Chapter 58 Chapter 1 Xiao Gui Cao Sui

Cao Shen: "Yes! Your Majesty is very right, we are not as good as them! Now the decrees made by Emperor Gao and Prime Minister Xiao for the world are clear enough. As long as Your Majesty governs, I only need to stick to my position and abide by the established rules. Isn't it all right?" Ordered to kill Fan Kuai, Chen Ping released the water Before he died, what worried Liu Bang the most was the safety of his favorite concubine Mrs. Qi and his beloved son Zhao Wang Ruyi. He knew that as soon as he died, Empress Lu would take action immediately, and Madam Qi and Ruyi would fall into a painful tragedy.

Liu Bang decided to take advantage of his own life and must do his best for the mother and son. The officials who opposed the Lu family took the opportunity to inform Liu Bang: "Fan Kuai's wife is Empress Lu's younger sister. Fan Kui is the biggest pillar of the Lu family's strength, and now he has a large army. As long as the emperor dies, Fan Kui will definitely use his military force to kill Zhao Wang Ruyi's mother and son!" Liu Bang, who was seriously ill, couldn't think clearly, and this matter was what he was most concerned about, so he secretly summoned Chen Ping and ordered him:

"Immediately spread the message to the land of Yan, dismiss Fan Kuai's military power, and teach Zhou Bo to replace Fan Kui's army commander and lead Fan Kui's army immediately, and kill Fan Kui on the spot." In fact, Fan Kuai was not only loyal to Liu Bang, but also understood the overall situation. It was impossible for him to disturb the state affairs because of his special relationship with Empress Lu. Chen Ping knew that Liu Bang was losing his mind, so he didn't dare to dissuade him face to face, so he had to take Liu Bang's imperial order to meet Zhou Bo quickly to discuss countermeasures.

Chen Ping said to Zhou Bo: "Fan Kui is an old friend of the emperor, and he has made great contributions to the country. Besides, he is the husband of Empress Lu's sister, Lu Yan, and her close relatives are expensive. Now the emperor just wants to kill him when he is angry. Although he has given us an order, it is also possible. I will regret it immediately, I think it is better not to kill him, first escort him back to Beijing, and let the emperor handle it himself!" Zhou Bo also agreed with Chen Ping's opinion. Moreover, he and Fan Kui were old friends when they were young, and they knew each other very well. He didn't believe that Fan Kui would do anything unfavorable to the country.

The two decided not to join Fan Kuai's army, so as not to push people too far, which may cause the cadres of Fan Kui's army to rebound. Even if Fan Kui obeyed the imperial order, unnecessary chaos may occur. Therefore, they set up a military order altar outside the camp, and summoned Fan Kui on the occasion of the emperor.Before this, Fan Kui had also received information, but he still had a good sense of the general situation, so he turned his back on himself, got into the carriage, and was transported back to Beijing by Chen Ping's supervisor. And Zhou Bo temporarily acted as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army.

Before Chen Ping returned to Chang'an, he received the news of Liu Bang's death. He was afraid that Fan Kuai's wife Lu Yan would slander Queen Lu, so he hurried to Chang'an first.On the way, they happened to meet an envoy who conveyed the news of the emperor's death, and ordered Chen Ping and Guan Ying to station troops in Xingyang immediately to prevent the princes from changing. After receiving the edict, Chen Ping hurried back to the palace, weeping bitterly, and asked himself to be imprisoned by the guards to accompany Liu Bang's coffin. Empress Lu was also deeply moved, so she ordered her to be the doctor's order to assist Liu Ying.

Afterwards, Lu Yan spoke ill of Chen Ping to the future, but Empress Lu had received Chen Ping's report in advance, so she did not listen to Lu Yan's slander. In the future, the princes of the Liu family will be purged When Liu Bang was alive, Empress Lu was very disturbed by princes and kings with different surnames. She believed that the powerful partners who accompanied Liu Bang in starting a business could not support the young heir Liu Ying, so they must be punished before Liu Bang died. The rebellion of Yingbo and Lu Wan, who led the extermination, was also aimed at Empress Lu.

After a long period of painful training, Empress Lu paid more attention to imperial power than Liu Bang. The kind, sensible, and tolerant Miss Lu Pheasant in the early days has become an extremely restless, anxious, tough and cruel Empress Dowager Lu. Because among Liu Bang's 8 sons, only Liu Ying was born to Empress Lu, and the rest were born to other concubines, so Empress Lu also began to doubt whether they would come to seize power with Liu Ying. These princes surnamed Liu include the eldest sons of Qi Wang Liu Fei, Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi, and Dai Wang Liu Heng.Liu Hui, King of Liang, Liu You, King of Huaiyang, Liu Chang, King of Huainan, Liu Jian, King of Yan, Liu Jiao, Liu Bang’s brother, King of Chu, Liu Bi, nephew of Liu Bang, King Wu, and Wu Chen (Wu Ruizi), the son of a meritorious official not named Liu.

In order to balance this force, before Liu Bang was alive, Empress Lu deliberately promoted her brother Lu Ze to be Zhou Luhou. After Lu Ze's death, his two sons--Lv Tai was granted the title of Marquis of Li, Lv Chan was given the title of Marquis of Jiao, and Empress Lu's second brother, Lu Shizhi, was given the title of Marquis of Jiancheng. What Empress Lu hated the most was Zhao Wang Ruyi and his mother, Mrs. Qi. This pair of competitors who almost defeated Empress Lu's mother and son became the first targets of her purge. Shortly after Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu ordered the officials in Yongxiang of the Inner Palace to arrest Mrs. Qi and put her in prison as a prisoner pending trial.

He also sent envoys to quickly recall Zhao Wang Ruyi who was in Handan, and prepared to punish him together.The envoy went there three times, but was sent back by Zhou Chang, Prime Minister of Zhao State. He asked the envoy to tell Empress Lu: "Emperor Gao (Liu Bang) ordered his ministers to assist King Zhao. Since King Zhao was old enough to wear shoes and needed protection, he heard that the Queen Mother hated Mrs. Qi, so he wanted to call King Zhao to punish him. The ministers dared not let King Zhao go back, lest he be harmed. Moreover, King Zhao is ill and cannot obey the imperial edict."

Since Zhou Chang was a benefactor of Empress Lu, although Empress Lu was angry, she did not dare to force him, so she had to transfer Zhou Chang back to the capital first. Although Zhou Chang knew that it was Empress Lu's conspiracy, the emperor's order could not be violated, so he had to go to Chang'an first, and then seek ways to protect Zhao Wang Ruyi. Then Lu sent someone to recall King Zhao, but because other officials did not dare to stop him, they had to send King Zhao back to the capital. Zhou Chang has appealed to Liu Ying, who had just become emperor, to protect Ruyi. Although Liu Ying is only 18 years old, she has a kind personality and is assertive.He knew that Empress Lu intended to kill Ruyi, so he went to Bashang to meet her personally. The two entered the palace together, and lived and ate together. Because Liu Yinggui is the emperor, and Zhou Chang is planning, Empress Lu has nothing to do for a while. But Empress Lu still did not give up. He sent people to closely monitor Liu Ying and Liu Ruyi in order to find an opportunity to attack. Finally, one month later, Liu Ying went hunting one morning, but Ruyi didn't go with her because she couldn't get up in the morning to return her shoes. Taking advantage of this gap, Empress Lu immediately sent someone to kill Ruyi with the prepared poisonous soup. When Liu Ying came back, Ruyi was dead. He cried bitterly, but there was no way to pursue responsibility. Watching people, Liu Ying is in power After dealing with Zhao Wang Ruyi, Empress Lu ordered Madam Qi's hands and feet to be cut off, gouged out both eyes, deafened her ears with medicine, and forced her to drink dumb medicine to make her unable to speak, and then put her in the toilet, saying that Make "human pig." A few days later, Empress Lu wanted to be angry with the emperor Liu Ying who refused to listen to her command, so she sent a eunuch to invite Liu Ying to watch the "human pig". Liu Ying didn't know what a human pig was, so she went to check. The 18-year-old kind-hearted boy was naturally shocked when he saw this tragic situation, and immediately asked the eunuch who this person was and why it was so miserable. The eunuch replied that it was Mrs. Qi. When Liu Ying heard about it, she lost her soul and cried loudly until she passed out.Since then, for more than a year, he has been lying on the hospital bed unconscious, unable to see things. After a little better, he sent someone to tell Empress Lu: "Cruel behavior like this is definitely not something a human can do. I am the queen mother, and I am not a human being. I will not be able to rule the world in the end. Please deal with it!" From then on, he drank for pleasure all day long, paralyzed himself, and stopped going to court, in order to avenge Empress Lu's cruelty. In order to worry about changes in the princes, Empress Lu ordered the construction of the defense system of Chang'an City, especially in the northwest adjacent to the Huns, and built a strong city wall for defense. The following year, King Liu Fei of Qi entered the court from the State of Qi and met Liu Ying and Empress Lu. Liu Ying held a banquet in front of the Queen Mother to welcome the wind. Li served Liu Fei and let him sit in the top position. Empress Lu was very upset when she saw it, so she ordered poisoned wine to be placed in front of Liu Fei and ordered Liu Fei to toast. Liu Fei got up to toast, Liu Ying also stood up, wanting to drink with Liu Fei. Fearing that Liu Ying would be poisoned, Empress Lu removed Liu Ying's wine glass with her hands. Liu Ying was taken aback, realized something was wrong, and immediately winked at Liu Fei. Liu Fei also felt strange, so she dared not drink any more, pretended to be drunk, thanked her and left. When Liu Fei returned to the hotel, he immediately asked people to find out what was going on. Liu Ying also sent someone to tell him that the alcohol was poisonous, and advised Liu Fei to be careful.Liu Fei was shocked, and immediately discussed with his entourage and staff how to deal with it.The internal officials advised Liu Fei to donate Chengyang County to Princess Lu Yuan (born by Empress Lu) as Tang Muyi, in order to please the Queen Mother and show her loyalty. Xiao He died, Cao Shen succeeded The founding monarch died, and politics immediately fell into turmoil. The succeeding emperor was young and weak, Empress Lu brutally seized power, and the newly established Han Dynasty was in turmoil. The hardest person during this period was Xiangguo Xiao He. On the one hand, he wants to use all kinds of methods to prevent Empress Lu from harming Liu's regime too much and avoid the expansion of Lu's power. On the one hand, it is necessary to channel the dissatisfaction of the heroes with Empress Lu, so as to avoid strong internal strife and cause the collapse of the dynasty. Xiao He has a gentle and prudent personality, coupled with his high prestige in the Guanzhong area, and Lu Hou is powerful, so he still has to respect Xiao He in court affairs. Although the Lu family's party, with the support and instigation of Empress Lu, seized power with all its strength, under the helm of Xiao He, the extent of expansion was still very limited. However, after two years, the old Xiao He's health became worse, and his excessive worry made him look more than ten years older than his actual age. Liu Ying also knew the importance of Xiao He, so after Xiao He's condition deteriorated, she went to Xiangguo Mansion to ask about the funeral. Liu Ying: "When Prime Minister Jun turns 100, who can succeed you?" Xiao He: "There is no better minister than the Lord." Liu Ying: "How about Cao Shen?" Xiao He: "Your Majesty has obtained qualified talents, even if I die, I will have no regrets!" In fact, Cao Shen's succession to Xiao He's position had already been determined in Liu Bang's last words. As long as Cao Shen was still there when Xiao He passed away, he would have the legal right to inherit, so why bother Liu Ying and Xiao He to make a determination? It can be seen that at this time, Empress Lu's party has a high intention to seize power. If the legitimacy of Cao Shen's succession is no longer strengthened, there may be changes. One is the emperor, and the other is the current prime minister. Naturally, there is no need to report to Empress Lu in terms of laws, customs and etiquette for matters decided by the two parties. The next month, Xiao He passed away. Xiao He's greatest contribution to the Han Dynasty should be in terms of internal affairs, finance, and economy. He made very forward-looking arrangements for the financial difficulties that must have occurred during the entrepreneurial period. When he first entered Guanzhong, he grabbed the documents and records of Qin State, which allowed him to accurately grasp the production strength and distribution of the whole country. Under the reasonable planning of increasing income and reducing expenditure, the financial management in the early Han Dynasty was very successful. But Xiao He himself was not rich. Except that during Yingbo's rebellion, in order to lower his prestige in Guanzhong, he had intentionally forcibly purchased civilian property, he was very conservative in financial management.Every time he buys land, he always finds a poor place in the backcountry, so as not to hurt the productivity of the farmers; although he plans to build a luxurious palace, his house is small and simple, not at all like the Xiangguo's mansion. Many people advised him to at least prepare some decent property for his descendants. Xiao He smiled and said: "If my future generations are virtuous, they will be able to imitate my frugality and will not care about family property at all; if future generations are not virtuous, no matter how much family property they have, they will be taken away." Cao Shen: the chief warrior of Liu Bang's team Cao Shen, like Xiao He, was originally Liu Bang's boss in the time of Ting Chang; during the Peixian uprising, Cao Shen and Xiao He were both protagonists, and they were also Liu Bang's earliest team members and close partners. Cao Shen and Xiao He had a very good relationship in their early years. During the struggle between Chu and Han, Xiao He was in charge of manpower and food management in Guanzhong, while Cao Shen was in charge of the war outside. From the out of Chencang and Dingguan, Cao Shen has always been attached to the Hanxin Army. In the war north of the Yellow River, Cao Shen will fight almost every battle. And is responsible for quite an important role. In Han Xin's legion, in addition to the troops directly under it, there are two main subsidiary legions - the cavalry unit in charge of Guan Ying and the infantry unit in charge of Cao Shen. In addition to being able to fight independently because of their strong independent combat capabilities, they were of substantial help to Han Xin, an army that actively attacked and operated the area north of the Yellow River, and they were also trump cards used by Liu Bang to supervise Han Xin and disperse Han Xin's influence. The cavalry was responsible for charging and chasing, but it was Cao Shen's infantry corps that really captured the city, defeated the enemy, or occupied the city.Therefore, in terms of hardship and danger, Cao Shen is better than Guan Ying. Cao Shen's personality is responsible for his bravery, and he often commands at the front. Therefore, it is said that he suffered more than 70 wounds all over his body. In fact, more importantly, in the eyes of court ministers and generals, Cao Shen contributed more than Xiao He.When he was conferred the title, Cao Shen was not only the first to be conferred, but also lived in the city with ten thousand households, which was higher than Xiao He's original eight thousand households.Although Zhang Liang was also named Wanhu, the time was still after Cao Shen. If it weren't for Liu Bang's all-round spirit to judge Xiao He's contribution to be the first, and to add two thousand households to Shiyi, Cao Shen's outstanding military exploits and brave performance would still rank first in everyone's eyes. However, this incident also caused Cao Shen and Xiao He's entanglement. From the founding of the People's Republic of China to Xiao He's death for more than eight years, the two sides seemed to have no contact. Liu Bang even deliberately transferred Cao Shen to the eastern state of Qi as the prime minister. Even so, in Liu Bang's two major military campaigns in his later years—the war against Chen Xi and Yingbo, Liu Bang still recruited Cao Shen and led the Qi army to come to help. It can be seen that Liu Bang's military dependence on Cao Shen is still higher than that of generals Zhou Bo, Fan Kuai and Guan Ying. According to the records in "Historical Records", Cao Shen's contributions include capturing two vassal states and more than 120 counties.The performance of the captives includes two princes and kings, three prime ministers, six generals, Da Moao (a minister of the state of Chu), one county guard, one Sima, one marquis, and one censor each. A very productive business executive indeed. In governing the country, the management of prison administration and underworld is the most important However, after he was appointed as the prime minister of Qi Wang Liu Fei (the first year of Emperor Hui, the law of the princes and the state was abolished, and the state was renamed the prime minister), Cao Shen had a 180-degree change in his style. The rule of the weak Huang Lao, everything goes with the flow, does not make deliberate efforts, and pursues political performance. This is not easy, but also a very remarkable change. Because Liu Fei was still young, Cao Shen called the elders and Confucian scholars of Qi State to discuss how to make Qi State, which has always been complicated and turbulent, return to its original nature, so that the people's lives can be stable and prosperous. Scholars of Qi State from various schools and factions also put forward various views of various factions, arguing and disagreeing, which also made Cao Shen deeply unable to make an appropriate decision. Later, he heard someone recommend an old man named Gai Gong in Jiaoxi who knew Huang Lao's healing skills very well, so he immediately asked someone to hire him with generous coins and gifts. In fact, Cao Shen doesn't know much about Huang Lao's spirit, but in the absence of better information, he should try his best when he has the opportunity. Gai Gong also readily agreed to Cao Shen's invitation. After the meeting, Gai Gong told Cao Shen that governance should be quiet, inaction, and follow nature. If you believe in the people's ability to deal with it, politics will naturally tend to be stable. When Cao Shen heard this, he suddenly understood, so he immediately asked people to vacate the main hall for Gai Gong to live in, so that he could continue to ask him for advice. Since then, Cao Shen's administration in Qi State has been based on the principles of Huang Lao's governance, stable and supporting the people, resting with the people, not seeking his own performance, but seeking the stability and prosperity of the people's livelihood. Recognized as the first virtuous prime minister of Qi after Guan Zhong and Yan Zi. During this period, Cao Shen also learned the high wisdom of perspective and insight into the world.When the news of Xiao He's death spread, Cao Shen immediately asked Sheren to prepare for the westward march to Chang'an, and began to hand over the post of Prime Minister of Qi State. When everyone asked why, Cao Shen said quietly: "I will enter Beijing as the prime minister of the dynasty, so prepare early to avoid panic." Sure enough, he received a formal edict from Liu Ying soon, and he immediately went to Chang'an to serve as the prime minister. Cao Shen explained to the successor who continued to be the prime minister of Qi State: "Try to take good care of Qi State's prison administration and gang behavior in the market. As long as this aspect is well managed, Qi State will probably be fine. Don't use your performance to interfere with people's lives." The successor Qi Xiang asked: "Prison administration and market gangs? Isn't there more important government affairs than this?" Cao Shen replied: "That's not the case. The social organization in Qi State is very complicated, and the interests of the people are quite different. Prisons and market gangs are the most important places to accommodate complex forces. Only by accepting them can they be effectively managed. Blackness, on the contrary, will cause this force to flow around, and there will be no place for traitors, which will inevitably cause widespread pollution and corruption in society, so I think these two things are the most important. The rest of the treatment will be handled by the people themselves, and you don't need to do it Worry!". This is indeed a very great and pragmatic view of governance. Qi is a commercial country, just like the current Taiwan, its social structure and stakes are very complicated. Prison is a big dye vat and a gathering place for bad elements. If it is not managed well, not only will it not be able to help the prisoners change their ways, but it will become a training university for the underworld.The longer the imprisonment, the higher the morality, not only the master's program, but also the doctoral program. After being released from prison, the Taoist is one foot taller, and the devil is one foot taller. Market gangs are a paradise for speculators and the proletarian weak. They belong to the group of "gambling their lives for money", which is currently the so-called underworld gangs. "Yellow" is the characteristic of this place. Since the beginning of human beings, many political operators have wanted to ban it, but no one can do it because it is the most basic and practical need of human nature (hunger, sex and safety), the more restrained it is It often bounces back and gets bigger." A few years ago, the government launched an anti-crime campaign. As a result, the crackdown became more and more serious. The bosses of the underworld were wiped out, and newcomers had more opportunities to grow up. As long as they were willing to work hard, they could take over and become a new generation of big brothers, and there was even more room for development. Moreover, in order to protect themselves, the underworld business turned to commercial supermarkets. After the underworld ethics were destroyed, they no longer used ethical standards, so they colluded with officials, rigged bids and blackmailed them, and completely destroyed the ethics of shopping malls. For the sake of fairness, the government naturally intervened to ban it, but the forces of the underworld not only did not disappear, but directly joined the politics. The same is true for pornography. After it was banned, it went underground and wandered around, becoming a big pollution of society. For thousands of years, these two forces have been unstoppable, so prudent management is needed to restrict their living scope and establish Taoist ethics, so that newcomers have less room for development, which can naturally limit their growth. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan, was very aware of the "fear" and "necessity" of these two forces when he established Edo (now Tokyo), and found the most trustworthy forces in the Tao to assist them in their development. And established ethics, and maintained stability for more than a hundred years. Xiao Gui Cao Sui, a beautiful story through the ages Although in his later years, Cao Shen and Xiao He did not get along well, but before his death, Xiao He still believed that only Cao Shen was the most suitable to take over the position of Xiangguo. What's more interesting is that after Cao Shen took over, everything remained unchanged, completely in accordance with the plan of Xiao He's era. Not only that, but Cao Shen was also very careful in selecting the co-government officials, and those with great ambitions or ambitions would never be appointed. In particular, he was selected from the counties and countries with practical experience in governing the local administration, and he was dull and clumsy in words and handling affairs. He treats officials with a strong personality, stability and patience, and promotes them to officials of the prime minister's office, and promotes government affairs in the most pragmatic and stable way. For those officials who pursue self-prestige, eager to show themselves, eloquent, and provocative, he often reprimands them and freezes them so that they will not be reused. In order to reduce administrative efficiency, Cao Shen drank alcohol day and night by himself, so as not to deal with too many things. Due to Empress Lv's dictatorship, the Lv family accelerated the seizure of power, and Cao Shen ignored all the requests for administrative and system changes, and the backlog of official documents was astonishingly large. Seeing that Cao Shen didn't do anything, many officials and generals went to Xiangguo's mansion to ask for an audience and discuss business matters. Cao Shen entertained them to drink, so that no one had a chance to talk. As long as someone wanted to talk, Cao Shen said, "Drink again, and cheer again. When I was drunk, I didn't have time to say anything, so I went back." Such occasions have almost become commonplace. Gradually, this kind of pure drinking without doing anything has become a habit for everyone, and even officials have learned this habit.Therefore, someone reported to Xiangguo's mansion and demanded that this inefficiency be rectified. Cao Shen went over to see if it was true, and found that Cao Shen not only did not interfere with them, but took part in drinking and singing, and had fun together. He spends very little time dealing with the official affairs of the Xiangguo Mansion every day, and most of the big things are turned into small things, and small things are turned into nothing.For minor mistakes, Cao Shen helped everyone cover up the past, so there was almost nothing to do every day. Of course, Liu Ying also heard the report of Cao Shen's neglect of political affairs. Since the "Renzhu incident, Liu Ying has been drinking and having fun all day long, and indulges in sex. But Xiao He, who has always been serious and prudent in political affairs and work, is at the helm, so nothing major will happen at last." It was different when it was replaced by Cao Shen. He also came to ignore everything, and the entire government affairs immediately came to a standstill. Cao Shen's son, Cao Yu, was a Chinese doctor at that time. Liu Ying summoned Cao Yu and complained to him: "Your father probably bullied me when I was young and ignorant, that's why I'm so absurd! You go back and say to him: 'Emperor Gao abandoned all his officials and returned to the old age. Now the emperor is still old. You are the prime minister, drinking and singing all day long, doing nothing. , How can you become the leader of the subjects of the world?’ But don’t say I said it, and see how he reacts.” After Cao Yu went back, he waited for the opportunity to advise Cao Shen on the above meaning. Unexpectedly, Cao Shen was furious on the spot and said: "You just need to serve the emperor well, why are you so talkative? How can a yellow-mouthed child like you understand the affairs of the world!" And according to the family law on the spot, Cao Yu was angrily reprimanded two hundred times as a punishment. The news naturally reached Liu Ying's ears very quickly, and Liu Ying was also furious, and immediately summoned Cao Shen. Liu Ying reprimanded angrily to her face: "Why did you punish Cao Yu? I asked him to persuade you." Of course Cao Shen knew it was Liu Ying's instruction, and he punished Cao Yu just to show Liu Ying. Therefore, Cao Shen also immediately took off the crown of Xiangguo, and thanked him: "There's a reason why I don't do anything!" "What's the point?" "Your Majesty thinks that in terms of sage and heroism, how is he compared to the previous emperor?" "How dare I compare myself with the former emperor!" "Then your Majesty thinks who is more capable, me or Xiao Xiangguo?" "To be honest, you are not as good as Xiao He!" "Your Majesty Ai is very right. We are not as good as them! Now Emperor Gao and Xiao Xiangguo's decrees for the world are clear enough. As long as His Majesty governs, I only need to stick to my position and abide by the established laws. Is that all right?." Liu Ying woke up immediately and said: The Difficulties Behind Governance by Doing Nothing "Historical Records: The Family of Cao Xiangguo" finally recorded: "Cao Shen was the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. He died in office for three years... The common people sang: "Xiao He formulated laws and regulations and unified the overall administrative operations. Cao Shen took over his post, prudently conservative the spirit of the system, and did not modify it. He was in charge of government affairs in peace." Inaction, let the common people have a quiet life'." Sima Qian himself said in his final comments: "After the people experienced the harsh and harsh politics of the Qin Dynasty, Cao Shen rested with the people with peace and inaction, so the world praised him as beautiful!" The time of Shiji is not far from that time, and it should be true that the folks praised Xiao He and Cao Can as rare virtuous ministers in our time. But history readers of future generations will inevitably stare. Xiao He has a conservative personality, keeps everything simple, and does nothing. Cao Shen drinks all day long, is passive and inactive, and has low administrative efficiency. Is this a virtuous minister? However, the facts of the people's reaction are in front of us. How to explain this? Laozi said: "Governing a big country is like cooking small fish. This is indeed the best portrayal of Xiao He's plan. Liu Bang's Han Dynasty was between the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty and the prefecture and county system of the Qin Dynasty. Strictly speaking, it was unprecedented and followed. Due to the anemia of the empire caused by the excessive centralization of the Qin Dynasty, the administration was in chaos and even on the verge of collapse. Therefore, Xiao He simplified everything, allowing each locality to still have considerable autonomy to deal with individual situations." Xiao He's careful planning allowed the central government to achieve a balance between the central government and the local government, but in fact, due to the rebellion of the domino effect of the big princes and kings, the central government had to directly control the counties and counties.So the so-called "county-state system" back then was actually a special system established to meet the needs of the current situation and to correct the shortcomings of centralization.Because of its simplicity, it is quite suitable for turbulent times, and its adaptability is rather strong. However, not long after this system was implemented, Liu Bang and Xiao He passed away one after another. Fortunately, all the big princes with different surnames have been resolved, and the country is still peaceful. After Cao Shen took over, the most important task was to make this system work effectively.Now that Xiao He has a clear plan and has implemented it, Cao Shen only needs to maintain this momentum with all his strength so that everyone can get used to the system. But at this time, there is another force that is eager to seize power in order to expand its own power. The supreme leader of the state government, Empress Lu, is the boss behind this force. If the system is not well guarded, Empress Lu's party will try its best to destroy it.Cao Shen knew this very well.Therefore, he strictly forbade any changes, and everything was planned by Xiao He to ensure that the system of the Han Dynasty would not be destroyed by Lu's party. This is also what Cao Shen hinted at Liu Ying. Bear humiliation for the country and appease the Huns Liu Jing's kinship policy was only to appease the Huns temporarily. After the death of Liu Bang and Xiao He, although the stability was finally maintained, the national power of the Han Dynasty fell into a state of stagnation. At this time, Mao Dun's attitude turned stubborn, and he actually wrote a letter of credence to Empress Lv who had just been widowed recently: "I, a lonely king, was born in depression and grew up in the fields of cattle and horses in the plains. I have traveled to the border several times, and I am thinking of visiting China. Your Majesty (referring to Empress Lu) is also just a widow, and I must be lonely. Even if my heart is clear, I will never be happy again, I would like to exchange what I have for what you don’t have (meaning associating with Empress Lu).” The appearance of such words and sentences in the national book is quite a slight insult to Empress Lu. Fan Kuai, who was close to Empress Lu, also lost his temper, and immediately expressed his willingness to lead 100,000 troops to attack the Xiongnu. But Jibu, the general of Zhonglang, cried out: "Fan Kui uttered such wild words that he should behead the Emperor Gao of the Xiongnu Kingdom in Pingcheng. There were 320,000 Han soldiers. Fan Kui was also one of the generals of the army at that time, and they were powerless to relieve the siege." "Currently our army's wounds have not been healed, and the wounded have not healed yet, yet Fan Kuai wants to bring down the Huns with an army of 100,000. This false and arrogant statement will cause chaos in the world! Besides, the barbarians are like beasts. Their kind words are not worthy of joy, and their bad words are not worthy of anger!" Fan Kuai also knew that he was not sure, so he stopped refuting. All the ministers and generals knew that it was definitely not the time to use troops, and they all offered advice one after another. Empress Lu also knew very well that the Han Dynasty was unable to go to war at all, so she had to bear the burden of humiliation, and Zhang Shi, the great visitor, replied on his behalf, expressing in a rather humble tone that she was old and everything was important to state affairs, and she would not care about loneliness. He also thanked Maodun for his kindness with Che Ercheng and Ma Ersi. Mao Dun felt embarrassed instead, and sent an envoy to apologize, saying: "I don't understand the etiquette of a civilized country in China. I offended you. Fortunately, Your Majesty forgives me so that there will be no conflict." He also presented a horse to express his apology, the policy of peace between the two sides was implemented, and the frontier also maintained a temporary peace. In August of the fifth year of Emperor Hui, Cao Shen died of illness. The three-year dangerous period was finally passed safely under Cao Shen's inaction at the helm.The operation of the Han Dynasty has tended to be stable, and in the short term, the Lu family will do nothing because everything is calm. According to Liu Bang's early will, Empress Lu appointed Wang Ling as the right prime minister, Chen Ping as the left prime minister, and Zhou Bo as the captain of the highest military officer. In the sixth year of Emperor Hui's reign, Marquis Zhang Liang and Fan Kui died successively. The veteran heroes who restricted Empress Lu passed away one by one, and the stable system began to loosen, and the era of change was coming. The following year, Hui Emperor Liu Ying, who indulged in the absurd life of drinking and sex all day long and used his own slow suicide to avenge the cruel Empress Lu, died at the young age of 21 due to rapid health deterioration. Liu Ying once appointed Zhang Ao's daughter as the queen. Although this daughter was Zhang Ao's daughter, she was not born to Princess Lu Yuan, but she was still considered Liu Ying's niece for this incestuous marriage in the future. No one knows what she was thinking. But Empress Zhang is too young to have anything to do. Liu Bang's direct blood relationship system has broken the line of the Lu family's seizure of power. At this time, he has obtained a great opportunity. 【Chen Wende Commentary】 Laozi's "Tao Te Ching Chapter 63": "Doing nothing, doing nothing, tasteless, tasteless, big or small, reporting urgently to Germany is difficult and easy, and if it is more difficult than it is small, it must be done in the easy world; .It is because the sage does not become great in the end, so he can become great. If you are light on your promises, you will have little faith, and if you are easy, you will be difficult. It is because the sage still gives it, so there will be no difficulties in the end.” A sage who understands the Tao, let everything go with the flow, do nothing, let alone create troubles, and will not have his own opinions, so there is nothing wrong, nothing, and tasteless. View the big from the small, see the many from the small, so do nothing, even if there is hatred, repay it with virtue. To solve difficult things, we must start from the simplest, and to do great things, we must also start from the subtle places. Therefore, a sage who truly understands Dao does not think he is great, but is humble and tolerant, so he can accomplish great things instead. Prudent and cautious, not easy to promise, so can stick to its integrity.Those who take things too easily will often fall into failure and encounter difficulties.Treat everything as a difficult thing like a sage, and proceed carefully, so that no real difficulties will occur. The period of Liu Bang's death can be said to be a major key to the survival of the Han Dynasty. The domino-style rebellion of the powerful princes with different surnames has just been suppressed, and the important generals are all outside. The successor Liu Ying is only 16 years old, and it is impossible to exert a strong leadership. Empress Lu is ambitious. She has extreme distrust of heroes and generals, and even hates the Liu family kings who were not born by herself. Therefore, she would rather trust her relatives—the Lu family. She hopes that the Lu family will take power For this reason, she even prepared to send troops to kill the generals of the army. Fortunately, thanks to the dissuasion and coordination of Shen Shiqi, Li Shang, Chen Ping, Fan Kuai, etc., the hero faction and the queen mother faction did not have a firefight. But the most important thing that prevented all disasters from happening was still under Xiao He's prudent control. The Han Dynasty was an unprecedented great dynasty, even larger than the Zhou Dynasty and Qin Dynasty.Xiao He really understands that great governance lies in inaction. He doesn't get involved in any factions, and he doesn't care about these factions. Cao Shen's inaction is more thorough. Because Emperor Hui did not deal with political affairs and Empress Lu gained complete dominance, the hero faction has fallen into a disadvantageous situation. Especially during the time when Cao Shen was in power, the crisis of Liu's regime worsened. The only hope is that Liu Ying will hurry up. Grow up, hurry up and cheer up. The surface is calm, but the interior is turbulent. All the systems planned by Xiao He are still not stable, and the relationship between the central and local governments has not yet been established. This is indeed the moment when Lu's party is most likely to seize power. " The most rare thing in a crisis is stability, that is, the so-called immovable momentum. Cao Shen, who was taught by Gai Gong in Qi State, has indeed achieved great skills in this aspect. Therefore, he is not only quiet and inactive, but also deliberately keeps others from doing anything. This is the main reason why Cao Shen drinks and sings songs every day and does not do business. The biggest thing starts from the smallest place, and the hardest thing often starts from the simplest place. Who would have expected that Cao Shen would drink all day, get drunk every day, and do nothing at all to help the Liu regime. The most dangerous period has passed. Although some people thought that Cao Shen was old and not clear-headed, so he would have such absurd behavior, but the conversation between him and Liu Ying fully demonstrated his extraordinary wisdom, and made Xiao Guicao Sui the leader of political affairs through the ages. The first good talk.