Jia Xu was about to say that it didn't matter if he could never learn it, but before he could say it, he suddenly realized that the Shangshulang in the Shangshutai were all the best of the best, one in a million, and they were not like his School Affairs Department.

Such people, as long as they are not just filling in the gaps, can indeed learn very quickly.

Moreover, according to Xun Yu, the Shangshulang were indeed worthy of further training.

But he still insisted: "If we want to improve the efficiency of the Shangshutai, we need to further clarify the powers and responsibilities of the Shangshulang. Different from the Shangshulang, we can emulate the Shangshu Pushe in the Ling."

In fact, Xun Yu had already been thinking about this issue when Jia Xu raised it, and he also realized that the problem Jia Xu mentioned did exist.

However, it is not as easy to determine the powers and responsibilities of the Shangshu Lang as it is to divide them into six departments, because there are many Shangshu Langs. For example, for the annual examination, should the Shangshu Langs be responsible for several prefectures and counties? In actual operation, these certainly cannot be completed by one person alone.

But Jia Xu provided Xun Yu with a new solution.

What does it mean to imitate the Shangshu Pushe to Ling? It is nothing more than distinguishing the upper and lower levels among the Shangshu Langzhong!

Xun Yu first instinctively felt that it was inappropriate, but then he realized that this was indeed a feasible method.

"It's just that the Shangshu Lang obeys the Shangshu and is on an equal footing with other Shangshu Langs. If there are differences of opinion, they can debate a little. If the Shangshu Langs are treated differently, I'm afraid there will be a culture of comparison in the Shangshu Office. There will also be Shangshu Langs who will seek promotion." For a moment, Jia Xu didn't know whether to praise Xun Yu for his confidence in the current Shangshu Langs or to say that Xun Yu has been in the Shangshu Office for a long time and is accustomed to the existing problems in the Shangshu Office. He felt that Xun Yu was probably the latter, because he was confused by the situation.

Even if the Shangshulang are on equal footing now, is there no intrigue among them?

In the School Affairs Department, those school officials who were promoted by him would victoriously ask for orders from him in order to have the opportunity to make meritorious contributions.

Jia Xu thought about it and felt that since he had just arrived at the Shangshutai, there was no need to refute Xun Yu's words, so he immediately said, "I heard that those who first became Shangshulang became Shoushangshulang in one year and Shilang in three years. If the official title is not changed, it can also be like the story of Shangshu Pushe and Shangshu."

Before the division of Left and Right Pushe, Shangshu Pushe and Shangshu both had a salary of 600 dan. When Shangshu Ling was not around, Pushe was the actual head of Shangshutai. But because they had the same official rank, Pushe's management of Shangshu was not as...reasonable as Shangshu Ling's?
In the past, there were emperors who chose to leave the position vacant in order to prevent it from becoming too powerful.

Jia Xu believed that if the official rank of Shangshulang of four hundred stones was not changed, the three titles of Shou Shangshulang, Shangshulang, and Shizhong, which were used to distinguish the qualifications of Shangshulang, could be used to represent the different powers and responsibilities under one Cao.

Xun Yu listened and did not object.

Jia Xu immediately pulled Xun Yu to write the memorial together, and later pulled Xun Yu to sign it together. Xun Yu felt that this was Jia Xu's achievement, and was reluctant to sign his name. However, he could not resist Jia Xu's remarks like "If Wen Ruo hadn't talked to me, how could I have considered it so thoroughly?" and "Does Wen Ruo think that I am a greedy person?", so he signed his name in the end.

……

On the other hand, Liu Bian had indeed thought that after Jia Xu arrived at the Secretariat, he would definitely bring new changes to the Secretariat, but he did not expect that Jia Xu would bring about changes so quickly.

Therefore, he should also consider the candidate for the post of Minister of the Secretariat.

Taiwei Zhu Jun has been fighting for many years and has been traveling back and forth between the north and the south, so his health is not very good. Although he is still sticking to his post now, Liu Bian would exploit his old minister by giving him another burden besides his work in the Taiwei Mansion.

Prime Minister Dong Zhuo's illness has not yet healed, and Lu Kang is over seventy years old...

Of the three ministers who were originally most suitable for taking charge of the affairs of the Secretariat, the only one who could actually do anything was the oldest one, Lu Kang.

However, Liu Bian thought about it and decided to put Zhu Jun on the list. He could then ask Zhu Jun to come once every five days, which was also a preferential treatment for the old minister. After all, being in charge of the affairs of the Shangshu did not mean that he would really handle the affairs of the Shangshu.

As for Dong Zhuo, although it would be embarrassing if anyone was missing, it was Dong Zhuo who was sick.

Given the current situation of the Three Dukes, it is reasonable to let Guanglu Xun select more outstanding officials from the three offices to fill the vacancies of officials in the Three Dukes' Offices, so as to relieve the Three Dukes of their worries and save them from having to consider recruiting talented people from where to serve as their officials.
Liu Bian felt that there were very few emperors like him who cared about their old ministers.

The three ministers wouldn't have any objections, right?

Then gradually reduce the number of officials that the three officials can recruit, and slowly make it a normal situation...

In addition to the three officials, there is also He Miao, a frequent guest in charge of recording the affairs of the Shangshu and the Shangshu of Ping...Now Liu Bian no longer needs He Miao to stand up for him, and he is also considering when to abolish the positions of the general and the general of the cavalry, which are not permanent in the system.

It can be seen from the fact that He Miao and Dong Zhong resigned voluntarily that they both understood that this day would come sooner or later.

Liu Bian could not treat them unfairly. On the one hand, he wanted to do so, and on the other hand, he had to guard against people accusing him of being mean and ungrateful.

So Liu Bian still added the name of his frequent visitor He Miao. As for Dong Zhong… He Miao at least had some experience and ability in handling Shangshu affairs, and Liu Bian didn’t care to talk about Dong Zhong. Liu Bian thought that he should be given the title of Shizhong when the time comes…

Soon Liu Bian realized that being in charge of the Secretariat was ultimately an assignment rather than an official position. Once He Miao lost his position as general, he would only have a title but no official position. If the Shizhong was in charge of the Secretariat, there might be duplication with the Shizhong who was in charge of reviewing imperial edicts.

Although the Shizhong is a basket that can hold anything, at least the two should be separated in the early stages of the establishment of the system.

In this way, even if the descendants are not good in the future, resulting in a powerful minister who is responsible for the formulation, review and implementation of imperial edicts, he can just be a minister. Although at that time, the title will be empty.

Thinking of this, Liu Bian began to try to find a new and suitable official position.

Although he did not find one after Emperor Guangwu, he did find one before Emperor Guangwu - Sanqi.

Sanqi was originally a Qin Dynasty system. Like the Zhongchangshi, they served the emperor and were responsible for advising the emperor on good deeds and correcting his mistakes, and for discussing the rise and fall of the emperor. In the Western Han Dynasty, most of them were additional positions for marquises, ministers, and generals.

However, the Shizhong, which was quite similar to the Sanqi, was originally an additional official position of this type. It was not an innovation that it became a formal official position after Emperor Guangwu.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties in history, the Zhong Changshi was destroyed, and Suiyi Sanqi and Zhong Changshi were merged into Sanqi Changshi. Later, Sanqi Changshi even did the work of the Zhongshu Sheng. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Zhongshu Sheng was merged into the Sanqi Sheng.

Liu Bian decided to let the Sanqi return to the court and give them the same rank as the Shizhong, which was equivalent to the rank of two thousand stones.

In this way, in addition to the Wanshi officials, the Sanqi can be in charge of the Shangshu affairs, and the Shizhong can be in charge of the excavation affairs, with clear division of labor.

Although this makes it seem that there are not enough people to handle the affairs of the Shangshu, as only Lu Kang is a complete person, He Miao is half a person, and Zhu Jun, who only works once every five days, is a small half...but with Jia Xu and Xun Yu as the left and right servants, the government should be able to run smoothly.

In essence, Liu Bian's reform of the Secretariat was to push the Secretariat, which originally belonged to the inner court, to the outer court, and further govern the country together with his important ministers.

This actually undermined Liu Bian's power to make decisions on his own.

But for the operation of the country, this kind of development is actually beneficial. The destructive power that can be caused by unbridled imperial power has long been demonstrated by Emperor Zhaogu.

And, most importantly, such a design can reduce Liu Bian’s workload.

He has always had a simple wish of living a long life.

After working so hard for so many years, he should enjoy the fruits of victory!

(End of this chapter)