I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 220 Liu Qi wants to fight for
The more Yuan Shu spoke, the more Yuan Feng frowned.

Indeed, giving the position of Zhong Changshi to a eunuch would naturally encourage the eunuchs' arrogance. Yuan could certainly take away these powers, but there were always hidden dangers at the institutional level.

Although reality is reality and system is system, doing things in a legitimate way is smoother than following the unspoken rules.

After all, one is upright and the other is not presentable.

Yuan Feng gradually came up with an idea in his mind.

"So, should we take back the position of Zhong Changshi?"

Yuan Shu thought about it.

"Father, rather than taking back these positions, I am more concerned about how to minimize the possibility of eunuchs interfering in politics. When there is a female ruler or a young emperor, it is difficult to avoid eunuchs interfering in politics, but if we do something, this possibility will be greatly reduced, and the harm will also be greatly reduced."

"What do you think."

Yuan Feng slowed down his pace, obviously very interested in this.

Yuan Shu began to speak slowly.

“At present, the reason why eunuchs can hold power and cause chaos in the world is that, first, they are close to the emperor and can easily gain his trust; second, their many positions make it easy for them to know and interfere in political affairs; third, there are a large number of eunuchs, so the probability of talented people emerging is relatively high, and they can easily learn to read.

If we can come up with a strategy to deal with these three points, it will be much easier to deal with them. First, as long as the emperor has no power, the eunuchs will have no power. Second, as long as the positions held by eunuchs are restricted, they will not be able to interfere in politics from a system perspective. Third, if eunuchs are not allowed to read, their interference in politics will be further restricted. "

The method proposed by Yuan Shu made Yuan Feng's eyes light up and he clapped his hands.

"What a good strategy! You are worthy of being my son! Shu, you are right! Regardless of the first one, the second and third ones are promising! Especially the third one, if the eunuchs are not allowed to read, how can they interfere in government affairs if they are illiterate? Good! What a good strategy!
As for the two, there are too many positions held by eunuchs, such as Zhong Changshi, Xiao Huangmen, Zhong Huangmen, Da Changqiu, and Ye Ting, Yongxiang, Yufu, Gou Dun, etc. There are more than a dozen Zhong Changshi and Da Changqiu with a salary of 2,000 stones! They are all comparable to the 2,000 stones in the Nine Ministers' Office!
I didn't think this was important in the past, but now that you've mentioned it, I feel that the positions and powers given to eunuchs in the Han Dynasty are too great, and must be changed! We must not allow eunuchs to continue to interfere in politics and cause chaos in the world!"

As the actual person in power at the moment, as long as Yuan Feng had this idea, he would naturally be able to promote a set of institutional reforms in the Eastern Han court, deprive the eunuchs of the institutional power that originally belonged to them, and no longer allow eunuchs to legitimately possess so much institutional power.

At this time, the imperial relatives had collapsed, the eunuchs had been destroyed, and the emperor was isolated. It was the weakest time in history. Pushing forward this series of political reforms at this moment would surely succeed.

As long as the possibility of eunuchs interfering in politics is eliminated at the institutional level, it will be meaningless no matter how many eunuchs Liu Kui wants.

What's more, it is not up to Liu Kui to decide how many eunuchs he wants. That is decided by Yuan Feng, who is in charge of the government.

Yuan Feng obviously already had an idea about this.

Next, there is the issue of in-laws.

The institutional design of the Han Dynasty for the empress, queen mother and relatives by marriage actually had many loopholes, which made it easy for relatives by marriage to seize power and sideline the emperor. When the emperor came of age and wanted power, the relatives by marriage were often unwilling to return it, and the problem could only be resolved through a coup d'état.

Such repeated coups greatly consumed the internal strength of the Eastern Han Empire, but the upper echelons of the empire did not redesign the system.

The position of Grand General was once a symbol of the highest military power and honor in the empire, and all those who served as Grand General were men of outstanding military merit. However, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the position of Grand General became a means for foreign relatives to control political and military power and exercise dictatorship. Foreign relatives of the Dou, Deng, Liang, and He families all used this position to control real power, causing turmoil in the government.

This problem is easy to solve and difficult to solve.

If the problem is institutional, it can be solved by using the system.

For example, in the traditional system, the general guards the capital and is the commander-in-chief of the troops stationed in the capital. The Northern Army is under the control of the general. Once there is a general, the Northern Army is subordinate to him.

The general can also open a general's mansion, which serves as a shogunate when there is a war and can also open a mansion to handle affairs when there is no war. He can also be responsible for the construction of military buildings and own a general's armory. Even the personnel appointments and dismissals of the Luoyang armory are under the control of the general.

Apart from anything else, these institutional powers alone are enough to deprive the Yuan family of most of the power they rely on to govern the country. If the general is really appointed in accordance with the institutional power, then Liu Kui only needs to appoint one general to eliminate the Yuan family's dictatorship.

Can Yuan Feng accept it?
Obviously not.

However, in terms of the system, the general is above the three ministers, and Yuan Feng, as the Minister of Works and the Recorder of the Secretariat, is still not as noble as the general. If he wants to compete with him, it would be an act of insubordination and lack of righteousness. Fortunately, there is a way to solve this problem.

In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the general was ranked below the three ministers. Later, because Dou Xian, the general, had too high prestige and too much power, it caused a shock in the court. As a result, the court was forced to propose to place the general above the three ministers and restore the old system of the Western Han Dynasty.

In other words, adjusting the powers of the general is not without precedent. It has happened before, but it was changed.

With this in place, further reforms will be more targeted.

With the current situation of the Yuan family's dictatorship in the imperial court, it is not difficult to adjust the status of the foreign relatives and generals. As for those institutional powers...

When the general is not around, each unit acts independently, managing its own business and acting like the monkey king in its own territory. If the general is appointed, it will be like having an extra tiger over one's head.

Will those monkey kings be willing?
By restricting eunuchs and weakening generals, this combination of measures would have isolated the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty from an institutional level.

Yuan Shu's series of suggestions undoubtedly opened the door to a new world for Yuan Feng.

In the past, powerful officials only thought about abusing their power and increasing their authority, but never thought about how to make their power more lasting and stable, so that their enemies would become weak or even disappear.

Only by making changes at the institutional level can we truly hold on to power for a long time.

As a result, many more ideas emerged in Yuan Feng's sophisticated head.

When Yuan Feng thought about this, Liu Kui's life became difficult.

Although his life is destined not to be easy.

At the same moment, a ray of afterglow from the setting sun barely penetrated the clouds and sprinkled mottledly on the empty hall, adding a bit of loneliness to this magnificent yet deserted and lonely building.

Inside the Zhangde Hall, ambergris was burning in a gilded copper furnace. Curls of green smoke swirled in the hall. The air was filled with a faint scent of incense, but it could not cover up the chill that seeped deep into the bones.

Liu Kui sat on the cushion, looking towards the palace gate with empty eyes.

He was waiting for the arrival of Yuan and his son.

He recalled the second day after he ascended the throne. When the severe cold brought by Yuan father and son attacked him, he and his family were all worried and helpless.

They set out in a hurry, without many servants or confidants, and were also restricted by the laws of the Han Empire, so they had no trusted forces at all.

A complete loner.

Faced with the dominance of Yuan father and son, his wife and a dozen concubines either bowed their heads and shed tears, or had empty eyes and trembled.

Among the more than 70 children, the older ones already knew what had happened, and like their mother, they looked miserable and anxious.

As a member of the royal family, I thought I would ascend to heaven one day, but I never expected that I would fall into the devil's den. I was at the mercy of others and the panic in my heart made me feel unhappy.

There were only a dozen or so children who were less than five years old and had no idea what was happening or where they were. The innocent smiles on their faces were out of tune with the heavy atmosphere, but they also became the only bright spot in the hall.

With this thought in mind, Liu Kui began to hope that he could gain some power that belonged to him alone this time.

Even if not for himself, he wanted to make more plans for his concubines and children.

As a husband and father, if I can't stand up at this time, how can my wives, concubines and children survive in this deep palace?
Without power, who knows what the Yuan father and son will do and when?

(End of this chapter)