"The gentleman and the Taoist prohibit others from doing what they say, so what they say must be based on their consequences, and what they do must be based on their consequences." [Book of Rites·缁衣]
The sound of the watch was clearly audible in the corner. Mu Shun huddled behind the beams and silently counted the watch, then moved slightly forward, silently opened his mouth to the emperor, and described an hour.
The emperor nodded, knowing that the palace examination was about to end, so he looked at Liu Bei who was sitting quietly: "You have also heard the question of the palace examination here, what is the people's worry and what is the people's happiness? It is not only to question these imperial students, but also to you.
Minister, isn’t this also a heart-searching question?”
Liu Bei raised his hands, and his loose sleeves almost covered half of his face. He looked down and said fluently: "Your Majesty is wise, I believe that the happiness of the people is nothing more than having enough food and clothing, and having parents in the hall.
There is peace and happiness, there are young children playing and playing below, the world is peaceful, every year is prosperous, and the people's worries are not the same."
He seemed to have been thinking about this question for a long time, and there was almost no hesitation in answering it on the spot. However, the emperor did not give up and asked: "Then where does worry come from and where does joy come from?"
Liu Bei was stunned. He slightly raised his astonished expression from behind his arched hands, quickly glanced at the emperor and then lowered his head again. He had not thought about this issue carefully. According to normal logic, shouldn't the emperor have the first
Ask what it is, and then ask how to do it? He had already thought about telling the emperor some clichés such as advising farmers and mulberry trees to quit luxury when the emperor asked about "what should be done". Unexpectedly, the emperor did not give him this question.
Instead, discuss the root cause of the matter with him.
His expression slowly became serious. Liu Bei put his hands on his legs and began to think deeply. He remembered that his family had fallen into decline and he had become a down-and-out clan member. He and his mother had been selling shoes and weaving mats since he was a child. At that time, he and his mother
His worries were whether he could afford to buy hundreds of yuan per stone of food with the monthly income from selling banquets, and whether he could get together a sacrifice for his once-prominent ancestors during family sacrifices. The happiness at that time may have been crawling home
The five-foot-tall mulberry tree in the southeast corner looked like a canopy to passers-by, and he was the owner under the car hood.
The person sitting under the pavilion and pavilion canopy not only patrols his territory, but also ensures that the people in his territory have food and clothing.
Later, the things he worried about became more and more serious, and the things he enjoyed became less and less. Looking back now, Liu Bei suddenly realized that since he became a disciple of Lu Zhi and made a group of young heroes, he had been closely related to the worries of the lowest common people.
Joy has become out of reach.
Why did he get to where he is today?
"Xuande." The emperor's words awakened Liu Bei from his confused thoughts: "What are you thinking about? Can't you answer?"
"I was distracted for a while, but I hope your majesty will forgive me..." Liu Bei was startled, and suddenly came to his senses. He immediately left the table and prostrated himself. While he was apologizing, he was thinking about his words and whispered in a low voice through the emotions that had not yet dissipated.
: "I just remembered a story about when I was asking for the Yellow Turban."
"Oh?" The emperor picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, showing interest.
Liu Bei cleared his throat and processed the story as necessary while searching from his memory: "During the reign of Emperor Xiaoling, thieves were everywhere, and all the prefectures and counties raised voluntary soldiers. The minister was not talented, so he led a group of athletes to the school.
Wei Zoujing conquered the moth thieves. At that time, the Yellow Turbans were divided into thirty-six districts, with more than ten thousand people in Dafang and six or seven thousand in Xiaofang. The total number was about two hundred thousand. The Zhang Jiao brothers had been in business for more than ten years.
Call, and several states responded, with hundreds of thousands of followers... At first, I thought that these stupid people had mistakenly believed in the evil way, and it was not a pity to die. But later, after personally interrogating several prisoners, they were silent. "
"Everyone cherishes his life. If he had not been forced into desperation, who would think of rebellion?" The emperor knew the reason for Liu Bei's silence at that time. Rebels are not born to be rebels. Only when they are oppressed will they resist. The emperor was at the table
He stood up, walked out, and said slowly: "What I ask you is, where does the people's worries come from, and whose fault is it for causing chaos with the moth thieves? The two are very different. But if you blame it on the emperor's failure,
Virtue, if the powerful officials are in power, then that's all you can do."
"The world calls moth thieves chaos, but I think that many of them are kind-hearted people who have no way out and have to take risks." Liu Bei frowned, leaned down, and moved in the direction of the emperor.
body, until the emperor suddenly turned around and walked straight towards Liu Bei. Liu Bei, who was about to stand up straight, did not dare to get up at this time, so he could only lie on the ground obediently, pressing his folded hands on his forehead, looking at
The dark floor tiles in the front hall.
"This is the first time I have heard from a minister that moth thieves also have the kindness to rebel as a last resort." The emperor stopped in front of Liu Bei. Just now, Mu Shun had already hinted that he had completed the test in the front hall, and Xun You came over specifically to ask for instructions.
The emperor happened to notice this scene. The emperor motioned Xun You to stop with his eyes, and looked down at Liu Bei's bun with interest: "They are kind, so what is the court that suppresses the chaos?"
"I have interrogated many thieves in private..." When Liu Bei said this, he was actually the first to enter the court and had not learned enough tact. First, the emperor's questions aroused the forgotten original intention deep in his heart, and then
Being provoked by the emperor's words, and being among a group of colleagues who were far more talented and famous than him, Liu Bei urgently needed to prove to the emperor. Therefore, due to various factors, Liu Bei did not hesitate to use this kind of private imperial edict.
On the right occasion, say something that goes against common sense.
"In the past, their families had thin fields, and as long as there was a good year, they could barely make ends meet. However, natural disasters continued, the fields failed, the taxes increased, and labor was frequent, making it even more miserable...not to mention the wanton tyrants who wreaked havoc on the countryside.
I know that this statement is outrageous, but when your majesty asks, I have to answer: natural disasters, prefectural and county governments, local tyrants, and heavy expropriation, making it impossible to make a living. These are what the people are worried about, and what they are worried about.
"Liu Bei's eyes seemed to see several moth thieves who were personally interrogated that day. They gritted their teeth when talking about the imperial court, and they were enthusiastic when talking about the so-called great sage and mentor, because it was the imperial court that drove them to a dead end, and it was Zhang Jiao.
It guided them to a new future.
Such politically incorrect remarks were naturally not allowed to be made by Liu Bei because of his identity and position. He found some words to make up for it afterwards: "But rebels are rebels. Once they cause chaos, they will annihilate themselves from heaven and earth. If the imperial court does not stop it in time,
If there is chaos, more innocent and good people will die. Therefore, the thieves must be suppressed, and I will not dare to speak lightly and slander the great achievements of Lu Gong, Huangfu Gong and others."
"What you said makes it clear." The emperor smiled softly, walked away from Liu Bei, and extended his hand to signal Xun You to come in: "Everything must know its root cause. For example, a good doctor can only prescribe the right medicine. If you know why those people rebelled,
If we eradicate the root causes that force them to rebel in advance, the world will be in great order. Xuande, since you have thought of this, it shows that you are not a mediocre person like you, and you should know how to relieve people's worries and make people happy."
After the emperor left the place, Liu Bei raised his body slightly, and out of the corner of his eye he immediately saw Xun You walking towards him, and said naturally: "Foolish minister, I still need to pay attention to farming and mulberry trees, so that the people can be well clothed.
Eat, and then you can teach great things."
"Is that all it takes?" The emperor paused. He turned around and happened to see Xun You: "Mr. Xun, we have to find time to talk about this matter later."
Xun You passed Liu Bei and walked to the position in front of him. He just happened to stop when he heard the emperor's question: "The local tyrants are domineering and harm the people. This is not allowed by law. The imperial court must take a long-term plan."
"Let's do it this afternoon. Tomorrow is the Zhengdan Dynasty. Many matters related to the imperial government's major political initiatives in the next few years must be decided early." This kind of long-term policy was put forward by the emperor starting from this year. In the past, because of
The world has not yet been unified and is still in a state of war. Many resources are tilted towards the military.
Now that recuperation has become a social trend and the voice of most people, the imperial court will naturally shift its focus to restoring production. Long-term policies have an unchangeable nature. Although it was proposed by the emperor for the first time, people with a little political literacy
Everyone knows how important it is to formulate such a policy.
Therefore, almost every detail in Chengming Hall was scrutinized. They argued and argued for more than a month, but still could not finalize the draft.
The emperor wants to have people read out the court's plans for the next few years during the first day of the dynasty tomorrow, and order the ministers to work in various departments. The local counties and counties will use this as a model to implement governance, and include it in the performance evaluation of the Ministry of Personnel at the end of the year. This will increase the authority of the central government.
, lest the county chiefs, who have great autonomy, do their own thing and end up in a mess.
The main ideas were decided by the emperor's dictatorship, and only some details were left. The emperor didn't want to hold on so tightly, so he let everyone fight for it. Now that it was the last day, Xun You thought to himself, it would be necessary this afternoon.
Add some things to it.
If what the emperor said is true, once this planned and long-term policy is formulated, it will be continuously promoted and will not be changed or abandoned halfway. Some matters must be fought for.
He responded solemnly and went on to explain his purpose: "Your Majesty, all the students in the palace have finished their exams and are waiting for your Majesty to preside over it."
"I know." The emperor said, and walked out. When he passed Liu Bei, he suddenly stopped again: "Liu Xuande."
"I'm here." Liu Bei bowed his hands respectfully.
"Assigning you to serve as a minister requires you to watch more political affairs. Although you have served as prime minister of Pingyuan and governor of Xuzhou for several years, the major affairs of the imperial court are no more than those of a mere hundred miles away. You have to watch and think more." The emperor said.
Looking at Liu Bei's only expression of approval, he seemed to have considered what he had to say, but in the end he did not say it out loud. Instead, he advised: "There is no shortage of talents in the clan, so you should encourage them."
"I sincerely promise you."
After saying this, the emperor left, and Mu Shun hurriedly followed. Xun You was half a step behind. At this time, Liu Bei happened to get up. The two looked at each other. Xun You looked at Liu Bei deeply and left without saying anything.
In the front hall, the emperor looked at a pile of test papers collected on the desk, pointed to the place where the names were written on the test paper, and said: "Have everyone's names and place of birth been sealed?"
"Your Majesty, the papers have been sealed according to the regulations of the palace examination, and the order has been messed up. When the papers were marked, no one knew who answered them." Sikong Zhao Wen said softly.
The emperor flipped through the test papers casually, everything seemed so careless, and all the students in the palace almost raised their hearts in their throats, hoping that the emperor would suddenly take out their own test papers and review them in person. But the emperor did not do this, he roughly
After reading for a while, he said calmly: "Mr. Chen."
Taichang Chen Ji was still sitting on the couch, motionless.
The emperor waited until no one responded, so he said again: "Mr. Chen."
After sitting blankly all morning, Chen Ji, who was slightly tired, finally came back to his senses and looked around blankly with a pair of cloudy sleepy eyes. Only then did he realize that the emperor was calling him, so he responded dully: "I'm here, old minister.
"
Chen Ji was sixty-nine years old. Although he was not dizzy, his reaction was not as sharp as when he was young. The Han Dynasty respected the elderly, and the emperor was no exception. He did not care about his rudeness. He said politely: "Here
You will take the test papers to Shiqu Pavilion and hand them over to Cai Gong and others for sealing."
After the Zhengdan Dynasty tomorrow, all the officials will go home for the New Year's holiday. This time, the time for the Taixue Examination has been hastily. The final examination papers can only be temporarily sealed in the palace and under strict supervision until the next year.
Organized a review by a great scholar.
"I promise." Chen Ji stood up slowly and obeyed the order.
Then, the emperor asked Mu Shun what time it was, and then he said to his highnesses: "Tomorrow is the first day of the new year, and after the spring begins, you will be conferred on each of you. Whether you are the leader of a hundred miles or the leader of the village, you
We must not forget the four words 'for the country and the people'."
"I sincerely promise you." Zhu Sheng has become a quasi-official, and the terms of address have also changed accordingly.
"It's the New Year, so it's hard for them to study hard and give them food." The emperor said this to Mu Shun.
Mu Shun agreed and announced the emperor's grace, which naturally brought tears of gratitude. The emperor did not eat with them, but returned to the announcement room, leaving Zhao Wen to eat with them.
After finishing the meal, the emperor rinsed his mouth and had a conversation with Zhao Wen: "The handwriting on the test paper just now is different, some are regular script and some are official. If the examiner is familiar with the person, wouldn't the handwriting be recognized at a glance?
?But I was negligent here. It is advisable to inform the Imperial College that from now on, all examinations and periodic examinations will be conducted in regular script, and no new ideas are allowed."
"I will send a message to the Imperial Academy servant in the afternoon and order him to supervise the matter." Zhao Wen quickly agreed.
The emperor thought of something and suddenly smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao, it seems that Taichang is not in charge of Sikong's subordinates, right?"
According to the Han system, the three ministers are in charge of Jiuqing, Zongzheng, Sinong, and Shaofu are under the command of Sikong, while Taichang, Guangluxun, and Weiwei are under the command of Taiwei. Taixue belongs to Taichang, according to regulations
It should have been Taiwei Dong Cheng who summoned Pan Xu.
Zhao Wen replied without changing his face: "This is the way it is according to the rules, but since it is His Majesty's order, how dare I disobey it?"
This is like a statement. From the fourth year of Chuping to the present, Zhao Wen has always stood firmly on the emperor's side, and his position has never made the emperor doubt it.