Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 554
After discussing with Guo Jia and Mi Heng the matter of Lu Bu's father and daughter and Guang'an Chen Fu, the next day, Wang Zheng once again called a group of ministers to discuss the issue of post-war rewards.

Because this matter is too involved, in order to stabilize the Jiangdong faction's desire to demote officials, not only Guo Jia, Mi Heng, Huang Zhong and others, Wang Zheng also let Lu Ji, Gu Yong, Gan Ning and other newly attached Yangzhou civil and military capitals Come to the hall to participate.

Looking around at everyone, Wang Zheng nodded and said warmly: "This year, our army has fought several battles. You have worked so hard. Wen used strategizing, military used bravery to defend against the enemy, Beihai was able to open up borders, and Shouchun was able to recover. In fact, it all depends on your strength. The ancients It goes: "Punishment is used to punish evil, and rewards are used to reward meritorious deeds." The purpose of summoning all the gentlemen here today is to discuss how to reward meritorious deeds."

After a pause, he continued: "Because Zhang Zhao, Xu Fang, Wu Sheng, Yu Jin, Zang Ba and others haven't entered the city yet, according to my general's intention, let's discuss a draft today. It’s a meeting, and many people have experienced both games, what should be the rewards for this time? If you have any suggestions, please feel free to speak up.”

In terms of official positions, Zhang Zhao is actually the head of the hundred officials under Wang Zheng, Xu Fang, Wu Sheng, and Yu Jin are the generals guarding the four major armies, and Zang Ba not only has a certain status and influence in Xuzhou He is also a representative of the Taishan Army in the Tianjun Department. It is reasonable for them to participate in such major events as the "end-of-year summary", and they all have a certain right to make suggestions.

So why didn't Wang Zheng wait until they entered the city to discuss it?
There are two reasons.

For one thing, it is for the sake of balance, even the meaning of decentralization.

Although Wu Sheng and Xu Fang are close friends of Wang Zheng in terms of closeness, they are also leaders of the Qingzhou faction in the Celestial Army, while Zhang Zhao, Zang Ba and even Mi Fang represent Xuzhou respectively. Compared with the factions on both sides of Mount Tai and Mount Tai, the Jiangdong faction was the latest to join, with the shallowest foundation and the least right to speak.

Second, although it is a year-end summary, the Battle of Yangzhou has been rewarded as early as Shouchun, and it was mainly aimed at the forces on the Jiangdong side, so the focus of this year-end summary is actually the previous Battle of Beihai. As for the Qingzhou Army and Xuzhou Army, since they are the focus, if Zhang Zhao, Xu Fang and others are allowed to discuss meritorious deeds and rewards by themselves, it is inevitable that they will be biased.

Especially for the military commanders, the most important military merits in the Han Dynasty, whether it is Xu Fang, Wu Sheng or Yu Jin, will definitely have a strong recommendation for the generals of the headquarters. If we really have to wait until then, it would not be too good to see them blushing and thick necks. .

And these people have made great contributions. If they hand over the dispute to the king's government for adjudication, they are now recruiting and employing people. The generals are different factions and have their own hills. It is really difficult for the king's government to judge.If they are a little careless, they may be regarded by their subordinates as "preferring one to another".

Of course, apart from the Taishan Army of Zang Ba and Chang Xi, most of the middle-level generals under other people have also entered the system. To Wang Zheng.

But the previous conflict between Huang Zhong and Wu Sheng was actually a warning to Wang Zheng. Even if both parties entered the system, it only means that they are loyal to their own family, but it does not mean that they have become close friends. There is no longer any possibility of hostility or division.

That being the case, he thought that this time, let the Jiangdong faction's demoted officials come to set up the overall framework before the generals entered the city.

Once the framework is established, even if the generals go to fight for merit, as long as they can't go beyond the scope stipulated in the regulations, they will not be too fierce, or even beyond the control of the king's government. At most, they are dissatisfied with the Jiangdong ministers who stipulated the regulations, so as not to escalate the contradictions within each other.

The triangle is always the most stable. In the final analysis, there were only Qingzhou Army and Xuzhou Army (Taishan Army attached to Xuzhou) in the previous Tianjun. The three-party conflict is actually more suitable for him to control.

On the other hand, as far as the Jiangdong ministers who participated in the formulation of the constitution were not without smart people, they might have guessed a thing or two about the intention of the king's government.But even if he guessed it, so what?

For them, being able to participate in this kind of meeting itself represents the importance of Wang Zheng, and it also means that Wang Zheng has given them the opportunity to join the game. A performance, if you ask for it, you can't get it, how can you refuse?
As soon as Wang Zheng finished speaking, Mi Heng looked around at the crowd and stepped out of the train proudly.

He is already proud and arrogant, and he is the first "minister of the dragon" in the field of civil servants. However, in most cases of this kind of meeting, he will speak first without hesitation: "Since Lord Zigong raised his troops, what our heavenly army has experienced There are hundreds of wars, big and small, but in terms of frequency, scale, and even the extent of the wars, they are nothing compared to this year!"

"First there was the Battle of Beihai, and then there was the Battle of Fenggao. Afterwards, they resisted Xiahou, pacified Sun Ce, and wiped out Yuan Shu. There was hardly a moment's rest. Xu, Wu, Yu and other generals either defended against the enemy outside the city, or stood firm. In the key passes, they either ran from the north to the south of the Bohai Sea, or rushed to the east and west of the Yangtze River, and also made suggestions such as Weichen and Zhang Guoping, and they can be said to be loyal and brave."

Hearing this, Wang Zheng couldn't help but glanced at His Highness Guo Jia, the two looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

What a "consultant like a humble official", only a person of Mi Heng's temperament can say such a thing. It's hard for him to add Zhang Zhao, but Guo Jia was completely ignored.

"It's not just the civil and military forces working together. The soldiers of the three armies are also fighting to the death!"

Mi Heng went on to say: "General Huang's sentry cavalry, Zhao, has been intercepted by the sun thief many times to send information to the two places, braved the wind and rain, hundreds of miles away, and arrived in three days. Sun Bandit was surrounded by thousands of people as if there was no one there, riding lightly in and out, his expression calm and unaffected, his bravery is commendable! It is expected that there must be many such brave men in the rest of the army."

"Don't ignore meritorious deeds because of your humble position, and ignore demerits because you are high-ranking. Although meritorious deeds are small, they must be rewarded, and demerits are small, but they must be blamed. This is what the Ming Lord did. In several battles, the total number of casualties There is no statistics yet, but the five divisions of the Celestial Army alone have suffered nearly [-] casualties, so it can be seen that the total casualties must not be small."

"Therefore, I believe that if the lord wants to be worthy of the name, the three principles of the regulations can be the most important."

"First of all, the reward needs to be heavy. If it is not heavy, it will not be able to appease the tragedy of this battle; secondly, the reward must be fair. The heart of the army."

"If these three things can be achieved, our generals will be exhausted from long-term battles and suffer heavy casualties, but the reputation of our lord who is wise and capable, and who rewards and punishes properly will be able to spread throughout the world. And to fully obtain the hearts of warriors from all over the world and the admiration of wise men in the world, the so-called "the east corner of the lost, the mulberry and elm harvested" is exactly what it means."

In terms of essay thinking and eloquence alone, Mi Heng is indeed the best among the people, unlike Guo Jia who completely stole the limelight in the private discussion yesterday, today she is well prepared, but her words are precise and targeted.

Not only followed Wang Zheng's words, but also summed up the three principles of the charter, and further developed it, pointing out the importance of this reward and expanding its political significance.

Previously, whether Wang Zheng conquered Mount Tai or invaded Beihai, in the final analysis, he was still tossing around Xuzhou, and Xuzhou was not only a place of the Four Wars, but also not a terrain that could be defended like Yizhou. It is appalling, but in fact it is still not favored by most people of insight.

Now it is completely different. Although only two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang have been obtained, these two counties are the essence of the entire Jiangdong. Taking down Wu Jun and Danyang is really changing from "difficult to defend" to "advance can be attacked, retreat can be defended".

Not to mention that after defeating Sun Ce and Yuan Shu, Wang Zheng's reputation has risen to a higher level. At this time, he has become one of the most favorable candidates to compete in the Central Plains, just like Yuan Shao in Jizhou. He is even slightly more favored by others Cao Cao, who has a righteous reputation, is ahead.

Of course, martial arts alone is not enough. Wang Zheng now needs to show more of the demeanor of a "Master" in front of the Jiangdong gentry and even the people of the world. Chance.

"What Zhengping said is exactly what I want."

Wang Zheng nodded, looked around at Lu Ji and the others and asked, "What do you think?" Everyone bowed and replied, "Your Sima has a far-sighted vision and profound discussions, as it should be."

"Zhengping, you said that there should be three principles of rewards. Seriousness, fairness, and wideness. This general can understand everything, but how to be fair?"

"There are three levels of Congping, one is the level of civil and military, and the other is the level of offense and defense"

You Hengang stood in the court and talked eloquently: "In this year's several long battles, there have been civil and military contributions. You can't just focus on military exploits. The so-called soldiers and horses have not moved, but food and grass go first. Whether it is the Battle of Beihai, or the pacification of Jiangdong, Xuzhou Officials have worked very hard to raise food and grass, and to provide logistics supplies, and they have contributed a lot, so my lord must pay attention."

"In addition, if the inside is uneasy, how can the outside defend against the enemy? Compared with the expansion of the territory of the generals, the governor of the city like General Chang guarding Fenggao resists the battle. There are many people who defend against the enemy and those outside the gate. Receive attention."

"It's true."

Wang Zheng showed a deeply appreciative expression, and said happily: "In the past, after Emperor Han Gao established his country, he rewarded Xiao He for his merits. That's the reason. But what is the third level?"

"My lord, when I first became a shepherd in Xuzhou, I paid more officials as rewards to my ministers who made meritorious service. At that time, Xuzhou had been through wars, and a lot of waste was waiting to be built. There were many vacant official positions. It is true that you should be paid as an official, no I thought it was too much, but now, it can’t be like this.”

Mi Heng said: "In the land of Jiangdong, there are quite few military disasters. Although there is Sun Ce's chaos, after all, the time is not long and the harm is not great. Most of the county and county officials with real power have been awarded, and the civil and military officials who have made meritorious service this time, Most of them have already been in high positions. For example, General Xu's defeat of Yuan Shu in Pingyu has made great contributions. However, he is now General Jianwu, headquartered in Pengcheng Bayi. "

"The old minister thinks that it seems time for the lord to change the practice of rewarding meritorious officials."

That's right. Wang Zheng's current official position is to lead Xuzhou Mu and concurrently serve as General Dong. The next three generals (General Hussars, Generals Chariots, and Generals Wei) are second-rank middle ranks.

General Jianwu is inferior to Zhengzhen Anping and third-rank miscellaneous generals, fourth-rank permanent generals, and fourth-rank miscellaneous generals. Naturally, there is still room for improvement.

But the key point is that the room for improvement is actually not that big. If there is no room for it, there will naturally be a real sense of "no reward, no seal", unless Wang Zheng's own level continues to rise first Going around can solve this problem.

Wang Zheng nodded: "How should we change?"

Mi Heng said loudly: "This time, we should pay attention to the balance of officials and ranks, which are the three equals."

As Ni Heng said, Xu Fang's current rank is indeed not suitable for promoting him in the short term, and it is not only Xu Fang, but also the other three generals appointed by Wang Zheng after he occupied Xuzhou. Apart from Zhenwu General Pan Zhang who subjugated the law, Jianwei General Wu Sheng and Zhenwei General Yu Jin have reached the point where they cannot be promoted for the time being.

In fact, not to mention that there is no promotion, with the continuous expansion of the royal government, some official positions, especially prominent positions, even if they can be promoted, according to Mi Heng, it is best not to be promoted.

Why?

The so-called "non-talent is useless, power is difficult to control", the royal government with a system may not have such doubts, but as ministers, Mi Heng and others will inevitably prevent problems before they happen.

However, for a new and prosperous regime in troubled times, hereditary titles are actually more cost-effective than some prominent positions, because after all, it only has real benefits and no real power, and Wang Zheng can naturally understand this.

"What Zhengping said is quite reasonable, but..."

After pondering for a while, Wang Zheng looked around at the crowd and said slowly: "It's just that the general doesn't have the right to confer title, how should we deal with it?"

This is correct, if you want the level of officials and titles, the king must first have the right to confer titles.

And this right was held by only two classes in the Han Dynasty, and even in the feudal dynasties of the past dynasties, one was the emperor and the other was the king!
Looking at all the people in the hall, Wang Zheng suddenly patted the table again, and said with a sudden smile: "Haha, yes, let's discuss a list of the rewards first, and then I will play with Xu Du, and ask the court to make a ruling." That’s right, that’s all.”

Unexpectedly, when you heard the words, Ni Heng showed embarrassment, and said in a vibrating voice: "My lord, what you said is wrong."

"The minister's proposal of rewarding the nobles is to ask the lord to reward the meritorious officials, but it is not to invite Cao Cao from Xudu to reward the meritorious officials!"

"If that's the case, should our courtiers be grateful to the lord in the future, or should we worship Cao Mengde?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall changed countenance, and the hall became so quiet that a needle could be heard!
Wang Zheng still had a calm expression on his face, and while watching the changes in everyone's expressions, he said indifferently: "Why did Zhengping say that?"

"Xu Du is where His Majesty resides, the center of the imperial court, and the promotion of officials and titles should come from this. I would be very puzzled as to how General Cao was involved."

(End of this chapter)