Three Kingdoms

Chang'an, early morning.

In the political affairs hall of the Han Law Council, Wei Duan, the official of the Law Council, sat in the straight hall with an irritable look on his face and frequently looked out the door of the straight hall.

It was obviously still very early, and the sky was not yet completely bright.

Yesterday, after hearing about Zuo Fengyi, Supervisor Zhiyin found that someone was neglecting disaster relief and acting muddle-headedly, and then reported the situation directly to the Husband's Palace. When Wei Duan inquired about it, he couldn't sit still. He arrived at the Senlu Courtyard early today and looked at Zuo Looking to the right, I finally waited until the door of the Hussar Government Hall was opened and I started to work. After sitting for a while, I couldn't hold it anymore, so I stood up and went straight to the Hussar Government Office.

Xun You was on duty in the political hall today. When he saw Wei Duan coming suddenly, he already made some guesses in his mind, so he deliberately ignored it. But after all, he was on duty today, so he asked, "What can I do if I come to the room with the law?" 』

"This..." Wei Duan looked around, then moved closer and whispered, "I heard about Zheng County...I don't know, my lord..."

Although the magistrate of Zheng County is not surnamed Wei, he has a good relationship with Wei Duan. In addition to some complicated marriages between relatives, he is usually somewhat filial. At least after Wei Duan became the doctor who participated in the law and suppressed the government, he I sent something for people of all ages.

After hearing this, Xun You's face suddenly darkened, "The political affairs hall is the most important state affairs, how can it be trivialized by hearsay?" 』

"But please allow me to make it easier for you..." When Wei Duan heard this, his face showed a bit of embarrassment, and he bowed his hands again and begged.

Xun You already rolled his sleeves and said, "Let's go!" If the Lord inquires, he will be summoned naturally. If there is nothing important, don’t come and chat! 』

Wei Duan was uneasy and felt a little bad in his heart, but he felt that it should not involve him. At worst, it would be like cutting off Xue Lan's tail. Just cut it off again, so he looked at Xun You and ignored him. He wanted to speak several times, but finally left the political hall feeling slightly flustered.

Before he could leave the political hall, he saw Pang Tong striding in with his belly puffed out. Pang Tong raised his eyes and saw Wei Duan, his face suddenly darkened: "Where do you want to go?" 』

"This is a humble position...I'm..." When Wei Duan saw Pang Tong, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, and he didn't dare to express his anger. It's not that Pang Tong's official authority is more important than Xun You's, but because Wei Duan knew that Pang Tong's weight in the hussar department was greater, so naturally he didn't dare to deal with it casually, "I heard from Zheng County..."

Before Wei Duan finished speaking, Pang Tong snorted: "Before the appointment, you didn't know the answer in the hall, and after the incident, you made false statements in the temporary mail?" The important responsibilities of the country and the power of the people are like child's play! The Lord is a humble gentleman, but stupid people are trying to bully him! The law of participation is here, but the law of corruption has been finalized? 』

Wei Duan lowered his head and rolled his eyes, "This will take some time..."

Pang Tong's tone became even worse: "The main responsibility has not been taken care of, so what else can you say about your free time?" Shenlu is so relaxing! The Lord is also about to attend the ceremony, so why not stay here temporarily and drink tea together? 』

Wei Duan waved his hands repeatedly and said: "I just happened to pass by the Government Affairs Hall. I was thinking about the two princes, so I came to greet you. How dare I disturb the lord... This, I will return immediately... Farewell, farewell..." After saying this, , he didn’t dare to stay any longer and left the government affairs hall in a hurry.

Pang Tong snorted coldly, then rolled up his sleeves and walked forward.

It's not that Pang Tong deliberately acted in such a domineering manner, but because he had to do something, naturally he couldn't be a good gentleman all the time. Especially the current Xijing Shangshu Desk.

Since the beginning of this position, the Chancellor's Desk has been a place used by the emperor to restrain the prime minister. It is a low-ranking but powerful position. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to further strengthen the monarch's power, the two offices, namely the Prime Minister's Office and the Yushi Dafu's Office, were not dedicated to political affairs. Therefore, he ordered the Shangshutai to be in charge of documents, read memorials, and convey the emperor's orders. Therefore, his status became increasingly important.

During the period of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, in view of the dictatorship of powerful ministers in the late Western Han Dynasty, he also deliberately weakened the power of the prime minister. Although Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong were again ranked as high as the three princes, almost equal to the position of prime minister, the actual power gradually moved to the chancellery. among. Daxing expanded the staff of Shangshutai, and eventually formed a huge organization with complex organization. It also became the central nervous system of the government, also known as Zhongtai.

Who wouldn’t be jealous of such a position?

Being in the whirlpool, although his position is not as good as the Third Duke, he has more authority than the Third Duke. It is not a position that people want to hold. No matter whether he is in office or in the opposition, everyone is staring at him. If you have strong qualifications, you don't have to worry. After all, in the Han Dynasty, reputation had some effect.

But Pang Tong naturally doesn't have much qualifications. He is not very old, and he has not followed the official path step by step. Therefore, as the Lord of the Secretariat, he will definitely attract dissatisfaction and criticism from some people.

These dissatisfactions and criticisms were what Pang Tong needed. Because Pang Tong knew that the reputation of General Fei Qian must be innocent, noble, and benevolent. So, can there be pure innocence, nobility, and benevolence in politics?

Where did those dark, despicable, and cruel things go, and who did them?

Therefore, Pang Tong will handle those things that are difficult for Fei Qian to handle, and Pang Tong will kill those who are difficult for Fei Qian to kill. This is Pang Tong's awakening, and it is also Pang Tong's burden. Who wants to be pointed at and scolded from behind every day? Who doesn’t know that doing more is worse than doing less?

What should be done must still be done. Pang Tong didn't care what other officials thought of him, because he knew that these things were his responsibility and what he had to do from the day he followed Fei Qian.

Entering the government affairs hall, Xun You raised his eyes and looked at Pang Tong, without stopping his hands, he just nodded as a courtesy.

Pang Tong also nodded slightly in return, then sat down on the other side, waved his hand to drive out all the people in the hall, and then said: "My lord worked hard to quell the disaster, but there is another man-made disaster!" Where does all this put the Lord's grace? 』

Xun You finished approving the text on his hand, then put down his pen, smiled bitterly, and said: "The magistrate of Zheng County first compensated the deceased, and then blamed the official and punished the minor official for his negligence. The minor official committed suicide that night." In prison...it was clean and smooth..."

Pang Tong sneered and said, "These dirty little officials are mostly scapegoats!" If we investigate deeply, there will definitely be embezzlement and misappropriation! 』

This kind of trick is very common in official circles. Knowing that the superiors are going to investigate, they all arrange a scapegoat. If nothing is found, they will naturally be happy, and the scapegoat will be kept for the time being until the next time. If any problems are found, they will all be blamed on the scapegoat...

Anyway, a dead person will not defend himself, and the investigation will not continue. When the limelight passes, he will naturally be a good guy making money again.

"How long will it take for the common people to deceive the middle stage and the third auxiliary land to be stable?" There are such vicious and corrupt people! ” Pang Tong still said angrily, “If we are gluttonous with disaster food today, will we be able to use up all the military supplies in the future?” ! 』

Xun You sighed and said: "What we are discussing today is an old illness. It cannot be a day's cold, nor a day's work..." Xun You naturally knew these things, and he also couldn't stand corruption. , but he felt that if the magistrate of Zheng County was dealt with, who would do the disaster relief work? Therefore, Xun You felt that he should maintain it for now, at least until Zheng County had finished this matter before dealing with it.

The opinions of Xun You and Pang Tong in the political hall were not very unified, but in the backyard of the Hussar General's Mansion, it was a different scene.

"The reason why officials neglect the central government and do things rashly is because they take official duties lightly, do not pay enough for their salary, and are unwilling to accept favors. This is the root cause..." Fei Qian said slowly, "This is an official shortcoming, and it is definitely not Zheng's fault." There is only one person in the county. 』

Although it was a pity, after Fei Qian heard what happened in Zheng County, he did not feel great indignation because of it. He even lost the sadness he felt when he was under Luoyang City. Instead, he considered class and struggle.

When Huang Yueying heard Fei Qian's words, she felt quite a sense of agreement. She herself felt that even if she dealt with Zheng County, it would not have much effect, because how many years had the Xiqiang been fighting? Hasn't the big man lost many official positions in recent years? But year after year, there are still so many corrupt officials, and corruption is still as rampant, and it does not necessarily decrease at all. After dealing with Zheng County, it may be restrained for a while, but it will only be for a while...

"Master Confucius said that a gentleman should take care of himself three times, but how can he do it?" Fei Qian chuckled and said, "Spring and Autumn change, the sun and the moon change. Although etiquette is permanent, it is difficult to adjust to the time." In the early days of the Han Dynasty, there were few custom-made rituals, and more and more rituals were made when things happened. Nowadays, it is cumbersome and difficult to introduce. Although someone has the intention to change it, people in the world cannot help but talk nonsense, so he uses the law of participation. This was all expected, and it was the right time to do it..."

"As expected? Huang Yueying looked at Fei Qian, "Husband, you had expected this?" 』

Fei Qian nodded.

There is nothing new under the sun.

What it means to learn from history is because history is like a spiraling spring. Sometimes when you look at it, you will find that there seems to be a shadow reflected below and above.

Laws formulated by class are themselves a very serious and solemn manifestation of political form. How can they be full of loopholes and be dealt with casually, or even turn a blind eye and interpret them arbitrarily?

But the problem is that the feudal dynasty is so confused.

Just like a certain dictatorship system, it does not depend on the name on it, but on the composition of those who specifically represent the dictatorship. The big landlord class occupies the main position, which is the dictatorship of the landlord class. Even if it is called a classical panchayat The joint system is actually the dictatorship of the landlord class. If it is said that big capitalists and big entrepreneurs occupy the majority of the representative seats, then...

So, if there is a problem in Zheng County, does it mean that all the officials under Fei Qian's rule also have problems?

Not necessarily.

But what happened in Zheng County revealed a historic issue that spans ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.

In fact, before the final form of corrupt officials appears, there is an intermediate transitional state, which is the so-called lazy administration. It may not be possible to determine whether an official who is lazy or lazy is a corrupt official, but it is indeed a common form, and the consequences may not be much better than those of a corrupt official.

The most fundamental reason for lazy administration is that we don’t want to take responsibility, and interests are secondary.

Just like the so-called "closed management" implemented by various universities after the epidemic in later generations, all the officials have interests in business with vendors and restaurants within the universities. Doesn't seem very appropriate. Perhaps some of them have interests in one way or another, but to say that they all have interests would be to overturn the whole ship.

Therefore, it is more because the Shangshutai has not issued a clear decree, so in order to avoid taking responsibility, local officials would naturally choose to be lazy and lazy in government. As for the convenience of the people, are there any difficulties? Compared with the crown of advancement on their heads, Which one is more important is clear at a glance.

Officials are also human beings, so it is natural that there is a tendency in human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. So when faced with a problem like Zheng County’s, is it useful for ordinary people to try to reason with officials by explaining the facts?

Niu Sixia screamed that she was wronged, would anyone listen?

When will it be useful and will someone listen to it?

After a life was taken, and the life was exposed...

If Supervisor Zhiyin didn’t go there at that time, or if he went but didn’t look, or if he looked and didn’t ask, or if he asked but didn’t take it seriously, if any of the links were not in place, then Niu Sixia would be silent Niu Sixia died behind a bush. Even his relatives at home may just think that Niu Sixia has committed something, and may beat drums to complain, but most of them remain unknown.

Therefore, based on this incident, it is said that the magistrate of Zheng County must be corrupt, but this is not necessarily true. From a practical point of view, the Niu Sixia incident can only show that he was lazy and lazy in his administration. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, the magistrate of Zheng County did not commit the crime of "respecting officials", nor did he rely on power, nor did he commit "rebellion". Repaying personal grudges, naturally, could not be considered "respecting internal affairs". "Wei Huo" and "Wei Lai" are here, so according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, is the magistrate of Zheng County guilty?

In the Han Dynasty, incompetent officials were dismissed from their posts at most.

So, is this a problem for the magistrate of Zheng County alone?

If something goes wrong, arrest the magistrate of Zheng County and behead him to thank the world. Even if it can appease Niu Sixia, what problem will it solve?

The so-called double punishment for one crime.

Catching one when you see it can indeed solve part of the problem, but that one can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. For ordinary people, they naturally hope that they can solve it directly as soon as they encounter something. However, from Fei Qian's current level, he cannot and cannot face all the people in his territory and solve them one by one. What we are facing...

The best way is still to solve the common problem, that is, just like formulating corruption laws, formulating relevant regulations and laws on laziness and neglect in government can be a way to initially solve this problem.

"So the Cai family girls were used as weapons by their husbands?" ” Huang Yueying clicked her tongue, not knowing whether to express praise or indignation, “My husband is really willing to give up...”

Fei Qian was a little dumbfounded. This is not the focus of the incident, okay? Shouldn't we pay more attention to some Niu Sixia who died innocently? Fei Qian remembered that Huang Yueying gave Niu Sixia a modified farm tool, so he specifically talked to Huang Yueying about this matter, but he did not expect that Huang Yueying's focus was not on Niu Sixia from the beginning to the end...

"Actually, it's probably the Wang girl who is doing it..."

Fei Qian explained briefly, but he didn't expect that it would be better not to explain. As soon as he explained, Huang Yueying's ears seemed to stand up suddenly, and he stared at Fei Qian closely and asked, "Who is this?" 』

Fei Qian stretched out his hand and flicked Huang Yueying's forehead, "What are you thinking about?" ! It's that Wang's concubine... placed next to Cai, the main thing is that she can really walk down and see... Otherwise, how many of those noble ladies who are well-fed and well-fed will care about the poor people? After all, Wang Shu was from the Mo family. Otherwise, there would still be some class barriers between ordinary gentry women and ordinary people.

"It's you..." Fei Qian turned around and asked Huang Yueying, "It's been a while, doesn't it already have a model? Why can't it be seen in reality?" 』Fei Qianwen's model and entity are vehicles and ships, or wheel ships.

Boats are a very important means of water transportation.

As early as the ancient Stone Age in China, the earliest boat, the canoe, appeared.

China is one of the first countries in the world to create canoes, and there are records of using canoes and paddles to cross the sea. Of course, some later generations say that the so-called "sea" may just be a larger lake or swamp. But no matter what, human beings have moved from land to water, which is naturally a very important step in the development of human civilization.

Huang Yueying rubbed her forehead and pouted somewhat depressedly, "Water leakage..."

"What? ” Fei Qian didn’t hear clearly.

"I said, it will leak!" ” Huang Yueying gestured with her hands, “Although the hole in the wheel axle is higher than the water surface, when the turning plate is used to rotate, some water will inevitably be brought in and then accumulate in the cabin... If the turning plate is made higher, water leakage will occur. Less, but the hull is unstable. If there is a slight breeze, it will roll over..."

The steamship technology of the Han Dynasty already had rudders and anchors, but the technology of vehicles and ships was not relatively mature until the Tang Dynasty. One of the reasons is that the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty and even the Three Kingdoms were mainly concentrated in the northern territory. As for the development of the southern areas with many river systems and hilly areas, it was after the Jin Dynasty went south and was forced to develop shipbuilding technology due to the situation at that time. higher requirement.

For Fei Qian, if the whole journey from Sichuan to Guanzhong is to take the mountain road and circle around, one is that the transportation capacity is limited by human horsepower, and the distance is longer than the waterway, so it is natural to develop water transport ship technology. It was left to Huang Yueying, and the car and ship, which was a dynasty ahead of the Han Dynasty, naturally became the best choice at the moment.

Although wheel ships still have great limitations, such as they cannot enter shallow water areas or enter the sea, they are a blessing for caravans who need to travel upstream and downstream, upstream and downstream. With heavy loads and many transshipments, Feiqian only needs to switch to land transportation at some critical stages, such as where ships are impassable or navigation is dangerous, which can greatly save manpower and horsepower. For the development of the entire economy, the timeliness of government orders, and regional Control plays a very big role.

At this stage of the wheel ship, it is naturally impossible to use steam to drive it. Instead, it adopts the relatively mature technology of the overturned water wheel in the Han Dynasty and is driven by human pedaling. Such technology is considered by Feiqian to be relatively mature. , one plus one was used on the ship. I thought it should be a matter of course, but I didn't expect that there seemed to be another problem...

"Let's go to Kunming Pond and have a look..."