Chapter 291 Pay attention to details
Seven or eight days later, Liu Ai, Yang Biao and Sima Fang went on a diplomatic mission to Heluo together.

When they arrived, the soldiers in Guanzhong had finished harvesting wheat, and the first batch of wheat that had been dried had already been loaded onto ships for shipment.

Black Bear was somewhat helpless, as the soldiers under his command had an instinctive reverence for famous seniors like Yang Biao and Sima Fang.

As soon as these people entered Hulao Pass, they encountered their own scouts. When the scouts reported back, they did not forget to assign people to provide guarding work.

Perhaps in the eyes of the lower-level officials, I will definitely treat them with courtesy.

In the final analysis, all parties are makeshift teams, each competing to be the worst, and each has various shortcomings that are difficult to correct and make up for.

When they collide with each other, it depends on which one is worse and more likely to fall apart.

So, in the White Horse Temple between Xianyang Garden in the western suburbs and the west gate of Luoyang, Hei Xiong received the chief envoy Yang Biao and the deputy envoy Liu Ai. As for Sima Fang, he accompanied them as a cavalry commander.

Yang Biao was in charge of ancestral temple sacrificial rituals and education, and was the head of the Nine Ministers; the Nine Ministers refers to the most common Nine Ministers in terms of quantity, and they are the nine most influential ministers.

Earlier, Yang Biao had a rich resume. He had served as one of the Three Dukes and was recorded in the Secretariat. Yang Biao entered officialdom early and was promoted quickly, and he had held most of the official positions.

Liu Ai's case was simple. He was originally the chief secretary of Dong Zhuo's prime minister's office. After Dong Zhuo's death, he served as the palace attendant and followed the emperor around. After escorting the emperor to the east, he was awarded a title of nobility along with twelve other people.

After Dong Zhuo deposed and enthroned the emperor and became prime minister, he immediately selected a minister of the royal family to serve as the chief secretary of the prime minister's office in order to win public support.

Therefore, Liu Ai had some status among the generals in Guanzhong, but the generals in Guanzhong had been crippled by the black bear.

Liu Ai's little influence can no longer affect anything.

But Liu Ai was a attendant who accompanied the emperor. On this trip, Liu Ai must have carried the emperor's oral edict, or a handwritten edict with relatively mild content.

Yang Biao and others revisited the White Horse Temple. When Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang, the White Horse Temple was the first to be hit.

Now only a white area is left after the fire. When they arrived, there was only a double-layer curtain on the ruins of the White Horse Temple.

Inside the tent, Black Bear was flipping through the Buddhist scriptures dug out from the White Horse Temple. He was reading a handwritten translation by believers, which was the widely circulated "Anapanasati Sutra".

He already had some ideas about the reorganization of Taiping Dao.

But the most important step is still needed. If a real "talisman" can be made, there is no need to go to great lengths to describe the heavens or practice secret techniques. Instead, it is only necessary to establish moral standards and daily behavioral norms.

The Tiancao system of appointing officials in Tianshi Dao can be used as a reference, and the system of conferring titles based on military merit in the Qin and Han dynasties can also be taken into account.

In the future, there should be two systems of titles. One is the system of titles for governing. The system of titles will be used to determine the official positions of the recipients and to restore the original meaning of the titles of the Qin and Han dynasties.

The official position should be granted according to the level of the title. Compared with the recommendation system, Black Bear is actually more familiar with this system of granting official positions according to title.

What is a title? It is a specific expression of status and a standard unit of actual treatment.

Only with a title can one be considered a family member; once one is promoted to a higher title, one can be granted an official position... Even if one retires early, one's living allowance after retirement is determined based on one's title.

The only part of this system that needs to be patched is the system of inheritance of titles. The inheritance of titles in the Qin and Han dynasties would have been downgraded, but in Black Bear's opinion, this downgrade was not sufficient!
The other system is the Tianjue system, which grants different rights to Taoyuan according to different merits.

From the initial posthumous 'Taiyin Refining' to the division of authority over puppet Taoist soldiers.

Now all that is lacking is a token that would allow one to transfer the command authority of a puppet and entrust it to the token, and then allow the person holding the token to control the puppet Taoist soldiers.

Being able to research this kind of token and entrust it with command authority is one way of using it, and entrusting it with the fixed output of a magical berry is another way of using it.

The difficulty lies in finding the right "authority" carrier. Black Bear is not in a hurry, and this matter can be taken slowly.

It will be enough to complete the matching of titles and official positions within three years.

By restoring the custom of granting official positions based on title, one of the pillars of the recommendation system was cut off.

No matter how strong your appeal as a celebrity is, if you don't make achievements, you will not have a title. Without a title, you naturally won't have an official position.

It is almost foreseeable that when this policy is implemented, Wang Can will be furious.

Thinking of Wang Can's shriveled body becoming plump with anger, Black Bear couldn't help but smile and put down the yellowed manuscript in his hand.

Seeing him put down the Buddhist scriptures that had been dug out from the cellar not long ago, Yang Fu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial envoy is waiting."

"How long have they been here?"

"I just came here not long ago."

"Well, lead them in."

"Here."

Yang Fu bowed and took a few steps back, then turned and walked out of the curtain, bypassed the second curtain, and said to Yang Biao and others who were waiting: "Mr. Wenxian, the Grand Marshal summons you."

Yang Biao was calm and composed, neither impatient nor anxious, and nodded with a smile: "Please." Deputy Envoy Liu Ai was also calm and took the initiative to raise his hand slightly as a greeting.

Yang Fu quickly returned the gift. As for Sima Fang who was traveling with him, Yang Fu just extended his arms to invite him without saying a word.

He led the three people in, and as soon as they came in, they found that the table arrangement was not very polite. Black Bear sat at the top, and the three newly moved tables were at the bottom facing Black Bear.

There is a clear sense of disparity between these three tables. The middle one is at the front, the one on the right is at the front, and the last one is at the left.

How to choose a table and chair that suits one's status is almost an instinct for Yang Biao and others.

Seeing that Black Bear had no intention of speaking, Yang Biao and the other two sat down one after another under the guidance of Yang Fu.

At this time, the personal guards brought tea bowls and boiling water and made tea for them in front of them.

After the guards left, Black Bear said, "This is my first meeting with you gentlemen, and I don't have any gifts. I would like to ask you three to taste the spring tea from the Qingming Festival. I don't drink this kind of tea often."

Upon hearing this, Yang Biao also imitated the black bear and picked up the lid of the tea bowl and gently stirred the surface of the tea. He saw rock honey, wolfberry, red dates, longan and a brewed chrysanthemum in the tea bowl.

The black pottery covered bowl tea set is not as good as porcelain, but it is also one of the most unique and exquisite items in the world.

Yang Biao grabbed the bowl tray with his left hand, pinched the bowl lid with his right hand, fiddled with it, blew on it, and smelled it, and immediately felt refreshed.

Liu Ai and Sima Fang followed suit. Liu Ai, who was in his early forties, blew a few breaths and sipped a little tea from the edge of the teacup.

My eyes suddenly lit up and I felt that the trip was not in vain.

As for Guo Jia being beaten to death, what does this have to do with Liu Ai?
Guo Jia always loves to take risks. He managed to escape from Jingzhou last time, but now he is running to the other side. He must be tired of living.

The black bear didn't say anything, just drank his tea.

People like Yang Biao were not lacking in patience, but the tea was very appetizing. There was only brown wheat cake on the table. Yang Biao picked it up and saw that the surface was burnt, but the inside was fluffy and porous, and it felt light in his hand.

Just take a small bite, the taste is simply full of wheat and burnt aroma.

After they had drunk one-third of the tea, the soldier on duty nearby came forward to add more boiling water.

Afterwards, the soldiers left the silver pot behind and walked out of the curtain, leaving only Yang Fu sitting alone at a table at the edge.

There was also Lu Bu, who stood behind the black bear with a halberd in his hand, like a flag.

It attracted a few people to look at it from time to time, but after a few glances, they just concentrated on drinking tea.

The so-called character of a celebrity is that official business is official business, and private affairs should be enjoyed when they should be enjoyed.

Yang Biao ate three slices of toasted steamed bread before he took out a towel to wipe the crumbs from his hands. "May I ask the Grand Marshal, Guo Fengxiao is also a national hero. As an envoy of Cao Gong, his crime is not punishable by death. Why was he beaten to death?"

"I suspect he is colluding with the traitor Yuan Shu."

Black Bear held the tea bowl with his eyes open. "I wanted to let Taishi Wengong capture him and interrogate him, but Guo Jia had something to hide and turned around to leave. Taishi Wengong acted hastily and didn't expect Guo Jia to be weak. He died just like that. It's a pity."

Putting down the tea bowl, Black Bear also stared at Yang Biao: "The person is dead, there is no point in talking more. Wenxiangong, are you here to seek justice for Guo Jia, or do you want to talk about something else?"

Yang Biao was speechless. Sima Fang beside him said, "Doesn't the Grand Marshal know that the traitor Yuan Shu is dead? How could Guo Fengxiao collude with him?"

"We can't collude after Yuan Shu's death, so what about when Yuan Shu was alive?"

Black Bear stared at Sima Fang and asked, "Who are you? Why are you so anxious to defend Guo Jia? Are you also involved with Yuan Shu?"

Sima Fang was about to speak loudly with a furious look on his face when he saw Tai Shi Wen Gong behind Black Bear taking two steps forward with his halberd in hand, and the Fang Tian Ji hit the stone floor heavily.

Yang Biao also reached out to pull Sima Fang's sleeve and whispered, "Don't you see the disaster that Prince Shi and his three clans have suffered?"

His pretentious whisper fell into Black Bear's ears, and Black Bear just smiled and said, "If you insist on clearing Guo Jia's name, I will have no choice but to send you to ask him and Yuan Shu. These are all trivial matters. Tell me your purpose quickly. I am busy with military affairs and have no intention of chatting with you."

At this time, Liu Ai coughed twice and cupped his hands: "I, the Minister Liu Ai, think it is inappropriate for Your Majesty to call yourself so. I think that Your Majesty is the descendant of King Chen and should continue the country of Chen. You are also the Marquis of Liang conferred by the court, and you are the Grand Duke and Grand Marshal, so you should call yourself so."

"solitary?"

Black Bear couldn't help but smile: "No matter what you call yourself, it's hard to change your nature. The emperor is a human, I am a human, and you are all human."

Seeing the three people's stiff expressions, Black Bear smiled: "With people like you who pay attention to details, it's no wonder that the world has fallen to this point. It's really true that the officials in the temple are rotten wood, and the beasts in the palace are fed; the people with wolves and dogs are in power, and the servile people are in power."

Yang Biao lowered his head in shame, filled with resentment, and secretly clenched his fists.

Liu Ai felt that he had a clear conscience and sat there with no change in emotion.

Sima Fang was even more emotionally stable. When the world was in turmoil, he had already resigned from his post and went home to raise his son.
(End of this chapter)