Han officials

Chapter 123 From small to big
The next day, Luoyang Shangshutai.

"This trend must not be allowed to grow!" Ma Riti, the Grand Secretary, complained, "Leaving the country is already a serious crime, let alone leading troops out of the country?"

Having said this, Ma Riti's face was full of worry.

"If this behavior is allowed to go unpunished, won't it lead to the collapse of social order and morality?"

Ma Ritian's words were not far-fetched, after all, this was indeed the stipulation of the Han system.

The prefect cannot leave his jurisdiction at will, and cannot mobilize troops out of the country without authorization, otherwise it will be a serious crime.

In fact, if it were in the past, Ma Ritian might not be so serious, but it was Wei Zhe's bad luck.

Shortly after the Liaodong battle report was delivered, Jingzhou also submitted a memorial, the content of which was actually similar to this one.

It roughly means that Changsha Prefect Sun Jian put down the Qu Xing Rebellion in his own county. However, Zhou Chao, Guo Shi and other rebels soon after rebelled in Lingling and Guiyang and attacked the counties, so Sun Jian crossed the county boundaries to fight against them.

As a result, it wasn't long before the three counties were pacified and order was restored.

It can be said that Sun Jian's operations are no different from Wei Zhe's, they are simply the same template.

It’s just that compared to Jingzhou, the chaos in Liaodong is bigger.

When these two memorials were sent to Luoyang one after another, they immediately caused quite a heated discussion in the Secretariat.

If it was just one thing, it would be fine, and it is not impossible to make an exception.

But the fact that there were two cases of prefects leading troops across the border at the same time is really worrying.

Therefore, it was not only Ma Riti who held this view in the Shangshu Taizhong, many ministers had similar concerns.

For example, Imperial Household Officer Huang Wan nodded in agreement upon hearing this, saying, "If a prefect can lead his troops abroad at will, how is he any different from a vassal prince? If this behavior is not punished, won't it only encourage corruption?"

Huang Wan was worried that if this continued, the local governor's ambitions would grow and he would gradually develop rebellious thoughts.

Even though he knew that this was a bit harsh on Wei Zhe and Sun Jian, he felt that this trend should still be curbed.

For the sake of the overall situation, what's wrong with letting Wei Zhe and Sun Jian suffer a little?

However, the Grand Marshal Cui Lie, who was sitting alone at the top, did not give the two of them any face when he heard this.

"Taifu Huang's words are absurd!" Cui Lie retorted, "How could these two people leave the country at will?"

"Sun Wentai's move was to quell the rebellion, and Wei Gongwei's was to defend the border. Without these two, Liaodong would have been in chaos, and Jingzhou would have been in rebellion, shaking the people's hearts."

As the saying goes, the butt determines the head.

Although Cui Lie was not familiar with Wei Zhe and Sun Jian, he was the Grand Marshal after all.

If the rebellion in Jingzhou and the border threat in Liaodong cannot be quelled in time, then he, the Grand Marshal, will be the one in trouble.

Based on this position, let alone the two of them just leading troops out of the country, he would have to support them even if they did something more outrageous.

Thinking of this, Cui Lie couldn't help but glare at Huang Wan and Ma Riti, puffing his beard and glaring, "If you don't reward meritorious service, but instead impose punishment, what will happen if rebellion breaks out again? Will you two be the ones to quell it?"

"It's better for you two to refrain from saying such words that will harm the country!"

When Cui Lie said this, Huang Wan and Ma Riti became so angry that their faces turned red, but they didn't know how to refute.

After all, Huang Wan and Ma Riti were good at lecturing on scriptures and discussing doctrines, but leading troops and fighting battles was certainly not their forte.

If we really send them into battle, they will probably be the first to die.

However, although Cui Lie's rebuttal left the two speechless, his tough attitude could not convince everyone.

After all, there were also many civil officials in the Shangshu Tai who were capable of leading troops into battle, such as Lu Zhi, Yang Biao and others.

Seeing this, Situ Xuxiang was moved and immediately said, "Since that's the case, let's follow the story of Emperor Guangwu."

Although Prime Minister Xu was often labeled a treacherous villain, he was no mere ignoramus. After all, he was descended from the Xu family of Runan, and his father and grandfather had both achieved high positions through merit. While he might not rival Huang Wan and Ma Riti in Confucian classics, he was undoubtedly superior in court anecdotes.

Seeing that the two hadn't remembered, Xu Xiangxiang stroked his beard and smiled proudly, saying, "Have you all forgotten Li Digong, the Grand Marshal who founded our dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Lie suddenly looked enlightened.

In comparison, many officials whose families have shallow backgrounds or come from humble backgrounds do not understand why.

Fortunately, there was someone who knew the truth and immediately told the whole story.

It turned out that Xu Xiang was not talking about Li Digong's time as Grand Marshal, but about his time as the Prefect of Langya.

Speaking of Li Zhang, whose courtesy name was Digong, he was from Huai County, Henei Prefecture, and his family was a 2,000-stone official.

During the Wang Mang Rebellion, Li Zhang wisely chose Emperor Guangwu's side, and after the unification of China, he was appointed Governor of Langya. At the same time, Xia Changsi, a prominent clan from Anqiu, Beihai, and his followers rebelled, taking advantage of the situation to imprison Beihai Governor Chu Xing and seize Yingling City. Upon learning of this, Li Zhang prepared to dispatch a thousand troops and launch an offensive.

Then his clerk stopped Li Zhang and said, "The 2,000 stone officials are not allowed to leave the county, and the troops are not allowed to be dispatched without permission."

But Li Zhang said, "If I die fighting against the enemy, I will have no regrets!"

Later, after Li Zhang won a great victory, he reported the matter truthfully to the court. Emperor Guangwu did not blame him but rewarded him instead.

It can be said that Li Zhang’s example is exactly the same as Sun Jian’s behavior this time.

So when they learned about this story, many people immediately stopped opposing it.

This was the way it was in the Han Dynasty. As long as there was a precedent, anything could be negotiated.

But then again, this is also the reason why it is difficult for ordinary people to succeed.

After all, one can study classics and scriptures, but there are no books that summarize such court anecdotes.

Even within the aristocratic families that have been nobles for generations, the art is often only taught to the children who are given special training.

Through the influence of their surroundings and the spread of knowledge, these disciples of famous families are naturally familiar with the stories of the court.

You should know that the knowledge barrier is far more than just classics and scriptures, it also includes the experience of being an official and governing the country.

For example, the Wang family of Lelang was an expert in flood control. How could commoners and scholars who had no chance to put their skills into practice compare to them?
……

Not to mention how unwilling Huang Wan and Ma Riti were.

With Sikong Dinggong remaining silent and Xu Xiang and Cui Lie agreeing, the matter came to an end.

After reviewing Sun Jian's military achievements, the court decided to confer the title of Marquis of Wucheng on him.

To be honest, the thoughts of the emperor and the three dukes and nine ministers can be seen from this reward alone.

Sun Jian was from Fuchun, and being granted the title of Marquis of Wucheng was a reward second only to that of Marquis of Fuchun. You should know that Fuchun County and Wucheng County in Wujun are not far from each other.

After all, this time the court skipped the titles of Tinghou and Xianghou and directly conferred the title of Xianhou.

This shows that the emperor and the ministers shared the same idea as Cui Lie. They were all worried that no one would be willing to quell the rebellion in the future, so they rewarded Sun Jian generously to show their attitude.

Even if the social order collapses in the future, we have to hold on first.

This is what is called drinking poison to quench thirst.

However, Sun Jian’s reward was easy to solve, but Wei Zhe was in trouble.

Because he was already a county marquis, there was not much room for advancement. It would be difficult to arrange a large reward on this basis.

Especially since the emperor was still thinking about Goguryeo, he had to leave room for future rewards.

So after much deliberation, the emperor could only come up with a workaround...

(End of this chapter)