At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Why are you here?

Really just meet and talk?

Surprised, he could only make some emergency preparations in a panic, asking his family to prepare a table of dishes quickly, and then stop seeing guests, postpone all the reservations, etc., and didn't know what to do else.

Then Guo Peng came.

Logically speaking, the government office is the residence of the chief executive of a place.

Basically, when officials from other places take office, regardless of whether they have ample money or not, they all live in the official office.

Especially in some big cities and the capitals of some economically developed regions, where the housing prices are expensive, only wealthy businessmen and high-ranking bureaucrats with good treatment can afford to buy real estate, and ordinary middle- and low-level officials can't even think about getting a set of their own. real estate.

Like Luoyang City, Chang'an City, Ye City in Hebei, Linzi City in Qingzhou, Xiangyang City in Jingzhou, Jianye City in Yangzhou, Chengdu City in Yizhou, known as the seven famous cities of the Wei Empire, they are all housing prices of the Wei Empire Players of the first echelon.

Even though the Wei Empire was established less than 14 years ago, the entire Central Plains has been under the rule of Guo Peng for more than 20 years. The social economy has recovered very well, and the commodity economy has developed by leaps and bounds.

Some political and economic central cities gradually began to develop, and a large number of commercial populations gathered in the central cities. Led by Luoyang, the city's land and housing prices began to soar.

Luoyang and Chang'an are definitely the cities with the most expensive land and housing prices in the entire Wei Empire. Officials and businessmen who came to Luoyang and Chang'an from other places to settle down and work generally rented houses.

For the large number of officials in the Wei Empire who were not very well-born, it would save a little bit to live in an official office.

Mao Jie does not belong to this level. He is a high-ranking official, so it is impossible for him not to be able to afford a house. Even if he is not a high-ranking official, he is also from a noble family, and his family savings are enough for him to live comfortably in Luoyang.

He bought another yard in Chang'an City as his home, and his family lived there. He usually lives in the government office, and occasionally goes home. The reason is that he doesn't like public and private mixing, and he doesn't want to put his home in the government office. inside.

That's good, it saved a lot of things, Guo Peng went straight to Mao Jie's house, Mao Jie opened the door of the mansion, and stood at the door with his wife to welcome Guo Peng.

"That's right, just two people, I thought you would call the whole family."

Guo Peng got out of the carriage, smiling all over his face: "But I'm no longer the emperor, I'm just the Supreme Emperor. If the whole family calls, I can't promote them."

Guo Peng told a cold joke very easily when he came down.

I believe you a ghost!

Mao Jie complained secretly.

Although Guo Peng has abdicated and is no longer the emperor, in the hearts of the people of the Wei Empire, he is the unique supreme ruler, and His Majesty can only be ranked second today.

As long as he is still alive, he is the well-deserved Lord of the Wei Empire. No one can shake his position, not even His Majesty today.

And to be honest, if he said a word or two to His Majesty and wanted to promote some people, could His Majesty refuse?

It's just whether he wants to do it or not.

Didn't you see that Cheng Yu is still the fierce Captain Sili?

Didn't you see that the corrupt officials in the 23 prisons in the capital are waiting to be executed?

Has His Majesty ever said that he wants to release someone from prison?

In Mao Jie's view, Guo Peng did hand over a lot of power to His Majesty today, but at least two powers are still in his hands.

One is the Ministry of Education, the power to manage the world's educational resources, which facilitates his educational reform actions.

The other is the Sili Xiaowei Department, which has the power to launch a large-scale purge of officials.

Especially the second one.

That is the power to set off a big storm, the power to set off a big storm that His Majesty is powerless to do anything about today.

One day, if there is a major political storm again, it will definitely not be led by His Majesty today, that is for sure.

Today His Majesty dare not say a word.

So Guo Peng can say some things as a joke, but how dare Mao Jie take it as a joke?

So Mao Jie quickly replied.

"The minister is getting old, and the three sons have already started their own families. They have moved out and are not even in Chang'an. Only the daughter is still with me. The minister, his wife and the daughter are dependent on each other, that's all."

"I see, hahahaha."

Guo Peng laughed for a while, and then introduced Guo Chengzhi to Mao Jie.

"This is my eldest grandson, Cheng Zhi, Cheng Zhi, meeting Mr. Mao."

"Mao makes you well."

Guo Chengzhi bowed.

Just now Mao Jie was still thinking about who this young man was following Guo Peng, but when he heard that he was the eldest grandson, he was startled and hurriedly returned the gift.

"Minister Mao Jie, I pay my respects to the young master, the young master is in peace."

"Xiaoxian, there is no need to be polite."

Guo Peng stepped forward to help Mao Jie: "Chengzhi has never seen the world, so I will take him with me on this tour, let him see the world, open his eyes, and understand the world. He is only 15 years old, follow me Your age is longer than his age, so it is right for him to salute you."

"I dare not presume."

Mao Jie insisted not to accept.

Guo Peng didn't force himself, patted Mao Jie on the shoulder, led Guo Chengzhi, and followed Mao Jie into his mansion.

The five people including Cao Lan went directly to the backyard under the leadership of Mrs. Mao, saying that there were nice flowers and plants and cakes prepared by Mrs. Mao herself, and invited the Empress Dowager and others to taste them.

The two groups split up.

Guo Peng and Guo Chengzhi followed Mao Jie to the front yard of his house.

Mao Jie's mansion covers a large area, but it doesn't look luxurious, there are no expensive and luxurious furniture, plants, exotic animals and so on.

The furnishings in the home are relatively simple, the color is darker, and the majesty and solemnity are displayed everywhere, giving people a feeling that Mao Jie is a serious person.

"I heard people say that you live a simple life, often wear common clothes, eat bran and swallow vegetables, don't eat much meat and high-quality rice, and don't wear gorgeous clothes. Some people even think that your clothes are too simple and don't look like A high-ranking official at the state governor level cannot make people feel your majesty, what do you think?"

Guo Peng and Mao Jie walked in the front yard of his house, talking with a smile while walking.

Mao Jie was secretly looking at Guo Chengzhi, but when he heard this, he smiled and shook his head.

"The prestige of this kind of posturing is just to cover up the incompetence of officials. How can a truly promising person have time to care about his own clothes?"

"Well said, putting on airs and thinking that you are superior to others, this kind of official is the most incompetent."

Guo Peng nodded, looked at Mao Jie whose body was no longer tall and straight, and said with some emotion: "It has been more than [-] years since you followed me in Chuping years. Have you ever felt aggrieved when you were put on the outskirts and never allowed to go to the center?"

This question of political correctness requires no thought at all.

"The Supreme Emperor trusts his ministers, and thinks that he has the ability to pacify the borderlands, appease the border people, and relieve the Supreme Emperor's worries and problems. It is my honor. How can you feel wronged?"

Mao Jie's answer was very politically correct.

Guo Peng couldn't stop laughing.

"Hahahahaha, Xiaoxian, you really deserve to be an old official who has been in the ups and downs of the officialdom for more than 20 years. What you said is impeccable. No one can find anything wrong with your words. No wonder those in the capital People hate you so much that they have nothing to do with you."

Guo Peng stretched out his hand and patted Mao Jie's shoulder: "There are really few people who can compare with you in this impeccable kung fu."

Chapter 1513 One thousand four hundred and fifty three embarrassing state governors

Mao Jie's heart skipped a beat when Guo Peng said a word.

He suddenly panicked.

"Your Majesty, I just want to do my best in my own duty, and I have nothing else to think about."

"Why don't you think about it? You don't want to go to the central court to take power like Chen Gongtai? You dare not say it, but I know it very well. The power of local officials is very restricted for me. I can't do this and that can't do it. It all depends on the face of the central government.

Back then, both Xian Yufu and Gu Yong gave me a form, saying that they had limited real power and that many things could not be done without the cooperation of the central government. Therefore, they were not taken seriously, and it was difficult to gain the respect of lower-level officials, and they would even be contradicted by the county prefect. I implore my authority. "

Guo Peng looked at Mao Jie, smiled and said, "Haven't you thought about it? I heard that the conflict between you and Fufeng County Sheriff has not lasted for a year or two, has it?"

Mao Jie was a little embarrassed.

"The conflict between the minister and the governor of Fufeng County is about state affairs, not personal grievances. He just doesn't want to obey the minister's decree and let go of the restrictions on the market, and has argued with the minister many times."

"Of course I know that what you are doing is for state affairs rather than personal grievances, otherwise I would not intervene? But if you are contradicted by the county guard, don't you feel dissatisfied? Don't you feel resentful?"

Feeling that Guo Peng was inducing him to speak dissatisfied words, Mao Jie was a little scared.

Is this fishing?

After thinking about it, Mao Jie felt that stretching out his head was like a knife and shrinking his head was also a knife. Facing this person, he might as well explain it honestly.

"The emperor, these years, the ministers have indeed been in a bit of a dilemma. The power of the governor seems to be very large, but in fact it is limited everywhere. Without the support of the central government, it is really difficult to make some mandatory requirements for the local county guards, and it is difficult to implement the government orders."

What Mao Jie said was indeed the true feelings of the governors of various states since the early years of Yande.

Except for border areas such as Mozhou, Pingzhou, Yunzhou, and Jiaozhou, which were given authority by Guo Peng due to special military and folk conditions, the powers of state governors in other inland states are really restricted. miserable.

Xia Houdun, Lu Su, Tian Feng, and Man Chong, the state governors of the four frontier states, fully controlled the administrative power, were full of authority, and had a certain degree of oppression and control over their subordinates.

If the subordinates have a quarrel with them, they will write a letter, and as long as there are good reasons, the court will often stand on their side.

Once a war breaks out, they can also fully control all powers except military operations. All strategic materials in the state will be deployed under the orders of the state governor. The state governor will become a pivotal figure and share real power with the state military chief.

From the current point of view, the authoritarian governors of the four frontier states will need to be maintained for a while, otherwise it will not be enough to suppress the signs of resistance that appear from time to time in the four frontier states.

This is not the case at all in the interior states.

Basically, the governor of the state seems to have a lot of power, just like the four frontier states, but they are all interfered and robbed by the local agencies set up by the central government. The central agency always intervenes in matters that nominally fall within the purview of the governor.

The central departments no longer accept the leadership of Shangshutai. Although Shangshutai still exists, it has no head office and exists in name only. The departments of Shangshutai directly accept the leadership of the emperor, and then set up many local branches.

The Ministry of Finance has settings, the Ministry of War has settings, the Ministry of Punishment has settings, and the Ministry of Officials has settings...

The local branches of the central department took over the imperial power, and the branch officials were extremely powerful at the local level. The higher the position of the local officials, the more constraints they received.

The lower the position, on the contrary, because of the need to do specific things, there are fewer constraints-they directly obey the orders of the central government, without any constraints.

The prefectural governor is the official position with the highest authority and the highest status in the local area.

Three years after Yande, the governor of the state wanted to do things. Without the support of the central government, it would be difficult to effectively restrict the local counties and counties, and the things he could do were relatively limited.

Often when the governor of the state promulgates an administrative order, there are very few people who respond, or they all respond but act very slowly. They wait for the attitude of the central government, and the central government acquiesces before they follow it.

There are many violators of yang and yin.

This kind of power structure often makes some state governors with stronger personalities very distressed.

They tried their best to dance in chains, barely maintain their decency, survived under the attack of the local branches of the central department, and more or less wanted to do something.

However, some state governors with weaker personalities saw clearly the needs of the emperor and the expansion of imperial power, so they voluntarily gave up struggling and became ostentatious and rubber stamps.

The central government will not interfere or participate in the things that the central government can intervene, let it be free, and discuss everything with the central government.

If you say yes, I'll do it again. Let's communicate in advance and reach a consensus, so as to save time from disagreements with the central government, and there will be no good fruit for us to eat when we quarrel.

Therefore, in some states, the local affairs within the purview of the central department are basically carried out directly from the central government to the counties and counties, bypassing the state level, and the state governor is as if it does not exist in this process.

Their power is only left to the corners and corners that the central department cannot control, which is very embarrassing.

Especially after the Nine Years and Ten Years of Yande, the powerful rebellion of the whole country, the central government's control over the localities was further strengthened, and this strengthening trend was concentrated in taxation.

A large number of tax collectors scattered to consolidate the place, cleared the land, liquidated the powerful, directly grasped the local taxation policy, and controlled the lifeline of the local administration.

Around ten years in Yande, because of Guo Peng's policy of clearing the land, a major rebellion broke out, which led to a major cleansing and reorganization of the powers in the world, and the power of the central government became stronger.

As a result, some state governors who were relatively weak in themselves were nicknamed Mr. Dot Pen by some good people because of further loss of power.

It means that if there is nothing to do, you can use your pen and dot something on the paper, but in fact you can’t make any decisions. It looks decent, but it’s really insignificant.

Some state governors with strong personalities who were unwilling to be restricted tried to argue with Guo Peng, asking for authority to be granted like the four frontier states, to deter local counties and counties, so as to facilitate administration.

But Guo Peng never paid attention to it and did not respond.

Some authority was given to the leaders of border states and counties because those places were indeed in crisis, and they needed authority to control their subordinates and concentrate their efforts on major tasks, so that they could build up the local area faster, digest and assimilate it, and make it truly the territory of the Wei Empire.

In a crisis-ridden area, there is a basis and necessity for a political strongman to exist.

Your inland states and counties have long been cleared of the crisis by me. There are no enemies, no foreign invasions, and everything is peaceful. What kind of authority do you want?

Is it convenient for you to build a small personal dynasty by giving you authority?

I am a centralized emperor, I am a dictator of an absolute monarchy, I am addicted to power!

I set up local branches of the central government offices everywhere to infringe on local power and strengthen the power of the central government. You ask me if I did something wrong by asking for power?

Honestly dance for me on chains!