Six hundred and twenty-ninth chapter warm words in the mouth (4)
The heavy vermilion palace door creaked slowly open.
The princes and ministers filed in from the north.
If nothing unexpected happens, today's court meeting will be the most important court meeting this year.
It may well determine the future direction of this country.
When Prime Minister Zhou Yafu and his servant Yuan An walked hand in hand to the steps in front of Xuanshi Hall, the passage in front of Xuanshi Hall was already crowded with courtiers, his deputies and entourage.
"Prime Minister!" As soon as Zhou Yafu arrived, the officials automatically avoided the road and bowed to say hello.
Zhou Yafu responded with a smile and nodded one by one, then took his son and stood in front of the ministers, closed his eyes and calmed down, quietly waiting for the palace door to open.
Some ministers seemed to want to come over and ask Zhou Yafu for information, but when they saw Zhou Yafu closing his eyes, they all walked away knowingly.
Zhou Tao, on the other hand, was like a curious baby, constantly looking at the scenery of the palace and the serious-faced princes and ministers.
This is his first time going to court.
Naturally curious.
"What is the prime minister thinking about with his eyes closed?" Suddenly, Zhou Tao saw a smiling official walking three steps away from his father, stopped and asked with a smile.
Zhou Tao didn't even need to look at this man's face to know that he was Chao Cuo, the imperial censor.
Because only the imperial censor is qualified to wear the silver seal and green ribbon.
"I'm thinking..." Zhou Yafu opened his eyes, stared at Chao Cuo's face, and responded with a slight smile: "The emperor wants to restore the government of Zhao Gong, this Gantang Mountain Chief or Gantang Order..."
Zhou Yafu suddenly straightened his back, stared into Chao Cuo's eyes, and said, "I wonder who is responsible for this?"
Chao Cuo laughed, and this laughter made Zhou Tao feel a little creepy.
"In the past, the Duke of Zhou, the Duke of Zhao, divided Shaanxi and ruled it. The princess of Zhou was in the east, and the princess was in the west. The prime minister was the head of the officials, in charge of the overall situation, coordinating all the countries, and managing everything on a day-to-day basis. I am afraid that I will not have time to experience Gantang!"
Zhou Tao was shocked when he heard this.
The meeting had not yet started and the outcome had not yet been determined, so Chao Cuo came to his father impatiently to discuss how to divide the pears and eat them afterwards.
this……
This is too...
Zhou Yafu, on the other hand, chuckled and responded directly to Chao Cuo's provocation: "Since I was appointed as the late emperor, I have worked hard and fast to assist the emperor, and I am determined to serve the emperors Yao and Shun. For this reason, I am not afraid of being ruined, and I will devote myself to death!"
Yes, although the court meeting has not yet been held, the establishment of Gantang is certain.
Especially the establishment of Central Gantang can be established 100% after the court meeting.
This new Gantang Ling or Gantang Mountain Chief can only be created between Chao Cuo and Zhou Yafu.
Neither Zhou Yafu nor Chao Cuo would give up the opportunity to compete for this position.
Because this is related to the extent of their respective powers and the future comments in history.
Although it seems that as the prime minister, Zhou Yafu has great advantages.
But don't forget that Chao Cuo was the imperial censor and the deputy of the prime minister. Back then, Duke Zhao was the deputy of Duke Zhou.
From a legal point of view, this gave him the congenital advantage of having the imperial censor concurrently serve as the Gantang Order.
Chao Cuo laughed dryly.
After serving as a censor for three years, Chao Cuo became deeply aware of his inherent disadvantages and disadvantages.
He was not from a noble family.
There is no family wings, and there are not many resources to utilize.
The capable generals under his command were basically trained while they were in the late emperor's residence.
Therefore, every time we want to promote a policy, we find it difficult and even helpless.
It was only after forming an alliance with Tingwei Zhao Yu that his situation improved.
But, that's not enough!
At this time, the emperor issued a Gantang edict, which gave Chao Cuo hope.
Since officials with more than 400 shi are promoted or removed, they have to go to Gantangli.
Moreover, Central Gantang will definitely become the only way for officials above Qianshi, especially those who serve as county guards and county lieutenants.
In this way, if he is the Central Government's Gantang Order, then he can establish contact with these people through Gantang, know their preferences and demands, and more importantly, he can cultivate and support officials who are inclined to Legalism.
.
Although the emperor's Gantang edict only stated that officials should be promoted, appointed and removed, and that they should come to Gantang to study, it did not and could not give Gantang the ability to appoint, remove and dispatch officials.
However, as a censor, Chao Cuo could use too many off-board tricks.
Don't make it too simple to selectively filter out some officials who don't suit your preferences.
It is no exaggeration to say that whoever is the future Gantang Ling will have the most powerful weapon in future political struggles.
How could Chao Cuo give up such a good opportunity?
Neither can Zhou Yafu.
"Father, is the Gantang Order really so important?" After Chao Cuo walked away, Zhou Tao finally couldn't help but asked in a low voice. You know, although throughout history, the imperial censor and the prime minister could not pee in the same pot.
, but at the very least, the situation of peace between generals and prime ministers must be maintained on the surface. Like today, the censor came to the prime minister for a showdown in a big way. This was extremely rare in the past, and it may not happen many times in the future.
"The most important thing for the country is military service and sacrifice, and the most important thing for the people is food and goods!" Zhou Yafu said this famous saying calmly, and then asked: "What is the most important thing for an official?"
"Relocation or removal, there is nothing more important than this!" Zhou Yafu said meaningfully: "In the beginning, the civil servants in Peking were studying for the best in accounting. Their authority was even parallel to the monarch's power. There were even officials and nobles who were not afraid of the emperor's punishment.
, I’m afraid of being punished by the Prime Minister!”
"And the way to govern is to win people first. Mencius said: If you have the way, you will get many help, but if you don't have the way, you will have few help. Whoever is Gan Tangling will have the way and many help!"
After hearing this, Zhou Tao's face became serious.
He finally understood why the emperor attached so much importance to the Gantang Order that he would shamelessly tie it to the Jia En Order and forcefully push it forward.
This is to dig meat from the bodies of the princes to benefit the central government!
In the past, the promotion and appointment of local grassroots officials almost entirely depended on the hands of county governors and lieutenants.
Chang'an Jiuqing and the Prime Minister's Office simply don't have the ability or energy to check the character of the chief officials and lieutenants of local county-level administrative units, let alone Xiangtingli.
So let’s just look at the results calculated each year.
However, there were so many counties in the Han Dynasty, and the number of grassroots officials who could be commended every year was limited.
Therefore, local grassroots officials were often promoted and appointed by the local county guards and county lieutenants. The court only had to ratify them afterwards.
In the 60th year of the rise of the Han Dynasty, local county governors and county captains were usually controlled and monopolized by lieutenants.
There are few examples of people who are not from a noble or noble background and can serve as county guards or county captains.
In other words, in the past, the princes controlled the entire officialdom through various relationships.
In the remote countryside far away from Guanzhong, they can play whatever they want.
Just be careful not to let the censor know about it, or fall into the hands of the poetry collecting troupe sent by the imperial court.
For example, three years ago, Zhou Yangyou, the governor of Hedong County, and Shen Tusheng, the lieutenant of Hedong County, conspired to carve up all the positions in the county. If not for today's patrol to Hedong and discovered the clues, the court might not even know about it until now. Hedong County is ruined.
What does it look like.
Here comes the question - Hedong is one of the counties where the Han Dynasty enfeoffed the most feudal princes. There were at least a dozen feudal princes who were enfeoffed in Hedong.
There are many heavyweight giants among them, such as Pingyang Hou, Fenyin Hou, etc.
These princes have had close relationships with the Liu family for generations.
So why didn't anyone report it to the court?
There is only one answer: everyone pretends to be ignorant, and as long as Zhou Yang is not stupid enough to touch their cake, they will not bother to care!
and……
Zhou Tao looked at his father, and he thought of an important thing: although their family's food town had long been moved from Jiang County in Hedong to Tiao County in Julu, and now to Changping in Zhao State.
But - no matter what, the Zhou family still has huge influence in Hedong County.
In other words, his father actually knew some of what Zhou Yangyou was doing in Hedong County back then. Even if he didn't know about the secret reselling of stored grain, he should still know that Zhou Yangyou was a man-eating tiger!
This truth made Zhou Tao's hair stand on end.
"Is this politics?" Zhou Tao thought to himself: "There is no right or wrong. There is no distinction between good and evil, just me..."
At this time, the main door of Xuanshi Palace slowly opened.
Along the steps, fire disks were lit one by one, forming a passage illuminated by firelight.
At the top, the majestic palace wall stood in the sky. Zhou Tao felt as if he saw a huge vortex spinning above the palace, where all the sins and darkness in the world were dressed up in bright and colorful colors.
, as pure and lovely as a married girl.
"Enter the palace!" Zhou Yafu adjusted his crown and hat and said to his son.
"No!" Zhou Tao replied respectfully.
But he had secretly vowed to stay away from politics in his life.
Anyway, relying on his father's kindness, he can at least live a comfortable life.
…………………………………………
At this moment, Liu Che was standing in front of the bronze mirror, letting the maid dress him.
Ji An stood respectfully next to Liu Che, reading for him the briefings from the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Imperial Censor's Yamen and the Tingwei Yamen in the past five days.
"The internal history reports that a large amount of copper coins have been flowing out of various markets in Guanzhong recently, all of which are four or three bahts. I have asked the secretary to report whether they should be banned..."
Hearing this, Liu Che said: "No, if the law does not prohibit it, then it will not be corrected. If it is normal market behavior, don't interfere!"
You can tell with your buttocks that this is an urgent shipment by noble nobles and merchants before the imperial policy is announced.
Liu Che also didn't want to do things too badly to avoid a confrontation.
Anyway, for now, even if they ship the goods, the people who take them may not necessarily lose much.
Moreover, Liu Che is already preparing to start the exchange policy of old and new coins next year.
After all, in the past few decades, the Han Dynasty, the imperial court and the merchants and nobles of the world have minted countless coins.
Although the quality of these coins varies, at least they are all copper coins.
And China is seriously short of copper.
Taking this opportunity, a large amount of five baht money was used to buy back private currency.
This is not only a respect for the country's credit and reputation, but also a profitable business.
Liu Che has already decided on the exchange rate.
Four-baht coins and five-baht coins are exchanged at a two-to-one exchange ratio, while three-baht coins are exchanged as ten to three.
This ensures market stability and avoids tightening or money shortages.
Moreover, because Liu Che fixed the value of the five-baht coin with grain, salt and ironware.
In fact, it is endorsed by five baht dollars based on the grain standard.
This means that the country is bound to make a lot of money by buying back coins!
Conservative estimates suggest that it can generate profits of more than one million yuan.
Therefore, issuing currency is one of the most profitable businesses in the world.
The only problem is that grain, ironware, and salt are not the best reference for standard currency.
Gold is it!
As for silver…
China has been short of silver since ancient times and wanted to implement the silver standard, so it opened the American copy first.
Ji An then reported: "I am preparing a report from the Yamen of the Chief of Thieves. The day before yesterday, there was a fight with weapons in the east two miles of Chang'an City. Fifteen people were injured. Both parties in the fight were arrested and detained in Neishi..."
Liu Che shook his head when he heard this: "Such a trivial matter can be dealt with by Wei Shi Ting himself. Why should you report it to me?"
"Tell me about the background of both parties in the fight!"
The moment he heard the report, Liu Che knew that the water inside was very deep.
It is not clear how many armed fights occurred throughout the year in Guanzhong.
Every time there was a fight, more than ten or twenty people would die, and the government was too lazy to take care of it.
Ordinary fighting with weapons would never appear in front of Liu Che.
Cases that were usually brought before the emperor by people below must have involved princes or relatives.
"One is Song Zihou..." Ji An lowered his head and replied.
"Ah...that troublemaker!" Liu Che couldn't help but frown.
Song Zihou is just a very small Hou Kingdom, with a total of 540 households.
It is simply a shame for the feudal lord class to have such a small settlement. Even many Guannei Hous have more settlements than Song Zihou.
However, this Song Zihou is also a strange person among the Han princes.
Especially Xu Jiu, the current generation's son-in-law of the Song Dynasty, is simply a trouble-making machine.
Since he inherited the title, everything he has done can be described as deviant.
Let me tell you one thing simply.
Who introduced the Bo slaves from the southwestern Yi and promoted them to the nobility of Guanzhong?
The answer is this Song Zihou Xu Jiu.
Since this guy inherited his father's title, he has fully carried forward Lao Xu's death-defying spirit.
To put it mildly, he is a bad boy who has the courage to try and accept new things and is full of curiosity.
To put it bluntly, this guy is an unconventional and unique guy.
For example, Liu Che used the tax rebate policy to promote waterwheels. Who was the first to introduce and purchase them on a large scale?
It's none other than this bad boy who will never grow up.
For this reason, Liu Che also noticed this guy and asked someone to investigate him.
Liu Che realized that this was such a joke.
He is a dignified prince, but he does not look like a prince at all. He often dresses up as ordinary merchants and hangs out in the flower streets and willow lanes - it is really hard to complain.
He also openly brewed wine, but ended up just using it to bathe himself.
Many people believe that the title of Song Zihou may be coming to an end.
But Liu Che didn't think so.
Liu Che felt that this guy might be useful in the future, so he didn't let Ting Wei take care of him.
How did you know that this guy would actually dig out such a big basket?
"What about the other side?" Liu Che couldn't help but become curious. He dared to roll up his sleeves and do it with the noble princes. His background was not that simple.
"It's Chu Da from Lanling, the eldest disciple of Dr. Dong Gong in the Spring and Autumn Annals..." Ji An lowered his head and reported.
Liu Che was shocked when he heard this.
No matter how you look at it, it is impossible for the Confucian scholars who governed the Spring and Autumn Annals to be in conflict with the princes.
What do they want to do?
There were princes on one side and Confucian scholars on the other, and both sides were able to merge in Chang'an City.
Although no one died, hurting someone is still a serious crime.
Han law stipulates: Injury and theft are not crimes!
Furthermore, if the injured person eventually succumbs to his injuries, the person who injures him will be guilty of murder.
According to the legislative spirit of "no hierarchy in punishment" of the Han Code, when princes break the law, they will be punished according to the law, and will only be punished accordingly.
Even so, in the history of the Han Dynasty, there were only one or two people who accidentally injured someone, and then the person died, and in the end they were given a title to pay for the crime.
The more famous ones include the Marquis of Nan'an and the Marquis of Changwu.
Especially Shande, the Marquis of Changwu. He was accused of "killing someone by sitting and injuring him within 20 days" and was cut off from the waist. What a tragedy!
With these precedents in front of him, Liu Che really felt that Song Zihou Xu Jiu and Chu Da were getting tired of life.
But Ji An was still hesitant. When Liu Che saw it, he knew there must be something inside, so he asked, "Tell me, who else is meddling in this?"
"Reporting to your majesty, there was no one else, but Song Zihou and Chu Da were fighting, and then the two fought, but..." Ji An said with a sullen face: "The place where they fought was the rural school in Dongerli!"
"Bastard!" Liu Che was finally furious.
"Send them all to the imperial prison and reflect on them!" Liu Che ordered calmly.
The rural school is an extremely sacred and extremely solemn place.
It was a place to teach and educate people and spread culture.
It has been a holy place since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Fighting in a rural school is like fighting in front of the Monument to the People's Heroes in later generations. It is of a bad nature and the circumstances are serious, and the crime will be increased to third level.
"No!" Ji An respectfully accepted the order.
Making trouble in a rural school is a serious crime no matter what.
In particular, Mr. Liu, who admired the "Teachings of the Township Party", regarded township schools as extremely important.
Usually wherever there is a rural school, there must be three elders.
When the three elders are in front of each other, unless the emperor comes, if it's a dragon, you can hold it for me, if it's a tiger, you can lie down for me.
This matter, speaking on a larger scale, even involves a major issue of right and wrong in terms of the order of superiority and inferiority.
However, the emperor's instructions were a bit strange.
Imprisonment?
Isn't that a place specifically used to hold political prisoners?
Logically speaking, shouldn't the Tingwei or Lieutenant take over?
Could it be that the emperor had other intentions?
Ji An shook his head and threw all this behind him.
To him, this is just a trivial matter.
The real big event lies in the upcoming court ceremony.
Now, Zhang Tang has gone to Nanyang, Yi Zong is in Yunzhong, and another Ju Meng is in charge of Huben Guards. He never likes to participate in politics and only abides by his own job.
Therefore, the only person around the emperor who could compete with him was Yan Yi.
Over the past few days, he and Yan Yi had been fighting wits and courage for countless rounds.
But the dawn of victory is still missing.
This made Ji An's performance even more intense.
He urgently needs to make achievements to prove himself.
And today's court meeting is a good scene.
Ji An was already picturing in his mind the image of himself fighting with ministers and blowing away countless opponents with his words. (To be continued.)
ps: Axi, in order to avoid being defeated by a cold today, after I finished typing last night, I went to the hospital to get fluids until 4 o'clock in the morning~
Finally successfully defeated the cold, only the cough is left~
Well, ten thousand words today~
The debt owed yesterday will be paid on the 2nd of next month~
