Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 329 If you try to create a "new giant," everyone will come after you!
However, all of this is still premature, since even the matter of summoning Wang Yun to court is currently only a preliminary idea.

He leaned back slightly against the armrest, looking at the list of officials in his hand, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the surface of the table.

For a prefectural governor or county magistrate with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure), advancing to the next level would be quite difficult.

The highest rank for local administrative officials was 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure), and if they wanted to be promoted, they had to go to the imperial court.

However, official positions in the imperial court have always been filled by one person per position.

Although many official positions are deliberately left vacant in preparation for promotion.

For example, the Grand Master of the Palace with a salary of two thousand shi was a candidate for the Nine Ministers with a salary of two thousand shi, which was equivalent to a transitional position when waiting in line for a vacancy of the Nine Ministers.

When he first seized power in the palace coup, the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies originally belonged only to Ding Gong, Cao Cao's father-in-law.

However, in order to quickly appease and win over the people, and at the same time to quickly take control of the entire Luoyang City, Zhou Yi, the magistrate of Luoyang with a salary of 1,000 shi, was promoted to Guanglu Dafu (a high-ranking official), and Ma Ridi, a leading figure of the ancient literature school, was also promoted to Guanglu Dafu, in order to demonstrate his ability to make political commitments.

In order to suppress the New Text School and consolidate his power, he demoted Liu Kuan, who was then the Grand Master of Ceremonies, to Grand Master of Ceremonies, so that the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies, which was only supposed to have three members, was squeezed into four people.

It wasn't until October of last year, when Zhu Jun, then Right General of the Central Army, was promoted to General of Anxi, that Ding Gong filled the vacancy left by Zhu Jun's promotion.

But this doesn't count as a promotion.

The Right General of the Household was only a position with a rank equivalent to two thousand piculs of grain. Although the Right General of the Household, as one of the three offices, had much more power than the Grand Master of the Palace, which was merely a nominal position, it was still not a respectable position.

Fortunately, Ding Gong was a sensible person. His in-law, Cao Song, served as the Grand Minister of Agriculture, one of the Nine Ministers, and was also the Marquis of Pingluo Township with a fief of a thousand households. And what about his son-in-law, Cao Cao?

General Anbei was appointed Governor of Youzhou, holding two official ranks of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure), and was in charge of the military and political affairs of Youzhou. He was equivalent to a "King of Yan" in name only, and was also the Marquis of Feiting with a fief of 600 households.

The emperor would not allow their family to become too powerful. Giving Ding Gong the real position of Right General of the Household was already considered a great favor from the emperor.

As for Wang Yun, it was customary for officials from outside the capital to be demoted one rank when they entered the capital, meaning that Wang Yun should have been appointed to a position with a salary of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain).

However, Wang Yun has indeed achieved some practical results in Yuzhou over the past three years. At least he has been very active in dealing with the Yuan family of Runan and their cronies, and he has also dealt a blow to many powerful families who were hiding in Tiankou.

Although it was said that they only targeted the small fry and not the big fish, this inadvertently enhanced Wang Yun's reputation.

Although Wang Yun had many ulterior motives and even tried to win over Lü Bu by marrying his daughter to him, Liu Bian was still willing to give him an important position.

Because he loves fame!
Moreover, it's not just empty fame; he wants all the titles of capable minister and incorruptible official.

The Wang family of Taiyuan was a behemoth to ordinary powerful families, but in the eyes of the gentry of the Central Plains, they were nothing more than a bunch of beggars who had come to the capital.

Wang Yun himself was well aware of this, and therefore he was particularly adept at catering to Liu Bian's pragmatic style in order to cultivate the corresponding persona and reputation.

Pragmatic, incorruptible... Liu Bian paused slightly as he tapped the table. The Maritime Trade Office had been vacant for a Maritime Trade Commissioner with a rank of two thousand shi.

"The state, the Three Dukes, the Nine Ministers, the Secretariat, the Three Offices, and all the generals have arrived."

Gao Wang's report woke Liu Bian from his reverie. Liu Bian suddenly raised his eyes, nodded slightly, and signaled Gao Wang to summon everyone.

"Greetings to the nation!"

Civil officials bowed in salute, while military officers saluted with clasped hands. Looking at the assembled civil and military officials, Liu Bian felt much more at ease. However, when his gaze swept over the military officers at the front and landed on Huangfu Song, who was clad in black armor, he was taken aback. He then chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Why is the old general also wearing black armor? It's the height of summer now; it's heavy and hot. Please take it off." This was not just ordinary black armor, but the heavy infantry armor worn by infantrymen, weighing 30 jin (approximately 15 catties), equivalent to more than ten kilograms in later times.

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song's expression suddenly tightened. He stared straight at the emperor, his voice loud and resolute, yet tinged with stubbornness, and said, "In quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion and eradicating the Qiang scourge in Liangzhou, the state never spoke of my old age! How come, after only three years, the state already deems me too old and useless?"

"When will I..."

Liu Bian was slightly taken aback, then smiled and waved his hand, saying, "How could I dislike Lord Yizhen for being old? It's just calling him 'Old General.' If Lord Yizhen doesn't like it, I will stop calling him that from now on."

Seeing Huangfu Song so fixated on a title, the people in the hall couldn't help but smile, but some frowned secretly, feeling that this old general was too arrogant and lacked the manners of a subject.

However, Liu Bian did not take it to heart. He could understand Huangfu Song's stubbornness. The older people are, the less they want to admit they are old, and the more they fear the word "old".

Huangfu Song is fifty-five years old this year. Although he can still ride a horse and shoot arrows with both hands, his energy is not as good as before.

In the past, his General's Office could operate smoothly and easily control the army with just Chief Secretary Liang Yan and a few clerks and merit officers.

In the past two years, however, he has had to recruit more young subordinates, clearly aware of the loss of his own energy, and also to prepare for the future northern expedition against the Xianbei.

Today, he insisted on wearing this heavy black armor for infantry combat, and his purpose was self-evident: he simply wanted to prove to the emperor and his ministers that he was still as sharp as ever.

After everyone was seated, the eunuchs distributed bowls of chilled plum juice, which had been kept in ice chests, to everyone, and also set out a plate of chilled fruit for each person to ward off the summer heat of the journey.

Upon seeing this, Liu Bian didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, saying, "I want to raise an army to attack the State of Chen."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze.

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Cao Song, the Grand Minister of Agriculture in charge of the national treasury, knew that war was imminent even when he saw the generals of the central army gathered together. At this moment, he couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly and subconsciously raised his hand to press his chest, feeling a pang of heartache.

Well, at least it's just fighting the mere state of Chen, not a northern expedition against the Xianbei.

After calming himself down and thinking for a while, Cao Song took the initiative to reply: "The national treasury still has 79 billion coins. The summer harvest has just ended, and the price of grain on the market is not high. Recently, the price of grain in the capital region is about 60 coins per shi. I need to wait for the generals to formulate a specific strategy before I can estimate how much grain is needed. At that time, I will negotiate the price with the grain merchants and try my best to reduce the cost."

No sooner had Cao Song finished speaking than Minister of Works Cui Lie could no longer contain himself. Thinking of his imprisoned eldest son, he abruptly stood up, veins bulging on his forehead, and almost gritted his teeth as he spoke, saying, "Liu Chong is utterly rebellious! He secretly raises assassins, privately expands his army, imprisons the prime minister sent by the court, and arbitrarily appoints and dismisses county magistrates. The emperor has summoned him to court nine times, but he has always claimed illness and refused to attend! This scoundrel... must be captured alive and executed by dismemberment to uphold the majesty of the emperor and to clarify the laws of the land!"

With an indignant expression, Chen Lin, the Junior Chamberlain, loudly volunteered: "Your Majesty, I request to write the proclamation against the traitor! I also wish to publish Liu Chong's heinous crimes in the Great Han Gazette, proclaiming them to the world!"

As one of the earliest loyal followers of Liu Bian, Chen Lin's loyalty is beyond question.

Perhaps in terms of handling government affairs, he was gradually becoming inferior to his contemporaries such as Zhong Yao and Dong Zhao, and even later figures such as Tian Feng and Xun Yu gradually surpassed him, but Chen Lin was still highly valued by Liu Bian.

Liu Bian not only entrusted him with the supervision of the imperial treasury, but also the important task of managing the "Great Han Imperial Gazette".

No one knows for sure how much money is in the emperor's private treasury, but in recent years, the huge profits from the tea, sugar industry, and numerous wine shops and restaurants under the imperial family's control have been enough to give us a glimpse into the situation. These high-ranking officials also believe that the phrase "rich enough to rival a country" may simply be a true description of the emperor's reality.

"Today I will remove Liu Chong's name from the genealogy and announce to the world the abolition of Liu Chong's title of Prince of Chen."

At this moment, Liu Yu, the Minister of the Imperial Clan, also had a grim face. His hatred for Liu Chong was no less than that for Cui Lie and Chen Lin. They had finally welcomed a holy emperor and the world had become somewhat stable. But after only two years of stability, Liu Chong had to jump out and cause trouble, trying to establish a "new Han Dynasty".
As Liu Bian listened to the eloquent speeches of the crowd, some expressing indignation and cursing, others offering suggestions and advice, a satisfied expression slowly appeared on his face.

Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, but this pot of soup was carefully prepared by the emperor and his ministers.

Just as we were about to enjoy the food, a mad dog suddenly appeared, trying to overturn the pot and smash the stove. Nobody would allow that!
Everyone will come and beat you up!
(2534 words)
(End of this chapter)