Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 116 Disadvantages of the Three Mutual Methods
In front of Lu Kai, a descendant of Lu Buwei, and Lu Kai's identity is the representative of many wealthy families in Yongchang County.

At the same time, Liu Zhang considered that when the rebellion broke out throughout Nanzhong, Yongchang County would not move and would not participate in the rebellion.

When he talks about Lu Buwei, he will naturally not talk about the scandalous rumors between Lu Buwei and Qin Shihuang's mother Zhao Ji, nor the possible father-son relationship between Lu Buwei and Qin Shihuang Yingzheng.

Therefore, he talked about how Lu Buwei recruited followers, learned from many schools of thought, took Taoism as the main body, and also absorbed Yin and Yang, Confucianism and Mohism, Mingfa, military and peasants and other schools of thought to complete it. Spring and Autumn Period".

The effect of Liu Zhang's words was obvious. After hearing Liu Zhang's praise of Lu Buwei, Lu Kai smiled, nodded in agreement, and drank a glass of wine generously.

After getting closer to each other through a few words, Liu Zhang asked Lu Kai something.

"Ji Ping, how long has your father been in charge of the affairs of Yongchang County as the county magistrate?"

Under normal circumstances, the county governor is the highest administrative officer in the county, the first level in the county's administrative structure, and has full authority to manage all matters in the county.

However, Yongchang County, as the southernmost county in Nanzhong, has not had a county governor willing to take office for a long time. In the absence of a prefect in the county, the power naturally fell into the hands of county officials.

There are two types of officials in the county government.

A person who is appointed by the central government and has a rank of more than [-] shi, such as a county magistrate, a chief historian, or a captain, is called an assistant officer.

The other type is removed by the county guard on his own initiative, and those with a rank of less than a hundred stones, such as merit officials, chief administrators, planners, five-guan officials, etc., are called subordinate officials.

Among the officials in these counties, the position of the county magistrate is the most important. The county magistrate was established in the Qin Dynasty and was the assistant officer of the county governor.It was inherited in the Han Dynasty, with a rank of six hundred stones, and assisted the county guard to manage all affairs. The county memorials and general documents were all signed by the county magistrate.

Usually when the prefect is unable to take charge of the affairs for some reason, or when there is a vacancy in the prefecture, the county magistrate is often the one to act on his behalf.

Therefore, the power of Yongchang County naturally fell into the hands of the county magistrate Lu Chang, so Liu Zhang asked Lu Kai how long his father, Lu Chang, had been in charge of the power of Yongchang County.

Lu Kai thought about it for a moment and said frankly: "It has been more than ten years since I reported it to Duke Ming."

"In the past five years, the imperial court appointed the governor of Yongchang County. However, barbarians are rampant in Nanzhong. They often destroy counties and kill county officials. Therefore, the county governor often does not dare to take the post and just takes charge from afar."

"These people dare not take office in Yongchang County. All matters in the county have to be handled by my father."

"In the next five years, the imperial thief Dong Zhuo rebelled first, and then Li Jue and Guo Si took control of the government. Yongchang County is located in a remote place, and few people care about it, so no county guards have been sent to take office."

"According to the imperial court system, when the prefect is vacant, the county magistrate will be in charge of all affairs of the county."

"So my father has been in charge of county affairs in Yongchang County for more than ten years."

"I didn't expect it to be ten years." Liu Zhang felt a little headache. Although it was reasonable for the county magistrate to take charge when the county governor was unable to take charge or there was a vacancy, this situation was very abnormal. The county has not had a county guard for ten years, which is too ridiculous.

He patted his head and said three words helplessly: "Three Mutual Methods."

"Emperor Xiaohuan's original intention of establishing the Three Mutual Laws was good, to prevent officials from forming cliques for personal gain, but the Three Mutual Laws were too rigid and the implementation effect was not very good."

"Like your father, he can actually be appointed as the governor of Yongchang County. He will not be in charge of the county affairs of Yongchang County like he is now." "Although the county magistrate is in charge of county affairs, in the absence of a county governor, Time can bring about temporary power, but being in charge for ten years is a bit ridiculous."

Regarding Liu Zhang's comments on the Three Mutual Methods and Liu Zhang's words about Emperor Xiaohuan, Lu Kai could only be submissive and did not dare to make a comment in response.

But when he heard that Liu Zhang had the idea of ​​appointing his father as the prefect of Yongchang County, Lu Kai's eyes couldn't help but light up, and he couldn't help but look at Liu Zhang with eager eyes.

His father, Lu Chang, as the county magistrate, presides over the affairs of Yongchang County. Although his power is no different from that of the county governor, his reputation is somewhat unfair. No matter how powerful the county magistrate is in the county, he can't compare to one sentence. Mr. Fu is very appropriate.

Lu Kai responded to Liu Zhang's words. He did not show too much enthusiasm, lest Liu Zhang think that he, Lu, was coveting the position of Yongchang County Sheriff.

He echoed Liu Zhang's words without any trace, and expressed his thoughts: "What Ming Gong said is true, but the Three Mutual Laws represent the rules and authority of the court and cannot be changed easily. It is easy to provoke others to gossip. If the court is accountable Get up, I’m afraid it’s hard to respond.”

"Rules are dead, people are alive." Liu Zhang shook his head gently, not paying attention to Lu Kai's considerations.

He had some ideas about the Three Mutual Methods.

As a set of avoidance systems in the appointment and removal of local officials, the Three Mutual Laws prevent local officials from using their influence in the local area to collude with local wealthy families, disrupt local political clarity, and avoid the formation of local interest groups or multiple Or less effective.

For example, the heroes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty basically did not start their careers in their hometowns.

The place where Cao Cao, a native of Pei State in Yuzhou, raised his troops and started his activities was Yanzhou; Yuan Shao, a native of Runan in Yuzhou, went to Hebei; Yuan Shu, a native of Runan in Yuzhou, went to Nanyang County and later to Yangzhou.

Because they know that the prerequisite for separatist power to compete for the world is to be recognized by the court and become the governor of the state and county, so they have to abide by the three mutual laws.

However, the Three Mutual Method also has disadvantages, that is, the avoidance system of the Three Mutual Method is too complicated.

It is strictly forbidden for people from the marriage house and the two states to serve as officials interchangeably. For example, if a person from state A is an official in state B, and a person from state B is an official in state C, then the people from state B must avoid all three states: A, B, and C.

This avoidance system was too complicated, making it extremely difficult to select officials. For example, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the chiefs of You and Ji states were vacant for a long time due to the three mutual laws.

The two states of You and Ji were important production areas of war armor and military horses in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The absence of governors in the two states led to a lack of order and caused major hidden dangers to national governance.

Sometimes regulations are not terrible. What is terrible is dead regulations. When regulations are dead, flexibility is lost. A system that loses flexibility is like a pool of stagnant water, which can only gradually become turbid and dirty.

Liu Zhang didn't say anything more. He raised his glass to Lu Kai and continued the theme of the night. The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

At the same time, Liu Zhang thought about it in his heart. Nanzhong was a remote place with many locals and barbarians. It was not appropriate to send outsiders as county guards. After all, they didn't understand the geography and people, and how to govern the place.

Furthermore, when foreign governors entered Nanzhong, they had to rely on the local wealthy families. For example, after taking office, Jing Yi, the governor of Cangzhou County, promoted Zhu Bao, a descendant of the Zhu family of Cangzhou County, to serve as county magistrate, and surrendered to the wealthy families of Cangzhou County. Only by using Qiongju to win over the big families in Xangqi County was he able to gain a foothold in Xangqi County.

It is time for the system of three mutual laws to make some changes.

(End of this chapter)