The Great Tang General

The Jinyiwei originated from the Changping new soldiers proposed in the sixth year of Tianbao and established in the seventh year of Tianbao.

Since the 14th year of Tianbao, there have been more than 150,000 new soldiers in the country.

Due to An Lushan's rebellion, the new recruits in Changping were corrupted by the powerful families. In addition, the new recruits in Changping at that time were of varying quality and had no faith, so the army was on the verge of collapse at one point.

When Li Xuan became the King of Qin, Liao Zhengrong began to convert the new soldiers from Changping into Jinyiwei.

He also summoned all the captains and thousand-man commanders of the Jinyiwei to Luoyang to discuss the reform.

He also took the opportunity to replace some unreliable soldiers with strong ones in the army.

Over a period of nearly a year, the Jinyiwei reported for rectification and recruited some poor young men according to Li Xuan's requirements.

In the Jinyiwei, even slaves who were looked down upon by everyone could be reused.

"The Jinyiwei are distributed in counties across the country. The number of 180,000 is not enough. We need to recruit 200,000. In addition, the military training of the Jinyiwei cannot be stopped. In each province, the Jinyiwei must have a light cavalry of more than a thousand people. In addition, each post station will be equipped with special horses for the Jinyiwei to deliver messages."

Li Xuan nodded. The Jinyiwei he established was very different from the Jinyiwei of later generations. They almost only used the name "Jinyiwei".

The Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty had more than 100,000 people at its peak.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely fulfill my mission."

Liao Zhengrong bowed.

The Jinyiwei was a paramilitary organization, the difference being that it had the responsibility to monitor all officials, local officials, and the Metropolitan Government.

Once evidence is found, the news will be immediately reported to the Jinyiwei headquarters.

The current headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is divided into six departments: the Golden Dragon Department, the Luanfeng Department, the Wanqi Department, the Confidential Department, the Tianmu Department, and the Supervisory Department.

Among them, the Jinlong Division and the Luanfeng Division were the agencies responsible for dispatching the Jinyiwei. The promotion of the local Jinyiwei was entirely decided by the two divisions.

The Jinlong Division was responsible for the Jinyiwei in border areas such as Longyou, Hexi, Shuofang, Fanyang, Pinglu, Western Regions, and Jiannan.

This type of Jinyiwei is of stronger quality, receives higher salary, and can act as military scouts at critical moments, not only to monitor local areas but also to arrest spies from enemy countries.

The Luanfeng Division is responsible for dispatching Jinyiwei in the interior. It is the highest-ranking division in Jinyiwei, and its significance is self-evident.

The Wanqi Division was responsible for the preparation of horses for the post stations, as well as the war horses of the Jinyiwei cavalry, the Jinyiwei's horses, camels, ox carts, etc. It also had its own animal husbandry supervisor.

The Confidential Department was a civilian agency of the Imperial Uniform Guard, which held information about the members of the Imperial Uniform Guard. All of its departments, including finance, subsidies, important documents, and the sealing of letters, were within the Confidential Department.

Tianmu Division is the most mysterious organization among the Jinyiwei. Most of its members are not the Jinyiwei that people in the world see. They may be businessmen, common people, knights-errant, clerks, constables, or even officials and soldiers. In short, they are omnipresent.

The Inspectorate was located in Chang'an, and it was responsible for monitoring the Jinyiwei and auditing the Jinyiwei internally to prevent uncontrollable events from happening. Moreover, reporting Jinyiwei was also done in the Inspectorate, which had a greater deterrent effect on the internal situation.

In addition, the Jinyiwei also has elite troops.

As an archer, he specialized in powerful crossbows and hand crossbows, and his shots never missed their targets.

A master detective who is responsible for solving major and unsolved cases and arresting thieves.

The Inner Guards were specifically responsible for secretly protecting the emperor when he traveled.

The cavalrymen were selected from a hundred and were skilled in riding and shooting.

Through a series of structures and checks and balances, the Jinyiwei can run smoothly.

But Li Xuan was still not satisfied.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of the Jinyiwei, more post stations must be set up and the difficult roads must be repaired.

The quality of the Jinyiwei in counties and prefectures is still insufficient, and it will take at least five years for them to mature as a whole.

Now many officials do not take the Jinyiwei seriously.

Little did they know that it would soon become their nightmare.

"Zhengrong, how do you think Jinyiwei should develop in the long run?"

Although he was the one providing direction for the Royal Guards, he still sought their opinions.

The corruption of the Jinyiwei in later generations is still vivid in our memory.

"The 100-man and 1,000-man commanders must constantly rotate their garrisons to prevent them from becoming too deeply rooted in the local area. The capable ones should be promoted, and the mediocre ones should be demoted. They should be rewarded with meritorious service so that the lower-level Jinyiwei can win the support of the people. The Supreme once said that nothing in the world remains unchanged. The Jinyiwei must be constantly adjusted and reformed to make it a weapon to protect the country and the people..."

Liao Zhengrong thought about it and replied to Li Xuan.

"In the Central Military Academy, I will open the Golden Dragon Hall and the Luanfeng Hall to train the Jinyiwei. These two departments will be handed over to you."

Li Xuan did not have much time to manage the entire huge Jinyiwei.

Let Liao Zhengrong do as much as possible and make him a qualified commander of the Jinyiwei.

Those who passed the imperial examinations and were of commoner origin would be transferred to the civil service department of the Jinyiwei to assist the Jinyiwei in its affairs.

In addition, the Jinyiwei stationed in the local area also had to cultivate land.

It's worth saving a little bit.

The campaign to eliminate lowly people and turn them into good people was imminent. Li Xuan spoke out the main purpose of summoning Liao Zhengrong: "Secretly report to the Jinyiwei of the prefectures and counties, and have them go to the villages to spread the word to the local people. The court is preparing to distribute land to tenant farmers, serfs, and people with little land, and will organize a group of interested people to immigrate to the Western Regions. As long as the whole family goes, each family will be given a horse, a cow, ten sheep, and one hundred acres of arable land. The food consumed on the road will be paid for by the government."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Liao Zhengrong took the order.

Li Xuan knew that this news would definitely reach the ears of the powerful families.

But Li Xuan did not say to eradicate the powerful families, he just promoted land distribution and immigration.

The powerful families will not rebel unless they are in dire straits.

The reason for this was to prevent the tenant farmers and serfs from being deceived by the powerful and wealthy families when he was eliminating the lowly and turning them into good people.

There is no land in the world, and the farmer still starves to death.

Since the land is being divided, the powerful people who have annexed the land must be forced to give it up.

Most of the land is controlled by a small number of people. Once the peasants encounter natural disasters and cannot get enough food, they will inevitably revolt.

Jinyiwei first carried out adequate publicity to minimize the losses.

Since ancient times, there have been many powerful and wealthy families.

Once the people are fooled, they will follow blindly.

Just like the An Lushan Rebellion this time, in addition to ruffians and scoundrels, there were also many decent people involved.

After Li Xuan discussed some other important matters with Liao Zhengrong, he asked Liao Zhengrong to step aside and prepare.

Through the Tiance Palace, the Secretariat, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the country is firmly controlled.

The imperial court organization of three provinces and six ministries can actually be regarded as the "cabinet" of later generations, which was only responsible for domestic reform and development and the rectification of official administration.

"Your Majesty, news has come from the northeast that the Khitan, Xi, and Tongluo attacked the Shiwei and Bohai kingdoms and were defeated!"

Shortly after Liao Zhengrong left, the Minister of War Feng Changqing reported this important military matter to Li Xuan.

"The Xi and Khitan lost most of their elite troops during An Lushan's rebellion, and their tribes were extremely divided. Their failure to succeed was not surprising."

Li Xuan was not surprised.

After An Lushan's death, the Xi, Khitan, and Tongluo immediately turned against the Tang Dynasty and asked for peace.

The Xi and Khitan almost used all their national strength to help An Lushan attack the Tang Dynasty.

Be aggressive when you win, and surrender when you lose!
How can something be so cheap in the world?
Therefore, Li Xuan used the strategy of driving away the wolves and swallowing the tigers, and let the Xi, Khitan, and Tongluo attack the Shiwei and the Bohai Kingdom, which was mainly composed of the Heishui Mohe.

If they do not attack, the Tang army will conquer them.

At present, Xi and Khitan have nowhere to go except the northeast. It is impossible for them to compete with Huihe for territory, right?
Even if he had the courage of Mo Yanchu, he would not dare to protect the Xi and Khitan.

Unfortunately, the Xi and Khitan were badly weakened, and when they sent out troops in the spring, they were defeated by the Shiwei and Mohe in just one month.

This news was brought by Wang Sili, the governor of Pinglu, on an express horse.

"Your Majesty, while the Mohe and Shiwei have been severely weakened time and again, you can order the various governorates in the northeast to send out cavalry to defeat the two countries."

Feng Changqing suggested.

Since the last statement, he knew the importance of the Northeast to the Tang Dynasty.

Continuous surrender and rebellion for more than a hundred years is not a solution.

Only by destroying them and moving them to the Tang Dynasty like we did with Goguryeo can we solve the problem once and for all.

"Yes! Send an imperial edict to Taiyuan Governor Guo Ziyi, Fanyang Governor Li Guangbi, and Pinglu Governor Wang Sili. Lead only the cavalry, as well as the slow horses and camels, deep into the northeast to attack the Shiwei and Bohai kingdoms. We have many Mohe and Shiwei captives, let them lead the army."

The Mohe and Shiwei tribes had both experienced great battles and suffered heavy casualties. Li Xuan did not want to miss this opportunity.

In his mind, that precious land was more suitable for immigration than the Western Regions.

In fact, both the Shiwei and Bohai kingdoms were ethnic groups that combined agriculture and animal husbandry, and they grew five kinds of grains.

The three military governorates are the closest to each other and have a total of 50,000 cavalry. With the assistance of the Khitan and Xi tribes, they will surely succeed.

"According to the order!"

After receiving the order, Feng Changqing began to draft the edict.

Once the southwest and northeast are stabilized, the country can completely stop the war and focus on development.

Even the current battle was only a local war. The distance between the Tang army and the enemy was within an acceptable range, and the cavalry team carried a certain amount of food and marched with cattle and sheep, so it would not waste too much time.

On April 10th, the court meeting was held in Taiji Hall.

"Your Majesty has arrived..."

"I will pay my respects to Your Majesty..."

Civil and military officials saluted Li Xuan.

After Li Xuan ascended the throne, he no longer held meetings in the Secretariat's Political Affairs Hall, but held them in the Taiji Hall instead.

"Everyone is safe!"

Li Xuan has somewhat adapted to the emperor's position. He wears a dragon robe and a crown on his head, ruling the world.

He was determined to become a good emperor who worked diligently and loved his people, and he often worked day and night to plan local affairs.

There are still many things to do, and he is too busy to handle them all. He also knows that a great building starts from the ground.

He must lay a solid foundation before he can issue more in-depth policies.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Civil and military officials thanked Li Xuan.

"Today at the court meeting, I will show you something."

At the beginning of the court meeting, Li Xuan ordered the Secretary-General to come out from behind the curtain holding something and come to the incense table among the court officials.

All the civil and military officials watched without blinking, wondering what Li Xuan was up to.

Li Xuan has countless creative ideas and a lofty style.

Sometimes they have to admit that he is far-sighted.

Many institutional things are not recognized by civil and military officials.

But Li Xuan won people over with his virtue, and always asked the ministers who refused to obey to "debate" with him in the government hall. Li Xuan was proficient in debate. After he became emperor, he no longer argued forcefully to avoid falling into the trap of self-proof, but seized the ministers' loopholes and tore them out. He was best at "quoting classics", especially Confucian classics, which was impossible for normal people to accomplish, but it was Li Xuan's magic weapon to win.

"Unfold it!"

Following Li Xuan's order, the Secretary-General slowly unfolded the thing in his hand.

This turned out to be a flag.

It is not a triangular battle flag or a common battle flag, but a larger rectangular flag.

The background color of this flag is black, which implies deepness, heaviness, majesty and mystery. It symbolizes the solid foundation of the country and its ability to support the rise and fall of all things.

A golden dragon is embroidered in the center of the flag. The dragon is vigorous, winding and circling, puffing out clouds and mist, and its dragon scales are lifelike, shining with a luxurious light against the black background. Its eyes are wide open, as if it can see through everything in the world, and its dragon whiskers are fluttering, as if carrying the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The dragon symbolizes the divine right of kings and is the embodiment of the country's supreme power and majesty. It also represents the country's ability to control the world and bring peace and prosperity to its people in an ever-changing situation.

The edge of the flag is inlaid with a circle of vermilion brocade, about three inches wide. The bright vermilion color contrasts with the black color, showing the solemnity of the country while also showing its vitality and enthusiasm. The vermilion brocade is embroidered with continuous golden Ruyi cloud patterns, which are elegant and smooth, implying auspiciousness and symbolizing that the country will continue to be blessed and smooth in its development process.

"Which army's flag is this? It's extraordinary!"

"Why did the Supreme bring the battle flag to the court?"

"Beautiful, gorgeous, chic..."

"I don't think this looks like a battle flag!"

The civil and military officials seemed to be thinking about something. It was too abrupt for Li Xuan to display the new battle flag in the court.

The Tang Dynasty had a dragon-shaped battle flag, but it was not very exquisite.

"This is not a battle flag, but a national flag. It is called the Great Tang Black Dragon Flag, and it represents the flag of the country. It is a symbol of the unity of the people of the world and a witness to the prosperity of the Great Tang. From now on, any county, subordinate Hu territory, or Tang-affiliated country must fly the national flag..."

Li Xuan explained to the civil and military officials.

There has been no national flag since ancient times, only various battle flags that can be used to identify identities, and the national flag is a product of the national sovereignty consciousness of later generations.

He believed that even if the Tang Dynasty was invincible, it still needed a national flag.

A small flag can bring a country together and make it more united.

The Tang Dynasty's battle flags were varied and unrepresentative. If there was a flag that was deeply rooted in people's hearts, it would be planted all over the world.

The merchants and travelers of the Tang Dynasty traveled thousands of miles to a foreign land and saw the national flag flying on the city wall, which must have been inspiring.

When the national flag was established, Li Xuan originally wanted to make it into a meaningful pattern of squares, strips, stars and triangles, but suddenly he felt that the national flag was too original and that the people would not understand it at all, and it was not suitable for this era.

The totem of China is the dragon.

In this case, using a dragon as the national flag and combining it with a vermilion edge would form the first national flag of China, making it easy for the people to recognize at a glance.

The dragon also represents auspiciousness, and its meaning is much stronger than those fancy ones.

"Your Majesty, the Tang army has battle flags. Is it redundant to use flags now?"

Wang Yu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, reported this to Li Xuan.

This is what many ministers think.

The Central Plains dynasties had a deep awareness of "All under heaven belongs to the king, and all within the four seas are the king's subjects."

It’s not that no one has thought about a national flag, but that we regard ourselves as the Celestial Empire and do not need a national flag.

Whenever the Tang Dynasty's troops appeared, they represented the status of a great nation.

"I do not agree with this statement. For the people of the world, the national flag can give them a glimpse of the greater world and cultivate their concept of the country. Just like the Han flags flying over the Yinshan Mountains in my poem, wherever the national flag is raised, it is the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

In his eyes, the national flag is not used to distinguish countries, but to unite people.

He wanted to fly the Xuanlong flag of the Tang Dynasty all over the country, so that when the Hu people passed through the city, they would look at the fluttering flags on the city walls in awe.

The civil and military officials remained silent for a moment and did not try to persuade Li Xuan to revoke his decision.

In the minds of civil and military officials, things that cost people money and time are the big things, and governing the country is the big things.

This kind of ideological stuff is not important in their eyes.

If each county had a flag, it wouldn't cost much for the entire country.

"Come here, raise this national flag to the top of the Mingde Gate Tower."

Seeing this, Li Xuan gave an order.

Next month, the establishment of the Tang Dynasty's Black Dragon Flag will definitely be the front-page headline in the Tang Dynasty Monthly.

"According to the order!"

The Secretary-General took back the Xuanlong flag of the Tang Dynasty and left the Taiji Hall.

"Do you remember the performance evaluation system and the one-whip system that I proposed during the Tianbao era?"

Li Xuan finally began to discuss these two decrees.

The civil and military officials have been holding it in for a long time.

To date, many ministers have accepted this decree.

Li Xuan came to power, and no one could reverse Li Xuan's will.

"The performance evaluation system is to rectify the officialdom and prevent officials from being idle and doing nothing. Now the rent and labor system is becoming increasingly exhausted, and a better system is imperative. The Single Whip System combines natural gifts, corvée labor, and other miscellaneous taxes into one, to prevent officials from being partial to others and committing fraud..."

Li Xian bowed and stepped out, then spoke to Li Xuan.

The taxation system must be reformed without delay, otherwise the country will never return to the Kaiyuan period.

After much thought, I believe that the Single Whip System proposed by Your Majesty is theoretically feasible.

"The performance evaluation system must be implemented! But the one-whip system is up for discussion."

Li Xuan nodded.

Although the Single Whip System simplified taxation, it ultimately failed to solve the problem of arbitrary and excessive charges.

When Li Xuan promulgated the Single Whip Law, he had no intention of implementing it. His only intention was to stimulate the conservatives and local officials in preparation for his dismissal from his position as prime minister.

"Your Majesty, if local officials are honest and abide by their duties, the Single Whip Law will work very smoothly."

Wei Jiansu stood up and spoke to Li Xuan.

"It is very difficult to govern people with virtue. Facts have proved that corrupt officials are like mosquitoes and flies in summer, and they are hard to get rid of. A young official who is full of vigor and vitality may become greedy after a few years."

"Therefore, we must use the system to restrict the power of local officials to the greatest extent possible. I have a strategy for tax reform, and you can discuss it with me."

After Li Xuan spoke to the ministers, he instructed Yang Yan below: "Yang Changshi, read out the decree!"

"According to the order!"

Yang Yan took the order, took out the decree he had prepared long ago, and read it to all the civil and military officials.

This policy is to distribute the tax according to the amount of land.

The system of allocating taxes on land will completely abolish the "head tax" that has been in place for more than a thousand years. Without the constraints of a poll tax, taxes will only be collected based on the size of the population, which can be said to be a relaxation of control over ordinary people.

The tax distribution according to mu means dividing a piece of land into several equal parts, each part is called "mu", and then allocating the "tax distribution" of each piece of land to each farmer, allowing them to cultivate their own "mu" independently and be responsible for the harvest themselves.

Combined with the taxation system of the Tang Dynasty, at first glance, the people did not pay less tax after the land tax was distributed.

It’s as if it doesn’t exist.

But why are people in the world poor today?
In addition to land annexation, the collapse of the equal-field system and the inability to distribute land equally, there were also an increasing number of taxes.

As Li Xuan said, those who are blinded by greed are hard to get rid of.

When there are more types of taxes, corrupt officials will have more and more room to take advantage of their assets.

They will increase taxes in various ways.

Spreading all taxes into the land tax greatly reduced the room for officials to manipulate.

After all, there are policies from the top and countermeasures from the bottom, and it is impossible to completely eliminate it.

The tax system could bring money that would not have entered the national treasury into the national treasury, and the people would not have to bear heavy taxes.

After Yang Yan, the Secretary General, finished explaining the land tax distribution to the civil and military officials, the discussion among the ministers became even louder.

Some ministers felt that the feasibility of distributing the tax rate based on the amount of land was quite high.

Some ministers also had many concerns.

The abolition of population tax has never happened since ancient times.

"The tax will be distributed according to the amount of land, and there will be no additional taxes. You may have your own opinions."

After the civil and military officials had discussed the matter, Li Xuan asked for their opinions.

"Your Majesty, the tax system is being re-established for the benefit of the country and for the country to rebuild. But I have a doubt. After the silk money for the corvée is incorporated into the land tax and returned to the court, there will be very little silk money left in the local area. I am afraid that it will affect the operation of the local area. Moreover, if the greedy officials cannot collect the silk money, they will use various names as an excuse to collect other labor taxes. Since ancient times, there have been too many officials in the counties and prefectures like this."

Pei Zunqing, the Minister of the Left, bowed to Li Xuan. First, he affirmed the tax-earning system, showing that Li Xuan loved his people like his own children.

But he is worried that things may go too far at the local level.

"The imperial court will provide appropriate subsidies to the local governments. If the county governor is incompetent and continues to levy heavy taxes on top of the land tax, he should be dismissed and investigated immediately!"

Li Xuan answered Pei Zunqing's question.

As long as the Jinyiwei were not corrupted, a county magistrate would be discovered if he levied corvee labor and exorbitant taxes in the local area.

"Your Majesty, there are many tenants in the current household registration who rent land from powerful families and royal families. The powerful families will lose their property if the land tax is distributed according to the land tax. They will definitely increase the rent and pass on their losses to the tenants, which may make the tenants more and more poor until they disappear from the household registration."

Zhang Hao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped forward to express his concerns to Li Xuan.

He had worked as a farmer in the local area and knew too well the morals of the powerful families.

Nowadays, the rich have fields stretching for miles. Their land is either cultivated by serfs with hidden household registration or rented to tenant farmers with household registration.

It is said that businessmen are profit-driven, but these landlords are even more cruel than businessmen.

Whatever they lose, they will certainly exploit the tenants.

The original rent of 30% of grain was directly increased to 50%.

How much land do we need to plant to ensure that our family has enough food to eat?
"Minister Zhang has the intention, and I will find a way to solve it!"

Eliminating the lowly and becoming virtuous is not just talk.

He wanted to seize land for the tenants and liberate the serfs. How could he give the landlords a share in raising the rent?

It was precisely because the movement to eliminate low status and promote virtue was about to begin that Li Xuan promulgated the policy of allocating land tax to each acre of land.

"Your Majesty, I think that whatever Pei Pushe or Zhang Shilang said, they can't be regarded as difficulties. The Single Whip Law will also have such problems, and even have greater flaws. And now the rent, labor service, charity warehouse tax, household tax, and a series of heavy taxes and levies make it even more difficult for the people to bear. In today's world, the people should be allowed to recuperate, and the land tax is the best policy in my opinion."

Li Xian agreed with Li Xuan's proposal to distribute the tax rate according to the amount of land.

He admired Li Xuan for being able to come up with such a policy, which should be what Li Xuan often called institutional reform.

You can experiment first, and if you find any drawbacks, then make modifications, and try to make it a plan that can be used for hundreds of years.

(End of this chapter)