Three Kingdoms

Chang'an.

Fighting to the death in Jingzhou, with the strong Cao Cao in the north and the hungry Sun Quan in the south, the young lady Liu Cong was sandwiched between these two men. They suffered in every possible way on the Xiangyang Tower. When they felt that they were extremely humiliated, the Han Hussar The general's calm was also broken by a guest.

Zheng Xuan went to the Hussar General's Mansion to pay homage to Fei Qian, so Fei Qian naturally had to come out of the main hall to greet him.

Although Fei Qian occupies the entire Guanzhong Sanfu, Hanzhong, Sichuan and Northern Taiyuan, etc., it is not an exaggeration to say that it accounts for half of the Han Dynasty, but sometimes Fei Qian still feels that his talents are somewhat insufficient. This is not Fei Qian's It can be made up for in a short while, because Liangzhou Bingzhou's original foundation is not very good, and there are even fewer scholars. Although during this period, Fei Qian has been vigorously cultivating grassroots officials, and even sent retired soldiers to local areas to serve as patrols. Inspection, but it still cannot completely replace the original Han bureaucracy. It can only be said that it is relatively good in the northern Guanzhong area, but its penetration in Hanzhong, Sichuan and Shu is not so ideal.

Therefore, Zheng Xuan is relatively important in Chang'an. On the one hand, Fei Qian can use Zheng Xuan's name to reach out to Jizhou and other places to attract talents. On the other hand, Fei Qian also wants to attract those who once bowed to Zheng Xuan. The gentry children who studied gradually attracted these people to Guanzhong.

Because they need to travel thousands of miles to study, a large part of the students are from poor families. These people have some conditions, but they can't compare with their master's family.

If you are like Xun Yu, your own knowledge and resources are sufficient, so why bother looking for distant places? Therefore, the children from poor families who went all the way to study at Zheng Xuan's place will be more eager to have a good platform to show themselves. If these people can come to Guanzhong and be trained by Fei Qian himself, there is still hope to develop more of these people. The posture comes out...

Therefore, although Fei Qian and Zheng Xuan did not get along for a long time, and Zheng Xuan did not serve as a serious court official, Fei Qian could not just be arrogant and arrogant. He still needed to be humble and win over. Its heart.

After a few words of greeting, Fei Qian said: "Kangcheng is paying a visit to someone today, and he must be able to teach him. You might as well speak frankly and listen respectfully to his teachings." "Zheng Xuan obviously didn't get thirsty and stop by to drink tea. He must have something to do, so instead of waiting reservedly for Zheng Xuan to speak, he might as well show his grace and take the initiative to start the conversation.

When Zheng Xuan heard this, he couldn't help being slightly shocked, thinking that what he said was indeed true. General Hussar was very courteous to his corporal!

After all, Fei Qian's soul comes from the future generations, and in the future generations, everyone is equal in theory, well, in theory. In addition, when he was a clerk, he despised the company leaders who always put on airs, opened their mouths, shut up, and had to give orders to experts from outsiders...

Although it is quite satisfying to be kneeled and licked every day, the problem is that if a guy is strong in kneeling and licking, other aspects may not be satisfactory. If Feiqian really wants to use all those who kneel and lick powerful people, I am afraid that he is either a flatterer or has ulterior motives. generation.

When dealing with these former scholars, Fei Qian knew that even if he was acting, he had to act like a humble corporal. Because those who have something in their stomachs tend to be proud of their talents, at least on the surface, so it is also a kind of fun to cooperate when it is time to cooperate. However, as identity and status change, people's thoughts and even tempers will also change accordingly. Fei Qian has been in a high position for a long time, and he has become more and more dignified and serious. This time he took the initiative to ask for advice, which naturally won Zheng Xuan's favor. Less favorable.

Zheng Xuan did not beat around the bush, he immediately said bluntly: "I am a humble and foolish person, how can I teach a hussar?" I only saw that the riding platform was in Guanzhong. Over the past few years, the old system had been changed. In fact, there were three gains and three losses. I would like to offer it to you. 』

Look, this is the pride of the old-school Confucian scholars...

But do all the big men really like the number "three"? There are always three strategies, three words, three points, three tops... cough cough cough...

"I'm all ears, and please give me some words..." Fei Qian said with a smile.

Zheng Xuan gave a thumbs up to express the first thing, and said: "One of the things that a hussar can gain is that he recruits talents regardless of his family background..."

The so-called "Zhihuzheye" basically serves as a modal particle in the ancient Chinese language system and has no specific meaning. Just like people in later generations would use words such as "Mamaahba" at the end of sentences. Therefore, some people of later generations are saying that you are numb "Ah", while complaining about the ancients using "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye", which is also a large-scale double standard scene.

Fei Qian opposes double standards, especially those in politics. On the one hand, these double standards talk about the need for talents, integrity, and anti-corruption. On the other hand, they only promote those who have something to do with themselves, not their own people, even if they are not their own people. No matter how talented he is, he is greedy and will never do anything without money. Of course, even if he is given money, he may not actually do anything...

Once the standards are set, we must act according to them. One thing on the surface and another on the inside, which is naturally disgusting.

In fact, not all officials in Guanzhong are from poor families and serve regardless of family status. Many of them are from high-ranking families in the past and even have some twists and turns with Fei Qian. If these people have the ability, , Fei Qian is also hired and will not be treated with double standards.

In addition to the fact that the talents of these people from the old high-ranking sects meet the standards, on the one hand, it is because these children of the old sect have more experience, especially in people's livelihood and government affairs, and it is easier to get started in appointing officials. On the other hand, it is also for the sake of stability and unity, so as not to lead to confrontation and conflict at the outset.

As for the three armies, most of them are naturally poor people and even common people who were recruited from the army. These people formed the support system of Fei Qian's authority. Nowadays, several important generals stationed in places are basically from humble backgrounds. If it were not for Fei Qian, it is almost impossible for these people to have the current high positions. Therefore, in terms of overall interests, these generals and Fei Qian have strong consistency. , at least at the moment, they are closely integrated and inseparable.

It is precisely because of this that Fei Qian was able to sit in the pass without worrying too much about the rebellion of the generals on the four sides. Unless Fei Qian really caused anger and unrest in all directions, none of these generals would foolishly break with Fei Qian after being encouraged by others.

Coupled with the bachelor's degree in agriculture, the bachelor's degree in engineering, the college entrance examination, and the recently promoted female official system, although Fei Qian did not directly say "regardless of family status, meritocracy", it can actually be seen in his behavior There's a clue.

Obviously, the purpose of meritocracy is to break the monopoly of bureaucrats. Monopolies only see profit, and all technological updates under monopoly are only for profit. Especially the monopoly of the ruling class can easily cause irreparable damage to the dynasty. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period proved that the monopoly of bloodline was eventually destroyed, and it took the Han Dynasty three to four hundred years to prove that the monopoly of aristocratic families was also a scourge. It was naturally impossible for Fei Qian to continue on the same old path.

Zheng Xuan then raised a second finger: "The second thing I gained is the Xingtai system, which is modeled on the imperial court and has clear tasks..."

The Xijing Shangshutai was originally nothing more than a waste. After Liu Xiu moved the Han Dynasty Center to Luoyang, the so-called Shangshutai in Chang'an was basically an empty shell. Now the Hussars General Fei Qian has re-erected it. The Xijing Shangshutai changed the old system and established some new departments. Under the Shangshu Order, the division of labor was based on the six departments of later dynasties. The powers were clear and the structure was relatively rigorous, which naturally reduced the buck-passing and wrangling between some departments. The possibility really amazed Zheng Xuan.

In the previous system of the Three Officials of the Han Dynasty, the responsibilities and powers of the three public servants actually overlapped with each other. Just like tax money, some went to the chief minister, some went to the young man, etc. The accounts were also in a mess. Once the court needed money, the emperor would keep an eye on it. The minister looked at the minister, and the minister stared at the emperor. They all thought that the other party had money, and the other party said that he had no money just because he wanted to cheat his own money...

Fei Qian is now unified under Hu Cao, and then under the jurisdiction of the Shangshu Order. Even the expenses of the General's Palace are under Hu Cao's account. This makes many people want to attack Fei Qian for corruption, but they can't find a reason. , this is exactly what Zheng Xuan admires about Fei Qian.

The third point mentioned by Zheng Xuan is, "Promote education and educate scholars; set examinations and select officials to govern." "The first six words are basically a kind act that is generally recognized by the world, while the last six words are an affirmation of Fei Qian's examination system.

On some things, it is indeed possible to have a clear understanding, but in actual government affairs, there are still many situations where laymen command experts, just like what core, what qigong, what master, really can Deceived so many people? Isn’t it because of various considerations that some people pretend to be confused in the hope of understanding, or pretend to be confused in the hope of benefits?

Therefore, the examination that is biased towards business affairs will prevent the officials who have actually taken up management positions from knowing nothing about the affairs they will face in the future...

Of course, after the "three gains", there are naturally the "three losses"... After all, most of the previous ones are foreshadowing...

Zheng Xuandao: "The first mistake is to focus too much on industry and commerce." 』

In the general concept of the Han Dynasty, agriculture is the first priority of the country, and industry and commerce are only a secondary industry. Of course, this makes sense in terms of the level of social development. In order to restore productivity as soon as possible and prosper the economy, Fei Qian rewards and encourages the large-scale development of industry and commerce. To a certain extent, Zheng Xuan also thinks that there is nothing wrong with it, but the problem is - you can't put industry and commerce on the same level as agriculture!

Especially the "Great Han Chamber of Commerce", this made Zheng Xuan very confused. Fei Qian lifted some bans on merchants and craftsmen, and even workers and merchants could become officials. This was fine. After all, the distinction between Han officials and merchants was not so clear originally, but if we talk about the "Han Chamber of Commerce" Forming a group will give them the power to compete with the government, which is not conducive to the stability of the Han Dynasty. Zheng Xuan believes that he should not complain about this matter.

Zheng Xuan looked at Fei Qian and said seriously: "It is appropriate to reward craftsmen who are capable of transforming equipment to benefit farming and mulberry cultivation. However, merchants pursue profit and do not know benevolence and justice. Therefore, it has been limited throughout the ages." Therefore, it is necessary to regulate their consumption and residence, so that everyone will know that it is a despicable industry. Although they may be rich for a while, they cannot last long... Nowadays, there are chambers of commerce, which set their own rules and regulations. At first, it may not be a hindrance, but if it lasts for a long time, they will definitely want to If the ban is removed and all merchants can wear silk clothes, live in large buildings, eat delicious food, and even feed guests, then the people will admire them and they will all follow the trend of doing business. In this way, the land will be barren, which is not good for the country! 』

This is also a commonplace question. Fei Qian had already debated this issue for a long time when he discussed it with Pang Tong and Xun You, so he smiled and said, "What Mr. Zheng said makes sense." 』

This means affirmation.

Zheng Xuan smiled, stroked his beard, and waited.

Fei Qian, who was familiar with company conversation skills, naturally knew how to use affirmation and negation, so he continued, "In ancient times, merchants were not all ignorant of benevolence and righteousness, such as Zheng Zhixian Gao, who rewarded the Qin army and saved the country. Their behavior was very Is it benevolent? 』

Zheng Xuan retorted: "In the mud, there are many cattail grasses and occasionally orchids. Such examples are not enough to be relied upon." 』

Fei Qian smiled, but was not angry, and said: "In the world, are there more cattails or orchids?" If you turn back when you encounter mud and don't care, if you shrink back when you see thorns, where can you find orchids? What benefit does it bring to the country if the fragrance is empty in the valley? 』

Zheng Xuan sighed. This was what he had expected, so he took a step back and said, "In that case, I don't care about the rest, but the merchant ban cannot be abolished!" 』That is, those prohibitions on not wearing silk and satin, not building luxury houses, etc.

Fei Qian laughed again and said: "The prohibitions set by the past dynasties are to prevent the rich from being noble... What if the noble people become rich?" Is it also banning the silk and silk curtains in Guangsha? "This so-called ban is originally full of loopholes. It looks beautiful, but is actually useless. In other words, it can only control some small people, but not the slightly bigger ones.

With the progress of society and the development of population, China's overall market is getting bigger and bigger. This is the law of natural economy. When the market gets bigger and bigger, there are more and more various demands, and ordinary free development of those Businessmen are subject to various restrictions, while those in the monopoly of government and business are free and do not have to abide by any prohibitions. Is that a good thing?

In later generations, under the banner of various "nations" and various "righteousnesses", they will link their business with China and the people at every turn. Even the slogans they put forward must have these glorious words, but in reality What did the businessmen who carried out monopoly in the world do? Lowering product quality standards, raising industry entry barriers, exploiting one's own production and supply, and controlling local law enforcement agencies...

Is this kind of business structure needed for the development of the Chinese dynasty?

Zheng Xuan frowned.

Fei Qian's argument was obviously not enough to completely shake Zheng Xuan's deep-rooted ideas, so Fei Qian simply said: "We might as well wait to discuss this matter later. I wonder why Zheng Gong and Yu Er are missing?" 』

Zheng Xuan took a breath, nodded, and said: "That's it, let's look at it later... The second general was lost because of the female officer..."

Fei Qian's eyes narrowed. This matter, which had been buried for so long, finally came to light.

People in the Han Dynasty were mostly afraid of female officials because of their relatives. Because the source of power for the maternal relatives is the Queen Mother. The so-called first lady of the Han Dynasty.

After the death of Han Gao Emperor Liu Bang, his son Liu Ying succeeded to the throne. Liu Ying was Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, and his mother was Lu Pheasant, the first empress dowager of the Han Dynasty.

After Empress Lu became the first lady of the Han Dynasty, she began to take over the government with all her strength. Not only did she control the emperor, she also focused on enfeoffing the Lu family. Empress Lu's talents are naturally not bad. It can even be said that any woman who has left the word "a certain empress dowager" in history is not bad in ability. However, the problem often does not lie with "a certain empress dowager" herself, but with the The other people promoted by "a certain Queen Mother" were mostly people who belonged to the Queen Mother's natal family. To put it bluntly, this was the origin of the exclusive power system of relatives in the Han Dynasty.

Later, the princes and kings raised armies to "pacify the Lu" and destroyed many members of her Lu family. In order to control the imperial court, the acting king Liu Heng, who had previously relied on "pretending to be stupid" to keep a low profile, was considered a fool by the court ministers who did not know the truth, so he was welcomed into Chang'an to succeed him. Unexpectedly, he was pretending to be stupid. This is Emperor Wen of Han …

After Emperor Wen succeeded to the throne, he vigorously rectified the chaos caused by the interference of relatives in Emperor Hui's dynasty and centralized the monarchy. But what is very interesting is that he appointed Dou Yifang as the queen, but he did not know that this was the beginning of another relationship between relatives and politics...

At the beginning, Emperor Liu Heng of Han Dynasty was well aware of the stakes between his relatives and imperial power, so he tried hard to eliminate the interference of his relatives. And Queen Dou did this. At least when Emperor Wen was alive, she did act as a "good wife" and did not interfere in politics or take power. Moreover, Empress Dou was very concerned about her reputation and kept a low profile. She did not want to make the same mistake as Empress Lu.

But when Emperor Wen died and Crown Prince Liu Qi succeeded to the throne, the situation was completely different. Liu Qi succeeded to the throne and became Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty. Naturally, Emperor Jing had to follow the usual practice of naming his mother the Empress Dowager.

Then the ministers trembled suddenly, and I turned around, there was another queen mother? Then the eyes she looked at Queen Mother Dou began to become less friendly. Some people even privately said that Queen Mother Dou's previous "virtuous" behavior was all just packaging! camouflage! In fact, Queen Mother Dou is the number one green tea in Han Dynasty!

Can Queen Mother Nima Dou endure this?

Even if Queen Mother Dou could endure it, how could the entire Dou family endure it?

Since this was said everywhere, wouldn't it be unfair for Queen Mother Dou to feel that she didn't do what these people said? So she also began to gradually cultivate her own group of cronies, and it was impossible for Emperor Jing at that time to have the political capital to compete with her!

But obviously, Emperor Jing was not a mediocre king. This can be seen from the fact that she repeatedly tried to get Emperor Jing to abdicate the throne to his brother Liang Wang Liu Wu "a hundred years later" but failed repeatedly...

Then the Han Dynasty started a love triangle between the emperor, his relatives, and the eunuchs. Almost every emperor who came to power had to play out this way, from the passionate love at the beginning to the heartless love at the end, from the "You don't want to die" at the beginning to the end. "You go to hell", the lines are not changed...

Zheng Xuan said this, obviously pointing to this shortcoming, saying that Fei Qian's instigation of female officials to come to power will inevitably lead to a greater increase in the possibility of "First Lady" and "Second Lady", and eventually fall into disputes like "foreign relatives". In the end, it declined due to internal fighting.

Regarding this point, Fei Qian didn't want to argue with Zheng Xuan immediately, so he simply asked: "I don't know why the three mistakes were made?" 』

Zheng Xuan also said cheerfully: "The Qiaoqi failed three times. Since Xingtai is the system, I don't know why I don't have the duty of admonition?" 』

When Pei Gai heard this, he couldn't help but move his eyebrows and became silent...