The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 189 Volume There is only one winner

After the emperor returned to Chang'an, he immediately convened a court meeting in the Xuanshi Hall.

气氛极其压抑.

In fact, according to the rules, we should first praise the war in Liangzhou and Hanzhong.

But the chaos in Chang'an obviously made everyone lose interest.

Moreover, Liu Xie had delayed in Chencang for so long that everyone's initial enthusiasm had long since faded, and their focus shifted to Chang'an.

"Gentlemen, I want an explanation."

Liu Xie was wearing the emperor's crown at this moment, and the tassels on his head were shaking due to the violent movement.

"Officials committed crimes in the streets, clans fought each other, and even one of the three elders died."

"I have never heard of such a horrifying thing!"

……

Liu Xie's direct attack also made the officials present realize that the emperor wanted to resolve the matter quickly and directly determine the nature of the matter.

Although the world is in chaos now, let alone the death of one elder or dozens of clan members, even the death of tens of thousands of people is actually normal.

But this matter has deviated from its original meaning.

When it appeared in the Xuanshi Hall and in the mouth of the emperor, it became a different matter.

Shangshu Ling Jia Xu also stepped out at this moment and confessed his crime to Liu Xie.

"I have been suspected of negligence and dereliction of duty. I beg the emperor to punish me!"

Even the Shangshu Ling came to confess his crime to the emperor, which made some people feel depressed.

This tune is already high enough.

It was actually Jia Xu who started this...

At this moment, everyone in the court has realized that this matter is no longer something that can be stopped by one or two ministers.

"Of course I will punish you! But I have to investigate it thoroughly first!"

On Liu Xie's desk were files of crimes committed in the market.

"Why did a clan fight happen?"

Jia Xu: "It's because some of the tribesmen were killed or injured."

“Why are there casualties?”

Jia Xu: "The dead and wounded were two officials who reported each other's misdeeds. One of them was impatient at the time and committed a crime."

“Why do they inform on each other?”

The ministers held their breath, knowing that the issue had reached a critical step.

Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "It is because the Minister of Justice Huangfu Li had previously reported to Your Majesty that he wanted to clarify the administration of officials, which led to suspicion among the officials."

Snapped!
Liu Xie slammed the table.

"What's wrong with clarifying the administration of officials? Why should the officials be suspicious of each other? Are all the officials of the Han Dynasty dirty?"

"If this is true, then the court judge should investigate! The more the better!"

Liu Xie acted as if he was justified, as if the decree to arrest Huangfu Li and to execute him was not issued by him at all.

"His Majesty……"

After the emperor and Jia Xu finished their talks, the ministers knew that it was their turn to step forward and fight for the last bit of leeway for themselves.

The one who stood up was Taichang Wei Duan.

Liu Xie was also somewhat surprised by this choice.

In fact, Wei Duan was also unwilling to stand up.

But the fire was apparently burning too fiercely, leaving Wei Duan, the head of the Nine Ministers, helpless.

In fact, there was someone more suitable than Wei Duan, and that was the current Grand Marshal Yang Biao.

But this time, Yang Biao was determined to be a coward and claimed to be sick and not go out.

No matter who asked for help from Yang Biao, Yang Biao would not go out, as if he wanted to cut off all ties with the Hongnong Yang family...

After all, Wei Duan was not as shameless as Yang Biao. He still had to maintain his relationship with various families, so he had to stand up.

As the head of the Nine Ministers, Wei Duan has already stood high enough.

Even though he himself was not very smart, he realized that this was a trap set up by the emperor.

First, the lawsuit filed by the Lintao Dong family was sent to the Secretariat, allowing Huangfu Li and others to begin to speculate on the emperor's intentions, thinking that the emperor wanted to break with Dong Zhuo.

Afterwards, the emperor continued to make the best of his mistake and allowed utilitarian people like Huangfu Li to fuel the fire in Chang'an until it burned Dong Zhuo.

At this time, the emperor suddenly intervened and turned the fire that was about to burn himself and Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo to the administration and the clan.

In this way, no matter what the original purpose of Huangfu Li and others was, they have become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the entire bureaucratic and clan system of the Han Dynasty.

At this time, the fire has already started and cannot be extinguished by human power.

No matter the nine ministers that Huangfu Li won over, or Huangfu Song behind him, or Huangfu Jianshou who was at odds with Huangfu Li, they could only start to confront the bureaucratic system and the clan system involuntarily.

Once the confrontation begins, it is only a matter of time before the evidence is revealed.

Even if there was no armed fight in Lijia Village today, there would be a murder in Wangjiazhuang tomorrow.

Now is the time for the emperor to enter.

With this as evidence, we can pursue the Han officials and clans all the way until the emperor is satisfied.

Huangfu Li and the people behind him were destined to be discarded pawns in this chess game, or they could be called the fuel of this fire.

In the end, there was only one winner, and that was Liu Xie, who planned this whole thing.

The rest of the people, whether it was Huangfu Li, Huangfu Song, or Wei Duan who had to bite the bullet and come out to support the bureaucrats and clans at this time, were all destined to be losers.

It is really frustrating that in the so-called chess game, the winner is not among the players.

But Wei Duan still had to stand up. Even if he lost, he had to lose decently in front of the emperor.

This is not to disobey the emperor, but a natural position.

Wei Duan thought about the words and bowed to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, it is good to clarify the administration of officials, but Huangfu Li's method is really too much!"

"Not only do they investigate the faults of the officials themselves, they also blame their relatives. Is this really just to clarify the administration of officials?"

"I suspect that Huangfu Li is ostensibly trying to clear up the bureaucracy, but in reality he is creating factional strife. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to punish Huangfu Li!"

The bureaucrats and clans represented by Wei Duan will inevitably be the losers.

But even among losers, there are high and low levels.

It is obvious that Huangfu Li is not going to survive now. In this case, it is better to put all the blame on Huangfu Li and let himself and others lose less.

If the core issue can be covered up by the name of "party struggle", Wei Duan should be thankful.

But Liu Xie obviously would not let Wei Duan get away so easily.

If it is just a "party dispute", it would be nothing more than killing a few scapegoats.

What Liu Xie wanted to do was to make the entire system reborn from the ashes, not just kill a few people.

If he had acknowledged the "party struggle" instead of pointing the finger at the "bureaucrats" and "clans", then what would have been the gain of Liu Xie spending so much time and effort planning these things?
"I'm afraid Taichang's words are biased."

Liu Xie pointed to the files on the table and said, "For example, the official who committed the crime in the market was impeached not because of his relatives' involvement, but because of the crime he committed himself."

"Doesn't this prove that there is indeed something wrong with today's bureaucratic system?"

……

Liu Xie's relentless pursuit made Wei Duan and other officials realize that the emperor would not give up until he achieved his goal this time.

But Wei Duan still stubbornly refuted Liu Xie: "This should be just an isolated case..."

Case?

Liu Xie wanted to laugh.

"In that case, how about bringing all the letters impeaching the officials to this Xuanshi Room for a review?"

When Liu Xie said this, many officials' faces turned gray-green.

After all, the only officials who were implicated by their relatives were a few like Huangfu Song who were impeccable themselves.

Most officials really have shit in their crotches and cannot stand close scrutiny.

If we bring those impeachment documents over, wouldn't that be like exposing their shitty trouser pockets to the whole world?

……

When Liu Xie saw that Wei Duan didn't say anything, he knew that he had found the opponent's weak spot.

"So, in the end, there is a problem with the administration of our Han Dynasty, and it needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

"As for how to deal with it, I hope you can go down and discuss it carefully and come up with a feasible plan."

The ministers fell silent again.

Seeing this scene, even Liu Xie, who was usually calm, couldn't help but slightly curl up the corners of his mouth.

Won!

If future generations were to write history, today would be a watershed moment for the Han Dynasty.

The end of the Later Han Dynasty will no longer be the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the princes' attack on Dong, or even Liu Xie's accession to the throne.

Instead, a system that was completely different from that of the Later Han Dynasty was finally established at this moment and became the new framework of the Han Dynasty.

From today on, the history of the Han Dynasty will be completely divided into three parts!

At this time, Jia Xu stepped forward again to complete his role——

"Your Majesty, I am really ignorant and don't know how to solve this problem. I hope Your Majesty can give me some advice."

Liu Xie naturally took over the role and fell into deep thought: "I don't know what to do, so I need all the great men to brainstorm!"

The conversation between Jia Xu and Liu Xie did not arouse the vigilance of the ministers.

It was not until they saw a person slowly stepping out of the line that expressions of shock appeared on their faces!
It’s Dong Zhuo!
The bureaucrats, who had some thoughts just now and thought that Liu Xie really wanted to "gather ideas from all sides", suddenly put on masks of pain.

It seems that the emperor was just being polite to us just now?

In fact, it was Dong Zhuo who came on the scene and implemented the government decree thoroughly and forcefully!
This kind of "dictatorial and arbitrary" behavior made the ministers feel a little resentful.

But it was only for a moment.

Not only because they are losers themselves and have no right to bargain with the emperor, the most important thing is that this court meeting has not ended yet, and what Dong Zhuo is about to say is the most important thing!

"Your Majesty, I have three plans that can help the Han Dynasty out of this predicament!"

"Oh? Master, please speak!"

Dong Zhuo put his hands into his sleeves and his expression suddenly changed!
broken!

I forgot to bring the silk book given by the emperor!
Dong Zhuo thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered that he must have accidentally left it there when he went to Liu Wansheng in the morning!
Liu Xie was also dumbfounded. He didn't expect Dong Zhuo to fail at such a critical moment!

Fortunately, there is Jia Xu.

He stepped forward quickly and handed the tablet in his hand to Dong Zhuo, giving him something to rely on.

Dong Zhuo heaved a sigh of relief and read out the first line of words:

"The first one is the imperial examination!"

"From now on, the system of recommendation and recruitment will be abolished, and the only standard for selecting officials will be the imperial examination!"

"Officials who already hold positions must also undergo an assessment and be reappointed! If there are those who are unqualified, they should be dismissed! In this way, the administration will be clean!"

Dong Zhuo was relieved to have the backup cheat sheet.

But the ministers behind him gasped one after another.

The imperial examination...is actually a plan to destroy a whole family!

(End of this chapter)