In charge of taxes, money, grain, salt and iron, and national fiscal revenue and expenditure.
However, as the power of the state and county chief officials has grown day by day, today's chief minister has been reduced to just being responsible for the safekeeping of these materials. The position and power have long been mismatched, and it has become a job for the nobles.
Li Yan, who underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, lost nearly 10,000 elite soldiers, and returned to Chengdu with this title.
Since Prime Minister Zhuge Liang established his government, he has been rewarded for his merits and punished for his crimes.
Li Yan, who was moved to the left, was not at all unwilling to deal with this.
If the Prime Minister hadn't considered him as a lonely and important minister entrusted by the late Emperor Liu Bei, seizing the title and deposing him as a common man would be the lightest punishment. It was his own fault. Now that the Prime Minister has shown mercy, what else could he complain about?
The other generals didn't care whether he complained.
In terms of military exploits or seniority, there are many Han men who are higher than Li Yan.
He was able to occupy a high position only because the talents of the Dongzhou scholar line were withering, and the late emperor Liu Bei "picked generals from the shortest" in order to balance internal power.
When the generals in the army talked about him, they would not pity him and he would be known as "a soldier who doesn't know how to fight".
But I feel that it is not worth it for those soldiers who died in the battle.
For example, Wei Yan, who has always been unruly and outspoken, cursed in private: "If I am willing to sacrifice more than ten thousand elites, how can the Sangyuan Gorge in Niwei District stop the advance of my Han army!"
This sentence is also the sentiment of all generals.
Anyway, with or without him, the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition will continue.
The most urgent thing people are concerned about is how to clean up the mess of his defeat and re-formulate the strategy of the Northern Expedition.
Zheng Pu was like this. He was summoned privately by the Prime Minister and came back to Hanzhong County for a discussion.
Before him, Wei Yan, Guan Xing and Jiang Wei were all asked by the prime minister in private letters, asking them to write letters and submit their respective opinions.
From this small detail, many court officials vaguely realized that in the prime minister's mind, their opinions were just to fill in the gaps, and only Zheng Pu could make a comprehensive discussion.
This also means that the prime minister defined Zheng Pu as the "mastermind" of the Han Dynasty.
Just like the former emperor's positioning of Fa Zheng.
In this regard, there are some who are envious, but no one who is jealous.
First of all, it was naturally Zheng Pu's plan for the war in recent years, which is almost said to be an exhaustive plan.
Another reason is that Zheng Pu has a reputation in the army as being able to survive a hundred battles.
The prime minister then pushed him to the stage, with the intention of downplaying Li Yan's defeat and encouraging the soldiers' confidence in the Northern Expedition.
Furthermore, everyone knows that Zheng Pu recommended Xue Yong to serve as the governor of Xiping.
Taking the selfish Yuan Cong faction as the governor and taking into account the interests of the other three factions is a result that everyone likes to see.
Therefore, people couldn't help but suddenly discovered that Zheng Pu was "outstanding".
Judging from the talent and learning he has displayed, it is inevitable that he will become an important minister of the imperial court in the future, if nothing unexpected happens.
As a scholar from Yizhou, he was the son-in-law of the Yuancong clan and an in-law from the Jingxiang clan. He was deeply close and trusted by Emperor Liu Chan, and it was inevitable for Dongzhou scholars to gradually integrate into the Jingxiang clan.
Among all the great men, there is no one who does not share the advantages and disadvantages of him?
Those who can serve as assistants and assistants in the court are not stupid people.
So they also came to the conclusion: This son may succeed the prime minister one day!
In other words, the prime minister, who is known for his willingness to promote younger generations, has long regarded him as one of his successors!
The sudden and explicit efforts to build momentum for him and establish his prestige in the DPRK were only revealed in advance because of Li Yan's defeat.
Otherwise, how to explain that he is involved with both the Yuan Cong and Jing Xiang clans?
No one wants to believe that this is just a "coincidence".
No one doubted that if the prime minister, who was personally involved in everything, had not secretly promoted it, such a "coincidence" involving the future stability of the court would have happened.
No wonder not long ago, when the imperial court recorded the victory of Xiahou Ru in Yuzhong County, the Prime Minister rejected all opinions and refused to promote Zheng Pu to a military position. Instead, he joined the army from the Prime Minister's Office and was moved to Sima.
The Han Dynasty now uses the Prime Minister's Office to decide the government, and the powers of the Prime Minister's Office are equivalent to that of the Minister of Public Affairs.
For example, after Shangshu Ling Chen Zhen was transferred to Weiwei, no new Shangshu Ling was appointed, and many affairs began to be handled by Shi Jiang Wan, the remaining governor.
It just so happened that Sima and Chang Shi of the Prime Minister's Office were at the same level.
The Northern Expedition had just begun, and there was no shortage of wars and military exploits, so the prime minister let Zheng Pu enter the decision-making center first.
I see.
Many court officials suddenly realized this.
Zheng Pu also had a vague realization, so he felt uneasy.
This is not to belittle oneself.
Over the years since he became an official, he has indeed made countless achievements, and his official promotion and title awards have been far faster than others.
But he has never been too ambitious.
I never expected to become a leader of the country one day.
He doesn't have that kind of desire for power.
I don't want to have that kind of authority either.
Because, his original intention of becoming an official has never changed!
Whether it was for Qiao Zhou to preach that rebelling against Wei would not lead to destiny, or to advise the emperor Liu Chan to have more experience in the difficulties of understanding scholars and common people, it was just so that the great Han could unite as one and unswervingly support the Northern Expedition. He worked hard to make friends with Yuan Cong and Jing Jing.
The Xiang family was friendly and asked Qiao Zhou to train his confidants, so that he would not be challenged by the temple when he was leading the army in the future.
Of course!
He just wanted the Prime Minister to see the hope of reviving the Han Dynasty in his lifetime; when the weather is not holiday, he can be happy that the Han Dynasty has the foundation of "three prosperity"!
No more regrets.
That's all.
That's why he acted without caring about his reputation or his feathers.
Therefore, he concentrated on leading the army on the expedition and stopped fighting for supremacy on the battlefield.
To take a step back, he is also afraid of having that kind of authority.
Power is a double-edged sword.
When you hold it, you can make others surrender, and you will be constantly cut by the blade.
In his dusty memory, all those who rule the country rarely have a happy ending.
Or, like Huo Guang, he had nothing to attach to during his lifetime and was exterminated after his death.
Or like Cao Cao of Wei Dynasty, when he was young, he aspired to be a general to conquer the west and quell the northwest rebellion for the Han Dynasty; but in the end he was granted the title of Duke and King, which laid a solid foundation for future generations to become emperor and cleared the obstacles to replace the Han Dynasty.
Zheng Pu didn't dare to judge what he would become after possessing that kind of power.
Duke Zhou was afraid of the day of rumors, but Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the throne.
After facing the baptism and corrosion of self-centered power, how many people dare to make a conclusion about themselves before the day when the coffin is finalized?
Moreover, he was not the prime minister who tried to save the Han Dynasty from collapse; today's Liu Chan is not the late emperor Liu Bei who was half-finished in his entrepreneurial career.
In other words, throughout the ages, the only ones who have been determined not to fail are the late emperors and the prime ministers.
Today's emperor Liu Chan is indeed generous and kind-hearted, and he is friendly and close to him.
But what if he takes control?
The Han Dynasty had the deeds of Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao. Is Emperor Liu Chan still lenient?
Even if Emperor Liu Chan is still kind-hearted, will other officials who want to go further be equally tolerant?
People will change.
The price was too heavy, Zheng Pu couldn't believe in himself, let alone trust others.
So he didn't want to get involved in political affairs.
If it comes later, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Dong Yun will be very good, and Zhuge Qiao will also be very good.
Even Chen Zhi and Zhuge Zhan can accept it.
There is no need for him to get himself into that kind of situation of right and wrong, walking on thin ice.
Naturally, it has not reached that point yet.
The Prime Minister has only revealed a slight clue; and the cautious Prime Minister will never place all his hopes on him alone.
He still has plenty of time to put himself out of the situation and clarify his position.
On the basis of living up to the Prime Minister's trust and not losing the merits of the Northern Expedition, let others become the Prime Minister.
The method is also very simple.
For example, he will never plead for Ma Di again.
For example, if you meet someone like Liu Yan, you will end up naked and you will be punished!
Cheng Yu, who rebelled against the Wei Dynasty, acted ruthlessly and often attacked others. Therefore, even though he was loyal to the rebel Wei Dynasty and worked hard and achieved great achievements, he never became one of the Three Dukes in his life.
Zheng Pu also wanted to imitate him.
Anyway, when leading an army on an expedition, you should do whatever you can.
By the way, it would be better if you could make a few political enemies.
Nowadays, under the influence of the prime minister, many ministers rarely have disputes in private, and it is difficult to find opponents at the same level.
Chang Shi Yang Yi is a good candidate.
But having Wei Yan alone was enough for him.
If he continued to persecute him, he might not be able to bear it and would miss the Northern Expedition.
As for the others, there seems to be no one with an intolerable temperament.
Alas, that’s all.
Let's first look for an opportunity to push the achievements of our peers Guan Xing and Jiang Wei, so that they have more opportunities to show off their abilities, so as to attract the Prime Minister's attention.
and his wife’s brother Zhang Bao.
In the future, his status is destined to be relied upon by Emperor Liu Chan, who has little support from the clan.
On the way back to Hanzhong County, Zheng Pu thought secretly in his heart.
