Chapter 937: All Roads, States and Countries in the World
In the Lingyan Pavilion, lifelike portraits of people were hung in the pavilion. Li Shimin personally hung the last portrait of Luo Xuanye on the main position of the Bagua.
In the painting, Luo Xuanye is wearing a Chaotian crown and Ming Guang armor, holding a horse in one hand and a lance in the other, looking majestic and heavy.
Li Zhi, dressed in the crown prince's attire, followed beside Li Shimin.
Time ticked by, and after reminiscing for a long time, Li Shimin let out a sigh, "Chinu, I have basically completed what I wanted to do. The most important thing next is to teach you how to be a good king.
You see, those hanging here are all my meritorious officials. My current achievements are inseparable from these people. In the future, you will also have so many wise and capable officials to assist you in achieving your great cause.
I have ordered all provincial governors, governors, governors-general, and nobles to come to Chang'an to pay homage to me and you, and to announce something I have thought about carefully. You must read it carefully and understand it well. "
…
In the Taiji Hall, all the prime ministers were shocked by what the emperor said, especially Luo Xuanchen, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, who felt that a storm was about to come.
It is probably because of what Li Shimin said: "The Imperial Master taught me that if the country is a person, then the official system is like a skeleton. Whether a person stands upright or slumps down depends on the official system.
official,
Coming out from the ground.
Where there is a province, there is a governor; where there is a county, there is a county magistrate; where there is a military governor's office, there is a military governor, and so on.
On June 30th, the ambassadors from various provinces returned to Chang'an and reported the affairs of various provinces to me and you, the ministers. You should still remember it.
After much thought, I have decided to redivide the supervisory areas of various provinces throughout the country to prevent the occurrence of collusion between the envoys and local provincial governors.
At the same time, the provincial governors of various states in the world will be reorganized, and some provincial governors will be merged, added, and transferred to other states. "
How could this not shock everyone? It is very difficult to adjust administrative planning on such a large scale.
Wei Zheng asked directly before Li Shimin finished speaking: "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about the following questions?
After the redivision of prefectures and counties, how should the land registers and household registration registers in the county government and prefectural government be transferred?
If the registered soldiers belong to two states, how should their land be distributed?"
Luo Xuanchen continued, "Official layoffs are a minor matter, but now almost all the affairs of the prefectures and counties recorded by the Ministry of Personnel are going to be greatly changed. The Ministry of Personnel is short of manpower, which may delay the subsequent imperial examinations and official selection."
Fang Xuanling also advised: "Your Majesty said that you want to change the provincial governors into fiefdoms. Does that mean you want to divide the fiefdoms among the states? Isn't this a plan that has already been rejected?"
Basically, all the prime ministers opposed Li Shimin's approach, believing that it was simply looking for trouble. This was no longer the Sui Dynasty. After two political divisions in the Wude and early Zhenguan years, the current prefectures and counties had become stable and no longer needed to be adjusted or redivided.
Li Shimin said calmly: "I will not make major changes to the prefectures and counties, so you don't have to panic. I will adjust the supervisory areas at the Dao level. For example, Jiangnan Dao will be divided into Jiangnan East Dao and Jiangnan West Dao, and Jianghuai Dao will be divided into Huainan Dao and Huaibei Dao."
He paused briefly, and none of the prime ministers spoke again. The prefecture and county system was the country's fundamental local system. Any change would be very troublesome. Even if it was just a change of name like Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, it would lead to the modification of a large number of official documents. If the emperor did not change this fundamental system, there would be no big problem.
As for the Dao above the prefectures and counties, it is not an administrative level but merely a temporary supervisory area. Although these prime ministers who are familiar with history all know that in the Han Dynasty, the prefecture was only a supervisory area, and its function was exactly the same as the Dao today, but in the end the prefecture gradually acquired administrative and military functions and eventually became the highest administrative level above the county. The final outcome of the Dao was probably the same, but at least at this moment, the Dao was indeed not that important.
Today's emperor is a little different.
After Li Shimin said those words calmly, all the prime ministers present felt that the emperor was well prepared. They looked at each other secretly, and slowly sat up. The atmosphere in the hall became a little different.
Li Shimin, who was half-lying on the throne, saw this and smiled, "I'm sure you all understand the first question.
Now let’s go back to the second issue of closing the country.
My Lords, I would like to ask, in the first year of Wude, the Tang Dynasty had nearly 200 states, how many states does the Tang Dynasty have now? "
Although the Tang Dynasty adhered to peace and did not easily start a war, it could not withstand the actions of some of the surrounding countries. After more than ten years of forced expansion, it successively defeated the Winter Turks in Mobei, the Western Yan Kingdom that threatened the Hexi Corridor, Gaochang that controlled the passage to the Western Regions, and the Liaodong Kingdom that posed the greatest threat to the Central Plains. Now the Tang Dynasty has a vast territory and more than 300 prefectures, far exceeding that in the early years of Zhenguan.
Changsun Wuji replied: "Your Majesty, there are three hundred and sixty states."
Li Shimin smiled and shook his head, saying, "Wrong, it's more than a thousand states."
ah?
As soon as Li Shimin said this, everyone naturally knew what he was talking about. Changsun Wuji was talking about the inner states, which were the Zhongyuan states directly managed by the governor, while Li Shimin was talking about the vassal states. The situations in these vassal states were too complicated.
Some are divided according to cities, one city is one state, for example, Liaodong City was changed to Liaozhou, Gaimu City was changed to Gaizhou, Beisha City was changed to Beizhou, and there are many more.
Others, because they did not live by following water and grass and did not have cities, were directly given official positions and managed the tribes according to the official positions. At the top of the official positions were the three Khans, who established a collegial system. This was also the custom of the grassland.
"The Fan people originally had no centralized system. The big tribes could not manage the small tribes within the same ethnic group, so small tribes would often violate the border. I think you all still remember how we dealt with it later."
As soon as this matter was mentioned, several people in the hall began to have a headache. The organizational structure of the Hu people was too poor. For example, the Turkic Khan surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and came to pay tribute, but then the Turkic tribes invaded the border. What made the Tang Dynasty feel confused and speechless was that this matter really had nothing to do with the Turkic Khan.
The Tang Dynasty initially blamed the tribal leaders, but later discovered that it was not that they did not want to manage, but that they could not manage. Because among the various Hu tribes, everything was discussed together, and there was no distinction between superiors and subordinates, so there was no such thing as obeying anyone's orders.
Later, in order to solve this problem, the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to teach these Hu people how to centralize power. In other words, it established an absolute authority within their ethnic group, and anyone who did not listen to him would be beaten by the Tang Dynasty.
All tributes and exchanges with the Tang Dynasty can only be done by this leader. The worst thing is, now that he is dead, I will let his son take over. Don't even think about communicating with the Central Plains in the same way as before.
The source of these people's legitimacy and power is the support of the Tang Dynasty. In this way, a system is built up layer by layer to ensure border stability.
This system was very successful. Within just a dozen years, when the foreign people suffered a disaster, they no longer went south to forage for food. Instead, they reported to the Governor's Office and requested disaster relief from the Tang Dynasty.
According to the plan, in the future these people who have been deeply assimilated into the Han culture will be gradually migrated to the Central Plains, given surnames, and then the big surnames in the Central Plains will be moved out, so as to communicate step by step.
But, "Some time ago, the Imperial Master talked to me about something that made me suddenly feel a little uneasy. During the Zhenguan period, I and the ministers were there, so all policies were always carried out according to our ideas.
What if future generations fail to do it?
What if they collapse the current system before the dust settles?
The Imperial Master told me that there was nothing wrong with our Tang Dynasty trying to stabilize its borders, but we must remember that nothing is perfect in this world.
The Khitan, Turkic and other tribes surrounding the Tang Dynasty are now growing at an unimaginable speed because they are so close to the country, doubling their size almost every ten years.
It will take no more than a hundred years for the Xia and Shang dynasties to evolve into the Tang dynasty. I am deeply worried."
The Imperial Master actually told the Emperor about this. Upon hearing this, the Lifan Ling said in deep thought, "Your Majesty, what the Imperial Master said is indeed reasonable. In recent years, when we have come into contact with the foreign people, they are almost the same as the Han people. But I think that there is no problem with this policy now. Compared with all previous dynasties, the borders of the Tang Dynasty are more stable, and there are almost no wars with those foreign tribes."
Li Shimin raised his hand to stop Lifanling from speaking, "I know that the current policy is almost the best, but I think that if we can go up and add a few more safeguards, it will be even more foolproof.
Since ancient times, no system has been better than feudal system in terms of local control.
The last hope of the Qin Dynasty was Emperor Fusu's enthronement of the kings and princes. If the Qin Dynasty had not encountered such divine men as King Zhaosheng, King Xiang, and Emperor Gaozu of Han, the Qin Dynasty might not have perished.
The princes of the Han Dynasty also successfully suppressed the local rebellion for more than a hundred years.
Up to now, our Tang Dynasty has successively established the three major kingdoms of Qin, Yan, and Qi.
In fact, there have always been some places within the Central Plains that are difficult to reach by royal orders. As you all know, such as Qianzhong, Nanzhao, and Lingnan, they have been under the control of the central dynasty since the Qin Dynasty.
But in fact, counties were only established on a very small number of flat lands. In the countless mountains, there were countless local people who did not obey the king's orders and often besieged the county government offices.
There are often disputes among the northern tribes. What if one day the Tang emperor is unable to control the tribes?
Of the three kingdoms, Qin is too far away and hasn't sent back any letters yet. As for Yan and Qi, as well as the old land of Gaochang in the Western Regions and the old land of Western Yan, what should we do if they have any ill intentions?
I remember that during the Han Dynasty, some marquisates were established within kingdoms, some marquisates were established within counties, and some marquisates were established among barbarians. This is what I want to emulate.
The Duke of Liao who ruled Liaozhou for generations is my attempt.
I want to promote this system, and confer titles on meritorious officials and relatives to places where the imperial decree cannot reach."
After Li Shimin stopped speaking, the prime ministers in the hall talked to each other. Luo Xuanchen sighed slightly in his heart. With this division of fiefdoms, the imperial examination system would basically be killed within a hundred years.
Because when nobles go out of town, what they need are not literati, or in other words, the status of literati will be very low, and with a low status, they cannot attract people.
Society is moving forward. Luo Xuanchen previously believed that the imperial examination would change the situation in the world because he saw that other options such as being a soldier, doing business, etc. were not as good as studying for the imperial examination.
But the nobles value blood inheritance and rely on disciples and old friends to maintain their status, while the literati can only deal with writing matters.
But enfeoffment was the national policy of the Tang Dynasty, and he couldn't say anything.
Fang Xuanling pondered and asked, "Your Majesty, what you mean is that the states where taxes can cover expenses should remain unchanged, and the states in key locations should remain unchanged, and then those states that are difficult to control should be hereditary fiefs and let meritorious officials guard them."
"Yes!"
Li Shimin looked at everyone, and the prime ministers were also looking at him.
…
The Tang Dynasty in August was bustling with activity. Institutional governors from various states came to the capital to report on their work in carriages and ships. Governors stationed in various places also returned to the capital. Li Xiaogong and Luo Xuanyun, high-ranking officials from the four major protectorates, also returned to Chang'an from their respective protectorates.
It was rare for so many high-ranking officials to gather in Chang'an City at the same time. Everyone knew that this was not a simple summons of ministers. There must be major changes in Chang'an, no, the Tang Dynasty, so the emperor summoned so many high-ranking officials back to the capital.
The Tang Dynasty has undergone so many changes in recent years that it is hard to keep up. Ever since the King of Qin went abroad to establish a vassal kingdom, the whole world has been experiencing one major event after another, as if the emperor was in a hurry to do something.
Hundreds of high-ranking officials of the fourth rank and above appeared in Chang'an, as well as hundreds of dukes. Almost 90% of the high-ranking officials and nobles in the entire Tang Dynasty were here.
This made the scholars in Chang'an City very excited, or rather, scholars from all over the world were now rushing to Chang'an.
Although the Tang Dynasty was now promoting the imperial examination system, the power of the traditional aristocracy was constantly recovering during the Zhenguan years, so the recommendation system became more prosperous than the imperial examination. Moreover, during the development of the Tang Dynasty, the aristocratic families and the traditional Guanlong families not only made great contributions, but also seized a lot of benefits, and almost controlled 70% of the official positions from top to bottom.
This was almost inevitable. After all, once a war was won, there would be rewards. This reward would allow the aristocratic group to continue to expand. If the Liaodong Kingdom had not been led by Li Shimin himself, the group would have expanded even more.
The scholars all strive to gain the appreciation of certain powerful people and directly enter the official career. It would be even better if they could start as a high-ranking official.
Li Shimin, who was sitting in the palace, was naturally aware of the hustle and bustle in Chang'an. He was very happy. Standing on the palace wall, he smiled and said to Li Zhi: "This is the Tang Dynasty. Talents emerge in an endless stream. Your main responsibility in the future is to select talents from these people and then hand over state affairs to them. Knowing people and assigning them to the right positions is what a king should do."
Waves of high-ranking officials appeared in Chang'an, and the people of Chang'an would comment on these officials from different states. Some would mock them as shabby and say they were from poor states, while others, such as Suzhou and Yangzhou, would attract admiration.
An old poem goes, "Returning to see the emperor, the emperor is sitting in the Mingtang.
Twelve promotions for meritorious service, rewards of hundreds of thousands of strong. "
Now the emperor sits high in the Mingtang, but there are more than a few hundred people entering the palace. There are hundreds of officials alone, as well as relatives and foreign relatives at the level of county dukes and state dukes, and many meritorious officials who are no longer in charge of affairs. All of them appear in the palace at this moment.
Even the spacious Tai Chi Hall cannot accommodate so many people.
From the Taiji Hall to the outside of the hall, there were countless figures in official uniforms of various colors standing in rows. Among these people, the high-ranking officials who were surrounded by people in the past were now just the lowest-ranking officials.
The one who was most shocked was the provincial governor. The provincial governor of an upper province was of the third rank. Of course, there were not many such governors. Even the provincial governor of a lower province was a high-ranking official below the fourth rank. In particular, the provincial governor was in charge of the government affairs of a place and was a well-deserved local official.
In the folk, the county magistrate was called Baili Hou. He had almost absolute power of life and death in a county. As for supervision, even in Ji Zhao's time, it was often not spread. Not to mention the communication conditions in ancient times. Whether it was possible to conduct supervision was basically all based on luck. This was the case for the county magistrate, not to mention the governor who managed at least several or even a dozen counties.
But the governors who had enjoyed great glory in the past could only stand at the end of the queue at this moment. Here, they could hardly hear what the emperor said and could only listen to what the officials said repeated.
The steps in front of the Tai Chi Hall were filled with people. At this moment, the steps looked like white jade steps, emitting light. That light represented power. Whoever was closer to the palace had more power.
At the end of that palace is the supreme emperor who has almost unlimited power.
As long as one can gain the emperor's trust, one can, like Wei Zheng, rise from a commoner to become a prime minister and one of the most powerful people in the world.
“Boom!”
A clear voice rang out in the palace. It was the bell that signaled the start of the court meeting. The people who had been whispering to each other just now quietly stood back in line.
The Qianniu Guards wore guard uniforms, armed with bows and arrows, swords and spears, and stood in front of the palace and under the prince, looking very majestic.
Sitting on the throne in the Taiji Hall of the Daming Palace, Li Shimin was facing the wide-open gate. His gaze was looking far away at the ministers lined up outside the hall. There were so many of them that it was difficult to count them.
The next moment, as the bell rang, all the ministers bowed and said, "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"
When all the ministers were standing in the hall holding tablets, Li Shimin stood up from the throne and said in a loud voice: "I summoned all the ministers to the capital because of a major event that will affect the entire Tang Dynasty.
Since ancient times, it has never been heard of one person ruling all the nine provinces.
Since ancient times, I have never heard of a king who can rule alone without relying on his ministers.
I have heard that a king who treats his subjects well will gain their loyalty.
Whenever I read history books, I would think of the Han Dynasty's suppression of the feudal princes. I wanted to follow suit many times, but my ministers all advised me not to do so, saying that enfeoffment would lead to chaos, and that this had been the case for the past few hundred years.
Some time ago, I saw barbarians from the Hengduan Mountains harassing my county and even killing the people of my Tang Dynasty.
Marching is difficult in the Hengduan Mountains, and the local people are unruly and difficult to tame. For hundreds of years, no Central Plains dynasty has been able to control them.
I have thought over and over again that if I really send a large army, it will be futile. The locals only need to hide in the mountains, and my army will be helpless.
After reaching this point, I decided that instead of doing this, it would be better to give it to the meritorious officials and clan relatives.
I have heard that in the Hengduan Mountains, there are thousands of tribes, all living on the mountains and between cliffs, appearing and disappearing like ghosts.
Then I will establish hundreds of principalities there!
Carrying armor and swords, they went deep into the area to suppress these bandits who refused to obey the king's will. "
After hearing this, the princes and dukes present were basically paralyzed, and many of them could not even stand steadily. With such a big commotion, they knew it was not a good thing. As expected, they were going to exile all of us on a large scale.
What a barren and desolate place. Who would want to explore there? And even though the barbarians are weak when facing the Tang army, they are very powerful when they really explore on a small scale.
Back then, there was an army called Wu Dang Flying Army in Shu, which was formed by those barbarians. Fighting in the mountains with those people who were very agile in the mountains, wasn't that seeking death?
The more I think about it, the more discouraged I feel.
Li Shimin didn't care about this, after all, his real trump card had not yet been released, "The court will not take any of the newly opened land and population, and all will be given to the princes.
Of the borders I have divided, the court will not take a penny of the reclaimed land or the grain grown on them. All the profits will go to the princes.
Apart from gold, silver and copper mines, the imperial court also did not want the rest of the income from forests and fisheries, and all of it was given to the princes.
I will give you a hundred years as the deadline, but I don’t know what will happen after a hundred years.
I will stamp it with the emperor's seal. This is an agreement between the emperor and the princes."
Although some people are still unwilling to go, some people are tempted. For a hundred years, those conditions are nothing. But in these hundred years, as long as they don't commit suicide or participate in any rebellion, wouldn't the family be able to continue for these hundred years?
Besides, a hundred years later, no, it won’t take a hundred years at all. Just wait a few decades and if we can really conquer a piece of territory, we can completely take over the magpie’s nest.
The reason why the chieftains were so difficult to defeat was not because the chieftain soldiers were really strong, but because the terrain there was easy to defend but difficult to attack, making it a natural separatist area.
If the imperial court really becomes shameless and wants to take back the land passed down from generation to generation, we can completely close the door and rely on the terrain of mountains and rivers to fight against the imperial court.
I heard that in the mountains of the southwest, there are many chieftain families that have existed for thousands of years.
Although the Central Plains is comfortable, it is indeed too dangerous. Clans are often exterminated and the political struggles are too cruel. Almost no aristocratic families from the Han Dynasty are still alive today.
Thinking about it this way, it would be better to divide it into the Hengduan Mountains.
Li Shimin naturally knew that there would definitely be such thoughts, just like there were also some princes who were unwilling to participate in the Jingnan Rebellion. But as long as most people were useful, it was enough.
At least this move can allow the Tang Dynasty to ensure long-term stability on its southwestern border and expand the living space of the various Chinese people.
Besides.
Li Shimin wanted to laugh just thinking about it. If one day even places like Qianzhong could successfully rebel, then the Tang Dynasty would be doomed.
There are no plains and no population. It's okay to establish a separatist regime, but it's a joke to rebel and conquer the world.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin began to ask the eunuchs to read out the imperial edict that he had already discussed with the Council of State Affairs.
This time he truly divided the land among his clan members, meritorious officials, and in-laws, granting a total of more than a hundred counties, kingdoms, and duchies.
The area of each country is not large. The smallest one is only as big as a county, and the largest one is less than the size of a state. Basically, they are just a city or a mountain.
Sixty of them were sealed off in the south, and a dozen of them were sealed off on the plateau in the west of Yizhou, which was the entrance and exit between Bashu and the plateau. They were sealed off there in order to encircle Tubo.
Not only was Bashu under siege, but there were also sealed-off states in Qinghai Road. Those who were sealed here were basically all relatives. They complained bitterly in their hearts but dared not say a word.
Who wouldn't be panicked when facing Tubo head-on? Moreover, it is said that living on the plateau will shorten one's lifespan. This time, life and death are truly determined by fate, and wealth and honor are in the hands of God.
Just when many people were wailing, the next enfeoffment was even worse. Li Shimin had built many cities in Hetao, and now he enfeoffed many people there, making them half farmers and half herders.
The purpose of enfeoffment in Hetao is well known to everyone. One is to monitor the Yan State in the north, and the other is to monitor the foreign tribes also in Hetao. None of them are easy to mess with. Once a war breaks out between the two sides, these small countries will be the first to bear the brunt, and it is hard to say when they will be flattened by a wave.
Even worse were those who were directly granted the title of King of Yan. After all, Yan was different from Qin. Qin was completely conquered by Li Chengqian himself, so Li Chengqian almost had the sovereignty of the King of Qin. However, Yan was conquered by the Tang Dynasty, but it was governed by King of Yan Li Ke. There was even the Anbei Protectorate on the land of Yan.
Therefore, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty could reward hills, rivers, and pastures to other people on the nominal territory of the Yan State.
But whether the emperor dares to reward and whether the person who gets it dares to accept it depends on the means. If one is not careful, it is very easy to get killed in a place like Mobei.
Compared with the vassal states close to Tubo and Mobei, the vassal state located in the Andong Protectorate is actually the best. Also, the vassal state located in the State of Qi is at least not that dangerous.
As the imperial edict was read out, the hall was filled with all kinds of people. Some people looked pale, such as Pei Ji's grandson, who was sent to Qinghai to face Tubo on the front line.
Some people felt deeply fortunate, such as the descendants of meritorious officials who followed Li Shimin, such as Qin Qiong's son. At least they were not cheated particularly badly. Some went to Qi State, some established a country in Liaodong, and some were in the south.
Li Shimin couldn't help but find it funny when he saw this.
My eldest son has gone to the wild land to open up new territories.
"…Let all hear it."
Two eunuchs were replaced in reading the imperial edict. Finally, the eunuch who read the imperial edict finished reading it. The official outside the hall kept repeating it. The officials outside the hall felt that the sky was about to change.
So many kingdoms and duchies were established at once, and they were all real kingdoms and duchies. How many more official positions would be needed?
Moreover, these official positions would definitely not be appointed by the imperial court, but rather these princes would go there with their own cronies.
For example, a housekeeper who has worked for the family for generations, or a loyal servant.
The sound of kneeling and bowing could be heard in the hall. No matter what people thought in their hearts, the founding of the country was ultimately a grace bestowed by the emperor.
Turning a family into a country is a good thing.
Good things...
(End of this chapter)
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