The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 595: Rule by doing nothing
Hearing Chen Gong getting angry, Jia Xu and others all nodded, but it was unclear how far they could go.

Chen Gong had long been accustomed to this.

Officials are neither machines nor dead soldiers. How can they really be completely obedient? All they need to do is to find a balance.

As long as it's not too excessive, he can turn a blind eye.

"Gongtai, is this matter over?" Dong Zhao said.

Chen Gong nodded, then looked at Dong Zhao with complicated eyes.

"It looks like you have something to say."

Dong Zhao's position and personality were very clear to everyone present. He was an absolute party of the emperor. Whenever he spoke, it was mostly about big things, and they were often big things they didn't want to face.

Sure enough, as Dong Zhao spoke, everyone present fell silent.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince has been away for training for a year. Isn't it time to invite him back?"

There was a long silence, and no one spoke. Finally, Tian Feng stood up and said, "Your Majesty once said that the Crown Prince would go out for three years of training, but now the time has not come."

"Besides, this is a royal matter, and we should not interfere. Even if we want to summon His Royal Highness the Crown Prince back, His Majesty must give the order."

"Why shouldn't we interfere?" Dong Zhao said sternly.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is the crown prince and the head of the country!"

"If we don't even ask about this matter, we are unworthy of being your subjects!"

After hearing this, everyone fell silent again.

Even Tian Feng just pointed at Dong Zhao with an embarrassed look on his face, holding his breath and not saying anything.

Dong Zhao's words were so outrageous that they were completely speechless.

They knew very well that Dong Zhao's position of strengthening imperial power had never changed.

Da Qi has developed rapidly in the past year, but there are also undercurrents within the country.

Under the coordination of all parties, the massive reform seems to be happening silently without causing any ripples.

But in fact, nearly half of Da Qi's internal structure has been replaced.

In this silent cleansing and struggle, many things gradually became clear.

The direction of Da Qi, the distribution of power, the positioning of the royal family, the system of officials, etc., have all become mature.

But this does not mean that everything has been settled, because wherever there are people, there is struggle, but it is becoming more moderate and under control.

Although Tian Ze did not care about the so-called art of controlling subordinates and the way of checks and balances, it was absolutely necessary to maintain a certain balance in the court and in the world.

The whole court is harmonious, but there are many factions within it. This is the normal state of a healthy court.

Some are radical in foreign wars, some are inclined to internal development, some focus on commerce, and some focus on agriculture.

Similarly, even after Tian Ze decided on the general direction of constitutional monarchy, everyone had their own ideas.

Most people are aware of Tian Ze's idea and agree that it will not last long if the emperor alone is entrusted with the world, so they tend to put the emperor aside.

However, some people hold different views, such as Dong Zhao.

Zhang Zhao, who shared the same stance as Tian Feng and was honest by nature, heard what Dong Zhao said and said directly, "Gongren, there is no need to misinterpret our meaning, and don't say such extreme things."

"Constitutional monarchy, with the emperor ruling from behind, is the national policy set by your majesty himself."

Dong Zhao heard this and said without giving in: "I understand what your majesty said."

"If the emperor is incompetent, then it is only natural for him to rule by doing nothing. But if the emperor has great talent, vision and foresight, why can't he rule the world as the emperor?"

"Compared to balance, the world will develop faster under the leadership of a wise ruler."

Efficiency and stability are always difficult to balance. When one person is in charge and his orders are followed, efficiency is naturally much higher than when multiple people make decisions, and a lot of unnecessary losses will be reduced internally.

Even Zhang Zhao had to admit this.

"But how do we identify the ability of an emperor? Your Majesty and the Crown Prince can both be wise rulers, but what about future emperors? Are they all wise rulers in every generation?"

"Once this loophole is opened, it will become a routine in the future, and the so-called constitutional monarchy and the emperor ruling by the throne will ultimately become empty talk." Zhang Zhao said directly to the point.

"That means we, your subjects, are incompetent!" Dong Zhao said bluntly.

"If the emperor is virtuous, he should use his benevolence to win the hearts and minds of his subjects. If the emperor is not virtuous, it means that we subjects have failed to teach properly, failed to persuade and advise effectively, and are incompetent in handling affairs."

Dong Zhao's words choked Zhang Zhao again.

To everyone, these words seemed like pure sophistry, but on the surface, there was really nothing wrong with them.

Why is the emperor not virtuous? Since the previous generation was a virtuous emperor, then there must be nothing wrong with the genes.

The only problem is the acquired education and communication, and the ministers did not teach and assist well.

As long as the ministers are capable and virtuous enough, why can't we guarantee wise rulers from generation to generation?

Another way to put this sentence is "There are no students who cannot be taught, only teachers who cannot teach."

What he said seemed to be correct, but there was a huge gap between ideal and reality.

"I will report this matter to your majesty for his decision later."

Chen Gong had long been accustomed to Dong Zhao's "nagging", but he had no choice but to compromise.

After the seven kings' western expedition, Cheng Yu, the "warmonger", was suppressed and rarely showed up again.

However, along came the "thorn" Dong Zhao.

The situation was the same on Chen Gong's side. The main force facing Dong Zhao was replaced by Zhang Zhao and Tian Feng.

Upon hearing this, most of the others nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Dong Zhao smiled with satisfaction.

All those present are top talents, and they cannot be fooled by a few words of "sophistry". It would be good enough to get a chance to report to Tian Ze.

With the continuous improvement of the cabinet system, Tian Ze rarely makes decisions personally anymore, and only occasionally sets the general direction.

In order to ensure the perfection and authority of the system, even if Dong Zhao wanted to report something again, it would not be so convenient and he had to report it through the cabinet.

This is also the reason why he had to confront Zhang Zhao and Tian Feng head-on.

Cheng Yu looked at his friend who was so happy and cheered for him secretly, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

After all, the general trend is difficult to go against.

Why did Tian Ze let Tian An go to train under Liu Bei instead of under Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who were more powerful lords?
Everyone present was aware of the many profound meanings behind this, but they looked at it differently.

Among them, there was one thing that most of them noticed, but Dong Zhao chose to ignore, and that was Liu Bei's character.

Unlike Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, Liu Bei, as a ruler, was less domineering and decisive, and more benevolent and inaction.

This is probably also Tian Ze's hope for the prince.

In a peaceful and prosperous era, be a benevolent emperor and rule the country with ease.

With ministers like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi around, Tian An didn't need to do anything. As long as he didn't cause any trouble, that was enough.

Of course, it would be even better if you could add icing on the cake.

(End of this chapter)