"Bo Chang, of course I understand this. However, I feel that this Dali Temple was built for the Prime Minister, so I feel depressed. Since there are only you and me at the moment, please clear my doubts."
Chen Deng is not a short-sighted person.
He knew that in front of the emperor, every decree would create many businesses and change the people's livelihood, but he also understood that the current Dali Temple had become the beheading knife of the Prime Minister's Palace, which could be hung over the heads of the officials in Xudu.
As for the emperor on the throne, it was clear that he had been deceived by the Chancellery, the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the inner court.
Almost everything he saw and heard was what the prime minister wanted him to see and hear, otherwise the emperor would most likely not hear anything.
Under such a situation, if he occupies a high position, even if he becomes the minister of Dali Temple in the future, can he really create a clean and fair attitude for the people, officials, and the Han Dynasty?
cannot.
The most ridiculous thing is that Dali Temple is still in the name of justice.
Zhang Han sat upright, thought deeply for a long time, and then said: "The current situation in the court is based on the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister controls the military strength, power, and the appointment and dismissal of talents. If it is returned to the emperor, it will not be able to calm the morale of the army, reach the public opinion, and thirdly. Deter the noble clan."
"Scholars are the bridge between the imperial power and the people. In the past hundreds of years, everything the emperor saw and heard was what the nobles wanted to see and hear. As for managing disasters and balancing the internal affairs of various places, they were all done by It is under the control of the noble clan.”
"If you recommend someone, you can recommend him to govern and support him with all your strength, and you will gain a reputation. If you want to remove someone, you will tarnish his reputation and make the nobles feel ashamed. Your Majesty will naturally only know his bad deeds."
"And why can the Han Dynasty still rise and fall? Among the nobles, there are those who are greedy for profit and play for power, and there are also those who are devoted to the public service and devote themselves to the public. The kings of the past dynasties also have some sage and some ignorant."
"Now, this power has just been transferred from the noble clan to the prime minister's house. If the prime minister is not my father-in-law Cao Gong, but Yang Biao, Yuan Shao and other scholars and celebrities, and then spreads etiquette according to the Confucian way, do you think it is? Taken for granted? In this case, you will naturally think that the emperor has limited talents and knowledge, so he should not take over the entire government, but should entrust it to the Prime Minister's Office and listen to the opinions of each government?"
"Yuanlong, you are blinded by a leaf." Zhang Han shook his head. After thinking about it for a while, he smiled and said: "No, you are not blinded by a leaf."
"But what you have learned from childhood to adulthood is to stand among the scholars. Naturally, you have some imbalances."
"What you have learned is unbalanced?" Chen Deng's eyes widened. "But, everyone in the court and government offices places great emphasis on virtue. The original intention is naturally good."
After Chen Deng finished speaking, he lowered his head and thought for a moment, and no longer ran away from this problem in his mind. When he was young, he had traveled to the northern frontier, met many people in remote places, and understood the difficulties of recommending and selecting talents by various states and counties.
The clearest point is that "virtue" and the "talent" advocated by the Prime Minister are actually just tools.
Because in the past, it was considered virtuous if celebrities all over the world constantly praised a person, talked about his character, and enhanced his reputation. This criterion was actually in the hands of the nobles and celebrities.
The most typical example is of course the Xu brothers' "Yue Dan Criticism". Those who were criticized were like a dragon rising, and those who were demoted were like falling into the abyss. From the perspective of these two people, it was extremely arrogant for scholars to control the appointment and dismissal of talents. But at that time No one in the world seemed to think there was anything wrong with it, and even took it for granted.
And now, the prime minister's office is also dominated by Cao Gong, who advocates meritocracy and appoints people based on strategy and talent. Regardless of his origin, he has the final say on whether he is talented or not.
However, talent should actually be proven by actual performance. People without talent will be eliminated sooner or later.
The reputation of moral character can be "bought" or "wooed" later. Even because of family marriages, many people have grown up with the reputation of being "precocious" and "talented" since they were young. They need to cultivate their reputation throughout their lives. To cultivate virtue, you may not necessarily be a virtuous person in your heart, but you should not do whatever you want in spite of your reputation.
This goes back to what Zhang Han said at the time, "A gentleman does not care about his heart when it comes to his deeds." There is no gentleman who cares about his heart.
"Bo Chang, if that's the case, if I take the position of Young Minister of Dali Temple, I will just be the prime minister's eagle and dog, sweeping the court. What achievements can I say?"
Chen Deng sighed, "In the future, I will be regarded as an outcast at any time and be despised by others. If I am loyal in my job, I will offend the officials in Xudu and my reputation will be ruined. How will I deal with myself later."
He can already see his bleak end. If Cao Gong gains power in the court in the future, achieves the great cause of the north, and continues to make progress and achievements, he may be better, but he should also be pointed at and reviled behind his back for not respecting his teacher. Tao does not respect family inheritance.
If Duke Cao is defeated and unable to defend his territory, then he himself will not be able to defend even his reputation.
Zhang Han laughed and said: "How could this be so?"
"There are some words that I will only say here. Thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, thousands of miles of dust, one emperor and one courtier."
Zhang Han's expression was very calm. It didn't look like he was talking wildly, or joking, or making any vulgar complaints without manners.
Instead, it is saying that he has ordinary ambitions, but this is Cao's ambition.
Speaking of this, Chen Deng was already a little deep, his whole person dimmed, and he fell into deep thought.
Zhang Han smiled and said: "This year there is a person who has just come from Jiangdong to serve in Xudu. He was the same person as Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, and the same name as Lu Zhi, Guan Ning and Zheng Xuan. .”
Chen Deng suddenly raised his head and said, "Hua Ziyu?!"
"Yes, today's Yushi Zhongcheng, although the Yushitai has declined due to certain events, Hua Ziyu is temporarily holding this position."
Zhang Han glanced at him and said solemnly: "It will definitely be limitless in the future. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he is devoted to the public good, takes integrity as a name, and fulfills his duties as a loyal person."
"Sooner or later, you will be entrusted with important responsibilities. Yuan Long, I advise you to also think about it. Moreover, your position was mine before. I, Zhang Bochang, have already worn the word eagle and dog. What does it have to do with you?"
Damn it, Chen Deng thought to himself, you are well-known in Xudu, but I don’t know whether it is due to proper management or someone secretly promoting it.
But he understood what Zhang Han said. He had to choose the right position, with the nobles or with the prime minister. After all, this was a lifelong struggle.
There will always be a fight between one side and the other.
"Virtue only" and "talent only", these two recommendations can be determined, and only one can last forever in the government.
Zhang Han had made it clear enough, and he just needed to put the bloody words in front of him, but those words could not be said by the prime minister, or even by someone related to the prime minister.
But it also shows that although the Prime Minister does not have such intentions and actions, the people under his command have begun to plan for it.
"I will think about it seriously."
"Are you coming to the banquet around the fire in the evening?" Zhang Han asked with raised eyebrows, "After this banquet, I will leave Xudu and return to Nanlinshan Camp. I have been strictly ordered to practice recently and cannot stay away for too long because of you. There will be criticism from the soldiers."
Chen Deng: "..."
"Don't worry, everything you eat is cooked. You will never eat anything raw or fishy. Who in the right mind would eat that?"
Chen Deng: "I'll go."
…
That night, Chen Deng returned to the fireside to drink and talk, but Zhang Han had already left.
Jia Xu accompanied him, Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia were present to host, Yang Xiu invited them to drink at the banquet, and Xun You was there to comment from time to time.
Dian Wei sat at the door and talked with Chen Deng for almost the whole night, which made him feel dizzy. When he fell down, his mind was still filled with the thought of the Prime Minister descending from heaven to save the man from fire and water.
It was said that when he woke up the next day, he actually believed it for a moment, and then he drove to Dali Temple in high spirits to take up his post.
Immediately after taking office, he dealt with sixteen cases of corruption among officials. Each case was argued with strong arguments. Even if someone pulled Zhang Han out, he was still not afraid. Chen Deng could count Zhang Han's at least ten achievements, which had great impact on people's livelihood. , water conservancy, and agriculture.
Makes people speechless when confronted.
Therefore, within three days, according to the seriousness of the circumstances, twenty officials were tried and investigated, three were dismissed, six were demoted, and the remaining eleven had their ill-gotten gains confiscated and transferred to the national treasury. In addition, a very serious record of corruption was recorded in the official status records of these officials.
In just three days, he got the equivalent of ten thousand gold and put it into the national treasury, which made both Liu Xie and Cao Cao happy. This was an immediate success. He had just been promoted to Chen Deng, and the reputation of his military exploits in Guangling spread back. Xu Du's momentum was so powerful that many officials of the older generation could not compete with it.
For a time, Chen Deng's fame spread throughout Xudu. People secretly said that the third eagle dog of the Prime Minister's Mansion had arrived, but they did not expect that it would be the Chen family from Xiapi.
Now Hongnong Yang and Xiapi Chen are working hard to clean up the court for Cao Cao. Those who were entangled with the gentry at that time have now lost their temper. The secret sentry of the school affairs office has discovered through constant investigation that those who were originally The families and officials who had secretly contacted Jizhou quietly cut off this route and stopped contacting him.
Only those people selected by the Prime Minister are still communicating.
After a period of time, Chen Deng's three fires were almost burned out. The price was that the officials in Xudu became too quiet under the heavy ceremony. There were no impeachments and memorials in the daily morning meetings, and they were all held in various places. They made presentations and discussed government orders.
It can be said that the unprecedented clarity made Cao Cao feel much calmer. At least he never received any more reports about Zhang Han.
Yang Xiu walked through the courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion and walked quickly into the main hall. Cao Cao was eating. After seeing him, he waved naturally and smoothly.
"Prime Minister, everything has been busy recently, and there has been a lot of news. General Zhonglang has sent back battle reports and military information from Guangling," Yang Xiu bowed and saluted, his tone was calm, and he looked much better than he did a year ago. The redundancy showed Don't say a word about your talents, just spread the word.
Cao Cao was very pleased with him, and put down the bowl and chopsticks with a cheerful smile, "Tell me, what news has come?"
"After Sun Ce returned to Jiangdong, there were a lot of chaos in various places. General Zhonglang took the opportunity to send sentries into Jiangdong to create a wedge. During this period, he inquired about information and got a piece of news that allows us to rest easy."
Yang Xiu did not show off too much, fearing that Cao Cao would be angry, so he quickly said: "It is true that there are Shi Xie in the south of the Yangtze River, Huang Zu in the west, and Xu Gong and others in the territory who are not convinced, and Sun's governance of the territory is too brutal, so we must not People’s hearts.”
"Just like the evaluation of the wine sacrifice."
Yang Xiu glanced at Guo Jia who was standing beside him, then turned around and cupped his hands and said: "If Sun Ce can't enter our territory of Xuzhou without merit, he will be brutal at home to suppress the dissatisfied people in Jiangdong. If he does this, he will definitely If there is trouble, he will die sooner or later, and he is not considered a wise master."
"Well," Cao Cao nodded gently, gave Guo Jia an approving look, and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"One more thing, Lujiang Shucheng sent news that the Lu family's former escapee has returned to Lujiang. The family is grateful to Bo Chang for seeking the order to return, and entrusted Zhonglang General to send a message of friendship."
"In addition, Liu Xian from Jingzhou later bought war horses from Xuzhou, which facilitated the trade route with Mr. Sun Qian and Mi Zhu. The generals on this road are already aware of it. When passing through, they can pay a tax of kilograms per city. The prince He said he would turn it over in full, and the purpose of Zhonglang's letter is to ask the Prime Minister to report to the Holy Master recently to increase military resources and reward the people in the military camp, so that this tax can be directly sent from the treasury to the military camp."
"Well..." Yang Xiu paused after saying this, because he saw that when Cao Cao listened to the news, he almost always had a bored expression and didn't show much interest.
Therefore, after Yang Xiu thought for a long time, he took out a letter written on fine steamed paper from his sleeve. It was written in elegant handwriting, which was quite elegant and refreshing.
He handed his hands to Cao Cao and said: "There is a reply from Jizhou. It is said that it is the true feelings of General Yuan. He wants to renew his marriage and family relationship with his father. He talked about many things from his childhood and many academic topics. It looks ordinary, but it doesn’t feel ordinary either.”
Cao Cao took it and looked at it for a long time, and laughed heartily a few times, "Yuan Shao is a suspicious person. He will never reveal too much purpose in letters and conversations. Even if such a letter is intercepted, it is just a discussion with an old friend. It’s just a letter from old love.”
"However, it is not difficult to see that he is trying to win over Duke Yang. This letter mentions two celebrities, one is Qinghe Jushou, and the other is Qinghe Cui Yan. Both of these scholars are under his command. It can be seen that Yuan Shao has To show off."
"There is another sentence here, Xu Duhai's clear air and bright air are all in the flat plain, not surrounded by four mountains. Has Yuzhou ever had such a sky..." Cao Cao read out these words and said with a sigh: "This To satirize me, Xu Dujun is a scheming person, not as good as the celebrities and scholars in Jizhou."
"If this letter spreads, it will make the officials in Xudu feel yearning for me, and they will abandon me next time and go to Jizhou."
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "But when they actually go there, they know that unless they are truly knowledgeable people, they can't even enter the gate of Yuan Shao Wei County at this time."
"And those who can enter the courtyard and talk about strategies are actually talented people. Such people can survive anywhere and even be reused."
"Dezu," Cao Cao called out slowly, "you have done a good job. Please just ask Mr. Yang to continue to correspond with Jizhou."
"Prime Minister, don't you really think there's anything wrong with this letter?" Yang Xiu suddenly asked with serious eyes.
Cao Cao smiled and said nothing, and looked at each other with Guo Jia. At this moment, Guo Jia immediately said: "Dezu, don't worry, just continue to communicate. You can talk about old things at home."
"Okay," Yang Xiu handed over his hand, turned around and left immediately after telling the news. Although he had doubts in his heart, he couldn't figure it out for a while.
So he planned to listen to Zhang Han's advice, and if he couldn't figure it out for the time being, he would go hunting in Nanlin Mountain and discuss things with him.
(End of chapter)
