Officials from the Ministry of Personnel, headed by Pei Shiqing, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, arrived one after another.
Seven or eight people are all senior officials in the Ministry of Personnel.
When everyone had arrived, Li Po put down the corrected memorial in his hand and said, "Are you all here? The Chinese New Year is coming soon. I see that everyone is doing well. It seems that this year will be a good one."
After listening to the emperor's opening remarks, the ministers all had smiles on their faces.
The sixth year of Yuanzhen is destined to be recorded in history. It can even be said to be the beginning of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.
Why is this year so important?
Victories in various wars were actually secondary in the eyes of these courtiers. What they saw was that the Tang Law had been revised to the second edition, which meant that the official system, laws, land ownership system, etc. of the Tang Dynasty had certain rules.
What's more, the internal wars have subsided for a few years, the people have been able to rest, and God has opened his eyes. The weather is good in all parts of the Tang Dynasty, the grain production is increasing every year, and the national strength is gradually increasing.
In addition, he has made more and more achievements in diplomacy, formed a strong alliance with his old enemies, destroyed the surrounding small countries, and all the remaining countries have sent envoys to the DPRK.
All walks of life in the Tang Dynasty also saw prosperity. The joining of outsiders also made the Tang Dynasty full of vitality. With the vitality, some signs of the coming prosperous age could already be seen.
All this, in the words of later generations, means that Datang was walking on the right path, and it gradually accelerated until it started running wildly.
This is the sixth year of Yuanzhen in the Tang Dynasty. The previous few years can be said to be the years when strategies were made to fight the chaos, but the sixth year of Yuanzhen can be regarded as a watershed year.
As the Tang Dynasty became more and more prosperous, officials became more and more dignified, because they were the most direct beneficiaries of the country's prosperity.
For example, the food, clothing, housing and transportation of officials had greatly improved compared to previous years. In the sixth year of Yuanzhen, because the emperor finally agreed to build palaces, officials could finally enjoy life with peace of mind.
Make your own house more comfortable, make the garden more tidy, and send people to buy some fields. Looking around, your family's life seems to be getting richer and more colorful day by day.
These can be seen in the current clothing of the Tang Dynasty. The nobles gradually showed signs of pursuing gorgeousness and grace in their clothing.
Of course, that's all. What makes most officials most comfortable is that the class of officials is very different from the previous dynasty.
Since the end of the Jin Dynasty, the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, Di and other tribes have been in chaos and have successively entered the Central Plains. They have very abruptly controlled the top position of the Central Plains aristocracy for more than 300 years.
There was a period of time when people with noble surnames were not allowed to be high-ranking officials. Those with noble surnames were all foreigners. In the words of the Han people, in the Central Plains at that time, tigers and wolves were rampant and led the beasts to eat people.
The Central Plains also entered the darkest period. The foreigners were murderous and fought back and forth, bringing a bloody storm to the Central Plains.
It was not until the pre-Sui period that this situation gradually came to an end. However, the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty were still affected by this, and the Xianbei aristocratic group loomed among them, competing for the ruling power of the Central Plains.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Xianbei nobles were still a force that could not be ignored, but it was absolutely impossible for them to imagine being superior to everyone like they did back then.
In other words, the guardrails that the Hu people built for themselves when the Five Hus were disrupting China no longer exist today.
The benefits were obvious. The Xianbei nobles who were violent, murderous, and changeable in temperament shrank their heads, so the Han style flourished. This was a very obvious phenomenon in the early Tang Dynasty.
There is no need to vigorously advocate the restoration of Han rituals like the former Sui Dynasty. With the decline of various Hu people's clans, everything will happen naturally.
Therefore, in the second half of the early Tang Dynasty, officials were actually very comfortable. The Mingjun was in office, the atmosphere in the court was very relaxed, the party and government were not fierce, and the struggle between the nobles and the imperial power was not seen, so most of the officials did not
The previous sense of precarious urgency was gone.
In the Tai Chi Hall, the ministers reported to the emperor their achievements this year in a very relaxed mood.
The elimination of redundant officials is still in progress. This matter is presided over by two ministers from the Ministry of Personnel. Most of the inspectors and prefects have shown support, and the process is going smoothly.
For this reason, Fang Xuanling has been out of Beijing several times, and he has submitted memorials one after another. In the end, he focused on the various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.
Originally, according to Li Po's intention, since ancient times, and even in the future, once we start to eliminate redundant officials and mediocre officials, we always start from the areas directly under the jurisdiction of the capital. This is the place where the central authority is strongest. It can get twice the result with half the effort, and it can be used as a pilot.
example.
At that time, Emperor Wen Yang Jian ordered Qu Tugai, the governor of the personal guard, to patrol Kansai. In one round, thousands of redundant personnel were eliminated, which shows that everyone thought so.
And the most important point is that the vicinity of the capital is where the nobles live, and it is most likely to be overstaffed.
But the situation is different now. The north has been devastated by war, and Kansai is no exception. On the contrary, Jiangnan has been less affected.
The Jiangnan family has always been intertwined. Even if there are people who have fled, when the war is over, the drama of Hu Hansan's return will be staged again.
For example, in the third year of Yuanzhen's reign, Xiao Mian was pacified. Soon after, the local government started to increase the number of official posts on the pretext of wiping out Xiao Mian's remnants and the bandits who caused trouble.
In one place, there were actually six county captains and hundreds of government officials, who all worked together to cause chaos.
Li Jing, who was in charge of Jiangyou at that time, was furious when he heard about this incident and ordered Yuchi Gong to conduct a strict investigation, which almost imprisoned all the county officials there.
These are actually the aftermath of the chaos in the late Sui Dynasty. Chaos and governance cannot be solved in one go.
It was Fang Xuanling and Yan Shigu who submitted a letter together to make Li Po change his mind. This year, more than 600 local officials were laid off, most of whom came from various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.
The total number of people laid off in the capital and Jingzhao Mansion was only over a hundred.
It can be said that since Fang Xuanling and Yan Shigu took office, their political achievements have been remarkable.
Especially Fang Xuanling, apart from being henpecked, he really has nothing to say in terms of talent. Even if it is such an offending matter to eliminate redundant officials, he can do it without leakage.
Fang Qiao is different from those strict and rigid ministers. He is very particular about skills and methods in doing things.
He walked around Jiangnan twice and made a rough visit. He did not act rashly. When he returned to the capital, he formulated a strategy and presented it to the emperor.
He did not stir up rebellion like Qu Tugai. In view of the stubbornness of local forces, eliminating officials would easily lead to local resistance.
Therefore, on the premise of obtaining the imperial edict, the county government was asked to submit the case, and the case was reported to the county, reviewed by county officials, and then reported to the Yamen again.
The Dao Yamen are subordinate to the Supervisory Envoy Yamen, which are jointly managed by the Supervisory Supervisory Temple and the Ministry of Punishment, and are different in nature from the Yamen of the Local Administrative Department.
This is the best time for the supervisor to exercise his power. During the review, officials are sent to the counties and counties for another inspection. If there are any mistakes, the county officials will be severely punished.
The disadvantages of such a process are obvious, that is, there are too many joints, which makes it easy for people to take advantage of loopholes. Moreover, each case is handled one by one, which delays the time, increases the difficulty of doing things, and consumes the energy of officials.
On the contrary, the advantage is that once the process is standardized, it can be carried out for a long time, instead of being continued intermittently until the disease is terminally ill and then treated with strong medicine.
Moreover, in this way, the authority of the inspectors was increased. The Ministry of Civil Affairs quickly reached a consensus with the Inspector Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and even the Dali Temple, and they no longer fought alone.
In fact, this is the style of work that officials should adhere to, starting with the system and carrying out reforms step by step, rather than having one or two wise kings or wise ministers appear, and then wantonly manipulating power to get things done, and then wait for changes.
For people, it is very likely that the individual will die and the government will cease to exist, and everything will remain as before.
In the Taiji Hall, Fang Xuanling and Yan Shigu talked in turn, and Li Po said with satisfaction: "The two Qing families have been affected this year. There are many articles of impeachment against you, most of which are local reports."
At this point, Li Po laughed, "This also shows that the two of you are sincere, so you have offended some people, making them unhappy and sleepless.
Don't worry about these things. I have heard it said a long time ago that the government governs the world and everything depends on personnel. If people are used well, the world will be at peace. If people are not used well, the country will be ruined and will perish sooner or later.
Therefore, the officials are the leaders of the six departments. You can do it boldly. My eyes are not blind and my ears are not deaf. Who is serving the country and the people, and who is hindering it, or whether it is a dead meal, I have it in my heart.
Calculate.
Well, let’s not talk about that. There are a lot of people expressing their merits this year, but they still have no time at the end of the year. Don’t complain, that is, this year, if it is still like this tomorrow, haha, I will be happy to see it."
The ministers all laughed again, and Fang Xuanling saw the opportunity and said: "I also hope that this can happen every year, so that the Tang Dynasty can be peaceful and the people are at peace, and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty can be restored."
Everyone agreed, and finally Pei Shiqing said with a smile, "It is also difficult to travel by sea and land in winter, otherwise the meritorious service would not have been delayed for so long."
Li Po nodded, "We can't talk about our achievements at the end of this year. We can wait until the weather gets warmer next year. We must settle matters before the army reorganizes and returns to Beijing to show victory.
The soldiers have been on the war for several years, and it is extremely difficult. Everything must be done leniently, and the soldiers' hearts must not be chilled.
I would like to say one more thing here: reward land and soil as much as possible. After more than ten or twenty years of war, our Tang Dynasty has no shortage of this. Let’s discuss with the Ministry of Revenue to see how to reward merit appropriately.”
Everyone smiled and nodded, and Yan Shigu said: "The soldiers who went to the highlands have returned to Liangzhou to station themselves, and are waiting for the imperial court to declare their merits and reward them.
Most of the officers and soldiers in the army there are Turks, Qiang people, and Tuyuhun people. We have discussed it several times with the various ministries and provinces, but no decision has been made. I wonder what your Majesty's thoughts are?"
Li Po patted the table easily and said, "Well, I've also taken a look at this matter. The proposal from the province is actually good. The generals are easy to talk about. I'll give you officers and honors. Needless to say.
The officers and soldiers who have made meritorious deeds ask the generals to consult and see what they want, and then they can make a targeted decision.
The situation there is special. Don't think about the reward from the imperial court. The people below will not dare to refuse. Please clarify and handle things properly. Both the east and west sides are people who have made contributions to the country. They cannot be easily divided based on the differences between Hu and Han.
.
We need to let everyone know that as long as you contribute to the Tang Dynasty, you will be serving the country. We will not do anything that is chilling."