Chapter 51 4. Govern by doing nothing

After Liu Bang's death, Lü Zhi's desire for power was overwhelming, Liu Ying was kind and cowardly, and the Han Dynasty was in turmoil. During these days, Xiangguo Xiao He worked the hardest. Xiao He's great contribution to the founding of the Han Dynasty is self-evident.Moreover, he has always been cautious, as cautious as walking on thin ice. However, the current Xiao He is already too old.On the fifth day of July in 193 BC, Xiao He, who was physically and mentally exhausted, finally fell ill. When Xiao He was ill, Emperor Hui Liu Ying visited Xiangguo's mansion. Before the sick bed, Emperor Hui asked the dying Xiao He: "Xiangguo, you are gone, who can replace you?"

Xiao Hedao: "The person who knows the subject is none other than Your Majesty. Your Majesty should be very clear about the candidate in my mind." Emperor Hui thought for a while, and then asked: "In the opinion of Xiangguo, how about Cao Shen?" Xiao He wept and said: "Your Majesty is so virtuous, I will die without regret." Why did Xiao He support Cao Shen?Not only because he and Cao Shen have been close friends for many years, but more importantly because he knows Cao Shen very well. Although Cao Shen is a martial artist, he is not a person with well-developed limbs and a simple mind.He has political savvy and insight.At that time, after Liu Bang became emperor, he made his eldest son Liu Fei the king of Qi, and Cao Shen was the prime minister of Qi.His ability to govern is obvious to all.Judging from the current situation, Lv Zhi's desire for power is inflated, and his relatives are mobilizing. Cao Shen, who has seniority, ability, and political insight, is needed to balance the political power of the various factions in the court.

Xiao He's support of Cao Shen was the last political thing he did for the Han Dynasty.After doing this, he died. Besides, Cao Shen, after hearing the news of Xiao He's death, he immediately ordered his servants to say: "Hurry up and pack for me, I'm about to enter Beijing." Sheren was puzzled and asked Cao Shen what he was doing in Beijing. "Be a prime minister".Cao Shen's answer was simple and powerful. Sheren was skeptical, and honestly packed his bags. Sure enough, a few days later, Emperor Hui sent an edict, appointing Cao Shen as the prime minister, and ordering him to take office in Chang'an immediately.

Before leaving, Cao Shen explained the political affairs of Qi State to his recommended successor, saying that your task is very simple, as long as you manage Qi State's prisons and markets well, it will be the first task. The successor is puzzled, are prisons and markets more important than governing the country? Cao Shen said: "Do you think it is a trivial matter to manage the prison and the market well? You must know that these two places are places where good and evil coexist, where fish and dragons mix. If these two places are in chaos, the order of the country will be in chaos, so I entrust this matter to you as a top priority."

Only then did the successor understand Cao Shen's intentions. The so-called details determine success or failure. If the details of the prison and market are done well, Qi will be much more stable. After explaining the affairs of Qi State, Cao Shen went to Chang'an and took office. In the court, up and down, all the officials stared wide-eyed, wanting to see what extraordinary abilities this new Prime Minister, Xiao He's successor, has. There is a saying in official circles that new officials have three fires when they take office.Everyone looked forward to see what Cao Shen would do.

But unexpectedly, Cao Shen didn't make any moves, not even a small one.He handled everything in accordance with the rules and regulations set by Xiao He in the past.For example, when appointing cadres, he does not choose those who can speak eloquently and like to play with words.He thinks that such people are all for fame and lack of real talent and learning.Therefore, he specially selected those who were not good at speech, cautious in action, and honest in temperament. Moreover, Cao Shen's work efficiency is also very low, a lot of official documents are backlogged and cannot be processed in time, and he drinks at work, and he still drinks when he returns to the mansion after get off work.

Those ministers and officials in the imperial court immediately disliked him. They were looking forward to it sooner or later, hoping that the new successor Cao Xiangguo would make new measures to govern the country, but they didn't know that this guy was promoted but did nothing.You have to give me some advice. So, a group of people ran to persuade Cao Shen.Unexpectedly, before they had time to pour out their stomachs full of wise words, Cao Shen took out fine wine and invited everyone to drink together.As soon as one of them wanted to talk, Cao Shen toasted him, and blocked the other party's heartfelt words.

In the end, a group of people got drunk and staggered away from the banquet. The first round of persuasion failed, and this group of people came back, but the ending was the same every time.As the days went by, everyone became accustomed to Cao Shen's inaction. As the prime minister, Cao Shen indulged in drinking and singing all day long, and the officials under him naturally followed suit.In the back garden of the Prime Minister's Mansion, a group of alcoholics often gathered, drinking, laughing and having fun.Some people couldn't understand this kind of scene, and they couldn't tell Cao Shen directly, so they pretended to invite Cao Shen to play in the back garden and let him see for themselves.

When Cao Shen arrived in the back garden, he saw a group of officials yelling, drinking and singing.The person who reported thought that Cao Shen would immediately reprimand these drunken officials, but he did not expect Cao Shen to be strongly infected immediately when he saw this scene, and ordered people to bring fine wine to drink with the officials.The officials drank more happily and sang more freely. Cao Shen was drunk in the dark, and ignored political affairs.Emperor Hui kept muttering in his heart, and it was not easy to question Cao Shen directly, so he asked Cao Shen's son for questioning.

Emperor Hui ordered Cao Shen's son, Cao Yu, to say, "Ask your old man why he is the new prime minister, why he gets drunk all day long and ignores political affairs. If things go on like this, the world will be in chaos." Finally, Emperor Hui also told Cao Yu, don't say that I asked you to ask this question. Cao Yu nodded in agreement, but turned around and sold Emperor Hui, and told Cao Shen exactly what Emperor Hui had said.When Cao Shen heard this, he was furious and ordered his son to be beaten two hundred times. After the fight, Cao Shen gave an order to his son, go back to the palace to serve the emperor, and don't meddle in the affairs of the country!

When Emperor Hui learned about this, he asked Cao Shen when he was in court: "Why do you want to beat Cao Yu?" Cao Shen unhurriedly took off the crown on his head, held it in his hand, and asked, "Your Majesty, compared with Emperor Gaozu, who is more wise and powerful?" Emperor Hui was taken aback by this question, and said for a moment: "It's still worth asking, of course I can't compare with the late emperor." Cao Shen nodded, as if he was satisfied with the answer.Then, he asked again: "Then, your Majesty, who do you think is more capable than Xiao He?" Emperor Hui stared at Cao Can, and said sincerely after a while, "To be honest, I'm afraid you can't compare with Xiao Xiangguo." "That's right!" Cao Shen clapped his hands. Seeing Cao Shen's cheerful expression, Emperor Hui was even more confused. Cao Shen then explained: "The late emperor and Xiao Xiangguo pacified the world, and the country's laws and regulations have been established. I think it is the wisest choice to fulfill my duties and strictly follow the laws and regulations." Emperor Hui came to his senses immediately, thinking that Cao Shen's words were justified.The laws and regulations enacted by Xiao He are strict and comprehensive. Cao Shen took over as Prime Minister, carefully followed them, and governed by doing nothing. All the people in the world can live and work in peace and contentment. This is the greatest contribution. Think about it a little deeper, now that Empress Lu is in power, even the emperor himself is a puppet, not to mention Cao Shen, the successor prime minister.Just imagine, if he implements the new decree drastically, his fate is likely to be worse than that of Han Xin, Ying Bu, Peng Yue and others. In fact, Cao Shen is not the only one who knows this stake.Zhang Liang and Xiao He had already figured it out.Zhang Liang pretended to be a fairy in order to protect himself, while Xiao He wore a mask all day long.They are free, and Cao Shen can't learn it, so he can only indulge in drinking every day to protect himself. Governance by doing nothing is sometimes a political method, but also a kind of wisdom in the officialdom.