When Chen Gui, the Prime Minister of Jibei Province, sent his final apology form and the anti-traitor policy jointly signed by the county and government offices directly to Kyoto along the Jishui River, a huge turmoil arose in both the government and the public.
No one expected that such ferocious bandits would gather quietly within the empire. So far, three of the top officials with only two thousand stones have died, and you must know that the empire only has a total of one hundred and ten Six counties.
At first, Zhang Rang and others regarded this group of thieves as scabies and thought that they could be wiped out by the joint force of the prefects from several counties near Mount Tai. But now, it seems that the Taishan thieves can no longer be regarded as ordinary thieves.
To be honest, it’s not Zhang Rang’s fault, because there are many ministers who think like Zhang Rang. In this dynasty, civil unrest and thieves have occurred not only once or twice, but also some bandits, pirates, and barbarians have caused trouble in several counties. Yes, but as long as a member of the imperial court can serve as a prefect, he can be easily wiped out.
It just didn't work now. If the old method didn't work, we had to discuss new methods. Therefore, Liu Hong called several important ministers into the palace to discuss strategies to suppress the thieves.
This kind of large-scale suspicion was basically discussed with Sangong and Shangshu Ling. So after Xiaohuangmen passed the decree, Taiwei Yang Ci, Sikong Zhang Ji, Situ Yuan Wei and Shangshu Ling Cao Ding entered the palace.
The reason why Sangong was called was not because they had any power, but simply because major military and state affairs required consensus with leaders like Sangong, and the one who really issued the decree was Shangshu Ling.
In fact, the three princes of this dynasty only have the power to discuss affairs. Compared with the prime ministers of the former Han Dynasty, they are insignificant. The prime ministers of the former Han Dynasty were truly the leaders of other dynasties. But it is precisely because of such great power that Huo Guang appeared during the Zhao Emperor, Wang Fengzhi became the Emperor, and finally evolved officials like Wang Mang who usurped the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, after Guangwu conquered the world, he was angry at the loss of power for several generations, and was angry at the stealing of the lives of powerful ministers. Although he appointed the Three Dukes, he was not responsible for the administration. The affairs were returned to the Taige, and the duties of the Three Dukes were just to prepare personnel.
In fact, the flaws of the three princes can also be seen from the background of the three princes who entered the palace. The three princes above, Taiwei Yang Ci, Sikong Zhangji, and Situ Yuan Wei, were all Confucian scholars, and the prime ministers of the former Han Dynasty were all after the meritorious princes before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The former is nothing more than a piece of paper that can be retreated, while the latter can check and balance the emperor.
But there is a saying that preventing the emergence of powerful ministers like Wang Mang was indeed the initial reason for the separation of the three princes, but it was not the reason why it could be maintained for more than a hundred years.
People often say that we should learn from history, as if people can really change from history.
But in fact, only those like Guangwu and Emperor Ming could appreciate the role of learning from history. Later emperors could only rely on books and oral memories to learn about it indirectly, and often did not take it seriously.
For example, Guangwu also opposed the autocratic power of his maternal relatives. He felt that the starting point for Wang Mang to take over the Han Dynasty was that Wang Feng had the autocratic power of his maternal relatives. But in reality? Emperor Ming could still be wary of his uncle's position as a cardinal. And by the time of Emperor Zhang, even if there were ministers like Tian The family usurped the Qi Dynasty, the six ministers divided the Jin Dynasty, and Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty to warn his relatives. The emperor still favored his relatives Dou Xian and allowed him to take charge of secrets, which also started the trend of exclusive power for the relatives in this dynasty.
Therefore, if people can really learn lessons from history, then history will not become a cycle.
The reason behind it is that it is more reasonable for three people to do things than one person. In the past, there was only one prime minister, and things were complicated and there was no responsibility. But now the three ministers oversee some things, and there is a division of labor and responsibilities.
For example, Taiwei Yang Ci, who was the first to enter the palace, was in charge of the military affairs of the four directions, and then rewarded and punished him based on assessments every year. The military affairs of the four directions here were mainly the inspection and supervision of the chiefs of the border counties. In addition to the inspection and supervision of the two border commanders,
In addition to Qian Shi's supervision, Taiwei also supervised the work of Taichang Qing, Guanglu Qing and Wei Weiqing.
But all of the above are actually false. The most valued thing among the three men like Taiwei is the ability to recruit subordinates. This is the power that can make people become officials and go further. Often, as long as one three men are appointed, they can train more than a dozen
A disciple is an old official, so if you want to become a soldier leader, you must have a San Gong in your family, so that you will have enough followers. Therefore, even if the San Gong always has to take the blame for the emperor, even in Liu Hong's generation, when the San Gong
Even if you have to spend a lot of money, there are still so many people flocking to it. This is the root behind it.
Yang Ci became a Taiwei in October last year, and this is the fourth time that he has served as Sangong. Before, he served as Sikong and Situ, then he became a Situ again, and finally he became a Taiwei.
Ups and downs.
This time, he took over the class of the former Taiwei Xu Xu, who was also a Confucian scholar, but unlike Yang Ci who rebelled against the eunuchs, Xu Xu was pro-eunuch, but later he was defeated due to floods, droughts and recruitment of officials.
He was deposed for his mistakes and the eunuch group lost a city.
As a veteran who has been active since the Liang Ji era, Yang Ci is already old enough. At this moment, he is being helped into the palace tremblingly from the small yellow gate and is panting. But compared with Sikong Zhang Ji beside him, Yang Ci is already
It's spirited enough.
Sikong Zhangji was from Xiyang, Runan, and he was also from a public family. His family was the descendant of Zhang Er, the king of Zhao in the early Han Dynasty.
The party members, plus Yuan Wei, who had been serving as Situ for two years, were also close to the eunuchs. It can be said that the team of the previous Sangong were simply the echo men of the eunuchs.
However, as Yang Ci replaced Xu Zhu as the Taiwei in October last year, the power of the eunuchs was weakened. In addition to Yang Ci's own high moral character and prestige as Liu Hong's emperor's disciple, another reason was that Sikong Zhang Ji was old and
Faint.
Take the current situation as an example, Zhang Ji was helped to the mat, his eyes were in a daze, and the drool overflowing from the corner of his mouth showed how old and comatose this person had become.
Although Zhang Ji and Taiwei Yang Ci belong to different camps, the relationship between the two is still very good, so seeing that his old friend has reached this level, Yang Ci is also very sad, so he calls over a small Huangmen who is accompanying him and asks him to
Put your waistcoat on Lao Sikong's shoulders.
When Yang Ci was in distress, Situ Yuan Wei entered the palace. Compared with Zhang Ji and Yang Ci, who were young and old, Yuan Wei was in good spirits. Since his brother died of illness four years ago, the Yuan family in Runan has only been headed by Yuan Wei.
, In recent years, with the expansion of his family's power and his ability to play both sides between nobles and eunuchs, Yuan Wei's career has become increasingly smooth.
The so-called power is a man's second life. With this blessing, Yuan Wei will naturally become stronger and stronger. Accompanying him is Cao Ding, the Minister of Secretariat, who is a member of the Cao Teng clan of the late Zhongchang Shi. It can be said that he is also an authentic eunuch.
It can be seen from this that the previous Sangong and Shangshuling teams were all members of the eunuch party. From this we can get a taste of how powerful the eunuchs were.
The three ministers sat together, and Shangshu Ling sat on one side alone. Not long after the four of them sat down, Liu Hong came.
At this time, Liu Hong's face was already a little pale, and his steps were a little vain. The three princes who were doing this had all served the country for several generations. Liu Hong's state was exactly the same as that of the previous short-lived emperors. Involuntarily, everyone showed sadness.
But Liu Hong didn't know what the old men below were thinking, so he asked vigorously and resolutely:
"The ministers have read Chen Qing's letter. What do you think of the letter he wrote to vindicate the thief?"
After all, this matter was related to the military, so Yang Ci was the first to express his opinion:
"This strategy has been used to plan for the country. Chen Qing is worthy of being the pillar of our Han Dynasty. Xihu, God will not miss his age and make him die early. This is a loss for the world."
The superior Liu Hong nodded, and then looked at Situ Yuan Wei.
Yuan Wei received the wink and said calmly:
"Chen Qing's plan is good, but it is not practical. The cost of building the wall connecting road is more than hundreds of millions, plus adding troops to each wall, the cost is too huge. And this strategy is not surprising.
When the Qiang was suppressed in the previous generation, in order to prevent the Qiang people from entering Hebei from Bingzhou, a barrier was built between Changshan and Zhao. But that was against the Qiang people, and now it is just against a bandit who wants to survive in Mount Tai. This strategy is used.
pass."
In fact, Yuan Wei's meaning is very simple. It is not that this strategy cannot be used, but once it is used, you don't know how much it will cost. If it is to deal with the Qiang people, the money is spent, but now it is just a thief.
Isn't this method just like swatting away mosquitoes and flies with huge rocks? It's too much of a mobilization of troops and crowds.
After listening to Yuan Wei's words, Liu Hong grinned and was secretly satisfied. The money Yuan Wei mentioned was what he cared about. Although the young man in charge of the money didn't come, he still didn't know how much it would cost according to Chen Gui's strategy.
But Liu Hong knew that no matter how little he did, he would still be cut off from his body.
But Yuan Wei's words aroused Yang Ci's opposition, and he said to Liu Hong:
"Situ's words are actually a big fallacy. The so-called chaos that subverts the country is not external but internal. Since the Qin Dynasty, the world has been unified and has not been overthrown by foreigners. No matter the Xiongnu, Qiang or Xianbei, they are all suffering from scabies.
On the contrary, those who subverted the country were Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and Red Eyebrow Green Forest. Now, this group of Taishan thieves who have emerged in large numbers has the momentum to disturb the world. From Chen Gui's apology form, we can see that this group of thieves is fierce and difficult to fight.
After several battles and victories, the effective forces of several nearby counties have been exhausted, and they are no longer capable of attacking. So don't wait for this situation to be catastrophic before solving it. A wise man will see it before it starts."
Although Liu Hong was disgusted with Yang Ci's preaching, he had to admit that what Old Yang Tou said made some sense. During his hesitation, he turned his questioning eyes to Sikong Zhang Ji in the middle.
But Zhang Ji was still in a daze and did not respond. Instead, Liu Hong said it several times before the old man realized:
“What does the state say?”
"What does Zhang Qing think of this matter?"
"What's up?"
"Plain thief."
"What thief?"
Liu Hong sighed and directly ordered Cao Ding, the minister next to him:
"Old Sikong is old. Let him go down to recuperate later. Don't let the outside world say that I treated the old minister harshly."
Cao Ding accepted the order and immediately wrote an edict and sealed it with clay.
Seeing that his old friend was still there, Yang Ci sighed secretly, but he also thought that Zhang Ji was too old to be useful. He cared more about state affairs than personal affairs, so he continued to advise:
"Has the Holy One forgotten that besides this Taishan thief, there is also a Tao of Peace..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Liu Hong:
"How do you know that Taiping Dao wants to fight against evil?"