The transformation of grassroots rural governance from the township official system to the service system is actually a symbol of the reform of rural governance in ancient China and the further centralization of power by the central government.
Zhang Yan was also very confused before. It is said that the absence of township officials in the countryside means that the government's control over the countryside has become weaker? How could it be strengthened instead?
This should still be viewed in the corresponding era.
In later generations, transportation was developed, information was smooth, local affairs could theoretically reach high-rises in a few seconds, and there were enough taxes to ensure that township civil servants were full-time personnel.
The central government can naturally rely on township civil servants to firmly control the grassroots.
But this was not possible in ancient times. Not to mention the countryside, even prefectures and counties, if something happened, it was not easy to reach the central government.
However, the extremely low grade and very small salary of township officials meant that they could not be selected from far away places, and could only be arranged in their own hometown.
Arranging people from the county to take office far away from their hometowns was considered harsh government at that time, let alone a distant transfer.
So in the countryside, what kind of people can serve as township officials?
It must be a wealthy family in the countryside, or a bully whose family can recruit dozens of big men and can beat up the neighbors so that they dare not fight back.
This kind of bully is covered in official skin, so what's the point?
For example, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was a typical bully back then. He was a gangster himself. With the bonus of township officials, even the chief official of a county, who was equivalent to the deputy county magistrate Xiao He in charge of personnel, etc., had to be given to Liu Bang. face.
And for this kind of people in the countryside, for the sake of living in a fish and meat village, they must hide all the things in the countryside from the superior officials, and the superior officials only want to fulfill the annual tax and labor quota.
Therefore, to a large extent, the rural officials before the mid-Tang Dynasty were not rural officials, but rural emperors who were legalized by the government.
The only difference is that when the imperial court was powerful and the officials were governing the Qingming Dynasty, these local emperors had much less power, and they did not dare to do anything that would cause outrage.
It would be embarrassing if the imperial court declined. Even in the Tang Dynasty, the township officials refused to recruit husbands to the imperial court normally. After being deprived of official status, it was common for them to resist the new appointment of Li Zheng and others.
So after the mid-Tang Dynasty, in order to better control the local area, increase taxes, save expenditures and other reasons, the imperial court turned rural officials into service positions.
This is equivalent to depriving these rural tycoons of their official status, turning them into bastards when facing court officials, and losing their capital to negotiate with the government.
For example, the imperial court of the Later Tang Dynasty stipulated that the Dao Observation Envoy should be assigned to the county, and a powerful household should be appointed as the village chief in each village, and the villagers would discuss with the villagers that the households with powerful households should provide leftover seedlings to compensate for the poor and those who did not cultivate acres of land.
Here, township officials are no longer officials appointed by the government, but become jointly elected by the villagers. They also have to make up for the tax payment and other deficiencies of the poor peasants. The job has gone from a good job to a drudgery in an instant.
In the following weeks, it was directly stipulated that every hundred households in villages in all states and counties across the country should form a group, and each group would select the three largest households as elders. If there is any treachery or robbery in the people's houses, the three major households will investigate it; if there is any waste in the people's fields, the three major households will investigate it.
If there is a traitor or robber in a common household, the Three Households will look after it. It seems like it is power, but in fact it is nothing like bullshit.
Because we can only investigate and have no law enforcement power, we have to go to the government to report the case on our own feet.
The latter one is even more cruel. Those who spend money cannot afford to pay taxes. Their missing taxes must be shared equally by the three elected Hus.
In this way, the small country rich who were originally township officials changed from officials to inescapable tax benchmarks, just stuck in the fields.
The government doesn't care how many people in your village are too poor to pay taxes. They just need to seize on you as a benchmark and press hard.
This is actually the government taking advantage of the big households in the countryside and forcing an equalization of wealth and poverty in the countryside. Of course, it also makes it easier to collect taxes.
Therefore, without the middleman as a rural official, the court's control over the countryside became more direct.
Without the help of the township officials, the taxes collected by the country began to increase.
Zhang Yan couldn't help but scratch his head irritably. This method of governance is indeed simpler and more convenient. It also eliminates the middlemen of rural officials and local tyrants, saves government expenses, increases taxation and stability, and eliminates unstable factors in the countryside.
For the imperial court, it was a good way to kill two birds with one stone. In the more than a thousand years of later generations, only the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, which had extremely extensive management, did not implement the service system. The other dynasties basically continued the trend from the Middle Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty. Mature and complete service system.
However, the service system had a very big drawback, which Zhang Yan had to consider carefully.
When there were township officials, although they were a hidden danger, they were preying on the common people, and the state had to spend money to support them.
But as long as they are here, the mobilization ability of the grassroots is guaranteed.
Now that there are no rural officials, there are no leaders in the countryside. The government servants rarely go to the countryside for a month or two. When they go to the countryside, they only go to the elders who hold service positions. They still have a very poor understanding of the actual situation in the countryside.
The elder who also held a service position went from being a powerful man in official status to a wealthy family who suffered from both sides.
In the eyes of the common people, most of them are not officials, but unlucky guys with a little spare money, and they do not have much appeal.
This caused trouble for the imperial court. Not to mention recruiting young people from the countryside and collecting supplies, it even had nothing to do with the people in the countryside.
Anyway, the service system is here, no matter who comes over, they will still pay the land tax. As long as the soldiers don't go to the countryside to kill people, they can even pay less tax for a period of time.
In this case, then go ahead and call! Who cares what they are like?
Of course, not everyone can't see the disadvantages of the township official system, but the benefits are too great, it is too trouble-free, and it is too useful.
So in the Song and Ming dynasties, they only made a small patch on the basis of the maintenance service system.
That is to strive to expand the influence of the imperial examination and return part of the power of rural officials to the rural scholar-bureaucrats who make a living through the imperial examination.
Through them, we hope to mobilize the power of the countryside.
In fact, this is not a big problem, and it is still enforceable initially.
But in the end, the bad thing happened to Zhao Er, who went too far in advocating culture and suppressing martial arts, causing the country scholar-bureaucrats to completely become sour scholars.
Therefore, even in the Song and Ming dynasties, the scholar-bureaucrat class killed many people for the country.
However, their capabilities are really limited, and they are simply not enough to be able to at least maintain their basic base like the late Han Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and they cannot even maintain the situation of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
One of the important reasons for the rapid demise of the Nanming Dynasty was that the Ming Dynasty's rural military force and mobilization power, especially south of the Yangtze River, which had been at peace for a long time, were too weak and almost non-existent. As a result, the Qing soldiers only had to chase Nanming's little force to fight. That’s it.
Seeing Zhang Yan's brows furrowed, Shangshu Zuopushe and Shangshu Zhang Xichong spoke.
"Sage, the current situation is very obvious. There are many households in the countryside fleeing, and there are no big households who can take on the responsibility of serving.
Whether the taxation of states and counties is completed or not depends entirely on whether they can find acceptable servitude in the countryside.
Those who can be selected by the government to take on service positions are all ordinary wealthy households who have some wealth but are unable to protect it. If they are selected, their families will be ruined.
Those who are truly capable can use various methods to escape. If they cannot escape, they will join a bandit gang like Li Renshu.
Therefore, I believe that the service system needs to be suspended at least, otherwise if it continues, the court will completely lose control of the countryside. "
Zhang Xichong has been in Fang Town for a long time, so he knows very well what the situation of rural service is. In fact, even if Zhang Xian does not convene to discuss the matter this time, he is ready to submit a letter.
"Xue Juzheng, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Please tell me your opinion. Is this the case in the countryside from the Tang Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty?"
Zhang Yan named Xue Juzheng's name, which meant clearly that the situation in the countryside had become difficult to deal with. So how did the Later Tang and Later Jin Dynasties maintain the operation of the court?
Of course Xue Juzheng understood the implication of Zhang Yan's question, so he spread out a piece of information in his hand and presented it to Zhang Yan, and he began to answer directly.
"During the later dynasties and Shi Jingtang's time, the situation in the countryside was better than mine in Zhou Dynasty.
Because at that time we had not yet experienced the three years of floods, droughts and locust disasters. Although there were military turmoil, it was not like today, with the Khitans going around plundering grass and valleys.
Therefore, although there are many problems in the countryside, it can still be maintained.
Moreover, bandits like Li Renshu were only found in Xu, Yi, Su, Ying and other prefectures in Huaibei, and there were no such big thieves in other prefectures and counties.
Moreover, the area along the river from Hezhong Prefecture to Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, and even the states of Chen, Xu, Song, etc. are still relatively prosperous, so in years without major disasters, the situation of the imperial court is relatively good.
Although Huainan, Guanzhong, Hebei and other places were beyond the reach of the imperial court, only Jiedushi suppressed them. The money paid to the imperial court every year was basically not lacking in the Jiedushi of each town. "
Zhang Yan understood that during the Later Tang and Later Jin Dynasties, firstly, the people were richer than now, and secondly, the court implemented a subcontracting system.
That is to say, the prefectures and counties that are easy to govern are under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court. Those that are difficult to govern and have to bear heavy military tasks, such as Hebei, Guanzhong, and Shannan East Road, are handed over to Jiedushi to guard them.
Jiedushi is equivalent to the tax underwriter of the imperial court. The land is given to you, and the amount of taxes to be paid every year is also given to you. As for the specific results, you can decide for yourself.
The means of plundering are clever. The gains are yours, and the losses are yours to make up for. If the people cause chaos, suppress it yourself. If the court cannot suppress it, someone else will try to appease you. If you have inappropriate thoughts, the court will attack you.
However, Zhang Zhang is now unwilling to set up military envoys in various places. The power of the existing military envoys has also been reduced to varying degrees, so the method of expecting the military envoys to pay taxes cannot be implemented.
Good guy, Zhang Shengren frowned. When I said that I would reduce the power of the Jiedushi Envoy, there was almost no opposition. They were all waiting here.
They were waiting for Zhang Hao to be unable to handle the situation, so they could only reset the Jiedushi. Then it would be their turn to reappear.
Zhang Gao understood this reason after Xue Juzheng's reminder. As Zhang Gao's number one confidant, Fan Zhi, his servant, of course also knew this reason, so as soon as Xue Juzheng finished speaking, he stepped forward and said loudly.
"Sage, I do not agree with Zuo Pushe's proposal to reinstate rural officials. Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, after rural officials were transferred to service positions, the court has saved a lot of expenses and the countryside has become more stable.
Nowadays, the service system cannot continue for two reasons. First, after the Jin lords went to the north and the Khitan went south, many rural residents died and fled. However, the amount of taxation has not been reduced, making the rural service impossible to bear.
Second, Li Renshu, a thief, took advantage of the civil strife in the court to seize a large amount of power in the countryside. The villagers had long been trapped in water and fire by these thieves, and how could they still pay the court taxes.
Therefore, I do not recommend the restoration of the rural official system, which will only make the troublemakers become officials instead. They will feel contempt in their hearts. Not only will it still be difficult for the court to receive taxes, but the countryside will be more unstable.
The imperial court should select capable officials to re-calculate the country's acres and dens, agree on the amount of taxation based on the actual situation, and then send troops to attack the Huaibei thieves. "
After Zhang Yan heard this, he took a serious look at Fan Zhi and saw a righteous look on his face.
It’s not easy! I have always been a little bit reluctant to let go and dare not offend others. It is rare to have such a strong side.
He was obviously opposing Zhang Xichong's proposal to restore the township official system, but in fact he was opposing Zhang Gao's re-introduction of Jiedushi repression in Henan. This was very offensive.
Two options emerged at the court meeting. Zhang Xichong suggested restoring the rural official system. In fact, he hoped that Zhang Yan could stabilize Huaibei thieves like Li Renshu, fight Liu Zhiyuan first, and then adjust after the world was stabilized.
Fan Zhi believed that compromising with the Huaibei thieves at this time would go against Zhang Yan's long-standing phalanx policy. If he compromised with the Huaibei thieves, wouldn't he also have to compromise on the Jiedu envoy's authority?
And when Liu Zhiyuan is defeated, it will be difficult to return to the countryside. When the time comes to clean up, I am afraid we will have to pay a greater price.
But they are just people who put forward opinions, and the specific decision-making power still lies with Zhang Yan. This is what the king of a country does.
However, the matter was so important that Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi's proposals had practical considerations. Zhang Gao couldn't make this decision for a while.
He glanced at the ministers and soon saw Li Gu, who had presided over the land equalization work in Chuzhou.
He came from Huainan and had worked in depth. He must know the local situation better than Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi.
"Weizhen, you are from Huainan, please tell me your opinion." Zhang Hao called Li Gu affectionately and asked for his opinion.
Li Gu didn't speak, but he could feel that at least two eyes were looking at him fiercely.
One is from Shangshu Zuopushe Zhang Xichong, and the other must be from his servant Fan Zhi.
If he had a choice, he definitely didn't want to express his stance at this time. One of these two people was a senior official of the emperor.
One was the emperor's confidant, and the two hooked up when the emperor first entered Liangzhou.
However, this meeting was not up to him, and the emperor could not see that he was hesitant.
You must know that since he resigned as the army transport envoy and the governor of Chuzhou, except for the casual official title of Doctor Yinqing Guanglu, which was conferred on him by the emperor, he has not yet held any official official position.
Therefore, Li Gu came out at an extremely fast speed and quickly gave a plan.
"Returning to your majesty, what I saw in Huainan is that the taxes in Chuzhou and other places in the original Huainan of the Southern Tang Dynasty were far more serious than in our states of Xu, Yi, and Su in Huaibei, but they could still collect taxes smoothly.
The reason why they were willing was precisely because the Huaibei thieves were funded by the Lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. They did not go to Huainan and only harmed Huaibei.
The people in Huaibei have been plundered by Huaibei thieves. I don’t even know whether the imperial court has the final say? Or does Li Renshu, the official Li, have the final say?
Now the saint has just ended the troubled times south of the river. Although the people's wealth has not been exhausted, there is only one share. If it is given to the thieves in Huaibei, it cannot be given to the court.
If the Huaibei thieves were recruited at this time, I don’t know how big their appetite would be!
Therefore, I suggest that he should be paid and used in Huaibei, and that he should be accepted as a follower of the scenery, so that he can know his way back. Severely punish the core bandits such as Li Renshu. Only by completely defeating them can they be brought to peace.
Moreover, Zhang Xiong, the defense envoy of Chuzhou, has many contacts with Li Renshu. Your Majesty can issue an order to Zhang Xiong to help suppress the bandits. "
When Zhang Yan heard this, he said, yes, Zhang Xiong was the big leader of the Huainan White Armored Soldiers in history, and Li Renshu must have been involved. If he wanted to fight Li Renshu, Zhang Xiong would definitely be the first choice.
However, Li Gu is also a slippery guy. After talking so much, what Zhang Yan most wanted him to say was whether to restore the township official system or continue the service system, but there was no discussion at all.
Zhang Yan didn't think about Li Gu's fear of offending others, because he didn't think Zhang Xichong or Fan Zhi could make the officials much afraid.
But he felt Li Gu's hesitation, so he stopped mentioning it and prepared to find a time to summon him privately.
At this time, Queen Cao Yanxi asked the Shang Food Bureau to cook some mutton soup cakes, and she personally brought them over. Zhang Yan announced the end of the court meeting and entertained the ministers to have something to eat.
In this small court meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, nothing was decided except that they would deal a heavy blow to the Huaibei thieves.
But this is the particularity of politics. The issuance of a policy must go through a lot of deliberation. This is called governing a big country like cooking small dishes.
. . . .
After cooking the fresh food, Zhang Yan returned to the inner palace, still thinking about the pros and cons of the rural official system and the service system in his mind. In fact, Zhang Yan was leaning towards the rural official system.
This is not because he does not understand the benefits of the service system. It has been used by later generations for thousands of years, and even the Republic has been using it for some periods. It definitely has its merits, and even has great merits.
But in Zhang Hao's heart, there is a determination to encompass all directions.
He wanted to stabilize at least the three territories of Hezhong, Outer Northeast, and Jiaozhi in his lifetime, so that they would belong to the Chinese nation in every aspect.
Even if he can only seal off a bunch of countries, and eventually they break away from the imperial court and form a separate regime, Zhang Gao doesn't care.
As long as they are a country of Han people, speak Chinese, use Han classics, and consider themselves Han people, that is enough.
So to expand its branches on a large scale, a strong rural organization is needed, which can allow the court to obtain the most detailed rural data and mobilize suitable population immigrants.
While he was still thinking about it, the chamberlain came in to report that Zhongshu Ling He Ning and the Ministry of Personnel Feng Dao were asking for an audience outside the palace.
Zhang Yan met the two people in the Yuanzhen Hall of the side hall. When Zhang Yan looked at the dignified Feng Dao, he knew that this old boy was ready to do something. He also knew that his political power was over, and everyone in the world felt that it was stable. .
Because when it comes to looking at the direction of the wind and protecting oneself wisely, no one can compare to Feng Dao, the tumbler.
However, although this person is talented, he has many problems. The main reason is that Feng Dao's will is not firm. He is good at flattering everyone and is too slippery.
He is able to know and employ people, but lacks leadership authority. He and Zhang Xichong are exactly the two extremes.
In Zhang Xian's view, Zhang Xichong's understanding and vision of state affairs cannot match Feng Dao's, but Zhang Xichong has an advantage that Feng Dao does not have.
That is, Zhang Xichong is a decisive person. As long as he completes the discussion with Zhang Xian, he will definitely carry out the matter. If any of the officials below dare to make small moves, Zhang Xichong will punish them decisively.
But Feng Dao couldn't do it. He could make everyone think of him well and sell his face, but he couldn't make his subordinates resolutely implement it.
Therefore, after Zhang Zhi entered Tokyo, he did not reuse Feng Dao, but asked him to take charge of national etiquette, regulations and systems in the position of Minister of Rites.
He Ning was the most important minister of the Later Jin Dynasty that Zhang Zhang valued most. He was a writer with both civil and military skills, but he could also ride a horse and shoot. He had some knowledge of military affairs and was also very good at criminal law. Historically, he wrote "The Collection of Doubtful Prisons". The earliest selected cases in China.
Seeing the two of them coming in together, Zhang Yan quickly asked someone to give him a seat. However, the two of them did not sit down. Instead, they bowed their hands and saluted and said to He Ning.
"Sage, the two of us are here because of the dispute between township officials and servants."
"Oh? What's the opinion between Zhongshu and Mr. Youdao?" Zhang Hao also guessed that these two people came probably because of this matter.
He Ning glanced at Feng Dao and motioned for him to speak first.
Because in He Ning's view, the two of them had planned to give Zhang Gao a tip and an excuse to send troops, and that was done by the two of them together.
But looking at it now, He Ning felt as if he had taken the benefits alone, and Feng Dao had not received much blessing.
Although Feng Dao didn't say anything, He Ning was under great pressure, so he kept saying good things about Feng Dao in front of Zhang Gao, and also let Feng Dao get ahead of Zhang Gao at every turn.
After Feng Dao considered his sentence for a moment, he said to Zhang Yan: "The township official system was basically abandoned after the Mid-Tang Dynasty, because it was actually the result of the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Sui Dynasties. The country was in turmoil at the grassroots level, and the aristocratic families One of the important reasons for its existence.
With the existence of township officials covering the countryside, aristocratic families can control the local area. They use clan as a link to arrange clan members to serve as township officials in the countryside and exclude township officials who are not from their clan.
In its heyday, the countryside of Hebei and Qilu was full of illusions. The emperors of the Sui and Tang Dynasties could not touch them. Even Emperor Taizong Wen was deeply disturbed. Finally, the rural official system was basically disintegrated, and the sage must not restore it. "
Zhang Gao smiled and asked Feng Dao: "Why does Feng Shangshu know that a certain person is going to restore the rural official system?"
Feng Dao handed over his hand again, "The ambition of the saint has been very clear as early as Anxi. If His Majesty only wanted to be an emperor like the Ming Temple in the later dynasty, he would have sent troops to Guanzhong to rob it.
Now he is so prudent and benevolent everywhere, praising loyalty and righteousness in order to restore etiquette. His ambition is to cover the whole world! "
"If you want to cover the whole world, you must rely on rural officials to mobilize manpower and material resources from the countryside, so your Majesty must have the desire to restore the rural official system."
The following words were said by He Ning, "I would like to ask your Majesty not to be impatient. Such matters are really important matters of the country."
Zhang Hao nodded and thought about it secretly. He Ning's family is all in Tokyo, so he shouldn't have any deep entanglements with the place.
In addition, this was the era of martial arts, so his book order might not necessarily have much power, so he asked He Ning directly.
"Since Zhongshu understands my intention and does not restore the township official system, how can we ensure the mobilization ability among the townships?"
"I ask your Majesty to give you two months to send Feng Shangshu and Zhao Xuanhui to various prefectures and counties. After detailed inspection, I will hand it over to Your Majesty for a decision."
Zhao Xuanhui is Zhao Ying, and she was also one of the heroes who helped Zhang Gao enter the Central Plains. However, Zhang Gao fell ill before entering Tokyo, and then left his job to recuperate at home. It seems that his illness should be much better now.
Zhang Yan looked at He Ning and Feng Dao and saw that their eyes were sparkling. Isn't this the look that an old man in his fifties or sixties should have?
Feng Dao even raised his hand and said to Zhang Yan: "I and others committed a great crime by pretending to be a dynasty. I still have the strength to do so, and I am willing to contribute to the peace of the new dynasty for thousands of years."
Zhang Yan immediately understood that after the Zhou Dynasty was stabilized, these veterans who worked as paper framers in the Jin Kingdom finally wanted to do something to leave a name for future generations while they were still able to move.
Otherwise, the experience of being the Prime Minister of the Later Jin Dynasty, who was labeled as a traitor to the puppet dynasty by Zhang Yan, would be an indelible stain on their history.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Hao quickly made a decision, "Then Zhao Ying will be appointed as the Deputy Privy Envoy, the Supervisory Censor of the Southwest Prefectures and Counties, and the Thirteenth Prince of Xiang, Deng, Jin, Ying, An, Fang, etc. of the East Road of Shannan will be appointed. State, to examine the sentiments of the people.
Feng Dao was granted the title of Shangshu Youpu She, and the southeastern prefectures and counties were supervised as censors, including seventeen prefectures and counties including Xu, Chen, Cai, Ying, Song, Yan, Yi, Mi, Lai, and Deng. "
Thanks to Jiang Xuanjing’s book friend for the reward. It’s not afraid of being laughed at by book friends. This is Tiger’s first direct reward from an alliance leader. His second alliance leader is Book Friends, and his third alliance leader. The last alliance leader was Nine Leaf Emperor Book Friends, and he is Tiger’s friend. Both books have been published.
After receiving this reward, Tiger was not only surprised, but also felt a little heavy. He has been in a bad state recently, and was afraid that his writing would be poor and he would live up to the encouragement from his book friends.
Originally, according to the usual practice, there must be more updates, but Tiger really can't spare the time to write recently, so it is not easy to maintain updates every day.
However, it is said that the disciplinary rectification of the Tiger Unit will be completed next month, and when there is more time, we will definitely make up for it.
(End of chapter)
