"Yuan Yao, the eldest son of Yuan Highway, what do you think of Xuande?" Cao Cao asked.

"Although he is brave, he is at most a master general, and it is difficult to be the master." Liu Bei's vision has always been vicious.

Through Yuan Shu's cheating to improve his qualifications, coupled with his own efforts, Yuan Yao has been fighting in the army in the south and north for so many years, and his martial arts have also reached the peak of the second rate, and it is just around the corner to break through to the first-class.

But as Liu Bei said, people's qualifications can be changed, but their personality and way of thinking are basically limited as early as childhood. Yuan Yao is obviously not a wise man, and he can even be said to be simple-minded, neither does he have Sun Ce's domineering ability to show off in all directions, nor is he good at the art of war. For the main generals of the level of such as Lejin and Cao Hong, it is basically the limit of his life. If he is a master, or even an emperor, he is not qualified at all.

"Yes, I have seen this son when he was young. At that time, he was extremely spoiled by Yuan Highway, but he was a gentleman, with an arrogant personality, unlearned, and completely incompetent idiot. Although he has grown a lot over the years, which has impressed a certain person, his nature is easy to change, and his life is like this, and it is impossible to be the master of the people. Cao Cao said directly without a hint of tactfulness.

"Then Meng De thinks that Yuan Highway will not let him succeed him?" Liu Bei pointed out.

"Not bad. Yuan Highway has been the emperor so far, and he has not decided on the choice of the prince, obviously hesitating. Although the eldest son comes first, you can't choose the best among the heirs and choose a fool. If Yuan Yao's qualifications are ordinary, it will be okay, and he will be a king. But it is obvious that only for the sake of the general is simple-minded, and the battle is acceptable, if he is afraid of the king, he can only be a puppet. As long as there is one of the remaining descendants of Yuan Highway with good qualifications, it is basically impossible for him to be the emperor. Cao Cao said.

"The matter of royal inheritance has always been complicated. There are too many influencing factors, and whether Yuan Yao can succeed to the throne depends on what Yuan Highway thinks. Liu Bei chuckled.

Not everyone has Cao Cao's ability to give birth to sons, and there is basically no waste among the sons, and they all have their own strengths and amazing talents. The eldest son, Cao Ang, is a proper Ming monarch, benevolent but majestic, strong and wise. The remaining sons, or have the talent of a prime minister, or the qualifications of a general, or the amazing wisdom can be a good strategy, or the poetry is famous all over the world, can be a good leader. Therefore, Cao Cao doesn't need to worry too much about the inheritance of his heirs, the eldest son is almost perfect, what else is there to hesitate about?

"Yuan Highway accepted many righteous sons, isn't the meaning obvious? Yuan Yao was incompetent, and Yuan Highway clearly did not want him to inherit the unification. Cao Cao said.

"People's minds change. Although Yuan Highway now has four sons, the other three are still young and have uncertain temperaments. If you are taken down by them today, I am afraid that the matter of the heir will soon be brought up by someone with a heart. At that time, I am afraid that there will be another invisible bloody storm. Liu Bei sighed slightly.

Mentioning this, Liu Bei couldn't help but think of the matter of Emperor Ling's establishment of the Young Emperor Liu Bian. The fuse of the rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty was this incident, and once the matter of the heirs was not handled well, it could easily lead to the demise of the dynasty.

"When will the nation rise and die because of one man, when will it be able to get rid of this fate."

"How can it be changed? Besides, the Han Dynasty did not die because of one person, but it was already full of holes and there were too many hidden dangers, the building was about to fall, and the throne was just an introduction. Cao Cao said with an inexplicable meaning: "If you want the country to last for a long time, you can establish a strict training and selection mechanism for the heir to the throne, and try your best to ensure that there are no faint monarchs and more bright monarchs." Or, separate the imperial power. ”

"Separation of imperial power?" Liu Bei frowned and said, "Meng De, how could you have such a ridiculous idea?" ”

"It was Yuan Highway who mentioned it to me." Cao Cao's eyes were full of complexity: "The Son of Heaven is a symbol of more power and responsibility. After all, great talents like Wen Ruo and Zhuge Kongming cannot be cultivated by cultivation alone. Their talents are a godsend, and their upbringing and experience cannot be replicated. With the help of this kind of talent, the Son of Heaven does not need to meddle in political affairs at all. Just like me, if you have Wen to manage political affairs, I don't need to meddle at all, I just need to supervise and supervise one or two, so I can devote all my energy to conquest of the Quartet and dealing with the family. ”

"And the Son of Heaven can be like me. Divide the internal affairs of the prime minister, and leave the military affairs to the lieutenant, and control the power of adjudication, military power, and supervision himself. The Son of Heaven is diligent in government affairs and seems to be virtuous, but in fact it is not conducive to the country. Divide all government affairs among the ministers, balance all parties, clarify powers and obligations, divide powers, and supervise each other, which is what a virtuous monarch should do. Look at Yuan Highway now, what is he doing except when he is fighting? Drinking and having fun, teasing the young son, as a result, isn't the government more and more peaceful? Cao Cao said.

"The Son of Heaven is actually more like a symbol of a country. The meaning of its existence is to unify the voice of the empire and specify the direction of the empire. At the same time, balance all classes, suppress the family lords, and protect the power and stability of the people. ”

Liu Bei was dumbfounded when he heard this, his mouth opened slightly, and he wanted to refute something, but he didn't know how to refute it. What Cao Cao said sounds absurd, but there seems to be some truth in it.

"You and Yuan Lulu's thoughts are really strange. For generations, the supremacy of imperial power may be difficult to implement such an absurd idea, and there are many hidden dangers. Besides, the foundation we have worked so hard to lay will not be able to accomplish the peace of mind of future generations so that future generations will hand over the power in their hands? Liu Bei shook his head and said, he still found it difficult to accept this idea.

"Not for the decoration, but for the helmsman. It is impossible for every generation to produce a bright king, but every generation can produce virtuous ministers and capable ministers. Weakening the imperial power and strengthening the relative power may seem like a foolish act of restraint and restriction for those in power, but it can do its best to avoid the influence of the emperor and ensure the development and continuation of the country, which is beneficial in the long run. Cao Cao said.

"But in this way, how can the power of the prime minister be contained? If the prime minister is powerful, even if the Son of Heaven has the power to adjudicate the army, I am afraid that it will inevitably be hollowed out. ”

"The power to govern, the power to adjudicate, and the power to supervise and report can be separated, and the same level can supervise each other to check and balance each other's powers." Cao Cao said.

"Such a decentralization of power is probably not conducive to the implementation of government affairs and national decision-making, and what if we attack each other and pass the buck." Liu Bei sneered.

"At this time, it depends on the prime minister and the Son of Heaven. If the Son of Heaven is virtuous, he can overwhelm the ministers, after all, in terms of status, the Son of Heaven is the supreme and noble. If the ability is sufficient, there is no possibility of interfering in government affairs. If the Son of Heaven is incompetent, the prime minister is capable, and the prime minister can also suppress the public opinion and suppress the ministers. These measures are not a separation of powers, but supervision and checks and balances, after all, the judiciary and supervision can be separated from government affairs, and are not included in government affairs. Cao Cao said.

"Brother Meng De, can't you find the contradiction in what you say?" Liu Bei said.

"Yuan Highway has a saying that is very true. Things change with time, there is no eternal thing in this world, let alone a perfect system, it can only be said that a system that suits the national conditions and conforms to the times is a good system. It is true that there are many loopholes in the system that I have just mentioned, but it can also be continuously improved. Moreover, the system of the Han Dynasty has been determined to be unsustainable, and the omissions in it are too serious to be implemented. The most important thing is that the emperor is too powerful. Cao Cao said.

"Most of the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty were childish, because they were easy to control, although they held power, how different from puppets? Relatives and eunuchs controlled the government, and the family lords divided the interests and put their personal interests above the country, resulting in the decline of the country. It can be seen that excessive imperial power is not a good thing, and it is easy to lead to power being controlled by selfish and incompetent people, which is not only detrimental to the royal family, but also detrimental to the country. It is the best policy to divide powers and clarify the corresponding obligations and responsibilities, and promote mutual checks and balances. ”

Liu Bei clenched his fists and said: "It's nonsense, the decline of the Han family is because of the rampant relatives and the immorality of the eunuchs, as long as the power of the two is abolished, and the Son of Heaven is not immature and not ignorant." The whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister, it has been like this since ancient times, and the Son of Heaven is the great Han. ”

Cao Cao shook his head slightly: "It's pointless to argue like this, you and I can't convince each other, let time prove everything." One day, the foundation built by you, me and the Yuan brothers will collapse like a big man, and then it will be up to who can have the last laugh. ”