Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

In the 26th year of Jian'an, in history, this was the second year of Huangchu of Cao Wei, and the first year of Zhangwu of Liu Bei Group.

But because Liu Bei has not yet proclaimed himself emperor, he still continues to use the Jian'an year name.

In July, the autumn in the south is earlier this year, and the weather is getting colder. The evening wind is blowing on the surface of the Han River, which is quietly flowing, rolling up layers of ripples.

Compared with the turbulent Han River in the previous year, this year's Han River is much gentler, as if it is also protecting the great Han River. When the enemy came, the stormy waves flooded Cao's army.When the enemy retreats, he is docile and as usual, nourishing all things.

In Xiangguo's mansion in Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang was wearing only a single shirt, kneeling and sitting in the study in the backyard, almost lying on the table, swaying a wolf hair brush in his hand, writing something constantly.

Sometimes he thought hard, and sometimes he wrote quickly. As the sunset was approaching, the servant next to him lit an oil lamp for him, so that a ghost image was reflected on the wall.

Shen Chen walked in and saw that the evening wind was lightly closing the curtains, and the cool breeze was pouring into the room. Zhuge Liang was only wearing thin clothes, so he couldn't help feeling distressed, so he took a long robe from the hanger next to him, walked over to put it on him, and at the same time He dragged the Hu stool over.

Zhuge Liang turned his head, saw Shen Chen, and put the brush in his hand into the brush washing tray. There was a servant beside him to help clean the brush, and he said, "Xiaoqing, when did you come?"

"Just arrived."

Shen Chen put the Hu stool beside him and said, "Don't always sit on your knees at home. Sitting on your knees every day will cause blood circulation in the legs and affect the health of your feet."

"Courtesy cannot be discarded."

Zhuge Liang was pulled up and sat on the stool.

Shen Chen smiled and said: "In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were still human sacrifices, but what about now? Times are changing, and rituals should also follow and keep pace with the times. Those unreasonable etiquettes should be abolished, brother, don't let the old things go."

"Ah."

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Have you confirmed the list?"

"Headache."

Mentioning this, Shen Chen rubbed his head: "It's not easy to arrange the positions and positions of the officials, and it's easy to offend people. Although there are so many cars and horses in front of the gate, how can we follow everyone's wishes? ?”

"Yeah, but it's already a headache for you just to appoint military generals, but I have to appoint hundreds of civil servants, as well as the posts of prefects and county magistrates in various places, which is even more complicated."

Zhuge Liang shook his head with a wry smile.

With the establishment of a new dynasty, it is natural to re-rank hundreds of officials. Of course, the size and position of officials are not determined by brains, and many factors must be considered.

For example, talent, qualifications, meritorious service, past performance, etc., and even age must be included.

Some people have very deep qualifications, but their talents are very average. Letting such people serve as high-ranking officials is to occupy the position and do nothing.

For example, people like Xu Jing and Mi Zhu have absolutely no choice.

Fortunately, Shen Chen had a lot of ideas and created the system of scattered officials and honored officials. With the addition of the original titles and officials with real power, he was able to accommodate some senior officials who were too old to be talented.

Although there were scattered officials in the Han Dynasty, it was not fully determined at that time. It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that a complete system was established to reward some meritorious officials.

It's just that Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang are more cautious about loose officials and honored officials, because even if they have no real power and official positions, they still receive salaries. If a large number of scattered officials and honored officials are rewarded, many officials will take money for nothing, seriously dragging down the court financial.

Therefore, regarding the rewards of scattered officials and honored officials, the two agreed. They only reward those veterans who have done nothing and have extremely high qualifications.

In this way, those old officials who are not easy to arrange can be excluded from the positions of real power officials, and they are only given lofty status and honors, but no real power.

In this way, it will be convenient for those young and talented officials who lack qualifications to replace them.

In terms of system, the Sangong and Jiuqing are still used.

It's just that the Sangong and Jiuqing do not hold real power. Although they are not scattered officials, they are honorable positions.

The real power will belong to Shangshutai, Zhongshujian, and Menxia Temple.

Many people think that the system of three provinces and six ministries began in the Sui and Tang dynasties, but in fact it had already appeared as early as the late Han, Wei and Jin dynasties.

For example, Shangshuxing is the Shangshutai of the Han Dynasty, Zhongshuxing is the Zhongshangshu in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao established the Zhongshu Supervisor after he became King Wei, Menxia Province originated from the Shizhong Temple in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and was changed to Menxia Province in the Western Jin Dynasty.

It can be said that at the end of the Han Dynasty, such-and-such ministers and such-and-such attendants were actually the military and political staff of the monarch, and their existence also formed the prototype of the three provinces and six departments.

Therefore, without canceling the original Sangong Jiuqing system, the Liu Bei Group still established the political form of the three provinces in accordance with the inherent system of the Han Dynasty.

It's just that the power of the original three provinces was not that great, and it wasn't until the end of the Han Dynasty that the power became stronger.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen's current restructuring is not to overthrow the system of Sangong Jiuqing and change it to the system of three provinces and six ministries, but to increase the power of the three provinces and make them take on the task of political structure.

The chiefs of the three provinces are Shangshuling, Zhongshucheng, and Menxiaqing. They are in charge of implementing important national government orders, drafting and issuing emperor's edicts, and reviewing emperor's edicts and state decrees issued by Shangshutai.

The functions are roughly equivalent to those of the three provinces of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Its highest officer is under the Sangong and above the Jiuqing. It belongs to the deputy of the prime minister and can be regarded as the deputy prime minister.There are left and right servants in the three provinces, who are under the Jiuqing and above all the officials.

Under the three departments are Shang Shulang, Zhongshumi, and Menxia Shi, who are responsible for the daily operations of the three departments and the tasks of the chief staff officer.

In this way, a high-efficiency operating government that is separated from the Sangong and Jiuqing has been established.

National affairs are concentrated in three departments, and the emperor, the prime minister, and many deputy ministers make decisions and discuss together, so as to transmit orders faster.

Zhuge Liang was recognized as the candidate for prime minister, but he pushed the position of prime minister to Shen Chen in the list.

Shen Chen didn't bother to refuse, anyway, Liu Bei would cross it out and add Zhuge Liang's name when it came to Liu Bei, so it didn't matter.

He glanced at the list that Zhuge Liang was currently writing, and said with a smile: "Brother, you only let yourself be the minister and let me be the prime minister. Could it be that you treat the king and me as fools?"

Zhuge Liang glanced at him helplessly, and said, "You are also a talent of the prime minister, so why not take it upon yourself."

"I don't want to be the prime minister, you write it, I will lose if I can pass."

Shen Chen shrugged.

Zhuge Liang said, "It's getting late, why don't you go back to the mansion?"

"Look, hurry up."

Shen Chen joked: "Brother, sometimes you have to accept your fate."

Zhuge Liang was even more helpless, and said: "Then you came to find me today, you must not have come to chat with me."

"Of course not."

Shen Chen became serious, looked at him seriously and said, "Brother, do you know the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System?"

"Ah."

Zhuge Liangliang nodded: "Cao Pi asked Chen Qun to customize it last year, and this year Cao Wei promulgated the official selection system. It is said that this method has replaced the procuratorate."

"The procuratorate system has basically been manipulated by the powerful families. They have monopolized the way to become an official. It is meaningless to continue to use it. Cao Pi is a smart man. It is easier to replace the old system with a new system for selecting officials than to reform the old system. many."

Shen Chen said in a deep voice: "Furthermore, the investigation system will lead to the lack of avenues for the children of small and medium-sized aristocratic families and local powerful and poor families to become officials. It eliminates the conflict between Cao Wei and local small and medium-sized aristocratic families, powerful and poor families, and can even exchange for the support of big families, small and medium-sized families, and powerful and poor families.”

Zhuge Liang thought for a while, and then agreed: "That's right, the original scouting system selects very few talents, and they are often monopolized by the big families. Now after the ninth rank is upright, the big families often occupy the top rank, and the rest of the upper middle, lower, middle Upper, Middle Middle, Middle Lower, Lower Upper, Lower Middle, and Lower Lower can be divided among other small and medium-sized aristocratic and powerful families, so that everyone has an official job, which really gave Cao Wei the support of the gentry."

"But people are not as good as cattle and horses."

Shen Chen sighed.

The Jiupin Zhengzhong system is actually a carnival for the gentry.

In the procuratorial system of the Han Dynasty, there was only one Xiaolian and Maocai in each state every year, plus the Sangong, the supervisory censor, the secretary, the state herdsman, and one each year-old Maocai, as well as one Xiaolian elected by each county. There are only more than 100 Xiaolian Kamo in the whole country.

More than 100 people are naturally not enough, so the investigation system is basically monopolized by aristocratic families. At the end of the Han Dynasty, you can know from the various princes and the talents under them. Few of them were born with Xiaolian Maocai.

Therefore, if the inspection system continues to be used, it will cause great dissatisfaction among local tyrants and children from poor families who lack ways to become officials, and may threaten the rule of Cao Wei.

But as soon as the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng system came out, all the gentry could become officials, so naturally the gentry would all support Cao Wei, which greatly eased the conflict between Cao Wei and the gentry.

But the disadvantages are also obvious.

The Manchu Dynasty was full of gentry, and everyone knew the virtues of the gentry.

Family interests come first.

As long as I can continue to be an official to protect the interests of the family, who will be the emperor?I do not mind.

So when the Sima family usurped Wei, all the gentry were silent.

Zhuge Liang shook his head: "Cao Wei reused the gentry, and the northern gentry will definitely support him with all their strength. Even if the people live in hardship, it may be difficult to shake their foundation."

"Ah."

Shen Chen said: "So we must also keep pace with the times, change the procuratorial system, and introduce new methods of selecting talents."

Zhuge Liang looked at him in surprise and said, "Don't you think Xiaoqing also wants to be upright at the ninth rank? Don't you always focus on suppressing the nobles and supporting the poor and the low-level people?"

"Naturally it's not the best of the nine grades."

Shen Chen said, "I plan to use the imperial examination system."

"The imperial examination?"

"Yes, it's an assessment system. Each county is divided into township examinations, county examinations, state examinations, and palace examinations. Those who pass the county examinations can become officials."

"Then what is the content of the assessment?"

"Using the topics of the Seven Classics, "Zhuziyan" and "Shen Shijing" to examine the meaning of the classics. The topic of governance of townships and counties is also used to examine the practical work. Then the current political issues are investigated to examine the policy. Finally, it is natural to conduct an interview in person to examine His character and talent."

"It sounds good, but it still seems to be supporting the gentry."

Zhuge Liang frowned.

The imperial examination system mentioned by Shen Chen is naturally different from the later imperial examination system. The later imperial examination system has become very empty, and the questions are also unpredictable.

Now the imperial examination system he proposed is very simple, in fact, it is to examine people's literary level and governance ability.

Once passed, you can immediately become an official and govern the local area.

For example, to examine the scriptures, just like when Liu Biao was studying the scriptures, Deng Hong was asked to explain the principles in the scriptures. Deng Hong's ability is average, so the level of answers is limited. From this, we can see how well a person's scriptures are governed. Sample.

There is also the governance of townships and counties, just like Liu Bei asked Pang Tong to be the county magistrate of a certain place to inspect his ability. He just put the problems faced by Pang Tong in front of the candidates, and the candidates solved them on paper.

Therefore, the imperial examination system proposed by Shen Chen is still a method based on the actual situation of the Han Dynasty, and it is not as complicated and illusory as the imperial examination system in the Ming and Qing Dynasties later.

To put it simply, it is hard work and ability first.

The problem is that if you want to participate in the imperial examination system, you have to be an educated person first.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, it was difficult for the people at the bottom to study. Only the rich and powerful, the children of the powerful and poor families had the way to learn knowledge.

Therefore, this imperial examination system is still the same as the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, which makes the nobles become officials, and the people at the bottom have no chance to become officials.

However, Shen Chen shook his head and said: "No, although it is true that the gentry are selected right now, it is not like the nine-rank Zhongzheng system, which completely prevents the low-level people from becoming officials. Think about it, brother, at this stage, the gentry are indeed in the majority, but as long as We promote education in various townships and counties and set up township schools, after all, there are children from the head of Guizhou who can read books, and in the future we can break the monopoly of the aristocratic family."

"Is that so?"

Zhuge Liang thought about it, then nodded in agreement: "Xiaoqing really has a long-term vision."

"And there are too many benefits to supporting the gentry to become officials."

Shen Chen analyzed one by one: "One is to ease the conflict between us and the gentry, and second, because the gentry has mastered education and knowledge, there are indeed far more talents than the lower-level people. Therefore, if the country is to prosper, it is not possible to completely eliminate the gentry. Education can be popularized, and in the next few decades or hundreds of years, the people at the bottom will produce more talents.”

The conflict between the Liu Bei Group and the southern gentry was too sharp, and the northern gentry united to help Cao Wei. If this continues, the Liu Bei Group will have the gentry holding back, while the Cao Wei Group will have the full support of the gentry.

Only by easing the conflict with the gentry and supporting the gentry as officials can this problem be solved.

The imperial examination system is the solution.

Because it is almost difficult for the people at the bottom to study at this stage. Even in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, scholars had to have a small family fortune in order to maintain a person who was not engaged in production and concentrated on studying, and went to high school for ten years, not to mention the relatively low productivity of the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the emergence of the imperial examination system will not threaten the gentry, but will become a way for the small and medium-sized gentry and powerful and poor families to become officials, and naturally they will not be opposed by them.

Just take the long view.

The middle of the nine ranks completely prevents the low-level people from becoming officials.

However, everyone can participate in the imperial examination system. As long as your country is prosperous and you patiently develop grassroots education, then one day the literacy rate and cultural level of the people at the bottom will rise, and you will be able to break the monopoly of the aristocratic family.

Therefore, considering short-term interests, the imperial examination system can alleviate the conflicts among the gentry, and from a long-term perspective, the imperial examination system can attract low-level talents to join in the future.

This is why the imperial examination system was still controlled by aristocratic families in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the aristocratic families were no longer there, and people from the bottom of the people could replace them.

After that, Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang talked about some details.

For example, the content of the assessment, the addition of government agencies, and the current rank of officials.

The number of stones divided by officials is too general.

Shen Chen believes that officials should be divided into nine ranks, with ranks nine to six at the township and county levels, ranks six to three at the state and county levels, and ranks two to one at the national level.

Why do townships and prefectures appear in the sixth rank?

Because the county magistrate of the sixth grade corresponds to the county magistrate of Gyeonggi, it is natural to have a high rank, just like the Luoyang magistrate of the Han Dynasty is not the conventional six hundred stones, but a thousand stones, so the rank is higher.

The rest of the prime ministers are the first rank, and the three princes are the first rank.The chief officials and deputy ministers of the three provinces are the second rank, and the nine ministers are the second rank.The left and right servants of the three provinces and the governors of the state are the third rank, and there are deputies below them who are the third rank.

On the side of the military attache, the great general is the first rank, and the Hussar general, the chariot general, and the Wei general are the subordinate first rank.The four generals in the front, back, left, and right are the second rank, the four towns and the four levies are the second rank, and so on.

In this way, the above-mentioned officials corresponded to the positions of Zhiwanshi (first rank), Zhizhong Erqianshi (second rank), and Zhizhen Erqianshi (third rank) in the original Han Dynasty.And the county guard is the fourth rank, and the ordinary miscellaneous general is also the fourth rank, corresponding to the original two thousand stone position.

That is to divide the original ranking stones into genuine products and secondary products, add deputies to the chief officer, and divide the power of the chief official. At the same time, it can also divide the officials into the sovereignty they should control.

Zhuge Liang felt that what Shen Chen said made sense, so he wrote it down one by one.

From the end of last year to July this year, they were preparing for Liu Bei's enthronement ceremony.

In addition to approving hundreds of officials, envoys from all directions must be invited, new etiquette rules must be formulated, and people's livelihoods in various places must be checked. In addition to the country that needs to be governed, there are too many things to do and more time is needed.

Because at the beginning of this year, Shen Chen added several new departments, namely the Supervisory Yuan, Yushitai, Sangongsuo, etc., and took back the power of death penalty from the county magistrate and state capital, and the death penalty belonged to the central government.

With more functional departments, more officials are needed, and a large number of things are piled up on the central government in a short period of time, which will naturally make it difficult for government affairs to be handled quickly.

So from this year to now, Zhuge Liang's affairs are still extremely busy, and he has not had a moment to rest.

Fortunately, Shen Chen, Pang Tong, Fazheng, and Jia Xu were there to assist. Otherwise, he would have to worry about state affairs alone. I am afraid that he would have to travel hard with a state of his own as in history, and eventually die of exhaustion.

One month later, Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen gathered together all the things that had been done, drew up a list, and determined all the official functions, and then reported to Liu Bei.

At this point, all the preparations are actually complete. In other words, as long as Liu Bei needs it, even if it was proposed last year, he can ascend the throne within one month.

But things have to be slow.

If you are slow, you can deal with the current domestic affairs in the south first, such as people's livelihood issues, economic issues, military issues, and so on.

And delaying time can also stop Liu Bei's Northern Expedition.

Now the south has just pacified Jiangdong, and what is needed is governance rather than war, so this kind of thing can't be done soon.

However, after eight months of preparation time, by August, they had perfected all the details. In the end, Liu Bei ruled that, except for some list members who had been changed by him, the enthronement ceremony was officially held at the end of August in the 26th year of Jian'an.