""Your Majesty uses his ministers like he accumulates salary, and those who come after him will take over." [Historical Records: Biography of Jizheng]
Realizing that the actions of Su Bo and other powerful people were supported by local powerful people, Taishi Ci and Jizhou governor Wang Yi immediately took action. First, Taishi Ci, Jiang Xu and other troops wiped out the scattered enemies, and then Wang Yi used his power as governor to
Let the prefects of each county strictly investigate the powerful people who collude with the bandits in their territory, and especially ask Zhongshan Prime Minister Tianchou, Changshan Prime Minister Zhao Jian and others to order the investigation of Zhang and others.
However, compared to other governors in other places who obeyed orders, Zhao Jian and Tian Chou were in a lot of difficulties in their actions, especially Zhao Jian, who seemed to turn a deaf ear.
After several attempts by Wang Yi failed, he did not care that the other party was the emperor's master, so the nephew of Zhao Qi, the imperial servant, immediately requested that the other party be suspended from his duties and submitted the impeachment report, intending to serve as a warning to others.
After the emperor heard about it in Chang'an, he said to Cao Cao: "Zhao Jian was attached to Wang Yun at first. Although his temperament was upright, he did not distinguish between right and wrong. Later I dismissed him. It was only because of Zhao Gong's teachings that I remembered Zhao Gong's death.
He had no children, so he asked Zhao Jian to go to Changshan, thinking that after so many years of idleness, he could make some progress, but he didn't expect that he would still be the same as before."
Cao Cao cupped his hands and said: "Now that the wealthy people in Hebei are in rebellion, who among the local governors and magistrates does not put the first priority of suppressing the thieves and the peace of the local area? What Zhao Shumao did is indeed inappropriate. I think it is not enough to not punish them lightly.
To warn others. From now on, when county governors from all over the country see Zhao Jian like this, how dare they not do their best?"
"It is Duke Zhao who is kind to me, not Zhao Jian. Everyone knows that he was deposed because of Wang Yun. If I punish him or not, how can I show the world?" the emperor said nonchalantly.
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"But everyone knows that he is Zhao Gong's nephew, and it is for this reason that he regained the imperial edict and became the Prime Minister of Changshan." Cao Cao continued: "People in the world will only see this. If your Majesty wants to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, it is best to deal with Zhao Jian.
But."
"Then wouldn't it be better to deal with Tian Chou?" The emperor finally asked on his own initiative: "Tian Chou is the same as Zhao Jian, and he is suspected of covering up for violating government orders."
"Your Majesty, it is not appropriate to deal with Tian Chou now." Cao Cao shook his head. He had different opinions on how to deal with Tian Chou and Zhao Jian: "Tian Chou is a relative of Taiwei Liu Gong, so if he is dealt with, Liu Gong will definitely take his own life."
If you are in danger and are in danger, you will inevitably take measures. I am afraid that the imperial court will have troubles just after it has stabilized. At this time, everything should focus on the overall situation and punish Zhao Jian individually. As for Tian Chou, just make him take office. "
"You have such thoughts, so I can entrust the government to you." The emperor stared at Cao Cao for a while, making sure that he was sincere, and then said: "Let Zhao Jian be dismissed, and he will not be used again in the future.
That’s it.”
"Your Majesty," Cao Cao said, cupping his hands.
The emperor took a few steps forward and then said: "This turmoil in Hebei is enough to show that the powerful are rampant there. The imperial court's policy of cracking down on the powerful is imperative. No matter how big the resistance is in the future, as the prime minister, you must be determined
Force. Now that the world is at peace and the people's hearts are in favor of the Han, I don't believe that those little bastards can make any news."
These days, as Jizhou has mostly put down the rebellion, it has begun to investigate the culprits of the powerful people behind it. Hanoi, Henan and other places close to Hebei have also successively implemented various policies of the imperial court, whether it is to let the powerful people correct themselves, dismantle arrogant regulations, or
Destroying the dock walls and so on were carried out extremely smoothly.
Hanoi County implemented smoothly because the local Sima and Zhao families took the lead, and the powerful rebellion in Hebei was put down within two months. However, Henan Province suffered from several military rebellions in the early years and was still strong. They have not fully recovered, and there are soldiers such as Jieyou near Luoyang, so the results are quite remarkable.
In this regard, while the emperor punished Zhao Jian and Tian Chou respectively, he also commended Zhuge Xuan, Zhang Ji and others, the chiefs of the two counties. The emperor's intention was very simple, which was to use rewards and punishments to stimulate others. Knowing what the consequences of doing something will be, and seeking benefits and avoiding harms, more people will inevitably implement the emperor's edicts.
Even if the county guard was born into a powerful family, the three mutual laws of avoiding the place of birth allowed the county guard to deal with the powerful people under his rule without much scruples. Especially after Cao Cao followed his instructions, he implemented a new edict prohibiting local people from taking up local posts. Belongs to officials.
This also means that both county magistrates and county officials will no longer be appointed by locals through recommendation, recruitment, etc., but will be directly deployed by the imperial court. The advantage of this is that it avoids the monopoly of local clan power and the The chief officials of counties and counties also indirectly abolished the power of local governors to recruit and appoint subordinate officials on their own.
Although you can no longer form a "monarch-subject relationship" with others, if you can remove the constraints, you will also increase your power. Therefore, as soon as the decree comes out, in addition to the dissatisfaction of many local powerful people and local officials who are about to be transferred to other places, more people Local officials expressed support.
The imperial court's ability to implement policies at the local level was further strengthened, and centralization of power was further increased. The emperor quickly saw such effects in a short period of time. He said with satisfaction to Jia Xu and others: "Local governors, county governors, county magistrates From now on, I will not be able to recruit and appoint scholars on my own. From now on, except for me and the subjects of the world, there will no longer be the so-called "righteousness between monarch and ministers" between others, and they will not form close cliques. The story of Yuan's disciples back then There are thousands of officials, and they respond to hundreds of calls. How powerful is it? The source of chaos in government through cliques comes from this. Now that it has been blocked, there will be no need to worry about it in the future."
Jia Xu agreed very much and said: "Your Majesty can be said to have settled a worry. From now on, when powerful forces are entrenched in the place, there will be no such thing as standing in the shadows to keep orders. The imperial decrees can be uploaded and handed down smoothly. This is also a good thing that will benefit the country for hundreds of years."
Xun You said quietly: "From now on, those who come after you will no longer have the righteousness of monarch and minister, nor will they form a party. They will also have the affection of teachers and students, the kindness of support, and if they meet the world's most ungrateful people, they will be more generous." There are loyal and righteous people gathering in crowds. Your Majesty does not want to see the gathering of scholars, but since the situation is like this, how can you stop it?"
His words surprised everyone present, and everyone couldn't help but look at the emperor.
"Xunjun." The emperor said this after a long time: "You are trying to persuade me to practice virtuous government."
Indeed, mountains and factions can never be banned. The emperor knows this very well, so he just wants to make the relationship between his ministers weaker. The relationship between teachers and students, the kindness of support, how can it compare with the title of "the righteousness of monarch and minister" ! But Xun You said very clearly that without the righteousness between the king and his ministers, there will be more connections that make the ministers stick together. Only the king who is wise and benevolent will not suffer from the disadvantages.
Seeing that Xun You didn't speak, the emperor added: "The weeds will never burn out, but they will grow again when the spring breeze blows. The old and the new alternate in the world, and the cycle goes back and forth. However, if the old does not go away, how can the new one catch up? This dynasty has just begun to flourish, so we must There is a new atmosphere, but if we continue to follow the old system and persist in its shortcomings, how will it be any different from the previous dynasty?"
The emperor generously revealed his ambition, which seemed to have nothing to do with what Xun You had said before. However, Xun You, as smart as he was, understood it clearly, so he stopped making similar remarks on the matter.
Afterwards, the emperor and Jia Xu sat down and talked. The things planned by the emperor and his ministers are now being implemented in an orderly manner. According to this trend, there may be sporadic rebellions and turmoil in various places in the future, but fortunately, arrangements have been made in key places in advance.
Even if the troops and horses are in chaos, it will only shake the tree like a fly.
After detailing the affairs of various places, Jia Xu suddenly talked about the recent events: "Cao Cao is very courageous and resourceful. He can indeed share your Majesty's worries better than Dong Cheng did back then. He is the only one who can do this. Shang
It’s not enough to entrust him with big things, he must be surrounded by people who are like him.”
"What?" the emperor said amusingly: "Dong Jia is starting to care about Cao Cao and the others?"
"I have always been concerned about their affairs for Your Majesty's sake." Jia Xu was not subtle and said directly: "At least when Xun and Cao Cao joined hands, their intentions were not exactly the same."
"With more people around, it is inevitable that there will be different opinions." The emperor mused: "But I don't think Xun and him have reached that point yet..." He suddenly remembered another thing and said with a smile: "Recently
I'd better let Cao Cao deal with this objection by himself, he won't let me down."