"While everyone is here, I have something to announce." Yang Guang pondered for a while and said: "In the second year of the Elephant Year (580) of the previous dynasty, the previous dynasty followed the ancient system and implemented the three functions of prefecture, county and county in the local area. The hierarchical system controls 211 states, 508 counties, and 1,524 counties in Zhou and Qi. However, a state or a county often only governs one to three counties. Many state, county, and county officials do not actually govern, but these two The existence of this additional mechanism made the local official system huge and seriously increased the burden on the court and the people."
"In order to reduce the burden on the court and the people, in the third year of Kaihuang's reign (583), the late emperor adopted the suggestion of Yang Shangxi, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, to 'remove the small ones from the existing ones, and remove the large ones from the small ones', and evacuated the prefectures, counties and counties controlled by the Sui Dynasty. And, the three levels of prefecture, county and county were changed to two levels of prefecture and county. After the unification of the country, the two-level system of prefecture and county was implemented in the south. In the end, the complete Sui Dynasty had 190 prefectures and 1255 counties. At the same time, the system was eliminated There were a large number of redundant officials, and the indiscriminate establishment of prefectures, prefectures, and counties in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties no longer existed in our Sui Dynasty. This saves the court's expenses, improves work efficiency, and also reduces the burden on the people."
"Since King Wei became an official, he has opened up territory for us in the Sui Dynasty. He first captured the five states of Yinzhou, Tingzhou, Shanshan, Qiemo and Xizhou in the west. Last year, he captured Mozhou and Liaozhou in the northeast. Most of the land of the Xi people will be completely integrated into the territory of the Sui Dynasty in the near future. In Jiaozhou in the south, Liu Fang, Duke of Lu, won Aizhou, Huanzhou, Dangzhou, Nongzhou, Chongzhou and five states. In this way, our Sui Dynasty added twelve states, and now we have 202 states."
"Two hundred and two states seem to be very few, but the total land area is vast. Faced with this vast land, the central court cannot effectively govern and supervise at the same time. And some remote state and county officials are inefficient and ineffective. Not only actions, but also due to insufficient supervision by the court, illegal thoughts such as "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away" and "I am the emperor" were born, and then they began to take bribes, bend the law, and commit evil. As a result, they colluded with businessmen and local wealthy families to oppress good people. , happened from time to time, which exhausted the people's goodwill towards the imperial court. If things go on like this, the people who are extremely angry and intolerable will surely rise up in rebellion."
The ministers nodded silently, and everyone could understand the emperor's words. He was not saying which faction, which place, or which local officials were doing illegal things; he was stating the current facts and the huge loopholes in the system that should not be ignored.
After making his opening remarks, Yang Guang began to talk about his plan: "In view of this, I decided to follow Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and set up supervisory prefectures above the prefecture level to restore the local level to prefecture, county and county levels; below the county level, it is still the township level. , two levels inside.”
"The Supervisory Prefecture is similar to the State Mufu's Office, the Dazhong Governor's Office, and the Shangshu Provincial Office. It coordinates the military and political affairs of the counties under its jurisdiction. The officials will also be deployed according to the standards of the Yushitai, the three provinces, six ministries, and twenty-four divisions. However, compared with sometimes There are no State Mufu's Office, Dazhong General Manager's Office, and Shangshu Provincial Office, which are more complete. The state officials are the current governor, chief historian, Sima, etc. When the prince becomes the governor, he will be named after the governor to show his honor; When the prince of a county, heir apparent, or his subordinates serve as governors, they will all be given the name of the governor."
"As for the current state name, it will be restored to the familiar ancient county name or ancient country name; the county officials will be renamed as Taishou, Jun Cheng, Jun Lieutenant, Jun Zheng, etc.; the county names and county officials do not need to be changed. Xijing and Dongjing are special, then Based on the name of the mansion, the official name of Xijing will be Jingzhaofu in the future, and the official name of Dongjing will be Henanfu." (Note)
At this point, Yang Guang's five-level system of prefecture, county, county, township, and li has been roughly stated.
Yang Ji had finished speaking when he saw Yang Guang, but others were thinking silently, so he laid out some common questions to make it easier for everyone to think about: "In other words, the place will form a state, County, county, township, and li five levels?”
Yang Guang was very satisfied with Yang Ji's support and said with a smile: "It's the fifth level!"
Yang Ji asked again: "But I don't know how many states the saint plans to establish?"
"In fact, it is the current fourteen general administrations. The jurisdiction remains unchanged and the state governance remains unchanged. To put it simply, it is a customization of the general administrations that are established in wartime and removed in peacetime. These fourteen states are from west to east, from west to east, from west to east, and from west to east. From south to north, they are Liang, Yong, Yi, Liang, Bing, Yu, Jing, Jiao, You, Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, and Yang." Seeing that everyone was listening silently, Yang Guang continued: "Liang, The jurisdiction of the five prefectures of Yong, Jing, Yang and Jiao is vast, and any one prefecture is wider than Yan, Qing and Xu combined. However, the establishment of the prefecture, the division and clarification of powers and responsibilities, and the early stage of changing the prefecture name to the county name, I am afraid that both the central and local governments will be chaotic and turbulent for a while, so I think that in the initial stage of the establishment of the three-level system of prefectures, counties, and counties, it is not appropriate to disrupt the existing jurisdiction. As for whether to add or delete supervisory prefectures or add or delete jurisdictions, it will be decided in the future. Let’s deal with the truth. What do you think?”
"The saint is wise, and I have no objections!" It was a very wise decision to proceed step by step. Naturally, the ministers had no reason to object and said in succession.
"It's not only boring for me to talk about it alone, but also easy to cause omissions. The more questions you have now, the less troubles and mistakes you will have in the future." Yang Guang smiled and said quite relaxedly: "If you have any questions, please ask me. But please come one by one.”
Yang Guang was deeply influenced by Yang Ji and became less arbitrary; even if he stubbornly set a certain policy in the court, he would summon important ministers for a dialogue afterwards to explain his intentions and deep meaning.
This "democratic" style not only allowed him to gain a good reputation and give important ministers a sense of presence, but most importantly, he made fewer mistakes. The benefits brought by this kind of "working together" made him pay more attention to "working together and expressing his own opinions", forming a virtuous circle.
Of course, those shady and dirty things are definitely not included here.
"Sage, state officials have great power and are prone to situations such as threatening the self-respect of the people, supporting rebellion and supporting bandits. This is also the purpose of setting up the general office in wartime and withdrawing it in peacetime." Su Wei cupped his hand and asked: "Sage , What the veteran wants to ask is, how does the imperial court prevent state-level officials?"
"Prefectures, like counties, implement the three-year term system set by the late emperor; in principle, once the term of office expires, officials will either be promoted or transferred to another state. Officials with high grades will be appointed and removed by the court, and local officials are prohibited from hiring on the spot. and the Ministry of Civil Affairs conducts assessments every year to determine rewards, punishments, promotions and demotions." The policies Yang Guang mentioned were formulated during the Yang Jian period, although problems such as transportation inconvenience made it impossible to implement these policies in many places and in many cases It is in place, but it is indeed effective in avoiding some incidents.
"I have different opinions on this." Yang Ji said.
Yang Guang waved his hand and said: "Speak!"
"What I want to talk about is the three-year term system. This system is very good and irreproachable, but the time is too short!" Yang Ji said: "Bianzhou is a long way away, and the officials who take office are always because of inconvenient transportation and bad weather. Due to accidents such as acclimatization and acclimatization, they were unable to take office in time and perform their duties in time. After receiving the appointment, some people even walked for more than half a year before arriving at the place where they performed their duties. Coming back and forth, the time spent on the road alone is We have more than a year, and what achievements can we make in the remaining one or two years?"
"I think it is more reasonable to change three years to five years. If the court is worried about local officials colluding with each other, they can stagger the time of taking office. For example, in the current state, the governor is changed at the beginning of the first year, the governor is changed at the beginning of the second year, and the governor is changed at the beginning of the third year. , Chang Shi was replaced at the beginning of the third and fourth years, and Sima was replaced at the beginning of the fifth year. The same is true for the county officials in the state, but the time is adjusted to the middle or the end of the year. In short, don’t let the five chief officials, state and county chief officials get along too much For a long time, lest they join forces to cause trouble."
Yang Guang and others' faces flushed when they heard this, as if they were drinking fine wine and enjoying themselves.
The official system of the Great Sui Dynasty consumed the efforts of countless elites to get to where it is today. The elites have already exhausted their talents in the official system; even though they clearly know that they are not perfect and have loopholes, they still know where they are imperfect and where there are loopholes. No matter life or death, I can't explain why. Therefore, these two very common methods of Yang Ji are very precious.
Su Wei said in a loud voice with an excited face: "Sage, I second my opinion! The king's two strategies are actually a mature way to plan for the country."
Yang Ji ignored his words and saw happy faces on some people's faces, knowing that they were attracted by the large and small official positions at the supervisory level; little did he know that this was sugar coating to wrap poison.
It is true that the three-level system of prefectures, counties and counties is a historical necessity and a general trend, which is beneficial to the country and the people. But after all, Yang Guang and Yang Jian are actually the same, they are both targeting local officials with falsely high rankings and unofficial officials and noble officials who have nothing to do.
Among the many local officials with falsely high rankings and the casual officials and noble officials who live on the job, the children of the Guanlong nobles are the most numerous. Take the thousands of officials on the job this morning, at least 80% of them are Guanlong clan, so his ultimate goal is still the Guanlong nobles, but today's step is mainly to kill the state officials (current state) whose rank is falsely high.
The state has been upgraded to a large state, and the official name and rank will definitely remain the same. The county officials who appeared "out of thin air" have done several times less work than the state (new) officials. What qualifications do you have to compete with the state officials? Are the official (big) grades the same?
How many magistrates are there in the two hundred and two counties? And how many jobs can be created in the fourteen new states?
There is no comparison at all.
In this way, the court can save a lot of money and food just from the salary.
But having said that, the current level of state officials is indeed abnormally high and unhealthy. Take the governor of Shangzhou as an example. The governor of Shangzhou is a third-rank official, while the six ministers and ministers of the nine temples are no more than that. You, a prefecture-level Shangzhou official, are at the same level as the ministers of the central ministries. Is it normal?
It’s definitely not normal!
The governor of Zhongzhou, from the third rank; the same level as the imperial censor and the generals of the Twelve Guards.
The governor of Xiazhou is the fourth rank; the same is true for the minister of the Ministry of official affairs and the young minister of the nine temples.
The reasons for this situation are: First, the problems left over from history. During the troubled times, various regimes in various periods were afraid that local officials who bordered the enemy would surrender with land, and they were afraid that during a war, they would stab friendly troops in the back. Come on, let's talk about high-grade people to be loyal and good, and "high salary to be honest". The former is fame, and the latter is profit. All political powers had this intention, and the rank of local officials suddenly rose.
When Yang Jian withdrew and merged prefectures, counties, and counties, he eliminated a large number of redundant officials. However, not long after the founding of the Sui Dynasty during that period, people in Zhou and Qi were not attached to the people. There were Nanchen and Turkic Khanates outside. If he dared If you attack local officials with falsely high rankings, the Sui Dynasty will definitely perish in the reform.
Second, although Yang Jian easily usurped the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he also made various major promises to the Guanlong aristocratic group. Those who defected to him were awarded high-ranking officials and generous salaries, making them think that they had met the Ming Lord, Serve the Sui Dynasty sincerely.
His method of winning people's hearts was indeed of great benefit in the early days of his business, but it also left hidden dangers later on, such as redundant officials, falsely high grades, and many officials who had to work hard. When he killed Nan Chen, defeated the Tu Khanate, and then tried to help him return to justice... Oh, the Guanlong nobles and several powerful nobles had the strength to fight against the Sui Dynasty.
For example, several major families in the Western Wei Dynasty are still very powerful even now.
Among them, there are three surnamed Li, namely the Grand Master Li Mu family, the Bazhu Kingdom Taiwei Li Hu family, and the Bazhu Kingdom Taibao Li Bi family. Although the Li Mu family was not among the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, Li Mu Zuoyu Wentai dominated the world. The three Li Mu brothers were all Dukes of the country, and he himself was a high-ranking official in the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui dynasties.
Among his eight sons, there were two each from the state and county, and four from the county. There are nine nephews, two are Dukes, two are Dukes, and the rest are all County Dukes. Some of them have died, but their titles have been passed down to this day. There are also more than a hundred descendants, all of whom have positions. A person who is an official, a casual official or an honorary official.
In the Tang Dynasties that Yang Ji had seen in his previous life, the protagonists were often complacent about "one clan and two clans" and "one clan and two clans". Even their famous ministers, Lao Tzu, were proud of them and claimed to be "unprecedented." ", the "father and son" are really pitifully ignorant.
As for the situation of the Li Hu family and the Li Bi family, it is not that Li Hu and Li Bi are not as capable or as good as Li Mu, but that they are not as good as the three brothers Li Mu, and the children they give birth to are not as good as Li Mu's nephews. It's easy to raise, but it doesn't last as long as others. But despite this, as long as the two Li families are still alive, they are all Duke Hou Bo.
There is also Yu Jin of the Badazhu Kingdom. He is a veteran of the three dynasties, and has reached the rank of Grand Master. His ten sons are all princes, either general managers or governors. His son Yu Yi was in charge of Youzhou at that time and clearly stated his support for Yang Jian. It was precisely because he targeted the descendants of the Northern Qi royal family and officials who were trying to make a move in Youzhou that Yang Jian was able to secure his position.
This family is even more fertile than the Li Mu family. Yu Jin has eight sons. On average, each son has at least six or seven children. His eldest son Yu Shi has twelve sons, and Yu Zhong, the son of Yu Shi, has Wen, she gave birth to nine babies again.
After accumulating everything like this, the Yu family now has hundreds of children!
As for the descendants of Yu Jin, who were either in the army or in politics, and because Yu Yi took the lead in supporting Yang Jian and intimidating the whole country for Yang Jian, they all received extremely high rewards, so there was no one among them who was lower than the seventh rank.
Facing such a powerful Guanlong Clan and the Guanlong Clan Alliance, Yang Jian would be considered a ghost if he was not dumbfounded or anxious.
If he is young and vigorous, he will naturally not be shy. But time is not forgiving, and he is not only old and frail, but also sick. Therefore, everything focuses on a smooth handover, and he is forced to hand over these historical problems to Sui II. However, because Yang Yong was too weak to bear these historical burdens, the successor was changed to Yang Guang.
And Yang Guang, the son who Yang Jian had high hopes for, is now obviously going to show his sword openly.
Yang Ji wanted to see how he would answer the important minister's questions next.
As for Yang Ji, if nothing happens here, it would be better to go back to his wife and have a son as soon as possible; otherwise, how could he inherit so much family property just by relying on the brothers Ritian and Riyue?
Compared to Yu Zhongwen, Yang Ji had extremely low self-esteem.
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[Note: The Sui Dynasty implemented the system of two capitals in the east and west, that is, Daxing City (Western Capital) and Luoyang (Eastern Capital). There was no official theory of "Luoyang, the Eastern Capital" in the Sui Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, "Eastern Capital Luoyang" was changed to "Eastern Capital Luoyang". 】
(This chapter was supplemented on August 20, and I was still owed 6 days of work last month; please vote for me and recommend me.)
