The rare thing about veteran ministers is that they have rich experience in serving as officials, are well-informed and expressive, have deep qualifications, and can serve as role models for everyone. Such veteran ministers will rarely embarrass the king or superior officials.
Of course, there are also some old ministers who will always talk about whether Lian Po is old enough and whether he can still make a living, or even the old man is ambitious and wants to bully the king and suppress the ministers, and do whatever they want.
Chen Xiaoyi obviously belongs to the former group. After listening to Li Po's words, he immediately set the tone for the conversation between the other two people, which was to admit their mistakes rather than admonish or confront them.
Li Po was very satisfied. There were things he could say or not say. Originally, he had no intention of expressing his intentions clearly. He had plenty of means to achieve his goals.
But later he changed his mind, because the three men in front of him had been following him for a long time. They were the smartest and most capable among the old men when he first started the army. There was no harm in talking to them about their feelings.
It's just that they are different from those generals. His words are much more tactful. As long as he sees that his posture is wrong, he can immediately turn around.
If possible, the next thing to say would definitely be, you see me so tired, what else can you say?
But it would be much easier for Chen Xiaoyi to know the elegant meaning after listening to the string song. Wen Yanbo and Su Dan had to keep up with the rhythm whether they wanted to or not. They were close ministers of the King of Han, not anyone else. In such a matter, they would definitely
There will be no cognitive deviation.
Needless to say, the two of them immediately agreed, and their euphemism was no worse than Li Po's.
In fact, although they felt that the king's words were somewhat inappropriate, when they thought about it carefully, it was not unreasonable. The king wanted to be more relaxed, so why didn't they?
If we can really keep everyone in their own place, perform their duties, work together, and unite as one, why worry about failure to achieve great things? What's more, didn't your Majesty also say that that is just a long-term goal that requires effort, not an absolute... Isn't it just right?
The essence of governance?
Furthermore, if there are big things to be decided in the future, can we really ignore the king? As for what is a big thing, everyone has their own discretion, as long as the king doesn't say it is a trivial matter.
Li Po made a small calculation, and the three close ministers were not far behind. They really agreed to what he said, and it would be endless fun to fight with others...
With such a gesture, Li Po smiled and waved his hands, "There is no need to do this. If others hear about it, they will think that I am making trouble out of nothing and want to imitate that stupid move."
After hearing this, the three of them were indifferent. They had already been used to it and got an advantage. If they didn't express a few words of affection, this one would definitely feel that it was not perfect.
"Don't worry too much about the matter of knighthood. Those who are close to you will go first, and those who have made merits will come first. If anyone makes irresponsible remarks, let him come to me and explain."
You know... Chen Xiaoyi and Wen Yanbo looked at each other with hidden smiles. All the previous anxieties disappeared. The king is still the same king. He is lazy and complains from time to time, but he will not ignore important matters.
Although there is some gap between the appearance of the ideal king in their minds, it is much better than those crazy, rebellious and shameless people today.
In fact, just as Li Po understood their way of life, over the years, they were also familiar with Li Po's habits and temperament. The small confrontation between the king and his ministers was more like mutual cooperation, and the result was naturally satisfactory to everyone.
For example, Su Dan was younger and not as scheming as them. At this moment, he had just tasted something, and it was really a bit slow.
At this time, Wen Yanbo said at the right time: "What the king said is true. Later ministers will act accordingly and will not allow cunning people to disturb the audience."
As for the matter of ennoblement, what is actually missing is this sentence. With the general direction, the matter is not difficult. It is inevitable to be criticized later, but as long as Li Po is satisfied, those are just details, and the king has also said it.
, don’t worry too much...
Wen Yanbo felt relaxed almost immediately, and then it was time to show off his talents, "I understand the king's intention, but the new title is about to come out, what will happen to the old title? I thought...
In the long run, the old nobility of the Sui Dynasty should be followed as appropriate. However, in order to avoid too many titles, we can demote the main ones and reduce the titles to assist. We should make it clear to everyone at the time of the title and regard it as a rule. Your Majesty, do you think this is good?"
Li Po nodded, "That's right. The previous people set up titles to commend their merits and protect their descendants. Now the excessive number of titles has lost the original intention of the predecessors. I should do it in order to honor everyone. From now on, the old titles of Sui Dynasty
, the main thing is to reduce the rank, and the second is to reduce the rank. Anyone who attacks the rank will be demoted to two ranks. In this way, after a few decades, those who get the rank may be honored in front of everyone."
After hearing this, the three people were shocked. They tried to persuade him but no one said anything, because when His Highness the King of Han spoke like this, it meant that it would be difficult to persuade him to change his mind.
Chen Xiaoyi glanced at Wen Yanbo and said in his heart, it would be unnecessary to do this, the knighthood has already begun, and sooner or later it will be involved. As long as it is subtle for a period of time, with so many examples, if it is mentioned again, the result will definitely not be like this.
Wen Yanbo also stared. Only he understood the meaning. He thought that since the king had begun to ennoble him, as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he must do some things first. Otherwise, wouldn't it mean that he, Wen Dalin, was incompetent?
Su Dan also frowned. Compared to Chen Xiaoyi and the other two, the Su family is the real wealthy family. There are countless people who have been awarded titles. If all of them lose their titles in the future... Just imagine it a little bit.
Su Dan felt that this matter was not very reliable. Once he entered Chang'an in the future, what kind of waves would it cause if the many wealthy families in Chang'an City were reduced to their heads?
Looking at the expressions of several people, Li Po couldn't help but smile, "I have left a lot of room for this matter, are you still afraid of difficulties? After so many years of war, almost every family has titles, titles, and layoffs. It is only a waste of salary and incompetence.
There are so many of them, so boring. If things go on like this, maybe the beggars on the streets will also have titles. If so, what glory will there be in our faces?"
At this point, Wen Yanbo had nothing to say. He only nodded solemnly and said: "Since the king has made up his mind, how about leaving this matter to my ministers?"
Li Po smiled and patted the table. He was really happy. What he needed was a responsible minister, not a timid person. "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. Hey, there's no need to worry. Some
Things need to be worked out slowly, and some things need to be decided at once, just like the matter of knighthood. If you hesitate, it will affect people inside and outside, no matter whether they have merit or not, whether they have talents or not, everyone is glamorous, how can they be respected?
What is the difference between being humble and being noble?”
Well, these are actually all excuses. To have a title is to get a salary. Moreover, why are the nobles these days born with nobility? Because many of them will have titles when they are born, and they will be added to their jobs. From the Han Dynasty to the present
, the nobles almost solidified their own class by these means.
It was actually a matter of time before Li Po decided to take action on the title, and in his consideration, it was far better to settle the matter early than to enter Kansai, because the resistance would be much smaller.
But now, including the title of nobility, he has done two things that deeply harmed the interests of the noble families. One is to make the nobles pay food and taxes, and the other is to grant the title of nobility.
The matter of the title has just begun, and the taxation has just begun.
In other words, after Li Po has established a foothold, he is trying to use the power in his hands to curb the influence of the clan. According to his intention, he will shackle these behemoths layer by layer. Those who are obedient can be like eagles and dogs, and those who resist are...
He will only die under more and more restrictions, or stretch his neck under the steel knife...
This is undoubtedly Li Po's most long-term and established strategy. It sprouted when he accompanied the army in the Liaodong campaign, and now it has finally come to fruition.
Because at this time he had become a prince in the region, held military and political power, and had many followers, so he no longer had to worry about being alone and weak.
As always, he would not make things too difficult for his ministers, so he added lightly, "You can discuss it later and let Wang Shilang be included in the laws and regulations..."
Well, the target of Jinyang Wang Family is too conspicuous. Li Po can always use it from time to time, so Wen Yanbo frowned slightly, and Chen Xiaoyi and Su Dan also relaxed slightly. Well, there is still room for negotiation.
Just fine.
The large-scale reduction of nobility is no joke. No matter how long-term it is, even now, it is difficult to predict the reaction of Jindi's clan.
Especially letting the Wang family of Jinyang take the lead would probably take some effort. Wang Ze... several people felt uncomfortable when they put themselves in his shoes.
They had all forgotten that there was a reporter named Wang in the study. Wang Qi had a pale face and regretted not hanging around in the study today. What she was thinking was, should she tell her father after such news?
Several big shots in the room were still talking.
A voice from outside sounded, "Report to the king, the food and wine are ready, right..."
"Send it in." Li Po ordered.
The food and wine were sumptuous, and soon the aroma filled the study. Li Po waved his hand, and the servants left one after another. Li Po raised the wine cup and said, "Drink a few glasses first. It is said that food is the most important thing for the people, and other things wait for the wine."
Let’s talk after you’ve had enough to eat.”
Confucius once said, "Don't talk when you eat but don't talk when you sleep." But according to the occasion, everyone returns to their own homes. People who respect Confucius and Mencius these days will indeed talk about this rule.
But when you go outside, especially when big shots gather, it doesn't work. It's easier to talk at the dinner table. This has been true since ancient times. Master Confucius himself couldn't help it, so how could he restrain others?
Su Dan first livened up the atmosphere. He was young and had the lowest status, so he could only do this job. He told two interesting stories about drinking and made His Highness the King of Han laugh. His merits were complete. As for the other two guys, their laughter was as if they were not laughing.
Very boring.
The four grown men drank and ate meat, and no longer talked about important matters, so they were having a good time. The two masters and servants huddled in the corner, their stomachs growled, they looked at the dishes on the table eagerly and swallowed their saliva, looking extremely pitiful.