In the twelfth lunar month of the eleventh year of Yanxing, the news of Guan Yu's great victory in the Western Campaign and the re-establishment of the Protectorate returned to Chang'an, and the whole court rejoiced. The Shang Shutai issued a special order to commemorate this, not only imposing a seven-day night ban, but also sending two kilograms of dried meat to the people all over the city, and reducing taxes by 30% for all people in Jingzhao. As soon as this order was issued, Xijing became bustling, with red lights like a canopy, candles like clouds, and the sound of firecrackers going on every night, as if all the evil and evil had gone away, but peace had come, and it was a scene of prosperity.
This incident had a great impact on the government and the opposition. Several battles in the Kanto region were originally unsuccessful, causing the two governments to lose their prestige. However, the first battle in the west was successful, and the commander was relieved. Mi Heng, who had previously slandered me, also came to express his congratulations. Even the emperor who was under house arrest heard about it and took the initiative to go to the Ancestral Temple to pay homage to his ancestors. He said with a smile to the queen: "The conquest of the Western Regions has been a grand martial arts event since ancient times. If it can happen in our dynasty, I am worthy of being a descendant of the Liu family."
Chen Chong was even more delighted. He sent a message to Liu Bei saying: "The victory in this battle is enough to show the effectiveness of the reform. If we can promote the army and train diligently, why not worry about not being able to defeat the Eastern bandits!" Since Taixue recalled the past, he The mood to continue the restructuring became urgent, and the victory in the Expedition to the West, like a timely rain, cleared up Chen Chong's excuse to prevent the restructuring.
In February of the twelfth year of Yanxing (AD 204), the emperor and the court officials went out a hundred miles to the martial arts place to welcome the returning Shanglin army as if they were welcoming the emperor's triumphant return. After seeing Guan Yu and the envoys and hostages from the thirty-four countries in the Western Regions who came with him, he served Guan Yu wine and said with a smile: "Wherever Yun Chang is heading, there is no opponent. Even Feng Yi and Wu Han's followers are not far behind!" Everyone along the road saw Guan Yu taking it calmly and stroking his beard with his heroic demeanor and drank it all in one gulp. They were all impressed by his heroic appearance. They all secretly commented: "Guan Junhou, you are such a beautiful bearded man! What a warrior's demeanor!"
With the support of the public, Chen Chong immediately launched the second round of reforms after returning to the court. If the first round of reforms was about explicitly revising penalties and promulgating the "Gantang Law", then the second round of reforms was about people's livelihood taxes.
Previously, the state had repeatedly issued laws to gather people to farm in wasteland, and after a few years of farming, it could be converted into private land. But this was all used to resettle captives and refugees. Although it was widely involved, it did not form a system. The issue of farming can only be used in times of war. Now that Guanlong is stable and the people live in peace, it will be difficult to recruit people to organize farming. If the country wants to reclaim wasteland, it must find another way.
So Chen Chong, after deliberation in Taichung, the minister, finally promulgated the order of granting land, order of expanding land, order of returning land and order of trial.
The order to grant land was issued to ensure people's livelihood and to inspire soldiers. The central government decided to grant land again based on household registration and merit: starting from the twelfth year of Yanxing, every male in the country who is sixteen years old or older will be granted fifty acres of land and pay a tax of two hectares. These fifty acres are called Honda and cannot be traded. If the meritorious title can be promoted, the country can grant land according to the title. For twenty-level titles, the minimum land grant is 100 acres and the maximum land grant is 40 hectares. These land grants are called meritorious lands, and the tax is one gram. These meritorious lands can be bought and sold, but after descendants ascend the title, they will be demoted to one level, and the excess meritorious lands will be taken back by the state.
The order to expand land was issued to encourage farmers to open up land: after reporting to the township pavilion, all men who have established a household in the country can expand an additional 100 acres of land in addition to the land granted by the state, and the tax on the expanded land will be reduced by half for twenty years. . If there is no land to expand in the local area, you can report it to the county, and the land will be moved to wasteland in a small county for the equivalent cost, and then the land can be expanded. However, from the perspective of mergers and acquisitions, Tuotian is not allowed to be bought or sold, nor can it be passed on to children. If the landowner dies, the expanded land will be taken back to the country.
The land-returning order was a land-restriction order aimed at preventing local expansion: the imperial court ordered county and county officials to review the common people's acres of land. Those without titles could occupy up to three hundred acres of land. Those with military merit could not occupy more than three hundred acres of land. Now, if there is a violation, the land should be returned to the land according to the law, and the local county government will redeem it at market price, turn it into public land, and then recruit county residents to cultivate it. If there is any concealment, failure to report, or concealment of land, the head of the household will be guilty and the concealed land will be expropriated.
The trial order was the top priority of the second round of reform. The Three Orders of Toda are all related to the merit system, and it would be difficult to implement it according to the previous country's merit system. After all, meritorious titles are hereditary, but the Han Dynasty has a wide range of laws, and the four hundred years of war between the two Han Dynasties have accumulated. How can it not lead to an overflow of meritorious titles and a neglect of state offices? Therefore, it is imperative to re-examine the merits now. Therefore, Chen Chong proposed in Shangshu Taizhong that all Ding households in the country should abolish the merits and titles of their fathers and recalculate their titles based on personal merits and demerits.
Chen Chong had been planning the trial for a long time and wanted to implement it since the first year of Yanxing. However, he also knew that the trial order would cause great disturbances in the government and the public, so he kept delaying it. After all, seizing someone's title is like cutting off a person's flesh. It's natural that the world doesn't like it. However, for the country, an empty title is like a bloody sore that has to be cut out. Therefore, he originally planned to implement it slowly after the country was unified. But six years after Yanxing, the east and west split, and it was difficult to determine the winner in a short period of time. He also felt that time was not waiting for him as he was getting older, so he made up his mind and finally implemented it this year.
】
But the result was beyond Chen Chong's expectation. The trial went smoothly. Although there were indeed resentments among the government and the public, there was little resistance to its implementation.
But if you think carefully about the reason, it is not difficult to understand. After all, Guanzhong has experienced three major rebellions: Qiang Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's, and Lu Bu's. Not only were the people in chaos, but even the savings of prominent families were wiped out. Those from Guandong who came to join the imperial court naturally had to resettle their property, and they did not have much power. In addition, after the proliferation of titles, the corresponding rewards have long been in name only. Now that the titles are re-calculated, new lands can be awarded, which is really a win-win situation.
The only ones who have real influence are the senior officials of the country's old dynasties. Veteran officials such as Han Rong, who grew up in the peaceful years and worked in the central government, did not have many opportunities to make meritorious deeds. Therefore, after re-examination, many were demoted by four or five ranks. They criticized them and said what they said during the Qing Dynasty discussion. It was naturally inevitable that Chen Chong treated the old ministers poorly. Therefore, Chen Chong also made corresponding concessions. Although the old minister's title was taken away, his previous title and salary would not be reduced. After a hundred years, he would be gradually reduced among his descendants. As a result, the old minister had nothing to say.
However, such a large-scale administrative restructuring showed that officials were currently stretched thin. For a while, all states and counties claimed to increase the number of officials. Chen Chong took this opportunity to also reform personnel in the county government. First, he ordered the county government to collect the list of new officials in each county and township and report them all to the Sili Mansion. Their official salary would be paid exclusively by the Sili Mansion, and the county government was not allowed to increase or decrease the number of officials without authorization. . Before issuing orders, these officials also had to go to the Sili Mansion in Chang'an to study the laws and regulations before they could return to their hometowns and counties to carry out government affairs. The relevant documents were made in triplicate, and one copy was sent directly to Sili Mansion for preparation.
In addition, Chen Chong used Zhuge Liang as a meritorious official and reformed all meritorious affairs in the country.
Since Huan Ling, the Chaju system has been criticized by the world. Chajufa, as the name suggests, relies on the appreciation and recommendation of senior county officials to select talents. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, Shizong held the magical weapon alone, and all officials were cautious in their work. Indeed, they recommended a lot of talents. Wise men such as Zhu Fuyan and Sang Hongyang were all Recommended and appointed. But after Guangwu Zhongxing, the shortcomings of Chaju gradually increased.
First, because local wealthy families often protect each other, and high-ranking officials in prefectures and counties are greedy for money and accept bribes, so they elect some children of wealthy families who are not worthy of their name. This is how the Shichangshi and his ilk recommended their own children to take control of the government. Second, the inspection system has been implemented for a long time and the system has gradually become rigid. People in the world have tried to take advantage of it. For example, during the reign of Emperor Huan, Zhao Xuan, a famous filial son, buried his relatives without closing the tomb passage. He lived in it by himself and remained in mourning for more than 20 years. The towns and cities called him Zhao Xuan. The conduct of filial piety should be promoted as filial piety and honesty. As a result, the famous prime minister Chen Fan checked his family and found that five children were born during the period of mourning. This made Chen Fan furious, and he was imprisoned on the grounds that Zhao Xuan "sleeped in a tomb, was conceived in it, deceived the public, and falsely accused ghosts and gods." This is just one example. Therefore, in the time of Huan Ling, there was a nursery rhyme among the people: "If you promote a scholar, you don't know how to read. If you promote a filial piety and integrity, your father will leave. The poor people are as white and turbid as mud, and the high-ranking generals are as timid as chickens."
After Chen Chong came to power, he carefully rectified the administration of officials, and the inspection of county guards improved quite a lot. The talents he recommended, such as Fa Zheng and Wei Duan, were indeed talented. But this cannot avoid the criticism of local collusion. Chen Chong himself has also noticed that in the past few years, the number of talents from the rich families recommended by the local governments has increased day by day, while the number of poor people has become increasingly rare. It can be seen that the old system of Chaju is difficult to use, so Chen Chong plans to leave it idle and think of other methods from the merits.
Meritorious officers have always been responsible for inspecting results and recording performance in prefectures and counties, so as to help officials select talents. Therefore, they are in charge of state and county documents and are called governance officers. Chen Chong set up additional left and right officials among the meritorious officers in each county, all of whom were directly appointed by the Sili Mansion. Financial power, personnel, and official documents were all issued by the Sili Mansion, and were not actually controlled by the states and counties. Zhongzheng is responsible for inspecting the prefectures and counties, secretly checking the local good and bad people, and reporting them to the Sili Mansion. When the prefectures and counties recommend virtuous people, they are compared with the Zhongzheng eucalyptus slips. Those who are consistent with the two are used, and neither is missing. In addition, Zhongzheng is also responsible for considering the moral character of all officials. If during the investigation, it is discovered that anyone has accepted bribes, oppressed the people, or enriched his own pockets, he will be reported to the Sili Mansion and severely punished according to law.
It is worth mentioning that Chen Chong's restructuring this year was not limited to the two governments. For example, the Three Towns of People and Horses, the Southern Xiongnu, Tuoba Xianbei, and Qiang Di Yi Cong are all within the scope of the three orders of Huda and the trial of the title. Regardless of Hu, Han or Huayi, as long as they are willing to join the household, they will be granted land and recognized as nobles.
The Southern Xiongnu had followed Chen Chong since the first year of Zhongping, and the leaders of each tribe also held official positions in Jinyang Bafu. Therefore, for this opportunity to count the titles, except for a few tribes, such as Helian, Yuwen, Dugu, Huyan, Juqu, etc. Most of the Huns agreed to be naturalized and merged into the state. In addition to the Xianbei and Qiang Di who were merged into Shazhou, Liangzhou and other places, in just one year, the Western Dynasty had 370,000 households and 1.83 million Dingkou.
After the campaign to conquer the west, there was no war in Yanxing for twelve years, but Chen Chong's drastic restructuring at this year was extremely eye-catching. At that time, some people compared the various new policies to Wu Qi and Wei Yang's reforms, thinking that they would enrich the country and strengthen the people, while others compared them to Wang Mang's changes to the state structure, which would cause chaos in the world. As for which is right or wrong, it does not matter. The evaluation of reforms has always been something that only time can test.
