Chapter 245 Prime Minister Kong Ming General Yu
After completing the enthronement ceremony, Liu Bei, with the support of his ministers, officially became the new emperor of the Han Dynasty.
After becoming the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei was on the altar preparing to issue his first emperor's edict.
The first imperial edict after the re-establishment of the Han Dynasty was to change the Yuan Dynasty.
Because Liu Bei's legal claim to be emperor was to inherit the foundation of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei did not need to make any changes in aspects such as Zhengshuo, clothes, official system, etc.
What's more, in order to reflect the legitimacy of his proclaimed emperor, Liu Bei could not touch these aspects.
However, in order to reflect the new emperor's succession, there was one aspect that Liu Bei had to change, and that was the reign name.
The reign name is a symbol that distinguishes the new monarch from the previous monarch after he ascends the throne. It is also a political slogan that reflects the new monarch's succession.
For example, the reign name of Cao Pi, the emperor of the Wei Dynasty, is Huang Chu. Huang is the official color of Wei. The meaning of Huang Chu is Cao Pi's self-proclaimed title as the founding king of Cao Wei.
As for the reign name, many ministers made many suggestions to Liu Bei before today.
One of the reign names was recommended by Zhuge Liang, Xu Jing and other ministers, and that title was Jianxing.
To establish a prosperous dynasty is to build prosperity.
But this reign name did not suit Liu Bei's wishes.
Looking at the ministers under the altar, Liu Bei issued his first emperor's edict:
"The imperial edict was passed on to all directions, and I changed the name of the Yuan Dynasty to Zhang Wu, and designated this year as the first year of Zhang Wu.
When the edict of reforming the Yuan Dynasty reaches the local places, amnesty will be granted everywhere it goes!"
The ministers under the altar had guessed that Liu Bei's first edict would be to change the reign period, but they did not expect that Liu Bei did not choose the most popular Jianxing reign name, but came up with a reign name of his own - Zhang Wu.
Zhang Tong means "Zhang", and Zhang Wu means to demonstrate martial power.
Liu Bei designated Zhang Wu as his reign name to declare to the world his determination to "succeed the second ancestor of Wu".
After issuing the imperial edict of the Yuan Dynasty amnesty, Emperor Liu Bei issued a new edict.
"Establish an ancestral temple and offer sacrifices to the emperor and below."
Liu Bei inherited the legal tradition of the Han Dynasty based on the legal principles of the Han clan, so this is reasonable, and it is a necessary means for him to demonstrate his legitimacy.
After issuing the above two edicts, Liu Bei had to take the most important step, which was to seal the officials.
Although Liu Bei inherited the legal system of the Han Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor, the legal system of the Han Dynasty was cut off in Xudu, so Liu Bei is essentially creating a dynasty today.
After the dynasty is established, the corresponding bureaucratic system must also be established.
This is the key to ensuring that the "Ji Han" founded by Liu Bei can thrive.
Zhuge Liang had told Liu Bei before when he persuaded Liu Bei that the reason why most of his ministers would follow him was simply because they had the mentality of climbing on the dragon and following the phoenix.
Therefore, the step of rewarding the ministers is very critical, which can greatly enhance the ministers' loyalty and sense of belonging to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei naturally knew this, so he already had an idea in mind on how to reward the ministers.
Among the current official positions in the central court, the position of prime minister is of course the most important.
According to the Han system, the prime minister was the most powerful and noble official position under the emperor.
However, because the power of the Prime Minister was too great, it was gradually emptied by successive Han emperors.
Under this circumstance, the powers of the prime minister, who was originally the deputy to the prime minister, began to gradually increase.
The powers of the Prime Minister can be summarized in eight words: "He is in charge of the Prime Minister and the Emperor, and his assistant is responsible for everything."
For such an important position, Liu Bei already had a suitable candidate in mind.
That person is Zhuge Liang.
As the hero who single-handedly helped him ascend to the throne of emperor, the relationship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang is very deep.
Moreover, since Liu Bei took control of Yizhou, Zhuge Liang, who served as military advisor and general, has actually become the "prime minister" in Liu Bei's power.
When Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang as prime minister in front of his ministers, and after recording the ministerial affairs, Zhuge Liang rose directly from a general to become prime minister.
Although this means that Zhuge Liang will be the person with the greatest administrative power in the country besides Liu Bei from now on, there is no dissatisfaction on the faces of the ministers.
Zhuge Liang's contribution, Zhuge Liang's ability, and Zhuge Liang's virtue have been well-known over the years.
For him to serve as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty was highly anticipated.
After Zhuge Liang heard that Liu Bei appointed him as prime minister, he calmly walked out of the ranks of ministers and bowed to Liu Bei.
There is no joy in becoming prime minister on his face, but this is not because he feels that the position of prime minister does not reflect his merit enough.
It's that he really doesn't have much enthusiasm for the position of prime minister that others covet.
In his opinion, as long as he can help Liu Bei stabilize the world, it doesn't matter whether he is a general or a prime minister, it makes no difference to him.
After appointing Zhuge Liang as prime minister, Liu Bei began to appoint the three princes.
The title of San Gong can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty.
San Gong is not a fixed title for an official position. It was originally just a general term for the highest position among ministers.
Therefore, for hundreds of years, the specific positions represented by the three public officials have not been fixed.
The prime minister's enhanced version of the position of prime minister was first one of the three ministers.
By the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Sangong became a general term for the three official positions.
These three official positions are Taiwei, Situ and Sikong respectively, among which Taiwei ranks first.
However, although there were still three official positions during the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, he felt that the powers of the Three Officials were too great.
In order to strengthen the emperor's power, he carried out a series of reforms in the official system.
In the early days, anyone who was ranked among the Three Dukes could open a mansion, and the Three Dukes were known as the Three Palaces.
However, after the reforms of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, although in name the Three Dukes were still high-status official positions, the real power of the Three Dukes gradually returned to the Chancellor.
Later, starting from Emperor He and Emperor An, relatives and eunuchs changed their powers.
His relatives Dou Xian, Liang Ji, etc. were all worshiped as generals. The generals opened their houses and appointed officials and subordinates, and they were placed on the three nobles.
From then on, the three princes were not only controlled by the minister, but also had to obey the orders of their relatives. Some of the three princes were even their accomplices and cronies.
Originally, according to classical scholars, the prime minister assisted the emperor in regulating yin and yang and keeping the four seasons in order. If various disasters occurred, the emperor and the prime minister would both blame themselves.
However, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor pushed the blame on the Three Gongs, so whenever there were floods, droughts and other disasters, the Three Gongs were often dismissed.
The great scholar Zhong Changtong once said that the Three Dukes are in name only, "just preparing personnel."
It's just that although San Gong no longer has much real power, his honor is still there.
The Three Dukes were the faces of the imperial court, and they were often held by great Confucians to demonstrate the legitimacy and authority of the central court.
Currently, among Liu Bei's forces, in terms of reputation, only Xu Jing is suitable for the position of Sangong.
Therefore, Liu Bei publicly worshiped Xu Jing as Situ, one of the three princes.
As for Taiwei and Sikong among the three princes, Liu Bei decided to put them aside because there were currently no suitable candidates.
After all, such a prestigious position as Sangong is better left in short supply than in vain.
Like Cao Pi, he promoted Jia Xu to the position of Taiwei, ranking him above the two great scholars Hua Xin and Wang Lang, which has attracted the ridicule of many people in the world.
After Liu Bei worshiped Xu Jing as a Situ, he formally worshiped Jin as General of the Guard in public, and was granted the title of Marquis of Yixiang, sharing the land with 2,000 households.
According to the traditional military positions of the Han Dynasty, in the general system, the only generals with important titles are the general, the general of the hussar, the general of the chariot, the general of the guard, and the general of the four directions.
Previously, Liu Bei had used the above method to appoint Yu Jinbiao as General of Wei and Marquis of Yishou Ting.
It's just that the above list is never a formal appointment, and it is difficult to convince the public in name.
Now that Liu Bei had become the emperor, he used the power of the emperor to formally worship Yu Jin as General Wei and named him the Marquis of Yixiang.
Originally, Yu Jin was the Marquis of Yishou Pavilion, with a food estate of 1,200 households.
Now Yu Jin has been granted the title of Marquis of Yixiang by Liu Bei. Although they are all feudal lords, the number of households in the city has increased by 800.
Under the rule of Liu Bei, who had a small population, this kind of reward was not low.
The reason why Liu Bei made such a high-profile reward to Jin was because he wanted to show Yu Jin as an example of abandoning the dark and turning to the light, and show it to the scholars in the north.
When Liu Bei awarded Xu Jing and Yu Jin a reward, they were not as sad or happy as Zhuge Liang. Their faces showed gratitude and they paid homage to Liu Bei to express their gratitude.
After awarding rewards to Zhuge Liang, Xu Jing, and Yu Jin, Liu Bei issued a series of rewards in succession.
Mi Zhuqian, the Anhan general, was promoted to Guang Luxun, and Mi Fang, the Protector of the Han general, was appointed Imperial Servant.
Both Guang Luxun and Taipu were one of the nine official positions. Because he was grateful for Mi's help to him in the East China Sea, Liu Bei's reward for Mi's brothers was unambiguous at all.
If it weren't for the lack of foundation of the Mi family in the East China Sea, relying on the relationship between Mi Zhu and Liu Bei, and relying on Mi Zhu's merits, Mi Zhu would definitely have a place among the three princes.
But today's rewards are not too lenient to the Mi brothers.
Guang Luxun: Ranked at 2,000 stones and ranked among the nine ministers.
Zhonglang, Shilang, Langzhong, Huben, and Yulin Zhonglangjiang are all under the jurisdiction of Guang Luxun.
It can be said that Guang Luxun was the supreme commander of Liu Bei's imperial army.
Although Mi Zhu was unable to perform all of Guang Luxun's duties due to physical reasons, Mi Zhu's son Mi Wei has now served as Huben Zhonglang General.
In this case, Mi Zhu could hand over most of Guang Luxun's responsibilities to Mi Wei.
With Mi Zhu supporting him, Mi Wei can quickly accumulate experience and lay the foundation for his further promotion in the future.
Moreover, Guang Luxun also had a very important function, which was to control the selection of Lang Guan.
Langguan was an important channel for selecting officials in the traditional official system of the Han Dynasty.
It can be said that Guang Luxun is the combination of Cao Wei's central leader and central protector.
Liu Bei was very relieved to hand over such an important position to Mi Zhu.
Taipu: Ranked in the rank of 2,000 stones, ranking among the nine ministers. Taipu was the official in charge of the emperor's vehicles and horses during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Later, his responsibilities gradually shifted to be in charge of government animal husbandry affairs.
During the Western Han Dynasty, the seven counties of Wuwei, Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, Beidi, Shangjun and Xihe had priests under the jurisdiction of the imperial servants. They raised a total of 300,000 horses and a large number of cattle and sheep for sacrifice.
In the Western Han Dynasty, the Kaogong subordinates of the Shaofu were transferred to the imperial servants in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Their duties were to make weapons such as bows, crossbows, swords, and armors, and also to weave ribbons and other miscellaneous tasks.
Liu Bei asked Mi Fang to take this position, partly to reward Mi Fang for her past achievements, and partly because he knew that although Mi Fang was not a great talent, she had extraordinary business talent.
Mi Fang's business talent will work wonders in the position of servant.
For example, if he takes over the land in Guanzhong in the future, Mi Fang will be of great use when trading horses with foreign tribes.
Even the raw materials for making crossbows, swords, and armors, Mi Fang could use his strengths to obtain through trade with the foreigners in Nanzhong.
As long as the Mi brothers can digest this reward well, the Mi family of Donghai will definitely become one of the top families in the Han Dynasty in a few years.
Even when Mi Yang takes charge of the Mi family, with his father's heritage and his own achievements, Mi Yang can completely remove that one.
After conferring rewards on the main personnel in Chengdu, Liu Bei asked the eunuch beside him to open a reward edict and read it aloud.
There are hundreds of officials in Chengdu. With such a number of people, it is impossible for Liu Bei to reward them one by one.
The awards he can personally read out are only for a small number of important people.
The remaining rewards for most of the officials in Chengdu will naturally be issued by Prime Minister Zhuge one by one after today.
Now Liu Bei asked the eunuchs to read out the rewards for people who are not in Chengdu but have an important position in his heart.
Most of those people are generals who command troops outside.
And among the generals who commanded the army, who else could compare to Guan Yu's status in Liu Bei's heart?
Therefore, in this edict of awarding a reward, the first person Liu Bei awarded was Guan Yu.
Many people have guessed correctly about Guan Yu's reward.
"I worship the former general Guan Yu as a great general, and I am granted the title of Marquis of Xiangyang. I am entitled to live in the city of 3,000 households, and I am the commander-in-chief of all the military affairs in the east!"
There were hundreds of worshipers above and below the altar.
Their duty is very simple, that is, whenever a new reward appears on the altar, they will loudly convey Liu Bei's reward up and down to ensure that every minister can hear Liu Bei's reward.
When Liu Bei's reward for Guan Yu came out, hundreds of ministers under the altar heard the news. Although they had expected it, their faces still showed great envy.
Liu Bei's second half of the reward for Guan Yu is already extremely enviable.
But the most enviable thing is Guan Yu's position as general.
General, the supreme commander who leads the troops.
The title of general began in the Warring States Period and was the highest title for a general. It was inherited during the Han Dynasty and was responsible for commanding troops in battle.
The first general of the Han Dynasty was Han Xin, the immortal soldier.
Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, appointed Wei Qing as the general, and stipulated that the general was the highest title for a general, ranking above the three princes, and everyone below the nine ministers would worship him.
Later, Huo Guang came to power in the name of General Sima, with power above that of the prime minister.
From then on, the general was actually the official leader of the court.
"Han Guan Yi" records: "When the Han Dynasty was prosperous, a general was appointed and the prime minister was appointed."
"Tongkao of Documents" says: "The general is in charge of the affairs of the country internally, and externally he is dedicated to conquering with his axe. His power is far beyond that of the prime minister."
The generals of the Eastern Han Dynasty were originally under the Three Dukes. During the reign of Emperor He of the Han Dynasty, Dou Xian became the general. Because of his great power, the court was shocked and jointly petitioned for the general to be ranked above the Three Dukes.
Because few emperors in the Eastern Han Dynasty had real power, the position of general was regarded as the standard for the assistant minister.
Let's talk hypothetically, if something unexpected happens to Liu Bei, then the auxiliary minister will not be Zhuge Liang, who is the prime minister, but the general Guan Yu.
This is a custom formed since the Eastern Han Dynasty.
It can be said that the general is the pinnacle of human affairs in terms of fame, position and power.
Liu Bei was keenly aware of the envious expressions on the ministers' faces, and a smile appeared on his face.
His eyes couldn't help but drift to the east where Jingzhou is:
Besides you, who else is worthy of being my general?
There is one more chapter, go ahead.
Let’s get some monthly passes.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!