ebookland Chapter 145: The gap between the court officials
Chapter 145: The gap between the court officials
Chapter 145: The gap between the court officials
In the evening, at the Prime Minister's Residence.
Wang Lang became the magistrate of Luoyang and was so busy that he seldom had time to sit face to face with Yang Biao.
Yang Biao took off his thick cotton coat, warmed himself by the charcoal fire, frowned, and said with a suspicious look, "What do you think Li Cao meant by this?"
Wang Lang looked much more tired than before, and he no longer had the leisure to write a book. He said, "Minister Xun's meaning is that Yanzhou is in ruins, and the prefectures and counties are too slow in recommending officials, or there may be traitors among them, so all of them are transferred from the court?"
Yang Biao nodded, looked at Wang Lang and said, "I always feel that there seems to be something wrong. Can you see what it is?"
Wang Lang hesitated and said, "This is a sufficient reason..."
Yang Biao said more seriously, "You don't know His Majesty very well. He would never make a big fuss over a superficial matter. He must have a deeper purpose."
Wang Lang was moved when he heard this and said, "Has the court not yet decided who to send to support Jizhou?"
Yang Biao was stunned for a moment, blinked, and said, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about it."
Wang Lang stared at him strangely and said, "You almost did? No one in the Shangshutai mentioned it?"
Yang Biao was stared at by him, his expression was very unnatural, and he said: "Perhaps, Your Majesty is preparing to wait for Cao Cao to go north."
"Not really,"
Wang Lang shook his head and said, "Cao Cao still needs to quell the banditry in various parts of Yanzhou. It will take at least half a year."
Yang Biao looked puzzled and said to himself, "That's strange. I can understand why Wang Yun didn't mention it. Xun You, Zhong Yao and others also pretended not to know. What are they planning to do? There are still 60,000 soldiers in the Imperial Guard camp. Even if there is no money or food, they won't just sit there and do nothing..."
At this moment, Yang Biao had many confusions about the government affairs.
Wang Lang thought for a while and said, "I heard that Bingzhou is going to survey the fields and conduct a census of the households after the spring."
Yang Biao knew this very well. He was the one who approved it. He said, "After your majesty's last expedition, the bandit problem has been alleviated. Bingzhou is vast and sparsely populated. The court has decided to resettle the disaster victims in Sanfu and other places in Bingzhou."
Wang Lang looked at him and said, "Do you think the imperial court will make Yanzhou the second Bingzhou?"
Yang Biao blinked, then his eyes widened with a look of surprise.
Wang Lang couldn't help but shake his head when he saw that he realized it so slowly.
It took Yang Biao a while to regain his composure, and he muttered to himself: "If this continues, Yanzhou will be in chaos..."
Wang Lang nodded. Yanzhou was not Bingzhou. How could the Yanzhou aristocratic families agree to survey the land and conduct a census of the households in Yanzhou?
You must know that in Yanzhou, most of the farmland has been enclosed by wealthy families to form manors, and most of the people are servants or tenants of the wealthy families!
The imperial court is going to survey the land and conduct a population census, so it would be strange if there wasn't a big chaos!
Yang Biao looked at Wang Lang, rubbed his face unconsciously, and said: "As the Prime Minister, I should let you sit here."
Wang Lang picked up the teacup and said nothing.
He somewhat regretted entering the court.
What the court is doing now is completely different from what he expected.
There is no intention of revitalizing the economy, but instead it adds to the chaos!
What's the point of staying with such a court?
Imperial Palace, Gyeongbokgung Hall, Study.
Liu Bian, Xun You and Zhong Yao sat opposite each other, playing chess and talking about things.
Xun You had long known Liu Bian's chess ability. Although he occasionally made brilliant moves, overall he was still in his infancy.
He yielded without letting anyone know, and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial edict on tax reduction has been drafted by the Secretariat and will be submitted tomorrow. Please review it."
Liu Bian stared at the chessboard, thinking hard, and said casually: "Well, play chess."
Xun You glanced at him, made a move, and then said, "Your Majesty, Envoy Liu of Youzhou is still fighting with the Xianbei and Wuhuan, and is temporarily unable to spare time to support Jizhou. Envoy Lu of Bingzhou sent a letter, should we send troops to support him?"
Liu Bian's mind was on the chess game, so he said without hesitation: "Tell him to do the things in Bingzhou well, and don't worry about the rest."
Xun You pretended to be thoughtful and said, "Your Majesty, the Shangshutai basically agrees with the reform of the Censorate, but there is still controversy about sending thirteen supervisory censors out of the capital."
"Well, let's not move the north for now, and send people from Jiao, Yi, Yang, Xu and Jing states first." Liu Bian said.
Xun You responded, then raised his head slightly, looked at Liu Bian's expression, and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, the government and the public are dissatisfied with Ding Shijun of Yanzhou, and the voices of impeachment are increasing. Should we transfer him back to the capital?"
Liu Bian pondered the chess game for a long time before hesitating to make a move. He said, "After dealing with Ding Yuan, Cao Cao will be next. What are you going to do with Yanzhou?"
Zhong Yao, who was standing by, looked serious and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, Cao Cao... has gone too far this time. I know that Your Majesty trusts me, and I am worried... Cao Cao will become arrogant because of your favor and cause greater trouble, which will damage Your Majesty's reputation."
Liu Bian hummed and was about to speak when Zuo Li hurried in, bent over, and handed Liu Bian two notes.
Liu Bian glanced at him, opened it and looked at it. He frowned at the first page, and his frown deepened at the second page.
Immediately, he raised his head and smiled, saying, "So, I didn't praise his merits. I will find an opportunity to reprimand him and order him to be careful with his words and deeds and be loyal in his work."
Xun You saw that Liu Bian let him off so easily, and hesitated for a while, wanting to make another remonstrance, but Liu Bian suddenly looked up at him and asked, "Where is Xun Wenruo?"
Xun You bowed quickly and said, "I have asked around, but there is no news yet. Perhaps he is still in Yecheng."
Liu Bian's expression remained unchanged, and he thought to himself: I hope nothing happens to Xun Yu.
Zhong Yao looked at Liu Bian and said, "Your Majesty, the matter of Jizhou..."
He threw away the chess piece in his hand and said with a smile, "I lost. I won't play anymore."
Zhong Yao and Xun You looked at each other, seeming to want to say something but stopping themselves.
Regarding the matter of Jizhou, they always felt that something was not right with His Majesty's handling of the matter. The Black Mountain Army had already broken through Yecheng, but the court had not taken any action.
Even if there is no money or food, we should order Cao Cao to go north to provide support or advance troops to Qingzhou.
Liu Bian took the teacup handed over by Pan Yin, took a sip, and said with a smile: "I received news that the Black Mountain Army has retreated."
Xun You suddenly understood and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Liu Bian was startled and asked, "What do you mean?"
Xun You was startled, paused, and said, "After the defeat at Qiaomao, the Black Mountain Army dared not stay any longer and withdrew immediately. This must be what Your Majesty expected, and I was not able to do so."
Liu Bian held the teacup and laughed in his heart. He had never thought about it this way before.
He actually hoped that the Black Mountain Army could stay a little longer and break up Jizhou a little more.
Putting down the teacup, Liu Bian looked at the two and said, "The salt administration is urgent and must be advanced immediately. The Household Department will be in charge of the salt administration, and 17 salt officials will be appointed to be in charge of salt production, transportation, and sales. Local governments are not allowed to interfere, and all revenues will be merged into the Taicang warehouse."
"We obey your orders." Xun You and Zhong Yao raised their hands and said.
Liu Bian narrowed his eyes and said, "In the eight counties of Yanzhou, all prefects and county magistrates must be replaced. The grain commander, the transport commissioner, and the six officials must be in place as soon as possible. I have issued an order to Cao Cao, ordering him to eliminate all banditry within six months. All taxes in Yanzhou will be given to him."
Zhong Yao's face changed slightly. Before he could speak, Liu Bian raised his hand to stop him and said, "You have all talked to Cai Yong, right?"
Xun You was also uneasy about giving Cao Cao so much power. After a pause, he said, "I have discussed this with you and have no objection. However, the price of paper is a bit too high. Some people in the court and the public think that this is the Minister of Finance amassing wealth or that the court is competing with the people for profit, not a benevolent policy."
Liu Bian snorted coldly and said, "No matter how expensive paper is, can it be more expensive than silk? Are they so afraid that the court has money? Less than one string of silk a year, not even enough for their meal. The Shangshutai must issue a clear order that all official documents and memorials must be made on Shihou paper! Also, some court officials have been dressed in shabby clothes and strange clothes recently. The court must set up a clothing supervisor to standardize official uniforms and accessories, and private ownership is not allowed!"
"We obey your command." Xun You and Zhong Yao didn't dare to say anything more after hearing Liu Bian's unfriendly tone.
Liu Bian stood up and said calmly, "Let's leave it at that for today. There are so many things to do, and you have worked so hard."
Xun You and Zhong Yao both looked at the two pieces of paper in Liu Bian's hand and said calmly, "We will take our leave."
Liu Bian didn't wait for them to leave. He sat back in the chair at his desk, put the two notes on the table, and looked at them quietly.
The first one was that Ying Shao recaptured Yecheng and the Black Mountain Army retreated.
The second one was that Cao Cao killed the governor of Mount Tai and executed more than 30 officials of all ranks in Mount Tai.
"Why do you like killing so much?"
Liu Bian muttered to himself with a headache.
It was not just Cao Cao. Gongsun Zan, Sun Jian, etc., as long as they got the chance, they would kill the county magistrate or the prefect without asking for permission.
It can be imagined that when the news reaches Luoyang, the memorial impeaching Cao Cao will surely float into the Secretariat like snowflakes, and it will not be as easy to evade as it is now.
"Prime Minister, why don't you understand me..." Liu Bian couldn't help but sigh. He knew that Cao Cao must have sufficient reasons to do this, but he, the emperor, was in trouble.
Zuo Li knew this. Seeing Liu Bian sighing, he bowed and said in a reserved manner, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to let General Cao find a reason to shirk the responsibility so as to avoid embarrassing Your Majesty."
Liu Bian glanced at him and said, "How can you shirk responsibility?"
Zuo Li became more reserved and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it can be said that he was killed by bandits. General Cao has wiped out the bandits."
Liu Bian raised his eyebrows, looked at Zuo Li, and smiled: "Your palace is actually called Chen Gong. He has some ability. Let him prepare to take up the post of Luoyang magistrate. Wang Lang, I will transfer him to be the governor of Shanyang."
Zuo Li was not panicked at all. Instead, he said with a look of joy: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Liu Bian narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at Zuo Li for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, you need to keep a close eye on Yanzhou. As for Jizhou, you need to continue to increase the manpower."
"I obey your order." Zuo Li walked out of the study room with small steps, looking happy.
He was smiling stiffly just now, but when he turned around, his snow-white face was full of gloom.
"Chen Gong?" Zuo Li's eyes flickered coldly.
Zuo Li did not deliberately conceal the matter of Chen Gong, as he knew it could not be concealed. However, he did not expect that after such a long time, Chen Gong still hadn't told him the truth!
Not long after Zuo Li left, Pan Yin came in from outside and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Huangfu Jianchang sent a letter saying that the situation in Yuzhou is complicated and he also met the General of Chariots and Cavalry."
Liu Bian's expression slightly changed, and he asked, "What Miao?"
Pan Yin said: "Yes."
Liu Bian touched his chin and said, "What is he doing in Yuzhou? Tell Huangfu Jian to keep a close eye on him."
Pan Yin responded, standing there with a hesitant look on his face.
Liu Bian had already opened the memorial, and seeing that he had not left, he asked, "Anything else?"
Pan Yin bowed his head, his face solemn, and said, "Your Majesty, there are rumors that General Dong is plotting treason and colluding with Qiao Mao and others."
"Dong Zhuo?"
Liu Bian slowly leaned back on his chair, a strange look flashed in his eyes, and he said to himself: "It's time to take action. Summon him to the palace tomorrow."
Asking for a monthly ticket~