At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Is it...

Will I lose this position?

Do not!

Cheng Yu quickly raised his head and stared nervously at Guo Peng.

"Your Majesty! The old minister is guilty! The old minister... the old minister... must thoroughly investigate this matter. Anyone who is suspicious, the veteran will never let go!"

Cheng Yu's face was flushed.

Guo Peng shook his head, put down the pen in his hand, stood up, stepped forward, and helped Cheng Yu up.

"When you're older, stop kneeling all the time."

Cheng Yu felt relieved for no reason, and looked up at Guo Peng in surprise.

"I know you are busy with government affairs and can't cover everything, but I can't tolerate the existence of such people in the official department, to find out all the ghosts and monsters hidden in the official department, and let me know which ghosts and monsters are quietly make trouble."

Guo Peng's voice was still stern, but to Cheng Yu's ears, it sounded like the sound of nature.

"Old minister...obey the order!"

Cheng Yu salutes again.

Seeing Cheng Yu's leaving back, Guo Peng grinned.

Chapter 911-Cui Yan is a little anxious

The debate on whether to increase business tax or not has only been going on for a month, but it is moving in an unpredictable direction.

This is not Guo's original intention, but since such a trend has emerged, Guo doesn't mind doing a little bit of work, being a behind-the-scenes pusher, and expanding the scope of the struggle.

For more than two years since the founding of the country, I have been busy with wars and governing the local area. I don't pay much attention to the administration of officials and these ghosts and monsters in the central government, and I don't have enough energy to pay attention to them.

In fact, many of these things have been investigated by Linziying, and Yan Rou has also reported them, but Guo didn't have time to deal with them, so he had to postpone them.

Now is the time to take a look.

Hey!interesting!

They actually made their quiet operation so impressive that they even reached into the official department and played their best tricks in the center.

A certain Guo originally wanted to spend some small money from the pockets of tyrants, but he didn't expect that he would get such a big harvest.

Originally, I just wanted them to tear each other up and be hostile to each other, so as to lay the foundation for the political struggle in the court, but I didn't expect to get such a big gift.

There are problems on my own side, problems on the other side, and problems on both sides, but one side is relatively timid and a little bit disciplined, while the other side is courageous and not very disciplined.

It seems that if this operation wants to end, it will not be simply a matter of collecting tolls.

You can also get more, and it's more enjoyable.

You can really bite a piece of meat and chew it well, and taste what these fat guys are like.

You search for the people's fat and people's anointing, then I will come to search for your fat and ointment to build more villages and build more roads. This is called a perfect dynamic balance and a perfect cycle.

This is the responsibility of the emperor.

After Cheng Yu received someone from Guo's instructions, he returned to the Shangshutai with a dark complexion, and returned to the official office of the Ministry of Officials. Looking at the officials in the room, Cheng Yu furiously raged.

Then he ordered the person in question to surrender before the deadline. If he did not surrender, if he found out that he was operating in private, it would not be as simple as losing his official position.

Someone has to pay for it!

The news of the official department suddenly became tense.

After the Ministry of Officials fell into internal reorganization, the environment of the entire Shangshutai became quite dangerous.

Yu Shitai, Sili Xiaowei, and the Ministry of Justice suddenly discovered that the problem was not limited to a few pretentious rumors and unfounded false accusations. Unknowingly, the problem expanded.

It has risen from economic disputes to the level of political struggles.

A few smart people have realized that at this point, it doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong, what matters is that the emperor already knows everything.

This is just great.

They don't even know whether the interrogation of related issues will continue.

Both Yushitai Shangshutai and the cabinet have been involved, and many issues are no longer simply a question of whether to levy business taxes or not.

This is a political issue, involving political power struggles, and is no longer an economic issue.

Now the safest place in the Manchaotang is only a staff desk that does not participate in government affairs. The other three core institutions have never envied this staff desk that is detached from other affairs as they are now.

In the past, they all thought that the staff platform had no status. It was only used when the emperor needed to use troops. At other times, the staff platform was just a decoration, so they jokingly called the staff platform "observation platform".

As a result, the Cui Qu case happened, but the observation deck was the safest place. Their authority was only to march and fight. No one was implicated in this matter, and no one was falsely accused.

The economic dispute has made the cabinet with audit power involved and unable to get out.

The problems of official corruption and mutual framing made Yushitai deeply trapped and unable to get out.

And Shang Shutai, who was in the vortex of struggle, became the target of public criticism.

Things seem to be clearer now.

Regardless of whether Cui Yan knew about this matter or not, Cui Qu, the little man who wandered in and stirred up the situation and brought about the trend of history, was a member of his family, and Cui Yan could hardly absolve himself of the blame.

In other words, many families have such little people in the court, but Cui Qu has done too much. He was exposed and exposed, and he was suddenly exposed to the spotlight, and put this ugly secret operation under the emperor's nose. The emperor saw it.

Smart people have already felt deep fear at this time.

They remembered that the terrible emperor who was merciless to Xun Yu and Zang Hong hadn't held any officials accountable on a large scale for almost two years. The loose life of more than two years seemed to make them relax their vigilance and vigilance.

But the emperor never changed himself.

This time, will someone pay the price with their lives again, and will some important person be killed?

Is it necessary for someone to pay the price with their lives in exchange for everyone's safe passage?

Inside the official office of the Ministry of Rites, Cui Yan's complexion was pale, facing the worried eyes of several former disciples and old officials, Cui Yan couldn't say a word.

"Cui Gong, you need to give us an idea about the current situation."

"That's right, Mr. Cui, if this goes on like this, when will it be the end?"

"Cui Gong, will this kind of thing implicate many people?"

Seeing the terrified looks of his right and left men, Cui Yan was actually quite flustered.

To be honest, he didn't know about this matter.

Because Cui Qu is an excellent young man in his family, he just wants to promote a little bit, expand the influence and voice of the Cui family in the court, seize the vacuum position left by the top gentry family in the Eastern Han Dynasty after Guo Peng suppressed it, and push the Qinghe Cui family up. push.

There is no family that does not aspire to reach the status of the fourth or even the fifth generation and the third lord. If the old giants have fallen, don't they, these emerging forces, have a chance?

But who would have thought that a mere Cui Qu would be so bold as to form a clique in private for personal gain, stretching his hand where it shouldn't be, and offending more than one person?

What's worse, this guy is still using his own banner!

Sitting in this position, Cui Yan was cautious.

He himself is also a surrendered minister. After Yuan Shao's defeat, he took refuge in Guo Peng. His status and reputation are slightly higher than Tian Feng's, but he is not as good as Tian Feng. There are women in the clan who are accepted by Guo Peng. Concubine.

However, he is also from a famous family, so he doesn't think it's too much to get the position of Minister of Rites.

In terms of his position, he also devoted himself to creating a formal and cumbersome etiquette system for the Wei Empire. He acted as the general manager of various large-scale events, and was also responsible for the re-examination of the government. .

Who would have thought that such a thing would happen.

But it cannot be said that he himself is absolutely innocent, because he understands this rule.

Scholars monopolized important official positions by monopolizing knowledge, oppressing the powerful, bullying the common people, and sharing the world with the emperor. Naturally, they also assigned this official position.

In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, from the central government to the local government, many official positions could be determined by birth and fame, and there was no need for the emperor to personally appoint them.

Most of the emperors are young children, their level is very low, and their quality is not high. It is just a formality, and the scholars divide the sphere of influence by themselves.

But it was different in the Wei Empire.

Emperor Guo set up the Ministry of Officials to manage the promotion and appointment of officials nationwide. Local officials and central officials at the five levels of prefectures, counties, counties, and villages must be formally appointed by the Ministry of Officials, and they can only take office with the appointment documents from the Ministry of Officials.

Although the inspection system and the filial piety system are still in operation, the emperor's opinion has played a big role.

The re-examination of the government presided over by Cui Yan has become very difficult. It is no longer so easy for many scholars' children to pass the re-examination of the government to become an official next to the emperor and then enter the government.

In fact, this is nothing. The emperors did this in the middle and early Eastern Han Dynasty, and it was no different from Guo Peng.

Ju Xiaolian Maocai itself is the case.

Those who are filial piety, Lianmao, etc. also have real talents and real learning. They often have experience in the local area first, and then they can handle affairs after entering the court, so that they can be recommended.

Otherwise, Xiaolian will reveal his secrets when he becomes an official by the emperor's side.

Maocai would also reveal his secrets when he went directly to the government to do business.

Although Liu Xiu cannot restore the Western Han Dynasty, he can still hold the final interpretation of the selection of officials.

However, this system has high requirements on the emperor. If the emperor cannot control power and his level becomes lower, he will naturally not be able to control the power to select officials, nor can he continue to select high-quality talents.

A series of little emperors and emperors in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty could hold the final interpretation of the fart.

The right to interpret the selection of officials naturally falls into the hands of others, and they no longer need to pressure their descendants to study literary and martial arts desperately.

What Guo Peng is doing now is nothing more than bringing the official selection model back to the early Eastern Han Dynasty.

The privileges of the double monarchy that those guys tossed out later were restricted.

Cultivating disciples is the same as before, but the difficulty of cultivating old officials has increased sharply. The emperor has appointed more and more imperial officials through the Ministry of Officials. It feels that everyone's power is not easy to expand.

But judging from their practice, the emperor still gave them an opening and gave them preferential treatment.

Officials of scholarly background start high and have many high-ranking officials, while officials of powerful background start low and have few high-ranking officials.

For some small actions of the scholars, the emperor pretended not to see them and turned a blind eye. This can be seen from some of Cheng Yu's actions.

This is also a good thing for them.

So it seems like this has got some people thinking that they shouldn't have.

They seem to think that the emperor will not stop their further actions, as long as they slowly rub and rub and rub, they can get in, and in fact pull the Wei Empire to the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, and become everyone's paradise again.

They were more cautious at the beginning, and proceeded cautiously, and then found that the emperor did not respond, so they turned a blind eye.

So he began to jump repeatedly on the verge of death, and later found that the emperor still didn't respond, and he still turned a blind eye...

So they jumped into the circle of death in one breath and began to twist Yangko and dance ghost steps, doing it boldly and confidently, and it became an open secret, as if only the emperor didn't know it.

Once the incident happened, everyone was in danger, but the emperor didn't take the lead in launching the incident, but he took the lead in ordering the official department to carry out a major rectification.

It seemed that the emperor was just cleaning up the officials and Cheng Yu, but some people already smelled something bad.

Cui Yan is one of them.

The Ministry of Rites is responsible for the re-examination of the government, which is one of the important functions of the Ministry of Rites.

The outstanding candidates selected by the Ministry of Rites will be handed over to the Ministry of Officials to arrange positions. It is also because of this power that some people think that the Ministry of Rites can compete with the Ministry of Officials in a certain sense.

Some people even came to the conclusion that Guo Peng was optimistic about Cui Yan and had the idea of ​​making Cui Yan the next minister.

Cui Yan himself didn't dare to think this way, but he also had some expectations, but with the revelation of this incident, he felt that such expectations were not good for him.

After much deliberation, Cui Yan decided to immediately go to the table to defend himself, trying to explain his innocence and helplessness, and see if he could reduce the impact on himself.

There are some former disciples behind me alone, and these people won't get any benefits if he falls down. Qinghe Cui's power is just about to rise, and they will face such a blow?

Cui Yan suddenly became anxious.

Chapter 912 .920 You cannot cross the line drawn by His Majesty the Second!

It is not a simple matter to pull up one's own power under such an emperor.

Cui Yan also knew in his heart that the Cui family in Qinghe was far inferior to the Yuan family and Hongnong Yang family in Runan back then, and also not as good as the Xun family and Chen family in Yingchuan.

Not to mention that these companies are either in decline or have simply disappeared into the dust of history.