Tiger Guards

Chapter 596 The System of the Chancellor
In Xudu, Minister Zhao Wen looked distressed.

With Lü Bu's departure, the Three Departments and Six Ministries system was effectively coming to a temporary end.

The original Three Departments and Six Ministries always had two Ministers in charge of issuing imperial edicts.

One was Luoyang, the province of origin, and the other was a province under the emperor's control, residing in Xuchang.

Basically, Zhao Ji and Lü Bu were able to draw a line between themselves, each operating within their own territory, and rarely clashed with each other.

Currently, Luodu can still issue edicts, as long as the Grand Marshal and the Grand General jointly agree, they can still issue legal edicts.

What upset Zhao Wen the most was that the Grand Marshal still held the eldest prince, Liu Feng, in his grasp.

"Lord Situ, His Majesty has summoned you."

A young eunuch quickly relayed the message, and Zhao Wen could only suppress his bitter expression and follow the eunuch to meet the emperor.

Liu Xie was also in a difficult situation. In fact, he did not want to attack Zhao Ji, nor did he want to fight against Lü Bu.

It has nothing to do with morality; he simply felt that they couldn't win the fight.

If he has such thoughts, what are others supposed to think?
Most importantly, Liu Xie did not want to fall out with Lü and Zhao unless he had a winning strategy.

Liu Bei has quickly consolidated military power around Xuchang, so now we can only rely on Liu Bei.

Fearing that Liu Bei might not be willing to put in his full effort, Liu Xie came up with a plan.

When Zhao Wen, the Minister of Works, arrived before the Emperor, he found that all the other officials and ministers had already arrived.

Liu Xie then said, “The Grand Marshal is currently in the border region, and his generals Gan Ning and others are acting recklessly and tyrannically, even raiding Henan and Luozhong. The Grand General has led his troops to secure Luozhong, and Gan Ning and his generals have retreated. However, with only the General of Chariots and Cavalry in the court, it is truly difficult to restore order to the court.”

Others glanced at Liu Bei sideways or sideways, but Liu Bei remained calm, showing neither sadness nor joy.

Then, Liu Xie changed the subject: "Therefore, I intend to abandon the new system of the Three Departments and return to governing the country with the Prime Minister. In this way, the country will be governed by virtuous and capable officials, the people of the world will be at peace, and I will have no worries."

The three provinces were abolished, and the power to issue edicts by the Ministry of Personnel in Luoyang was stripped!
This step was necessary, and a proclamation should be made throughout the country to strip Zhao Ji and Lü Bu of their power to issue imperial edicts.

Restoring the position of prime minister was naturally a huge concession that the emperor could make.

Even Kong Rong, though instinctively feeling it was inappropriate, would not stand up to oppose it.

In their pursuit of absolute power, emperors throughout history dismantled numerous ancient official positions, thus fragmenting the corresponding power structures. While this expansion of positions increased the cost of maintaining manpower, it also allowed for the specialization of power, enabling individuals to focus on their core duties.

The existence of Dong Zhuo as Chancellor during Dong Zhuo's reign, followed by his brief period of power, and now the voluntary restoration of the old system of the Chancellor overseeing all state affairs, all seem to suggest a regression to the shadowy era of Dong Zhuo.

When many people observed Liu Bei, they exchanged glances and all felt that this was prepared for Liu Bei.

However, Liu Bei remained calm and composed, seemingly having no interest in the position of prime minister.

Liu Bei may have been very interested before, but when he realized that he was about to fight a decisive battle with Lü Zhao, his ambition waned and he became more rational.

It wasn't that Liu Bei was afraid to fight, but rather that he didn't want to fight such a meaningless battle for the time being.

What's most important right now?
From a military perspective, this meant rewarding the officers and soldiers who had contributed to the campaigns against the various Hu tribes. However, the imperial court was essentially unable to provide material rewards, so it had to rely on Zhao Ji's cooperation.

Therefore, given Zhao Ji's merits and the corresponding rewards, he must be given a sufficiently impressive title; otherwise, it would be impossible to satisfy him and get him to cooperate. Even Dong Zhuo, with his past power, was only Grand Tutor and Chancellor; so the emperor's bottom line is this: at least for now, the bottom line is Chancellor, not titles like King or Duke, which have obvious political symbolism.

It's not that Liu Xie couldn't give it, but rather that he genuinely didn't want to.

Liu Xie was also a young man, and he naturally felt a mixture of admiration and jealousy towards Zhao Ji.

This complex feeling made him unwilling to back down, preferring to let the operating imperial machinery jam, watching helplessly as the gears seized and broke apart.

Now that the situation was at hand, he would rather let someone else become prime minister and cause the excellent situation to collapse again than let Zhao Ji's arrogance and despotism be eliminated.

Liu Xie did not believe that Zhao Ji had offended so many people, lost the protection of the court, and faced repeated provocations from various external parties, and that there would be loyal and righteous people within the court who were willing to serve the court.

If this drags on, Zhao Ji will definitely lose his temper and want to back down.

In fact, from the very beginning, when Zhao Ji was campaigning against the various Hu tribes, if he had informed the court of everything and reported the victories in advance, he could have informed the emperor first, and then informed the court... then many things would not have been impossible to discuss.

Zhao Ji initially adopted a cold and tough attitude, even ignoring the existence of the emperor.

In Liu Xie's eyes, he was merely retaliating.

Even if the counterattack causes the world to collapse, it will only be a loss for both sides.

As an emperor, turning a one-sided victory into a lose-lose situation for both sides is almost an instinctive choice, requiring no hesitation, unless one is truly outmatched.

As expected, when Liu Xie announced the restoration of the prime minister system, the officials and ministers were indeed shocked.

He looked around at his ministers and asked, "What are your recommendations for the position of Prime Minister?"

Silence fell over everyone. Some people instinctively opened and closed their lips as if to speak, but considering the current predicament, they all swallowed back the breath they were about to exhale.

Now is not the time to be stubborn. If we lose to Zhao Ji this time, it's not as simple as just breaking a leg.

The Grand Minister of Agriculture, Xun You, was bold and courageous. He immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that a Left and Right Chancellor should be appointed. Now that the Grand Marshal and the Grand General have already shown signs of collusion, in order to secure the country, it is appropriate to appoint the Left and Right Chancellors to lead the northern and southern armies respectively, so as to counterbalance Lü and Zhao."

Liu Xie pondered in silence. Since he had already decided to release the prime minister, he certainly wouldn't mind appointing one prime minister, or even two or three prime ministers at the same time.

After Xun You, Grand Master of Ceremonies Chen Ji rose and said: "Your Majesty, if you wish to restrain Lü and Zhao, you must rely on General of the Right and Governor of Ji Province, Yuan Shao; General of the South, Liu Biao, is well-known throughout the country and is also an excellent choice."

Seeing this, Kong Rong could no longer restrain himself and rose to reply: "Your Majesty, the General of Chariots and Cavalry is benevolent, brave, loyal to the emperor, and patriotic, truly a model for scholars. In my humble opinion, such an important matter should not be divided among different officials. I earnestly request that the General of Chariots and Cavalry be appointed as the Chancellor to oversee the court. Liu Biao and Yuan Shao can then command the armies from the north and south to defend the emperor, in order to counter the rebellious troops of Lü and Zhao."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xie went to see Liu Bei. Unexpectedly, Liu Bei immediately stood up, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, I am far inferior to General Zhennan in governing the region. It is advisable to appoint General Zhennan as Chancellor and have his eldest son lead the governorship of Jingzhou. In this way, the strength of the imperial clan and vassal states can be combined. If Lü and Zhao harbor rebellious intentions, it will be sufficient to deal with them."

Liu Xie made no comment, but simply waved for Liu Bei to sit down.

Other officials also rose to recommend each other, including the Grand Secretary and General Fu Wan, whose face was stiff with a forced smile as he remained seated.

At this time, he was not recommended to be the prime minister.

His powerful position as Grand Secretary will also be abolished along with the collapse of the Three Departments system.

General Dong Cheng's expression also stiffened; it was impossible for him to rule as a relative of the empress in his lifetime.

(End of this chapter)