Chapter 7 Wind and Thunder Turbulence Section 1: The first month of the first year of the founding of the Han Kingdom (197 AD). On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Fenwei General Gongsun Zhan, Huwei General Pang De, Liwu General Yan Wuxing, and Hanbei County Taishou Tianyu braved the howling wind and snow and hurried to Jinyang.

These four people were the last ministers to return to the imperial court, and before that, thirty-four civil and military ministers in the three prefectures of Hebei returned to Jinyang.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the eldest princess announced the death of the Son of Heaven in the Jiade Hall of Jinyang Palace. On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Liu Shuo, the crown prince who was only ten days old, succeeded to the throne with the year name Jianxing.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the ministers and ministers jointly signed a table to support the eldest princess of Changping. On the same day, the eldest princess announced an edict on behalf of the Son of Heaven and granted amnesty to the world.

Worship Zhao Qi as the Taifu, and participate in the Shangshu affairs. Worship the great Sima general Li Hong to participate in the Shangshu affairs. Bai Cui Lie is the great Situ, and he is affiliated with Shangshu.

Worship the great Sikong Liu and the staff of the Shangshu. Bai Xian Yufu is a former general and receives Guangluxun. Bai Xu Rong was the rear general and the captain of the guard.

The rest of the ministers such as Shangqing, Zhuqing, and Zhu generals were not adjusted much, and several old ministers such as Cai Yong, Chun Yujia, Zhong Xuan, Jia Xu and other former ministers of Chang'an were recruited into the court again, and each had his own appointment.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Yang Yi, Huang Yue, Ma Feng, Liu Wan, Sun Jin and other ministers crossed the Yellow River south with the holy decree and went to various prefectures and counties.

On the eighteenth day of the first month, the Son of Heaven was mourned and buried in Pingling, Longshan. After the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, the civil and military ministers who were ordered to return to the dynasty bid farewell to the eldest princess and Zhao Qi, Li Hong and other princes, and rushed to various places.

On the twentieth day of the first month, Xian Yufu and other ten generals in the DPRK and eighteen battalion commanders gathered in the General's Mansion.

Li Hong told the generals that the main task of the army in the past few years was to put down the rebellion and strive to pacify the world within three to five years.

In addition to guarding the frontier and ensuring the stability of the frontier, the infantry cavalry of the six army battalions north of the Great Wall and the iron cavalry of the Mobei Protectorate must also be ready to go south at any time to participate in the counterinsurgency war.

The officers and men of the 12 army battalions in Jizhou and Hedong, as well as the northern and southern armies in Jinyang, will be the main force for the imperial court to send troops to quell the rebellion in the next few years.

For this reason, Li Hong urged the generals of the unified army in the military camps of the two places to prepare for war immediately after returning home. Shi Yupeng, the governor of the two prefectures, gave the generals a careful analysis of the situation in the world and predicted the possible battles on both sides of the Yellow River in the coming months.

Sima Fu Gan of the two prefectures conveyed the opinions of the imperial court. The rebels must not be allowed to cross the Yellow River, and the flames of war must not be allowed to burn in Jizhou and Hedong.

Therefore, as soon as we learned that the rebels had the possibility of assembling and attacking, the army immediately launched an active offensive and pushed the battlefield to the Central Plains and Guanzhong.

Then he explained and arranged the preliminary deployment of the imperial court. The Northern Army will be led by two generals, Zhang Yan and Lü Bu, around March, and rush to Jizhou.

The seven battalions of Jizhou were commanded by General Zuo Yi and Deputy by General Yan Liang. The battle in Jizhou was under the unified command of the general.

The southern army will be led by General Xu Rong and rush to Hedong. The five battalions in Hedong were commanded by General Yang Feng and Deputy by General Yushi.

The Hedong War was under the unified command of General Xu Rong. The six military camps north of the Great Wall are four military camps in northern Xinjiang led by General Zhao Yun of Long Xiang, and two military camps in Youzhou led by General Gongsun Zhan of Fenwei.

After the two generals returned to the frontier, they immediately assembled Han and Hu Tieqi and went south to participate in the war at any time. The chief Bo Sima Yi explained the distribution and transportation of money, food, and ordnance along with the requisition of soldiers and civilians.

Then, he analyzed and explained some difficult problems in the implementation of the new military system recently reported by the commanders and generals of various battalions, and put forward a series of plans for revision and improvement.

On the twenty-first day of the first month, the generals rushed to Jinyang Palace to bid farewell to the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess. The eldest princess implored the generals to work together to fight for the early prosperity of the Han Dynasty.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, the former chief Situ Zhang Wen was critically ill, and the eldest princess went to visit. The eldest princess blamed herself very much, took Zhang Wen's hand, and tears rained down.

Zhang Wen whispered a few words of comfort.

"Your Highness, the minister is already old, and he has reached a damn age, you don't need to be sad. The first emperor died, and the minister had an unshirkable responsibility, if it weren't for His Royal Highness's tolerance, the old minister's family would have been buried in a mass grave. Speaking of which, all of this is actually the sin of the minister, and it is all the minister's fault. The old minister is sorry for His Royal Highness, and even more sorry for your father. The eldest princess was extremely guilty, and fell on Zhang Wen and wept sadly.

"Your Highness, I wrote to you to reinstate Cui Lie and other old ministers, do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand." The eldest princess choked up and said,

"Lord Liu He represents the ministers of the clan and the Youzhou scholars, Lord Cui Lie represents the ministers of the Jizhou Gate Lords, Lord Zhao Qi represents the ministers of the scholars in Northern Xinjiang and other places, and General Sima represents the warriors of Northern Xinjiang. These four auxiliary ministers represent the four different forces in the DPRK and China, and through their mutual restraint, they can ease and suppress the contradictions in the imperial court, which is conducive to the advancement of the great cause of Zhongxing. Zhang Wen nodded approvingly.

"However, Boss Zhao Qi is already old, he is already eighty-nine, if he is not there, who can replace him?" The eldest princess asked with a frown.

"Cai Yong." Zhang Wen said slowly,

"Cai Yong is a native of Yanzhou Chenliu, and he is very close to the officials from Yanzhou. In addition, he has been in Northern Xinjiang for many years, and has high prestige among the officials of Northern Xinjiang, and his son-in-law is Zhao Yun, the general of Long Xiang, so he is the most suitable person to replace Zhao Qi as the auxiliary minister, so that this kind of power balance of the foreign dynasty can continue to be maintained. ”

"What about after Lord Cai Yong?"

"Li Wei." Zhang Wen clenched the eldest princess's hand hard, and gasped violently twice,

"Your Highness must remember that after the world was pacified, General Sima had made outstanding achievements and gained prestige, and it was impossible to control the expansion of his power by relying on this kind of power balance in the court alone. Therefore, in order to prevent the general from going to the road of power and ministers to bring disaster to the country, His Royal Highness must use Li Wei as soon as possible and push him into the ranks. ”

"Li Wei became the prince and became one of the four corners of the imperial court's checks and balances, which is equivalent to splitting the civil power in the general's forces, which can greatly weaken the general's power, so that before the Son of Heaven is in charge after the world is pacified, His Royal Highness can continue to maintain this situation of checks and balances."

"Li Wei." The eldest princess asked suspiciously,

"He's one of the general's most trusted subordinates, how could he ......?"

"Your Highness, the balance of power is just the mutual restraint and supervision between various forces in the court. It is not a confrontation, let alone a bloody killing, so when Li Wei becomes the prince, he will neither become one with the general, nor will he turn against him. In the process of pacifying the world, because of each other's trust and help, it will be more conducive to the balance of power. The eldest princess will be skeptical.

"Pushing Li Wei into the ranks of the three princes can not only prove your trust in the general, but also deepen the relationship between you and the general. Your Highness, you don't have an army, and your power comes from the trust and support of the general, so as long as you ensure the power of the general, the general will not give up the great cause of Zhongxing, and you can continue to govern until the society is revitalized. ”

"But what if the general doesn't want to?" The eldest princess was worried. Once the world is pacified, the imperial court will start a new policy strategy centered on governing the country, and Li Wei will undoubtedly become the backbone of the scholars.

Li Wei's continued increase in power is bound to clash with the general. Zhang Wen's method obviously has ulterior motives.

Either let the northern Xinjiang forces fight among themselves and eventually end up together, or let themselves use Li Wei to fight against the military forces led by the general.

Zhang Wen suggested using Li Wei, not focusing on the present, but focusing on the fact that the Son of Heaven can smoothly govern when he grows up.

Until his death, this old minister was still unwilling to let the general and more Han warriors enter the court.

Zhang Wen didn't answer, he closed his eyes and sighed softly: "It's not that the general is unwilling, but His Highness is unwilling." This is just a suggestion from the old minister, as long as His Highness knows it. As time goes by, His Highness may be able to understand the old minister's intentions. Zhang Wen slowly opened his eyes, looked at the eldest princess and said solemnly,

"Of the four auxiliary ministers, the clan minister must occupy one, which can help His Highness establish his position and prestige. There is also a minister who must be a Jizhou official, which can ensure that Zhongxing's great cause has a solid enough foundation. Please keep this in mind, Your Highness. The eldest princess agreed with tears in her eyes.

Zhang Wen went on to talk about the restructuring. The rise and fall of the dynasties and the chaos of the Han Dynasty tell us a truth, although the reform can rejuvenate the country and revive the society that is about to overthrow, it is difficult to guarantee that the national Zuo can continue for thousands of generations.

The reform of the imperial court today is the same, if Your Highness thinks that today's reform can allow Hanzuo to continue for another four hundred years, it is a big mistake.

The eldest princess felt sour in her heart, and asked with tears in her eyes, "Does the boss have a good plan?" ”

"The foundation of Han Zuo lies in the Great Han Law, and the foundation of the Great Han Law lies in the official system, and the foundation of the official system lies in the checks and balances between the imperial power and the relative power." Zhang Wen took a breath and sighed,

"The minister's greatest wish in this life is to formulate an official system that can satisfy the emperor and the ministers, but the minister's wish has not been fulfilled." The reason why Emperor Xiaowu wanted to weigh Shangshutai and Emperor Guangwu wanted to snatch the power of the three princes was because the power of the prime minister seriously restricted the imperial power.

It can be seen that the combination of Mingjun and a high degree of centralization can completely rejuvenate the country in peace, but the question is, how can there be so many Mingjun in this world?

Wang Mang's rebellion and the rebellion of this world are bloody lessons. This kind of official system can destroy the country, so it must be changed.

There are very few emperors in Shengming, but the emperors like a high degree of centralization, how to reasonably distribute the imperial power and relative power under the condition that the emperor is highly centralized, so that the country can prosper for a long time?

"Boss, I don't understand, can you explain a little bit clearly?" Zhang Wen shook his head helplessly,

"The minister didn't figure it out, he only had a vague idea, but since His Highness asked, the minister will tell you, I hope His Highness will be able to fulfill this wish of the minister in the future." The emperor wants to be highly centralized, and at the same time needs the foreign governments to deal with specific state affairs, so under the current official system of three princes and nine secretaries, he can only find another scripture, so there are Shangshutai of the Chinese Dynasty and the eunuchs of the Inner Dynasty.

In the case of mutual restraint between the Inner Dynasty, the Middle Dynasty and the Dynasty, once the emperor has an accident, the Inner Dynasty and the Chinese Dynasty control all the power.

At this time, the already light foreign dynasty immediately became an ornament, all the imperial palaces ceased to operate, and the society was in chaos, and the country inevitably went to ruin.

Can we come up with a new bureaucracy that can still function normally in the event of an accident with the emperor and his authority out of control?

That is, the imperial power is out of control, but the relative power can still be exercised normally.

"The minister thought about it for a long time, and felt that if the Shangshutai of the Chinese Dynasty and the governments of the foreign dynasties were merged into one, and the Chinese and foreign dynasties became one institution, would this be able to meet the requirements of the emperor's centralized power, and at the same time realize the requirements of the independent exercise of the relative power?" The eldest princess's eyes widened in surprise and asked in disbelief, "Isn't the system of three princes and nine kings abolished?" ”

"When the emperor centralized power, the three dukes had no authority, and the emperor directly commanded Jiuqing to exercise power through Shangshutai, and Jiuqing Mansion was a subordinate institution of Shangshutai at this time, and the Chinese and foreign dynasties had actually replaced the imperial court." Zhang Wen smiled bitterly,

In order to show that he did not change the ancestral system, the emperor still retained the official system of the three princes and nine secretaries, and still retained the magnificent façade, but once the emperor had an accident, this foreign dynasty that could no longer exercise his power caused the imperial court to come to a standstill, and no one dealt with state affairs. If the Jiuqing Mansion is directly subordinate to Shangshutai, the Jiuqing Mansion can continue to operate normally, the power of the prime minister can continue to be exercised, and state affairs can continue to be properly handled. ”

"In this kind of bureaucratic system, even if there is a disaster in which relatives and eunuchs monopolize power in the court, it is difficult to seriously deal a blow to the prime minister's power in a short period of time, so that the imperial court and the government can not only continue to operate, so that state affairs will not be paralyzed, but also give the country the opportunity and time to be saved." The eldest princess thought for a long time,

"Boss, I took note of your words. If the official system is to be revised according to this idea, it will definitely go against the ancestral system, and it will be unimaginably difficult to completely overthrow the system of three princes and nine secretaries that has been used in this dynasty for 400 years. Zhang Wen patted the eldest princess's hand and smiled with satisfaction: "As long as Your Highness is attentive, you will always find a way." The eldest princess accompanied Zhang Wen for a long time, and it was not until it was dark that she got up to say goodbye.

Zhang Wen took her hand and said very sadly: "The most regrettable thing for the minister is that he didn't see His Highness get married. "The eldest princess is very sad,

"The biggest regret of the boss should be that he didn't see the Zhongxing of the big man." Zhang Wen shook his head,

"There is His Royal Highness, there are generals, there are loyal ministers in the court, there are strong armies in northern Xinjiang, it is only a matter of time before the Han Dynasty is prosperous, the minister has seen that day, and the minister does not feel regret." Zhang Wen sighed and whispered,

"The minister only hopes that His Royal Highness can marry the general and live happily for the rest of his life." The eldest princess's face darkened, she shook her head painfully, and tears quietly welled up,

"It's no longer possible." She picked up Zhang Wen's hand, put it to her mouth and kissed it gently, and then carefully stuffed it into the quilt.

On the twenty-fifth day of the first month, in the early morning, Zhang Wen died of illness. On the twenty-seventh day of the first month, Hedong Taishou Wangyi urgently reported to the imperial court, rebelling against Yuan Shao's intention to stand on behalf of the Han Dynasty.

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