At the beginning of the founding of the Later Liang Dynasty, in addition to the regular operations of changing the Yuan Dynasty, awarding meritorious deeds, and changing place names (violating sacred taboos), many reforms were also carried out to eliminate the shortcomings of the previous dynasty and let the people of the world bathe in the blessings of the new dynasty:
1. Rehabilitate officials who were demoted and expelled from the previous dynasty.
Anyone who enjoyed a publicly-funded tour of Guangdong, Guangdong, Hainan Island, and Vietnam in the Tang Dynasty would be reinstated to their posts and report back to Beijing immediately. Counties and counties along the way would provide appropriate travel expenses to help them return to Beijing; those who had unfortunately passed away were allowed to be buried in their hometown.
2. Release the maids of the former dynasty.
They were allowed to return to their hometowns and marry honest men; the financial burden on the country was reduced; the emperor took the lead in getting rid of arrogance, extravagance and enjoyment.
3. When reforming the official system, meritocracy should be promoted.
In fact, it was also the operation of the emperor and his courtiers to discover a new generation loyal to the rear Liang Dynasty, fill the power vacancies of the previous dynasty, create a group of new nobles, and make them loyal to the rear Liang Dynasty.
4. Reduce the consumption of the three public goods.
In particular, the travel and reception expenses of civil servants have been heavily rectified. Different levels are divided according to the distance of the road and the actual traffic conditions, and the round-trip time is stipulated.
In fact, the Tang Dynasty had strict regulations on the travel of officials. For example, first-rank officials could enjoy eight stage horses at the inn, while seventh-rank officials could only enjoy two. For example, officials could not stay at the inns along the way for more than three days. , and the government only reimburses the board and lodging expenses of one official, and his family and other accompanying persons need to pay for it themselves, otherwise the unauthorized user will be punished with the crime of theft.
According to the "Liudian of the Tang Dynasty", anyone traveling on official business must hold a "talisman coupon" issued by the relevant government department in order to enjoy the convenience of traveling at public expense. There are one-way and round-trip journeys, and the inns and checkpoints must be strictly inspected to verify the relevant information of the holder. Anyone who loses a talisman will be punished, and anyone who dares to forge it will be punished by death.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty had high pressure and zero tolerance for wool-gathering phenomena such as "private use of public cars". However, by the end of the Tang Dynasty, chaos arose, systems and regulations had become a piece of paper, and people traveling on official business were "over the age of the year, and never heard of returning home."
After Zhu Wen ascended the throne, he stipulated that the time limit for travel to Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian, Annan and other places in the future would be one month; the time limit for the two lakes areas would be 20 days; the time limit for Hebei and Shandong would be 10 days; other short-distance trips should not exceed three or five days. day. It is required to "walk two stations a day" and in principle must walk 60 miles every day. If illness or natural disasters delay the trip, the local government must issue an official document to report to the court.
5. Rectify the social atmosphere.
The trigger was an ordinary civilian girl in Putai County, Dizhou. She was deeply saddened by the death of her parents, so she "cut off two of her fingers to sacrifice to her parents" and expressed her filial piety through self-mutilation.
At that time, this was a very popular "feat". Whenever their parents passed away, filial sons and daughters would "cut off their fingers and legs." Before that, this behavior was highly praised by the government and the people, and all states and counties where they were located had to "cut off their fingers and legs." This matter was reported to the imperial court to show his educational achievements, which was regarded as a major political achievement of the local parents. This was most popular in Shandong and Hebei at that time.
When Putai County in Dizhou reported the incident of amputating the fingers of a civilian girl, Zhu Wen said to the people around him: "If she really comes from the heart, she can also call it filial piety. But is there any use? The only use is just It could be to escape the corvee."
At that time, disabled people enjoyed social benefits such as exemption from corvee and tax exemption. Zhu Wen hit the nail on the head and exposed the beautiful lie cloaked in filial piety. What is excessive grief? It's just finding a grand reason to avoid corvee. Give me this cleverness? I won’t accept this!
Zhu Wen issued an edict: From now on, if there is any case of amputation of fingers and legs in any county where he is located, there is no need to report it.
Not counting the political achievements of parents and officials, there are no awards and commendations from the court, and there are no honorary titles such as "The Most Beautiful Dutiful Son" and "The Most Beautiful Daughter-in-law". There are no subsidies or rewards. You can cut off or cut off your love.
As a result, after the edict was issued, there were no more "filial sons" who had their fingers cut off and their shares cut off.
In fact, in addition to bringing financial burdens to the government, the practice of stock splitting is also an unhealthy trend. When parents die, they will self-mutilate, which invisibly becomes a moral shackles and kidnaps all living beings. The government must not vigorously promote this as a positive energy. The media must pay attention to the direction of public opinion, follow the party unswervingly, and do not follow the party's lead.
6. Amnesty to the world
In addition to reversing the cases of demoted officials in the previous dynasty, Zhu Wen also pardoned fugitives under the "Bad Team Killing" system.
When describing the family history of Zhu Wenfa in the previous article, I mentioned the "Badu Beheading" system he established, that is, tattooing the faces of sergeants. If a certain company captain died and his soldiers survived, all the soldiers would be beheaded; if the soldiers died in battle, If the commander survives, he will be killed. In short, comrades either live together or die together. This order greatly increased the combat effectiveness of the Bian Army and largely prevented the phenomenon of escaping from the battlefield.
However, the disadvantages are also very obvious. Once the commander is killed in battle, the soldiers do not dare to return to the camp and flee. And because they have tattoos on their faces, they do not dare to go home. They can only gather in the mountains and forests and become bandits.
"Ba Dui Zhan" not only improved the combat effectiveness of the Bian Army, but also spawned a large number of bandits, making banditry rampant in the territory, which in turn affected the rule of the Zhu Wen Group.
Therefore, Zhu Wen issued an edict to pardon the deserters who had been "killed by the troops" and allowed them to return to their hometown.
7. Tax reduction and exemption
Years of wars had increased the burden on the people. Zhu Wen issued an edict to reduce or reduce taxes and allow the people to recuperate and recuperate, which greatly improved the people's enthusiasm for production and promoted social productivity (so when everyone heard about it, they all forgot their tiredness).
8. Posthumous recognition of martyrs
They were given posthumously to Grand Master Cheng Rui and Grand Master Du Hong, and a temple was built in their honor. Their descendants and families enjoyed the treatment of martyrs' families and were appointed as officials.
When Yang Xingmi of Huainan invaded Duhong of Ezhou, Chengru of Jingnan was ordered to support him, but he was betrayed by his allies and stabbed in the back. Cheng Ru was defeated and threw himself into the river to die; Du Hong was captured and taken to Huainan. He was steadfast and unyielding. He angered Yang Xingmi by saying "I can't bear to betray Duke Zhu" and died heroically.
Zhu Wen established the two men as models of loyalty because they "both died loyal to the king's affairs" and became a must-teach example in his lectures, calling on vassals and towns from all over the country to learn from Comrades Chengru and Du Hong. Whenever Zhu Wen visited the army to inspect and lecture, he would always preach about their loyalty and loyalty.
In addition, because Cheng Rui's surname violated the taboo of Zhu Wen's father, Zhu Cheng, he was given the surname Zhou, so some historical books call him "Zhou Rui". Regardless of whether he used the name "Guo Yu" or was given the posthumous name "Zhou Rui", this book follows the convention and always calls him by his real name "Cheng Rui".
Later, all the soldiers who died on the Luzhou front line were awarded the title of martyrs, and the government paid pensions to the martyrs' wives and daughters.
Deceased subjects, represented by Cheng Rui and Du Hong, were granted posthumous titles and gifts, and their descendants were treated favorably. This gave members within Zhu and Wen's forces a sense of identity and belonging, strengthened their beliefs, unified their thinking, and enhanced group cohesion.
