Since it is about governing a vassal state, the position of prime minister is indispensable.
An emperor cannot do everything personally, and the same goes for King Liu Fu. Asking him to sit in the court all day reading memorials would keep him extremely busy.
The first requirement for a prime minister is loyalty, and the second is having great talent and strategic vision.
It is an honor that there really was a prime minister of all time in history—Zhuge Liang, who perfectly fits all these criteria!
During his lifetime, the government was efficient and the people were harmonious. No other country in the Three Kingdoms was as united as Shu Han in terms of military and civilian unity. Zhuge Liang was full of talent in governing the country, and his military skills were also above 90 points.
With such a person as your prime minister, how can you not accomplish great things?
A prime minister who repaired irrigation systems and built water conservancy projects everywhere during his tenure died with only a dozen acres of poor land and 1,500 mulberry trees. Without saying a word, Liu Fu summoned this first prime minister of all time to be his prime minister.
The prime minister has been chosen, but we also need to find a few people who can assist him.
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, from the Li Shimin era, were known for their strategic planning and decisive action. One had numerous strategies for governing the country, while the other had keen insight and knew how to assess the situation and do the right thing at the right time.
With these three individuals confirmed, the court still needs an Imperial Censor to oversee all officials.
Hai Rui, also known as Hai Gangfeng, was a rare upright official who dared to point his finger at the Jiajing Emperor and criticize him for being incompetent!
In addition, decades of accumulated grievances have led to incompetent officials here, making it difficult for the people to redress their grievances.
Liu Fu planned to bring over the entire Kaifeng Prefecture, including Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce, Zhan Zhao, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, Ma Han, Dong Cheng, Xue Ba, and others, to specialize in criminal justice.
In addition, Song Ci and Di Renjie were also included in the list.
Besides these, Xiao He was also comparable to Zhuge Liang in talent, and to be honest, Xun Yu was also a good person.
However, Xiao He had the stain of colluding with Empress Lü, while Xun Yu claimed to be a Han official for his entire life, but what he did was help Cao Cao usurp the throne. Assisting Cao Cao was not wrong in itself, but claiming to be a Han official while doing things that the Han emperor saw as usurping the Han throne made him disliked by both sides. This person was too contradictory.
Liu Fu planned to remove these two men as his deputies to Zhuge Liang, appointing them as left and right vice prime ministers. He intended for the three of them, along with Hai Rui, to form an organization similar to the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, and to add Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui to it.
Therefore, under Zhuge Liang's upright and loyal leadership, there should be no trouble.
After finalizing the plan, Liu Fu began the summoning.
When these historical figures met each other, they were all stunned.
"Zhuge Kongming? How come you've aged so much all of a sudden?"
"When Wenruo passed away, Cao Cao had not yet declared himself king. When I passed away, Cao Pi usurped the Han throne, and Cao Rui was seriously ill and dying. How could I not be old?"
The two looked at each other. They were young then and had met a few times in the army. They never expected that they would become the most familiar people among them. It was fate.
"Old Du?"
"How did you come back to life? Oh my, it's such an unexpected thing to see you again in this lifetime!"
Fang Xuanling sighed, and Du Ruhui stared at him, completely stunned.
"Old buddy, is it really you?"
At this moment, Gongsun Ce and Bao Zheng were exchanging pleasantries. These later generations all treated Zhuge Liang with utmost respect when they met him.
Hai Rui glanced at Xiao He beside him, then arrogantly turned away and stood elsewhere.
"You treacherous traitor, you collude with the empress dowager to interfere in state affairs! I, Hai Rui, refuse to stand with you!"
Xiao He stared at the people in front of him. They all knew him, but he didn't recognize any of them and couldn't recall their names.
"Alright, alright, now that you've all been brought back from the dead, let's put aside our past grievances."
"From this day forward, you will all be ministers of the Later Han Dynasty, governing the country in my Republic of China, and contributing yourselves to the well-being of the people. I sincerely hope that you will remain in history!"
After saying this, Liu Fu poured a full cup of wine for each of them:
"Prime Minister Zhuge, it's a pity that the autumn wind at Wuzhang Plains caused the Later Lord Liu Shan to forget Shu and become a laughing stock for a thousand years. I believe that you also have many ambitions that have not been realized. I hope that you can do more good deeds for the people in this world. Your talents will definitely not be buried on the stage of the Later Han Dynasty. I believe that you can still become the greatest prime minister in history!"
"Liang, I am willing to dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath."
“Mr. Xun, you were a Han official back then, but you ultimately fell for the Cao family. I know you lived a very conflicted life. In the end, an empty food box advised you to commit suicide. Cao Mengde let you down, and he also wronged you.”
"But here, I am not the suspicious Cao Cao. The world has been unified, so you don't need to be conflicted anymore. I hope you can realize your ambitions and achieve great things!"
"Xun Yu greets his lord!"
Liu Fu then approached Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling:
"During the Zhenguan era, you laid the foundation for Li Shimin. Unfortunately, you died young. Your strategic planning and decisive action became a timeless classic. Today, you two have become partners again. I hope you can continue to work together to make up for the regrets of the past."
Liu Fu then came to Xiao He's side:
"Back then, you were forced by Empress Lü and her powerful relatives. In order to protect yourself, you had no choice but to go along with her. Now, in the court of the Han Dynasty, no one will force you anymore. Prime Minister Xiao will still be Prime Minister Xiao. I only hope that you will do more things that benefit the country and the people and leave no regrets."
"Lord Hai, the Jiajing Emperor of that time was a foolish ruler, and you unfortunately encountered him. The current emperor of the Later Han Dynasty is working tirelessly for the country and its people every day. He hopes that Lord Hai will continue to serve the country and carry on the cause that was not accomplished back then!"
After finishing his speech, Liu Fu finally stood before the group from Kaifeng Prefecture and gave another speech.
Today, Liu Fu, transformed into a sage, uttered words of wisdom, successfully retaining all the wise men and bringing them into his fiefdom's court.
However, these historical figures were retained, and these historical figures naturally had to examine Liu Fu to see how capable he was so that they could assist him in his work in the future.
Hai Rui was the first to step forward, which truly reflected his character.
"Your Majesty, I would like to first examine the records of your fiefdom, including the population, the amount of land, and the many old cases accumulated over the years. Only in this way can we know exactly how many problems your fiefdom has."
After Hai Rui finished speaking, Xiao He and the others also stood up and asked to take a look.
"Approved."
"Please feel free to go and see. If you can quickly understand the situation in the fiefdom, it will be beneficial to both the court and the common people. I entrust this to you all."
Three days later.
Those who had been spending time in the government office had already gained a general understanding of the situation in Liu Fu's fiefdom.
Hai Rui was the first to rush forward and ask Liu Fu:
"Does Your Majesty know the terrible state your kingdom has reached?"
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