Wentang

Chapter 464 Separation of Military and Political
Yue Shan doesn't have to worry about how to provoke Xieli and Tuli, the uncles and nephews, to make them break up according to Datang's plan. Everyone here is better than him.

So he didn't say anything more, and turned to another matter.

"It just so happens that everyone is here. I have another suggestion. You might as well discuss it together."

"Oh, what's the matter?" Li Shimin said.

"Military and political separation." Yue Shan spit out four words slowly.

"Separation of government and military? What do you mean?" Li Shimin asked suspiciously.

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient and communication was very inconvenient. In order to facilitate local governance, the imperial court often adopted a system of military and political integration.

The pre-Qin era was a feudal system, and the princes were in charge of a country's military affairs.The advantage is that the efficiency of local governance is very high, and the disadvantage is that local independence is enhanced, which is not conducive to centralization.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes competed for hegemony because of the lack of authority of the emperor of Zhou, and the princes took power.

In the Qin Dynasty, the policy of separating the military from the government was adopted. The county guard was in charge of administration, the county lieutenant was in charge of the military, and the county supervisor and censor was in charge of supervision. Everyone restricted each other.

This system can be said to be very advanced, but it is a pity that the first emperor's eagerness for success led to the country's chaos and the death of Qin II, and this system did not continue.

During the Han Dynasty, the enfeoffment system was restored. Although the court consciously weakened the power of the princes, it still followed the old path of military and political integration. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the animal husbandry was often combined with military and political affairs, which laid the root for the demise of the Han Dynasty.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, many clans were appointed as the governors, which was actually a combination of the military and the government. Then the Eight Kings Rebellion occurred, which led to the tragedy of the Five Hushuahua.

Although the Tang Dynasty adopted the system of prefectures and counties, there are still many bigwigs who combined the military and the government, such as Luo Yi who was wiped out a few years ago, the Feng family in Lingnan, etc., and many generals who fought in the front line will also grant military and political power .

Why did An Lushan rebel?The reason is that as the commander-in-chief of the frontier army, he has the military and political power in his hands. With military power in his hands, he can raise food, grass and military supplies by himself. His power gradually expanded and eventually set off the Anshi Rebellion.

After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, in order to suppress the rebellion, the imperial court ordered to allow local powerful officials to raise troops and raise military supplies.

Then there was the chaos of the feudal towns, which eventually exhausted the vitality of the Tang Dynasty and led to the subjugation of the country.

It can be said that the integration of the military and the government is a deformed system, and it is easy for warlords to shake the foundation of the country. The best way is to separate the military and the government.

In addition, the separation of military and government can also prevent the occurrence of laymen commanding experts to the greatest extent.

There are not so many people with both civil and military skills. It is not easy for most people to do one thing well.

Letting military generals rule the people is the most likely to be a mess, and letting civilians participate in the military may lead to the subjugation of the country.

As the saying goes, there are specializations in the art industry, and professional things can be left to professional people to do.

This is why Yue Shan proposed the separation of the military and the government.

"History has proved time and again that the integration of military and government will inevitably lead to princes and warlords who can't lose their tails, and even lead to the subjugation of the country. In the past few years, the country has not yet been unified. In order to facilitate the generals in the front, the court had to delegate power and appointed many envoys to control the military and government. .”

"However, now that the country has been unified, the military and the government should be separated for the sake of long-term stability, so I ask the saints to implement the system of separation of the military and the government." Yue Shan said solemnly.

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, unexpectedly Yue Shan was talking about this matter.

No one dared to speak casually. This matter was too sensitive, and it would be a disaster if it caused a misunderstanding.So all eyes turned to Li Shimin, waiting for his answer.

Li Shimin didn't expect Yue Shan to make such a big suggestion without discussing with him in advance, so he felt a little displeased.

But this is not the time to pursue this, let's think about how to deal with this problem first.

But this is indeed a big event, and he has to think carefully before making a decision.So instead of answering Yue Shan's question, he asked, "How do you think the military and government should be separated?"

Yue Shan replied: "There are three divisions in charge of the military, government, and supervision. The three divisions do not interfere with each other and restrict each other."

"In terms of administration, there are three provinces and six ministries. In terms of supervision, there are also supervisory censors. I won't talk about it. I will only talk about the military aspect."

"In the central government, a Privy Council is set up, with privy envoys on the same position as prime ministers. The officials of the Privy Council are all served by soldiers, and they are in charge of military and state envoys, such as army mobilization, general appointment and dismissal, new army training, marching and fighting, etc. are all under its jurisdiction."

At this time Li Jing interjected, "How will the Ministry of War handle itself?"

Yue Shan said: "The Ministry of War is in charge of the preparation of military supplies, rations, recruits, etc. There are also military academies. We will open more military academies in the future, and they should also be under the control of the Ministry of War."

Hearing the words, everyone's expressions moved slightly, thinking of Yue Shan's deep plan, which is the separation of powers.

The Privy Council is in charge of the army, but the logistics are in the hands of civilian officials. It is too difficult to rebel without enough military supplies.

The civil servants are herdsmen of the emperor, but they cannot control the military power, and rebellion is even more wishful thinking.

Moreover, civil and military officials each have their own interests and demands, and it is difficult to reach an agreement to rebel together.

Li Jing nodded and said: "I have no problem." After speaking, he returned to his seat and sat down.

"Under the Privy Council, there will be an Organization Department, which will be responsible for the promotion of soldiers... A general staff department will be set up, with excellent generals serving as staff officers, responsible for formulating combat plans and providing reference for saints..." Yue Shan continued:

"To be disrespectful, with the presence of the General Staff, even if later generations come out with emperors and generals who don't understand military affairs, we don't have to worry about them messing up military and state affairs by commanding indiscriminately."

These words are indeed "disrespectful", but no one cares anymore, everyone is thinking about Yue Shan's plan.

The military attache is very happy with this proposal. Although doing so limits their power, the benefits are even greater. They have drawn a clear line with the civil servants and have more autonomy.

The civil servants were all lost in thought, thinking about the gains and losses.

After a while, Fang Xuanling stood up and asked, "May I ask Marquis Yue, marching and fighting is a matter for the Privy Council, and civil officials are not allowed to intervene, so who should decide whether to fight or not, and to what extent?"

Everyone nodded one after another, the question was on point.

Yue Shan nodded with a smile and said: "Fang Gong asked well, how much should the beating should be? Naturally, the ministers discuss the saint's decision. The Privy Council is only acting according to the order."

The civil servant was very satisfied with this answer, and Li Shimin was even more satisfied: the Privy Council is only acting by order, and he likes to hear this.

But after all, he is not an ordinary emperor, and he will not make a decision lightly, but said: "This matter is of great importance and involves a lot, so don't draw conclusions lightly. After you go back, you should carefully consider it. Everyone write a note and give it to me." .”

"Here." Everyone stood up and responded.

At this point in time, there was no need for the meeting to continue. Li Shimin said a few concluding words, and after assigning a task of separating Xieli and Tuli, he announced the adjournment of the meeting.

But Yue Shan was left behind again.

(End of this chapter)