Chapter 196 The Significance of the Agricultural Association (2)
Zhao Si had already finished the first plate of pastries and was eating the second plate. It was obvious that his eating speed had slowed down, and he also took the time to drink two sips of tea.
The eldest grandson, Moli, was a little envious of the official family's appetite. At the same time, he was glad that the official family had such a good appetite - the food tasted delicious and he was in great health.
The late emperor Zhe Miao was also very talented and knowledgeable, but his health was too poor and he ate very little every day. However, there were so many important military and state affairs that required great effort and hard work, so his body soon collapsed.
well...!
However, God blessed the Song Dynasty, and the late Emperor Zhemiao died young, allowing the official family to "stand out", inherit the great treasure, and then lead the Song Dynasty to rebirth.
Either darkness or clarity is fate.
The extraordinary nature of the official family may have been fully revealed from the changes he made to the official system after he ascended the throne.
He actually ingeniously summarized military power as decision-making and execution.
Decision-making, as the name suggests, is the power to make decisions. Setting goals, formulating plans, determining directions, high-level personnel... These major decisions on important military affairs of the Song Dynasty were all decided by the cabinet meeting/enlarged meeting, that is, the meeting of bachelors or bachelors.
No one can take over the power.
To formulate specific measures and implement decisions, the Shangshu Province leads the central ministries and local counties to implement them. The Shangshu Province has Dazai and Shaozai, each ministry has a minister, and each county has a county commander and chief envoy. The authority is concentrated and the execution ability is very strong.
powerful.
Then the Zhongshu Province uses legislation, and the subordinate provinces use judiciary to carry out checks, balances and supervision.
This means checks and balances in decision-making, centralized execution, and supervision at both ends.
The officials themselves used the Secretariat as their minions, directly in charge of the Privy Council and the Xuanhui Yuan, which were responsible for military power, and ruled the world.
The officials also refined the power of governing the country into the two most important ones, personnel power and financial power. By controlling official hats and money bags, the entire bureaucracy of the Song Dynasty could be controlled by the officials.
Aloof from the outside, yet lofty in the sky!
Thinking of this, Changsun Moli couldn't help but sigh. The official can be said to be the most powerful emperor in all dynasties - the decisions he made are all resolutely implemented. However, he is also the most free and easy emperor - running thousands of miles from time to time.
The expedition lasted for two or three years, but the state affairs were not delayed at all.
The secret may lie in centralization and checks and balances.
Seeing Zhao Si pick up the tea cup, take a sip of tea, and finish his mouthful of cakes, Zhang Sun Moli's mind flashed, and his thoughts ran far away. Wasn't he just speculating on other reasons why the officials supported his implementation of the agricultural association?
He adjusted the direction of his thoughts and continued to think in the direction of the government's promise to let the heads of the agricultural associations become Tong Yi Lang and Ping Yan Lang.
Letting the Agricultural Association join the distribution of power in the House of Commons and the Council of Review is a very important decision and a very obvious signal.
Changsun Moli knew very well that the legislation and judicial supervision of Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province were, in a sense, mutual supervision within the official system and were not completely reliable - the officials of the three provinces had all passed the national examination, so they could
If we flow with each other, aren’t we just a family?
Small things can be monitored, but what about big problems? Will it be done under the table and then tacitly covered up?
Therefore, the government allocates part of its power to the Jiayiyuan and the Tongyeyuan to supervise the two most important powers, personnel power and financial power.
….
At the local level, the commander-in-chief can exercise sole authority and be restrained by the envoys of government, inspection and military preparations, but there is still the threat of monopolizing power.
Now a review bureau is added to supervise the county's financial and personnel rights. This is another great restriction, which greatly reduces the possibility of the county officials taking over power or even separatism.
The Jiayi doctors are composed of nobles, officials of third rank or above, academicians of the Hongwen Academy of the Gewu Academy, directors of various societies, etc., and have close relations with the government.
However, Tong Yilang and Pingying Lang came from various walks of life and were both non-officials.
The most important point is that Changsun Moli has only gradually realized it recently. Today's conversation with the officials made his guess clearer.
The government must pass the Jia Yuan, the General Assembly and the Council of Review to decentralize power to the rapidly rising large industrial and commercial owners.
twenty years
With vigorous support, the Song Dynasty has developed hundreds of wealthy businessmen and large factory owners, with assets in the millions and tens of millions. In addition to tens of thousands of small and medium-sized industrial and commercial owners in various places, as well as the tens of thousands of people they employ,
Millions of men, sailors and workers...
They have become an emerging group and have a huge impact on the taxation and economy of the Song Dynasty. They are certainly not willing to have huge wealth without corresponding political rights and influence.
If you ignore this potential contradiction, big trouble will definitely occur over time.
Under the current official system, industrial and commercial groups can gain political power and influence by training their children to study, enter universities, pass the national examination, and be promoted as officials. According to the current academic system and official system, industrial and commercial groups still have an advantage.
——They have enough wealth to support their children to study, or to support smart children from poor families.
But this takes a long time.
Through a series of "studies", Changsun Moli learned many "novel" and effective methods and ideas for analyzing problems from the government. When he read the history books again, it seemed like a new door had opened.
For example, Changsun Moli discovered that the officials who previously controlled the government came from aristocratic families during the Pre-Han Dynasty; during the Pre-Tang Dynasty, they gradually transferred to aristocratic families.
These people have one thing in common: they own a large amount of land - which was the main source of wealth before. According to the official view, these people belong to the landlord group.
If you have land, you will have a lot of wealth. Therefore, the nobles and aristocratic families have the ability to support the literati, pass on knowledge, participate in scientific examinations, and then control the government.
Many of the children from poor families who occasionally appeared during this period maintained close relationships with the landlord groups through clans, sponsorship, etc.
Without land, there would be no food and clothing. We would have starved to death and frozen to death. How would we have the chance to study!
Thinking of this, Changsun Moli couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. If it weren't for the guidance of the officials, all those books he had read before would have been in vain!
Now we all understand why the past dynasties emphasized agriculture and neglected commerce. In addition to low productivity and avoiding price fluctuations that would cause the country to shake, there is another important reason - the landlord group that controls the government does not want a new power to compete with them.
group.
Therefore, they desperately suppressed merchants and belittled craftsmen, and finally made any industrial and commercial operation unsafe. Only buying land and becoming a member of the landlord group was safe.
The official is wise, he has seen through all this, so he uses various excuses to carry out the New Deal - and one of the core of the New Deal is to promote industry and commerce, and vigorously support industry and commerce.
Supporting agricultural associations now is to prepare for a rainy day——
At this time, someone was knocking on the door.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Si asked
"In the official family, the four princes had a quarrel with Secretary Lang Zhang Jun." Yu Huatian replied.
"What?" Zhao Si stood up quickly, walked out in a hurry, walked to the door, turned around and said to Changsun Moli: "Xuan Ming, the matter is not over yet, please wait for a while, I will be back soon."
