“Your Majesty’s foresight is far beyond the past and present…
The ministers and ministers have discussed the matter of adding an additional envoy, and they all believe that this is a great good policy, and it is at the right time. In this way, the accumulated disadvantages of the past dynasties can be eliminated, and the pioneer of civilized governance..."
Li Po was so excited that he fainted. Looking at Wen Yanbo who was a little excited, Li Po didn't know whether what he said was true or false.
Civil servants always like to exaggerate, but Wen Daya rarely speaks in a tone that is not surprising. Even if he is flattering, he should be somewhat sincere.
Li Po chuckled lightly, took a sip of the tea soup, and said smoothly: "Is this what you guys have discussed? I'm blushing a little."
Wen Yanbo's old face turned red. He really rarely flattered the emperor. Today he did, and he was very unhappy. It seemed that he still lacked practice.
So he said sincerely: "I am not exaggerating. When Xiao Shiwen talked about it, he compared your majesty with the wise kings of ancient times and said that your majesty is much better."
You're not done yet, it sounds quite comfortable. Li Po laughed and said, "There is no wine here, otherwise your words can influence the wine?"
Both the flatterer and the one being slapped laughed, and they cooperated tacitly (shamelessly) and enjoyed themselves happily.
However, it can be seen from these few sentences that the ministers all understand the significance of establishing the Chief Envoy Office. In fact, this matter is not difficult for them to understand.
Since the Tang Dynasty established various tracts, it has been a general trend to expand the administrative authority of counties and counties upwards.
This is the meaning of centralization, to centralize power and challenge the separatism that has plagued previous dynasties. Although the final outcome is the same, it cannot stop those who hold power from making various efforts and attempts.
…………
"Your Majesty, after deliberation, I feel that the position of the chief envoy should be set to the fourth rank, the chief envoy should be the left official, the supervisory envoy, and the prefect of each county should be transferred to the fourth rank official position. Your Majesty, do you think this is good?"
Li Po nodded, and Wen Yanbo directly skipped the process of whether or not he should appoint a chief envoy, indicating that his ministers had reached a consensus on this matter.
As for the rank of the chief envoy, in the past, the prefects of each county held the fourth-rank official position. If they were transferred to the capital, they were usually transferred at the same level, that is, the minister of the Six Ministries, the left official of the nine temples, or some fourth-rank positions in the province.
Of.
There are so many prefectures and the number of official positions in the imperial court is limited. Therefore, if you reach the level of prefecture governor and want to be promoted, if you don't make great achievements, your official career will actually be over.
Many people in the position of prefect can only be transferred from the lower county to the upper county. This is already very rare. Most of the prefects end their lives with the official rank of fourth grade, and there is no hope of promotion.
Now that there is a chief envoy, the prefect of the county has been reduced by half a level. In fact, there has not been much change in power, except that he can no longer communicate directly with the court and is responsible to the chief envoy to the superior official.
For the prefects of various counties, the situation is not good, but it cannot be said to be that bad.
The more than thirty chief envoys can be easily arranged by the court if they are promoted. It seems that the court has increased the number of officials, but in the long run, the expansion of the bureaucracy may be effectively controlled.
The official system has been like this since ancient times. It is necessary to give most officials something to look forward to and leave room for their promotion. In other words, there must be a road ahead.
Otherwise, once the road ahead is cut off, many people will insist on occupying the existing position and let you get by in the position, which is what people often call salary thieves in the future.
Officials at that time also liked to travel in the mountains, play in the water, or invite famous prostitutes to accompany them, and gather friends to travel together. This was regarded as a refined thing by the people of the time. When they lay down, they did so in a variety of ways, compared with those who later
Guys who spend their boring days drinking tea and reading newspapers are much more exciting.
If that doesn't work, I can still live in seclusion with you. Wherever I go, after I earn enough to clear my name in a few years, I might be able to live in another village.
Therefore, the construction of the bureaucracy needs to ensure the vitality and fluidity of the officialdom, increase competition among officials, and at the same time formulate a strict reward and punishment mechanism to whip and urge them all the time.
Officials herd people, and bureaucracies herd officials.
To put it more vividly, the emperor and the clan are the shepherds, the supervisory officials are the whips in the hands of the shepherds, the officials are the head sheep, the officials are the sheepdogs, and the common people are ordinary sheep. The layers are clearly defined. This is the governing body.
The true meaning of.
…………
Li Po stood up and walked out of the pavilion. Wen Yanbo beat his old leg a few times and could only follow step by step.
Wandering on the forest path, Li Po said: "The prefects have been demoted, won't they complain?"
Wen Yanbo said: "If I were a prefect, I might only be concerned about having more officials above my head. I would no longer be able to dominate in the future, and matters of rank would come second."
Moreover, the supervisory envoy has been established for more than three years, and county and county officials have gradually become accustomed to it. Setting up another chief envoy will only provide more control and should not cause any hindrance."
Li Po agreed, "It seems that you have thought it through very carefully. Let's just decide on the grade. As before, we will choose a place to try it out first to see if there is any improvement. Where do you think it is suitable?"
Wen Yanbo: "I have this intention. What do you think of the South Road of Shanxi?"
As Li Po said, this is an old rule. Ever since the imperial court set up the Zhechong Mansion, this process has been in place. Later, when inspectors were set up in the middle of the road, they were also tried out from Jiangyou, where Li Jing was in charge.
Nowadays, the establishment of a chief envoy can be regarded as a major reform of the bureaucracy. Finding a place to try it out is the proper meaning of the title.
Li Po agreed without hesitation. Jin was where he started, the bureaucracy was more complete and reliable than Jingzhao, and most of the officials there could withstand the test.
"But, let's choose Shanxi South Road, Changping, and be more careful on the Shangdang side.
Since we all agree, let’s try it out as soon as possible. I think we can get this done before next year’s autumn harvest. Do you think it’s too late?”
Wen Yanbo did not ask why the deadline was set before next autumn, because it was obvious that Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places would collect taxes next year.
Matters of wealth and wealth are within the authority of the Chief Envoy, so at least in Henan, Hebei, and Shandong provinces, the Chief Envoy's Office will be in place by then.
It's just that the matter is like this, but Wen Yanbo still shook his head and persuaded: "I feel a little anxious. The new government office needs to select talents and be familiar with government affairs. It is not something that can happen overnight. I thought that the trial would be at least two years, and it would be possible after one year.
Yamen were built in various provinces one after another, and it took three years to complete the matter.
Your Majesty's administration has always been in an orderly manner, so why should you be hasty in this matter?"
Li Po frowned, pondered for a moment and said, "That's fine, let's do it for three years, and then just report it to me for approval."
Wen Yanbo happily agreed, and Li Po unexpectedly asked: "Then please recommend a chief envoy, and let me see what your vision is."
Wen Yanbo raised his head and looked at the emperor's face, and said to himself, well, it is still like this. If you are not happy, then you are not happy. You are always planning to settle accounts after the fall, so why bother.
So he also showed a rare cunning expression and said: "It seems that Your Majesty already has a talented person in mind, so I won't say any more."
Li Po couldn't help but laugh at what he said, "How can you, such a gentle and elegant person, be so glib?"
Wen Yanbo was not happy anymore, so he blocked the emperor and said, "My words come from my true heart. How can your majesty treat me with frivolity?"
Li Po snorted, "I admire you for being able to tell me jokes seriously."
There was a smile on Wen Yanbo's face. His Majesty was almost forty, and he was still as angry as when he was young.
The desire for revenge is hard to contain at the same time. He wants to take advantage of you verbally, and he will settle accounts with you later. Hum, Wen Daya has been using these tricks for many years, what can he do to me?
After becoming a minister, one person is subordinate to ten thousand people, and he is in a position of supreme minister. I am indeed much more confident than before.
Li Po treated him differently than others. He always complained and did not have "general knowledge" with him. Wen Daya's name was never entered in his small account book, which was really unusual.
…………
"I don't know who your Majesty has in mind. Maybe you can let me know more about it?"
Li Po stopped teasing his subordinates, "Since you have said so, what do you think of Fang Qiao, the Minister of Civil Service?"
Wen Yanbo pondered for a moment, then smiled and said: "This person has good moral character, so he is suitable... It seems that His Majesty has high hopes for Fang Qiao."
Although Fang Xuanling was only a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and could hardly enter the ranks of high-ranking officials in the imperial court, it was obvious over the years that he had great potential and had become a prime minister and assistant.
It's just that Fang Xuanling has been serving in the court, and his shortcomings are very obvious. He does not have the qualifications to hold a local position or join the army. Without this, it will be difficult to compete with others at critical moments.
Now that he has been serving as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for more than two years, the emperor personally wants him to be released to other posts. His trustworthiness is obvious. Even if such a person is more stupid, his future is not comparable to that of ordinary officials.
What's more, can Fang Xuanling be a stupid person?
In the words of some later scholars, Fang Xuanling was simply in the emperor's heart. Even if he could not become prime minister in the future, he would definitely be among the emperor's closest ministers.
There was nothing else. Wen Yanbo was actually a little surprised as to which of Fang Xuanling's strengths the emperor liked so much that he favored him so much and personally took care of his career.
In the past, this kind of thing would only happen to Yuen Long, Luo Shixin and others. Who were those people? Either they had been with the emperor since childhood, or they were the emperor's sworn brothers.
Other people could not receive such treatment from the emperor. For example, he, Wen Yanbo, had worked hard to get to where he is today. How could Fang Qiao and Li Yuan be reduced to one another? How could he be compared with them?
Even with his tolerance, he could not help but feel a little jealous at this time.
Li Po would not explain much. Although Fang Xuanling had no military exploits and was not a minister of Conglong, he was famous and he remembered it clearly.
After using it, it is indeed very easy to use, and it is worthy of the title of a famous official in the early Tang Dynasty. It is necessary to cultivate it deliberately so that it can take over the government in the future, so as not to worry about having no successors when everyone gets old.
Changsun Wuji is very crotchless, otherwise he would be treated like this. How could Li Po remember so many people?