The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 374: The Emperor's Scam
Liu Xie looked at the scorching sun above his head, feeling neither relieved nor ecstatic.

Hearing the sound of objects and bodies falling to the ground behind him, Liu Xie walked all the way to the bottom of the palace and turned into a small room next to it: "Call Yuan Chang and Gong Da here, I have something to discuss with them."

Zhong Yao and Xun You came here and saluted together.

"Over the years, you two have been working very hard, one defending against the enemy in Hedong and the other running business in Luoyang."

"Now that we have conquered Yecheng, I should let you all take a break..."

"But I did recite that poem by the river. Do you know which line I like best?"

Zhong Yao: "But 'If the sky had feelings, it would also grow old'?"

Xun You: "But 'the right path in the world is vicissitudes'?"

"Both of these sentences are good, but the meaning behind them is too profound. I can't explain it clearly, and others can't understand it either."

"My favorite is still the saying, 'It is better to pursue the enemy with your remaining courage than to seek fame by imitating the tyrant.'"

"Even though Yuan Shao is dead, he still holds on to the thought that the court will be driven out of Hebei, and I will be driven out of Hebei. I can't just rest now. I really fulfilled their wish."

Liu Xie patted the box beside him and said, "This is what Yuan Shao left for me. You can take a look."

Zhong Yao and Xun You came over and opened the box. After seeing the contents written on the document inside, they were filled with indignation: "How dare you be so arrogant?"

"Your Majesty wants us to kill them one by one according to the list?"

The two have been training on the front lines of the battlefield for these years and have long lost the soft hearts they once had as ordinary scholars.

After all, education is not as effective as swords!
But Liu Xie just took out another official document and put it on the table: "This is what happened in Henan. I was afraid of affecting the morale of the army, so I didn't make it public. Now you can take a look."

This official document recorded Zhang Miao's rebellion again.

Their faces were ashen.

"do you understand?"

"If I kill too many people at this time, what happened in Henan will still happen in Hebei."

"If the Wuhuan and Eastern Xianbei attacked from the north at this time, and attacked Hebei with Yuan Tan, it would really fulfill Yuan Shao's wish and drive the imperial court out of Hebei again!"

It is difficult to conquer the world.

It’s even harder to defend the world!
This is also the reason why Liu Xie did not celebrate, but immediately summoned two old friends, Zhong Yao and Xun You, to discuss the matter.

Although Xun You has been training outside for many years, the righteousness in his bones has not dissipated, but has become more determined.

At this moment, Xun You suddenly questioned the emperor: "Does the emperor want to show mercy to them?"

"I wouldn't say I'll show mercy."

Of course Liu Xie would never do such a stupid thing.

The premise for dealing with the aristocratic families is eight words:

Give up illusions and prepare for struggle!
How could a group of noble lords empathize with the lower-class beasts of burden?
But this is politics after all.

And politics is also a kind of war.

In war, there is only one rule for victory: to use the majority to bully the minority, to make your friends more numerous and your enemies fewer.

In fact, Liu Xie has always done this.

The first thing he did was to let Lu Bu teach the soldiers to read. This bore fruit a few years later, and the court had the capital to suppress the gentry.

But Hebei is different.

Hebei does not have the same soil as Guanzhong.

If too few nobles were killed, they would surely make a comeback, which was in line with Yuan Shao's expectations.

If too many were killed, it would inevitably sow the seeds of hatred in the hearts of the people of Hebei, making them think that the emperor and the court loved the people of Guanzhong but not the people of Hebei, causing disputes between regions.

Liu Xie actually didn't want to see either of these two situations.

and so……

"So ever since I received the news that Zhang Miao had rebelled again, I have been thinking about how to govern Hebei."

"I now have a framework and I want to build it here."

Liu Xie's words aroused the vigilance of Zhong Yao and Xun You!

"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance! Please return to Chang'an and meet with Jia Lingjun and Xun Pushe before making any plans!"

Although the emperor has not said it explicitly, they both feel that the emperor is going to do something big!
Since it is a big deal... although Zhong Yao and Xun You are both officials with a salary of two thousand stones and are close ministers who have followed the emperor for a long time, they are not in the central government after all. If they make such a decision at this moment, it may be considered an overstep!

"It will be too late when we return to Chang'an."

"The issues in Hebei can only be resolved if I stay in Hebei myself."

"Besides, I am only here to discuss matters. I have no intention of bypassing the Shangshutai and working on my own. Why are you so nervous?"

Zhong Yao and Xun You finally felt relieved after hearing the emperor's last explanation.

However, the emperor's first words made the two of them nervous.

"I plan to reform the official system." The two of them gasped.

Although I know that what the emperor is going to do must be very big.

But they didn't expect it to be so big!
"Don't rush to persuade me, you two. Listen to me first."

"The system of three dukes and nine ministers was actually no longer of much use in the Later Han Dynasty."

"Since Emperor Xiaowu established the 'Inner and Outer Court System', the Secretariat has gradually replaced the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers system. After Emperor Guangwu established the Taige system, all matters, big or small, came from the Secretariat alone."

"It's the same for me. The three dukes and nine ministers are just decorations in front of me. I can throw anything into the Shangshu Office! If it weren't for Wenhe and Wenruo watching over the Shangshu Office, I'm afraid it would have become a mess long ago!"

"The Shangshutai is so bloated that its efficiency is inevitably low... In the past, the court was able to hold on when it only had Guanzhong under its control. But after it recovered Liangzhou, Yizhou, Jingzhou and other places, it was already somewhat unable to cope. If the government affairs of Hebei and Henan are thrown to the Shangshutai, even people like Wenhe and Wenruo will definitely not be able to hold on."

"Think about it carefully, isn't this the truth?"

When Zhong Yao and Xun You heard the emperor's words, they suddenly realized that there seemed to be nothing wrong!

The current Shangshutai has become a terrifying organization that is bloated to the extreme.

Even though the emperor set up the Censorate to supervise, it was still somewhat powerless.

The Han Dynasty's reform of the official system has indeed reached an imminent point!
However, Zhong Yao and Xun You were not easily fooled by the emperor: "No matter how urgent this matter is, we should be able to return to Chang'an to discuss it! Besides, what does this have to do with Hebei?"

"Of course it does."

Liu Xie said in a deep voice: "Since I want to reform the official system, I will definitely dismantle the three dukes and nine ministers into empty shells."

"But the scholars in Hebei don't know this."

"So I want to use some of the positions of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers to win over some scholars with good reputations in Hebei, so that they can occupy high positions."

"This way, we can appease the Hebei gentry on the surface. Even if I kill some people, they will be willing to do so. At the same time, it will not affect the principle of "first imperial examination, then officialdom", and avoid people like Zhang Miao from being dissatisfied. What do you two think?"

Now the two of them understood the emperor's meaning.

If the emperor wanted to reform the official system, he would take the real power away from the three dukes and nine ministers and establish new institutions.

But the scholars in Hebei did not know this, and these empty positions could be used to win them over.

By the time they react, the imperial court will most likely have been able to establish a system architecture in Hebei that is the same as that in Guanzhong and Hedong, thus stabilizing the situation in Hebei.

As long as the land can be distributed and a large number of poor families can be supported as soldiers in Hebei, so that they can become the backbone of Hebei and replace the ecological status of the aristocratic families in Hebei, then the court's governance of Hebei will naturally be a success.

"This plan is very good!"

Zhong Yao and Xun You were both somewhat apprehensive about the emperor's reform of the official system in Hebei, fearing that there would be some conflict between the emperor and the Secretariat.

But now that only a few positions among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers need to be vacated to appease the Hebei families, people will naturally feel at ease.

"Spread the news and say that I am willing to give up a few of the three dukes and nine ministers' positions to the Hebei scholars, so that they will think that I am finally afraid of them and want to "go along with them"."

"In this way, Hebei's resistance will be much smaller."

"After this, if they blame me again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers may seem honorable, but as the emperor is about to reform the official system, they will soon become worthless.

Anyone who sets his eyes on these positions will certainly become glorious for a while, but will also forever lose the possibility of gaining a foothold in the Han Dynasty's court.

This thing is the bait set by the emperor.

Moreover, it is a bait that only those who are willing to take the bait will take the bait.

The purpose was just to temporarily make these aristocratic families in Hebei behave themselves, and to give the imperial court and the poor families in Hebei some time to develop.

Once the matter is accomplished, it will have nothing to do with the emperor!
After the scholars in Hebei learned the news, the noise they had been making suddenly died down!
The positions of three dukes and nine ministers!

Especially the three dukes!
He is an important official with the power to establish a government!

The fact that the emperor was willing to give these positions to the Hebei scholars showed that he had compromised! He had made concessions!
"What? He was so aggressive before, but it turns out he's just a weakling. He became weak the moment he saw us."

"That's right! Those things in the past might have been fabricated by Yuan Shao to deceive us! Isn't the emperor quite kind to us Hebei nobles?"

"That's right! Hahahaha! The emperor had said so long ago! Then I would have prepared food and drink to welcome the holy emperor! Why would I care about Yuan Shao?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"..."

Ju Su, who was imprisoned by the emperor, also heard the news.

But when he heard it, he felt that it was unbelievable.

The emperor had clearly already gained the upper hand, so why would he give up at this time?

scam!

It's an absolute fucking scam!

Especially since the emperor had previously said to him the four words "start over again".

From these four words, Ju Su could clearly feel the emperor's firm belief, which was just like the towering Mount Tai, awe-inspiring.

Is it possible that he suddenly changed his mind and became like Yuan Shao?
Your Majesty, what tricks are you playing?
(End of this chapter)