Han officials

Chapter 222 Skill is revealed in the details [22]

In the third year of Chuping, it was the first month of spring and the first day of the new moon.

At cockcrow, before dawn, the servants of the Left General's mansion were busy setting up curtains and seats.

Outside the shogunate, guards holding halberds and banners stood on both sides from early on, looking extremely imposing.

As the sky gradually turned a pale white, the streets still felt bitterly cold, but the shogunate was bustling with activity.

The governors of Youzhou, Yingzhou, Liaozhou, Zhuojun, Yuyang, Zhangwu, Gaoyang, Guanxiu, Bohai, and others, with the exception of Bingzhou and Qingzhou, were almost all the governors of the prefectures under Wei Zhe's jurisdiction.

In addition, Xi Zhicai, Tian Feng, Zhao Yun, Hua Tuo, Tian Chou and other staff members of the shogunate were also dressed in official robes and wore official seals, waiting solemnly in the courtyard outside the council hall.

Since it was New Year's Day, everyone was smiling and exchanging pleasantries.

However, as they spoke, many of them were sizing each other up.

For example, Ju Shou, who had just returned to Ji County, smiled and nodded at Tian Feng not far away, taking the initiative to show goodwill.

Seeing this, Tian Feng did not show any coldness, but returned the greeting with courtesy.

After all, he was just straightforward, not mentally challenged; he understood normal interpersonal interactions.

Meanwhile, others in the courtyard were doing similar things.

After taking a good look, Ju Shou couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The rumors were indeed true; the people of Seishu were now the only ones in power under the rule of the shogunate.

In contrast, the situation is less severe in the military, as most officers come from all over the country.

If we divide the groups according to their regions, they are mainly people from Youzhou and Qingzhou.

As for people from Jizhou like Ju Shou and Tian Feng, they are now considered minor figures and not worth mentioning.

However, after observing carefully for a while, Ju Shou discovered that the people here did not seem to associate with each other based on their hometown ties.

Or perhaps... whether or not they are from the same hometown is not their primary stance.

For example, Yuan Jun, the Grand Protector of Andong, was a native of Youzhou, but he was not close to his fellow Youzhou natives such as Liu Su, the Prefect of Shanggu, and Nan Jie, the Prefect of Youbeiping. Instead, he chatted and laughed with people from Qingzhou.

As for Liu Su, the governor of Shanggu, and Nan Jie, the governor of Youbeiping, who were selected by Wei Zhe from among the officials of Youzhou last year, they were not confined by their local perspectives. Instead, they took the initiative to extend goodwill to people from other provinces, such as Ren Jun and Ju Shou.

It wasn't that they wanted to conspire to pull off some grand conspiracy; it was purely out of the instinct of political creatures.

After realizing this, Ju Shou thought there might be a faction of Liaodong people within the Youzhou people.

However, upon further reflection, Ju Shou proactively rejected this idea.

Compared to regional differences, the commonality among those people was probably that they were from Liaodong!
Therefore, Liu Su, Nan Jie, and others were actually newcomers, just like him, Tian Feng, Ren Jun, and others.

With this in mind, Ju Shou suddenly had a much clearer understanding of the situation in the shogunate.

At least from listening to their small talk, I could more or less guess some of the unspoken meanings behind their words.

However, Ju Shou was unaware that the largest group under the rule of the shogunate was actually the Jiangwutang faction.

Although most of the scholars and officers who graduated from the military academy are still in the lower and middle ranks, they are the most numerous.

Especially within the military settlement system, this group of people were almost entirely in control.

Similarly, officials who came from Liaodong County School and Lelang County School had quietly spread throughout the shogunate.

Wei Zhe never openly issued any "recruitment order," but he truly practiced meritocracy.

However, on the other hand, Wei Zhe was actually well aware of some of the movements of his civil and military officials.

As the saying goes:
No party outside the party, imperial mentality;

There is no faction in the party, all weird and strange.

As Wei Zhe held a high position for a longer period of time, he came to understand this statement more and more.

As the shogun, he naturally hoped that his subordinates would not form factions or engage in self-serving activities.

But saints are hard to find, and even harder to become; most people are just ordinary people.

Therefore, Wei Zhe gradually learned to view problems from a human perspective, rather than demanding saintly standards of his subordinates. After all, it's perfectly normal for people to have likes and dislikes; as long as Wei Zhe maintained balance, the shogunate wouldn't run into problems.

Even today's New Year's Day celebrations are essentially a political exchange meeting.

……

Soon, the auspicious time arrived.

Under the command of Sun Yan, the chief minister of the Marquis's residence, the civil and military officials outside the council hall lined up according to their rank and age, and entered in turn, passing through the courtyard to the foot of the main hall, where they waited for Wei Zhe to ascend the hall. Inside the grand hall, ceremonial guards with halberds stood on both sides as always, and many banners were erected all around, creating an exceptionally imposing atmosphere.

After everything was ready, Wei Zhe put on a black deep robe with black trim, wore a Jinxian crown, and a gold seal and purple ribbon with the insignia of a Left General. He walked up the steps with a dragon-like and tiger-like gait and sat in the main seat of the main hall.

Only then did Xi Zhicai, as the representative of the subordinate officials, step forward to congratulate Wei Zhe:
Fu Weiming's administration is excellent, his virtue extends to the prefectures and counties, the people are blessed, and all people rejoice.

On this auspicious occasion of the New Year, as the four seasons begin anew, we humbly wish that Your Excellency may live as long as the Southern Mountain, possess virtue comparable to the sun and moon, and enjoy eternal happiness and prosperity.
-
As Xi Zhicai finished speaking, everyone in the hall immediately bowed down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

He did this twice before finally getting up and returning to his place.

After everyone had stood up, Wei Zhe, who held a high position, comforted them, saying:
"You have all worked hard. Here are five bolts of silk, two lambs, and three perch."

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials below bowed in gratitude once more, and thus the New Year's Day celebrations were completed.

Throughout the process, everything remained dignified and solemn.

Even the musicians behind the curtains on both sides had serious expressions.

After all, the New Year's Day court ceremony was also an occasion to assess subordinate officials. In the past, many governors in various parts of the Han Dynasty would take this opportunity to observe the demeanor and speech of their subordinates, and if there was any impoliteness, they would even be dismissed on the spot.

Of course, the officials who did not come to attend the New Year's Day court ceremony were not without their own problems. They also needed to prepare a "New Year's Greeting Letter" to submit to their superiors on New Year's Day. The content was roughly the same as the "New Year's greeting text message" in later generations.

In short, your boss might not see the message you post, but they will definitely remember whoever doesn't post it.

However, Wei Zhe is not that kind of person; he wouldn't stoop to finding fault with someone in such a situation.

After the court ceremony ended, Wei Zhe took the initiative to host a banquet for his civil and military officials. The food at the banquet was not particularly extravagant, consisting mainly of common banquet dishes such as dried meat, meat sauce, fish and mutton soup, and fruit wine.

However, all the civil and military officials took their seats with great interest, and were especially curious about the people around them.

After all, Chinese people always pay attention to the order of seating when eating, and this is no exception in modern times.

For example, Xi Zhicai was ranked first in the left column of Wei Zhe, while Guo Yuan was ranked first in the right column.

Since generals such as Taishi Ci and Zhong Hu were appointed to other posts, the presence of the generals in the hall was not very strong.

However, there was a group of people who, despite being at the bottom of the list, had a strong presence: the barbarian leaders who came to He.

For example, Prince Mayu of Buyeo, the chieftains of the fourteen kingdoms of Andong, and the Xianbei leaders Jueji and Mijia of Liaodong.

After the Xianbei split, Suli, Jueji, and Mijia all claimed to be the leaders of the Eastern Xianbei.

However, Suli was lured into invading Xuan Tu by the King of Goguryeo, which led to his death in the wilderness and the dispersal of his followers.

Therefore, the eastern Xianbei are now basically fighting between the Jueji and Mijia tribal alliances.

Of course, after Wei Zhe rose to power, the eastern Xianbei gained another stronghold, namely the Goguryeo Xianbei tribe.

This made the already fragmented Eastern Xianbei even more chaotic.

To be honest, Wei Zhe didn't expect the Fuyu and Xianbei people to be so accommodating.

After all, the Andong Protectorate was only issuing a routine notification to the various tribes and did not require them to come to pay homage.

In comparison, the Wuhuan tribes of Youzhou were not as sincere as they were.

Of all the tribes, only Qiuliju, the leader of the Wuhuan tribe in western Liao, sent his nephew Tadun as an envoy to pay tribute.

Although he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, Wei Zhe still found this strange situation quite interesting...
-
Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Slips: Court Law

The Eastern Han Dynasty Bamboo Slips from Zoumalou, Changsha

Yan Gengwang, *A History of Local Administrative Systems in China: Qin and Han Dynasties*

[Also referencing the records of He Zhengdan, the Qiang leader, in the Dunhuang Xuanquan Han bamboo slips.]

(End of this chapter)