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."
Chen Mu nodded and said to everyone: "Now let's move on to the next topic. There are many princes in the world who send envoys to the imperial court, but there are also many princes who do not send envoys to the imperial court. Some of you have dealt with these princes. What do you think?
, how should we interact with these princes?"
Jia Kui stood up and said: "Bei once served as a county official in Hedong. Before Bei came, he heard that Ma Teng and Han Sui had become enemies of each other due to conflicts between their tribes. Bei thought that maybe he could take advantage of the relationship between the two of them.
The contradictions will be of great help to us in winning Guanzhong."
"oh?"
Chen Mu said in surprise: "Is there such a thing?"
Zhang Ji also said: "I have also heard about this matter, but it doesn't seem to be a big fuss."
Chen Mu then asked Zhong Yao: "Does the Chancellor's Desk contain any official documents from China?"
Zhong Yao said: "I sent a few copies yesterday, but they didn't record this matter."
"Maybe it's still on the way."
Chen Mu did not blame the Military Intelligence Department for its poor intelligence.
As mentioned before, most of the strength of the Military Intelligence Department was used to deal with Yuan Shao and lurk in Henan and other places.
Places such as Guanzhong, Yizhou, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou are too far away. Only a few strongholds have been placed, but they have not been fully deployed. Therefore, it is normal for the intelligence to be not updated in a timely manner.
However, because of the non-stop strategy of conquering Guanzhong, the Military Intelligence Department is currently expanding the intelligence base in Guanzhong. I believe that in another month or two, the intelligence transmission will be much faster.
Chen Mu quickly recalled it in his mind. He had read through the Twenty-Four Histories and had a very good memory. He vaguely seemed to remember that Han Sui and Ma Teng had turned against each other this year, but he had forgotten the specific content.
After all, so much time has passed and it is impossible for him to remember everything. It is reasonable not to remember this incident.
Historically, Han Sui and Ma Teng turned against each other at this time, and the two became more and more quarrelsome. First, Ma Teng defeated Han Sui, and then Han Sui launched a counterattack to defeat Ma Teng, and also killed Ma Teng's wife and child, who was Ma Chao's mother.
and brothers.
After Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao to serve as the acting Sili Lieutenant to supervise the troops in Guanzhong, Zhong Yao reported the matter to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao and Liangzhou Mu Wei Duan to mediate.
The time when the two turned against each other and Zhong Yao mediated happened to be from the end of the fourth year of Jian'an to the beginning of the fifth year of Jian'an, that is, the end of 199 AD and the beginning of 200 AD.
Now the era name has changed to the first year of Zhangwu, early 200 AD, which happened to be the time when Han Sui and Ma Teng were in conflict.
Chen Mu thought for a while and said to Zhong Yao: "Send someone to investigate this news immediately."
"Um."
Zhong Yao nodded to express his understanding.
Chen Mu turned to Jia Kui and Zhang Ji and said, "Very good, this news is very important to the court. If it is true, it may be of great help to the court."
Then he said to everyone: "Do you have any opinions on the other princes?"
Chen Dengdao: "Yuan Shu is on his last breath. After Sun Ce occupied Shouchun, he mobilized his troops and set his sights on Jiangdong. Cao Cao cannot bear to be caught in the middle. The imperial court can send envoys to explain to Cao Cao that if he attacks Jiangdong, the imperial court will fully support him."
"Is this another plan of killing three people with two peaches?"
Chen Mu laughed.
He remembered Chen Deng's plan for Tao Qian, but he easily saw through it.
Chen Deng seemed to have remembered this incident and smiled sheepishly. It was not that he only knew this strategy, but that the situation at that time and now made him think this strategy was more suitable.
During the reign of Tao Qian, he asked Tao Qian to use Xuzhou as bait to lure Cao and Liu to rebel. Now he is using the same trick again, using Yangzhou as bait to lure Sun Cao to rebel.
Although he failed in Xuzhou, Chen Deng believed that it was not a matter of strategy, but of Xuzhou's geographical factors.
At that time, Chen Mu's method to defeat him was to divide Xuzhou equally with Cao Cao. The location of Xuzhou was not very good. It bordered Qingzhou to the north and Yanzhou to the west. Each side took half of the border, so the split happened.
But Yangzhou is different. Yangzhou is separated by the Yangtze River and borders only Yuzhou and not Huaibei. It is impossible for Sun Jian and Cao Cao to divide Yangzhou equally, so this strategy has a high probability of success.
Chen Mu pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Maybe it's feasible. I can try sending an official document to Cao Cao then."
It's impossible for Cao Cao not to see this strategy, but it's a conspiracy.
He could definitely use the name of the imperial court to ask Sun Cao to attack Yangzhou together. After all, it is a fact that Yuan Shu is a rebellious minister. Neither of them would refuse to use the name of the imperial court to attack Yangzhou. As for who will take it in the end, it depends on them.
It's up to you.
Then Du Ji wrote: "Bei once served as the Prime Minister of Hanzhong. He knew that Zhang Lu had turned against Liu Zhang and established himself in Hanzhong. If the imperial court attacked Hanzhong, Liu Zhang would not come to rescue him. Moreover, Zhang Lu did not have much talent. If he
If the army threatens him, he will be frightened. If the imperial court does not issue an edict to persuade him, it is a shame that he will neither surrender nor offend the imperial court excessively. At that time, the imperial court can first defeat Han Sui and Ma Teng, pacify Guanzhong, and then capture Hanzhong."
Du Ji's intention was to stabilize Zhang Lu so that when the imperial army attacked Han Sui and Ma Teng, Zhang Lu would not come to rescue them. He would wait until Han Sui and Ma Teng were eliminated before dealing with Zhang Lu. And because Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang
Even if he rebels, Liu Zhang will not come to rescue him. In this way, layer by layer, when Hanzi is captured, he can march to Yizhou and capture Shuzhong.
"good."
Chen Mu thought it was reasonable and immediately agreed.
At this moment, other cabinet ministers expressed their opinions and expressed their views on the diplomacy of various princes.
Some people think that we should engage in distant relations and attack closely. We should first stabilize those who are far away, such as Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, and Zhang Lu, and then deal with those who are close, such as Han Sui, Ma Teng, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Lu Bu.
Some people think that they can take advantage of the contradiction between Han Sui and Ma Teng and let them fight among themselves first. They also take advantage of the fact that both Cao Cao and Sun Jian have ambitions to expand to Jiangdong, so that they can fight among themselves, consume their strength, and watch the fight between tigers and tigers.
Others say that Zhang Xiu of Wancheng is not really loyal to Liu Biao, and he can be persuaded to surrender to the court.
Everyone made suggestions and brainstormed ideas one after another, and soon there were a large number of foreign policies for the imperial court. They could be coaxed, suppressed, driven, forced, and so on.
Even if the speaker doesn't mean it, listen and pay attention.
When Chen Mu heard Wancheng Zhang Xiu's name, he immediately looked south with interest.
Over the years, he has been dealing with Yuan Shao first, but he has forgotten about Zhang Xiu in Wancheng.
You know, Yingchuan borders Nanyang.
This means that the imperial court is actually very close to Nanyang, and they can go directly to Wancheng from Kunyang through Yingchuan County.
The route was from Pingdingshan City in later generations to Ye County and through Fangcheng County to attack Nanyang City. There was a smooth road in the middle without any passes and almost no obstacles.
Historically, Cao Cao conquered Nanyang first and then attacked Yuan Shao, but that was because Cao Cao occupied Henan and needed stability in the rear to prevent Zhang Xiu from going north to attack Xudu.
Liu Bei attacked Jizhou from Qingzhou, so he didn't have to worry about this problem at all, so he ignored it.
Now that I have finally freed myself, I can fight Nanyang.
after all.
The geographical location of Nanyang is very important.
It connects Luoyang and Yanzhou to the north, Yuzhou to the east, and Jingzhou to the south. There is even a direct connection from Wuguan to Chang'an from the northwest, and you can also enter Hanzhong through the Han River. It can be said that it is a place with extremely developed transportation!
If we can capture Nanyang, it will be equivalent to holding the throat of the north and the south. It will be difficult for Cao Cao, Liu Biao, Sun Jian and others to unite together.