This child was steady in her actions and outstanding in her scholarship.

Compared to those cultivated in the Hongdu School, she had more practical abilities.

She also had more resourcefulness than the high-born nobles like Yuan Wei, who held their positions without merit.

Now, on the silk scroll presented before Liu Hong, she had once again demonstrated her talents.

He admired the fine handwriting, but if it weren’t for her young age, and if it weren’t for other reasons…

Liu Hong’s gaze fell, revealing a moment of deep thought.

However, he felt that entrusting the responsibility of balancing the power between the noble families and the imperial relatives to this still growing child seemed somewhat like a desperate measure.

He then turned his attention back to the essay in front of him and asked, “I have just reviewed Minister Qiao’s handwritten essay and noticed that it consistently argues for the superiority of commanderies and counties over the enfeoffment system.

It suggests that the governor system may have the drawbacks of the enfeoffment system and is thus quite inappropriate. I would like to test you on this point.”

“As you stated, under the enfeoffment system, if the vassals are unrighteous, the news cannot reach the emperor’s ears. However, Liu Taichang told me—”

“That the governors of the provinces should treat the people of their provinces as their own children, thus they would adapt to local customs and manage affairs accordingly, unlike county officials who might not be as committed.

If it weren’t for the negligence of the county officials, the Yellow Turbans would not have been so rampant, collaborating for years and then suddenly rebelling.

From this perspective, the governor system seems more suitable. What is your view on this matter?”

Qiao Yan couldn’t outright say that the chaos of the Yellow Turbans was ultimately due to Liu Hong’s own negligence and lack of attention, rather than the carelessness of the county officials.

If the situation was indeed similar to what is recorded in historical texts, even before Ma Yuanyi’s activities in Luoyang were exposed, Liu Tao from Yingchuan had already reported to Liu Hong about Zhang Jiao’s bewitching of the people, roughly last year or the year before.

However, despite Liu Tao’s warnings, Liu Hong simply told him to ignore it and to continue compiling the ordinances for the “Spring and Autumn Annals.”

Now that things have escalated to this point, the blame cannot be entirely placed on the county officials for being ineffective.

The emperor himself had not paid enough attention to these matters.

But if she were to say this outright, she would likely be expelled.

So, after thinking for a moment, she replied, “When I was young, my father taught me poetry. There was one line he made me recite repeatedly: ‘Under heaven, all lands belong to the king; within the seas, all people are subjects of the king.’ Hence—”

“The people can only be subjects of the Son of Heaven, not of the governors or the vassals.

Otherwise, over time, the emperor’s decrees will not be implemented in the provinces and will struggle to reach the vassal states.”

“If it were merely a matter of spring plowing and autumn harvesting, it might not be a problem.

But if taxes must first pass through the hands of the vassals and governors before reaching the capital, if amnesty or conscription orders are intercepted by the higher authorities before being passed to the people, then chaos will surely ensue.”

Liu Hong nodded at her words and listened as she continued, “Many of the vassals are sons of the imperial family and may harbor ambitions to replace the emperor.

This is why the early Han dynasty gradually reduced the power of the vassals to ensure long-term stability.”

“And as for the commandery and county system? If a commandery or county official does not govern properly in the morning, they can be dismissed by evening.

If they commit disorderly acts in the evening, they can be executed by morning.

This is precisely why the governance strategies of virtuous individuals like Meng Shu and Wei Shang were effective.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty,” Qiao Yan continued, “as Liu Taichang mentioned, a virtuous governor can treat the people as his own children, educate them, and detect potential crises early on. However—”

“If the military control and administrative supervision powers within a province are distributed among multiple individuals, can this not still be achieved?

Our great Han dynasty is vast and abundant with talent. How can we be lacking in such capable people?”

“Those skilled in governance may not understand military command, and those adept in military strategy may not excel in administrative matters.

Forcing these roles to be combined might offer some benefits in suppressing rebellions, but it is merely a temporary expedient.”

At this point, Qiao Yan paused, realizing she had perhaps said too much in one breath and risked sounding overly assertive.

She quickly closed her mouth, adopting a posture of respectful attentiveness, ready to listen to Liu Hong.

Liu Hong observed her demeanor and found the situation increasingly amusing.

Yet, he was no longer surprised that this child could produce the essay he held in his hands.

Her views on the commandery and governor systems were indeed clear and well-articulated.

Especially her statements about “under heaven, all lands belong to the king; within the seas, all people are subjects of the king”

and

“the people can only be subjects of the Son of Heaven” gave Liu Hong a great sense of comfort.

However, she was still young and possessed the stark, black-and-white thinking typical of young prodigies.

Things were not defined so clearly.

During the time of the Emperor Gaozu, he still needed to use the system of both commanderies and principalities, which is understandable.

Of course, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was massive in scale, but within just five months, most of the rebel forces were suppressed.

This actually gave Emperor Liu Hong a lot of confidence.

Even though there were inspectors helping with the administration from the central government downwards, it was still quite challenging.

This had previously made Liu Hong think about dividing the administration.

However, after the rebellion was quelled, the prestige of the Han Dynasty remained, so it was clearly better to stick with the old system.

As Qiao Yan said, how could the Han Dynasty lack talented people?

Those with military talent, like Huangfu Song, could lead troops.

Those skilled in managing civil affairs could become administrative leaders of provinces and commanderies.

The most important policies would be issued by the central government.

This clearly formed a fully functioning system.

Liu Hong understood this principle.

He also knew that what Qiao Yan mentioned in her policy essay was correct.

In her “On the Enfeoffment of Governors,” she mentioned that even during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, when there were wise rulers, they maintained the enfeoffment system.

This was because they received a lot of support from other tribes when they established their dynasties, so they couldn’t simply eliminate the enfeoffed territories.

This doesn’t prove that the Qin Dynasty’s downfall after two generations was due to its system of commanderies.

However, the recent reports piled on Liu Hong’s desk made him reconsider.

He realized that his confidence wasn’t actually strong enough to be called confidence.

Within the next six months at the latest, he still needed to make a decisive move to implement the provincial governor system to deal with the complex situation at hand.

For instance, the Jianghuai and Yangzhou regions are too far from the capital.

Even though Qiao Yan had already shattered Zhang Jue’s myth, in his view, it probably wouldn’t quickly pacify those people.

Because they would still feel that they were beyond the central government’s control and could act recklessly.

Simply appointing Lu Zhi as Marquis of Qiantang was not enough.

Additionally, the rebellions in various places were not just limited to the Yellow Turban rebels.

The bandits in Liangzhou, in particular, were the most troublesome group among them.

These local disturbances couldn’t be dealt with while he was also trying to stabilize the situation in Luoyang.

Therefore, implementing the provincial governor system seemed to be the lesser of two evils.

Did Liu Yan have personal motives when he proposed the provincial governor system?

In Liu Hong’s view, he certainly did.

However, Liu Yan was still part of the imperial clan, and compared to the aristocratic families, he was more aligned with Liu Hong’s interests.

This alone was enough to tip the balance in Liu Hong’s mind in his favor.

This was the balance in his heart.

What he thought was to temporarily select loyal ministers and members of the imperial clan to implement the provincial governor system.

Once the local situation stabilized, he would then abolish the provincial governors, finding an excuse to target one of them as a pretext for this move.

As long as these governors hadn’t had enough time to establish themselves like independent feudal lords, Liu Hong was confident that the negative impacts of the system wouldn’t affect him.

In fact, what Qiao Yan wrote now wasn’t entirely useless to him.

When the time came, he could say that her writings had inspired his decision after reconsideration.

Qiao Yan observed Liu Hong lowering his eyes again, seemingly reading the silk manuscript word by word.

However, she didn’t think that Liu Hong would completely abandon the idea of establishing the provincial governor system because of her policy essay.

She suspected that Liu Hong likely believed he could live for several more years, at least long enough to abolish the system after it served its purpose.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence in the hall, Qiao Yan heard Liu Hong ask, “In Qiao Qing’s view, if this provincial governor system is to be implemented, how should it be done?”

When Liu Hong asked this, he scrutinized Qiao Yan’s expression.

Seeing that she didn’t show any signs of panic or confusion despite the question almost negating her viewpoint, he couldn’t help but admire her even more.

He then saw Qiao Yan ponder for a moment before replying:

“If the strong medicine is truly necessary, then I suggest using the sons of the provincial governors as hostages in Luoyang.

“Your Majesty may choose to temporarily suppress the implementation of the provincial governor system.

Within one or two months, observe the situation of the provincial governors’ families.

If the eldest son is favored, detain the eldest son; if the youngest son is favored, detain the youngest son.”

In fact, Qiao Yan also wanted to suggest that at such a time, it would be more appropriate to appoint a supervisory official who is not openly acknowledged.

However, since this suggestion was not meant to be public, it was inappropriate for her to mention it at this time.

It would be better to propose a suggestion that is somewhat feasible and at the same time quite childish.

It is considered childish because not everyone is like Yuan Shao, who would delay military operations due to the illness of his beloved younger son.

This so-called deep love for one’s child to create a balance is somewhat playful in Liu Hong’s view.

However, Qiao Yan’s suggestion might be able to be slightly extended…

Firstly, delay the announcement of the news.

This would give those with the ability to compete for provincial governorships another chance to show their determination to him.

After all, once the Yellow Turbans are pacified, he will have a breathing opportunity.