In the announcement room, there are clear levels of hierarchy in the spacious hall.

Each of the first-class ministers of affairs sits in a separate seat and has a table with a large number of official documents sent from the minister's desk.

The second-class counselor doctors sit at the same table and have no desk. They only have the power to transfer official documents and copy official documents. When they want to browse official documents, they can only read them when they are transcribing.

The third-class admonishment ministers were all sitting on a large banquet on the right side of the hall. They did not even have the right to read official documents. They could only observe the affairs and put forward opinions.

But even so, these admonishment ministers were excited about having such power, because they had real contact with the central power.

This is equivalent to a group of local department-level bureau chiefs being able to enter the Central and State Council to observe world government affairs. It is not only an opportunity to reach heaven, but it is also an important way to learn and improve oneself.

Those who were selected here were not stupid people. These people soon realized that as the emperor's close ministers, the cabinet members would have the same power in the future as the former ministers.

Many people know that in the Western Han Dynasty, the prime minister system was in which the prime minister held all the power. But in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the prime minister system was abolished. Although there were three princesses, in fact, if the three princes did not have the position of recorder and minister, they would be basically no different from decorations and completely lost.

real power.

The real real power lies in the hands of the Shangshutai. Just like during the Kang Dynasty, the Shangshulings were all eunuchs, which made it impossible for other ministers of the court to interfere in political affairs. The promotion and demotion of officials were all based on the words of the emperor and the eunuchs, and their functions were in charge of the affairs of the court.

At this point, the Shangshutai of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the group prime minister system of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty, and the military agency system of the Qing Dynasty are of the same nature. They are all the emperors convening a group of loyal ministers to handle government affairs and strengthen centralization of power.

The Shangshutai of the Eastern Han Dynasty was slightly different from other systems in that the rank of the Shangshutai was relatively low, and there was also the system of three ministers and nine ministers, which was equivalent to raising a bunch of idle people, which was completely meaningless.

During the period of Cao Cao, Xun Yu was in charge of the Shangshu table and was called Xun Lingjun. He was the second most powerful person under Cao Cao. However, the rank of Shangshu Ling was only Qianshi, and the other three princes and nine ministers in the court were there, so Cao Cao put them aside and put them aside.

Government affairs were all handed over to Xun Yu, and this was the situation.

Now Chen Mu is looking for work for the three ministers and nine ministers, and has formed a cabinet to replace the minister's desk. Although it seems to have a different name, smart people can see that the nature is the same. He just changed the original minister's order to "everyone together".

Negotiate.

Therefore, even the third-class admonishment ministers knew very well the benefits of staying in the cabinet. They sat on the banquet one by one, stretched their necks and looked at the ministers and counselors above, waiting for the meeting to start.

After everyone sat down, Chen Mu looked around without saying anything. A eunuch served tea to several ministers. Since he invented fried tea, it has gradually become popular.

After waiting for a long time, the palace was quiet, no one was whispering to each other, no one felt impatient, and no one wanted to be expelled from the cabinet.

After about half a quarter of an hour, a eunuch walked out of the back room of Xuan Palace and said loudly: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

"I have met His Majesty!"

The ministers quickly stood up from their seats, put their hands on their foreheads, and then saluted according to etiquette.

Liu Bei slowly entered the palace surrounded by several palace maids and eunuchs, walked to the high platform, sat cross-legged, looked down at the crowd and raised his hands in vain: "Your Majesty, please excuse me and sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The ministers sat down again.

Liu Bei looked at Chen Mu and said, "Young Master, let's discuss the matter."

"only!"

Chen Mu stood up and said to everyone: "Everyone, today is the first meeting of the cabinet. It took a month to form the cabinet. Some of you are veterans who have followed His Majesty for many years, and some of you are talents selected by the imperial court.

There are also some people who were elected, and they are all talented people. I would like to ask everyone, what is the significance of the existence of the cabinet?"

Everyone looked at each other. Jia Kui is only twenty-six years old this year. He is a person who is good at seizing opportunities. Because his family is too poor, he knows very well that opportunities will not come to them by themselves, but they need to be fought for by themselves, so it is

He immediately stood up and said in a deep voice: "The cabinet recruits talents in order to work together to govern the world."

"good."

Chen Mu nodded approvingly: "I need talents like you who can sum it up in simple words. The purpose of the cabinet is to govern the world. Nowadays, the three ministers and nine ministers have their own powers, but their powers will also encounter problems.

Trouble, the cabinet is where these troubles are solved."

If we use a metaphor, the three ministers and nine ministers are equivalent to various ministries in later generations. These departments have their own duties. For example, the Ministry of Transportation is responsible for road planning, the Ministry of Public Security is responsible for public security and criminal matters, and the courts are responsible for trials and the formulation of laws.

But these departments cannot make the country progress, because they also need a leading department to set the direction and control how the country should develop in the future.

In the Qing Dynasty, this place was called the Military Aircraft Department, in later generations it was called the State Council, and now it is called the Cabinet.

"The cabinet accommodates talents from all over the world and makes suggestions to the emperor. The purpose is to determine the path the Han Empire should take in the future and what national policies to decide. You all start from the local area. If you do well in the future, you may return to the local area, and then there will be

Maybe I will return to the cabinet again, step by step, to reach where I am today."

Chen Mu added: "But no matter what, I hope you can remember the days in the cabinet, because you may become the ones who govern the country in the future. But before you become the first-class minister, you are like a group of students.

, From now on, each of you will go to work in your local area. If you do well, you will come back. If you do poorly, you will fall behind. I hope you can move in this direction and serve your Majesty and the country. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

The ministers stood up again and saluted Chen Mu.

After everyone sat down, Chen Mu spoke again: "Now that everyone has understood the meaning of the cabinet, let's start discussing the matter. The first topic today is that the world is currently in chaos and the situation is unclear. What national policy should we set?

What is it?"

"Recover the country!"

Immediately someone stood up and said: "We should plow the courtyard and sweep the holes to wipe out the bandits from all directions!"

This national policy is to send troops now. If this national policy is determined, the next issue should be how to send troops and where to attack.

But soon someone objected: "Now that your Majesty has just recovered Hebei, the troops are exhausted and the people are in dire straits. If you continue to use troops, it will inevitably lead to military aggression. The top priority should be to recuperate and wait for the weather."

"No, rest and recuperate. That is to give the enemy a chance to breathe. It is indeed impossible to use troops at this time, but it does not mean that we cannot move at all. We can tire the enemy."

Someone else stood up and said.

These three suggestions basically represent three directions, namely sending troops immediately, recuperating and recuperating while sending troops.

It may seem like nonsense, but in fact this is the path that should be considered at the moment.

Each of the three factions had their own views. Those who sent troops believed that the world was still in a state of fragmentation. Except for Liu Zhang in Yizhou and Liu Biao in Jingzhou, the other princes were not afraid.

Therefore, we should immediately send troops to attack while their strength is still weak.

Opponents believe that although these princes are not strong, firstly, the court has been fighting for many years, and the soldiers and civilians are exhausted and need to rest. Secondly, if the pressure is too urgent, the princes will unite together, making it more difficult to deal with.

Therefore, it can be said that it is reasonable for the father-in-law to speak to the public, and it is reasonable for the mother-in-law to speak to her mother-in-law.

In fact, Chen Mu has already decided on this national policy, which is to choose to recuperate and send troops at the same time. He only occupied Guanzhong and Youzhou, and deployed troops on the borders of other princes to deter them, but in fact he focused on recuperation and development.

.

The reason why he set the questions was to test everyone's ability.

Seeing everyone expressing their opinions, Chen Mu, Ju Shou and others observed carefully and allowed everyone to speak freely, but did not immediately stop them.

After a long time, everyone had almost elaborated their opinions. Chen Mu looked around and saw that among the crowd, among the people who were admonishing ministers, only Zhang Ji remained silent, and among the consulting doctors, only Dong Zhao

Mao Jie closed his eyes and rested his mind.

So he opened his mouth and said: "Xiao Xian, Gong Ren, De Rong, why don't you say anything?"

Zhang looked around and saw that neither Dong Zhao nor Mao Jie spoke, so he had to speak first: "Bei doesn't know much about the current situation in the world, nor is he very clear about the current situation of the court, so he dare not draw any conclusions on his own. It's just me.

Seeing that the imperial court is now eliminating the old and weak and training elite soldiers, this is not something that can be completed in a day, so I speculate that the imperial court should focus on self-cultivation."

"Well, not bad, very insightful."

Chen Mu nodded, then looked at Dong Zhao and Mao Jie and said: "Xian Xian, Gongren, you two should have read a lot of documents from the Chancellor's Desk these days. You should have a clear understanding of the court authorities and the situation in the world, so why not

What do you say?"

Dong Zhao thought for a moment and then spoke first: "Because I know that the imperial court already has a national policy, so even if I say it, it is useless, so I don't waste any words."

"oh?"

Chen Mu smiled and said: "Then tell me, what is the current national policy of the imperial court?"

"Take Guanzhong and watch the world."

Dong Zhaodao.

"Stay calm in Youzhou and look at Henan!"

Mao Jie added.

"good!"

Chen Mu nodded approvingly, then looked at the cabinet ministers in the audience and said: "As the ancients said, you can tell autumn by watching the falling leaves. The customization of national policies is not based on what you want, but on the current situation. If there is a lack of food, it will

We must first develop agriculture. If we lack soldiers and horses, we must build a strong army. Although everyone has their own opinions, it is too one-sided. In the future, we must pay more attention to politics and study hard."

"only."

Everyone expressed their understanding.

Another person said: "Please tell me, Mr. Shaofu, what is the specific national policy of the imperial court now?"

Chen Mu said: "As Xiaoxian and Gongren said, although we have gained Hebei, we are already in decline, so we need to rest for two or three years to restore local people's livelihood management in Hebei. However, we cannot do nothing externally. Although Guanzhong

It is the place of the Fourth War. The situation is extremely chaotic, but there are no strong enemies, so we must capture it first. Youzhou is our rear area, and it must be stable to conquer the world. Therefore, our national policy in the past two years is to capture Guanzhong and Youzhou externally, and capture Guanzhong and Youzhou internally.

Maintain crops, raise livestock and military supplies, accumulate strength, and wait for the opportunity."

"These days, I see in the official documents that grain and grass are shipped to Guanzhong, so this is it."

Dong Zhao said.

"Yes, that's exactly it."
To be continued...