A list of awards affects the hearts of everyone. If it is to be perfect, absolutely fair, and satisfy everyone, it is impossible. And among the top twenty-four people, it is still questionable and unconvincing.
For example, Wu Xingde and Li Shaoyou, their achievements and prestige are weaker than those of others.
However, it would be too difficult for Emperor Liu to make the decision without any partiality, and for Emperor Liu, this was not something that could be decided with just a slap on the head. Apart from these twenty-four ministers,
, it seems that there are still many people who are qualified to be selected.
For example, Han Tong, perhaps he himself did not understand why he was not selected. In terms of military exploits, his qualifications are solid, but there is nothing particularly outstanding. In the process of leveling Jinghu Lake, he led a partial army to defeat Zhou Xingfeng. It was worth it.
Special writing, however, compared with the many magnificent wars of the Han Dynasty over the past ten years, the level is on the low side.
Perhaps the thing that Han Tong regrets most to this day is that he did not shamelessly seek a position in the Northern Expedition. He may feel a little disappointed, but it is not unbalanced. He has been promoted repeatedly from a small cavalryman.
Now he is still the Commander-in-Chief of the Inspection Department of one of the three bureaus of the Forbidden Army. He is not treated unfairly in terms of title. He was granted the title of Duke of Hanoi and was listed as the first person under the Duke of the Kingdom. His son Han Hui is also highly regarded by the emperor.
He held an important position in the government, and both father and son were favored. Although it was a pity, there was nothing dissatisfying about it.
As for others, such as Shangdang Gong Guo Congyi, he was a Yuanchen of Hedong, with both civil and military skills, and a good sense of style. He had been a vassal governor since the founding of the People's Republic of China. From Huawei to Wei Bo, he was once the most important general in the north of Kaifeng, guarding the capital.
After Yao Yuanfu passed away, he became an official in the court and served as the teacher of the princes.
When it comes to Yao Yuanfu, we have to say that in the early years of Qianyou, when he was more than sixty years old, he was still carrying a sword, leaping on horseback to attack, going into battle, killing enemies and making achievements, and made great achievements in consolidating Guanzhong, the southwest, and northwest.
He made outstanding contributions. Later, he entered the court with Zhu Jiedu, and worked conscientiously from the inspection in the capital to the prince's teacher. The title was changed from the Duke of Fen to the Duke of Fenyang, and his eldest son Yaozhong was attacked by the Duke.
There is also Wang Yan. When Shaanzhou was the leader of the Sanjie Festival, Hou Zhang was greedy and lawless, and was finally concocted by Wang Yan in Luoyang. Compared with Zhao Hui, Wang Yan's talents were more outstanding to a certain extent. Just because he was in charge of Jinzhou.
At that time, he had a conflict with Wang Jingchong, the military envoy at that time, and even acted against the imperial court. Although Zhao Hui finally solved the problem smoothly with little coordination, he was demoted because of it. Later, he was appointed as the left guard in Xijing, and he made great contributions in governing Luo.
He presented the imperial seal and was promoted to Duke of Teng County. This time, he was granted the title of Duke of Huaiyin County. People have to pay the price for their actions.
Wang Quanbin, perhaps the one who feels the most depressed is him. In terms of qualifications, reputation, and ability, he is the best choice. If he had obtained Emperor Liu's consent and sent troops to destroy Dali early, he might have been among them.
Moreover, if Wang Quanbin is selected, then generals such as Wang Renfan, Li Jixun, Cui Yanjin, Guo Chongwei, Wang Yanchao, Zhang Xun, etc. will all be qualified. For example, Cui Yanjin destroyed Meng Shu and leveled Lingnan.
As for the Mesozoic generals such as Shi Shouxin, Pan Mei, Yang Ye, Zhang Yongde, Zhao Yanjin, Cao Bin, and Liu Guangyi, their achievements are certainly worthy of praise, but their qualifications are a flaw, and not all of them have Zhao Da's fortune.
Compared with the comparison of military ministers' merits and controversy, the civil servants who should have been more likely to quarrel with each other hardly caused any waves. It was not that those who were selected were popular, but the civil servants did not have the qualifications and strength to ask for more. Governance, when the world was first established, was still the flourishing age of military officials, and the spring for literati had not yet arrived. There were twenty-four meritorious officials, and military officials ranked fifteen among them. This ratio was only achieved due to Liu Chengyou's deliberate balance.
The one who is more unwilling to do so is Tao Gu. After all, he is also an old minister who follows Emperor Liu, and is now also a central minister. It is understandable that he has expectations. However, if you think about it yourself, with the civil servants in the middle, In comparison, I was disappointed to find that none of them could compare. What was even more depressing was that in the end, I only got the title of Marquis of Xin'an. Maybe he will be embarrassed to be called "Tao Gong" in the future.
In fact, this was Emperor Liu's preferential treatment to Tao Gu. Even without mentioning some of his unsavory behaviors in the past, the imperial court had many generals, such as Bai Chongyun, Luo Yanyu, Wang Shenqi, Guo Jin, and Dang Jin. , Han Lingkun, Dong Zunjie, Han Chongyun, Kang Zaiyu, Kang Yanze, Liu Tinghan, Cao Han, Cui Han, Li Hanqiong, Ma Renyu... These people were only awarded the title of marquis according to the third grade of county, township and pavilion.
Duke is a huge threshold, and it is conceivable that after the Year of the Treasure, it will be more difficult to advance.
There are also a group of frustrated people, that is, a large number of old titles, including Yu Guogong Li Hongxin and other relatives of the emperor, were either reduced or directly seized titles. For example, Li Hongxin was able to retain a Yuci County Duke because of the Queen Mother The Li family gained face. In addition, the imperial uncle Murong Yanchao, whose surname was not Liu, was also demoted from the prince of Changli County to the title of Duke of Luan. His brother-in-law Song Yanwo was granted the title of Duke of Huiguo.
Even the dignified uncle was like this, let alone other people. Those who had no real and convincing achievements in the process of establishing and unifying the Han Dynasty were targeted mercilessly.
After such a rectification, the Han Dynasty's noble system has taken on a new look. The first is the issue of quantity. Although the number has not decreased due to the addition of new titles, the unreasonable titles have been basically eliminated, and the number of high-level titles has basically increased. They were cut in half. Except for the twenty-four princes, there were only fifty-four foreign ministers who were eventually awarded the title of county prince or above.
Of course, the most drastic adjustment is for the rank and order officers, which is where the Han lords are most prevalent. If the noble titles are drastically rectified, the rank system will be completely reconstructed, which will almost completely destroy the three generations. All the honorary and casual officials since then have been abolished, and redistribution and rewards have been redistributed based on military merit, political achievements, and resumes. This has also affected the whole country.
It is conceivable that it will cause some shock, but the old ones are gone, and there is a new class of nobles to fill them. With these new beneficiaries to maintain, those old positions and titles should naturally be swept into the garbage heap of history.
In any reform and change, there will be winners and losers, even the new knights of the Han Dynasty, especially those who have been demoted. Perhaps to appease everyone's emotions, the treatment of nobles is better than in the past. A significant improvement.
Moreover, under Emperor Liu's adjustment, the importance of Han Dynasty titles was increasing. Although there were no real titles such as food or land, the salary was very generous. Just before that, Liu Chengyou asked the Third Division to issue a national title The Articles on Position and Remuneration have clear and detailed provisions on the treatment enjoyed by all the lords and officials of the Han Dynasty.
Taking the Duke of the state as an example, in addition to status, honorary recognition, and a series of benefits such as clothing, rides, and exemption from military service, he can receive a salary of two thousand guan, a salary of 500 shi, a hundred pieces of silk, and brocade from the court every year. Fifty paragraphs, thirty servants' salary, these are just the standard salary. As for other gold and silverware, miscellaneous colors and rewards during festivals, they need to be given according to the actual situation, but they will never be too stingy. Compared with the Qianyou period, "Stingy", this time Emperor Liu and the court were already generous.
Of course, the most important thing is that the title can be hereditary. Even if it is downgraded after three generations, it can still be passed on to descendants. However, other honorary officers, rank officials, and office officials cannot. Moreover, those who hold the position without title can Enjoy double benefits, in addition to the title salary, there is also a professional salary, while other incumbents, no matter how many ranks they have added, can only receive one salary according to the highest grade. In addition, the government has one hundred hectares of land that is tax-free, and there are Opportunities for children and grandchildren to enter school and become official officials. Basically, all aspects were taken into consideration.
It can be said that Emperor Liu put a lot of effort into the nobility system and gave preferential treatment to the heroes of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, most of the people who got the nobility were still very satisfied, maybe some were reduced or others were reduced. Although there has been a decrease, the most real profit and loss has increased greatly.
Liu Chengyou made these reforms and adjustments really not to reduce the financial pressure on the court, because according to the number of new nobles and the increase in salary, there has been a considerable increase in expenditure compared with previous years. This is also what he had previously said to his brother-in-law Song Yan Ou mentioned the reasons for the court's finances.
After this operation, the Lordship system of the Han Dynasty was perfected. Even if it was unreasonable, it would only need to be adjusted appropriately in the future. At the same time, a noble group and ruling class to maintain the rule of the Han Dynasty were formally established. Since the Tang Dynasty, The problem of excessive lordships has been solved, and redundant officials and personnel have been initially curbed.
