I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 339 Surname Liu, but Illegal

As for the framework needed for the new court, it must be a combination of the familiar system of the Later Han Dynasty and the actual situation in the south.

Liu Miao, Zhang Zhao, and Lu Su, and later Gu Yong, Zhang Hong, Wang Lang, Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, and others came together to complete the construction of the entire framework.

After a month of discussions, a new prototype finally emerged, albeit with difficulty.

First, there was the system of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers.

In fact, since Emperor Wu of Han reformed the central government system and divided central officials into outer court officials and inner court officials, the power of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers has been gradually diminishing.

Since the restoration under Emperor Guangwu, the power of the Secretariat has been greatly strengthened, making it "the place where the emperor's orders are issued and the affairs of state are reported. It is the place where government decrees are proclaimed, where elections are determined, and where rewards and punishments are justified. It is the place where literature flourishes, the place where all affairs are gathered, where the internal and external affairs are resolved, and where people from far and near look up to it."

Therefore, the "Three Dukes and Nine Ministers" system has essentially become just a shell, hanging there in name only. It has long since transformed from an administrative body into an empty honorary institution.

Since it has already become a mere shell, there is clearly no reason to fill it with flesh and blood. The biggest reform in the central government is still the transformation of the Ministry of Personnel.

The Ministry of Personnel, led by Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong, consisted of high-ranking officials who had previously controlled state affairs and believed it was necessary to dismantle it.

[The means by which government decrees are promulgated, elections are determined, and rewards and punishments are justified]

Such power is simply terrifying.

Even the former Prime Minister's residence held far less power than the Secretariat. To pass such a Secretariat down to future generations would be tantamount to planting a poison within the nation!
“A Secretariat may be established, with one chief official and one supervisor in charge of issuing orders and conducting investigations.”

The establishment of the Central Secretariat effectively stripped the Ministry of Personnel of its power to issue government decrees.

"The Secretariat will be re-established, and a Grand Chamberlain will be appointed to be responsible for issuing imperial edicts and adjudicating administrative matters."

The establishment of the Attendant-in-Ordinary was intended to strip the Secretariat of its power of reward and punishment.

The establishment of the other two agencies is like cutting off the left and right hands of the Secretariat. Although the Secretariat's functions are still extremely bloated at present, it ensures that this terrifying administrative agency will not pose any real threat to the emperor's authority.

"In addition, the Censorate should be established to oversee all officials."

The Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Chancellery divided the power of the prime minister during the Qin and Han dynasties. Correspondingly, the Grand Commandant, who was in charge of commanding the troops, and the Grand Censor, who was in charge of supervision, also needed power institutions to replace them.

According to tradition, the Censorate should indeed be established to oversee both internal and external affairs.

However, for Liu Miao's regime, the biggest changes were not in the central government, but in the army and local areas.

The Fubing system and the Juntian Sanzhang system.

These two makeshift teams have been holding on for far too long. Although their massive and complex systems have begun to function, it is clearly not an easy task to sort them out and thoroughly understand them.

Especially since this involves the vital interests of meritorious military officers, it requires even more careful handling and cannot be decided on a whim.

To this end, Liu Miao even sought out Zhou Yu and other veteran soldiers for their advice.

Zhou Yu knew this was a task that would offend people, so he was somewhat vague in his answer.

"Don't worry, just say it! Anyway, if there's any resentment, it'll be directed at me! It's not like it'll be directed at you, is it?"

With Liu Miao taking the blame, Zhou Yu also pointed out many problems in the military today.

For example, the most obvious issue today is the granting of titles and fiefs.

In the past, military generals who made meritorious contributions were directly granted the title of marquis! They were granted the title of marquis of the rank of nobility! They were granted the title of marquis of ten thousand households!

But the foundation of all this is that the state controls a vast amount of farmland.

However, with the implementation of the equal-field system, the state shared land with the people for the first time, acknowledging the private nature of the people's land. This certainly tied the previously landless people to Liu Miao's cause in the shortest time, allowing Liu Miao to be "unscrupulous" and even somewhat "reckless" in politics, and to turn against the powerful families who previously ruled the grassroots without reason. But everything in the world has its price.

By cutting off his own flesh, Liu Miao bound a large number of self-cultivating farmers to his political chariot, which meant that he would also allocate a large amount of resources to these people who had been allocated farmland.

Can be corresponding.

Others will receive fewer resources.

The founding ministers who followed Liu Miao in establishing the dynasty.

There were also meritorious military generals who helped Liu Miao establish his empire.

They are human beings too; they also crave wealth, and they deserve it.

These people didn't work for nothing by following Liu Miao.

Liu Miao had to take them into account and give them tangible benefits, instead of just walking up to them with a smile, telling them to work hard for the Han Dynasty, and then continuing to take advantage of them for free...

Perhaps there are such morally upright people who work themselves to the bone for the sake of the Han Dynasty and its people.

But how many people are like that?

Even if such people exist, Liu Miao cannot simply bully honest individuals; the proper system of rewards and punishments must not be renege on. Otherwise, over time, these military generals might very well cry out, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

"Um……"

Liu Miao pondered for a moment: "I understand."

Following closely behind the issues of military commanders is the issue of local administration.

This problem is equally tricky.

With the change of system, the responsibilities of the government have also changed accordingly.

Yuan Huan, the governor of Wu Commandery, submitted a memorial to Liu Miao, pointing out that some officials were genuinely idle, while others were working non-stop... Over time, such behavior would inevitably cause these officials to harbor resentment.

Just as Liu Miao knew that his meritorious generals, military officers, and common people were human beings, these officials were also human beings, and very important ones at that!
Who is responsible for disseminating, announcing, implementing, and executing the central government's decrees?
Isn't it all thanks to these low-level officials?
Just as Liu Miao, after reforming the Three Chiefs system, had to provide preferential treatment to the families of the Three Chiefs, such as tax and labor service reductions, Liu Miao also had to show humanistic care to these grassroots officials, and not treat them like donkeys while feeding them like pigs.

Liu Miao propped his chin up again.

Ultimately, what is profit? It's still money and food!

Ultimately, all the problems boil down to one thing: a lack of money!
If Liu Miao suddenly had an extra piece of farmland the size of the Hebei Plain, all of everyone's problems would be solved! Everyone would be satisfied! He wouldn't be stuck here racking his brains... But obviously, that's completely impossible.

"Getting something for free is really great!"

Liu Miao clicked his tongue.

In fact, Liu Miao did just that.

The three oaths made in Jingzhou and Xiangyang—

Land should belong to the tiller, laborers should reap the rewards, and the elderly should be cared for.

These three oaths actually granted Liu Miao far too much preferential treatment.

Many people, precisely because they believed in these three oaths, suffered some injustices but remained silent.

Because they believed that Liu Miao could truly lead them to achieve this goal! They believed that following Liu Miao would lead to a better future.

So when the thought of "getting something for free" first appeared in Liu Miao's mind, he immediately slapped himself in the face.

"You beast! You want to make the people suffer!"

Fortunately, the South was sparsely populated, unlike the crowded North. So, although the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty caused the population of the South to increase rather than decrease, it still gave Liu Miao enough room to maneuver.

As long as the division is done carefully and each faction is prevented from going to the brink of chaos, this matter can still be resolved satisfactorily!

Liu Miao gradually sorted out the matters he needed to handle, and then found paper and pen, writing down several large characters in sequence—

Soldiers, officials, clerks, farmers...

After a moment's thought, Liu Miao added the characters for "Confucianism," "Industry," and "Commerce" after "Agriculture."

But after he finished writing it, Liu Miao drew an X on the four characters: official, farmer, craftsman, and merchant.

Finally, Liu Miao focused his attention on the three characters: military, official, and Confucian.

And solving problems usually starts with the simplest ones.

Liu Miao wrote the words "legal" under the character "儒".

The most urgent task is to resolve the legitimacy of the regime.

The legitimacy of the change of power had been directly tied to the concept of the interaction between Heaven and Man by Wang Mang and Liu Xiu.

In other words, if Liu Miao wanted to continue with his mystical practices, he had to maintain the system of apocryphal texts and prophecies.

But Liu Miao clearly did not want to take this path.

Or rather, it's not that they don't want to leave, but that they can't leave.

With Liu Miao's oath in Jingzhou, the nature of Liu Miao's regime became significantly different from that of previous regimes.

The legitimacy of Liu Miao's regime can no longer be determined by seeking some vague and ethereal concept of Heaven, the Five Elements, or the interaction between Heaven and Man.

This was Liu Miao's promise to the people under his rule, and it was also determined by the most basic production relations.

With the equal-field system establishing the legality of private land, if someone were to say now that all land under heaven belongs to the emperor, what difference would that make from contradicting themselves? What would the people think?
Therefore, Liu Miao himself had long since eliminated the idea of ​​using supernatural tricks.

Not only was it blocked, but the people who received land behind it also thickened and sealed the wall completely!
At least, Liu Miao couldn't imagine what kind of chaos the entire south would descend into if he suddenly announced the abolition of the equal-field system!
Therefore, Liu Miao had to find a way to prove his legitimacy and legitimacy! Otherwise, even if his dynasty was still called Han, and even if he was surnamed Liu, his legitimacy would still be pitifully low!
After all, to some extent... Yuan Shao accepted the abdication of the Han emperor, so his legitimacy was actually higher than Liu Miao's.

"You have to finish the path you chose, even if you cry!"

Liu Miao rubbed his head.

"Youping, go and fetch Gongwei and Wang Lang. I have something to discuss with them."

When Chen Yu and Wang Lang arrived, they heard Liu Miao's melancholy, which was something they had expected.

After all, when it comes to being sensitive to the thoughts and consciousness of the people, there are no people in the entire South more perceptive than these two.

With Liu Miao's various actions in Jiangdong, everything has changed... Now you want to go back to the old ways? Too late!
Why is Zhongshan looking so worried right now?

Chen Yu patted Liu Miao on the shoulder, his eyes seeming to say that once Liu Miao actually becomes emperor, he won't be able to pat him anymore!

"After all, you chose this path yourself!"

"Build a completely new Han Dynasty! Instead of simply repeating the same mistakes."

Chen Yu handed Liu Miao a document that he had prepared beforehand.

"In that case, you should also know—"

"You still have everyone by your side!"

(End of this chapter)