Han Shizu

The Guangyang House is simple yet majestic. It was not like this a year ago. However, after the emperor advocated frugality, repeatedly mentioned it, and repeatedly criticized the extravagance and waste of those luxurious homes, it became a new residence. One of the few powerful officials in the Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyi naturally followed the emperor's teachings and understood the emperor's intentions.

  As a result, the daily expenses of Guangyang House were suddenly reduced by half, and the gold, jade and silk ornaments that had been displayed everywhere to show power, status and wealth disappeared without a trace.

  In addition to power and fame, Zhao Kuangyi is also a very strict and restrained person. He can even be said to be a good person. On small issues such as his life style, he is even less likely to be like some people and go against the will of the emperor. .

  Of course, the emperor's frugal measures were praised by both the government and the public. After all, this was a politically correct thing to do. It's just that it's hard to tell outsiders what they think behind their backs.

  At the same time, the servants and retinues who were attached to the powerful were full of complaints. After all, their treatment had dropped visibly. A large part of the nutrition of the luxurious enjoyment of the powerful is actually absorbed by the insects that parasitize in their houses.

  Of course, Liu Yang's promotion and restraint of life style are not just words. After all, even the imperial edicts and orders are dared to be violated openly and secretly. What's more, Liu Yang has exhausted all possible means for such a non-fatal matter. .

  Starting from the autumn of the first year of Yongxi, in addition to explicitly criticizing some powerful people, Liu Yang also began to set up obstacles for these people in terms of personnel. With the assistance of the Imperial City Department and the Wude Department, there were thousands of connections between the nobles and bureaucrats. Even if all the connections are connected, there is always a thread to follow.

  If they don't listen to what they want, then they will concoct the plan based on what they care about most and hit the core of their interests. It just so happened that after the Shu Rebellion broke out, the imperial court took the opportunity to put forward a series of reform requirements for official administration and education.

  In this process, some honest and capable officials were promoted. On the contrary, those who were indifferent or even unscrupulous in the past and present were demoted, dismissed, and "taken care of". Among them, many who caused trouble under the tax reform policy, neglected their duties, or even violated the law have been punished.

  In less than four months in the second half of the first year of Yongxi's reign, officials from the central to local governments, from administrators, judicial officers, peace officers to supervisors, under the auspices of Murong Defeng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, removed, replaced, and questioned officials. There are more than [-] people, nearly half of whom are leading figures from various places and departments.

  Such a vigorous rectification of officialdom, but Liu Yang's unprecedented generosity since he succeeded to the throne, caused great discomfort to everyone, and even caused considerable administrative confusion. Many people expressed dissatisfaction.

  Especially when the chaos broke out in Sichuan and Shu, many people used this to dissuade and remind Liu Yang, but Liu Yang retorted with the same reason. The chaos in Sichuan and Shu was just a wake-up call for them. After all, The reason is precisely due to the dirty management of officials.

  If the imperial court does not take this warning and immediately implement rectification, will it have to wait until all parts of the country, border areas are at war, and rebellions are everywhere before it can be saved?
  At the same time, Liu Yang could also present a lot of cases and evidence of officials' dereliction of duty, crimes committed by powerful people, and rampant tyranny. However, political rectification was already the result of the emperor's restraint and tolerance.

  From the trip to Heqing to the Sichuan-Shu Rebellion, although the sample was not large, Emperor Liu Yang barely touched the root of the problem, which was certainly not the fundamental issue of land conflicts and production ownership.

  Rather, Liu Yang was deeply aware that if the administration of officials was unclear and the emperor's authority was not solid, let alone any restructuring and reform, no matter how practical or thoughtful the policy was, it would be impossible to implement it well. What you think is a good medicine may turn out to be deadly poison when it falls on ordinary people.

  Based on this understanding, Liu Yang began to break away from the rut of "tax reform" and began to move forward with force, truly starting from the administration of officials, and began to regain power and establish authority. As for personnel power, it is the core power in any country or system, and Liu Yang must of course receive it.

  Of course, achieving this goal cannot be achieved by simply removing some officials and replacing some people. If the newly appointed officials are the same as their predecessors, it will be a waste of effort and will instead cause political instability.

  Therefore, in response to the "disadvantages of tax reform" repeatedly raised by internal and external officials, Liu Yang put forward a series of corrective opinions, and these policy opinions based on actual problems and shortcomings are constantly being formulated. Liu Yang's policy program gradually formed from the improvement.

  To sum up, it is to "clean up official administration, strengthen supervision, benefit the people, and ensure fairness." In order to govern the country, we must first govern the officials, and to secure the state and the people first. In a society governed by man, the problems caused by governing the country and tranquilizing the people with the ideas and policies of man-governed society will eventually be solved by the method of man-government.

  It’s hard to say where this road will end, and it may not work in the end, but as Liu Yang grasps the “key points”, at least for now, he is moving in a clear direction with a steady and powerful pace.

  The emperor Liu Yang in the first year of Yongxi was very hard-working. In addition to handling major military and state affairs, he spent a lot of time on the assessment and education of officials.

  From the magistrate to the magistrate, he must personally meet with each of the court officials who are sent abroad and the local officials who come to Beijing to guard their posts, to examine their understanding of local politics and people's conditions, to listen to their ideas on governance, and at the same time to explain his own use. political philosophy.

  The emperor has personally worked to this extent, so it is naturally effective. It is with such painstaking efforts and painstaking efforts that the unique authority of Emperor Yongxi began to be established from the inside out, and the imperial power also began to fight back.

  The local bureaucrats may not care about the suffering of the people, but they must care about their own power and official status. The emperor also used this political rectification to make them clearly realize that even if the sky is high and the emperor is far away, Yong in Ziwei City is still far away. Emperor Xi is still the one who can control their future and life and death, so don't lose your respect.

  Liu Yang also conveyed an attitude to his ministers: be honest, self-reliant, and do your duty, then nothing will happen. If you want to make progress, do the most important thing at the moment, relieve people's grievances, calm people's hearts, and uphold fairness.

  Of course, Liu Yang was able to do this and set off such a political reform, and he had enough foundation. First of all, similar "rectification movements" were not uncommon in the era of Emperor Shizu, and the subjects of the Han Dynasty were also "knowledgeable" about it.

  Secondly, Liu Yang evolved from a powerful prince to an emperor. In addition to the support of his mother's family and other relatives, he also cultivated a large number of talents with the East Palace staff as the core for more than [-] years, and these are undoubtedly Liu Yang's core strengths. He is here to support his governance in all aspects.

  Third, and most importantly, during the late reign of Emperor Shizu, the Han Empire suffered from various ills and its national power declined. However, the overall strength and control of the ruling class was still very strong, and the authority of the court was sufficient. From the official Among the people, the general trend is also upward.

  Without these, Liu Yang would have been furious. It is true that all the states in the Han Dynasty had various exploitative behaviors that fell below the lower limit, had no appetite for food, and were greedy to the point of stupidity. However, not all places are like Sichuan and Shu, who are not willing to leave even the last grain of grain or a single copper coin. Small farmers at the bottom.

  It was through such a "political attack" that Liu Yang truly realized what kind of wealth Emperor Shizu had left to him. The core of this wealth is not the throne, eyes and ears, and wealth, but the national and social management system that has been operating stably for decades with imperial power as the center.

  In this system, as long as the core power can be grasped, the imperial power is almost unlimited. Of course, only Emperor Shizu can reach the highest limit. For this reason, Liu Yang couldn't help but reflect on all the situations that had happened since he succeeded to the throne. Some things were even completely beyond his expectation. After all, according to his predictions, what will happen after he ascends the throne is that the government will be in full swing, and the monarch and ministers will work together to correct the long-standing shortcomings of the Han Dynasty, put the country back on the right track, and create a more rational, harmonious, and prosperous world.

  But obviously, Liu Yang was too "naive" before. After learning from the pain, Liu Yang came to the conclusion that the most fundamental reason may be that he retained too much of the psychology and style of the Donggong period. Although he had achieved fame, he was far from keeping up with his thinking.

  You must know why Emperor Shizu has such supreme authority. He did not get it for nothing, nor did he live long. It was snatched away by him with open fangs and sharp mouth, and it was built on numerous corpses.

  Perhaps not so fully, but when Liu Yang truly realized the power in his hands and used it to govern the country, the Han Empire also restored its former order from top to bottom.

  To be fair, it would be unfair to blame all the turmoil and chaos that have occurred since Liu Yang ascended the throne because of his incompetence as the Yongxi Emperor. It would be unfair to criticize him for being weak, hesitant, and lacking in control.

  From an objective perspective, Emperor Shizu had huge problems. He not only created a peak feudal empire, but also brought endless pressure and trouble to his subjects.

  Compared with inheriting the greatness of Emperor Shizu, Liu Yang's greater challenge is how to bear the backlash of that halo while paying for the late emperor to wipe his ass. Tax reform is one aspect, and Shu chaos is also another aspect. In addition to the two, ,there are more.

  The uprising in Sichuan was a big challenge for the Yongxi regime, which had not yet completely gotten on the right track, but for Emperor Liu Yang, it was also a crisis and an opportunity.

  After all the struggles and hesitations at the beginning of his succession, he had nowhere to start. With the outbreak of the Shu Rebellion, Liu Yang found an entry point, an opportunity to coordinate internal and external affairs and control power.

  Of course, the prerequisite is to win and the rebels in Sichuan and Sichuan must be quelled. However, after more than half a year, the progress has not been so smooth.
  It is now mid-spring of the second year of Yongxi's reign, and the perspective returns to Guangyang's residence. Dusk is approaching, and the sky is already filled with brilliant colors. Zhao Kuangyi returns home much earlier than usual, and is in a very good mood. , I couldn’t hold back the smile that filled my mouth.

  Zhao Dechong, the eldest son of the uncle's house, who came to greet him, couldn't help but ask: "What's the happy event today? To make my father so happy, could it be that the rebellion in Shu was over?"

  Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi immediately restrained himself, no longer had a happy face on his face, and restored his majesty as the number two figure in the political hall.

  He reached inward and, accompanied by Zhao Dechong, passed through the atrium and entered the main hall. He just said, "Sichuan is still in chaos, but your father's power is even greater!"

  Facing Zhao Dechong's surprised gaze, Zhao Kuangyi smiled again and explained: "Your Majesty has asked my father to take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. From now on, I will also be involved in the supervision of the imperial court!"

  In the past year, to be precise, in the past six months, the authority of the Metropolitan Procuratorate has been a process of gradual strengthening, which was entirely instigated by Emperor Liu Yang.

  When Liu Yang wanted to implement official governance, in addition to the education and training of officials and personnel changes, supervision was very important, and could even be said to be a decisive link. During the reign of Emperor Shizu, the imperial supervision system had been adjusted several times, and the power was not said to be lacking. But there is always a weak link.

  Supervision work is difficult to do. You have to chew bones and offend people, but you also have to maintain your integrity and resist all kinds of external inducements and threats at any time. As for Emperor Shizu, he was more inclined to take the opposite direction and engage in spy surveillance, which naturally led to the invisible weakening of the authority of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

  Liu Yang's approach since he ascended the throne has been to reshape the authority of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. To this end, he did not hesitate to restrict the Imperial City and Wude Divisions. Since this spring, he has once again issued an edict to limit the power of censors at all levels inside and outside the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Clarify responsibilities and increase administrative allocations. He also announced that in the next scientific examination, the number and admission rate of Mingfa subjects will be appropriately increased.

  For a time, the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate strengthened their backs and could hold their heads high. Yang Ye, who was worshiped as the "Capital Inspector" by Liu Yang, was even more popular. The surveillance system also visibly increases your attractiveness to Han officials.

  Under this circumstance, the emperor asked Zhao Kuangyi, who was actually the deputy prime minister of the Political Affairs Hall, to co-manage the Metropolitan Procuratorate. On the one hand, it further enhanced the strength of the supervisory system. On the other hand, it was also an expansion of power for Zhao Kuangyi, which was mutually reinforcing.

  Zhao Kuangyi could clearly see the impact of this matter and it would be of great benefit to him, so he was naturally happy.

  In contrast, Zhao Dechong seemed to be more cautious. He thought about it and said, "This is an offending job!"

  Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi waved his hands and said with a smile: "If you want to do something and accomplish it, how can you not offend others? What's more, now that I am in the position of a father, there are not many people and things worth offending! Your worries , nothing to worry about!”

  As he spoke, Zhao Kuangyi couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Your Majesty's move of chess is also exquisite. He let Murong Defeng employ people and let his father supervise them, so as to achieve the purpose of mutual checks and balances, while the father had to fall into the trap willingly. middle."

  Hearing what Zhao Kuangyi said, Zhao Dechong nodded thoughtfully, and Zhao Kuangyi continued: "Compared with the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, this is exactly what I am more happy about as a father.

  In the past six months, Murong Defeng's son had placed many people inside and outside the court, many of whom were in key positions, and he could not help but feel proud of himself.

  Obviously, even if he is regarded as a confidant and right-hand man by His Majesty, if he has too much power, he will inevitably be jealous.

  Your Majesty did not trust Murong Defeng without any reservation, and the rift between the monarch and his ministers may have started from then on. This is enough to make my father happy for a while."

  Hearing Zhao Kuangyi's scheming words, Zhao Dechong frowned, but he didn't want to disturb his good mood, so he could only breathe out lightly. At this moment, why is his father getting carried away?