69novels Chapter 937 The official arrangement for Wu She!
Chapter 937 The official arrangement for Wu She!
As a military strategy agency under the Cabinet, the Grand Council was required to develop detailed plans for any possible military action within a limited timeframe, including details on troop strength, food supplies, routes, tactics, and even the selection of commanders. This functioned as a supreme military staff.
Regulating Military Power to Prevent Disasters: Gao Yao's clarification of the concept that "a general on the battlefield is not subject to the emperor's orders" serves as a theoretical footnote to the establishment of the Grand Council. He explicitly pointed out that the original meaning of this statement was based on the premise that "if you can control me, why would you ask for a battle thousands of miles away?" This meant that tactical flexibility was exercised for ultimate victory, not empowering generals to command their own troops and resist central command.
The Grand Council existed to regulate military operations from a strategic perspective, ensuring that all military actions were under the central government's macroeconomic control. Having Zhang Liang, a man of strategic prowess but without direct military authority, in charge of this department not only ensured the quality of strategy but also fundamentally eliminated the monopoly of strategic decision-making by military commanders, a precautionary measure against the rise of warlordism.
Gao Yao's series of court reforms and personnel arrangements together constituted a comprehensive, sophisticated, and highly forward-looking political blueprint. He promoted efficiency and ideological discipline through "sitting and discussing the truth," safeguarded administrative health through "institutionalized rest and rest," achieved power division and checks and balances through the "Cabinet-Six Ministries-Three Departments" structure, rewarded meritorious officials with the creation of the "Honorary Protector of the Country" title, and finally, established the "Grand Council of Military Affairs" to institutionalize the constraints on supreme military power.
All of these measures demonstrate Gao Yao's maturity and wisdom as a ruler. He no longer relied solely on personal authority and political maneuvering, but instead dedicated himself to building a stable system independent of any particular individual. He understood the balance between tension and relaxation, and the need for both incentives and checks and balances. His designs found a deft balance between honor and responsibility, power and oversight, and efficiency and stability.
In the new dynasty's power blueprint, Gao Yao constructed every personnel appointment, not simply a reward based on merit, but rather a meticulous political arrangement, a reshaping of the existing power structure and a foreshadowing of the future course of the court. After announcing the appointments of Xiao He and Zhang Liang, two key officials, and initially stabilizing the court, Gao Yao did not rest. His gaze swept over the civil and military officials, and with a calm and unquestionable voice, he dropped another powerful stone, enough to stir up a thousand waves.
"Wu She is promoted to the rank of Deputy Minister of the Cabinet, Grand Secretary, and Assistant to the Grand Councilor. He is also concurrently appointed as the Minister of Personnel and the Second Rank Duke of the Protectorate. He is also awarded a residence in Xianyang, over a hundred servants, and a reward of ten thousand gold!"
This decree, like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly stirred complex ripples in the hearts of the officials. While the previous appointments of Xiao He and Zhang Liang were within everyone's expectations, the promotion of Wu She truly demonstrated Gao Yao's unconventional approach to personnel selection and his foresight. By this point, some perceptive officials had begun to discern the essence of Gao Yao's rewards—his policies weren't random; he was deliberately interweaving rewards for civil officials and military commanders.
This is a brilliant application of political psychology. Grand ceremonies of conferring gifts, especially at the dawn of a new dynasty and the redistribution of power, are deeply moving. Who gets rewarded first, who's more important, every detail is subject to immense scrutiny. If the civil officials are rewarded first, the military commanders will inevitably harbor suspicions, fearing the emperor prioritizes civil officials over military ones, and their contributions will be undervalued. Conversely, if the military commanders are rewarded first, the civil officials will worry that the country will drift toward war and their own contributions will be overlooked. This latent antagonism is a hidden danger of internal division within the dynasty.
Gao Yao understood this well. He deliberately broke with the traditional practice of rewarding officials in a sequential order, prioritizing civil officials in the east and military officials in the west, instead adopting a method of interleaving civil officials with military officials. After establishing Xiao He and Zhang Liang as the two leading civil officials, he did not continue to promote other civil officials. Instead, he turned his attention to the military officials, acting as an invisible hand to calm the emotions of both sides. This sent a clear signal to everyone: In my court, civil officials and military officials are like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird. There is no absolute distinction between superior and inferior, only differences in function and ability. You need not be suspicious of each other. I will make the fair judgment.
This staggered arrangement makes it difficult for both civil and military officials to easily judge the final reward pattern, thus temporarily shifting the focus from "comparison with others" to "expectations of oneself", effectively reducing the immediate dissatisfaction caused by comparison, and creating a valuable psychological buffer period for the smooth progress of the entire reward process.
The choice of Wu She as the key figure at this "intersection" is a supreme manifestation of Gao Yao's political wisdom. Who was Wu She? He was not a loyal follower like Xiao He and Cao Shen, who had sworn to death by his side since their humble beginnings, nor was he a world-renowned strategist like Zhang Liang.
He was a surrendered official who led his troops to surrender during the campaign against Kuaiji. Although he demonstrated considerable effort and loyalty in the years that followed, particularly during the crucial Battle of Jiujiang, he spent most of his time stationed in remote counties. While his duties were essential, he remained remote from the center of power, never entering the inner circle of the court, where factions abounded. This, in turn, became Wu She's most valuable political asset: he was a solitary official.
In the Xin Dynasty's officialdom, where factional lines were already beginning to emerge, Xiao He had his own following among administrative officials, the military commanders had their own circle of comrades, and even Zhang Liang, due to his unique status, established his own style. Wu She, on the other hand, was alone, without any affiliation or faction. His power came from a single source: Gao Yao himself. His success or failure depended entirely on the emperor's trust. This pure dependence, Gao Yao believed, was the ideal quality for heading the crucial Ministry of Personnel.
The Ministry of Personnel, the head of the Six Ministries, oversees the selection, examination, awarding of titles, honors, and promotions for civil servants. It can be described as a "heavenly official." It holds the political lifeline of all officials and is a hotbed for power rent-seeking and factional strife. If this department were handed over to a well-established official, no matter how honest he was, it would inevitably lead to his faction exploiting it to expand its influence, creating a pervasive and entrenched factionalism.
What Gao Yao needed was not the most capable official, but one who could remain neutral and faithfully carry out his will. Wu She perfectly met this requirement:
No foundation, so he can maintain integrity: He has no old subordinates who need to be taken care of, and no benefactors who must be repaid. This enables him to break free from the constraints of personal networks to the greatest extent in the assessment and promotion of officials, and act solely according to the principle set by Gao Yao of "the capable are promoted and the mediocre are demoted."
Receiving special favor, he was able to devote his wholeheartedly: From a marginal prefect to the position of Vice Minister of the Cabinet and Vice Minister of Personnel, this favor was enough to move Wu She to tears of gratitude and to pledge his loyalty to the end. His inner shock and ecstasy, described in the text as "overwhelmed with flattery," with "his previous slight dissatisfaction instantly vanishing," was exactly what Gao Yao desired. This strong desire to repay the favor would become a powerful driving force to fulfill his duties and live up to the emperor's grace.