Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 361 Suspension for Reflection? Paid Leave!
Liu Bian did not talk with Wang Yun for long. After confirming Wang Yun's intentions, he picked up a vermilion brush, added the name "Wang Yun" to the "Attendant" column on the white paper, and then dismissed Wang Yun.

Chen was under the jurisdiction of Yuzhou. When Wang Yun, the governor of Yuzhou, arrived in Chen, he would naturally have to take charge of the local government affairs before the new prime minister of Chen or the prefect of Chenjun took office.

After Wang Yun was added as a Palace Attendant, Liu Bian began to consider the candidates for Palace Attendant.

The current number of Attendants is set at eight, but only five actually perform their duties: Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, Dong Zhao, Zhu Jun, and Wang Yun, who was just added to the list but has not yet been formally appointed.

The five of them were more than enough to assist in government affairs on a daily basis.

Liu Bian tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, his gaze sweeping over the three empty spots as he pondered.

After the rewards and honors are distributed, personnel changes are inevitable. In addition, many senior officials in the court have resigned due to illness after autumn, resulting in many vacancies.

This autumn, many senior officials fell ill, and Liu Tao, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, has recently fallen ill and is bedridden. As a result, the affairs of the Imperial Secretariat have to be decided by Lu Zhi, the Grand Tutor, and the Three Dukes.

Although he had not been ill for more than three months and had not reached the point of being dismissed from office due to prolonged illness, Liu Tao still submitted his resignation. He believed that it was impossible for him to recover within three months and was unwilling to delay the normal operation of the Ministry of Personnel because of his own illness.

The position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat was thus vacant. Liu Bian's idea was to fill the vacancy with Pei Mao, the Right Minister of Works. With his qualifications, prestige, and ability, he was qualified to succeed Liu Tao and rival the Three Dukes.

The position of Right Minister of Works would then be vacant.

Within the Secretariat, there was no distinction of rank between the Left and Right Vice Ministers; their only difference lay in the six departments they were in charge of.

Among those in the Imperial Secretariat who were qualified to be selected as Minister of Works, only Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, and Dong Zhao remained.

Cheng Yu was not good at political affairs, but he was quite good at criminal cases, so he was eliminated.

The position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, one of the Three Dukes, was left vacant due to Huang Wan's rebellious actions.

Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jia Xu and Dong Zhao should be appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of the Three Dukes, respectively.

Then only Cheng Yu, Zhu Jun, and Wang Yun remain as Attendants. If they were to stay in Youzhou for more than a year again, as Cheng Yu had done before, they would probably be short of manpower.

After all, he couldn't expect Zhu Jun to share much of his burdens in government affairs, and Wang Yun was new to the Attendant-in-Ordinary and still needed to adapt, so he might not be as adept as some of the Yellow Gate Attendants.

The number of times the Chamberlain will travel to the capital will likely increase in the future.

Cheng Yu did an excellent job in Youzhou, and Jia Xu had a precedent of distributing royal garden land to the people in Sili.

As the emperor's trusted confidants, local officials were all wary of them and no one dared to make things difficult for them, which allowed many things to proceed smoothly.

Therefore, this made Liu Bian's idea of ​​expanding the ranks of the Attendants-in-Ordinary even stronger.

As a court attendant, one could travel to various regions with imperial authority or be appointed to important official positions outside the capital. This was like an extension of the emperor's power, which greatly reduced obstacles to getting things done.

This is similar to an enhanced version of the early provincial governor, or the imperial envoy of later times, who directly exercised supervisory power on behalf of the emperor and could even mobilize local resources beyond the emperor's jurisdiction.

However, the appointment of a court attendant as a provincial governor, who was also a regional governor, was fundamentally different from the previous appointments of provincial governors.

The position of Prefectural Governor was a regular post with an administrative office in the prefecture. They were stationed in the local area and over time, it was inevitable that they would collude with powerful local figures. Moreover, their official rank was low, and they faced many obstacles.

As the emperor's confidant and eyes and ears, the Attendant-in-Ordinary had little connection with local areas and was not subject to the constraints of hierarchical power. Therefore, to oppose the Attendant-in-Ordinary who held the imperial seal was to oppose the imperial power!

In short, it is the difference between local discipline inspection commissions and central supervision groups, and even more so.

After all, defying imperial power is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire family.

"Summon Cheng Zhongde to the palace," Liu Bian said, waving his hand to Gao Wang, who was standing nearby.

Cheng Yu's actions of placing Huang Wan and Yang Biao under house arrest, as well as imprisoning and killing many scholars, could not be easily dismissed with a simple memorial of apology. He had to personally explain and apologize to the emperor.

Regardless of Cheng Yu's motives of loyalty, this cannot cover up the procedural errors of Cheng Yu's unauthorized handling of a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel and a marquis observing mourning at home, and his failure to report such actions.

This trend must not be allowed to continue, and the laws and regulations of the imperial court must not be trampled upon.

The imperial court cannot tolerate acts of justice that violate procedural rules; such actions undermine the judicial system, and even if they stem from utmost loyalty, they are still unforgivable crimes.

Before long, Cheng Yu entered the hall, his expression calm and his gaze unwavering, seemingly without fear, unlike a minister who had committed a serious crime. Liu Bian initially intended to put on a stern face and feign coldness, but after meeting Cheng Yu's calm yet resolute gaze for a moment, his tense expression softened. He pointed to the seats to the side, a helpless smile playing on his lips, and said, "Zhongde, I thought you would come in carrying thorns to beg for forgiveness."

Cheng Yu sat down as instructed, his expression still calm, and said in a steady voice, "If the state wishes to punish me, even if I were to carry thorns on my back, I would not escape death. If the state has no intention of punishing me, even if the partisans launch a thousand verbal attacks, my head will remain secure."

Cheng Yu's tone was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.

Seeing his appearance, Liu Bian felt a slight displeasure. He frowned and said, "I promoted you because I value your talent. Do you, Cheng Zhongde, not value your own life at all?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu remained silent for a moment before bowing respectfully at the table. His voice lowered slightly as he said, "I have wasted half my life and am now forty-six. It is the nation that has raised me from humble beginnings and entrusted me with important responsibilities. If my actions can save the nation from a great trouble, I am willing to give up my life."

Cheng Yu paused slightly before continuing, "As for my wife and children, the country is benevolent and will certainly not mistreat them."

Liu Bian pointed at him, shook his head and sighed, his tone carrying a hint of reproach and a hint of protection, saying, "It's only you, Cheng Zhongde! Fine, I've already thought of a way to exonerate you."

"The power of acting as an imperial envoy that I previously granted you has not yet been revoked. It is barely acceptable to use this power to place a high-ranking official of the Three Dukes, Cao Shangshu, and a marquis who is observing mourning at home. As for a few partisans and scholars, they are not worth mentioning at all."

"As for concealing the truth... Although the Embroidered Robe Commander has the power to act first and report later, it is with the approval of the Empress Dowager. However, my mother cannot share the blame for you. It can only be said that you knew the truth but did not report it."

“This fault shall be borne by Master Lu.” Liu Bian’s fingers tapped lightly on the smooth table, making a rhythmic sound. “Master Lu, as Grand Tutor, assisted the Empress Dowager in ruling the country and oversaw the rear, and also made significant contributions in overall planning. He should have been granted an additional fief of five hundred households. Now that his merits and demerits have balanced, he will not be rewarded, but only given a reprimand.”

Liu Bian's gaze returned to Cheng Yu, and he continued, "As for Zhongde, you were acting under orders from your superior and had no choice but to do so. Therefore, I hereby issue you a verbal reprimand and suspend you from your duties for one month to reflect on your actions."

After speaking, Liu Bian's eyebrows curved slightly, and a sly smile appeared on his face.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu's expression turned somewhat strange, and he looked up at the Emperor.

Is this... considered punishment?
Before taking action, he had already weighed the pros and cons and the consequences.

The emperor is a rare ruler who values ​​loyalty and righteousness, and he would certainly not discard a useful person after they have served their purpose. However, in order to quell the anger of the scholars and silence the gossip of the people, necessary punishment is indispensable.

He had prepared himself for years of retirement and even the possibility of being flogged, but he never expected such a "punishment".

A verbal reprimand?

If the emperor issues a reprimand, then it is a reprimand; who dares to question it?

As for being suspended from duty for self-reflection?

According to the Han system, during the period of suspension from duty for self-reflection, the salary would be paid as usual.

Therefore, rather than being suspended from duty for a month to reflect on his actions, it would be more accurate to say that the emperor granted him a month of paid leave.

“The State, this…” Even Cheng Yu, who was upright and unpretentious, felt it was quite inappropriate at this moment and hesitated, saying, “Such a punishment may invite criticism. Perhaps it would be better to increase the punishment. My body can withstand twenty strokes of the cane.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian snorted lightly, looked at him meaningfully, and said with a smirk, "Alright, if serving me loyally results in severe punishment, who will dare to work wholeheartedly in the future? Every crime I've convicted you of is in accordance with Han law. You can't even find a law that matches your twenty strokes of the cane!"

Seeing that the emperor had put it this way, Cheng Yu no longer hesitated to refuse.

But one can't help but think to oneself, if being loyal to the ruler results in punishment, then no one will be willing to serve?

If it hadn't come from the emperor, he would have really wanted to retort with "Bullshit!"
Countless people would love to be punished like this.

Being punished means that the emperor owes you something.

The more the emperor feels he owes you, the more generous the compensation will be.

A beating and a few years of dismissal from office, if it could earn the emperor's remorse and deeper trust and future favor, would surely attract many eager suitors!
"Instead of getting bogged down in these trivial matters..." Liu Bian changed the subject, his expression becoming serious, and said, "Why don't you tell me in detail about the Xianbei?"

Upon hearing this, Du Xi, who was standing by his side, immediately and accurately pulled out several memorials submitted by Cheng Yu concerning Xianbei affairs from a neat stack of memorials beside him and placed them on Liu Bian's desk.

Liu Bian nodded slightly, then looked at Cheng Yu and said, "The written records of the Xianbei by our predecessors are far too brief, unlike the detailed memorials you have submitted over the past year. Tell me again, how effective have you been in sowing discord among the Xianbei tribes?"

(3013 words)
(End of this chapter)