Transmigrating to the Three Kingdoms as Lu Bu: I Have a Pseudo-Apocalypse System

In the twelfth month of the 409th year of the Han calendar, in Luoyang, at the Imperial Study.

Fine snow was falling outside the window. Lü Bu sat at his desk, holding a list in his hand, examining it carefully.

The list included several names: Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Xun Yu, and Zhuge Liang.

He put down the list, stood up, walked to the window, looked at the distant palace rooftop, and silently made plans in his mind.

Jia Xu is sixty-three years old this year.

This veteran minister, who had followed him for over ten years, had made countless contributions from Chang'an to Luoyang, from the Duke of Jin to the Emperor.

Although Jia Xu was in good health and historically lived to be over seventy, he didn't need to retire so early. However, he had been in power for too long, and from the perspective of imperial power politics, he shouldn't have continued.

In later generations, presidents, prime ministers, and chancellors could generally only serve two consecutive terms, and they should step down after governing for eight to ten years; they couldn't stay in office until they died.

Therefore, Lü Bu planned to have Jia Xu serve as Grand Secretary for another year, officially retiring on December 31st, 410 AD. (Grand Secretary was Lü Bu's highest official rank in the Han Dynasty, a second-rank official. The Lü Han dynasty had abolished the Eastern Han's Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, and Minister of Education, restoring the Zhou dynasty's system of the Three Dukes of the Imperial Tutors as Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector, honorary titles of the first rank. There were also the Three Sovereigns of the Imperial Tutors as Junior Tutor, Junior Preceptor, and Junior Protector, honorary titles of the second rank. The Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector were the Three Tutors of the Eastern Palace, honorary titles of the second rank. The Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, Junior Preceptor, and Junior Protector were the Three Junior Tutors of the Eastern Palace, honorary titles of the second rank. These twelve titles were all honorary titles for retired high-ranking officials, without any real power. The actual teachers of the Crown Prince were the Eastern Palace Doctors, Eastern Palace Lecturers, and Eastern Palace Readers, etc.)

Because Jia Xu followed Lü Bu from nothing to the unification of the country and the rise of the emperor, he was a founding hero. At that time, Jia Xu was granted the honorary titles of Imperial Tutor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Protector, and enjoyed the salary of a first-rank official. He was also given a mansion in Luoyang City to live out his old age in peace.

In the future, other ordinary Grand Secretaries without significant achievements will be granted the honorary title of Imperial Tutor (one of the three highest ranks) upon retirement, enjoying the salary of one of the highest ranks. Second Grand Secretaries (one of the second ranks) will be granted the honorary title of Crown Prince's Tutor (one of the three highest ranks) upon retirement, and ordinary Grand Secretaries (one of the three highest ranks) will be granted the honorary title of Crown Prince's Junior Tutor (one of the three highest ranks) upon retirement. These are all honorary retirement arrangements that elevate one rank, intended to appease important officials.

After Jia Xu retired, who succeeded him as Grand Secretary?

Lü Bu had already planned it out—Chen Gong, the Second Grand Secretary and Minister of Revenue.

Chen Gong was fifty-six years old this year, seven years younger than Jia Xu, and in his prime. He was only slightly younger than Jia Xu, having followed Lü Bu since the Chang'an period. For more than ten years, he had worked diligently, serving successively as Governor of Yan Province, Minister of Revenue, and Second Grand Secretary. He was adept at government affairs and deeply trusted by Lü Bu. Lü Bu was at ease knowing that he had taken over as Grand Secretary.

What happened after Chen Gong?

Lü Bu planned to have Xun Yu succeed him.

Xun Yu is forty-six years old this year, in his prime, and is also recognized in history as a talent capable of assisting a king.

Xun Yu was a staunch supporter of the Han dynasty and couldn't accept the demise of the four-hundred-year-old Han dynasty before his eyes, which led to his disagreement with Lü Bu. He wouldn't have served under Lü Bu if it weren't for doing something practical for the common people.

However, later events proved that Lü Bu did not usurp the Han throne, but rather inherited it. He merely removed the incompetent Han rulers, the Liu family, from power, without changing the dynasty's name. He even used the year Liu Bang founded the dynasty as the zeroth year of the Han calendar to permanently commemorate Liu Bang's contributions to the founding of the dynasty.

This approach truly surprised Xun Yu, and it was a revelation to him, leading him to become a staunch supporter of Lü Bu.

He served as the governor of Youzhou for several years, achieving remarkable political achievements and governing Youzhou in an orderly manner.

Two years ago, he was transferred back to the central government by Lü Bu to serve as a cabinet minister, where he performed exceptionally well. After Jia Xu retired and Chen Gong took over as chief cabinet minister, Lü Bu appointed Xun Yu as the second chief cabinet minister.

After Chen Gong retires, Xun Yu will take over as Grand Secretary and take charge of the central government of the Han Dynasty.

What happened after Xun Yu?

The successor to Xun Yu as the Grand Secretary was naturally Zhuge Liang, the representative of loyal ministers and the embodiment of wisdom that Lü Bu had set his sights on since the beginning of his transmigration.

However, when Lü Bu time-traveled, Zhuge Liang was only 11 years old. Later, after Lü Bu unified the north, he gradually gathered Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, Pang Tong, and their teacher Sima Hui, and slowly cultivated them.

After Zhuge Liang came of age, he first passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar of the year. He was then sent by Lü Bu to serve as a county magistrate in an outer county for several years. After that, he returned to the central government and served as the chief clerk in the Northern Office of the Ministry of Personnel, where he was in charge of the selection, evaluation, and promotion of officials above the county magistrate level in the three prefectures of Ji, You, and Bing.

Now, Zhuge Liang is twenty-eight years old and has been serving as the chief clerk in the Northern Office of the Ministry of Personnel for more than three years. Lü Bu is preparing to send him out again to serve as the governor of Nanyang County in Jingzhou.

Nanyang is a large prefecture with a population of one million and complex government affairs, which is perfect for training people.

After serving as a prefect for several years and accumulating local experience, he was transferred back to the central government to serve as a department head or vice minister, then sent to a prefecture as governor, and finally returned to serve as a cabinet minister and minister of a department, climbing the ranks step by step.

When Xun Yu takes over as chief minister, Zhuge Liang will be appointed as the second chief minister, to be groomed as Xun Yu's successor as chief minister of the cabinet.

Thus, from Jia Xu to Chen Gong to Xun Yu to Zhuge Liang, the successive Grand Secretaries Lü Bu were all arranged according to the top configuration of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, and their ages and wisdom were also reasonable.

With such talented individuals serving as Grand Secretaries one after another, Lü Bu would feel quite at ease. He only needed to grasp the overall direction, such as fighting battles, making inventions, and making decisions; the other specific domestic affairs could be entrusted to these talented individuals for execution.

Lu Bu withdrew his gaze, sat back down at his desk, picked up his pen, and wrote some notes on the list.

For example, Jia Xu's postscript reads "Retired on December 31, 410," Chen Gong's postscript reads "Succeeded on New Year's Day, 411," Xun Yu's postscript reads "Succeeded as Second Assistant Minister," and Zhuge Liang's postscript reads "Transferred to Prefect of Nanyang Commandery." (Note: The Lü Han dynasty implemented a combined lunar and solar calendar. Official business used the solar calendar, with a fixed number of days per month and year, for convenience. Agricultural activities used the lunar calendar, which included the twenty-four solar terms, for ease of farming.)

After writing it down, he put the list in the drawer and locked it.

Such personnel arrangements, which involve the empire's leaders for decades to come, must never be made public.

There are many people in the court, and if word gets out, it will cause unnecessary discussion and speculation, and some people will inevitably engage in political opportunism. We must wait for the right time to announce everything one by one.

As for those who are too clever and can discern Lu Bu's preferred cabinet leader from his personnel arrangements, that's beyond our control, as long as they don't speak recklessly.