"This is a good suggestion." Gao Shilian, the servant, nodded with great appreciation. He told Li Shimin, "At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were only 13 states in the world, with more than 100 counties under their jurisdiction. By the time Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty pacified the south of the Yangtze River, there were 241 states and 680 counties in the world.
, 1524 counties, one county only governs one to three counties..."
Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty abolished all counties in the world and changed the three-level system of prefectures, counties and prefectures that had been in operation for hundreds of years into a two-level system of prefectures and counties. When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ascended the throne, he merged some provinces with the provinces, and then changed the prefectures to counties, leaving 190 counties in the world.
, with jurisdiction over more than 1,255 counties.
Because the central government could not directly govern nearly 200 counties, it followed the example of the Han Dynasty and established supervisory prefectures to supervise the censors and local counties.
"The biggest drawback caused by too many local states and counties is the huge local bureaucracy, which increases the burden on the court and the people."
Li Yuan originally established a large number of new prefectures and counties in order to recruit surrender and appease, and to unite and win over officials from all over the country. He was powerful and established more prefectures and counties, so there were more official positions. This move was indeed more useful at the beginning of the founding of the country.
But now that China is unified, the situation is different.
There are now more than 400 states and more than 1,500 counties in the Tang Dynasty. The administrative divisions have become confusing. Many states only govern two or three counties, and a large number of states have the same name.
Not only did it bring about a huge local bureaucracy, but it was also difficult for the central government to directly govern more than 400 states. There was a huge disconnect between the imperial court and local governments.
It is difficult to effectively control directly.
In the early years, the imperial court had the Xingtai Shangshu Province, which was an agency of the Shangshu Province and directly administered more than a dozen or even dozens of states. But now all the Xingtai have been abolished.
Nowadays, many governor's offices in various places have begun to take over some of the original functions. However, for the imperial court, the governor's office manages both civil and military affairs. If this continues, the functions are too big and there is a risk of losing control, which is absolutely unacceptable.
In fact, Li Shimin had already been discussing with his confidants how to abolish some of the governor's offices, and even changed the original large, middle and lower governor's offices into upper, middle and lower governor's offices, abolished the large governor's offices, and even reduced some of the powers of the governor's office.
However, if the governor's offices are dismissed in large numbers, or even the powers of the governor's office are reduced, then there will be a missing link between the central court and the local states. The Shangshu Province will undoubtedly be unable to manage more than 400 states directly.
The office platform can no longer be set up, and the power of the governor's office must also be reduced.
Wu Huaiyu's suggestion of setting up ten realms under heaven and sending censors to supervise them seemed to be a good suggestion. After all, in the Han Dynasty, supervisory prefectures were set up with governors to supervise. In the Sui Dynasty, emperor Yang also established supervisory prefectures and sent governors to supervise local areas.
Huaiyu's Ten Ways of the World are actually not much different from Jiuzhou and Thirteen Prefectures. It's just that because prefectures and counties are now implemented as two-level prefectures, they are no longer called states but Dao.
But this road is not a first-level formal administrative division, but a supervisory road, which is completely different from the third level of counties and counties in Suizhou.
Supervisory officials at the Dao level are just supervisory officials sent by the central government to inspect, supervise local officials, customs, etc., and have no administrative power.
“I suggest that the Gyeonggi Province should be used as a pilot project first, and the prefectures and counties of Yongju Prefecture in Gyeonggi Province should be merged into one state and eighteen counties. After accumulating experience, the entire Gannai Road can be piloted and continued to be merged. At the same time, officials should be sent to monitor the Gwannai Road...
····”
Wu Huaiyu's proposal was more cautious. It was not to be rolled out across the country. It would start with Yongzhou in Gyeonggi Province, then Guannai Road, then Longyou, and then Henan, Hedong, Shannan and other roads.
On the one hand, provinces, prefectures and counties were merged, while on the other hand, officials were abolished and relocated.
Fang Xuanling praised "A mature man's words for planning a country."
Li Shimin was also surprised. Wu Huaiyu's suggestion was really timely and insightful.
"In the first year of Wude, the imperial court established Shimen in Yongzhou, Shimen in the third year, and Quanzhou in Wenxiu. Later, Wenxiu was renamed Yunyang, Chiyang, and Sanyuan." Du Ruhui also felt that the changes were indeed frequent, and the state was
The area under the jurisdiction of the county has a small population.
"Then abolish Beiquanzhou, Shimen, Wenxiu, Chiyang, and Sanyuan and merge them into one county. The county will be renamed Sanyuan and promoted to Ji County. The county magistrate will be the sixth grade."
In the early Tang Dynasty, the county was divided into five equal parts: Jing, Ji, upper, middle and lower, with different grades. The county magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian were the fifth grade, while the lower county magistrates were from the seventh grade. There was a big difference.
Li Shimin looked at Wu Huaiyu for a long time.
Suddenly a thought came to me, "Are you willing to be the magistrate of Miyuan County?"
Wu Huaiyu was stunned. He was now the commander of the fifth-level army in the suburbs of the prince's brigade. He wanted to be the sixth-level county magistrate?
The more one becomes an official, the smaller one becomes?
However, now he is only a court minister in the seventh rank, and he is going to be the magistrate of Ji County in the sixth rank. It is true that the Shangguan is not getting smaller as he becomes. This is the same as Xu Jingzong being demoted from Tongshiren to Xunyang
The county magistrate is different.
Gyeonggi County Magistrates are not comparable to ordinary county magistrates.
"Your Majesty, my family is in Sanyuan County. Going to Sanyuan to serve as county magistrate does not comply with the rules of avoidance of officials serving in other places." Wu Huaiyu thought for a while and replied.
There are also many avoidance systems when appointing officials in the imperial court. For example, under normal circumstances, you are not allowed to be an official in the local area, you have to avoid your native place, and your relatives must also avoid it. You are not allowed to serve in the same place or in the same government office. If so, those with junior positions will be avoided, and those who arrive later will be avoided.
Avoid, avoid and transfer to another job.
"Your family is originally from Wenshui, Bingzhou, not Sanyuan." Li Shimin said this. He proposed that Wu Huaiyu be the magistrate of Sanyuan County. He really did not want to demote him, but to value him. Wu Huaiyu was young, capable, and even very knowledgeable.
This seemed very valuable to him.
But he is relatively young, and sometimes he is a bit frivolous.
Li Shimin thought about letting him go to Sanyuan to be the county magistrate. He could calm down and do a few practical things down below and make some practical achievements. The road would naturally be broader in the future. Although he was now the leader of the third-level army, his errands were still at the North Gate.
lead the praetorian guard,
Just regard this kind of job as a qualification, and it would be better if you have the opportunity to practice.
But Wu Huaiyu didn't appreciate it.
Rotten wood cannot be carved. Li Shimin was a little disappointed.
Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling both shook their heads silently.
"I recommend my grandfather to be the magistrate of Sanyuan County." Who knows, the next moment Wu Huaiyu shamelessly recommended his father to be the magistrate of Sanyuan County.
Samurai Ke is currently the official of the Seventh Grade Shenji Workshop.
Wu Huaiyu really thought about his father and wanted his father to upgrade to four levels in a row.
Li Shimin couldn't help but laugh angrily.
Fang Du and others also laughed together, while Ma Zhou, the purple-robed man who had not spoken a word, lowered his head in embarrassment.
"Your Majesty, although I, Aye, am sixty-one years old and have been in the military before, I have a rich life experience, come from a lower class background, understand people's livelihood and the sufferings of the people, and act with dignity. I was also very prestigious in Longqiao Fort before.
, deeply convinced by the people,
Previously, he also led the young people of Sanyuan to organize a township regiment to resist Turkic plunder.
He has been in Sanyuan for ten years, and he knows this place thoroughly. Moreover, there are many Yuan Cong Imperial Army soldiers who have settled down in Sanyuan County. He is also a member of the Yuan Cong Imperial Army. As a county magistrate, he is very suitable in all aspects. He also recommends talents and does not avoid relatives.
!”
Fang Xuanling said from the side, "Your Majesty, General Wu did a good job in recommending Samurai Ke as the commander of Shenjifang."
Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this was also the case.
Except for being older, he seemed to be more suitable to be the county magistrate than Wu Huaiyu in every aspect, but Li Shimin originally wanted to train Wu Huaiyu through training.
"Ma Zhou, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, this matter involves my relatives, I should avoid it."
Li Shimin thought about it for a while, but finally rejected Wu Huaiyu's suggestion of not avoiding relatives. The superficial reason was that the Shenjifang Agency had just begun, and it was still inseparable from the warriors' compliance with the agency's order.
"You recommend another one, not only for relatives, but also for virtuous people." Li Shimin said, "The key is to be talented and good at doing things that are common and pragmatic."
Wu Huaiyu thought for a while, but he remembered someone.
"I recommend Zhang Xingcheng as the chief administrator of Fuping County."
Fang Xuanling was a little surprised when he heard the name and looked at Wu Huaiyu, "Does General Wu know this person?"
"I met him not long ago. He had finished his term as the director of Fuping County and was running for election in Beijing. His family was poor and he borrowed debt from Beijing. He couldn't repay the money when it was due and was forced to pay the debt. He was very embarrassed. I happened to meet him and later borrowed money from him.
After paying off the debt first, he invited me to his home to sit for a while, chatted with him, and found that he was very talented."
Fang Xuanling said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, Zhang Xingcheng is a disciple of Liu Xuan, a famous scholar in Hejian. During the Daye period, he became an official with Chaju and was awarded the title of Taisan Congyuanwailang. After the death of Sui Dynasty, he served Wang Shichong and served as his minister.
.
In the fourth year of Wude, the Tang Dynasty destroyed Wang Shichong. Zhang Xingcheng returned to the Tang Dynasty and was appointed as the captain of Gushu County. He was responsible for accounting in Beijing instead of the county planner. During this period, he also participated in the imperial examination, passed the Jinshi examination and was appointed as the captain of Chencang County.
In the seventh year, Zhang Rui, the Minister of Civil Affairs, recommended him and appointed Fu Ping as Chief Registrar. Calculating the time, he should have just finished his term."
Li Shimin listened and asked, "What is this person's ability?"
"This man once studied under a famous scholar, and his ancestor was Zhang Cang, the prime minister of the Western Han Dynasty. His family was in decline, but he was an upright man and enforced the law strictly. I heard that he was in local office, not afraid of the powerful, talented, learned and capable."
Being an official in the Sui Dynasty showed that he was from a poor family. It was not easy to become a Yuanwailang in the Sui Dynasty. Wang Shichong also granted him the title of Duzhi Shangshu, which shows that he was very capable. After all, it was one of the six ministers.
Although after returning to the Tang Dynasty, he only served as county captain and chief clerk, but during his time in Beijing, he could pass the Jinshi exam and be recommended by the Minister of Civil Affairs. This person must be good in all aspects.
It's just that I didn't know that I was reduced to borrowing debt from Beijing and not being able to pay back the debt.
However, Li Shimin liked this kind of poor official very much, which showed that this kind of official came from a humble background and was not corrupt.
"Tomorrow I will summon Zhang Xingcheng to see my counterpart. I will personally test his abilities. If he is really talented, he will be the magistrate of Sanyuan County."
The three Tang Dynasty official positions held by Zhang Xingcheng, Gushu County Lieutenant, Chencang County Lieutenant, and Fuping Chief Secretary, were all Congjiupin and Zhima minor officials.
But it is probably due to the influence of Wang Shichong, who once served as the branch minister.
And now, the post of Magistrate of Sanyuanji County, who is in the sixth rank, is already beckoning to him, all because of Wu Huaiyu's words.
"Wu Huaiyu, it's up to you to inform him personally."
The emperor also specially gave Wu Huaiyu a chance to win a favor and asked Zhang Xingcheng to remember his favor.
"If this person is incompetent, I will also hold you accountable for improper recommendation."
The proceedings are over.
Li Shimin was about to stand up and leave, but Wu Huaiyu said, "Your Majesty, I have some auspicious gifts to offer today."
"Xiangrui?" Li Shimin looked at him doubtfully. "What is it?"
"corn!"
When Li Shimin heard the name, he became even more confused. Jade and rice were connected together. What kind of thing is it? It is the same as rice, but it can form jade?
"Your Majesty, this corn is temporarily stored at the palace gate. Your Majesty, please allow me to fetch it."
"What kind of corn is this that can be called auspicious?" Li Shimin couldn't help but be curious, but warned Wu Huaiyu not to use those false things to deceive him.
"Your Majesty, corn is a kind of crop. It grows very tall stalks like sorghum, and corn cobs can be grown on the stalks. When dried in the sun, one corn cob can remove two to three taels of corn kernels. The yield per mu is slightly higher than that of rice, wheat, and millet.
Although there is not much difference in plain areas, corn is drought-tolerant and even slightly salt-alkali tolerant, and can be planted all over the world. It is especially suitable in mountainous areas and can be planted in spring and autumn.
Corn can be eaten fresh, harvested, dried and stored when mature, and can be ground into flour and used as grain..."
The more Li Shimin listened, the more surprised he became. In the end, he couldn't help but stand up. It is drought-tolerant and even slightly tolerant to salt-alkali. It can be grown in both northern and southern climates, as well as in the mountains and plains. The yield is quite high. Isn't it the same as wheat and rice?
In terms of yield, it also has the advantages of drought tolerance of millet millet?
"Hurry and get this corn, I want to take a good look at it!"
Having just repelled the Turkic invasion, the price of food in Chang'an has begun to fall. The imperial court is also stepping up its efforts to mobilize food from various places to Beijing. However, it is foreseeable that during the lean period next year, there will still be a large food gap, and there will definitely be a famine.
Food is the most important thing for the people, and food is now a matter of great concern to the emperor and his ministers.
