My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 235 I am not afraid of offending people
If you dare to let go, I dare to take it.

——The Prince’s motto.

The emperor let the prince do it freely. After Liu Ju realized his father's intention, he was not vague at all and said, "If you dare to ask, I dare to answer."

Perhaps even the emperor himself did not expect that a petition that started as a warning to the Imperial Censor would turn into a reform of the court...

of course.

Not at this moment.

After Liu Ju briefly explained his idea, the emperor liked it more and more, but he did not comment much. He just ordered the prince to submit a detailed charter.

The mind is the mind, the ability is the ability...

That night.

Taiwong.

In the main hall, Zhuang Qingzhai, Jin Midi, Su Wu, Zhang He, Cai Cheng, Yu Chu, Dongfang Shuo, Zhu He and others were all present.

After a few years of hustling like ants moving house, the Prince's Palace had become somewhat organized.

"I'm inviting you all to a banquet today. First, I want you all to get to know each other. Second, I've been given a job, so I want you all to give me some advice."

Sitting in the main seat, Liu Ju smiled gently.

Hearing this, everyone around bowed to each other. Among them, Dongfang Shuo attracted the most attention, followed by Jin Midi.

The former is easy to understand.

People like Yu Chu, Zhang He, and others all looked at Dongfang Shuo with the same expression: "Are you finally stopping pretending?"

That’s right, Dongfang Shuo has revealed his cards and stopped pretending. In terms of the length of time he has served the Crown Prince’s Palace, he is also a veteran figure.

Many people in the court guessed that Dongfang Shuo and the Crown Prince's palace were "ambiguous", but today he openly participated in the banquet hosted by the Crown Prince's palace officials, which was considered an "official announcement".

After talking about the former.

The latter Jin Midi...

His position as a horse breeder and his identity as a Hun made him very noticeable among the servants, retainers and court officials.

Some people knew that Jin Midi was not an ordinary person, while some people did not know. But no matter what, since the prince allowed him to sit down, he must be someone he valued.

It is necessary to greet each other politely.

Although Jin Midi was not as good at dealing with people as Dongfang Shuo, who responded with laughter and seemed a little taciturn, he still bowed to everyone one by one and did not lose his manners.

Wait until they finish their greetings.

The prince sitting in the main seat raised his hand to suppress the noise, and the hall immediately quieted down. Liu Ju brought up the old matter again, which was also the second important business of the day.

“This job…”

Unexpectedly, after Liu Ju informed the emperor of the task assigned by him, his staff did not offer any suggestions immediately, and Dongfang Shuo even grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Liu Ju asked doubtfully.

Everyone looked at each other. Zhuang Qingzhai, who had the highest seniority and status, stroked his beard and said in a serious tone, "Your Highness, are you going to use the opportunity of setting up a regulatory agency to liquidate Li Guangli's group?"

Hear the words.

Liu Ju was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said with a smile: "Oh, that's not the case. Li Guangli is Li Guangli, and others are others. I won't pursue him relentlessly."

That's right.

But if Madam Li had not passed away not long ago, Liu Ju would not mind cleaning up people like General Shangguan Jie and Counselor Pu Cang.

But no way.

The most beautiful woman in the country has just passed away, and we still have to take into account the emperor's possible remembrance. After all, there is the precedent of Madam Wang...

Ever since Li Guangli lost power, Shangguan Jie and others were very sensible and immediately became low-key. They tried not to attract attention in court meetings and government offices if possible.

The main one:
I can't see you and you can't see me.

Since they were sensible, Liu Ju just gave them a helping hand, thinking that there was still a lot of time to come.

"Oh, that's easy." After hearing the prince say that it was not a fight, but a simple discussion of state affairs, the atmosphere in the hall became much more relaxed. Dongfang Shuo twirled his beard and said with a smile:
"What's the difficulty in enacting a written law to enforce official avoidance? All official posts above 1,000 stones are not allowed to be held by people from this county!"

"not only that."

Talking about the topic, Zhang He, who knew a lot about the Legalist system, said: "Anyone in the county who has a relative of the official should also avoid it."

Makes sense.

Most of the high-ranking officials such as the prefects and county magistrates of the Han Dynasty came from prominent families in their own county, and many of them intermarried with families from neighboring counties.

As everyone nodded, they quickly entered the role of counselors. While Liu Ju was listening, he ordered the eunuchs to take notes.

Su Wu said: "If the in-laws avoid it, should the relatives also avoid it?"

"nature!"

As the son of Zhang Tang, Zhang He was influenced by the Legalist thought since childhood. It was natural for him to say: "It is best to prohibit the descendants of those who hold high positions in a certain place from holding positions in the same county."

"Is it too harsh?" Yu Chu asked.

"No, I think it is very suitable." Liu Ju shook his head.

"Oh, so if people from County A work in Place B, people from County B should also avoid Place A?" Cai Cheng, who kept silent, asked.

"Hey, Brother Cai, what you said is right!" Dongfang Shuo clapped his hands in approval.

With the tone set by the crown prince, everyone now had a clear idea in mind and discussed the official avoidance system more deeply.

From himself to his in-laws, and then to his relatives and each other, and then two more items were raised about supervisory recusation and petitioner recusation.

Supervisory avoidance.

That is, relatives of local officials are not allowed to serve as central inspectors and censors, and vice versa. This point was again proposed by Zhang He.

The rule of recusation by the recommender means that the recommender and the recommended person cannot serve in the same county.

Regarding the official avoidance system, as Dongfang Shuo said, it is not difficult to formulate it if we really want to. It is just a matter of considering to what extent the restrictions should be imposed.

For example, the "Three Mutual Laws" during the reign of Emperor Huan mainly restricted the appointment of one's own person, his in-laws, and people of different places of origin to each other.

The matters discussed in the Crown Prince's Palace today were more detailed than the avoidance aspects of the 'Three Mutual Laws' because of Liu Ju's words...

Let’s talk.

The atmosphere in the hall at this moment was extremely warm compared to the beginning, and it could even be said that there was a hint of excitement.

Among them, Dongfang Shuo's performance was the most obvious.

He was so excited that he stood up from behind the desk, walked to the center of the hall and spoke impassionedly with saliva flying. His enthusiasm for participating in the discussion was extremely enthusiastic.

Ouch.

Who made Dongfang Shuo a man who had seen and experienced a lot? He had been the emperor's close minister for more than ten years and had heard a lot about state affairs, but the emperor did not adopt any of his suggestions!
Dongfang Shuo felt both angry and itchy!

Wasn't it just for this moment that he joined the Crown Prince's Palace?
Everyone has their own thoughts. Dongfang Manqian was excited because she could realize her ambitions, while Zhang He, Yu Chu and others were excited because of the similar situation they were seeing.

Similar to what?
Isn’t the situation in the Prince’s Palace similar to that in the Emperor’s inner court?

Except for the different venues and people in charge, the situation is exactly the same. If you think about it, when Your Majesty ascends the throne a hundred years later, those present here will...

cough cough.

This is extremely disrespectful, stop it, stop it.

"As for the local supervisory agencies proposed by Your Highness in the court, I also have some opinions." Dongfang Shuo was still not satisfied and brought up another matter.

Liu Ju extended his hand to signal the other party to speak freely.

“Since it is a place for supervision, we can set up another official position under the county governor to…” Dongfang Shuo hadn’t finished speaking when he saw the man in the main seat waving his hand.

"Your Highness?"

Liu Ju said sternly, "The emperor has some ideas about the local supervision system. We can't just do it in a small way." Zhang He frowned and said, "May I ask what your majesty wants to do?"

"There are too many directly-affiliated counties and kingdoms in the world, and it is inconvenient for the imperial court to manage them. Even if a supervisory official is specially appointed in each county, it still does not have the effect of reducing the burden."

"Father's intention is to establish a new level."

Upon hearing this, everyone present looked slightly stern. Zhuang Qingzhai sat up and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to set up another administrative division above the county?"

Notice.

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and the two-level division of local prefectures and counties had been implemented for a long time. If it were to change suddenly, it would be no trivial matter.

Fortunately, Liu Ju chuckled and said, "It is not a new administrative level, but only a separate supervisory level above the county."

“But there is only supervisory power, not executive power.”

The people were relieved a little, but not by much. Zhuang Qingzhai thought for a while and said in deep thought:
"Supervision, supervision, what it's called, what level it's at, it's actually not the most important thing. What's important is what can be supervised."

"Not bad!"

Liu Ju nodded and said, "This is exactly what my father wants me to do."

The matter was of great importance, so Zhuang Qingzhai did not say anything directly for a while. The mature ones were still thinking, while the young and energetic ones' eyes were shining.

Is it a big deal?
The bigger the national affairs you discuss, the greater the sense of achievement, right? If your ideas can be promoted throughout the world and passed down for a hundred years, that would be even more of a blessing in life, right?

"Your Highness!" Dongfang Shuo bowed and said loudly: "Since we have to supervise the counties and prefectures, but cannot exercise administrative power, the salary of the supervisor cannot be too high."

"Otherwise, it is very easy for the supervisors to take advantage of the supervision to seize power!"

The voice just fell.

"That makes sense. It should be less than 1,000 stones." Zhang He continued, "At the same time, the primary task of monitoring a region is to crack down on illegal behavior by local officials."

"Make the two sides seriously confront each other and prevent collusion between officials!"

His words completely opened up everyone's conversation. Yu Chu and Zhu He spoke one after another, and finally even the relatively taciturn Su Wu and Jin Midi began to offer their suggestions.

You said: Monitor the local big families to prevent them from annexing land and running rampant in the countryside!
I say one thing: strictly investigate county and county officials who abuse their power for personal gain!

He added: Strictly implement the rule of law, resolutely put an end to the county governors and county magistrates acting arbitrarily, and those who enforce the law unfairly will be severely punished!

Ok……

The Legalist flavor of the latter part was too obvious. After Zhang He finished speaking, it immediately caused a Taoist leader in the hall to frown.

But Zhuang Qingzhai still held back because he saw the prince nodding...

But Zhuang Qingzhai couldn't hold back the next sentence, and Jin Midi said in a deep voice: "The children of local officials often rely on their family background to do whatever they want."

"Cases resulting in death and injury occur frequently and should also be monitored."

"Yes..." Dongfang Shuo's words were still on his lips when Zhuang Qingzhai's interruption came from the other end.

"inappropriate!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Zhuang Gong who spoke. Due to his status as a former junior tutor, others could not question him for the time being, so Liu Ju asked:

"What do you think is wrong, teacher?"

"The content of the suggestion may be feasible, but the person who made the suggestion is wrong." As he said this, Zhuang Qingzhai bowed to Jin Midi to show that he was not belittling the other party.

Jin Midi understood.

After explaining this, Zhuang Qingzhai did not look at the prince who was asking the question, but turned to look at Dongfang Shuo and others, and said meaningfully:
"Everyone, there are some things that we should not make too detailed. Your Highness was ordered to draft it. If there are any shortcomings, you can leave it to Your Majesty to add..."

This statement came out.

Dongfang Shuo was stunned, and so were Zhang He and the others. However, it was Jin Midi who had offered advice who first realized the problem and immediately bowed to Liu Ju to apologize:

"I made a mistake."

After this commotion, everyone who could react had already reacted. They all looked at each other, and then bowed to Zhuang Qingzhai.

Old but not dead is...

No, old ginger is still spicy!
Only the more honest Cai Cheng looked puzzled. Su Wu, who was sitting next to him, explained in a low voice: "Some of these are too offensive. It is not appropriate for Your Highness to do them."

If it is not appropriate for Your Highness to do it, then it is very appropriate for Your Majesty to do it.

All the officials in the prince's palace understood the situation tacitly, and Liu Ju, who was sitting in the main seat, was also confused.

well.

Harmony between the ruler and his subjects!

The discussion about the supervisory body came to an end. Liu Ju took the eunuch's written record and nodded. After holding it beside him, he said:
"In addition to the two tasks assigned by my father, I also have some other ideas."

"It's good to have an idea!" Dongfang Shuo slapped his thigh.

"Your Highness, please speak!"

Even those who have seen the inner court are like this, and those who are experiencing the "inner court treatment" for the first time are even more enthusiastic. This kind of sense of accomplishment of participating in national affairs makes people unconsciously give rise to a sense of -

As a true man, this is what you should do!

Seeing this, Liu Ju smiled and nodded, saying, "While my father has asked me to govern the country, I am thinking of proposing to change the system of nine ministers."

The words were spoken lightly.

But to everyone's ears, it was like a bolt from the blue!

Dongfang Shuo, who had been eager to try before, now had a stiff face. "Your Highness, what do you want to change?"

"Change to Jiuqing!"

Liu Ju said firmly and affirmatively.

The signal from the emperor father asking him to let go was very obvious, and Liu Ju received it. But since he was asked to let go, it didn't make sense for him to just handle the task assigned to him, right?
This is following the rules and being conservative!
What flutter?
The purpose of flapping is to make a big wave!
When asked to govern the country, Liu Ju acted drastically and vigorously. The last time the emperor made an eastern tour, Liu Ju was not released because of his status as regent, but was instead hindered in every way.

This time is different.

The emperor was sitting in Chang'an. There was no need to be shy about anything and there was no sensitive language to speak of. After getting the emperor's hint, he let Liu Ju do it.

Then Liu Ju must show his skills?
amount……

But when the prince became passionate, he frightened his subjects.

Dongfang Shuo, the most active and noisy, shut up. Zhang He, a disciple of the Legalists, looked solemn. Even Cai Cheng, a disciple of the Mohists who had only a superficial understanding of state affairs, changed his expression.

Change the Nine Ministers?
Can the Nine Ministers be changed easily?
This kind of question was still asked by the old hand, senior Taoist master Zhuang Qingzhai: "Well, Your Highness..."

He wanted to say, Your Highness, how come you are as troublesome as your father! ?
But when the words came to my lips, my heart said, "Your Highness, the system of three dukes and nine ministers in the court has a great influence and affects many officials. It should not be changed lightly."

Old Master Zhuang pulled his beard, his face looking heavy.

The crown prince who was looking at him nodded first. Before Zhuang Qing and Zhai could breathe a sigh of relief, Liu Ju said, "Yes, so I only changed the nine ministers, and did not touch the three dukes."

Ho!
Do you still want to move San Gong?

When Zhuang Qingzhai stared at him, Dongfang Shuo could not help but remind him in a low voice: "Your Highness, there are too many officials involved in the Nine Ministers' Office. It is easy to offend people if you move anywhere."

"And they are all high-ranking officials of the imperial court, which is different from local officials..."

Whenever there was an important event in the court, the emperor would summon the ministers to discuss it. However, the power gap between the ministers and the local prefects and county magistrates was huge!
When Liu Ju heard this, his expression gradually became serious. He looked around and took in everyone's expressions.

ponder for a moment.

The prince said calmly to his subjects: "There are some things that I can avoid and push to my father, but that doesn't mean that my father can't see through them."

"If you avoid it too much, it will become sneaky and clever."

"Some things, as long as they are beneficial to the country and to me, I will do them. It is a great responsibility, even if it offends people, I have to do it!"

"Besides, I am not afraid of offending people!"

I was delayed today by something, so I'll make up for it. I'll remember to make up for it as soon as possible...


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(End of this chapter)