Tang Dezong fled to Hanzhong in embarrassment and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Xingyuan, with the intention of revitalizing the country.
As a result, Hanzhong became Xingyuan Prefecture.
Zhang Gen arrived all the way and found that Hanzhong had not suffered any damage, but instead had a very strange state of stability.
When I enter the city now, the people on the streets are also very happy, and they are not as sad as they were in the past two years.
Zhang Gen knows the reason. The exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes that urban residents need to pay have been cut in half after all calculations.
It’s not that Zhu Guoxiang’s harvest was too low, but that Song Huizong’s harvest was too heavy!
Shen Yourong opened the curtain to look around, and said to Mrs. Yan, "Mom, this is Xingyuan Mansion. It is really prosperous and lively."
"It's lively." Mrs. Yan smiled from ear to ear.
The two of them are now not mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but foster mother and daughter. Bai Qi has also become Zhu Guoxiang's adopted son and stepson.
When the Zhu family and his son started the army, Grandma Yan was frightened out of her wits. After some time, she gradually got used to it, and now she even enjoys this status.
She couldn't help but suddenly started to believe in Buddhism. She chanted sutras and prayed for blessings every morning and evening, praying to Bodhisattvas to bless Ju Ming and win the battle.
The carriage was quite big, and Wen Xiaomei, An Niang, Zhang Jinping, and Zheng Yuanyi were also in the carriage.
Both Wen Xiaomei and Zhang Jinping have complicated emotions, but An Niang and Zheng Yuanyi are the purest. Sometimes, the wider the horizons and the more thoughts, the more troubled they become.
The Lizhou Road Transfer Office is still grand, but now it is Zhu Guoxiang's residence, and the number of servants has been significantly reduced.
The female family members were arranged to live in the back house, and Mrs. Yan, Zhang Jinping, and Zheng Yuanyi lived in the same courtyard.
"This place is much better than Daming Village." Mrs. Yan said with a smile.
Zheng Yuanyi supported the old lady: "I will go shopping with the old lady."
"Okay, okay!" Mrs. Yan was so happy that she couldn't open her mouth from ear to ear.
Zhang Jinping was calm and composed in front of her parents, but in private she was worried. She always dreamed of Ju Ming wearing armor and covered in blood, and then she woke up from her dream sweating profusely.
Accompanying Shen Yourong to visit Zhu Guoxiang, Zhang Jinping finished his greetings and couldn't help but ask: "Sir, is there any news about Dalang?"
Zhu Guoxiang said: "I received a battle report two days ago that Dalang has captured Sanquan County."
"As long as nothing happens," Zhang Jinping took out two letters and said, "These are family letters from my daughter-in-law and sister Yuan Yi. Please send them to Da Lang along with the official documents."
"Okay." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.
After chatting for a few more words, Zhang Jinping stood up and left.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "As for the family members of Hanzhong officials, you can keep in touch with Yourong. You can also invite the female family members to go on an autumn outing. You are from a wealthy family and are well-informed. You should always help Yourong more."
"Yes, my daughter-in-law is resigning!" Zhang Jinping bowed and left.
Only the husband and wife were left in the room. Shen Yourong's expression suddenly changed and he asked with a reproachful tone: "We agreed to let Qier do a civil service job. Why did you let him lead the troops in the war?"
Shen Yourong rarely got angry. Everything went according to her husband's will. Today was the first time she got angry since they got married.
Zhu Guoxiang could only comfort him: "He has his own ideas and cannot be persuaded. It would be better if he has more experience."
Shen Yourong was not very good at quarreling, so he just sat there and sulked, not giving her husband a good look.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "I have written a letter and asked Dalang to take care of him as much as possible. He is just a civilian in the army. There is no danger."
After hearing this, Shen Yourong's anger subsided, but he still remained silent.
Zhu Guoxiang felt awkward all over, and after a few words of comfort, he excused himself to attend to official duties and left.
Zhang Gen and other scholars were summoned, and when they arrived at the lobby, they found that there were quite a lot of people there.
There were officials from Lizhou Road such as Xu Fuyan, Liu Yao, Liu Huiyuan and Fu Xingzhong, as well as local scholars from Xingyuan Prefecture and Lizhou.
"I've met Mr. Zhu!"
Those who saluted collectively were scholars from all walks of life, out of respect for Zhu Guoxiang.
Other officials did not show any good face.
Zhu Guoxiang bowed and said: "I have little talent and knowledge, and I am not good at governing the people. Although I invite you to come and observe the government, I am actually afraid that I have done something wrong. I hope that you gentlemen can correct me."
"I dare not take it seriously. How can we, the defeated army, find fault with Duke Yuan Zhang?" Xu Fuyan said angrily.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "If you are traveling among three people, you will definitely have my teacher. Please feel free to teach me."
Zhang Gen was thinking along the way that he would be scolded and asked why Zhu Guoxiang rebelled. Now that he had actually seen him, he had no desire to speak. It was a done deal. No matter how many questions he asked, it would be in vain.
After thinking about it, Zhang Gen only asked: "Can Guanzheng really leave in March?"
Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said: "When the time comes, I'll do whatever you want."
"Okay." Zhang Gen decided to wait for three months and then run away.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "In the past month, all the government decrees that have been issued have been copied. You can familiarize yourself with them first, and then decide which yamen you want to watch. Today we are discussing the issue of restructuring. I hope you can speak freely."
A subordinate officer took out the blackboard and wrote on it with chalk.
Lizhou Road was cancelled, and Jinzhou was merged into Xingyuan Prefecture, and Xingyuan Prefecture was renamed Hanzhong Prefecture.
Everyone felt that this was an unnecessary move, and that it was just a matter of changing the route into a prefecture. From the previous level of the state capital, it became the state and the subordinate level of the prefecture.
Zhu Guoxiang suddenly said: "If we occupy the Sichuan Gorge 4th Road, we will establish Sichuan Province. The province will have three chief officials in charge of civilian, military, and criminal justice. What do you think?"
Zhang Gen suddenly became energetic. This was an additional level of administrative unit.
Originally: Central - Road - Fuzhou Military Supervision - County.
Now it is: central government - province - prefecture - prefecture and county.
This is the result of discussions between father and son. To put it bluntly, the system of the Ming Dynasty is brought over, and local administration is more detailed and vertical.
In fact, there was a first-level invisible unit in the Ming Dynasty, namely: Dao!
Affiliated to the Chief Secretary is the Fenshou Dao, and subordinate to the Ancha Division is the Fenxundao. There are also the Military Preparation Dao that specializes in fighting, the Tixue Dao that specializes in examinations, the Qing Military Dao that specializes in military reorganization, etc. One Dao , often manages multiple state capitals.
Chen Dong asked: "In other words, in the future, the government will be equivalent to the road, and the imperial court will only be responsible for the province?"
Zhu Guoxiang nodded: "If there is no Sichuan Province, the four roads of Sichuan Gorge will be scattered and easily captured by the rebels."
Zhang Gen strongly agreed with this statement.
The four Chuanxia Roads are said to be a whole, but in fact they are all working independently.
Huang Gai, as the transfer envoy of Chengdu Prefecture, also served as the transportation envoy of Sichuan. When the war actually started, he could only mobilize the soldiers and horses of Chengdu Prefecture. The other three routes did not need to obey his orders and had to be temporarily dispatched by the imperial court.
A brief appeasement envoy and the like.
Moreover, it would be difficult for the economic and strategic pacification envoy to actually manage the various departments under his command without the power to open the government.
The approach of the Song Dynasty made it easier for the court to collect taxes and directly manage local areas. The price was that the country was fragmented, officials worked on their own, and it was a mess when it came to war.
Zhu Guoxiang also said: "The official system of the Song Dynasty was too complicated. From now on, it will only be based on dispatch. Officials and positions will be changed to virtual titles to bestow honors."
Liu Yao couldn't help but ask: "How do I get my salary?"
Zhu Guoxiang said: "Officials, positions, dispatches, regardless of the virtual title or the actual position, whichever grade is higher will receive the salary according to that. It is impossible to have two salaries for one official or three salaries for one official."
This was a reduction in salary expenditure, and the treatment of officials in the Song Dynasty was indeed outrageous.
Zhu Guoxiang also said: "The salaries of low-level officials and staff have increased compared with those in the Song Dynasty. As for materials, job allowances, additional expenses, job fields, etc., they are all combined into job allowances and reduced accordingly."
The income of senior officials in the Song Dynasty was simply too excessive.
Take the prime minister as an example, the food allowance alone is 300 guan. This is purely a food subsidy, and Lumi has to be calculated separately.
Compared with senior officials, the wages of low-level officials and subordinate staff are so low that they cannot even support themselves.
Zhu Guoxiang's reforms were to greatly reduce the salaries of senior officials, slightly reduce the salaries of mid-level officials, and increase the salaries of low-level officials and subordinate staff.
It is no longer allowed to have unpaid subordinate staff, and the number of subordinate staff will be determined based on regional conditions.
If there is really not enough manpower, temporary workers will be recruited. Temporary workers are also paid, but they must be approved by the higher-level government office.
The official system remained unchanged and the Song Dynasty system was followed.
Subordinate officials are divided into multiple levels. Nowadays, they can be promoted to high-ranking officials very quickly. When the territory becomes larger and the imperial examination is conducted in the future, it will be more difficult to be promoted to high-ranking officials, and they can only be promoted to the seventh rank at most. Unless outstanding political achievements alarm the emperor, a fellow Jinshi will be given.
Only in this way can one be promoted to level seven or above.
At the same time, there was a strict assessment system for subordinate officials, and senior officials had terms of office. In the Song Dynasty, senior subordinate officials in state governments also had terms of office, but they were rarely strictly enforced, and county-level officials did not have terms of office.
Zhu Guoxiang then asked his subordinate officials to write down the specific official positions.
The shogunate system at the state level was greatly streamlined, and their respective responsibilities were clearly clarified, no longer like the Song Dynasty where there were layers of restrictions but unclear powers.
After reading this, Zhang Gen thought carefully. This kind of official system has obvious advantages. There are fewer opportunities to kick the ball and blame each other. Officials who really want to do things can be more powerful.
Zhu Guoxiang did not completely abolish the preferential treatment of officials paying off their crimes, but for crimes sentenced due to corruption and bending the law, let alone the death penalty, even ordinary punishments cannot be reduced with money.
That is, we must intensify our efforts to combat corruption and prevent officials from taking any chances.
Liu Huiyuan stared at the reformed system over and over again, thinking that if the Zhu family and his son were to win the world, they would have to be careful when they were officials in the future. Corruption would really lead to death. Even if you were not corrupt, even if you became prime minister, your income would be far less than that of the Song Dynasty.
imperial court.
Of course, Xiaoguan has become more nourished.
Today we will only talk about these system reforms. Zhu Guoxiang asked them to give suggestions, but no one was willing to speak.
After they dispersed, Zhang Gencai met with several people and discussed the pros and cons of restructuring.
Xu Fuyan said: "The emperor has not set up the imperial examination for the time being. Since there are not enough scholars, the officials will be promoted very quickly. We have also introduced the official grinding system and increased the salaries of the officials. I am afraid that the subordinate officials will be much cleaner and each one will be more honest."
Promotion will also lead to active work. This will solve a major problem of the Song Dynasty court, and subordinate officials will no longer blindly reap profits."
Liu Yao said: "Streamlining official positions, clarifying powers and responsibilities, reforming salaries, and the two stubborn problems of redundant officials and redundant expenses have been solved. The imperial court will never be able to do it. Which prime minister dares to make such changes, I'm afraid he won't be able to do it in a year.
."
Fu Xingzhong sighed: "I finally understand why Zhu Chenggong said it would not be broken or established. It is better to draw on a piece of white paper than to scribble and change on a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation."
This descendant of the Fu family is a bit tempted to become a thief.
Not only for the people, but also because I want to do something and have another selfish intention: betting on the new dynasty!
The higher the official position and the deeper the background, the more you understand what the Song Dynasty court was like.
