If Zhao Jun issues an order in the future that officials' families and servants cannot do business, they will probably suffer a loss, which is really uncomfortable.
"Alright, alright."
Zhao Zhen quickly changed the subject and asked, "Then how should the new department be planned?"
"Let's change the previous dispatch system."
Zhao Jun thought for a moment and said, "After the Yuanfeng reform, dispatches have been assigned ranks. Official duties are based primarily on their rank, making it easier to determine who's superior and who's inferior in the bureaucracy. There will still be officials with stipends, but they'll be based primarily on their rank. For example, the Director of the Political System Council is a dispatch, and he's a first-rank official. Everyone thinks that's not excessive, right?"
Everyone looked at each other, wow.
Who dares to think it’s excessive?
But it’s actually not too much.
Because the prime ministers of the Song Dynasty were generally of the first or second rank.
Sometimes, a first-rank prime minister would also appear.
For example, Cai Jing, one of the six thieves in the late Northern Song Dynasty, was the Grand Marshal when he was appointed as prime minister, and later became the Grand Tutor, a true first-rank official.
Therefore, as the head of the Constitutional Council, a position higher than that of the prime minister, it is absolutely not excessive to be of the first rank.
"Are the ranks of the Ji Lu official and the official in charge the same?"
Zhao Zhen asked.
"Yes."
Zhao Jun nodded. "For example, Lao Lu will be assigned the position of First-rank Associate Director of the Political System Council. I (the official with salary) will be First-rank Shangshu You Pushe, with the rank of Grand Secretary of the Jixian Hall and the title of Duke of Shen. Of course, I can also grant special privileges, such as giving Lao Lu a title like Grand Tutor or Minister of Education, but it will basically be honorary."
"The prefect is of the first rank, and the associate prefect is of the second rank. So our candidate prefect should be of the second rank, right?"
Yan Shu smiled and looked at Fan Zhongyan and said.
Fan Zhongyan said nothing.
He usually only interjects at critical moments.
"right."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Old Yan will be the Deputy Director of the Second Rank of the Political System Council in the future. However, I suggest that the Deputy Director can still work in a department part-time. After all, in theory, the Deputy Director still has no power to directly participate in politics. He can only make suggestions, not implement policies."
Zhao Zhen said, "Should Yan Tongshu still serve as the Minister of Revenue? Will the Ministry of Revenue be changed to the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the future?"
“There’s no need to change the name directly.”
Zhao Jun said, "Because the Ministry of Revenue already had this function, we kept the old name for easier understanding. Only new departments have changed their names. The Ministry of Revenue also handled finances before, but with the abolition of the Three Departments, finances were no longer under the Ministry of Revenue, so it became the newly established Ministry of Finance."
"That's fine too."
Zhao Zhen felt that there was no problem. It was indeed more convenient to use the previous names, otherwise the people would wonder what the use of these new departments was.
"Also, I'm considering whether to establish a department similar to the Ministry of Public Security."
Zhao Jun pondered for a moment and said, "The Ministry of Public Security is the superior of the county lieutenant. In later generations, the county lieutenant will be the director of the Public Security Bureau. Cities will have their own Public Security Bureaus, provinces will have their own Public Security Departments, and the national Ministry of Public Security will be responsible for reviewing, arresting, and punishing criminal, civil, and even traffic violations nationwide. This department is very important for maintaining public order."
“Since this department is so important, why should we consider whether to build it or not?”
Everyone was puzzled.
Zhao Jun said, "Because the powers of this department are very important, I am considering whether to put it directly under the Constitutional Yuan."
Fan Zhongyan offered a rare opinion: "Since this authority is so important, it requires the involvement of professionals. The Constitutional Council's job is to guide the country's overall direction. Why not establish this department and have it review all future regulations?"
"Hmm"
Zhao Jun thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "That does make sense. The Public Security Bureau was a government office in ancient times. But the Ministry of Justice wasn't equivalent to the Ministry of Public Security. So, let's establish an institution similar to the Ministry of Public Security. In the future, counties will have county public security bureaus, prefecture-level public security bureaus, and each route will have a route-level public security bureau. Bianliang will have its own Ministry of Public Security."
Lu Yijian suggested: "The Song Dynasty already has the Ministry of Justice. Why not just turn the Ministry of Justice into the Ministry of Public Security?"
"The duties of the Criminal Justice Department are actually similar to those of the Metropolitan Censorate and the Supreme Court, and they're also somewhat linked to the Censorate, allowing them to oversee the duties of officials at all levels of the prefectures. This isn't ideal. Oversight of officials should be handled by a new department, and the Criminal Justice Department should be divided between the Metropolitan Censorate and the Supreme Court at the prefecture and state levels."
Zhao Jun thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do this. The Censorate will be similar to the Legal Supervisory Commission of later centuries, with branches set up at the prefecture, state, and county levels. As for the Ministry of Public Security, we can set up a police department. Because the public security department itself has certain powers of arrest by force, counties will have county police stations, prefecture capitals will have police departments, and military prefectures will have police stations, all directly under the Ministry of Police."
The corresponding ones are the county public security bureau, municipal public security bureau, provincial public security department and the Supreme Ministry of Public Security.
The reason why the Ministry of Public Security was not established directly was that the word "Public Security" originated from "Public Security Commissioner", which is a modern term. People in the Song Dynasty may not know what it means, but the police do know it.
Because the word "police" appeared in the Song Dynasty.
According to historical records, both the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty established the position of police. In the Jin Dynasty, it was the sixth rank, while in the Southern Song Dynasty it was called police patrol officer, referring to the county lieutenant.
According to the saying at that time, being on guard in advance was called "police", and being able to see the big picture from small details was called "investigation". The two words "police" used together meant both investigation and arrest.
So although the position only appeared in the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, the Song people knew what the police did because the word had already existed.
"Um."
Zhao Zhen thought there was no problem, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
"In the future, when it comes to planning at all levels, the national level will have a Political System Commission, with ministries below it. Ministries and prefectures will be at the same level, and the departments directly under the ministries will be bureaus, which will be subordinate to departments, and departments below them will be bureaus. However, at the local level, there can be flexibility, such as bureaus under departments, counties under bureaus, prefectures under departments, and prefectures under departments."
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