Chapter 1285: Carrying on the Past and Opening up the Future (One Hundred and Seventy-Five) The Prime Minister’s Problem

After Jiang Jiaquan steps down as chief assistant, Yan Shenghao will inevitably take over. Regarding this, not only Yan Shenghao thinks so, but Jiang Jiaquan also doesn’t think there is a more suitable candidate. The meaning of Gao Yuan’s words on the carriage earlier made Yan Shenghao even more confused. I took a reassurance, but why did the king change his mind in the blink of an eye?

Looking at the expressions of the two senior officials, Gao Yuan couldn't help but laugh and patted Yan Shenghao on the shoulder: "Old Yan, don't worry, of course you will be the next chief assistant."

Gao Yuan's words revealed his thoughts, and Yan Shenghao looked a little embarrassed, "Your Majesty, let me tell you the truth, I really want to be the first assistant. I am different from my husband. Even if he does not serve as the first assistant, he has written a lot of books. I can be famous in history, and if I want to do this, I can only be in the position of chief minister, assisting you, the king, to unify the world and establish a unified dynasty. Pig? Pig? Island? Novel w.uu Ah, this is my little thought, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"There is nothing to forgive or not, it is human nature. Besides, with your talents and familiarity with the national policies of the Han Dynasty, of course this position can only be filled by you. What I want to say today is about the future. Wei Yuan!"

"My lord is here!" He Weiyuan stepped out of the door.

"I have something to say with the two adults. It doesn't matter who you are, you are not allowed to come near. You stay outside the door." Gao Yuan ordered.

"Yes!" He Weiyuan said solemnly, gently closing the door.

Seeing Gao Yuan's expression, the expressions of the two people in the room also became serious. This was at Jiang Jiaquan's home. Gao Yuan was still so solemn, obviously not wanting any news to spread.

"Sit down, sit down and talk." Gao Yuan said to the two of them.

"Your Majesty, you..." Jiang Jiaquan looked at Gao Yuan with some confusion.

Taking a long breath, Gao Yuan looked at the two of them and said slowly: "What I want to do is that in the future, the birth of my chief minister will no longer be appointed by me, but will be selected by the members of the Great Council."

As soon as these words came out, both of them were shocked, "No!" They both said in unison.

"Why not?" Gao Yuan looked at the two of them with interest.

"Your Majesty, the position of Chief Assistant is high and powerful. He holds all the power in the world. If this person is not appointed by the King, wouldn't it be equivalent to the King giving up the power in his hand? This will inevitably cause a lot of troubles in the future." Jiang Jiaquan shook his head. road.

"What kind of trouble can happen?" Gao Yuan said with a smile: "What do you think of the current political situation of our Han Dynasty? Does the position of chief assistant have the authority of Qin Chu?"

Jiang Jiaquan pondered for a moment,

Said: "The Qin State is centralized, and power is highly concentrated in the hands of the King of Qin. The position of Chief Assistant can only be regarded as the mouthpiece of the King of Qin. The current situation in the Qin State is somewhat special, so it should not be counted. But the Chu State is On the other extreme, although there are captains, the chief assistant actually holds the military and political power, and our situation is different from theirs."

"Because there is an extra big council!" Gao Yuan said: "With the existence of the big council, the power of the chief minister is greatly restricted, right?"

"Yes. The existence of the Great Council not only limits the power of the chief minister, but also limits the power of the king." Jiang Xingquan said.

"So Chief Assistant, do you think you can command the army?" Gao Yuan asked again.

"Of course not." Jiang Jiaquan smiled.

"What about the judicial system? The Supreme Court, the Procuratorate?" Gao Yuan then asked.

Jiang Jiaquan thought for a while and shook his head. "I can't direct it, because the king has always emphasized the independence of the judiciary and does not allow the political hall to interfere. However, if you want to influence it, you can still influence it to some extent."

"This is the truth!" Gao Yuan said with a smile: "In this way, if we big men leave me alone, then the political affairs hall, the Great Council, the army, and the judiciary are all in their own department, right?"

"That's true!" Yan Shenghao thought for a while, "The army, the judiciary, and the Political Affairs Hall are all directly responsible to the king, but the Great Council is a little special. They seem to be only responsible for themselves. As soon as I think of them fighting for their own local interests, I I was so angry that I couldn't get enough of them."

Gao Yuan laughed loudly, "They are only responsible for the local area. In other words, they are only responsible for the local people they represent, right?"

"It's true that these high-ranking members are elected by the local people one by one. If they can't benefit the local people, I'm afraid they will step aside in the next term." Yan Shenghao said.

"Yes, that's the truth, so I want to make the military, judiciary, and political affairs hall directly responsible to the Great Council within my lifetime, instead of to me." Gao Yuan said slowly and carefully.

With a cry, Jiang Jiaquan and Yan Shenghao both stood up.

"Your Majesty, think twice." The two said in unison.

The two looked at each other and Jiang Jiaquan said: "Your Majesty, where will you put yourself? A king without authority, can he still be a king?"

"Why not?" Gao Yuan slowly stood up and walked around the room a few times. He suddenly turned around and said with a smile: "From now on, if you do something wrong, it's none of my business." , is it because you did something wrong? No matter what, it will not damage the image of the Wang family, right? "

"Your Majesty, how can you still make such a joke? The great cause has not yet been accomplished and Qin Chu is still there. If your opinion is thrown out, the world will definitely be in chaos." Jiang Jiaquan shook his head and said with a bitter smile.

"That's why I closed the door and talked to you two quietly!" Gao Yuan waved his hand, "Let me first talk about why the future chief minister must be selected by the Great Council. There are two reasons. The first is First, if the chief minister is appointed by the king, how can you guarantee that my appointment is correct? "

Seeing that Yan Shenghao was about to speak, Gao Yuan waved his hand and continued: "Okay, I know what you are going to say. Even if I am wise and powerful, I will not make a mistake, but can you guarantee that my successor will be like me? Taking a step back, even the King of Han after me is a good guy, but what about after that? Both of them are well-educated men. What is the reason for the collapse of countless dynasties in history? Did the dynasty turn from prosperity to decline in a short period of time?

The two were speechless.

"The second reason is, what is the responsibility of the chief minister? To govern the world's political affairs. And what do our congressmen represent? They represent the interests of the people in various places, in other words. They represent the public opinion of the world. If a If the chief minister doesn't even believe you, how can you govern smoothly? If nothing else, according to our national policy, the bill you proposed will not be passed in the great parliament. So, how can you govern the world? The chief minister must obtain the support of the vast majority of the congressmen before your decree can be adopted throughout the world. "

The two of them were silent, knowing that what the king said was correct, but it was completely contrary to their usual ideas.

"Your Majesty, even if the chief minister can be selected through members of the parliament, the king must not delegate power. Otherwise, there will be a risk of change in the future." Jiang Jiaquan said.

"How to change?" Gao Yuan smiled and said: "When my vision is fully realized, my throne will become a symbol. The symbol of the country does not have much rights. Who wants to be the king? It is better to Go fight for this first assistant!"

The two people in front of him, the chief assistant who was about to step down and the chief assistant who was about to take office, both looked at Gao Yuan dumbfounded.

"Besides, under this system, how can changes happen? The chief minister must be selected by the senior councillors. The senior councilors represent the interests of the people everywhere. If the chief minister can get the support of the majority of councillors, what he represents will It’s for the benefit of all Han people, don’t you think? Isn’t this much better than the king’s decision?”

"Speaking of the army, the Ministry of National Defense has military power, but they do not have the right to mobilize troops without authorization. Whether to send troops to fight must be proposed by the political hall. It can only be implemented with the approval of the Grand Council. Now our army does not have an independent logistics system. Their military pay , the supply of supplies depends on the government. Even if someone wants to cause chaos, will anyone listen to him? What's more, as the law is improved and promoted step by step, everyone knows it. According to the provisions of the law, can he mobilize troops at that time? "

"In the past two years, I have been trying my best to improve the status of the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor's Office. I hope that they will become another force standing side by side with the Political Affairs Hall and the military. They will supervise the army and the Political Science Council. of strength.”

"With the separation of the three powers, the Great Council will become the decision-maker, and the king will become the symbol of the country. This is the final layout of the Han Dynasty in my dream. Only in this way can we ensure that the Han Dynasty will prosper forever, and I, Gao, will The descendants of our family will not follow in the footsteps of previous kings and be overthrown one day and become the laughingstock of history.”

"Of course, you two don't have to worry. I also know that this matter is of great importance. I won't be anxious. I'm still young. I'm only in my thirties. Even if I only live to be seventy years old, I still have forty years to do this. However, there is a lot of work to be done on this matter, and we will start to do it now. Slowly and subtly, let the officials and the people accept this fact step by step. You see, the county official election system we are now implementing is everywhere. Isn't it executed very well? After that, it will be the governor!" Gao Yuan said with a smile.

"Old Yan, the election has started since the beginning of your term. In addition to you, I am also planning to introduce Wu Qi to run with you. Of course, Wu Qi will be purely a companion this term. There is no way he can elect you. But you can't say for sure in the second term, it depends on how well you do during this term!" Gao Yuan laughed.

"Term?" Yan Shenghao was a little surprised. He didn't care about the election with Wu Qi. It would be strange if he lost to Wu Qi.

"Yes, Mr. Jiang has worked with me for ten years. I plan to use it as two terms of chief minister, one for five years and two consecutive terms at most." Gao Yuan looked at Jiang Jiaquan, "Because Mr. Jiang has only worked for ten years, I I don’t want that chief assistant’s term to last longer than my husband’s time to assist me in the years to come.”

Jiang Jiaquan couldn't help but be moved to tears for a moment.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" He bowed to the ground again.

"Sir, please get up." Gao Yuan helped Jiang Jiaquan, "There are many things to do next. We have to do it step by step. We have to discuss some details with you two." (To be continued...)