Early the next morning.

Cao Pi, the king of Wei, went to the early dynasty with two dark circles under his eyes.

During this period, the generals and ministers who pacified Cao Zhang's rebellion were greatly rewarded.

It is Wude Hou Cao Rong, who was also promoted to the Duke of Qi and the prince of Wei because of his merits, and this reward can be regarded as a signal to the government and the opposition.

The candidate for the next King of Wei is Cao Rong, the Duke of Qi!

"Son, thank you for your father's reward!"

Cao Rong's face was excited, holding the wat board, and immediately knelt down, he lowered his head, trembling all over, and held the wat board tightly with both hands, even if the flesh in the nails turned blue and white, he still didn't know it.

After months of layout, it is finally fruitful.

Call~

The big stone in his heart finally fell.

seemingly

He didn't know if the other moves were right, but Queen Guo's move, he was right.

Cao Pi looked at the excited Cao Ei, his heart was a little tired, and said, "Wait for the next court, you will go to see the queen." ”

"Erchen understands."

After dealing with Cao Rong's affairs, Cao Pi looked at Cao Zhi, who looked a little similar to him in the list of ministers, he snorted coldly and said: "The Marquis of Pingyuan and the Duke of Qi guarded Luoyang together, and they did have merit, but. According to the school office, Pingyuan Hou and the traitor Cao Zhang, have a letter in contact? But? ”

Correspondence?

Cao Zhi's complexion changed suddenly, he immediately knelt on the ground, and said in a painful voice: "The younger brother and the Marquis of Yanling, there is no correspondence, and I also ask the king Mingjian." ”

"Dare to quibble?"

Cao Pi's eyes were full of murder.

"The deputy general of the Marquis of Yanling that I captured, he has already confessed to you, in other words, you not only have a letter with the traitor Cao Zhang, but even want to cooperate with the thief army inside and outside to break Luoyang!"

As soon as Cao Pi's words came out, the courtiers in the court gasped one by one, and their eyes looked at Cao Zhi, full of surprise.

At this moment, Cao Zhi's complexion was already pale, and there was no blood on it.

"Brother. Brother wronged! ”

Where does he not know now, this is Cao Pi who wants to frame him.

If you want to add sin, why should you do it?

He looked pitifully at Cao Rong, who was now the Duke of Qi, hoping that at this critical time, he could pull himself.

However.

At this moment, Cao Rong lowered his head, and didn't seem to see Cao Zhi's gaze at all.

He then looked at the general Cao Ren for help.

The latter looked hesitant, and after all, he only sighed without any words.

Shang Shu Ling Huanjie, Xiahou Nan, Chen Qun

Gu is silent.

"Huh."

"Haha~"

Cao Zhi smiled bitterly, smirked, knelt on the ground, and smacked his head on the ground, which was called an earth-shattering sound.

Bang bang bang!

"The subordinate brother is wronged, and there is absolutely no collusion with the thief, as for the so-called letters, the so-called confessions, they are all people who want to frame the subordinate brother."

Someone?

Cao Pi's eyes narrowed, and he asked coldly: "The person you are talking about, is it lonely?" ”

Bang bang bang~

Cao Zhi kowtowed three more times and said, "Brother Chen has no intention of doing this, please also ask the king to know it!" ”

Mingjian?

Cao Pi thought of last night's nightmare, and thought of what Cao Zhi had done before, and his heart was as hard as iron.

"Escort Pingyuan Hou to Luoyang Prison, if there is a grievance, Lone will do it for you!"

Anyway?

Cao Zhi's forehead was already covered with blood marks, and he had to shout at this moment: "Brother is wronged, brother is wronged!"

However, at this moment, there are two guards who will pull them out of the temple.

After Cao Zhi's shouting of grievances gradually faded away, Cao Pi said a little impatiently: "If there is nothing to do, go to court!" ”

He can't wait to go to Luoyang Prison now, and he knotted his heart.

Just when Cao Pi's ass was about to leave the throne, Chen Qun, who was wearing a civil official robe and a virtuous crown, was seven inches high in the front, three inches in the back, eight inches long, and had three beams in the crown.

"Your Majesty has a book to play."

Seeing Chen Qun come up to play the book, Cao Pi's buttocks, which he had just lifted, had to sit back again.

"Aiqing has a quick play!"

So eyeless?

Lonely is in a hurry to do something!

Hiss!

Chen Qun took a deep breath, held the wat board in his hand, raised it above his head, and said: "The things that the ministers want to play are related to the country's foundation, the world's scholars, and the important matters of official appointment!" ”

Kunimoto?

Cao Pi's eyes narrowed, and his brows wrinkled unconsciously.

Is this to force me to agree to the Nine Grades Official Law in the early court?

Is it the persecution of the nobles?

Cao Pi's hand on the armrest of the throne suddenly clenched.

"Say it."

Cao Pi's tone was cold, and there was a little emotion in these words.

However, Chen Qun didn't seem to hear Cao Pi's emotions, and said to himself: "The Han Zhicha system is now out of step with the times, and it can no longer achieve the purpose of taking the world's talents for the king's use. ”

Seeing that Cao Pi didn't speak, Chen Qun continued: "His Majesty and the sages have formulated a new method for recruiting talents, called the 'Nine Rank Official Law', which can also be called the Nine Rank Zhongzheng System.

What is the Nine Products Zhongzheng System?

The first is to set up Zhongzheng, the so-called Zhongzheng, that is, the person in charge of evaluating the characters in a certain region, that is, the Zhongzheng official.

The state has a large central official who is in charge of the evaluation of the characters in several counties in the state, and each county has a small central official.

The second is the character of the first character, which is the main responsibility of the central official.

The Lieutenant was responsible for evaluating scholars of his same nationality, including those in the prefecture and in other counties.

There are three main contents of the tasting:

First, family background: that is, family origin and background. It refers to the seniority of the fathers and grandparents, the situation of the eunuchs and the level of the title. These materials are called books or books, and they are something that the central magistrate must master in detail.

Second, the line: that is, the general evaluation of personal character and ability.

Third, the quality of the product: that is, to determine the grade. In principle, the order is based on the line, and the family history is only for reference.

The third is the basis for selection.

The results of the Zhongzheng review were submitted to the Situ Government for review and approval, and then sent to the Ministry of Officials as the basis for the selection of officials.

The quality of the evaluation is closely related to the career of the assessee.

The Zhongzheng appraisal characters are adjusted once every 3 years as usual, but the Zhongzheng can also upgrade or downgrade the evaluated characters at any time. ”

After finishing the tirade of the Nine Grades of Official Law, Chen Qun looked at Cao Pi and said, "Please also ask the king to agree to this great system that benefits the country and the people!" If the king uses this system, he will be able to make my Great Wei dominate the world, and the so-called heir of Liu Gong, the crown prince of Hanzhong, is not worth mentioning! ”

In fact, Chen Qun had already told him in private about this nine-grade official law.

advantage

Yes, however

Cao Pi is also worried about its disadvantages.

With this system, the scholar clan will definitely become bigger, and when the time comes, will this Wei country be the Wei country of his Cao family, or the Wei country of the family?

Cao Pi wanted to refuse directly, but he rolled his eyes and immediately said: "What do you think of this system?" ”

He wanted to see the attitude of his ministers.

Although he is the king of Wei, he can't cover the sky with one hand, not to mention that his current position as the king of Wei has to sit in peace.

Cao Zhang just fled to Chang'an, but he didn't die!

And Cao Zhang's ability to escape from the encirclement was also full of suspicions.

Cao Pi was suspicious, unconsciously, and thought about other aspects.

Could it be said.

If I don't agree with this nine-grade official law, the family will ask the Marquis of Yanling to be the king of Wei?

Shang Shu Ling Huanjie immediately got up and said: "Before the establishment of the Great Wei Dynasty, due to frequent wars and large population flows, local governance was quite chaotic.

Therefore, the application of the Nine Grades of Officials Law can properly dispatch appropriate officials to manage local affairs together, so that the local culture and folk customs can be restored, and His Majesty hopes that His Highness will adopt this system! ”

Although the Huan Rank was not from the Dashi clan, he also agreed to this system.

Wude Hou Fu, oh no, Zheng Cheng, who is now or should be called Qi Wang Fu, got up and said: "After the first king proposed to appoint people on the basis of meritocracy, the atmosphere of selecting talents was smoky, although it attracted a lot of strategists, but this way of selecting talents is not a long-term plan for governing the country, because cunning people are easy to subvert the imperial court, and it is not easy to educate the locality.

Therefore, the "Nine Grades of Officials Law" not only has the role of correcting the malaise of the times, but also can select appropriate talents.

His Majesty thinks that the king should implement the nine-grade Zhongzheng system! ”

Next, some courtiers stepped forward to express their opinions, and basically they all agreed.

Cao Pi fixed his eyes on Cao Ren.

"What does the general think?"

was suddenly asked by Cao Pi, Cao Ren was stunned for a moment, and then said with a wry smile: "The last general is a martial artist, I don't know how to govern the country, as long as the king thinks it is good, the last general will definitely agree!" ”

Cao Ren's words made Cao Pi's mood a lot better.

"The stakes are high, and we have to think about it in the long run!"

This matter is not easy to refuse, Cao Pi decided to use the procrastination trick.

Hearing this, Chen Qun hurriedly stepped forward and said: "There are frequent wars in the country, the national strength is empty, and the Han China is thriving. ”

"Besides, the king has the ambition to dominate the world, and if he wants to make a living for the people of Kyushu, he has to use this method."

Chen Qun's words are full of deep meaning.

Don't you Cao Pi want to represent Han?

If you want to represent the Han, if you don't meet the requirements of our scholars, can you succeed with your track record of several battles and defeats?

Chen Qun's words made Cao Pi's brows furrow.

"Humph!"

He snorted coldly, thinking of a bad memory from before.

At the beginning of his succession, Xiahoudun died of illness.

At Xiahoudun's funeral, Cao Pi wore plain clothes and led hundreds of civil and military officials to the east gate of Yecheng to mourn.

This seemingly ordinary mourning activity caused a burst of criticism among the government and the opposition, and many people thought that Cao Pi's behavior of giving Xiahoudun a funeral was rude.

According to the previous etiquette, the king would never give a funeral to any minister easily, and even if he did, he would not wear plain clothes and personally send him out of the city.

Even if it is a clan with the same surname with a very high position of power, under normal circumstances, the king will only cry outside the gate of the temple.

The reason why the officials held on to this matter was mainly because the timing of the funeral turmoil was too sensitive.

At that time, it was the beginning of Cao Pi's succession, and his position of power had not yet been consolidated.

First the younger brother Cao Zhang led the army to seize power, and then there was the Qingzhou soldier mutiny, at this juncture, the hundred officials revisited the Cao family's birth of the old matter, it can be seen that most people at that time did not recognize the Eastern Han Dynasty by a eunuch, the descendants of beggars to replace it.

Of course, the old forces led by everyone in the world did not dare to completely break with Cao Pi, at most they beat Cao Pi through such a trivial matter as sending a funeral for Xiahoudun, reminding him to protect the interests and privileges of everyone in the family, otherwise he would not be able to get the support of hundreds of officials, and the emperor's seat would not be stable.

Cao Pi also knew this, so he consulted with his confidant Chen Qun, and decided to compromise with everyone in the clan, and to find a way to find a link to tie the interests of the clan and the Cao Wei regime.

This link is the Nine Grades Official Law.

It's just that

The price of this bond is too great.

According to the family background, virtue and talent, all the pre-admitted talents to be assessed are divided into three, six, nine and so on, from the top, the middle, the top and the bottom, all the way to the bottom, the middle, the bottom, the level of the grade directly determines the level and power of the official position.

The "second product" is called "Gaomen" above, and the following are all called "Hanmen".

In addition, the "central officials" who are specifically responsible for the appointment and dismissal of officials must also be appointed by officials of the second rank or above.

In this way, the clans under the Gao Sect completely monopolized the personnel power of the entire Cao Wei government, and by this alone, they were able to gain influence between the government and the opposition.

"King, you can't hesitate any longer at this moment."

As Cao Pi's confidant minister, Chen Qun proposed this nine-grade official law in front of hundreds of officials in the main hall, and he was also under tremendous pressure behind him.

No way.

Cao Pi's defeat in the southern expedition was a loss in all aspects, and the same was true for the scholars.

I didn't get anything on the battlefield, so I could only make up for it on the Jiupin Official Law.

"Marquis Yan Ling is in Chang'an, but I don't know what kind of turmoil it will cause!"

Chen Qun added another sentence later.

This sentence obviously touched Cao Pi's reverse scales.

"I have countless Great Wei Liang generals, afraid of a single rebellion?"

Chen Qun just knelt on the ground and said, "Please think twice!" ”

Chen Qun knelt down, and behind him, above the court, except for the clan relatives, basically all the ministers knelt down.

"Please think twice!"

Hundreds of people shouted in unison, the momentum was so great, echoing in the main hall, deafening, going up the beam, three days endlessly.

Cao Pi was silent.

From Chen Qun's words, he understood that he couldn't even delay this matter.

Call~

Cao Pi tried his best to calm his emotions down.

After a while, he said a little weakly: "Since all the Aiqing have recognized this system, then the Nine Grades Official Law will be implemented!" ”

Although there are drawbacks to the Jiupin Official Law, it is still more beneficial for the current Wei State.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the shortcomings of the "inspection system" that the Han Dynasty relied on were obviously placed in front of everyone, that is, "virtue does not mean talent".

If a small county official is only virtuous, but has no experience in governance, then this small county official may make a mess of the governance of the area, and in peacetime, this shortcoming is not so obvious.

But in the more turbulent times, the shortcomings of this approach were fatal.

Why there is a situation of "fierce generals and celebrities like rain" under Cao Cao is that Cao Cao's employment policy is "emphasizing talent and ignoring morality".

The emergence of the "Nine Grades of Officials Law" can be said to have broken the situation of the "probation system" to promote some people who only have virtue and no talent.

And now Cao Pi is newly defeated, and the hearts of the people in the world are unstable.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the power of the family clan can be said to be unprecedentedly large, including Cao Cao himself, who also relied on the strength of the scholar clan to stabilize the north.

Therefore, in order to stabilize the hearts of these families, the "Nine Grades Official Law" can be said to have handed over part of the power of the election to these families, so as to exchange for the support of these families for the Cao Wei regime and stabilize the situation in the north.

Moreover, the "Nine Rank Officials Law" also brought back the appointment and dismissal of officials to the central government, which also strengthened the stability of the centralized system.

But.

For the sake of the present good, the future is sown in the woe.

Is this the work of the Lord?

Alas~

Cao Pi sighed and thought to himself: If his father was still alive, would he agree to the hundred officials to implement the Nine Rank Official Law?

He shook his head slightly.

My father would never agree to this.

Because he can suppress the hundred officials in this temple and the great family of this family.

However.

He was defeated again and again, and even the throne of King Wei was almost unstable.

He couldn't suppress the hundred officials in this palace, and he couldn't suppress the scholars behind Cao Wei.

In order to protect himself, to represent the Han, and to be the respect of the Ninety-Five, he had to compromise with the family.

The latter matter will be handed over to future generations to solve.

Believe in the wisdom of future generations!

(End of chapter)