Liu Muzhi laughed: "It seems that you want to hand over the defense of the entire country's towns and villages to your security group to replace the current model of conscription service, right? "
Liu Yu nodded and said: "Fat man, I won't hide it from you now. Do you think this model of relying on local gangsters for public security is the way to long-term peace and stability? I have read history books over the years, and I have become more and more familiar with it. The deeper I feel, this kind of relying on local people, relying on powerful people in the city, relying on local powerful people in the countryside, letting them organize manpower and serve as local defense force, is this not the real reason why the imperial power is gradually weakening and the law cannot be passed down? ?"
Liu Muzhi put away his smile and nodded: "Yes, as the emperor and ministers, it is unlikely that they will go to every village, township, or every district in the city to administer government. They all have to pass the first-level examination." It is managed by the government, and in the city, the smallest one is Fangzheng. In the countryside, the lowest level is the village chief, Lizheng, and you started from Lizheng. It can be said that in Qili Village, you had the final say back then."
Liu Yu said seriously: "I have no intention of being like other tyrants who forcibly merged the resources and manpower of the whole village into my Liu family, and then enslaved the villagers for generations. But outside of Jingkou, this kind of thing is Mainstream. Don’t the aristocratic families in Wu and the generals in Jingzhou all rely on their nephews and relatives to control their servants and villagers to manage various country estates? "
Liu Muzhi curled up his lips: "So, you plan to use graduates from the Lanxiang Civil Service School to serve as civil servants in these most basic villages, and the power to defend these villages and the inner sanctuaries in the city will be made up of the previously recruited servants. Replaced by veterans of this security group?"
Liu Yu nodded: "That's it. Only in this way can we avoid the gradual control of the place by such a powerful party, with members of their family serving as officials, and things like recruiting people to serve will become their extortion and enslavement." A way to exploit local people."
"Gradually, the local people's land and the output of the land were occupied and annexed by them. And they colluded with the senior family members who were officials in the court to conceal the population and evade the tax amount. In the end, People everywhere only know about these families, but they don’t know about the emperor!"
"This is also the reason why no matter what we do in the Jin Dynasty, we must be controlled by the noble families. Even after Sun En's Rebellion, even if the Jin Dynasty recovers from the fall, even if we establish the Jingba Party and improve the status of the warriors, It still doesn’t change the overall situation.”
Liu Muzhi nodded: "You are right. In the past, we only overemphasized that only the children of aristocratic families and the scholar group had read books, had knowledge and culture, and could do a good job in governance. But when you say this, this grassroots level control may be more important than culture itself.”
Liu Yu said seriously: "So, we must first separate the scholar group from the high-ranking families. Many lower-class scholars, like you and me back then, had some culture and scholar status, but they did not control the grassroots land, manpower, and even live in poverty. These people have the desire to change the status quo and have a certain culture. If they have the ability to govern through official school studies, then we can transfer some land controlled by the state to Let them manage it as officials."
"The people responsible for the defense of these lands and villages and towns can be selected from veterans who have returned home. They have combat experience and military experience. If certain policies are given, they can be allocated enough land in these places. , if they can settle down, then they can be allowed to join the imperial establishment, such as head catchers, inspectors, Qiu Kui, etc. Let them organize local young people and train them, and then take turns as members of the security group, responsible for these Local security work, from assisting officials in collecting taxes, to arresting bandits, and daily patrols, can be done by this new security group, which was previously done by the police officers."
Liu Muzhi nodded repeatedly: "In this way, the laborers in these places can be removed, and the people will be happy. Moreover, according to the suggestion you just made, when you work in the security group, not only do you not have to pay taxes, but you will also be paid by the court. Paying out salaries and wages, right?"
Liu Yu laughed: "Yes, when I was in charge, the most troublesome thing was to go to each house to draw men and let everyone serve. It's not like fighting to exterminate the Husbands, but just standing guard. , and even helped the officials to run errands for procurement, or to build roads, dig rivers, and transport stones to build cities. Like some evil-hearted officials, they specifically arranged for the harvest to be done during busy farming or even harvest time. It was clear that they wanted to force The people and villagers had to pay and bribe them to be exempted from these services."
Liu Muzhi said with a smile: "The reason why you were just an upright person all the time and couldn't get promoted was because you didn't force the villagers to pay to be exempted from military service. You see, Liu Yi did a much better job than you. He was drawn every year. Ding is the first in every township in collecting taxes, so he became a state official, while you have always been just an upright person."
Liu Yu shook his head: "Liu Yi didn't embarrass the folks. He protected many criminal thieves and green forest heroes of unknown origins, and let these people serve as laborers. In addition, he was rich and managed everything, so he could often put these people in service. The matter was settled, so he has a high reputation in the village. Many people regard him as their elder brother and are willing to follow him. However, Liu Yi's underworld activities are often not done in Jingkou. In his words , he still has a bottom line if he doesn’t harm the villagers.”
Liu Muzhi said calmly: "So, since ancient times, even when you were officials, this kind of conscription of men for service was the most troublesome, but you think that with your system of changing men to serve, it is If the security group takes charge, can this problem be completely solved?"
Liu Yu said seriously: "I have been thinking about this issue. In fact, this is not new. To govern the country, you must first govern the officials. The reason why the Qin and Han Dynasties were strong lies in the officials. The three elders are served by veterans who have returned home from the army. With them as the core, local militias are organized, and then become state and county soldiers and horses. If there is a war, troops can be recruited from these state and county soldiers and horses at any time to form a large army."
"But this system requires strict implementation of military merit awards. Those who cannot be awarded must get enough benefits in the war, such as dividing the treasury like this time. Therefore, once the upper class is corrupted or gains are made in the war, If there are no benefits, this system will be in big trouble. In other words, if there is no war, long-term peace will be unsustainable."
"Only the industrialization of education can train officials outside the aristocratic families. Only the commercialization of security can solve the problem of human resources and willingness, and can we truly get rid of the control of powerful landlords and aristocratic families at the grassroots level."
(End of chapter)
