Chapter 56: It’s Time for Westerly Wind and Slanting Rain (2)
The turmoil in Hebei became more and more intense. This incident tore off the last fig leaf between the "rule of virtue faction" and the "rule of law faction". From then on, the two factions no longer had any scruples and began to quarrel with each other.
Some people regard it as a continuation of the Qingli New Deal and the Xining Reform. Those who support the "rule of law" faction are mostly in favor of reform and innovation; those who support the "rule of virtue" faction tend to be more conservative.
Only this time, the new reform parties were surprised to find that they had found an extremely sharp weapon - laws and regulations.
Later, the conservative party also discovered that laws and regulations were also a powerful weapon for them.
The rules should be established first, so that it is clear at a glance what is good and what is bad. Then when we argue, we don’t need to quote scriptures every day to make arguments or look up books.
At this time, the importance of Zhongshu Province was fully reflected.
The Zhongshu Sheren who were responsible for gathering opinions and writing the draft of the law, and the Jiayi officials who were responsible for reviewing and passing the law, were in the past low-ranking officials with no real power and were unwilling to hire anyone else.
After realizing the truth, various schools are now trying their best to recruit people to Zhongshu Province.
It's a pity that now you can't stuff it in if you want.
The number of people in Zhongshushe is already full, and is almost occupied by people from the Secretariat Province, Fengyun College of Sungkyun University, and Yumo Hall of Hanlin Academy. Eight out of ten of these people are die-hards of the rule of law faction.
The "Government by Virtue" faction was anxious and tried their best to infiltrate the Jiayi officials who were responsible for deliberation and adoption of laws.
It is said that there are hundreds of vacancies for this position, and there are still enough vacancies. However, the officials have issued an edict, confirming that only those with honorary titles can hold the post.
From the sixth rank of Zuo Shu Zhang and above, to the Duke, County Prince, and Prince, they automatically obtain the official position of Jiayi Dafu and participate in the review and approval of laws in Zhongshu Province.
The rules are very simple. If you have an honorary title or a title and want to participate in the review of the law, go to the Zhongshu Province to register at the beginning of the year. Then every time the third reading of the law is reviewed, the General Affairs Bureau of the Zhongshu Province will notify you to participate on time.
that is.
Follow the process, first review in groups, then approval by the review group, and finally approval by the whole body.
If you don’t go after being informed three times, you will be ineligible this year and will have to register again next year.
But for most celebrities and scholars, the threshold of honorary title is life-threatening.
No title can be awarded unless it has been done to help the country, and no honors can be awarded unless it has benefited the country and the people.
From the current point of view, knighthood is only for military merit; but honors can be awarded in many ways.
In addition to military merits, there are old farmers who have trained good seeds and improved farming methods; there are craftsmen who have invented textiles and military tools; there are medical officers who have treated people during epidemics... dozens of others have received medals, but none of them have received them.
He was awarded an honorary title for his good writing.
This makes the scholar feel aggrieved and trapped in a cocoon.
They have always boasted about reciting poems and writing lyrics, and clever writing is the foundation of being a scholar. Everyone is a scholar and can write poems and articles. Why can you be awarded a medal and I can't?
At the beginning, some people proposed to confer honors on several famous Confucian scholars, but the literati looked down upon each other. After several quarrels, the road to conferring poems and writing articles was actually blocked by them themselves.
A relegated figure like Mr. Dongpo was awarded the title of Guanglu Doctor because his poems and songs sold 500,000 copies to Northern Liao, Western Xia, Dali, Li Yue and overseas in just two years.
In these "wild vassal states" outside the Song Dynasty, anyone who knows Chinese characters must recite Dongpo's poems.
How much face did this bring to the Song Dynasty? Therefore, the title of Guanglu Doctor should be given to him.
But how many Su Dongpo are among the literati?
No! This is unfair to us scholars! The rules must be changed.
Quarrels started from Hebei to Henan, from Qinchuan to Qilu, from the Yellow River to the Yangtze River. Scholars gathered together to discuss, and whenever they discussed, they quarreled.
But in Kaifeng City, the heart of the Song Dynasty, the attention of officials and people was attracted by another major debate.
The "Taxation Reform Conference" is the second time in history that the imperial court has hosted a nationwide review of current and future taxation department (financial and economic) policies since the "Salt and Iron Conference" convened by Emperor Zhao Guang of the Han Dynasty.
Great debate.
Sixty-seven celebrities and scholars from all over the country, 45 representatives of merchants, 28 representatives of craftsmen, 39 representatives of farmers, 25 representatives of local officials, seven representatives of central officials, and representatives of various universities and colleges
Twenty-nine people. A total of two hundred and forty people.
It was noisy when it came up, just like two thousand male ducks gathered together, with a female duck in the middle.
Being red in the face is trivial, but when it comes to getting angry, four or five of them simply roll up their sleeves and argue physically instead of arguing rationally.
Cai Jing, the Minister of Planning who presided over the meeting, went to break up the fight, not wanting to suffer any unforeseen disaster. The official robe was torn, the official hat was knocked crooked, and a black tiger hit his left eye, leaving a black eye.
In the end, the five people who fought in public were accused of disgrace, deprived of their qualifications as debate representatives, and kicked out of the venue.
Then five more people were filled in from the audience, the debate discipline was reiterated, the debate process was clarified, and the physics debate master who dared to fight with the officials who were still King Jian in the Chui Gong Hall in front of the late Emperor Zhe Zong was dispatched.
The senior Zhang Dun was in charge. Only then did he calm down the situation, allowing the great debate to proceed smoothly.
It is precisely because of the clear viewpoints of all parties, the fierce conflicts, and the heated debate that Kaifeng citizens who were watching the lively events rushed to the Jiayuan to watch.
The rebellion in Dunyushan, Hebei Province lasted for twenty-four days and was suppressed within three days. Then a temporary court was set up and the trial and ruling took more than ten days amidst the quarrels.
The "Great Debate on Tax Reform" in Kaifeng City began in the middle of the Dunyushan Rebellion and ended seven days after the temporary court hearing and ruling.
It lasted for twenty-nine days, and 1.35 million words of compiled meeting minutes were left behind.
At the end of the meeting, representatives from all parties were reluctant to leave. They were all looking forward to the most critical voice appearing—official comments on the debate.
From the first meeting to the end, the officials listened in but never expressed a single word of opinion.
This period of time seemed like a brief calm between two major storms. People from all sides were waiting quietly and uneasily for the sound coming from the Chongzheng Hall.
Early that morning, the large conference hall of the Secretary's Department was filled with more than two hundred people.
Zhang Dun, Lu Huiqing, Huang Fu, An Tao, Shangshu Province Dazai, and left and right servants were all present. Cai Jing, Zhang Kangguo and other ministers of the Ministry of Planning, ministers, Chen Shixi and other directors of the Military Supplies Department of the Privy Council, Guo Yong, Lu Yihao and other Kaifeng Prefecture officials also
Sitting aside.
At the front and side of the hall, there is a blackboard with a line of words written on it: "The first study class for officials of the Apocalypse First Year".
Zhao Si was dressed in regular clothes and stood at the front. Behind him was a larger blackboard.
He looked around at the crowd, walked behind the big tin speaker, and said loudly: "Okay, let's start the first training class for department officials."
"First of all, it is clear, what does the Si Hui mean? The Si Hui comes from "Zhou Li. Tianguan". The Si Hui governs the country with six codes, eight methods, and two of the eight principles. It is to oppose the rule of the government and the government of the country. It uses the method of nine tributes to achieve the rule of the country.
For financial use, the nine Fus are used to regulate the financial use of the fields, the nine functions are used to regulate the financial use of civil servants, and the nine formulas are used to regulate the financial use of the state."
"The Sihui is responsible for the performance evaluation of officials and the payment of finances and taxes. But times have changed. In my definition, the Sihui now refers to finance, the financial management of the country and the court, including expenditures and taxes. Everyone says whether it is important or not.
?Of course it is important. Whether I and everyone here can eat depends on it."
Hearing this, there was a burst of laughter in the hall.
Since the official came to power, there have been several major features in governance, and the number of study classes is one of the most important features.
From advanced study classes for ministers and above to study classes in local states and counties, officials often attend such meetings. The purpose is to "raise awareness and unify thinking."
Of course, the most popular study classes are those hosted by government officials.
Not only because of the blessing of official status, but more importantly, what officials say is very interesting and refreshing. At the same time, these things that are accepted by everyone in the study class will soon become an important part of governing the country.
How much advantage can you gain by learning the ideas of statecraft one step ahead of others? Everyone knows this clearly.
"The two most important tasks of the Board of Directors are taxation and expenditure. Taxation is to find money, and expenditure is to spend money. Let's talk about it one by one. Let's talk about taxes first."
Zhao Si looked at the officials who were listening attentively and taking notes with new pencils, and asked a question, "The tax department will talk about it, but the core is one word, tax! So let's ask everyone, the most fundamental source of tax in the world
, what is it?”
You are a genius, remember in one second: Red Oasis: This chapter has been completed!