Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 495: Establishing a cabinet and confirming seven grand secretaries!

The next day, morning.

It is common knowledge among all officials that the current emperor is not one who is keen on holding court meetings.

According to the Han custom, court meetings were held every five days.

But when it came to Liu Xie, the meeting was held once every ten days, and sometimes it was not held at all, and all officials were required to submit all matters, big or small, to the Xuanshi.

Naturally, all officials had opinions about the emperor's lazy governance, and many ministers had written letters to advise him.

The emperor accepted all the advice and praised them for their courage to speak out, but he did not change.

After this happened many times, the officials gradually accepted it.

After all, the current emperor is indeed wise and powerful. Even if he does not hold court meetings very often, he is still able to have a clear understanding of political affairs and handle government affairs in an orderly manner.

Of course, everyone understands that most of the credit goes to the ministers who handle government affairs in the Xuanshi Hall every day.

Although the official positions of those ministers varied, and most of them were not even among the Nine Ministers, they were qualified to help the emperor handle government affairs in the Xuanshi Hall.

This right made many ministers jealous, but they could not get involved and could only watch helplessly.

Today is the first court meeting in nearly two months. Although it has passed the Yin hour, many ministers have not yet arrived at Chengming Hall.

The reason why the ministers came so late was very simple. The emperor never went to court on time and was often later than them. If they came early, they would just stand and wait.

Sure enough, Liu Xie arrived late until around the hour of Mao, after all the ministers had arrived.

"My dear ministers, you have arrived early enough."

Liu Xie walked up to the dragon throne and sat down. After accepting the worship of all officials, he smiled and said.

All the officials couldn't help but twitch their lips when they heard this.

Are they here early? The sun is already high in the sky!
It's obvious that you came too late!
Kong Rong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the country has just been settled and there is a lot to be done. As the emperor, you must not be lazy about state affairs."

"You haven't been to court for a long time, and you let the Grand Tutor, the Grand Chancellor, and the Chief Censor handle government affairs. How can this continue?"

"Your Majesty, please focus more on government affairs."

Liu Xie showed a serious look when he heard this, and nodded, saying, "The Grand Chamberlain is right. I will remember it."

Kong Rong sighed, feeling helpless.

The emperor would always use the same rhetoric every time someone gave him advice. He would appear to accept the advice with an open mind, but in reality he would not change anything at all.

tired.

Just when the ministers thought that the emperor was going to say "report if you have anything to say, dismiss the court if you don't", as usual, Liu Xie said something else that surprised them.

"I have been reflecting on this for a while. The affairs of the court are related to the country and the people's livelihood. As the Son of Heaven, I really shouldn't be so lazy."

Liu Xie showed a look of self-blame, and at the same time said: "But human power is limited, and my energy is limited. It is helpless to ask the Grand Tutor and others to assist me in handling government affairs."

"But this is not in line with the court etiquette, so I want to change the system so that I can handle government affairs better and faster."

Liu Xie's words stunned all the ministers.

Restructuring?

Before anyone could react, Liu Xie said, "I want to establish a cabinet with seven university scholars."

"All matters of the court, big or small, are submitted to the cabinet, reviewed and approved by the Grand Secretaries, and then I make the final decision."

Liu Xie expressed his thoughts exactly as they were.

The cabinet system was established in the Ming Dynasty. It was a very advanced management system and had great advantages for managing the country.

Liu Xie had the idea of ​​establishing a cabinet a long time ago, but it was not something that could be decided casually, so he had been preparing for it.

Over such a long period of time, he let Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Sima Yi and others start out by participating in discussions on state affairs, and later directly be responsible for reviewing and handling memorials, in the process of slowly delegating power.

Up to now, civil and military officials have almost accepted the practice of letting ministers handle government affairs, and it is a good time for him to propose reforms.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed!"

Kong Rong recovered from his shock and said anxiously, "The emperor is the ruler of a country. How can he leave all state affairs to his subjects?"

"So, I'm afraid..."

He did not dare to say the following words. If the emperor delegated power, it would easily lead to the ministers becoming autocratic!
The Ten Eunuchs were the best example!

But before Kong Rong finished speaking, Cui Yan stood up and shook his head, saying, "The Grand Chamberlain is wrong. As a minister, it is my duty to assist the emperor."

"As the saying goes, a family with a rebellious son will not be ruined; a country with virtuous ministers will not perish. The whole court is full of virtuous and good ministers. Your Majesty established the cabinet and let us ministers assist in handling government affairs for the sake of the Han Dynasty. What's wrong with that?"

"I think this cabinet system is good, very good!"

After Cui Yan finished speaking, Shen Rong, Ju Zong and other ministers also stood up to agree and support the emperor's reform.

What a joke! The Cabinet Grand Secretary can directly handle government affairs. How much power does that have?
Before, the emperor did not have a cabinet, and he chose people to assist in state affairs based on his own preferences. Now that the system has been formally reformed and incorporated into the rules, all ministers in the court will have the opportunity to enter the cabinet!

So how could they possibly object?
Kong Rong wanted to persuade him again, but all the officials in the court agreed, and Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Zhuge Liang and others were unlikely to object, so he could only retreat.

"In this case, the cabinet is officially established."

Seeing that all officials agreed to the reform as he expected, Liu Xie could not help but smile, and then asked the eunuch beside him to announce the list of cabinet ministers.

They are: Grand Secretary of Xuanshi Palace Guo Jia, Grand Secretary of Wengyuan Palace Jia Xu, Grand Secretary of Qilin Palace Zhuge Liang, Grand Secretary of Jinhua Palace Sima Yi, Grand Secretary of Chengming Palace Yang Xiu, Grand Secretary of Guangming Palace Lu Su, and Grand Secretary of Shoucheng Palace Fa Zheng.

There are only seven fixed cabinet ministers. Grand Secretary is just a title. Apart from assisting in handling government affairs, he has no other real power.

Among the seven grand secretaries, the grand secretary of Xuanshi Hall was the chief one, commanding all the grand secretaries, and the emperor could appoint and dismiss the grand secretaries at any time.

In addition to these seven grand secretaries, there are also grand secretary candidates who can also participate in government affairs, but they only have the right to make suggestions and not the right to review.

All officials were not surprised by these candidates, because these people were the ones who handled government affairs in the Xuanshi every day, and it was normal for them to be selected into the cabinet.

Anyway, as long as the cabinet system exists, they will be selected into it sooner or later, because it is a system within the framework of "rules".

Among the ministers, Xu You was stunned when he heard that he was not among the seven grand secretaries, and then he smiled bitterly in his heart.

"Sure enough, Your Majesty still has a grudge against me because I pleaded for Cao Chong..."

“Maybe I should quit.”

Logically speaking, given his status, he was qualified to be listed as one of the seven grand secretaries, but the emperor did not include him.

This forced Xu You to start thinking about whether he should retire from the limelight and resign from his post to the emperor, so that he could preserve the relationship between the monarch and his subject.

After the reform was finalized, Liu Xie continued, "In addition to the reform, I have another announcement to make." "Over the past few days, I have discussed with the Grand Secretaries and believe that now that the world is stable, there is one thing that should be accomplished as soon as possible."

"This is to survey the land and take a census of the population."

After Liu Xie finished speaking, the ministers who were originally whispering about the reform suddenly became silent.

Among the ministers, except Guo Jia and Jia Xu, the rest, including Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi and others, could not help but stare with their eyes wide open, with a hint of confusion on their faces.

Consult with them? When?
Liu Xie said solemnly: "Years of war and chaos, with rebels and separatists everywhere, have emptied the treasury of our great Han Dynasty and caused great suffering to the people."

"Now that the country is at peace, the first thing to do is to census the population of the country and survey the land in various places so that we can collect taxes and fill the treasury."

"I have already discussed this with the Grand Secretaries and will dispatch envoys to various places to survey the land and the number of people in each place."

Liu Xie made this decision lightly.

But when these words fell into the ears of the ministers in the hall, they were all frightened and almost all of them changed color!
"broken!"

Yang Xiu was even more shocked, and the joy he had just felt at being chosen as a Grand Secretary almost disappeared without a trace.

He raised his eyes and looked around, and sure enough, many ministers, including his father Yang Biao, were looking at him, with shock, anger, coldness, and even hostility in their eyes!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Yang Xiu felt his scalp tingling. He stood up without hesitation and said, "This matter is of great importance. Should we... discuss it carefully?"

Since the Yuan family was exterminated, the Yang family, as a century-old family with three officials in five generations, has become the undisputed leader among the major families.

But now!
The emperor openly announced that he would survey the land and conduct a population census, and said that it was agreed upon with the grand secretaries. Isn't this directly putting the blame on himself?
If he admitted it, how would the other major families view him and the Yang family in the future?

He, Yang Xiu, became a traitor who betrayed the aristocratic class!
Liu Xie laughed and said, "Why do you say that, Dezu? This matter has clearly been agreed upon. Why do we need to discuss it again?"

"Besides, if we don't measure the land and census the population, how can we know how much land and how many people we have in the Han Dynasty now?"

"How can Dezuo, as a cabinet minister, speak so confusingly?"

Liu Xie refuted Yang Xiu's words in just a few words.

Since ancient times, after a major war, it is necessary to conduct a census of the population and the number of fields, because the population size and the number of fields are important data for the imperial court to collect taxes. Therefore, no one could refute Liu Xie's proposal.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Yang Xiu's face turned red and he was speechless.

There is no problem with surveying the land and conducting a population census, but this incident happened too suddenly!
The emperor suddenly announced and made the decision. None of the officials in the court received any news in advance and had no time to respond!

If there were an investigation at this time, the lands concealed by the major families and the tenants who were affiliated with them would all be discovered!
If you are caught, you will be severely punished!

Yang Xiu was groaning in his heart. He had been wondering how he could enter the cabinet with his qualifications, but it turned out that someone was waiting for him here!
He is now like a dumb person eating bitter herbs, unable to express his pain, and no one would believe him even if he did.

The emperor said that he had discussed it with the cabinet ministers, but he said he had no knowledge of it. Who would believe him?
Just when Yang Xiu didn't know how to respond, a familiar old voice suddenly sounded.

"Your Majesty is right. Now that the world is unified, it is imperative to survey the land and conduct a population census."

"I, Yang, will fully cooperate with the Embroidered Uniform Envoy's census."

Yang Biao stood up tremblingly, and spoke to Liu Xie with a hunched back and a very respectful attitude.

"Father……"

Yang Xiu's face changed and he wanted to speak, but was stopped by a look from Yang Biao.

Liu Xie looked deep in his eyes and said with a smile, "It is great that Mr. Yang has this realization. Let's start with the Yang family to survey the land and population."

"I have ordered the Embroidered Uniform Envoy to make preparations and will soon go to various places to conduct a census."

Liu Xie's light words directly shattered the last bit of fantasy in the hearts of other ministers.

The emperor had been planning this for a long time!

He was determined to take action against these aristocratic families and force them to reveal all the land and population they had concealed!
For a moment, Cui Yan, Dong Zhong and others all looked very ugly, and their eyes turned even colder when they looked at Yang Biao and Yang Xiu, father and son.

"I am tired. Let's end today's court meeting here."

"Retreat."

After Liu Xie finished speaking, he stood up and walked out of the hall, leaving the ministers in silence.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu smiled at each other and left as well.

Zhuge Liang seemed to be thinking about something, Sima Yi looked at him suspiciously, and Lu Su and Fa Zheng remained calm.

All officials withdrew from the court.

Dong Zhong glanced at Yang Biao coldly and sneered, "Mr. Yang is really good at this. I admire you so much!"

Cui Yan said calmly: "Mr. Yang has cut himself off from the gentry in the world by this action. You should take care of yourself."

After saying that, the two of them left.

None of the officials spoke to Yang Biao and Yang Xiu, father and son. They either gave them the cold shoulder or ignored them, as if there was an invisible thick barrier between them.

In the end, only the father and son were left in the hall.

Yang Xiu couldn't hold it in any longer at this moment, and said with trembling lips: "Father, why do you want to..."

"do not talk."

Yang Biao sighed deeply and said, "Tomorrow I will resign from Your Majesty and will no longer be involved in any court affairs."

"Don't fight your majesty, you can't win."

"There is no other way to go now. We can only go down this road until the end."

He knew very well how much hatred admitting this would bring to the Yang family, but what else could he do?
The emperor clearly wanted to trick the Yang family. Unless Yang Xiu resigned from his post and retired, everyone would believe that the Yang family was not on the emperor's side.

But is it possible?

The position of Cabinet Grand Secretary is too important and too tempting to be given up at any cost.

Therefore, since it has come to this, it is better to stick to the bad and stand firmly on the side of the emperor.

Tears welled up in Yang Xiu's eyes and he felt deeply powerless.

Only now did he know what true imperial methods were.

The officialdom is so cruel.

He raised his hand to wipe his tears, then stepped forward to support Yang Biao and walked out of the hall and went out of the palace.

(End of this chapter)