The monarch and his ministers found a pavilion, and the palace servants immediately spread soft cushions on the stone benches, cooked tea and soup beside it and served it to them. They put on their clothes, stretched out their hands for food, and opened their mouths, enjoying themselves.
While drinking tea, Wen Yanbo looked at the beautiful spring scenery and beautiful scenery around him. The emperor looked very interested and thought that his majesty might write poetry again?
It just so happens that he is also immersed in official duties all day long and doesn't have much free time. Today, he went to the palace to accompany him on a trip. Wouldn't it be beautiful if he didn't come up with some articles and sentences to record his daily life?
It's a pity that Emperor Li Po never plays his cards according to common sense. He took a few sips of tea and said, "How are the discussions on the appointment of chief envoys going?"
The establishment of the post of chief envoy in Daozhong was naturally proposed by Li Po. He did not know which emperor was the first to create the chief envoy, but he knew that the chief envoy was a provincial governor and was also part of the centralization of power.
Before the Sui Dynasty, the local administrative level was a clear two-level system, prefectures, counties and counties. In some important places, there were governors or general managers. This was the prototype of a three-level system.
It's just that the governor-general and the general manager are often integrated with military and political affairs, with high positions and powerful positions, almost equal to those of princes.
Once something happens, these governors and general managers, even if they are favored by the emperor, will easily support their own troops, which is very unfavorable to centralized rule.
During the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty, this flaw became very obvious. Li Po himself served as the governor of Yunnei, the general manager of Daizhou March, and the general manager of Bingzhou.
Wang Shichong, Luo Yi, Xue Ju, Liang Shidu, Li Gui, and even Xiao Xian, Du Fuwei and others almost all held such positions, and they all also participated in the melee at the end of the Sui Dynasty.
After the Tang Dynasty put down the war, in order to quell the local chaos as soon as possible, it followed this system and set up a number of general managers to take charge of local military and government affairs. Li Po's father-in-law and teacher Li Jing even worked in Jiangsu Province.
The right serves as the governor.
Li Jing is also the only great governor in the Tang Dynasty. He has more power and responsibility than the general manager. He has the power to appoint civil and military officials below the fifth rank and embezzle local wealth at will, which is almost equivalent to the previous Xingtai Shangshu Order.
It's just that those were temporary measures at the beginning of the founding of the country in order to cope with the current situation, and they were changed after two or three years.
By the eighth year of Yuanzhen, Li Jing's governor's office had been abolished, and there were only four general managers in charge of the various departments: Yu Wenxin, the general manager of Youzhou, Xue Wanjun, the general manager of Lingzhou, Wang Qing, the general manager of Bingzhou, and Qu Tutong, the general manager of Daizhou Marching.
They are all located on the northern border to guard against the Turks, and the general managers in other places have been abolished.
Between the sixth year of Yuanzhen and the seventh year of Yuanzhen, the imperial court quickly disbanded most of the general offices, and these plans first started in the fourth year of Yuanzhen.
At that time, the world was settled, and Li Po immediately ordered people to set up roads in the world, which was a preparation to relieve the warlords' separatist power. In this way, the local administrative hierarchy became a standard three-level system.
In fact, this was a strategy implemented in view of the fact that the two-level system of prefectures and counties was too loose and was not conducive to the overall management of the court.
Now that the situation has stabilized and the imperial tax revenue has increased significantly, it seems that there are only inspectors in the road, which is a bit weak. Especially in the previous local examinations, the inspection officers’ Yamen did not do very well. It is obvious that there are
Signs of scrambling.
It is easy for county officials to take advantage of loopholes, and it also allows inspections to bring shame to the yamen officials, because they are responsible for disciplinary supervision. Every time there is fraud in the examination room, the response is slightly slower.
It's like a slap in the face.
In the past, the Chaozhong Temple also complained about this, but the powers and responsibilities of the Temple were greatly expanded, and not many censors were willing to make a fuss about it.
It is precisely for these reasons that this year Li Po felt that it was time to set up a serious provincial chief executive in Daozhong, so the position of chief envoy came to mind.
He didn't know the ins and outs of the position of chief envoy, but he would never set up any military governor to replace the general governor to govern the place. That would be as meaningless as discussing whether to use an orangutan or a macaque to be Sun Wukong.
In Li Po's view, at this time, the Wei Mansion and the Ministry of War were used to command various Zhechong Mansion and suppress the army. A relatively complete Wei Man military system had been formed from recruitment, training, mobilization into an army, and then to the replenishment of military supplies.
.
There was no need to have a government office similar to the General Administration Office that could manage both the military and the people unless necessary. The separation of military and political affairs had always been the governing strategy that Li Po adhered to.
In fact, there is still a position in the court such as Shangshu Ling that can coordinate the overall situation, which is also contrary to this strategy. It is just to reward the ministers for their merits, but it can only be done as a last resort.
To put it bluntly, when Wen Yanbo and others grow old, there will be no need for the Shangshu Province to exist. There will even be no officials of second rank or above in the court. Unless they are relatives of the emperor, their posts will be empty at best.
Just a title.
These are all policies to concentrate power in the hands of the emperor. Li Po is firmly implementing it and constantly strengthening the foundation of imperial power.
It can be seen from this that he has a clear understanding of imperial power and has made unremitting efforts to this end without any thoughts of returning power to the people.
The Chief Envoy Office planned to be set up in Daozhong this time was equivalent to the later provincial governor, and its responsibilities were also very clear. It was to handle local government affairs, finance and taxation, and be directly responsible to the court.
The chief envoy became the local chief of civil affairs and finance, and the supervisory envoy's disciplinary supervision and criminal handling functions restricted each other, and the three-level local administrative agencies were improved at once.
This solved the problem of delays and low administrative efficiency caused by the previous supervisory officials who wanted to take control but were unable to overstep their authority and could only report to the Central Committee.
At the same time, there were more than 30 additional positions for the top local chief executives, and the establishment of the Chief Envoy Office, which in turn created at least hundreds of additional administrative positions at all levels.
The creation of so many official positions out of thin air can be said to be a very big change for the bureaucracy of the Tang Dynasty. We have just cut down a lot of redundant officials, but we can see that the bureaucracy has become bloated again.
If Fang Xuanling and others heard this news, they would probably have mixed feelings in their hearts and not know what to say.
But for most officials, it is a great thing, and not just one or two people will benefit. Once word of this spreads, it will definitely be supported by many people.
For the imperial court, one of the biggest benefits is to reward meritorious officials. Nothing can satisfy the appetite of meritorious officials more than a real official position.
If it had been implemented a few years ago, and the general managers in various places were transferred to the post of chief envoys on the spot, the imperial court would not have such a headache, recalling the general managers to the capital to perform any duties.
Because there are only so many positions for senior officials in the capital, and there are really not many that match the general manager...