A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 474: Studying Government Affairs Liu Shen inquires about politics and is the first to speak out about the Young Good Emperor
April 3rd
Taifu Bai Kang resigned from the post of Zhongzhengling and was replaced by Bai Gongyu.

As usual, Bai Kang should step down as Taifu and Zhongzheng Ling together, handing over the post to his son Bai Gong, and return to the country to take care of himself.

However, when the emperor was young, Emperor Zhuang personally entrusted him to him, so that Bai Kang could not leave just now, so he continued to serve as the Taifu, working tirelessly every day, entering the palace early to teach the emperor.

This was the first time in history that two princes of the Bai Kingdom came to the court and held court offices together.

The emperor Liu Shen was smart, benevolent and filial. Bai Kang often praised his abilities to his ministers, and he was a wise king.

One time, a minister made a mistake and accidentally wrote something wrong, and was scolded by Prime Minister Fei Yi.

Liu Shen happened to be watching the four auxiliary ministers handling government affairs. After hearing this, he summoned them to ask the reason.

At first, under the gaze of the four auxiliary ministers, the minister was too timid to speak.

Liu Shen pretended to be unhappy and said:

"An ancient book says: When the king and his ministers report to the right, when the king asks for advice, the ministers must answer the king's questions respectfully and honestly.

If the ministers talk endlessly and express their innermost opinions to the monarch like spilling beans, it means that the monarch's virtues can be spread all over the world, so the ministers have nothing to fear.

If the minister looks down and talks, he may remain silent, like stagnant water in a pothole, making no waves, which means that the fear of the monarch has reached the extreme, or he has been disappointed with the monarch's virtue and no longer trusts the monarch.

I ask myself that it has not been long since I first ascended to Dabao, and I have not yet spread my benevolence as far as the world, but I have not been rude at all, and I have not had time to do any bad things that would make people angry.

So what leaves you speechless?

Could it be that you are bullying me because I am young and do not understand political affairs, or because I am not pro-government and have no rights? "

The minister knelt on the ground sweating profusely and shouted:
"I am terrified, but it is actually because I am too ashamed of what I have done, so I have no face to tell you before you.

There is absolutely no way of despising His Majesty or even deceiving His Majesty.

On the contrary, I have heard many times that Your Majesty is smart and has the virtues of a loyal ancestor. I feel ashamed and dare not taint Your Majesty's ears. "

Liu Shen said:
"Otherwise, what I want to hear is not decided by you, but by myself.

If I want to listen to the writings of sages and sages, I must get close to the great Confucians and the high achievers, and abandon the words of the villain; if I want to listen to the mediocre music, I must get close to the actors and dancers, and abandon the words of the virtuous ministers.

I'm afraid that some dirty things will dirty my ears, but don't you say that these dirty things don't exist in this world?

Furthermore, I am the king of a country. If my subordinates only report good news but not bad news, I will definitely be complacent, thinking that the country is prosperous and prosperous, but I don't know that the country will be destroyed and will die tomorrow.

If all my ministers only speak words of praise and say little about the affairs of the market, I must be like a high-altitude god who thinks that one word can control the world, but does not know that I still need to bow down and do something personally.

So, is your behavior good or bad for me? "

The minister was so ashamed that Liu Shen couldn't help himself. He cried bitterly and told Liu Shen everything.

It turns out that since Liu Bei established the Ding Dynasty, although he has been upright and clear about the official system, with the expansion of the territory, the administrative organization has also expanded.

Liu Bei added the Shangshu Desk on the basis of the original Han Sangong and Jiuqing.

There are one Shangshu Ling, two Shangshu Pushe, six ministers (Li Cao, Dian Zhong, Wu Bing, Tian Cao, Du Zhi, Zuo Min), Zuo Cheng, You Cheng, Shi Lang, Ling Shi and others.

The Shangshutai is not only responsible for the review of edicts, but also for their implementation.

This greatly weakened the power of the three gongs and nine ministers, making them a false position. However, the three gongs and nine ministers could also become important ministers of the country, but they had to be added to the ministerial affairs before they could interfere with the secrets of the country.

Therefore, the Sangong and Jiuqing are still exercising part of the executive power, plus the six Cao Shangshu, which means that the Han Dynasty has two administrative agencies with overlapping powers.

Although there are Jiuqing and Shangshutai to handle government affairs together, and although the territory has expanded, the number of people has also increased. However, this not only did not speed up the passage of government orders, but also caused mutual pushback on some matters due to duplication and overlapping of powers.

The same thing was taken to the Shangshutai. The Shangshutai asked him to find Jiuqing, and then asked him to find the Shangshu.

If you are lucky, one of the two places will be connected and the matter will be resolved; if you are unlucky, the matter will be delayed after one or two visits.

Or it may become more serious and attract the attention of ministers with higher official positions. Only by personally intervening with important ministers can there be hope of solving the matter.

And this minister was seriously dragged down by the matters at hand, and finally attracted the attention of Prime Minister Fei Yi.

What a talented person Fei Yi was. He could see at a glance that this matter could have been solved completely at the minimum cost at the beginning, but it turned into a big problem that required huge amounts of money and manpower and material resources to solve. .

Therefore, he was angry and scolded him for being lazy and indolent.

After Liu Shen listened, he sighed:

"I can't blame you. This was my mistake. If I had discovered this problem earlier, you might not have to do this.

Not only that, I also want to praise you very much. If other people encounter problems like yours, they may give up and leave it to the later generations to solve.

But you didn't. Not only did you insist on reporting, but you also worked tirelessly every day. Even though you knew that this matter would cause you to be punished by the court, you still did it.

This is what a virtuous person should do. If you do this, it proves that you are a virtuous man and a great talent. You should not be scolded for your talents.

A meritorious official should not receive such treatment. On behalf of the Prime Minister, I take back the insult just now. Please continue to perform your duties for the sake of the country. I will never let you receive undeserved treatment again. "

The minister burst into tears and lay on the ground speechless. Fei Yi and the other four people who were watching the whole process also bowed their heads willingly and said:
"Your Majesty is holy."

Liu Shen personally rewarded the minister and asked him to go down and wait for news from the court.

He turned around and said to the four auxiliary ministers:
"Originally, since I have not been awarded the crown, I should not express my political opinions, so as not to cause many orders and chaos in the government.

But after listening to what the minister said just now, I really couldn't express my feelings. Is there really no way to solve this matter of mixed powers? "

Fei Yi cupped his hands and said:
"Your Majesty, it's not that it can't be solved. It's just that during the late emperor's time, this problem was not so serious, and the main focus was on pacifying Jiangdong, so the late emperor rarely gave instructions in this regard.

Today, it seems that this problem has reached a point where you can’t do it.

However, His Majesty has not yet taken charge of the government, and without His Majesty's orders, although we have methods, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, and we have no right to change the system on Your Majesty's behalf. This can only be solved after His Majesty takes charge and takes charge personally. "

Liu Shen said distressedly:
"But now the problem has arisen. You are determined to solve it, and I am also determined to change it, but because of the ancestral system, I am unable to do so. Isn't this too pedantic?

I heard that the reason why the emperor could only use the imperial seal after he took charge of the government was to prevent future kings from being young and giving random orders, causing the country to fall into turmoil.

But now the country is in turmoil, which could have been resolved in time, but just because we cling to the ancestral system and wait for chaos to bring disaster to the country, isn't it putting the cart before the horse and the world upside down?

When I hear that there is an emergency, I do an extraordinary thing, so there are generals who are not subject to orders from the king thousands of miles away.

Isn’t what is happening now something urgent and urgent? "

Taiwei Sima Shi said:
"Your Majesty, this matter is not that simple. If it involves the official system, it must involve personnel matters.

If we want to clarify powers and assign responsibilities, we must abolish and add government offices. This cannot be done overnight.

Secondly, who should be promoted, who should be demoted, who should be promoted, and who should be removed from office, all of these require careful consideration and repeated discussion, and cannot be done at once.

Otherwise, due to the hasty reform of the official system, officials will be dissatisfied, people will change their minds, and then fight for power and gain, endangering the country, and we may not be able to stop it. "

Liu Shen frowned and couldn't think of any solution. He could only sigh:
"It seems that I am still too young, inexperienced, and short-sighted. Fortunately, the captain warned me, otherwise I would have almost caused a catastrophe.

No matter what, there is no rush in advance. I also ask you to keep this matter in mind and think carefully about the solution. I will discuss it with you after I take charge.

I hope that by then, I and you will not be like now, discovering the problem but suffering from no solution and losing the opportunity to make up for it. "

Fei Yi and Master Sima bowed respectfully and said:

"Your Majesty is wise, I am lucky for you, and the whole world is lucky!"

Liu Shen waved his little hand and still frowned:
"But this matter cannot be left alone. Is there any way to temporarily replace it and slow down the corruption of this matter?"

Fei Yi was about to speak when Master Sima said first:
"Your Majesty, I think that we can issue an edict, explicitly requiring all levels of the imperial court to resolve matters that are within the scope of their authority as long as they receive local plans.

If the court finds out that there is a little bit of shirk and procrastination, which will aggravate the problem reported to the local government, the person may be demoted and demoted, or may be dismissed from office and imprisoned.

In this way, not only did the court officials dare not shirk the government affairs they had received, but they even served as dual officials, making the world's political orders more accessible.

However, if you want to ensure that this edict is effective, you must have a capable and respected minister as a supervisor. Once this behavior is discovered, it must be stopped and punished promptly.

Otherwise, this edict is just a piece of paper and has no binding force. "

Fei Yi looked at Master Sima secretly, frowning slightly, feeling that this matter was not simple.

Liu Shen fell into deep thought. He kept looking around at the four people in front of him. He didn't know the other ministers, and he didn't even trust them. Don't do bad things with good intentions.

Prime Minister Fei Yi not only had no time to oversee political affairs, but as a civil servant, if he was asked to take on this position, wouldn't he be supervising himself?

Zhen Qian, the general of the Fu State, and his mother often spoke ill of him in front of him, and had selfish motives. Moreover, when he played the right words just now, he would only echo the words of the King of the North, and he had no opinions of his own, so he was not suitable.

Is the King of the North Land a clan member? Being able to assist the government is already a privilege. If he is given the power to supervise and punish, he may not be able to lose his power and is not suitable.

It seems that only Master Sima is left.

It has to be said that after Bai Kang's painstaking personal education, the blessing of Bai's thousands of years of educational experience, and Liu Shen's own talent, it is terrifying for an eleven-year-old child to have such a scheming mind.

About half an hour later, Liu Shen opened his eyes again and said slightly tiredly: "I have made a decision."

Fei and Yi put down their political affairs and returned to the king to listen:

"Since the Taiwei has the solution, I have decided to leave this matter to the Taiwei. Do you agree?"

"I will obey your orders."

"I have decided that Taiwei and Wen County Hou Sima Shi will concurrently serve as Yushi Zhongcheng, responsible for the inspection of all officials.

If there is a person who commits crimes and shirks government orders, with a weight of less than 1,000 stones, the Taiwei can execute the sentence himself and send it to the Tingwei Mansion for execution, but it still needs to be reported to the Auxiliary Council for notification.

For orders of more than 1,000 stones, the Taiwei must report it to the Auxiliary Council for discussion and approval, and then hand it over to the Tingwei Mansion for execution.

Do you think so? "

The other three thought for a while and thought there was no problem, so they agreed.

So the four people appointed the Taiwei Sima Shi as the Censor Zhongcheng, and the new scope of authority of the Censorship Station was formed into an edict.

Four ministers stamped the seals, and Liu Shen even personally asked for jade seals from the queen mothers of the two palaces and stamped the seals.

This is the first time that an edict with the emperor's seal has appeared since the Queen Mother of the two palaces announced that she had given up her right to listen to the government.

He also moved Meng Huo, the former censor, to the position of Hongluqing, in charge of the ceremonies of homage, appointments, banquets, and suburban welcomes to the kings, princes, and attached tribes, as well as the reception of local officials from various counties.

Along with the promulgation of the edict, there was also Liu Shen's performance in the government palace, because there were not only four auxiliary ministers present, but also other officials who were constantly coming in and out.
They witnessed Liu Shen's handling of this political incident at the tender age of eleven.

and spread the word.

As evidenced by the seal on the edict, Liu Shen's reputation as a young wise emperor soon spread throughout Luoyang, Sizhou and even as far as Siyi.

Everyone in the world believed that the next prosperity of the Han Dynasty was coming again.

The Han Dynasty, which was originally in turmoil due to the death of Liu Xuan, suddenly calmed down. After hearing about it, barbarians from all over the world also sent envoys to pay tribute. Even the State of Wu also sent people to send congratulatory gifts for the new king Liu Shen to succeed to the throne.

The careerists in the shadows have put away their inner desires; officials and people are also eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the next great Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)