The Xia Kingdom successively established seven districts: Zhili, Henan, Huaihai, Guannai, Guanbei, Hexi, and Longyou. This is the core issue of Luoyang officialdom today.
Under the third-rank governor, there are also fourth-rank transfer envoys, prison envoys, command envoys, and academic administrators. Under these official positions, there are also assistant and second-level officials. For a time, there was a storm, and many people were interested in the new dynasty.
Officials and scholars were watching eagerly and vying for it endlessly.
Under such circumstances, Song Le, Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng returned to Luoyang one after another.
Song Le arrived first, and Shao Shude was waiting for him in the newly renovated Linzhi Hall.
Linzhi Hall is to the west of Ganlu Hall. In front of the hall is Shenhe Pavilion to the east and Dongxuan Hall to the west, both of which have been completed.
In fact, the entire Shangyang City, Guanfeng Hall Group, Honzhiyuan Group, Huachengyuan Group, and Linzhi Hall Group have been completed and put into use. Fenfang Hall Group has entered the later period of decoration and will be ready for use in a few months. By
The construction of the Xiaoshangyang Palace complex, which is mainly composed of Yongshou Hall and Jiaofang Hall, has entered an advanced stage and will definitely be put into use early next year.
By then, the entire Shangyang Palace City was completed, which took five years. It was several times slower than the speed of building the palace of the great god Sui Yang, but it was not bad.
Shao Shude likes Shangyang Palace very much because the environment is beautiful and the residence is comfortable, which is completely different from the solemnity, heavyness and gorgeousness of Ziwei City. If possible, he will try his best to manage politics in Shangyang Palace in the future.
Now that the army has been reorganized and the various divisions have been decided, the next step is the reorganization, or reorganization, of the government agencies.
Song, Chen, and Zhao have been with him for many years, and it is impossible not to give them an explanation. He has to consider all aspects of the specific positions.
In the past, we were making cakes, but now we are dividing cakes. It is not a simple matter.
"His Royal Highness has not yet ascended the throne, so it is best not to hang around the palace in a grand manner." Song Le came in, frowned and admonished.
"It doesn't matter, I am the envoy of the palace building system, and I often go to and from the palace, and others can't say anything about it," Shao Shude said.
Song Le was suffocated, and his first advice was easily resolved, and his momentum suddenly disappeared.
"Haha." Shao Shude smiled, stepped forward and took Song Le's hand, saying: "Sir, he is my good teacher and friend. He always has something to say and hits the point. I know that."
Song Le was pulled to sit down.
"Mr. Song arrived first, it's just right." Shao Shude said: "There is something I don't understand now, I hope you can teach me."
"What's the matter?" Song Le was a relatively traditional scholar and official. Hearing this, he immediately sat upright.
"Sir, if you are familiar with history books, you should know that in the Qin Dynasty, the prime minister was in charge of the government, the Taiwei was in charge of the army, and the imperial censor was responsible for supervision." Shao Shude said: "In the Han Dynasty, there was a ministerial desk to divide the power of the prime minister, and the ministerial order began.
It is true that he is a prime minister. In the past, when Cao Gong was in charge of the government, when he went to war, Xun Yu was the minister and took charge of government affairs."
Song Le listened quietly.
The game between the power of the king and the power of the prime minister is eternal. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the power of the prime minister was extremely great, which aroused the suspicion of the king. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up the Shangshutai, which was initially composed of members of the inner court serving the king to divide the power of the prime minister. After a long period of time,
With the development of the government, the three princes (Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong) were successfully transformed into empty positions, while Shangshu Ling and left and right servants gradually became de facto prime ministers.
But the rise of Shangshu Ling aroused the king's suspicion.
Cao Cao established the Secretariat Order, and his son Cao Pi changed it to Zhongshu Order, so the Zhongshu Province was established to divide the powers of the Shangshu Province.
From the Northern Dynasties to the Guo Dynasty, there were more Menxia Sheng, that is, Zhongshu Sheng drafted edicts, Menxia Sheng reviewed and approved, and Shangshu Sheng became an executive agency. Not to mention, the Shangshu Ling remained vacant all year round and became a false title. The master of Shangshu Sheng was
The official has become a servant. Originally, one person had the final say, but now the power is divided between two people.
Under the mutual restraint of the three provinces, the number of real prime ministers increased greatly, namely, left and right Pu She (Shang Shu Sheng), Zhong Shu Ling (Zhong Shu Ling), and two Shi Zhong (Men Xia Sheng), a total of five prime ministers.
Even so, after Emperor Gaozong came to the throne, he still felt that the power was not centralized enough, so he ordered low-level officials from the three provinces and six ministries to join the political affairs hall to participate in government affairs, and gave them the title of "Tong Zhongshumen Xia Ping Zhang Shi", which deposed the original real prime minister.
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At this time, just look at the honorary titles given to the governors of various places. There are a bunch of servants, servants, ministers, ministers, and ministers. You will know that these prime ministerial positions in the early dynasties have become empty positions again.
Starting from the Three Dukes, to Shangshu Ling, Zhongshu Ling, Left and Right Pushe, and Shizhong, they gradually changed from real prime ministers to empty positions, which actually reflected the expansion of the monarch's power and the mutual checks and balances in the court.
But checks and balances also have side effects, that is, efficiency gradually decreases.
The official system of the state and dynasty also had flaws. In order to make up for these flaws, the emperor had to engage in a large number of "missions", that is, dispatches.
In the beginning, envoys had no rank and were part-time. This was the origin of the chaotic official system of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty.
"However, times have changed, and now the Shangshu Province is in name only, or can it be abolished?" Shao Shude said, "What do you think, sir?"
"At the time of Emperor Taizong, the chief officials of the three provinces worked together." Song Le pondered for a moment and then said slowly: "By the time of Zhongzong, the chief official of Shangshu Province could no longer enter the political hall, and his status was greatly reduced. The six departments of Shangshu were reduced to Zhongshu.
It is a vassal of two provinces. It is said that it is three provinces and six tribes, but in fact it is two provinces and six tribes."
"It's just..." Song Le smiled and said: "If Your Highness wants to centralize power, shouldn't he appoint the chief minister of Shangshu Province to the political affairs hall? The more people there are, the more trivial things will happen, and the harder it will be to form a unified opinion. It just so happens that the saint
ruling."
In theory, this is the case, but the rulings of saints sometimes don't work. Even with Taizong's prestige, his orders have been rejected. If the process cannot be completed, then the emperor's order is "unordered" and "in line with the order."
, will not have legal effect.
"Zhongshu, do you think there is a need for the existence of the second province under the sect?" Shao Shude asked.
Song Le sighed and said: "Your Highness, the king is the king, and the prime minister is the prime minister."
Shao Shude was silent.
He recalled that in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang initially implemented the system of one province and six ministries, that is, Zhongshu Province was in charge of six ministries, but he later abolished this organization and the six ministries were directly responsible to the emperor.
This allowed Zhu Yuanzhang to actually take over the position of prime minister.
The prime minister has decision-making power, power to discuss political power, and execution power. Zhu Yuanzhang firmly held the decision-making power in his hands. The court officials could only give some suggestions and the six ministries implemented it concretely. The power was the highest among emperors in history.
This will undoubtedly bring a heavy workload. Lao Zhu is not polite, he will do whatever he wants, and he will work until late at night every day, leaving people speechless.
Once upon a time, the prime minister had all the power, and the emperor did not need to interfere from decision-making to execution. Even if the emperor lost his temper, he would be reprimanded or even replaced by the prime minister.
By the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the power of the prime minister had been weakened. The existence of the three provinces, six ministries and the Political Affairs Hall ensured that there would never be a powerful minister with all the power in one body, because the emperor could stuff his own people into the Political Affairs Hall.
The system of one province and six ministries, in which the prime minister makes decisions, is highly efficient, but the side effect is that powerful ministers may appear.
The system of three provinces and six ministries, in which the prime minister makes decisions, is inefficient, but it is difficult for powerful ministers to emerge.
The cabinet system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties was in another dimension. The emperor made decisions and the bachelors gave advice. Of course, if the emperor was lazy or young, it would actually become a province and six ministries system. But in terms of the legal system,
Bachelors do not have decision-making power, although in the actual implementation process, they can often take advantage of loopholes to obtain this power.
Shao Shude also felt a little uncertain in his heart.
He felt that if the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties directly took charge of the six ministries, not only the civil servants would criticize him, but also the generals would be horrified. It was a step too far.
"Your Highness mentioned six books before as the second grade..." Seeing that Shao Shude remained silent, Song Le smiled and said, "In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see it and think deeply about it."
Shao Shude laughed to cover up his embarrassment, his little trick was seen through.
"I suggest that the power of Shangshu Province, Duzhi, Yantie, and Hubu should be abolished and returned to the Six Ministries. The Six Ministries should be placed under the control of Zhongshu Province and the Menxia Province should be retained. How about that?" Song Le asked.
This Sansi was born against the background of lack of money in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.
Under the separatist rule of vassal towns, Hebei's offerings were symbolic, and they often did not give even a cent to the court.
Henan and Hedong almost did not contribute financially to the court because they raised too many soldiers. For example, Dongdu Town, which originally governed Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou, had less than 600,000 yuan in fiscal revenue under Dezong, but he never contributed to the court.
Instead, the government needs to transfer and pay the money.
The towns in northwest Beijing are completely dependent on central transfer payments.
Xuanwu Town raised 100,000 soldiers, but gave very little money to the court.
In contrast, the annual fiscal revenue of many vassal towns in the south is not as good as that of Xuanwu, Xuzhou and other towns, but they have to pay most of the taxes because they do not have many soldiers - most of them are military envoys in the north, while most are observation envoys in the south.
You can tell the difference.
During the Yuanhe period, there were nearly one million warriors in the country, most of whom were in the north. They were a complete financial black hole.
Under such a situation, two-thirds of the imperial court's wealth came from Jiangnan, which was used to make up for the Chang'an bureaucracy and the huge counter-rebellion military expenses.
In order to make money, the imperial court sent salt and iron envoys to the south to collect taxes, and transshipment envoys were responsible for transportation. The three divisions came into being.
During the reign of Emperor Dezong, the salt profit was more than 6 million yuan a year, most of which came from the south.
In the salt ponds in the north, Xia Sui collected and supported himself and defended the north.
It is impossible for Hebei Yanchi to give money to the central government, and the profits of Ziqing Haiyan are kept in his own pocket.
The court in Yanchi in Hezhong could control it, but it had to share accounts with the feudal towns. After all, Hezhong Town had a population of one million and had to support an army of 50,000 troops, which was a huge expense - while Huainan Town, which had twice the population of Hezhong, only had 30,000 soldiers. This was still Huainan.
The achievements made by the military expansion after the Western Rebellion were "less than ten thousand people" before that, so the money saved would naturally be turned over to the central government.
Even though I have been working in the third division for a long time, I still can’t make much money.
The observation envoys in the south gradually became Jiedushi envoys, and they raised more soldiers. Coupled with the budding ambitions and the dwindling supply, the financial collapse of the imperial court was inevitable.
Song Le suggested that the three divisions should be returned to the household department for the sake of standardization.
"Okay!" Shao Shude also took a step back and said: "The third department is returned to the Ministry of Household Affairs, the sixth department is under the control of the Zhongshu Province, and the right of review and criticism of the Menxia Province is retained. But I want to expand the scope of selection for the Political Affairs Hall.
"
"What kind of expansion method?" Song Le asked.
"In the past, the members of the political affairs hall were limited to Zhongshu, two provinces, and occasionally six ministers, but not many, and even fewer from the Hanlin Academy." Shao Shude said: "I think the secretarial department, the Hanlin Academy, and even the clan can send people."
"Secretary Supervisor, if a Hanlin bachelor is not familiar with government affairs, how can he participate in political affairs?" Song Le frowned.
"Officials from the Secretariat and Hanlin Academy can go to local places to perform their duties. Doesn't this mean they understand government affairs?" Shao Shude asked rhetorically.
Song Le was speechless.
The Ministry of Secretaries and the Hanlin Academy were both institutions that were close to the emperor. The emperor wanted to cultivate private individuals and fill the political hall with his own people.
If there are too many people in the political hall and the dispute cannot be resolved, the emperor will be appealed to for judgment.
But it's already pretty good.
The founding emperor had a good conscience when he gave in. However, maybe there were other reasons? Wanted to win over the literati? To change the social atmosphere?
"How many people are suitable for the political hall?" Song Le asked.
"Let's tentatively decide on seven people." Shao Shude said: "There will be two ministers, two ministers, and the other three, I will decide. If there is a dispute, you can vote and decide based on the number of people."
This voting system by show of hands did not exist before, which was also an important reason for low efficiency.
In addition, the emperor actually has the power of veto. That is, if the prime ministers make their own decisions on a certain policy and reach a consensus, the emperor can also veto it.
This power is actually quite impressive. Sometimes, the emperor would use it to make deals with the prime ministers.
"The internal servants are not allowed to enter the political affairs hall. The grades of the six ministers should be reconsidered." Song Le added.
Shao Shude smiled. Was he afraid of being frightened by eunuchs? Was he also worried that he would be in charge of six ministries and also serve as prime minister?
"Yes," he said, "but the prime minister cannot concurrently serve as the privy envoy, and civilian officials cannot serve as the privy envoy."
"The division of power between the Nine Temples and the Six Ministries still needs to be clarified," Song Le said again.
"Master Song, why are you in such a hurry..." Shao Shude laughed and said, "Now that the framework is clear, everything else will be easy to handle."
Song Le thought so too.
The system is basically like this, with two provinces and six ministries, the emperor and the scholars share power and rule the world together. However, the Privy Council is still controlled by warriors, and behind these warriors is actually the emperor himself.
This is fine too.
As long as the warriors don't interfere in civil affairs, the civil servants are already burning incense. As for the military affairs - seizing the power of the warriors in turn? Just don't use force to control civil affairs. Use culture to control military force. I dare not think about it!