Am I similar to Huo Guang?
Gao Pragmatic had not paid attention to this issue before, because he subconsciously had an inherent concept: Although Huo Guang is a minister who cares about life, his power lies first in that he is a general.
What was the position of the general of the Han Dynasty? "Han Guan Yi" records: "When the Han Dynasty was established, a general was appointed and the prime minister came to the throne." "Wenwen Tongkao" said: "The general is in charge of national affairs internally, and he is dedicated to military expeditions with a ax externally. His power is far beyond the right of the prime minister."
To put it simply, the power of this position is even greater than that of the prime minister.
In this case, how can I compare with Huo Guangneng? Even if I become the chief minister of the cabinet, I will only be a false prime minister. Not only do I not have the name of prime minister, I don't even have the reality of being a prime minister - at least the prime minister can open a government, but the chief minister of the bachelor's degree does not have this power.
He can't even compare with the Prime Minister, how dare he touch a general whose power far exceeds that of the Prime Minister? It can't be compared, it can't be compared at all.
Precisely because of the huge difference in official systems between the Western Han Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, Gao Pragmatic never thought that he could be compared with Huo Guang in the eyes of others.
However, after being insinuated by Shen Yiguan just now, information about Huo Guang's life and deeds flashed through Gao Pangshi's mind. When he compared the two, he suddenly broke into a cold sweat - they were really similar!
First of all, the origins are very similar.
What is Huo Guang's background? Brief description: Huo Qubing’s younger brother.
To be more specific, in 119 AD, Huo Qubing, who had just swept across Mobei and sealed the wolf as Xu, returned to the dynasty in victory. He stopped in his hometown on the way and took his half-brother away. There is no doubt that his younger brother is Huo Guang.
Key point: There is someone in the court, and this person has the emperor's trust. That corresponds to Gao Pingshi. He has Gao Gong, his third uncle, who is also someone in the court, and this person is highly trusted by the emperor. Is it similar?
Next, Huo Qubing loved his half-brother Xiao Huo Guang very much. He first placed him under his own account as a Langguan, and later he was promoted to a minister of all Cao Cao, serving as a military adviser, and then he was recommended to become a military officer at a young age. Emperor Wu's Fengcha Captain.
What does Captain Fengche do? When he went out, he served in the chariot, and when he came in, he served on the left and right, responsible for protecting the safety of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Of course, Huo Guang is just a teenager now and can't even protect himself. Is protecting Emperor Wu just a joke?
But that's not important, because this position is essentially used to reserve cadres, which is similar to the children of high-ranking officials who often served as palace guards in the past dynasties.
Huo Qubing obviously put a lot of thought into arranging this position for his brother. This officer is a bit like a personal bodyguard and accompanying secretary. He spends all day practicing beside the leader. He is both capable and familiar. No matter which dynasty or generation he is employed in, he will have a bright future.
I have always said before that the principle of officialdom is to treat those around you as the leader, so the leader's secretary and driver have always been "a person whose words are as small as his words". They are fourth-rank officials under the prime minister's sect! Moreover, once the leader thinks you can do it, you will immediately have the opportunity to get "exercise" without saying anything.
Doesn’t High Pragmatism look similar to it? Of course it does, because although Gao Pragmatic is not the captain of Fengche, he is the prince's companion!
This prince's companion is even better than the captain of Fengche. After all, when Huo Guang served as the captain of Fengche for Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu was already a mature and experienced old emperor. Only he could change the status of those around him, and no one around him could change his role. The possibility of changing him. And what if a time-traveler became the prince's accompaniment? It would be an exaggeration to say that he can shape the future emperor!
However, one thing is special, that is, during the reign of Emperor Wu, such VIP cronies were particularly prone to accidents, and few of them made it to the end successfully. There is no other reason. The temperament of this big leader is a bit unpredictable, and the era they live in is a period of great change. Both the court level and the social level are very different from China in the past.
Obviously, no one had ever seen the series of reforms that Emperor Wu made for his great achievements that laid the framework for future generations of rule. No one had ever ruled such a large country before him, and no one had ever ruled such a huge country. No one had ever seen such a huge national war. Not organized. Emperor Wu's martial arts and the system he established were even more complicated than when Qin destroyed the Six Kingdoms.
There are a large number of changes that affect the whole body, a dizzying variety of economic policy reforms, and complex people's livelihood tests are everywhere. In this situation, which no one has done before or even seen before, there are a lot of mistakes waiting for you to make. In addition, Emperor Wu had a bad temper. If you messed around with him, you might be doomed if you were not careful. That's why a large number of officials in Emperor Wu's Taichung were like a revolving lantern.
Huo Guang, a teenage boy, has nothing but a strong brother as his backer. However, he is in Emperor Wu's decision-making circle every day, looking at the best people in the world. What can Huo Guang do and what should he do? how? Of course, we observe and grow carefully.
Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger, not to mention that the tiger you are accompanying is a special tiger. And something worse happened, Huo Guang's backstage was only hard for two years. No one thought that Huo Qubing, the brave warrior in the army, would leave so early. Emperor Wu was so sad that he placed his tomb next to his own mausoleum and built it into the shape of Qilian Mountain. Under the love of the house, Emperor Wu could not help but look down upon his younger brother.
At the same time, the death of his brother made Huo Guang understand that he could only rely on himself now. He no longer had any capital to lie down and make mistakes. While the emperor was still a little enthusiastic about his brother, he had to accelerate his growth.
In the center of this whirlpool full of changes, Huo Guang figured out what was almost the only feasible growth strategy: machine-like precision and caution.
Unlike previous emperors, Emperor Wu was surrounded by top talents, and ordinary people could not enter the inner circle at all. In order to stay in this circle, Huo Guang gradually evolved into a top secretary who is as calm as water, meticulous in work, well-spoken and well-behaved.
How precise and cautious is Huo Guang? "Every time you enter or leave the lower hall, there is a regular place to stop and the servants will look at it without losing sight of it."
This means that every time he goes in and out of the palace, goes up and down the palace steps, he has a fixed position when he stops and walks, and every time he steps down, the size is exactly the same.
What's even more horrifying is that this teenage boy stayed with Emperor Wu for the entire second half of his life. During the thirty years of getting along day and night, Huo Guang never did anything that Emperor Wu criticized.
Huo Guang also set a record by becoming the first person in the Emperor Wu Dynasty to have a long standby time. His prudence and ability finally impressed Emperor Wu. Huo Guang had never made any unnecessary moves in his life. Every move he made was cautious, effective, and controlled, and basically all had its meaning.
Are the above similar to high pragmatism?
To be prudent and pragmatic, any move must be planned first, every detail must be considered in advance, and first of all, make sure that you will not "get into big trouble" because of it. At the same time, he never offends anyone openly, and even when facing political opponents, he is gentle and has a smile. Except in the military, he is almost never seen with a frosty face and harsh words;
Speaking of being effective and restrained, Gao Pragmatism requires that every step must be just right. He can neither hesitate to move forward nor take too long a step. He promoted reforms in many ways, but he always fought against one faction and never pushed his opponents to death. He always left a way out to prevent others from fighting him to death.
Next, look at Tuogu.
Before Emperor Wu made the final decision, he had already ordered someone to draw a picture of "Duke Zhou became a prince of the dynasty" and gave it to Huo Guang.
This picture has a great origin. At that time, Duke Zhou replaced the young King Cheng in power. When King Cheng grew up, Duke Zhou returned to power and became King Cheng. Huo Guang naturally understood what this meant. Emperor Wu was revealing two things by doing this: first, I want to establish the youngest son Liu Fuling; second, you want to be the "Gong of Zhou" who assists the government.
However, although the meaning was clear, in the spring of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, when Emperor Wu was seriously ill in Wuzha Palace, Huo Guang still cried and asked Emperor Wu, if you really die, who can inherit the throne?
Emperor Wu asked him, "Don't you understand the meaning of the painting I gave you before?" If you establish a young son, you will do the work of Duke Zhou.
Of course Huo Guang understood the meaning of Emperor Wu's grant of the map, but he understood even more: political reputation must be spoken by the "late emperor" himself to be most effective, because it was the "last emperor's order" and was naturally politically correct.
And Huo Guang knew that this was also Emperor Wu's last test. Test what? Just to see Huo Guang’s reaction after seeing this painting.
If Huo Guang thought of himself as "I am not a prime minister, but a photographer", he would wave his hand and say: "You can leave as long as you want, I will take good care of the little guy!" There is no doubt that Emperor Wu would surely fight to the last of his strength and take Huo Guang underground to continue working as his secretary.
At the same time, when Emperor Wu personally gave the legitimacy, Huo Guang even beat and cut his biggest competitor, Jin Rimin, out of the way.
At that time, Huo Guangdun gave in and said: "I am not as good as Jin Ri Ming."
After Huo Guang handed over these words, Kim Rijin next to him was forced to have no choice but to immediately reveal his political shortcomings: "It is better to serve a foreigner than Guang."
Everyone is a master, and they are all top smart people who can understand everything at once. Jin Riyan was the prince of Xiutu tribe of the Huns who was conquered by Huo Guang's brother. He was legendary and became the favorite of Emperor Wu. How could he not have a few brushes? He said this because he had sensed Huo Guang's intentions and judged that Emperor Wu would definitely prefer Huo Guang to him.
So now compare Gao Pragmatic, what did he do before Long Qing died?
First, he arranged Empress Chen's secret move, and then cleverly followed Prince Zhu Yijun to meet the emperor for the last time in front of Long Qing.
Since he appeared in front of the dying emperor at the right time, he actually waited until the emperor said those words himself: "... Before he takes charge, you should accompany him to study. Not only should you accompany him well, but you should also supervise him. Just like before when you explained the truth that the officials didn't explain clearly, you explained it for him."
This paragraph directly established the special status that Gao Pragmatic could still stay with the new emperor. Even though Empress Dowager Li had intended to transfer him away after the incident, she had to swallow it because of the late emperor's death.
This was not the end yet. Moments before Long Qing died, Empress Chen, who had been arranged by Gao Pragmatically, asked directly at the most critical moment: "Your Majesty, if the country is in trouble before Jun'er comes to take charge, my two sisters will not be able to solve it." You know what’s going on, but what should you do?”
Therefore, Emperor Longqing made the last and most critical political endorsement without hesitation: "Whenever something is difficult to resolve, just ask Mr. Gao."
Huang Mengyu, the other auxiliary dark chess player, quietly reminded Meng Chong, the then Chief of Ceremonies, and then Meng Chong came forward to nail the legitimacy of this sentence. At that time, he immediately took a step forward and said loudly: "Holy edict: Before the new emperor takes office, political affairs will be decided by Mr. Yuan Fu Gao."
Take a look, are Gao Pragmatic's methods almost exactly the same as Huo Guang's before Emperor Wu's death? First, it ensures the legitimacy of one's own side, and at the same time establishes the status of "the chief minister who cares about orders and exercises the monarch's power on behalf of the emperor", which also suppresses the authority of other people who are also ministers who care about orders.
Next, after the death of Emperor Wu, Huo Guang became the helmsman of the empire by worshiping the great general Sima and became the helmsman of the empire. Together with the chariot general Jin Rixi, the left general Shangguan Jie, the prime minister Tian Qianqiu, the imperial censor Sang Hongyang and others Assisting the left government.
This order is very particular, and a bunch of generals come to the front. At this time, the Prime Minister has reached the fourth position. Why? Because the first three are all responsible for recording Shangshu affairs.
The issue of official positions during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was too complicated and would take too much space to discuss, so I will not mention it here for the time being. In short, Huo Guang's position as General Sima and General Secretary was equivalent to seizing the military power and political power of the entire Han Empire.
To be precise, the power in his hands is greater than that of Liu Bang and Empress Lu back then! Because he is the combination of imperial power and prime ministerial power! From that moment on, although he did not have the title of emperor, he was already fulfilling the role of emperor.
In comparison, Gao Pragmatic at that time certainly did not have such power, but although he did not have it, Gao Gong did!
When it comes to imperial power, Gao Gong is the chief minister, and the late emperor decreed that "if anything is difficult to resolve, just ask Mr. Gao." When it comes to prime ministerial power, he himself is the chief assistant, and he is also the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, directly in charge of personnel affairs. Considering that at that time Gao Gong had already lifted the sea ban, engaged in private military industry, and was working hard to implement a whipping law in economically developed areas, the financial power was actually in his hands.
Imperial power and prime ministerial power, are they similar again?
So, is it over here? of course not.
Although Huo Guang suddenly became the regent Zhou Gong, he faced a problem at this time: he had no political reputation.
For the past thirty years, he was just an inconspicuous little secretary beside Emperor Wu. None of the specific government affairs or military exploits were done by him as a secretary. Now that the big leader has passed away, he has entrusted the company to the secretary. Obviously Many people will be dissatisfied.
Emperor Wu has allowed the imperial power to dominate for fifty years, and all other forces have been reduced to rubbish by him. Back then, no one could offend him, and there was nothing we could do about it. Now that we have finally entered a new era, why did your little secretary end up cutting off your beard? It's against you!
This group of opponents included the sons of Emperor Wu and the ministers who had entrusted them with the government. They covered a wide range of people, but in the end they were all easily defeated by Huo Guang. The reason why they are relaxed is because the level of this group of people is too far behind Huo Guangbi, who has cultivated a golden body for thirty years. However, the space is limited, so I will not explain them one by one here.
In short, Huo Guang actually did one thing during his twenty years in power, and of course he did this extremely difficult task well: wiping Emperor Wu's butt.
He calmed the people of the world who were on the verge of rioting, and he suppressed and pacified the border troubles in various places. Several arsenals that were about to explode were put out by him, and the Han Empire that was about to explode also survived the crisis safely. Of course, he also gained a reputation for Emperor Wu again from the side. The people entrusted by the Emperor were indeed very discerning.
Similarly, under the overt and covert manipulation of Gao Jingshi, the biggest crisis around Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng-Feng Bao Group, was "easily" taken down. At the same time, Zhang Juzheng also managed to die a good death. Before his death, he told several young masters of the Zhang family about their future. Don’t fight against high pragmatism.
The position of chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty also continued to be in the hands of Guo Pu and Zhang Siwei, both of the Shi School. If Zhang Siwei had not escaped the "fate" of sudden Ding You, it would be difficult to say whether Shen Shixing would be able to take the position of chief assistant.
And through his own efforts, Gao Pragmatic first won the top ticket in the Ming Dynasty officialdom by winning six yuan in a row, and then established sufficient merit and prestige in the court and the army through various civil and military skills during his official career. Successfully inherited the political legacy left by three generations of chief ministers.
At the same time, he also attacked political opponents in a controlled manner, eliminating the biggest political threats and new emerging threats one by one. Now, even the latest and last threat, Shen Yiguan, has actually been cornered by him.
With Shen Yiguan struggling to protect himself, Wang Jiaping and Liang Menglong are about to step down from office. At this time, Gao Pragmatic has already reached the threshold of Huo Guang's power and prestige, and only has the last step left...
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Thanks to book friends "Yun Fu Yu Yu" and "The Boy Next Door 1" for their monthly support, thank you!
ps: I tried my best to soften the sentiment of the historical data, and I feel pretty good about myself. In fact... some comparisons have been deleted. I wonder if you can tell where they were deleted?
