Xu Xuemo's saying that "Each ministry has been added year after year, with more than ten officials today, and another ten officials tomorrow, when will it end?" is actually very characteristic of the Chinese imperial courts. The typical idea is to insist on "small government". No big government.
Small government and big government, in the final analysis, are the differences between limited liability government and unlimited liability government. This issue has been briefly discussed earlier in this book and will not be repeated here. According to a highly pragmatic view, China's traditional ideological system is actually more suitable for big government, but that is only from an ideological system perspective, and may not be the case in actual operations because conditions are limited.
What conditions? development level.
The degree of development is a big word that represents all aspects, whether it is the social system or the level of science and technology, it is all a matter of the degree of development. In addition, there is even the level of national finance.
In terms of national structure, the Ming Dynasty was an absolute monarchy system. In theory, it was completely possible to establish a big government. However, the reason why "imperial power did not extend to counties" in China's past dynasties was that the state's financial resources were insufficient to support "building branches in villages." system.
Think about it, how many official officials did the county government have in the Ming Dynasty?
There is an original text here to testify: "The county magistrate is in charge of the administration of a county. All taxes and servitudes are levied at the annual meeting, and a yellow book is made in ten years, with a small output as the difference. There are gifts of gold, grain, cloth, silk and other goods, and the levies are powerful and employable. When it comes to labor and debts, we should all consider the weather, the land is rich and depleted, and the manpower is poor, and we should all adjust and save it. If there is a shortage in the year, please ask the government to reduce it. All pensions, sacrifices to gods, tributes, and readings , show kindness, show compassion for the poor, protect the armor, strictly arrest people, and listen to prison lawsuits, all of them are dedicated and diligent in their duties. If the products of the mountains, seas, and swamps are enough to support the country, tribute will be paid according to the status.
The county magistrate and chief secretary are responsible for grain, horses, and patrol matters. The classics, history, and texts are moved to the cashier. If there is no county magistrate or chief bookkeeper, the county magistrate will be assigned the post of chief bookkeeper. The county magistrate and chief secretary have different changes. If the number of registered households is less than twenty miles, they will be laid off. "
In other words, there are only a few official officials in a county: one person is the county magistrate, who is the seventh rank;
That's all the official staff, a total of four people. If it is a small county, it will be even less. There will be no boss or county magistrate, or even none. Of course, there are other so-called "officials" in the county, but they are never formal officials and are not supported by the imperial government's finances. In theory, they are supported by the local "retained" land tax.
Can such a few people manage the affairs of a county well? It will definitely not be possible in future generations, because the governments of future generations will have too many things to manage, and these few people will not be able to manage even one percent of it, even if they have three heads and six arms.
Then this comparison is very surprising. In the Ming Dynasty, there were only four officials in one county. How did they manage it?
In fact, there are only two, one is to rely on the self-government of the gentry, and the other is... to ignore as much as possible. This is the so-called "people do not raise officials and do not investigate". As long as no one comes to complain, I will treat this county as if it is a road without picking up lost things, and the world will be clear. How much sin and ugliness there is in private is none of my business.
In addition to the insufficient financial resources of the country to support so many administrative officials, the formation of this phenomenon also has a relatively deeper source of thought, which is the Huang-Lao thought that was very popular in the early Han Dynasty.
In the West, Huang-Lao Taoism is often called "purposeful Taoism" or "instrumental Taoism". From the content point of view, Huang-Lao Zhi Shu inherited and developed the thoughts of Huang Emperor and Laozi on Tao. They believed that Tao existed as an objective necessity, and pointed out that "the virtual and the same are one, and the constant is the same" and "everyone can use it." , don’t see its shape.”
These things are too metaphysical, so it’s better to be more realistic. For example, in the field of social politics, Huang Laozhi emphasizes that "Tao generates law" and believes that the monarch should govern by doing nothing, "avoid harsh things, reduce taxes and restraint, and do not take away the people's time", and advocates "justice and selflessness", "respect, frugality and simplicity" , "Noble the soft and guard the female", achieve action through inaction.
These ideas, especially the idea of rest and recuperation, had a certain positive influence in the early Han Dynasty, which resulted in the emergence of prosperous times such as the Wenjing Dynasty, and thus had an impact on subsequent dynasties.
However, this kind of thinking also means that the country's development is spontaneous. For example, the emergence of a city does not require planning, but relies entirely on spontaneous formation and development.
In Gao's pragmatic view, urban development moving from spontaneity to planning is an inevitable progressive behavior. When the country has the ability to plan, planning is better than no planning. For example, Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty planned two cities, East and West, and the commodity economy developed rapidly. Only then did a new vocabulary using "East and West" appear to refer to items.
It's just that in ancient society, it was already rare to be able to plan a capital city. It may be beyond our ability to plan more details of the city.
Gao Pragmatic always believes that if you are unable to do so, you should try to find ways to strengthen this "power" instead of waiting for this "power" to form naturally - it may one day form, but it will be too slow.
The advantage of Huang-Lao's thought is that it allows the people to develop freely, but the disadvantage is that it allows the people to develop disorderly.
As a time traveler, Gao Pragmatic certainly knows that free development is conducive to improving social vitality, but he also knows the hidden dangers that disorderly development will inevitably bring. The system implemented by many Western countries in later generations was free development. However, because there was insufficient guidance and restrictions, they often had to bear the consequences of disorderly development - such as economic crises.
Therefore, in Gao's pragmatic view, whether it is a small government or a big government, the key issue is how to maintain social development while maintaining vitality without being like a flood that cannot be dealt with.
The current problem of the Ming Dynasty is largely due to the fact that the civil servants are extremely distrustful of the imperial power, and the ruling institution itself is regarded by them as an extension of the imperial power. Therefore, even if they themselves serve within this institution, There will still be doubts about the legitimacy of this organization because of its expansion.
This situation seems to have shaken the truth that "the butt determines the head", but in fact it is not, and there is no damage, because the first attribute of the vast majority of bureaucrats is not court officials, but landlords, wealthy businessmen or their spokespersons.
The more things your court takes care of, won't my family's status in our hometown decline further? My official position cannot be hereditary. Obviously, family continuity and family interests are what I value most. How can you, the emperor, snatch this from me?
Under the influence of this deep-seated thought, the highly pragmatic move to withdraw and expand power will of course usher in opposition, which he had expected. Of course, Gao Pragmatic himself does not want to continue to expand imperial power - even if it seems so at this stage, in the final analysis, this is not his goal. It's just... it's meaningless to tell others this now, everything depends on his future methods.
No one would talk about "restricting imperial power". All civil servants would use the common people as a cover when discussing related matters. Just as Xu Xuemo questioned at this time: "The common people in the world support hundreds of officials. If there are endless additions of officials, will it be possible?" Aren't you hunting the common people?"
Faced with this question, Gao Pragmatic retorted with his consistent point of view, saying: "There were many people who opposed the opening of the sea before. Now that it has been open to the sea for nearly 20 years, the imperial court can make an annual profit of two million taels of silver from overseas." Not only that, but did Kaihai ever brutalize the people?"
When he saw Xu Xuemo opening his mouth to argue, he waved his hand to stop him and continued: "This department has repeatedly discussed that the wealth of the world is by no means static. It is just like farming. If you plant more, you will gain more. Therefore, what our court should do is to try every means possible. Let the people use "diversified and superior varieties" to increase the overall output, instead of sticking to the old ways and clinging to the original little wealth.
Suppose my family produced 10,000 jins of grain last year, and this year hired 100 workers to build a new water conservancy. After proper irrigation, the lower fields were transformed into middle fields, and the middle fields were transformed into upper fields, resulting in a harvest of 20,000 jins. Let me ask the great uncle - can I be considered a waste of money for hiring workers? Lift? "
Xu Xuemo frowned and said: "What Situ said seems reasonable, but everything may not go so smoothly. For example, whether water conservancy repairs or not repairs may not affect such a large output, and the cost of 'hiring a hundred workers' will probably take many years." Recovering the cost, not to mention water conservancy is not a one-time solution, and it is likely to require long-term maintenance to ensure use, which will be more expensive.
Moreover, the people Da Situ compared this to were the newly appointed officials for the reform of the post station. The money earned by the post station did not come from overseas, but from my own country in the Ming Dynasty, that is, from the money bags of the people all over the world. Therefore, no matter how much Da Situ tries to whitewash it, he can't change the fact that the imperial court takes money from people's pockets, right? "
Gao Pragmatic smiled faintly and said: "Uncle Da Zong may be familiar with etiquette, but he doesn't seem to care much about finances. I wonder if Uncle Da Zong has read the "Taxation and Utilization" written before by Benbutang? The full name of that book is "Taxation" "They take it from the people and use it for the people", which not only discusses the debate between justice and benefit, but also discusses "why taxes are levied".
In this commentary, Honbu Tang once said: "It is taxed and is neither owned by the imperial court nor your Majesty. This money is taken from the people and used for the people." Your Majesty will act on behalf of the Heavenly Herdsmen, and your ministers will assist your Majesty.
When taxes are used for the emperor, they are only used to enable the emperor to herd the people, and are not restricted by expenses; when taxes are used for ministers, they are only used to enable the envoys to effectively assist the emperor, and are not restricted by food and clothing. A grain of rice and a half millet, a needle and a thread, are all used by the herdsmen to feed the people. How can we talk about harsh governance? '
Nowadays, it seems that the court needs to spend some money to appoint some new officials for the reform of the post station, but how much does the court originally need to spend on the post station every year? Although the money was originally spent by the local government, did the local government get the money out of thin air? After all, this money originally came from the people's pockets. "
Xu Xuemo shook his head and said: "Since the people have spent money on the changes, what else should be changed?"
"Dazong Bo is ridiculous." Gao Pingshi waved his hands repeatedly and said: "It used to be that the imperial court maintained the post station, and the cost of the post station was collected from the people by the local government. However, the post station did not serve the people, and the court wasted money and food but failed to provide convenience to the people. .
Now after the reform, the post station is open to the public. Although a certain fee is charged, any common person can decide whether to use the inn station. This also means that if people think that it is not cost-effective to post letters or transport goods through inns, they will naturally not use them.
On the contrary, since it is used, it must be because it is worth the money and both parties are happy. This is the so-called win-win situation. How could Da Zongbo say, "What else should I change?" "
Xu Xuemo was speechless for a moment and couldn't think of how to answer, so he had to stay silent.
Shu Hua, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was ill and in poor spirits at this time. In addition, the matter had little to do with his Ministry of Punishment, so he had no intention of discussing it until now. However, Shi Xing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, couldn't help but said: "Da Situ previously used water conservancy facilities as an example to increase field production, but what is being discussed now has anything to do with increasing production? Whether it is sending letters or transporting goods, it has nothing to do with production. Relationship, in the world, the wealth of geniuses has not changed, but the wealth of the people is earned by the imperial court, isn't it still competing with the people for profit?"
Gao Pragmatic had a bad impression of Shi Xing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry who switched from the practical school to the heart-free school. Hearing this, he said calmly: "It is said that Da Sikong has recently been supervising the mausoleum (responsible for the imperial mausoleum project)? Da Sikong must have known that some of the stones used in the mausoleum construction It was produced in the Taihu Lake area in the south of the Yangtze River. According to past practice, this matter should have been written by the Ministry of Household Affairs in Suzhou Prefecture or Changzhou Prefecture, ordering these two prefectures to pay tribute to Tianshou Mountain.
Although the two mansions are far apart, due to loyalty to the emperor, they should choose suitable stones by themselves and send people to transport them thousands of miles north. The cost is irrelevant. However, last year the Ministry of Household Affairs took over the financial rights. When they heard about this this year, they did not implement the old system. Instead, they commissioned the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs (Note: because Nanzhili is directly under the jurisdiction of the Six Ministries of Nanjing) to purchase stones from Taihu Prefecture. The cheapest sea freight is shipped to Tianjin, and then the Production and Construction Corps is hired to transport it to Tianshou Mountain.
Later, the Ministry of Revenue calculated that the cost of transporting this batch of stones alone this year was much cheaper than that of previous emperors. As far as the average price is concerned, it is only about 40% of the previous price, saving more than 23,000 taels of silver. It can be seen that although a suitable transportation system may not increase production, it is enough to reduce consumption.
Da Sikong, the so-called finance is nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. It is beneficial to increase revenue, but isn't it beneficial to reduce expenditure? "
Since Shi Xing became an official, he first served in the Xingren Division, and then was demoted to the rank of civilian after being convicted in the Sixth Section. Soon after his recovery, he was transferred to the Shangbao Division, transferred to Dali Temple, and then to Taipu Temple in Nanjing. He was promoted to Zuo Qiandu Yushi and Zuo Qiandu Yushi. He served as the imperial censor of the capital to assist in the affairs of the academy, and then he was promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of War. Finally, he switched to the Xin school and became the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
In his long career, he basically did not deal with finance. Therefore, once Gao Pragmatic directly "discussed the matter", he was a little unprepared and did not know how to refute.
Among the six ministers, Xu Xuemo, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Shi Xing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, are serious people of the mind school. Although Shu Hua is also from the mind school, he is not in good health. Secondly, as the minister of the Ministry of punishment, it is difficult for him to deal with these matters. He wanted to speak out, so he made up his mind not to get involved in this matter, so he naturally had no intention of discussing anything.
The table next to him was very close to him. Although Gao Pingshi couldn't talk about talking to other scholars just now, he had already explained the two ministers of psychology very well. Both Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue couldn't help but frown. The two husbands looked at each other and knew that they had to take action in person.
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