Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2655 Establishing Six Ministries and Conferring Titles on Eight Princes

Despite the necessity of developing the south and strengthening the rule over the feudal princes in Southeast Asia, Li Xiang ultimately decided to implement a dual-capital system, adding Nanjing as a secondary capital while maintaining Luoyang as the capital.

However, in order to prevent the Nanjing "backup" court from threatening the Luoyang court, Li Xiang added many restrictions to this "backup" court.

Furthermore, for Li Xiang, the dual-capital system, like the enfeoffment of princes, was an expedient measure under the existing system.

In the future, when their usefulness has diminished, future emperors will naturally abolish them when the time is right.

With two capitals operating in parallel, it also means that Nanjing will have to prepare to establish a six-ministry leadership team.

Furthermore, the development of the southern region will now rest on the shoulders of this six-department leadership team in Nanjing.

This dictates that the government in the south must have real power, unlike the southern government of the Ming Dynasty, which was merely a place for officials to retire.

Therefore, Wang Yu chose Guan Zhong as the Minister of Personnel in the Nanjing court.

Officials in the Six Ministries of the Southern Dynasty were half a rank lower than their counterparts in the Northern Dynasty. In other words, the same Minister of the Six Ministries would be a second-rank official in the Northern Dynasty, but a lower-rank official in the Southern Dynasty.

Although Guan Zhong's transfer significantly increased his real power, his official rank was reduced by half a grade, at least nominally. Therefore, Li Xiang symbolically granted him a fief of three hundred households as compensation.

With Shang Yang, the current governor of Yangzhou, appointed as the Minister of Revenue of the Southern Court, Xun Ying was promoted to governor of Yangzhou.

Xun Ying, as one of the officials who surrendered to Cao Cao, has had a decent political record over the years.

However, if it were really a matter of rotation, he certainly wouldn't be chosen for the position of governor.

After all, while his grades were good, they were still just good. Whether in terms of ability, achievements, or seniority, there were still many people ahead of him in line.

However, during the Battle of Xizhou, after the defeat in that great battle, Xun Yu was pulled away from the fleeing troops due to his injuries during the retreat.

Furthermore, at that time he also judged that his body could not withstand the torment in the middle.

After all, their escape route led them to the plateau.

He believed that, given his physical condition, it was impossible for him to survive this ordeal. Rather than dragging down the fleeing group, he led three hundred remaining soldiers and, using his status as the governor of Xizhou, drew the pursuing Murong Chui in another direction.

It was precisely because of this that Ran Min and the other defeated soldiers were able to join forces with Huo Qubing and Shi Gandang, and eventually wait for the reinforcements from Gao Yuan and Cen Wenben, becoming one of the few survivors of the Battle of Xizhou.

After Xun Yu was captured by Murong Chui, he remained loyal to the cause and died of starvation in prison.

The main reason for promoting Xun Ying was because of Xun Yu, who had already died for his country.

This was one of Li Xiang's earliest strategists. Although they had some conflicts during the process, which led Li Xiang to send him to a remote area of ​​Xizhou.

But at least Xun Yu continued to do his best afterward. Although conflicts arose between them, he never did anything to betray the Jin Dynasty.

Du Ruhui, the Vice Minister of Revenue of the Northern Court, was promoted to Minister of Rites of the Southern Court.

Bai Qi, the commander of the Yizhou army, served as the Minister of War for the Southern Court.

Now, the war has been going on for nearly two years, and Southeast Asia is on the verge of being conquered. Chang Yuchun has already assured him in his memorial that the war will be over by the end of the year. Therefore, he is at least somewhat confident of victory. However, during the fighting in Southeast Asia, Bai Qi has already engaged in localized skirmishes with the Kushan Empire.

After Southeast Asia, Li Xiang definitely wants to get involved in South Asia.

For no other reason than to vent my anger during the three years of the pandemic.

It's best not to trouble two masters with one matter. Since Bai Qi has already started fighting the Kushan Empire in the Southeast Asian battlefield, if there is a need to further expand the war with the Kushan Empire in the future, it will most likely be handed over to Bai Qi.

Therefore, he was simply given the position of Minister of War.

Han Fei, the current Vice Minister of Justice, was promoted to Minister of Justice in the Southern Court.

Yao Chong, the current governor of Liangzhou, was promoted to Minister of Works in the Southern Court, and Xie An, the tax collector of Yizhou, was promoted to governor of Liangzhou.

Many years ago, when Yao Chong was sent to repair the southern highways, he was already promised a promotion to Minister of Works. However, he was later appointed to a critical post in Liangzhou during a three-year epidemic.

Now, they've finally made up for the promises they made before.

In addition, Li Xiang proposed to enfeoff eight princes.

Five of them are Li Xiang's sons, and all of them are adults or nearly adults, meaning they will soon be able to take office directly. They are Li Xuan, Li Wen, Li Wu, Li Zhao, and Li Sheng.

The remaining three princes were chosen from among the imperial clan members who had made significant contributions. They were Li Jing, Li Si, and Li Keyong, who was of a relatively high generation and was now retired.

Li Keyong's own achievements were insufficient to justify his high status among the imperial clansmen. However, in addition to his seniority, his son Li Cunxu was also a highly accomplished military leader, second only to Li Jing among the imperial clansmen.

The fact that Li Keyong's lineage was able to seize the throne was not only due to Li Keyong himself, but also to the influence of Li Cunxu.

The fiefdoms granted to the five sons were all among the most developed regions in Southeast Asia today.

As for the fiefdoms of Li Jing, Li Si, and Li Keyong, they were relatively less impressive.

Although these three men were all granted the title of king and now have been granted fiefdoms, they will not take office themselves, but their sons will take office on their behalf.

At this point, Li Jing and Li Si were still useful if they were placed in the central government. If they were to be thrown into local positions so quickly, Li Xiang would not only be uneasy about it, but it would also be a waste.

As for Li Keyong, he was already quite old at this time, over sixty years old. If he were to take office at this age, he might not be able to withstand the hardships of the journey.

Therefore, his son Li Cunxu was directly appointed to take office in his place.

Furthermore, for this reason, Li Keyong's fiefdom was specifically set in a region adjacent to the territory controlled by the Kushan Empire.

After all, Li Cunxu was indeed a formidable fighter.

By placing his fiefdom in such a region, he could not only strengthen his rule over Southeast Asia and accelerate the development of the region through the granting of a kingship, but also serve to protect the borders.

However, what Li Xiang hadn't anticipated was that Li Cunxu hadn't actually played a role in protecting the frontier. After all, a few years later, that area was no longer considered a frontier region.