Han Dynasty Achievements

Chapter 54 Sixteen Strategies for Governing a Country

Liu Bian made the decision with just a few words, and after giving a few more instructions, he let the two men leave.

Yuan Wei and Liu Yu left Liu Bian's study and returned from Jingfu Hall to the Shangshu Terrace next to Jiade Hall.

In the Secretariat, Ding Gong, Liu Hong and Wang Yun were all busy. When they saw the two people coming back, they subconsciously looked up to greet them.

Yuan Wei was still the same as usual, expressionless but with authority. He didn't look at anyone else and sat back in his seat quietly.

Liu Yu was half happy and half worried. After sitting down, he glanced at Yuan Wei and said to Ding Gong and others: "Your Majesty has made some decisions. Dong Zhuo will enter the capital to serve as the Grand Marshal..."

"No!"

Ding Gong shouted decisively. He knew exactly what kind of person Dong Zhuo was. He was a tiger and a wolf. How could he hold such a high position as the Grand Marshal?

Liu Yu was interrupted, and seeing the nervous expressions of the others, he continued, "Your Majesty has decided that Lu Zigan will be the governor of Bingzhou and also in charge of Liangzhou, Huangfu Yizhen will be the lieutenant of Sili and also in charge of Yanzhou, I will be in charge of Youzhou, and Zhu Gongda will be the governor of Qingzhou and also in charge of Jizhou."

Ding Gong, Liu Hong and Wang Yun were stunned. One person led two states, and four people led seven states in the north?

This kind of thing has never happened before in the Han Dynasty!

Liu Yu looked at the stunned expressions of the three people and said quickly: "His Majesty said that this is a temporary measure forced by the current situation. We will make adjustments when the situation stabilizes."

Ding Gong came back to his senses, thought about it solemnly, and still felt uneasy, saying: "It's not impossible to arrange it this way, but..."

Liu Hong quickly glanced at the silent Yuan Wei, knowing that there was something fishy going on, and asked, "Will Dong Zhuo agree?"

Liu Yu snorted coldly and said, "If you still dare to refuse to obey the imperial edict, you are a traitor and should be punished with a large army!"

Ding Gong, Liu Hong stopped talking, his face was solemn.

Most of the Han army were recruited temporarily, and now they are busy chasing the Yellow Turban rebels. Where can they find the army?

In addition, Dong Zhuo rejected the Han horses and Qiang people from Xiliang. If a large army were to attack Dong Zhuo, the northwest would immediately be in chaos and might be out of control!

Wang Yun seemed to be thinking about something, and interrupted, "Should Dong Zhuo's troops be handed over?"

Liu Yu glanced at him and said, "If he enters the capital, he will have to hand over his troops."

Wang Yun shook his head subconsciously and said nothing more. In his opinion, the army was Dong Zhuo's capital for survival. Even if he entered the capital, he would be on guard against the imperial court's promotion in name only and demotion in reality, taking away the military power. Otherwise, wouldn't Dong Zhuo be a fish on the chopping board in the capital?

Liu Yu noticed Wang Yun's actions and stopped talking just as he was about to speak. Saying these things in front of Yuan Wei would inevitably reach Dong Zhuo's ears.

He turned to Ding Gong and said, "We still need to make some preparations. I plan to meet Huangfu Yizhen later. The soldiers from the three auxiliary provinces may be of use."

Yizhen is the courtesy name of Huangfu Song.

As the Grand Marshal, he was still qualified to have a good talk with Huangfu Song.

Ding Gong thought about it again and again, and said, "Should we inform Lu Zigan?"

Liu Yu quickly stopped him and said, "That is your Majesty's business. We don't need to get involved."

Seeing that Yuan Wei had remained silent, Liu Hong felt a little strange and changed the subject, "What does Your Majesty say about filling vacancies in the court?"

Liu Yu shook his head and said, "His Majesty said he needs to consider it, and has temporarily decided on Zhong Yao and Huang Wan."

Wang Yun listened, his expression slightly changed, and he thought to himself: "Zhong Yao is Liu Yu's man, and Huang Wan is a disciple of the Yuan family. What a coincidence? Should I also go to the palace to meet the emperor?"

Yuan Wei heard their discussions but remained indifferent.

He was more alert to the young emperor than ever before!

He originally thought that Liu Bian transferred Dong Zhuo to the capital because he was afraid that Dong Zhuo would lead his troops to Hedong. However, he never thought that Liu Bian's ambition was so big that he wanted to control the entire seven northern states!

Before Yuan Wei, he was only concerned with seizing important positions in the imperial court and neglected the local governors and inspectors!

Now, the young emperor wanted to take over seven states in one go, which caught him off guard and he could not think of a countermeasure for a while.

"We lost the opportunity..."

Yuan Wei frowned slightly, thinking about how to deal with the situation.

He could feel Liu Bian's dissatisfaction with him, but he didn't care about it. Emperor Ling was dissatisfied with all the court officials in the world and even launched the Party Ban, but what would happen in the end?

At this moment, Wang Yun sorted out a pile of memorials and shouted to the outside, "Come here, present it to His Majesty."

Xun You walked quickly into the palace, saluted Wang Yun, then picked up the plate and left the Secretariat.

As the Imperial Court Official, one of his most important duties was to shuttle back and forth between the Secretariat and the Emperor.

For a long time, this duty was replaced by the Internal Affairs Minister, and Xun You had not entered the Forbidden Palace for quite some time.

He carried the plate out of the Secretariat and turned towards Gyeongbokgung Hall.

Xun You was in his early forties, but he was plump and fair, had a goatee, and had a very elegant temperament.

He held the plate, looked straight ahead, and walked calmly, but he was excited in his heart.

There is a memorial on this plate that belongs to him!

He worked hard all night, carefully writing the "Sixteen Strategies for Governing a Country", which was also his version of the imperial document!

Not long after, Xun You arrived at Jingfu Hall, outside Liu Bian's study.

After the inspection by the Zhonghuangmen, he came closer and said loudly, "Xun You, the Huangmen assistant minister, wishes to see Your Majesty."

Logically speaking, the Yellow Gate Minister should just send it here and hand it over to the Yellow Gate.

Liu Bian was sitting on a chair, reading a memorial. Hearing this, his expression changed. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and sat down, saying, "Come in."

Xun You held the plate, lowered his head, and approached Liu Bian's desk.

Liu Bian didn't like kneeling, so he sat on a chair. Xun You was a little surprised when he saw this, but he said calmly, "The Secretariat has sorted out the memorials, please have a look, Your Majesty."

Liu Bian nodded, waited for Pan Yin to hand it to him, then reached out and opened it to take a look.

After reading so many memorials, Liu Bian had already figured out the trick. For many memorials, one could guess the general idea from the first few sentences, especially from the comments of the recorders and the Shangshu.

Liu Bian flipped through the pages and soon saw 'Your Highness, the Minister of the Imperial Court, Xun You, respectfully reports that state affairs are difficult and people's livelihood is miserable. I hereby present sixteen strategies...'

He raised his eyelids and looked at Xun You without changing his expression. Xun You did not leave. He bent his body with a calm expression. His fair and round face looked like a pampered aristocratic householder.

Liu Bian retracted his gaze and continued to read the 'Sixteen Strategies for Governing a Country'.

'Clean up the government, eliminate corruption, unify the government, promote integrity, eliminate corruption, rectify the bureaucracy, increase revenue, reduce expenditure, inspire the king's army, regulate the fields, and appease the people...'

Liu Bian looked at it silently, thinking in his heart.

Compared to him, Xun You saw things relatively more clearly and his words hit the nail on the head.

It's just that Liu Bian had some different ideas on certain methods and approaches, and Xun You was too presumptuous and underestimated the severity of the problems he faced, far from it.

After a long while, Liu Bian put down the memorial, his face still showing a thoughtful look.

Xun You stood there, feeling nervous. He wondered if what he said could attract Liu Bian's attention and make him think highly of him.

After a long while, Liu Bian slowly raised his head, looked at Xun You and said, "What do you think of how to get rid of bad policies and unify government orders?"

Xun You had already prepared a plan. He raised his hand and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, we should learn from history and distinguish between benefits and harms. Strengthening the country and benefiting the people is good, while misleading the country and harming the people is bad. Since Emperor Huan, the eunuch party has brought disaster to the country and has many bad policies. They must be abolished immediately."

Liu Bian nodded slightly and said, "Unified political decrees?"

Xun You said: "I think that the government has a complicated system of official posts, with overlapping powers and responsibilities. Government affairs are stuck and running like a quagmire. We must clearly define the power and responsibilities, and organize the boundaries so that the government can be governed smoothly and the upper and lower levels can follow suit, so that the government can be handled without obstruction and respond to state affairs."

These words touched Liu Bian's heart. He sat up straight and said, "What you said is exactly what I want. I am considering abolishing the Three Dukes' Office and expanding the Secretariat."

Xun You opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.