Can I get to the other side?

On the third day after Zhen Mi arrived in Chang'an, Liu Xie announced in the morning the decision to canonize Lu Lingqi as the queen and the prince Liu Jue as the prince.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar.

All the ministers were extremely shocked by this.

Before Liu Xie announced this decision, all the officials in the court were speculating on who would be the queen.

Some people think that Lu Lingqi will get it. After all, Lu Lingqi has a profound background, and Lu Bu has outstanding military achievements and is deeply trusted by the emperor.

Although the second "Queen Lu" makes some people feel scared, this Queen Lu is not the other Queen Lu, after all, they are different.

Moreover, when Ma Chao attacked Chang'an, Lu Lingqi's words when she stood up to oppose Fu Wan's sacrifice of the queen also impressed many people.

Therefore, many ministers thought that the post would go to the noble Lu.

However, some ministers believed that Lu Lingqi had no children, but Zhen Mi had a son and was favored by the emperor, so she would be more likely to win the post.

The most important thing is that Lu Bu's status is already high enough. If Lu Lingqi is given the position of empress, it will be suspected that his relatives will become bigger.

Everyone felt that the queen position belonged to either Lu Lingqi or Zhen Mi. As for the other concubines, they were not among the candidates at all.

Because no matter whether they are favored by the emperor or their status and background, they cannot be compared with the two above.

But what no one expected was that the emperor actually divided the posthumous position and the crown prince position into two parts, giving the latter position to Lu Lingqi and the crown prince position to Zhen Mi's child!

This is simply unheard of!

Therefore, after Liu Xie announced this decision, all the ministers in the DPRK sent memorials to the emperor to consider it carefully.

However, Liu Xie did not listen to the opinions of the ministers and concluded the matter.

Weiyang Palace, Greenhouse.

Liu Xie had just retired from the court. Under the service of the palace maids, he took off the emperor's crown and put on the regular clothes of the four seasons.

A eunuch walked into the palace and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the Grand Sima and the Grand Situ are asking for an audience outside the palace."

"Let them in."

Liu Xie said without looking back.

The eunuch retreated.

After a while, Guo Jia and Jia Xu walked into the greenhouse. When they saw Liu Xie changing clothes, they stood aside and waited.

After Liu Xie changed his clothes, he turned around to look at them and asked, "You are also here because of the matter of establishing a queen and a crown prince?"

He was not surprised by the arrival of Guo Jia and Jia Xu.

He made this decision without consulting the two of them, and it was indeed a bit shocking, so it was normal for them to come and ask.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Guo Jia nodded, and then said with a worried look: "Since ancient times, it has been the rule to establish direct descendants rather than elders, but your Majesty gave the post to Lu Guiren and the heir apparent to Zhen Guiren's son. I am worried that this will be a recipe for disaster. ah."

Regardless of whether it is a royal family or a noble family, under normal circumstances, the heir is the legitimate son of the first wife. This is the default rule.

But Liu Xie's decision went against this common sense.

Just after unifying the world, he appointed his eldest son as the crown prince, but did not give Zhen Mi the throne. Isn't this asking for trouble?

"Filial piety is justified."

Jia Xu also nodded in agreement with Guo Jia's words and said: "Wen Gong has outstanding achievements and great prestige. He is the leader of military generals."

"Although Mr. Lu is childless now, will An Zhi give birth to a prince in the future? If that happens, I'm afraid..."

Jia Xu didn't finish his words.

Sometimes it’s not whether people want to do something, but things push people to do it.

Lu Bu has no grandson now, so he naturally has no intention of competing for the throne. But what if Lu Lingqi has a son in the future?

To put it bluntly, even if Lu Bu still wouldn't help his grandson and Liu Jue fight for the throne, what about the noble generals under his command and around him?

Who doesn’t want the power of the dragon?

Moreover, Lu Bu is not young anymore. Once Lu Bu dies, no one will be able to suppress those generals. They will help Lu Lingqi's children fight for the throne, which will definitely cause a bloody storm.

"Finished?"

Liu Xie listened to their thoughts without saying a word, and then asked.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu both nodded.

Liu Xie smiled and said, "I have considered everything you have thought about. It is indeed not a good idea to establish an elder rather than a direct heir."

"But I believe that this kind of thing has been an unsolvable problem since ancient times. Even if I didn't appoint Jue'er as the crown prince and pass the throne to Lu Guiren's son in the future, wouldn't there be a battle for the throne?"

"I know the temptation of this position better than anyone else. It cannot be solved by simply establishing a eldest son."

"I gave the posthumous position and the crown prince position separately, firstly, in order to fulfill the two promises I made at the beginning, and secondly, because I have the idea of ​​​​cultivating the prince myself."

"I don't want an incompetent person to inherit the throne in the future. If he is qualified to inherit the throne, he will naturally be able to handle this matter."

"As for whether this matter will set a bad example for future generations... I can only say that changes in the world are unpredictable. How can I know what the future will bring?"

Liu Xie didn't think there was much problem with his approach.

What sets a bad example and what has a bad impact.

It's all bullshit.

Looking at history from the perspective of future generations, how many princes in China's five thousand years of civilization have succeeded?

There are only four words that appear over and over again in history books.

That is "striving to be the emperor"!

He will teach Liu Jue well and try his best to train him to become a qualified heir. But if Liu Jue is unable to hold the throne well, then let others take it away.

The throne is a fight for. He gave Liu Jue the qualification to inherit the throne and taught him how to be a good emperor. What else can he do if he can't be the emperor?

The fight for the throne has always been like this.

Haven't you seen the death of Fusu and Liu Ju; the death of Li Jiancheng and Li Chengqian; and the five dragons in the same dynasty and the nine sons fighting for the throne in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

These examples all show that the succession of the throne does not depend on qualifications at all, but on ability, means, and luck.

It has little to do with the establishment of the eldest son.

After Liu Xie finished speaking, Guo Jia and Jia Xu looked at each other. They didn't expect that the emperor's ideas would be so open-minded.

Although these words sounded very unorthodox, if you think about it carefully, there is some truth in them.

"Your Majesty's thoughts and vision are far above those of me, I admire you."

Guo Jia said with a wry smile.

Although he still couldn't understand and agree with the emperor's words, he also knew that the emperor didn't make a decision on a whim, but after careful consideration.

That's enough.

As ministers, they can only make suggestions and express their own ideas about who will inherit the throne, but the final decision still lies with the emperor.

Saying too much would be an act of usurpation.

Liu Xie smiled faintly and said, "I know you can't understand my ideas, but it doesn't matter. History will witness everything."

"Each generation has its own responsibilities and missions. I am a mortal and can't care about the future. Now I just want to bring the current Han Dynasty to prosperity."

"Okay, sit down, I have other things to discuss with you."

Liu Xie asked someone to bring two cushions to Guo Jia and Jia Xu.

The two also knew that the emperor wanted to talk to them about serious matters, so they cheered up and sat down.

Liu Xie did not beat around the bush and said directly, "Now that the world is unified, many things can be put on the agenda."

"I want to talk to you about reform."

As soon as these words came out, Guo Jia and Jia Xu's eyes were stern!

Reform!

They both knew that reforming the government was what the emperor was thinking about.

It's just that the world was not unified before, and the main energy was focused on fighting against the rebels, and there was no condition for reform.

But now it's different. All the rebels have been defeated, and the power is monopolized by the emperor. It's the best time for reform!

"I have been waiting for this day... for six years."

I saw a correct version in 16-9-1 book-1 forum!

Guo Jia said with emotion, his face full of sighs, and his mood was mixed.

I thought that he chose to assist after listening to the emperor's idea of ​​reforming the talent selection system.

Now that so much time has passed, his original intention has not changed, and fortunately, the emperor has not changed.

"I have waited for this day for a long time."

Liu Xie said with a smile, his eyes full of spirit, "The Han Dynasty has too many accumulated problems, and the aristocratic families have become powerful. This is the fundamental reason for the decline of the Han Dynasty."

"If the Han Dynasty wants to prosper again, reform must be done. Only by eliminating the accumulated problems can it be rejuvenated."

There were two dynasties in the Han Dynasty, which were later called the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty.

The Western Han Dynasty was the peak era of the Han Dynasty. At that time, the imperial power was highly unified and the country was very strong.

Although the Eastern Han Dynasty was nominally a continuation of the Western Han Dynasty, it could not be compared with the strength of the Western Han Dynasty.

Because Liu Xiu relied on the support of the aristocratic families to unify the world, which was fundamentally different from the unification of the world by Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang.

Of course, it does not mean that Liu Xiu is not capable. Although he is very capable, he cannot unify the world without the support of the aristocratic families.

So he exchanged interests with the aristocratic families, allowing himself to eliminate all opponents and restore the Han Dynasty in just a few years.

The price was that the aristocratic families quickly developed into behemoths in the following hundreds of years, and their influence became increasingly greater, directly affecting the stability of the country.

Liu Xie knew this very well, so he wanted to take advantage of the fact that he was in power at present, and the world had just experienced some turmoil, and it was the time to redistribute interests to carry out reforms.

There is no need to miss the time when Emperor Gaozu was alive, because he will surpass Emperor Gaozu!

"What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Jia Xu asked simply and directly.

Liu Xie said simply: "Reform the talent selection system and abolish the recommendation system; rectify the official law and rebuild the composition of officials at all levels of the country; reform the tax law, reduce the burden on the people, and curb the annexation of the aristocratic families."

"These are the three basic directions I want to reform."

The key to a strong country is nothing more than three things, namely selecting talents, rectifying the administration of officials, and curbing the aristocratic families.

Of course, improving productivity is also a top priority, but this is something that needs to be done simultaneously and is included in the content of the reform.

Although a strong army is also very important, it is not the focus of reform now that there are no rebels in the Han Dynasty and no worries outside.

And the current army is already very strong.

So the most important and most difficult ones are the three points he just mentioned.

"This..."

Jia Xu was dumbfounded after hearing this, and was scared by Liu Xie's shocking words.

He thought the emperor would say something about rectifying corruption and cracking down on the aristocratic families, but he didn't expect it to be so big right away!

Abolish the recommendation system, rectify the administration of officials, reform the tax law and curb the aristocratic families!

Any one of these is a major event. If the emperor can accomplish any one of them, he can be called a sage!

But the emperor intends to do all of them?

After being shocked, Guo Jia said excitedly: "Good! Your Majesty is wise! I will fully support and cooperate with Your Majesty!"

Jia Xu's eyes twitched wildly, and he quickly held down the excited Guo Jia, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, this matter has a huge impact. If you are not careful, it will cause the world to fall into chaos again!"

"Would you... think about it again?"

He could imagine that once this news spread, it would directly cause the newly stabilized Han Dynasty to start a war again.

"How can you cure the disease without taking drastic measures?"

Liu Xie asked back, and then smiled and comforted Jia Xu: "Wenhe, don't panic. How could I not know that reforms should be carried out slowly? What I just said was just the overall direction of reform. Naturally, I will not start directly with drastic measures."

Liu Xie is not a fool. He knows that if those aristocratic families know his plan, they will all rebel tomorrow.

So he has to take it slow and boil the frog in warm water.

Jia Xu was relieved, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "Your Majesty is really a man who never stops talking. Next time, just say it all in one breath. I am not young anymore and cannot stand such threats."

He was almost scared to death.

Guo Jia said contemptuously: "Wenhe is too timid. Reform is imperative. If we can get rid of the stubborn disease of our Han Dynasty, we will die."

Jia Xu said unhappily: "I know you are the most noble. Isn't it okay for me to be a greedy minister in front of Your Majesty?"

Hearing the conversation between the two, Liu Xie laughed and took their hands and said: "You are the vanguard generals of my reform. I can't do without your help if I want to reform."

"Okay, let me talk to you about what to do next, starting with reforming the talent selection system and abolishing the recommendation system."

"Fengxiao should have some ideas about this matter."

Liu Xie looked at Guo Jia and said.

Guo Jia nodded slightly and said, "Since Emperor Guangwu first created the recommendation system, the path to officialdom has gradually been controlled by aristocratic families."

"It is extremely difficult for people without background and status to get promoted."

"This also leads to the fact that the court is full of aristocratic families with deep backgrounds, and there are no children from humble families."

"Although I was born in Yingchuan Guo family, I am only a branch of the family. Even if I have talent, I cannot be recommended to serve as an official."

"If I had not been lucky enough to meet Your Majesty, I would be mediocre now... Therefore, I think it is extremely important to have a fair selection system, only in this way can the world's talents be used by the court."

"Instead of the rotten wood in the temple, the beasts in the palace, and a group of people who are just sitting there and eating for free!"

Guo Jia became more and more excited as he spoke, and his expression became more and more indignant.

He really hated the recommendation system.

That is why he was so excited when he heard the emperor propose fair and just imperial examinations.

Jia Xu sighed softly and patted Guo Jia on the shoulder to comfort him. He could understand Guo Jia's feelings because he was in the same situation.

If he had not had no hope of becoming an official, how could he have joined the army and become someone else's staff?