Zhao Kuangyin's reform is all-round and full coverage without blind spots. Here are a few key examples to supplement Zhao Kuangyin's reform:
1. Political reform
The early Song Dynasty followed the three prime ministers of the Later Zhou Dynasty: Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu. Zhao Kuangyin respected and treated the three of them favorably, but still unsurprisingly undermined their real power. First, they were dismissed from the title of "Privy Councilor" and their confidant Wu Yanzuo, the Privy Councilor, was given the title of "Second Rank under the Tongzhongshu Men", which was equivalent to limiting and reclaiming the power of "Three Prime Ministers".
Subsequently, the three collectively submitted their resignations, and Zhao Pu became the independent prime minister. This is a rare "independent prime minister" since ancient times. Many people make a fuss about it, especially when they exaggerate Zhao Pu's ability to conquer the world. However, in fact, Zhao Pu cannot dominate the government because his boss, Comrade Zhao Kuangyin, is very considerate of him. He worked hard, and thoughtfully helped him arrange several deputies, with Lu Yuqing and Xue Juzheng as political advisors. Later, they were asked to work with Zhao Pu to "know the seal and supervise the class to perform affairs". Historical records clearly record: "to divide their powers." .
Not only that, the first task Zhao Pu got after becoming prime minister was to supervise the compilation of national history. Zhao Kuangyin personally named him, which was equivalent to restricting part of Zhao Pu's power in disguise. The story about restricting Zhao Pu will be detailed later.
There is another small detail here that is easily overlooked. According to regulations, the appointment certificate of the new prime minister needs to be signed by the current prime minister, but the three prime ministers Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu resigned on the same day. Zhao Pu's appointment certificate could not be signed by anyone, which was embarrassing. So Zhao Pu reported this small bug in the program to Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin was quite happy, "This is no big deal, I just need to sign it for you."
Unexpectedly, Zhao Pu refused more readily, saying that this was not in compliance with laws and regulations and had no legal effect.
Faced with this dead question, Dou Yi finally came up with a conciliatory plan, saying that the emperor's younger brother Zhao Guangyi had the title of "Tong Ping Zhang Shi", and that he was the prime minister, so he asked him to sign.
This is a detail that is easily overlooked.
Who is Zhao Pu? Could it be that he is a rotten scholar who talks too much about words? The monarch and his ministers seemed to be chatting and chatting insignificantly, but there was an undercurrent surging behind the scenes, hiding the game between the imperial power and the prime minister's power.
Zhao Kuangyin emphasized the supremacy of imperial power, while Zhao Pu worked tit-for-tat to maintain the feudal bureaucracy and power order that had existed for thousands of years. The essence of this order was the restrictions and constraints imposed by the prime minister on imperial power.
If it is signed by the prime minister, then Zhao Pu is a product of this system, and he is responsible for this system, not for the Song Dynasty, let alone Zhao Kuangyin himself; if Zhao Kuangyin signs the appointment, then Zhao Pu's legal system comes from Zhao Kuangyin himself, and he needs to report to Zhao Kuangyin himself. Zhao Kuangyin himself is responsible.
In the end, "Prime Minister" Zhao Guangyi signed the matter, indicating that in this round, Zhao Kuangyin did not defeat Zhao Pu, and Zhao Pu had a small victory. But the role of this small victory in the battle between Prime Minister and Imperial Power cannot be said to be better than nothing. It can only be the acceleration effect of farting while riding a bicycle.
The three prime ministers were dismissed on the same day, and the civil service group was controlled by Zhao Kuangyin. Although he set many restrictions on Zhao Pu, Zhao Kuangyin was still worried about him, so he continued to increase the real power of Hanlin scholars in order to continue to divide and weaken the power of the prime minister.
Zhao Kuangyin not only gave Hanlin scholars the power to participate in state affairs discussions and decision-making, but also specifically instructed them to bypass the prime minister and communicate directly with the emperor himself, not implicitly, but explicitly. This is tantamount to eclipsing the prime minister to a certain extent.
In addition, Zhao Kuangyin also formally weakened the power of the prime minister and abolished the long-standing "sitting and discussing doctrine".
From the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, when the emperor discussed state affairs with the prime minister, he would give the prime minister a seat, which is the "ritual of sitting and discussing." When the emperor and his ministers sat and discussed, they not only gave the prime minister a seat but also tea. However, Zhao Kuangyin was not so polite to the three prime ministers of the later Zhou Dynasty. When discussing national affairs, he deliberately pretended to be confused and no longer offered seats. The three of them did not dare to remind him because they were afraid of Zhao Kuangyin, so they could only behave in a polite manner. Reporting work standing up, or submitting the work report directly, did not even have the opportunity to meet the emperor. Over time, the precedent became the norm. From then on, the prime ministers never had the opportunity to be on an equal footing with the emperor, and the emperor's majesty was lost. Manifest.
What should Zhao Kuangyin's ideal prime minister look like? Answer: Fan Zhi.
In September 964, former prime minister Fan Zhi died of illness. During his serious illness, Zhao Kuangyin visited Fan Zhi many times to express condolences. As a result, an embarrassing scene occurred. Fan Zhi's home did not have decent tableware, wine sets, and tea sets for entertaining guests. It was so cold and miserable that Zhao Kuangyin ordered on the spot to give him fruit beds, wine vessels, etc.
"After all, you are a prime minister. How come you are so poor? The prime minister has disgraced you."
Fan Zhi answered truthfully, saying that he was an old homebody. When he was prime minister, he never had private banquets. He only entertained old relatives from his poor days at home, so he never prepared luxurious and elegant wine sets and tableware. It was not because he could not afford them.
During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, prime ministers often accepted bribes from various vassal towns, and had an affair with the vassal towns. However, since Fan Zhi became prime minister, this unhealthy trend has been effectively curbed. As mentioned above, Wu Yueguo once gave Zhao Pu paid a lot of money, but Zhao Kuangyin broke it on the spot, which made Zhao Kuangyin very unhappy, while Zhao Pu was trembling with fear. The prime ministers of the Five Dynasties accepted bribes from local feudal towns. This was one of the reasons why the separatism of feudal towns intensified.
After Fan Zhi's death, Zhao Kuangyin praised him as a role model for prime ministers and praised him personally, "I heard that Fan Zhi does not cultivate assets outside his residence, and he is a true prime minister!"
The prime minister does not accept gifts or bribes from local forces, nor does he make money through side businesses, so that when formulating national policies, he will not be interfered and corrupted by external forces. Nowadays, many experts and professors often make shocking quotes. Don’t simply think that they are doing it to attract attention. If you take a deep look at their financial transactions and find out the capital forces behind the scenes, all your doubts will be solved. If you don’t believe it, just read Take a look at those so-called economists who are fostered by real estate companies. They vigorously promote fallacies and heresies, create public opinion and set the pace, interfere with the country's major policies, put all the people in danger for their own selfish interests, and harm the country and the people.
In 962, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict, asking Hanlin scholars and central and local officials to recommend a civil servant with both political integrity and talent. If the recommended person breaks the law in the future, the recommender will sit together. He also opened up the road and stipulated that Hanlin bachelors and officials should meet once every five days. , "It must also point out the gains and losses of current affairs, the urgent affairs of the court, the injustice in prisons, and the suffering of the people."
These two are old tricks used by Chai Rong, and they are also powerful control measures for civil servant groups.
As expected, just half a year later, Zuo Shiyi and Zhizhi Gao Xi made a memorial, saying that they had heard that bribes were accepted when recommending officials.
The opportunity has come!
"Allow close relatives, slaves, and neighbors to inform and give generous rewards." Mobilize the masses and follow the mass line so that officials with stains have nowhere to hide. A large number of officials were dismissed.
In September of the same year, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict, "Those who have been promoted to the imperial court are not allowed to call those who have been promoted as benefactors, teachers, or self-proclaimed disciples." The relationship between passing candidates, the invigilator, and the passing candidates on the same list is an important part of officialdom ethics, especially when party disputes occur. Starting from Zhao Kuangyin, all the candidates who were admitted were disciples of the emperor, not the disciples of the "Zhi Gongju" officials. Although it was only a small change in the title, it greatly eliminated the possibility of party strife.
In the first month of 964, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict to expand the recruitment of national civil servants, and reopened the three subjects of "virtuous and upright people who can speak out and give advice", "profound knowledge of Confucian classics can serve as teachers", and "careful and rational officials can educate". This is still Chai's teaching. Zhao Kuangyin has not forgotten this part of the reform. These examinations can be regarded as a supplement to the traditional Ming Jing Ke and Jin Shi Ke, with relatively low gold content and relatively low threshold. They are more friendly to children from poor families, making it possible to "be a farmer in the morning and ascend to the emperor's hall in the evening".
Among the candidates, Zhao Kuangyin made it clear that special care should be taken of the "unsuccessful candidates" and that they must not stick to stereotypes and bury talents. He also specifically stated that there is no threshold for this exam, and both civil servants and civilians can apply and be admitted on a merit-based basis. For example, Comrade Ying Zhi, the military judge of Bozhou, passed the test of "a virtuous, upright person who can speak out and give advice" and was promoted to Zuo Lang, and entered the central government from the local government.
Let people who originally had no hope of getting into the public service achieve overtaking in a roundabout way, absorb them into the civil service in a fancy way, or give marginalized people within the system a better upward path. Under normal circumstances, these people will become firm supporters of the system, and they It will also dilute the old rights of civil servants.
From the prime minister to the grassroots civil servants, the civil service group experienced a comprehensive reshuffle from top to bottom. In the process, power was quietly withdrawn by the emperor, and the imperial power was consolidated.
