Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 218 Let heroes fight heroes, let good men fight good men.

The chirping of cicadas rose and fell from between the vermilion pillars, and the summer sun shone through the carved lattice windows, casting interlaced diamond-shaped spots of light and shadow on the blue brick floor.

Liu Bian was dressed in a loose-fitting red casual robe, the gold-threaded dragon pattern on his robe gleaming in the sunlight streaming into the hall. Before him stood an elderly man over fifty years old, named Chen Gui.

Chen Gui was the father of Chen Deng, the son of the crown prince. He was originally the chancellor of Pei State, but he had a partisan uncle named Chen Qiu, who was promoted to the rank of Grand Duke twice and then to the rank of Minister of the Nine Ministries three times. He was imprisoned for conspiring with Liu He, the Minister of Works, Liu Na, the Commandant of Infantry, and Yang Qiu, the Commandant of the Guards, to kill the eunuchs. The plot was exposed.

Chen Gui was implicated and dismissed from his post. Later, he was also imprisoned and prevented from taking office due to the Party Prohibitions.

However, Chen Gui's luck seemed to be really bad. First, he was implicated by his uncle Chen Qiu, and then he was implicated in the partisan purge when he was preparing to return to officialdom. After the partisan purge was lifted, he was preparing to return to officialdom again, but then he encountered the Yuan family of Runan plotting a rebellion and exterminating their three clans.

Chen Gui and Yuan Shu were good friends. Many people reported on Chen Gui's relationship with Yuan Shu and submitted memorials saying that Chen Gui must be an accomplice of Yuan Shu. But who could blame them when Chen Gui's son, Chen Deng, was his son of the crown prince?
Perhaps out of gratitude for His Highness the Crown Prince's magnanimity, or perhaps hoping to wash away the stain of his past friendship with Yuan Shu by serving His Highness the Crown Prince, Chen Gui volunteered himself when he heard that His Highness the Crown Prince wanted to develop water conservancy on a large scale but lacked talents proficient in water conservancy.

Everyone in the court and the countryside knows that His Highness the Crown Prince respects the virtuous and loves talent. Even the rude and reckless Dong Zhuo was given important positions. Cao Cao, who came from a family of eunuchs, was able to serve as a governor of a province. He Jin's former staff member in the General of Chariots and Cavalry was also appointed by the Crown Prince without regard for past grievances. Naturally, this old party member would not turn away the Crown Prince.

"Han Yu actually has the ability to control floods?"

Liu Bian was somewhat surprised. Nowadays, the Han Dynasty could not find many people who were truly skilled in water conservancy engineering. At most, they could repair canals or build simple canals. When it came to the design and actual construction of many large-scale water conservancy projects, they were like headless flies.

The construction of large-scale water conservancy projects, regardless of cost, requires not only observing the river's direction on a map, but also considering soil conditions, as well as the issues of sand and silt removal from the canals and subsequent maintenance.

Chen Gui bowed and said, "Your Highness, I learned about water conservancy from my uncle, the late Grand Commandant Qiu, and I also built several canals during my tenures as Chancellor of Jinan and Chancellor of Pei."

He happens to be skilled in water conservancy, but he hasn't had the opportunity to fully utilize his abilities.

When a prefecture undertakes water conservancy projects, the funds naturally come from the prefecture itself. However, even a prefecture governor would find it difficult to come up with so much money to undertake large-scale water conservancy projects.

What a prefect fears most is that he will spend money during his term, and before the project is finished, he will be transferred. He will be the one who spends money and wastes the people's resources, while the credit goes to others. Therefore, he is often unwilling to do things.

Liu Bian flipped through the resume sent by Liang Hu, the Minister of Personnel. The section on water conservancy projects in Chen Gui's resume only mentioned a few small ditches.

But since Chen Gui volunteered, we decided to let him test the waters when it came to repairing the Baiqu Canal. After all, it would be hard for him to mess it up.

Just yesterday, Zhang Shi, the Prefect of Jingzhao, submitted a memorial complaining that he was too exhausted to handle governing the people, transporting grain and fodder, conscripting able-bodied men, and repairing the Baiqu Canal at the same time.

The only thing that Liu Bian was not entirely satisfied with was that although Chen Gui had volunteered, he lacked enthusiasm and drive.

Perhaps this is true of all elderly people, to the point that Liu Bian was somewhat worried about whether Chen Gui, at his age, would still have enough energy to oversee the repair of the Baiqu Canal.

Fortunately, Chen Deng, who is quick-witted and hardworking, would stay by his father's side, learning through practice and taking care of his elderly father.

"Han Yu is a beautiful jade of the Han Dynasty. I hope that Han Yu will live up to my expectations. I will not be stingy with my rewards, nor will I treat him differently because of past events."

Liu Bian waved his hand, ordering Gao Wang to present a lacquered tray containing a set of official robes and an official seal.

The riverbank attendant was a high-ranking official with a salary of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain), and wore a bronze seal and black ribbon.

The official position was not prominent, but it was a water official established by the central government. It was subject to the orders of the court and not to the control of the local authorities. Even the prefectural governor was not qualified to interfere in the affairs of the river embankment attendants. Moreover, they had to cooperate with the construction of water conservancy projects. It was a position with great power but little responsibility.

"Your Highness, I will certainly not fail to live up to your great kindness!"

Chen Gui maintained his calm demeanor, rarely speaking much and seldom revealing his true thoughts. No one knew his true motives for serving them, but he was undoubtedly a useful talent.

Before long, Wang Lang, the Grand Master of the Crown Prince's Gate, entered and reported, bowing and saying, "Your Highness, Han Wenyue has returned."

“Wen Yue?” Liu Bian placed the memorial in his hand on the table, his brows furrowing slightly, and a number of possibilities flashed through his mind.

Was Huangfu Song defeated? Or was there a logistical problem?

Han Yue was serving as the supply censor, and there was no reason for him to easily leave the army and return to Luoyang, which made Liu Bian think twice.

Seeing the Crown Prince frown, Wang Lang reported all the information he had learned from Han Yue to the Crown Prince, saying, "Your Highness, do not worry. Han Yue said that Bei Gong Boyu requested a ceasefire, but this man's elegant speech is not fluent. Han Yue speaks the language of the Qiang people, so the Left General sent him to Luoyang with Bei Gong Boyu's envoy."

Liu Bian nodded slightly. As expected of the old Grand Commandant's disciple, compared to Jian Yong and Liu Yao's naivety when they first took office as Grand Master of the Crown Prince, Wang Lang was steady and appropriate in his work, and he also considered many details.

Suddenly, Wang Lang seemed to remember something, chuckled, and said, "By the way, Your Highness, when I met Han Wenyue in the corridor just now, he told me that he has now changed his name to Han Sui."

"Oh? Why is that?"

It is said that one should not change one's name or surname unless there is a major event. Han Yue did not join the rebels, so why would he change his name?
"Han Wenyue said that he had only recently learned that Bian Zhang, the leader of the rebels from Liangzhou, was an old friend of his. His real name was Bian Yun, a famous scholar from Jincheng County. Han Wenyue had a close personal relationship with him and they were both officials from Liangzhou in Jincheng County (Note 1). However, he did not expect that this person would rebel against the court."

"To show that he would no longer have any private dealings with the traitor Bian Zhang, he changed his name to Han Sui. Sui means obedience, to show his loyalty to His Highness."

Hearing Wang Lang's retelling, Liu Bian couldn't help but laugh out loud: "This Han Wenyue, why doesn't he just call himself Han Zhong? He's always playing these little tricks. First, let Han Sui take that envoy to the side hall to rest, and then have someone summon the Minister of Works, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, the Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince, as well as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and the Minister of the Bureau of Guests."

"Yes, sir!" Wang Lang bowed and then went to carry out the Crown Prince's order.

Before long, the group arrived at Yong'an Palace.

Now that he is in power, there are actually four key ministers assisting him in governing the country.

The two inner court officials of the Secretariat, Liu Tao, the Minister of the Secretariat, and Yang Xu, the Vice Minister of the Secretariat, were Liu Yan and Lu Zhi, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, who were not officials of the Secretariat but held the position of Recorder of the Secretariat.

This can be considered a form of checks and balances by Liu Bian.

On the surface, they were two members of the imperial family and two officials from outside the capital.

However, he allowed the outer court and the inner court to fight each other, letting Liu Yan, the head of all officials, compete for power with Liu Tao, the head of the Secretariat. Yang Xu and Lu Zhi did not like to compete for power, but they would occasionally have healthy arguments due to their differing political views.

In terms of schools of thought, Liu Tao belonged to the New Text School, Lu Zhi and Yang Xu belonged to the Old Text School, while Liu Yan remained neutral, belonging to neither the New Text School nor the Old Text School.

It is impossible for any two people in these four groups to remain friends forever, nor is it possible for them to remain enemies forever.

Although forming factions has always been something that rulers abhor and fear, who in the officialdom can truly be without any factions?

Whether it's their place of origin, school of thought, political views, or background, officials often cannot simply choose not to form factions.

Therefore, Liu Bian would not expect the court to be too clear, and might even do things to muddy the waters. These four people are the result of him, the crown prince, muddying the waters.

If the officials are united in the absence of a powerful external enemy, then it will be the monarch's turn to have sleepless nights.

As Liu Bian watched the four high-ranking officials enter the main hall of Yong'an Palace, each standing more than ten feet apart, a meaningful smile crept onto his lips.

The principle of checks and balances is simply to let heroes fight heroes, and good men fight good men!

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Note 1: Liangzhou Daren: A powerful and influential figure in Liangzhou with a high reputation.

(End of this chapter)