When Liu Xie received Sangong's reply, he also received Kong Rong's letter.
At first, he was not aware of the intention behind this. Just out of his instinctive vigilance against these old Confucian scholars, he did not make an immediate judgment, but considered it for a while.
When Yang Biao came to see him, Liu Xie conveyed the matter to Yang Biao in a very calm manner.
Yang Biao's expression changed immediately, his eyebrows raised, and he almost cursed.
Liu Xie was curious, but he didn't rush to ask questions. He just looked at Yang Biao quietly.
Yang Biao spent a lot of effort to suppress his anger and said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, Kong Rong is a crazy student. Although he is knowledgeable, he has no experience in governance. This suggestion seems feasible, but in fact it is extremely difficult to implement, at least
That’s not feasible now.”
However, Liu Xie refused to let it go easily and signaled Yang Biao to speak more clearly.
Yang Biao sighed helplessly. "Your Majesty, Emperor Xiaohuan reigned for twenty-two years. The first fourteen years were controlled by the Liang family, and the last eight years were trapped by eunuchs and Qiang rebellion. Duan Jiong was good at fighting and pacified the Eastern Qiang.
But it also made the national treasury empty, and even the salaries of officials in the capital could not be paid in time. When Xiaoling came to the throne, the Han Dynasty could not make ends meet."
Liu Xie reacted.
On the surface, Kong Rong was complaining about Emperor Xiaoling. In fact, Kong Rong was accusing Emperor Xiaohuan of resorting to militarism, which extended to the current situation where he continues to use troops.
The old people use ancient metaphors to describe the present, referring to mulberry trees and scolding locust trees.
But what he cared about was not these, but why Yang Biao was angry.
Although Yang Biao did not object to his pacification of Yizhou and Jiaozhou, he did have different opinions on the overseas expedition, especially the use of troops in the Western Regions.
"Is Mr. Yang worried that I will be angry?"
Yang Biao shook his head. "Your Majesty's character is beyond the reach of the old ministers, so why should I worry? It's just that the Xiaohuan Dynasty had a lot of troubles in government affairs and complicated relationships, and it was inevitable that some of them would be unfavorable. Now that your Majesty is implementing new policies, promoting the king's rule, and taking care of everything, why bother to divide it?
Do you think that worrying about old things from forty years ago only increases internal friction?"
"You mean, those officials who are attached to the Liang family?"
Yang Biao didn't speak, just sighed.
Liu Xie was stunned and said nothing more. After a moment of silence, he said to Yang Biao again: "Mr. Yang, I have something to ask of you."
Yang Biao cupped his hands and said: "How dare I, I will do it according to your majesty's orders."
"Think about it, why Liang Ji and his like were able to rule for nearly twenty years, and even rebelled against the law and killed the emperor, but the wise men could not stop it, and how to avoid a similar situation from happening again. I don't want empty words that quote scriptures, I want practical explanations and
The solution.”
Yang Biao raised his head in surprise and looked at Liu Xie.
Liu Xie met his gaze with clear eyes, sincere attitude, and no perfunctory look.
Yang Biao's heart surged and he bowed. "Your Majesty, please allow me to think again."
"Please." Liu Xie bowed slightly.
Yang Biao stood up to say goodbye, exited the big tent, looked up at the blue sky with white clouds, and showed a happy smile on his face.
"I am very lucky to be born in this world."
——
Yuan Heng put down the pen in his hand, stood up and handed the daily notes he had just recorded to Liu Xie, asking Liu Xie to read them to see if there were any omissions or errors.
Liu Xie took it and read it once, then glanced at Yuan Heng.
"Tell me, who are the people Yang Biao mentioned who are attached to the Liang family?"
Yuan Heng's eyes flashed, he thought for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty, when the water is clear, there will be no fish. Investigating these old things from forty years ago will not do any good except making everyone in the ministers feel at risk. Compared with the past, the prosperous times in the future will be
It’s more worth looking forward to.”
Liu Xie couldn't help laughing loudly.
Although Yang Biao and Yuan Heng refused to say anything, it did not mean that they knew nothing.
The domineering general Liang Ji was in power as a dandy for nearly twenty years, and even committed poisonous acts such as murdering the emperor. Among the ministers who were in the same dynasty with him, none of them were truly innocent.
According to Confucian classics, it would be a shame to serve as a minister in the same court as Liang Ji. If you can't stand up with your sword and eliminate harm for the court, you should clean yourself up and retire to the fields.
Anyone who stays in the court and refuses to break with Liang Ji is guilty.
But then again, as Yuan Heng said, if the water is extremely clear, there will be no fish, and if a person is extremely holy, there will be no disciples. A gentleman in that sense is only in imagination and cannot live in reality.
This is the conflict between ideal and reality.
He is not that naive, nor is he so obsessed with morality. He requires ministers to be pure moral gentlemen. He is just curious about how many of the ministers alive today have something to do with Liang Ji.
Considering that Liang Yi has been dead for forty years, there should not be many people who have direct contact with Liang Ji. However, in the officialdom, there are many father-son successions, so it cannot be ruled out that many people's children are still in the court.
Especially those from famous families.
For example, in the case of the Yuan family in front of us, Yuan Shao's nominal father Yuan Chengcheng was once Liang Ji's confidant, and he did everything he said.
If we really want to rewrite the "Chronicles of Emperor Xiaohuan", it will be difficult to skip the events of Liang and Ji, and those who once attached to Liang and Ji will be pulled out and whipped to death. With the current method of compiling history, if you want to use the Spring and Autumn style of writing, it will be a taboo for the wise.
I'm afraid it will be difficult.
Kong Rong wanted to sarcastically remonstrate, but he accidentally stung a hornet's nest and was afraid that he would be scolded to death.
The more Liu Xie thought about it, the more interesting it became, and he even felt a little proud.
As expected, he who wins is stronger.
As long as I am open-minded and not afraid of your insinuations, all attacks will become assists and all dangers will become opportunities.
"Draft an imperial edict to summon Kong Rong." Liu Xie smiled slightly. "I want to reward this veteran minister who dares to make suggestions and give him an important task."
Yuan Heng's mouth twitched and he bowed to accept the order.
——
According to Yang Biao's suggestion, those who had been attached to Gongsun Du were placed under the command of Sun Ce and Liu Bei, and went overseas with the army, and were not allowed to enter the Central Plains again for life.
The edict was very strict, but Liu Xie also knew that it was difficult to say to what extent it could be implemented.
It is difficult to determine whether he is attached to Gongsun Du or not. In the end, it depends on Xun You and others.
Even if he went to Liaodong in person, he would not be able to verify everything.
Rather than doing this, it is better to hand over this power to Xun You to show trust.
This is the helplessness of being an emperor.
Although he is aloof, he is not an omnipotent eye and cannot cover everything and every detail. It is inevitable that he will be deceived by some ministers.
Therefore, he can only choose trustworthy ministers as much as possible to reduce the possibility of being deceived.
So far, although Xun You can't be considered obedient, he still understands the general idea. He had already shown his attitude and proved his loyalty by spending time in the river.
This loyalty is of course not without reason, but more of a conceptual agreement and cooperation derived from common interests.
If Xun You's interests are touched, or if his ideas are contrary to his, it will be unrealistic to win his loyalty.
In the final analysis, common interests are the foundation.
His killer weapon is to expand this foundation as much as possible, consolidate it as much as possible, base it on the people, and take root in the people. Only then can he break the monopoly of knowledge and power by the scholar-official class and push Chinese civilization forward to another level.
It’s not about wandering around in an existing small circle.
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