Chapter 146: Cabinet Members and Ministers of the Six Ministries

Since Liu Bian had brought out the Cabinet and Six Ministries system, it was naturally time to confer titles upon his officials.

"Xun Yu, come forward to receive your appointment!"

Suddenly, Liu Bian said to Xun Yu with majesty.

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu's body shook; he had not expected that the first person Liu Bian would appoint would be him.

Immediately, after realizing what was happening, he bowed respectfully and said:

"I am here!"

"Since I regained power, I believe everyone has seen his contributions."

"This time, I was able to send troops to pacify the rebellions in Liangzhou and Bingzhou simultaneously, thanks to the grain and fodder you gathered."

"And while I was on a personal expedition, you managed the affairs of the Great Han court in an orderly fashion."

"I now appoint Xun Yu as Minister of Personnel, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi, in charge of the selection, appointment, and transfer of officials below the Fourth Rank in the Great Han."

"Xun Yu, you shall be a member of the Cabinet!"

"You shall report directly to me!"

At this moment, Xun Yu looked at Liu Bian in disbelief; he had not expected Liu Bian to value him so highly.

To entrust him with such an important position as Minister of Personnel.

And to be a member of the Cabinet as well!

Seeing Xun Yu's disbelief, Liu Bian nodded at him.

Seeing this, Xun Yu finally reacted, immediately kneeling before Liu Bian, thanking him excitedly:

"I, Xun Yu, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

"I will certainly devote my life to Your Majesty and our Great Han, until my heart stops beating!"

"Rise, my beloved minister!"

Liu Bian nodded with satisfaction.

"Jia Xu, come forward to receive your appointment!"

"I am here!"

Hearing Liu Bian call him, Jia Xu was startled and immediately responded loudly to Liu Bian.

"I appoint Jia Xu as Minister of Justice, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi... you shall report directly to me!"

"You may enter the Cabinet to participate in court deliberations!"

Given Jia Xu's personality, he was the only candidate for the current Minister of Justice.

"I, Jia Xu, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

"I will certainly devote my life to Your Majesty and our Great Han, until my heart stops beating!"

"Where is Cai Yong?"

"Old Minister Cai Yong pays respects to Your Majesty!"

At this moment, Cai Yong, who was watching intently, heard Liu Bian call his name.

He was startled and hurriedly stepped forward, bowing to Liu Bian.

"I appoint Cai Yong as Minister of Rites, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi, and you shall report directly to me!"

Although he did not enter the Cabinet, Cai Yong was overjoyed and immediately knelt before Liu Bian, thanking him loudly:

"Old Minister Cai Yong thanks Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

And to be honest, he was very fond of the position of Minister of Rites; after all, these were things he was skilled at.

"Xun You, come forward to receive your appointment!"

"I am here!"

"I appoint Xun You as Minister of Works, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi, and you shall report directly to me!"

"I, Xun You, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

Upon hearing this, Xun You also knelt before Liu Bian excitedly and kowtowed.

"Cao Cao, come forward to receive your appointment!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao, who was watching Liu Bian confer the titles of the Six Ministers below, was startled. He stepped out, bowed respectfully to Liu Bian, and responded loudly:

"I am here!"

"I appoint Cao Cao as Minister of War of the Great Han Empire, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi; you may enter the Cabinet to participate in court deliberations and report directly to me!"

"I, Cao Cao, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

"Xi Zhong, come forward to receive your appointment!"

At this moment, Xi Zhicai, who had just returned from Chang'an, heard Liu Bian's words, stepped out excitedly, bowed respectfully to Liu Bian, and responded loudly:

"I am here!"

"I appoint Xi Zhong as Minister of Revenue of the Great Han Empire, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi; you may enter the Cabinet to participate in court deliberations and report directly to me!"

"I, Xi Zhong, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

Thus, the first Ministers of the Six Ministries in the history of the Great Han Empire had all been selected.

However, most of the officials still did not have suitable positions, and these also had to be arranged by Liu Bian.

"Guo Jia, come forward to receive your appointment!"

"I am here!"

"I appoint Guo Jia as Grand Military Strategist of the Great Han Empire, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi, responsible for the battle plans of all legions; you shall enter the Cabinet to participate in court deliberations and report directly to me!"

With Guo Jia's wanderer personality, it was clear that sending him to the Six Ministries would not work.

"I, Guo Jia, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

Guo Jia immediately kowtowed respectfully to Liu Bian with joy.

He had not expected Liu Bian to arrange this position for him; for him, this was the best possible outcome.

If he had really been assigned to another position, it would have truly given him a headache.

"Yang Biao, Wang Yun, Lu Zhi!"

"We are here!"

"You three old ministers have devoted your lives to our Great Han; your contributions are truly great. Now that you are advanced in age, I will not arrange other positions for you."

"You three old ministers shall enter the Cabinet directly, Third Rank, with a salary of one thousand shi, and you may report directly to me!"

After speaking, Liu Bian looked at these three old ministers loyal to the Han house with a smile.

Upon hearing this, all three were somewhat excited and kowtowed to Liu Bian excitedly:

"We thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

"We will certainly devote our lives to Your Majesty and our Great Han Empire, until our hearts stop beating!"

To be honest, when they heard Liu Bian say they were advanced in age, all three were somewhat anxious, fearing that Liu Bian would ask them to retire to their hometowns.

They had not expected Liu Bian to arrange for them to enter the Cabinet.

One must know that Cabinet members were existences below only one person; among the many officials of the Great Han Empire, only these nine people could enter the Cabinet to assist Liu Bian in handling government affairs.

The three of them also knew that it was because Liu Bian regarded them as old ministers of the Han that he had appointed them as Cabinet members.

After all, there were many people under Liu Bian now who were more capable than the three of them.

Therefore, the three of them were quite grateful to Liu Bian and swore that they would certainly be loyal to him in the future.

Seeing this, Liu Bian nodded with satisfaction.

Thus, the newly formed Cabinet and Ministers of the Six Ministries of the Great Han Empire were all in place.

Liu Bian turned his gaze to the officials below; among them, there were still people without positions!

Finally, his gaze stopped on Xu Shu and Ju Shou, who had just entered the court.

"Xu Shu, come forward to receive your appointment!"

"I am here!"

Seeing Xu Shu step out, those officials who had not seen him before looked at him with confusion.

However, they also knew that this person must also be a great talent found by Liu Bian.

Otherwise, he would not have received such importance from Liu Bian.

"Now, the position of Henan Yin is vacant; I appoint Xu Shu as Henan Yin, Fourth Rank, with a salary of six hundred shi, effective immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu was startled and said to Liu Bian with some terror:

"Your Majesty, I have just entered the court and have not yet made any contributions; I fear I cannot shoulder such a high position!"

"Hahaha, Yuanzhi, rest assured; I know your ability. To be honest, this small position of Henan Yin is somewhat beneath your talents!"

"If you say that with your ability you cannot handle it, then I will have to hold you accountable!"

"Then I will shamelessly accept; I thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

Seeing this, Xu Shu did not dare to decline again and immediately kowtowed respectfully to Liu Bian. ===== CHAPTER 147 =====