"Shun had five ministers, and the world was governed." [The Analects of Confucius Tai Bo]
In the spring of the fifth year of Jian'an, it was the seventh day of the second lunar month.
After joint review by Cai Yong and others, the ten best test papers were finally selected. After the emperor ranked them in order, he personally summoned the top five people in the announcement room.
These five people are Sima Zhi, Zhuge Jin, Su Ze, Zhang Ji, and Jia Kui. Four of them are from the Drama Department, and only Sima Zhi is from the Ming Law Department. According to the emperor's personal ranking, there is no one in the top five.
Ming Jing, this is not only because those five are all familiar figures, but also because the emperor wanted to use this to show that he valued practicality and despised fame, so as to elevate the status of Gaozhi Drama.
The Department of Drama is equivalent to the administrative management of later generations. It teaches students how to carry out comprehensive government affairs. Compared with the more professional economics and management, students in the Department of Drama will be the cornerstone of excellent government.
The emperor gave Zhuge Jin and others a routine of encouragement in the announcement room, urging everyone not to forget the four words "for the country and the people" and the question of the imperial examination "What is the people's worries and what is the people's happiness". Zhuge Jin and others were among the first.
After having a close contact with the emperor for the first time, they discovered that the aloof emperor was actually younger than them, but he spoke with great authority. Although he did not face the emperor coldly, his stern attitude also made people feel embarrassed.
The imperial examinations have come to an end. Most of the candidates in the palace examinations are assigned to the minister's office according to their performance. For example, most of the economic subjects are in the Shaofu, the chief minister of agriculture, and the business subjects are mostly in the generals, supervisors, and water supervisors. Some are not in the imperial court.
, and were also assigned to corresponding positions in the local area, such as county magistrate, county magistrate, etc.
These arrangements were all the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, and the emperor finally confirmed them. Except for the special arrangement of a few familiar names, there were no other problems.
For example, You Chu was appointed as the chief of Yuhan. That place was taken back from the traitor Song Jian a few years ago. Due to its remote location, there were more Yuhan and Qiang than Hu, so farming and mulberry cultivation were not prosperous.
In the eyes of others, this was undoubtedly a dangerous place, but You Chu carelessly stuffed the appointment documents and the county magistrate's copper seal and yellow ribbon into the box, and said to Zhang Ji and others: "Don't look at this young man with only
Three hundred stones, no matter how big or small, I can guard one side. I am the master within a hundred miles. Even if others become state officials or county officials, how can they be as comfortable as me?"
"That's good for you to think so." Zhang Ji bent down to pack up the slips for him and joked: "There are forty grains of grain per month. In Liangzhou, one stone of grain is worth hundreds of dollars, right? Calculated, it is comparable to the magistrates of counties in Guandong.
His salary is much richer."
"The salary is half grain and half money, so I have just enough to eat." You Chu said with a smile: "Fortunately, there are many Qiang and Di people in that place in Longxi, so you can often eat mutton. I also want to hear about the Hule there. In the future
Maybe I will be confused when we meet again."
"Listen, listen." Jia Kui stood by the door with a bright face. He couldn't help but smile and said: "I haven't even taken office yet, but I'm thinking about myself. What the emperor said about 'serving the country and the people' should be given to me."
forgotten."
Everyone immediately laughed happily, but underneath the laughter, they could not hide the deep sorrow of separation. They all knew that after the imperial court conferred an official, they would not be free. From now on, it would be impossible to talk and laugh like today all over the world.
.
"I don't know what positions the country will assign you." For Zhang Ji and the five top people, the emperor did not let the officials take charge, but personally planned their whereabouts. No matter what position they were assigned, they were responsible for
Holy grace is more valuable than other people.
You Chu covered the packed boxes, turned around and said, "I heard that Yan Xiang was worshiped as the household director of Julu County. I think you five can't be any worse than others, right?"
Zhang Ji looked at Jia Kui, shook his head and said, "It's not up to us to make the decision if we wait for fate."
You Chu reached out and patted Zhang Ji's shoulder. As his closest friend, he most hoped that the other party could have a broad stage. Only in this way would he not wrong the other party's talent.
Two days later, Zhang Ji and five other people were summoned to the Mingtang by the imperial servant She Pan Xu, and in front of a crowd of people, they were awarded the imperial edict approved by the emperor.
Zhuge Jin and Sima Zhi were left in the imperial court, serving as Sikong Yu and Tingwei respectively. One was in the palace and the other was in the minister's office. Although they each had their own place, their positions were different. Su also stayed in Chang'an, officially
He succeeded Zuo Ling and assumed the post of Cheng of Jingzhao County. Zhang Ji and Jia Kui were sent to other places respectively, one was Chencang Ling and the other was Nanpi Ling.
Chencang and Nanpi are both large counties. Chencang is an important town in the west of Sanfu. It is where the army is stationed all year round. A lot of things happened here last time. The emperor sent Zhang Ji here just to restore Chencang as a hub.
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As for Nanpi, not long ago it was the capital of the Bohai Kingdom and the puppet capital where Liu Shuo proclaimed himself emperor. Jia Kui was good at making decisions. With him, he could not only clean up the remaining poison of the Yuan family, but also actively cooperate with the development of the Bohai salt fields.
The emperor's arrangements for these five people were well-intentioned. After Zhao Wen came back from Shu, he even joked: "Zhuge Jin is an honest and elegant man, not inferior to his younger brother. Now that he is serving as Sikong's subordinate, how should Sikong thank him?"
I?"
"The selfless officials in the three palaces are all His Majesty's subordinates." Zhao Wen said softly, with a faint worry lingering between his brows, as if he was troubled. Finally, after hesitating for a while, he said: "I returned from Shu.
I have heard a lot about many things in Yizhou. Nowadays, the barbarians in Nanzhong have not been tamed. They occupy counties and claim kings, and they occupy caves and claim themselves as marquises. Although they are afraid of the power of the imperial court and dare not make trouble, many Han people in Nanzhong are full of food.
If you are brutally abused, given time, there may be a military disaster, your Majesty must not ignore it."
"Nanzhong?" The emperor frowned and said seriously, "Why did the governor of Yizhou never mention this matter?"
"In recent years, Handan merchants may have been busy supplying grain and grass to the east of the Yangtze River, or north to Wudu. They only focused on prosperous places such as Shu County and had no time for other things." Zhao Wen mentioned tactfully that in fact, the Handan merchants were not unaware.
The complex contradictions between Nanzhong and South China are caused by a sense of luck.
If a conflict like this is not resolved properly and leads to chaos, who will be responsible in the end? And if we ignore him and allow it to develop like this, there may not be any problems within a few years. At that time
The Handan businessman had already used his credit for raising grain to build a relationship and was transferred to another place. As long as nothing happened to Nanzhong during his tenure, there was no need for him to bother with it. As for whether it could be built in the future, what trouble would happen
, it has nothing to do with him.
Zhao Wen didn't need to explain the secret. The emperor only thought about it for a moment and understood it. He was slightly annoyed. The Handan merchants could do more rather than do less and not take the initiative to squeeze the sores, but those powerful local families
However, he had a stake in this, so he persuaded Zhao Wen.
"I think that there is no rush to send troops at this time, so I can issue an edict to prompt the Yizhou governor to pay attention to this matter. If the Handan merchants were able to raise military supplies and had no time to consider it as an excuse, but now that the edict is issued, I understand that he will not dare to act without obeying the edict.
." Zhao Wen had thought up some suggestions on the way here and said: "The governor and the governors of the four counties in Nanzhong will be gentle and gentle, and a general will be stationed in Shuzhong to prepare for unexpected events. With such kindness and power, the barbarians will bow their heads and obey.
."
"This matter needs to be discussed in the long term." The emperor slowly exhaled. Although the territory is quiet now, there are many hidden worries on all sides. There are Karasuma and Xianbei in the north; Shanyue in the southeast; barbarians in the southwest... However, things have to be done one by one.
To cook, you have to eat one bite at a time. You have overcome so many difficulties, why are you still afraid of this?
"By the way." A figure suddenly flashed in the emperor's mind, and he asked in a nonchalant tone: "Didn't Fu Qian serve as the captain of a vassal state in Qianwei for several years? He is now the prefect of Longxi? Use a special reason to
He sent an order to ask him about this matter. What has he done during his tenure in Qianwei in the past few years? Hasn't he done nothing at all when barbarians are ravaging the place?"
After several losses of troops and generals, Liu Yao, the former governor of Longxi, had been deposed long ago and was replaced by Fu Qian, who went north from Shu to participate in the pursuit of Han Sui and made minor achievements. In fact, Fu Qian did not fail to pay attention to the local situation during his tenure in Qianwei.
The situation was that at that time the entire imperial court was paying attention to the Central Plains, and everything was focused on reviving the world. How could there be time to pay attention to the trivial matters in the southwest?
The emperor asked Zhao Wen to send Fu Qian to Beijing just to understand the situation, without any idea of using troops. At most, he wanted to imitate history and set up a subjugation governor to pacify the Yi and Yue in the south. At present, the military operations that are about to be carried out are huge.
This disturbed the emperor's mind. After spring, he summoned the chariot general Zhu Jun into the palace.
After Emperor Guangwu's resurgence, Yanwu Xiuwen, large-scale layoffs, and the abolition of county and state soldiers, only retained a few border camps and the central forbidden army. Although this greatly eased military expenditures, the dismissed soldiers also became the main task force.
Linongsang was the main labor force in restoring the economy, but it also led to a large-scale decline in the military power of the imperial court. In the future, whether it was Qiang-Han wars or quelling civil unrest, they would frequently be solved by dispatching the Northern and Southern armies.
The weak military strength of the county also led to the weakening of the local ability to deal with rebellions. The local powerful Jiewubao defended itself and trained its own soldiers, which seemed to have become a local military force that replaced the county soldiers. The emperor especially remembered that he was in charge of the military affairs compiled by Cai Yong and others.
I have read in "Dong Guan Han Ji" that when Emperor Guangwu conquered the fields, rebellions occurred one after another in all counties in the world.
Now that the emperor has made the same mistakes as his predecessors, naturally he will not rely solely on the Northern and Southern armies to put out the fire when this situation arises. Therefore, he made plans early and released Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Taishi Ci and others to guard Guandong. Then he began to restore the military system of the prefecture and state and strengthen the garrison.
This time, Zhu Jun, the only remaining veteran general in the court, was summoned to discuss this matter: "Duke Zhu presided over the reduction of troops in Yongliang. Is everything going well?"
"With His Majesty's edict, all the generals are fully cooperating, and there is almost no obstacle to the reduction of troops and horses." Zhu Jun, wearing a crimson military attache's court uniform, said in a loud voice: "There are tens of thousands of people in Yongliang.
, there are only 25,000 elite soldiers left, under the command of Cao Cao, the general who conquered the west, Ma Teng, the fubo general, and Huangfu Li, the captain of the Qiang guard."
He began to report to the emperor face to face the results of Yongliang's troop reduction, reduction and disbandment of troops and horses. Zhu Jun had done a lot of things before, but he had never been exposed to so many novel systems like this time: "The troops were reduced and the troops were disbanded."
There were more than 30,000 of them, including the old and the weak, who were incorporated into the local military camps, and some who were laid off due to disability. Their merits were measured and they were recommended to each county as thieves, pavilion chiefs and other positions."
"Do you think Duke Zhu can put this method of resettlement into practice?" the emperor looked at Zhu Jun and asked softly.
Upon hearing the words, Zhu Jun pondered for a moment and said: "Those corps commanders, who are very long, even the captains of the capital, are familiar with the military. Once they return to Qianmo, abandon their weapons and hoes, and work all day long, they will inevitably feel unfair. The imperial court will treat them Experienced soldiers are arranged as pavilion chiefs and thieves, responsible for arresting thieves and maintaining local stability, which can indeed be effective. It's just..."
"Is there anything wrong?" The emperor knew that Zhu Jun was experienced and must have seen something inappropriate. As long as the other party said it, he would have to find a way to solve it.
Zhu Jun stretched out his hand and twirled his beard and said in a deep voice: "Actually, I can't say that it's wrong. I just think that even if you are a pavilion chief or a thief, you can't escape the burden of documents every day. There are constant exchanges of official documents every day, and these old soldiers have been waiting for a long time. How can one read official documents and understand laws and regulations in the army? The Northern and Southern armies have education departments that teach writing every night. The sergeants are naturally more talented than other armies, but..."
"I have discussed this matter with Pan Xu. From now on, the education department will not only teach writing for the soldiers of the Northern and Southern armies, but also provide education for the soldiers of the counties and counties, the soldiers in the field, and the soldiers in the border camps. The teaching will be selected by the local county schools. Select students to be professors for a period of one year and give them salaries." The emperor had already thought about this. The establishment of a complete set of educational institutions from top to bottom would inevitably lead to an increase in the number of scholars in society, but official positions were limited. In order to pre-arrange the future The emperor must now arrange channels to divert the scholars who will be redundant.
Going to the army to educate and educate the barbarians, going to the border to educate the barbarians, or going to the countryside to teach literacy are all the future options for these people, not just being an official.
"I have been in the army for a long time and have seen local soldiers and horses, as well as the Three Rivers and Five Schools in the past, but none of the soldiers and horses are as powerful as the Northern and Southern Army. If I retire and the method of enlightenment can be promoted throughout the world, I, a great man, will be able to fight in a few years. There will be hundreds of thousands of powerful troops." Zhu Jun couldn't help but said with emotion. Many of the soldiers at the bottom were illiterate and they were soldiers purely for food. Now the emperor not only wants to teach them how to read and learn, but also arranges official positions for them after they retire.
This kind of treatment has never been heard of before. The preferential treatment for the lower-level soldiers is efficiently transformed into the loyalty of the army to the emperor. Not only that, the soldiers whose cultural quality has been improved are better than those in the ordinary army in terms of understanding general orders and obeying commands. Even more elite.
If in the past, Zhu Jun's reasons for the Northern and Southern Army's sweeping the world were limited to adequate training and sophisticated ordnance, then now, the emperor's various preferential treatment of the Northern and Southern Army is also one of the important reasons. From small to large, the emperor's treatment of ordinary soldiers If we all think this way, what will happen to all the people and common people?
"Apart from this, are there any other disadvantages?" The emperor looked at Zhu Jun seriously and then asked.
"And." Zhu Jun quickly came to his senses. Thinking of this disadvantage, his heart skipped a beat: "That is the method of election in the military."