Han Hai Tang Ergui

Chapter 600 Governing a Great Country is Like Cooking Small Fresh Food

Grass-roots rural governance has changed from a township official system to a service job system, which is actually a symbol of the reform of rural governance in ancient China and the further centralization of power by the central government.

Zhang Ting was also very puzzled before. It is said that the absence of rural officials means that the government's control over the countryside has become weaker?How could it be strengthened instead?

This should still be seen in the corresponding era.

In later generations, with developed transportation, unobstructed information, and local affairs, in theory, you can reach high-level officials in a few seconds, and there are enough taxes to ensure that township civil servants are full-time personnel.

The central government can naturally rely on township civil servants to firmly grasp the grassroots.

But it was not possible in ancient times. Let alone the countryside, even the prefectures and counties, it was not easy to reach the central government if something happened.

However, the extremely low grade and very little salary of the township officials determined that it was impossible to be selected from far away places, and they could only be arranged in the nearest village.

Arranging people from the county to take office away from their hometown would have been regarded as tyranny at the time, let alone a remote transfer.

So in the village, what kind of person can be a village official?
It must be a big local tyrant in the countryside, or a bully who can pull out dozens of big men from the family and can beat the neighbors who dare not fight back.

This kind of bully has put on a layer of official skin, so it's okay?

For example, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, he was such a typical bully back then. face.

And this kind of people are in the countryside, for the sake of the fish and meat village, they must cover up all the things in the countryside, so as not to let the Shangguan know clearly, and the Shangguan only wants to complete the annual tax and labor quota.

Therefore, to a large extent, the township officials before the mid-Tang Dynasty were not township officials, but country land emperors legalized by the government.

The only difference is that when the imperial court was strong and the government was clear, these local emperors had much less power, and they didn't dare to do too much anger and resentment.

It would be embarrassing if the imperial court declined, even in the Tang Dynasty, the township officials were refusing to conscript husbands normally by the imperial court.After being deprived of official status, resistance to the new imperial court Li Zhengwai often happened.

So after the mid-Tang Dynasty, in order to better control the place, increase taxes, save expenditures and other reasons, the imperial court turned the township officials into service positions.

This is equivalent to depriving these rural local tyrants of their official status, making them become assholes when facing court officials, and losing the capital to negotiate with the government.

For example, in the previous Later Tang Dynasty, the imperial court stipulated that various roads should be appointed to observe the counties, and each village should appoint a powerful household to act as the village head, and discuss with the villagers.

Here, the township officials are no longer officials appointed by the government, but have become jointly elected by the villagers, and they have to make up for the poor peasants' taxes and other deficiencies.

In the following Zhou Dynasty, it was even more directly stipulated that every hundred households in the villages of all states and counties across the country should form a regiment, and each regiment would select three major households as senior elders.Where there are traitors and thieves in the folk houses, the three major households will investigate; if there are wastes in the civilian fields, the three major households will evenly report.

Where there are traitors and thieves in the common people's houses, the three major households inspect them, and they seem to be power, but in fact they are not bullshit.

Because it can only be investigated, there is no law enforcement power, and I have to work hard on my own feet to report to the government.

The latter one is even more ruthless. The taxpayers are those who cannot afford to pay the tax. The tax they lack will be shared equally by the three major Hus who have been elected.

In this way, the small rural tyrants who were originally town officials have changed from officials to inescapable taxation benchmarks, and they just stick to the fields.

The government doesn't care how many people in your village are poor and have no money to pay taxes, they just need to grab your benchmark and force them desperately.

In fact, this means that the government is taking advantage of the big households in the countryside and forcing them to equalize the rich and the poor in the countryside. Of course, it also has the effect of making it easier to collect taxes.

Therefore, without the middleman of the township official, the imperial court's control over the countryside became more direct.

After the township officials were not needed, the country's taxes began to increase.

Zhang Ting couldn't help scratching his head a little irritably. This governance method is indeed simpler and more convenient. It also eliminates the middleman of the township officials and local tyrants, which saves government expenditures, increases taxation and stability, and eliminates rural instability.

For the imperial court, it was a good way to kill many birds with one stone. For more than a thousand years in later generations, only the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, which had extremely extensive management, did not implement the service position system. Mature and perfect service system.

However, the service system has a very serious disadvantage, which Zhang Ting had to consider carefully.

When the township officials were there, although they were hidden dangers, they were the fish and meat of the common people, and the state had to take money to support them.

But as long as they are there, the mobilization ability at the grassroots level will be guaranteed.

Now there are no township officials, and there are no leaders in the countryside. It is rare for government servants to go to the countryside for a month or two.

At the same time, the elders who served in the service position have changed from a powerful man in an official position to a rich man who is bothered by both ends.

In the eyes of the common people, most of them are not officials, but unlucky guys with a little spare money, and they don't have much appeal.

This caused the imperial court to have affairs, not to mention recruiting men and materials from the countryside, and expropriating supplies, which had nothing to do with the people in the countryside at all.

Anyway, the service system is here, no matter who calls him, he will pay the same land tax. As long as the soldiers don't go to the countryside to kill people, they can even pay less tax for a period of time.

In this case, then you can call!Who cares what they do?

Of course, not everyone can’t see the disadvantages of the township official system and the service system, but the benefits are too great, it’s too easy, and it’s so easy to use.

So in the Song and Ming dynasties, they only made a small patch on the basis of maintaining the service system.

That is to try to expand the influence of the imperial examination, and return some of the power of the original township officials to the rural scholar-bureaucrats who make a living through the imperial examination through the imperial examination.

We hope to mobilize the power of the countryside through them.

In this way, the problem is actually not big, and it is still executable at the beginning.

It's just that in the end, the bad thing was Zhao Er, who made the admiration of literature and restraint of martial arts too much, causing the rural scholar-bureaucrats to become sour scholars.

Therefore, even in the Song and Ming dynasties, there were not many literati and bureaucrats who killed themselves for the country.

But their ability is really limited, and it is not enough to at least keep the basic situation like the late Han Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and even the situation of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

One of the important reasons for the rapid demise of the Nanming Dynasty was that the force and mobilization force in the countryside of the Ming Dynasty, especially the south of the Yangtze River, which had been at peace for a long time, was too weak, almost non-existent. As a result, the Qing soldiers only had to chase after the little force of the Nanming Dynasty. That's fine.

Seeing Zhang Ting's brows furrowed tightly, Shang Shu Zuo Pushe and Shang Shu of the Ministry of Officials Zhang Xichong said.

"Saint, the current situation is very obvious. There are a lot of rural households fleeing, and there are no big households who can afford the service.

Whether the taxation of the states and counties is completed or not depends entirely on whether they can find service positions in the countryside that can be assumed.

And those who can be selected by the government to take up service positions are all ordinary wealthy households who have some family property but are unable to protect them. If they are selected, they will lose their family.

Those who are truly capable can use various methods to escape. If they cannot escape, they will join bandits like Li Renshu.

Therefore, the minister believes that the service system needs to be suspended at least, otherwise, if it continues, the imperial court will completely lose control of the countryside. "

Zhang Xichong has been in Fangzhen for a long time, so he is very clear about the situation of the rural service. In fact, even if Zhang Xing does not convene to discuss this matter this time, he is ready to write a letter.

"Xue Juzheng, you are the Minister of the Household Department. Let me tell you your opinion. From Tang to Jin, is it all like this in the countryside?"

Zhang Ting named Xue Juzheng's name, the meaning is obvious, the situation in the countryside has been so serious, how did they maintain the operation of the court in the later Tang and later Jin Dynasties?
Of course Xue Juzheng understood the implication of Zhang Tie's question, so he spread out a piece of information in his hand and presented it to Zhang Tie, who himself began to answer directly.

"During the Later Dynasty and Shi Jingtang's period, the rural conditions were better than mine in Zhou Dynasty.

Because at that time, there had not been three years of floods, droughts and locust disasters.Although there was a war, it was not as it is now, where the Khitans are fighting everywhere.

Therefore, although there are many problems in the countryside, it can still be maintained.

Moreover, thieves like Li Renshu are only found in Xu, Yi, Su, and Ying prefectures in Huaibei, and there are no such big thieves in other prefectures and counties.

Moreover, the area along the river from Hezhong Prefecture to Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, and even Chen, Xu, Song and other prefectures are considered prosperous, so the situation of the imperial court is not bad in the year when there is no catastrophe.

Although Huainan, Guanzhong, Hebei and other places were beyond the reach of the imperial court, only Jiedu envoys suppressed them, and the money paid to the imperial court every year was basically not lacking in the Jiedu of each town. "

Zhang Ting understood that in the later Tang and later Jin Dynasties, firstly, the folks were richer than they are now, and secondly, the imperial court implemented the subcontracting system.

That is, prefectures and counties that are easy to govern are directly administered by the imperial court, and those that are not easy to govern and have to undertake heavy military tasks, such as Hebei, Guanzhong, and Shannan Dongdao, are handed over to Jiedushi to guard them.

Jiedushi is equivalent to the tax underwriter of the imperial court. The land is given to you, and the amount of taxes to be paid every year is also given to you. As for the specifics, you can decide for yourself.

The method of search is clever, if you make money, it is your own, if you lose money, you have to make up for it, if there is a riot, you can suppress it yourself, if you can’t suppress the court, you can find another person to appease you, if you have thoughts that you shouldn’t have, the court will punish you.

However, Zhang Ting is now just unwilling to set up Jiedushi in various places. The power of the existing Jiedushi has also declined to varying degrees. It is impossible to implement the method of counting on the Jiedushi to pay taxes.

Good guy, Zhang Shengren frowned. When I said that the power of the Jiedu Envoy was taken away, there were almost no voices of opposition. They were all waiting here.

After waiting for Zhang Ting to get the situation right, they could only reset the Jiedushi, and then it would be their turn to reappear.

Zhang Bing understood the reason under Xue Juzheng's reminder. As Zhang Bing's number one confidant civil servant, Fan Zhi, his servant, of course also knew the reason, so as soon as Xue Juzheng finished speaking, he stepped forward and said loudly.

"Saint, I do not agree with Zuo Pushe's proposal to restore the township officials. Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, after the township officials changed their posts, the court has saved a lot of expenses, and the countryside has also tended to be stable.

There are two reasons why the current service system cannot continue. One is that after the Jin Lord Beishou and the Khitan went south, there were many deaths and escapes in rural areas, but the amount of taxation has not been reduced, making it impossible to afford rural service positions.

The second is that Li Renshu, the thief, took advantage of the civil strife in the imperial court to seize a large amount of power in the village. The villagers had long been trapped by these bandits, so how could they pay the imperial court taxes.

Therefore, I do not recommend restoring the township official system, as that will only make the rioters become officials instead, and they will feel contemptuous.

The imperial court should select capable officials to re-count the country's acres and population, agree on the amount of taxation according to the actual situation, and then send soldiers to fight against the Huaibei bandits. "

After Zhang Ting listened, he took a serious look at Fan Zhi, only to see his upright and awe-inspiring face.

It's not easy!Fan Zhi, who has always been reluctant to let go and dare not offend others, is rare to have such a rigid side.

He is clearly opposing Zhang Xichong's proposal to restore the township official system, but he is actually opposing Zhang Tie's reactivation of the Jiedu envoy suppression in Henan, which is very offensive.

There were two choices in the court council. Zhang Xichong proposed to restore the township government system. In fact, he hoped that Zhang Teng would stabilize Huaibei thieves like Li Renshu and fight Liu Zhiyuan first. After the world stabilized, he would make adjustments.

Fan Zhi believed that compromising with the Huaibei thieves at this time violated Zhang Tie's long-standing phalanx policy. If he compromised with the Huaibei thieves, wouldn't he also compromise with the Jiedu envoy's power?
And when Liu Zhiyuan is defeated, there will be a lot of trouble in the village, and when the time comes to clean it up, I'm afraid we will have to pay a higher price.

But they are only those who put forward opinions, and the specific decision-making power still rests with Zhang Ting, which is what the king of a country does.

But the matter is very important, Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi's proposal has its own practical considerations, Zhang Tie really can't make this decision for a while.

He glanced briefly at the group of officials, and soon saw Li Gu who had presided over the work of Juntian in Chuzhou.

He came from Huainan and had worked in-depth. He must know the local situation better than Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi.

"Weizhen, you came from Huainan, tell me your opinion." Zhang Ting called Li Gu affectionately, asking for his opinion.

Li Gu didn't speak, but he could feel that at least two eyes were watching him fiercely.

One is from Zhang Xichong, the left servant of the Shangshu, and the other must be from Fan Zhi, the servant of the sect.

If he had a choice, he definitely didn't want to express his opinion at this time. One of these two people is a senior minister of the emperor.

One is the emperor's confidant, and the two hooked up when the emperor first entered Liangzhou.

However, this meeting was out of his control, and the emperor could not see that he hesitated.

You must know that since he stepped down as the transfer envoy of the army and the governor of Chuzhou, except for the scattered officials of Dr. Yinqing Guanglu who was sealed by the emperor, he has not held any official position yet.

Therefore, Li Gu came out at an extremely fast speed, and then quickly came up with a plan.

"Returning to Your Majesty, as I saw in Huainan, the taxation of Chuzhou and other places in Huainan, the original state of the Southern Tang Dynasty, is far more serious than that of Xu, Yi, and Su in Huaibei, but they can still collect taxes smoothly.

The reason for their willingness is precisely because the Huaibei thieves were funded by the Lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. They did not go to Huainan, but specifically harmed Huaibei.

The people in Huaibei have been raided by Huaibei thieves.I don't even know that the court has the final say?Or is it Li Renshu, a senior official, who has the final say?

Now that the sage has just ended the chaotic times south of the great river, although the people's wealth will not be exhausted, there is only one share, and if it is given to the Huaibei bandits, it cannot be given to the court.

If the Huaibei thieves were recruited at this time, their appetites, I don't know how big they would be!
Therefore, the minister suggested that he should be paid and used in Huaibei, and those who follow the scenery should be accepted, so that they will know how to return when they are lost.Severely punish the core thieves such as Li Renshu. Only when they are completely defeated can they be allowed to settle down.

Moreover, Zhang Xiong, the defense envoy of Chuzhou, has a lot of contacts with Li Renshu. His Majesty can give Zhang Xiong an order to help suppress the bandits. "

When Zhang Ting heard it, yes, Zhang Xiong was the leader of the Huainan Baijia soldiers in history, and Li Renshu must have participated in it. If he wanted to fight Li Renshu, Zhang Xiong would definitely be the first choice.

However, Li Gu is also a cunning guy. Having said so much, what Zhang Tie most wanted him to talk about was the restoration of the township official system or the continuation of the service system, which was not discussed at all.

Zhang Ting didn't think about Li Gu's fear of offending others, because he didn't think that Zhang Xichong or Fan Zhi could make the officials feel much fear.

But he sensed Li Gu's hesitation, so he didn't mention these anymore, and planned to find a time to meet privately.

Just at this time, Empress Cao Yanxi asked the Shangshi Bureau to cook some mutton soup cakes, and had already brought them over in person. Zhang Tie took advantage of the opportunity to announce that the court meeting was over and entertained the officials to eat.

In this small court meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, nothing was actually settled except that the Huaibei thieves were to be punched hard.

But this is the particularity of politics. The formulation of a policy must go through a lot of deliberation. This is called governing a big country like cooking a small fish.

. . . .

Zhang Tie returned to the inner palace after cooking the fresh food, still thinking about the gains and losses of the township official system and the service system in his mind. In fact, Zhang Tie was inclined to the township official system.

It's not that he doesn't understand the benefits of the service system. It can be used by later generations for thousands of years, and even the republic has been using it for a certain period of time. It definitely has its merits, and even has great merits.

But in Zhang Ting's heart, there is a determination to cover all directions.

He thought that in his lifetime, he would at least stabilize the three lands of Hezhong, Outer Northeast, and Jiaozhi, so that they belonged to the Chinese nation no matter what.

Even if they can only seal a bunch of countries, they will break away from the court and form a separatist regime in the end, but Zhang Tie doesn't care.

As long as they are a country of Han people, speak Chinese, and use Han family classics, it is enough for them to think that they are Han people.
Then, in order to spread out on a large scale, a strong rural organization is needed to allow the imperial court to obtain the most detailed rural data and mobilize suitable population immigrants.

He was still thinking about it, the servant came in to report, Zhongshu Ling He Ning and Minister of the Ministry of Officials Feng Dao asked to see him outside the palace.

Zhang Ting met the two of them in the Yuanzhen Hall of Piandian. Zhang Ting looked at the handsome Feng Dao, and he knew that this old boy was ready to come out to do things. He also knew that his political power would finally make everyone in the world feel stable. .

Because when it comes to looking at the direction of the wind and protecting oneself wisely, no one can match the tumbler Feng Dao.

However, although this person is talented, he has a lot of problems. The main reason is that Feng Dao's will is not firm, he is good at flattering people, and he is too slippery.

Being able to know and employ people, but lacking leadership authority, and Zhang Xichong are just two extremes.

From Zhang Ting's point of view, Zhang Xichong's understanding of state affairs and vision cannot keep up with Feng Dao, but Zhang Xichong has an advantage that Feng Dao does not have.

That is, Zhang Xichong is a man who can make a decision. As long as the discussion with Zhang Tie is completed, he will definitely be able to carry out this matter. Zhang Xichong will dare to punish any officials below who dare to make small moves.

But Feng Dao can't do it, he can make everyone think well of him and sell his face, but he can't make his subordinates resolutely implement it.

Therefore, after Zhang Tie entered Tokyo, he did not reuse Feng Dao, but asked him to do a good job in national etiquette, laws and regulations, etc. in the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.

He Ning is the most important minister in the late Jin Dynasty that Zhang Ting valued most. He is both civil and military. He is a writer, but he can also mount a horse and shoot. An anthology of the earliest cases in China.

Seeing the two people coming in together, Zhang Tie hurriedly asked for a seat, but the two did not sit down, but said to Ning after bowing their hands and saluting.

"Saint, the two of us are here because of the dispute between the township officials and the service positions."

"Oh? What's the opinion of Mr. Zhongshu and Mr. Youdao?" Zhang Ting also guessed that these two people came because of this.

He Ning glanced at Feng Dao and motioned him to speak first.

Because from He Ning's point of view, the two of them planned to inform Zhang Ting and send troops as an excuse, and they did it together.

But looking at it now, He Ning felt as if he had taken the benefits alone, and Feng Dao hadn't received much blessing.

Although Feng Dao didn't say anything, He Ning was under a lot of pressure in his heart, so he kept saying good things about Feng Dao in front of Zhang Tie, and let Feng Dao stand out in front of Zhang Tie everywhere.

After Feng Dao considered the sentence, he said to Zhang Ting: "The township official system was basically abandoned after the middle Tang Dynasty, because it was in the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and Sui Dynasty. One of the important reasons for its existence.

Only with the presence of township officials covering the countryside, aristocratic families can control the place. They use the clan as a bond, arrange clan members to serve as township officials in the countryside, and exclude township officials who are not in their clan.

During the heyday, the rural areas of Hebei and Qilu were delusional, and the emperors of the Sui and Tang Dynasties could not touch them. Even Emperor Taizong Wen was deeply disturbed. Finally, the rural official system has basically collapsed, and the saints must not be restored. "

Zhang Ting smiled, and asked Feng Dao: "Why did Feng Shangshu know that a certain township official system is going to be restored?"

Feng Dao cupped his hands again, "The ambition of a sage was already clear in Anxi, if His Majesty only wanted to be an emperor like the Ming Temple in the Later Dynasty, he would have sent troops into Guanzhong to snatch it.

Now he is so prudent, yet acts benevolent everywhere, praises loyalty, and seeks to restore courtesy, his ambition is to sweep the world! "

"If you want to cover the whole world, you must rely heavily on the township officials so that the countryside can allocate manpower and material resources. Therefore, His Majesty must have the desire to restore the township official system."

The following words were said by He Ning, "Your Majesty, please don't be impatient. This kind of matter is really a major national policy."

Zhang Ting nodded, thinking about it secretly, He Ning's family is in Tokyo, so there should be no particularly deep entanglement with the place.

In addition, this is the era of martial arts, and his Zhong Shuling may not have much energy, so he asked He Ning directly.

"Since Zhongshu knows my heart, if the village official system is not restored, how can we ensure the mobilization ability of the village?"

"I ask Your Majesty to give you two months to send Feng Shangshu and Zhao Xuanhui to various states and counties. After careful inspection, I will submit it to Your Majesty for decision."

Zhao Xuanhui is Zhao Ying, and one of Zhang Ting's heroes who entered the Central Plains. However, Zhang Ting fell ill before he entered Tokyo, and then he left his job and recuperated at home. It seems that his illness should be much better now.

Zhang Ting looked at He Ning and Feng Dao, and saw that the eyes of these two were shining. Isn't this the look that a 60 years old man should have?

Feng Dao even cupped his hands and said to Zhang Ting: "The ministers and others are guilty of the puppet dynasty. There is still strength today, and I am willing to contribute to the peace of the new dynasty for thousands of years."

Zhang Ting immediately understood that after his Great Zhou Dynasty was stabilized, these veteran ministers who had worked as paper makers in the Jin Kingdom finally wanted to come out and do something to make their name for future generations while they were still able to move.

Otherwise, the experience of the late Jin Zaifu who was labeled as a traitor to the puppet dynasty by Zhang Yu will be an indelible stain in their history.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Tie quickly made a decision, "Then appoint Zhao Ying as the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, the supervisory censors of the counties and counties in the southwest, and the thirteen thirteen officials including Xiang, Deng, Jin, Ying, An, and Fang who came out of Shannan Dongdao. state, to investigate the sentiments of the people.

Feng Dao was granted the title of Shangshu Youpushe, the supervisory censor of the counties and counties in the southeast, and seventeen prefectures and counties including Xu, Chen, Cai, Ying, Song, Yan, Yi, Mi, Lai, and Deng. "

　Thanks to the leader of Jiang Xuanjing's book friends for the reward.Speaking of which, I am not afraid of the jokes of the book friends. This is the first direct reward from the leader of the tiger, the second leader of the book friend, and the third leader. Both books are on the leader.

　　After receiving this reward, besides being pleasantly surprised, Tiger also felt a little heavy. He is not in a good state recently, and he is afraid that his writing will be poor, and he will fail the encouragement of his book friends.

　　Originally, as usual, updates must be added, but Tiger really can't spare time to write recently, and it is not easy to maintain updates every day.

　　However, it is said that the discipline rectification of the tiger unit will end next month, and there will be more time by then, so we must make up for it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)