The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 708 Customization (IV)

Township level: Township rank: township official (in charge of a large township, eighth rank), township steward (in charge of a small township, eighth rank), township assistant (eighth rank or ninth rank), township patrol officer (ninth rank), township elders (honorary position, those without official positions are regarded as ninth rank).

Pavilion level: The pavilion has pavilion chief (ninth rank), pavilion assistant (ninth rank), pavilion marquis (ninth rank), and pavilion seeker (ninth rank).

Li level: Li Zheng (ninth rank) is appointed in each li. Elders, Du Zai, Li Jianmen, Li Li, Li Zuo, and Li Zheng are in charge of the subordinates.

Ten and five levels: squad leader, squad leader. The squad leader is in charge of ten subordinate households, and the squad leader is in charge of five subordinate households. Within the ten and five, each household supervises each other.

From the ninth rank and below, they are all considered to be of lower rank and have no rank. Officials in various departments are not ranked, but they can still enjoy court salaries or appropriate allowances.

All officials of grade must be appointed by the central court. Local officials and county magistrates below the seventh rank (inclusive) have the power to respond to emergencies, but the subsequent procedures must also be completed.

In addition, the information transmission has also been updated and improved.

At the latest since the Spring and Autumn Period, there have been three modes of communication: one is "chuan", which is delivered by car; the second is "you", which is delivered on foot; the third is "yi", which is delivered by horse, collectively known as "chuanju". Later, because the cost of car delivery was too high, it gradually fell out of use, leaving only delivery on foot and by horse, so it was renamed "youyi" station.

Now Ying Zheng officially named it "post station", and set up a post station every thirty miles across the country. In addition to being used by the government to convey government orders and military information, officials also provided accommodation and horse-changing services during the journey. Private delivery services were also allowed. Private delivery of documents, parcels, and goods, as well as accommodation for travelers and merchants were allowed.

It would be too costly to only allow official use, but allowing private use would generate income and would not impose too much financial burden on the court. It could even support local development and fiscal revenue.

Detailed regulations have also been formulated regarding the requirements for information transmission. There is no need to elaborate on this as it has always existed. The main focus is on standardization and commercialization.

Information dissemination is the most important thing at all times. The Post Office is a transportation hub and information transmission center connecting various places. It is crucial for economic development, cultural dissemination, information transmission, and maintaining rule.

The most special one is Xianyang, which is now the capital of the gods. Jingzhao Prefecture was changed to Duzhao Prefecture, which is directly managed by the central government. Its administrative level is half a level higher than that of a county. The chief official is a third-rank official, and the chief official is a third-rank official.

As well as the Protector-General of the Western Regions, the Protector-General of Anbei and the Protector-General of Andong, the Protector-General was of the third rank, and the Protector-General's Deputy, the Protector-General's Censor, and the Protector-General's Commandant were of the third rank.

Shendu was the highest political center of the Qin Dynasty. Luoyang, Bianliang, Shuntian, and Yingtian were each equipped with a Jing channel. Except for the Court of Criminal Justice, the Imperial Observatory, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Imperial Households, the Ministry of Heavenly Scriptures, the Imperial Court, the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Clan Court, and the Imperial Household Department, all the central court departments had branches, which were one level lower in administrative level and official level than the central government. They were responsible for managing the routine affairs of the surrounding counties and reporting important matters to the central government.

The five specialized departments shall also set up respective branches in these four capitals.

Each of the four capitals has its own capital commanding guard office, which is one level higher than the county lieutenant and is in charge of the military affairs of the jurisdiction area. It is under the joint management of the central military department and the five military governors' office. There is one commander (third rank), one deputy commander (third rank), and two commanders (fourth rank).

The Central Imperial Guards are divided into the North, South and Central Imperial Guards, and the Central Imperial Guards are divided into six guards, which are mainly responsible for the defense of the palace and the safety of the royal family. The Xuanyu Guard is one of them.

The Southern Palace Imperial Guards were divided into twelve guards, which were mainly responsible for the defense and guarding of the capital.

Each guard has 2,000 to 4,000 people (except the Black Feather Guard), and they all have one commander (rank 3), one deputy commander (rank 3), and two deputy commanders (rank 4). All guards are the elite of the elite, and only children from good families or the sons of fallen soldiers are accepted, as this is a life-threatening thing.

The Northern Palace Imperial Guards were divided into four armies: the Left and Right Shenwu Armies and the Left and Right Longwu Armies. This was the most valuable force of the central government, responsible for palace guarding, capital region security, and external warfare.

Each army has 20,000 men, with one Shen (Dragon) Wu general (second rank) and two Shen (Dragon) Wu generals (third rank).

All the warriors are elite. It is no exaggeration to say that their military equipment, soldier quality, and fighting spirit and morale are the best in the world.

They were treated the best, and there was no need to elaborate on this. As soon as Ying Zheng was born, he knew that power came from the barrel of a gun, and nothing was better than having 100,000 loyal elite imperial guards! Unless the whole world rebelled, otherwise, he could be killed at will.

As for the Xuan Yu Guard, Ying Zheng has always kept them under careful control. Now that the world is at peace, he has been restricting the power of the Xuan Yu Guard, mainly restricting the criminal justice system, and not allowing the Xuan Yu Guard to take direct action unless necessary.

However, the responsibilities of detective supervision were further strengthened to monitor officials and public opinion.

You can pretend to be blind and deaf, but you cannot be really blind or deaf.

In addition to the imperial censors and the Xuanyu Guards, Ying Zheng also used the mine supervisors, tax supervisors in mountains, seas, ponds and lakes sent by the inner court to various places as spies.

These eunuchs sent out from the inner court were the emperor's servants. On the surface, they were only responsible for supervising the income from mining and mountains, seas, and lakes, but they also had the responsibility of monitoring the court and the country.

But they only have the power to monitor.

It is impossible for powerful officials, spies, and eunuchs to unite together. Since ancient times, officials have been unable to play together with spies. Ying Zheng would not hand over the Xuanyu Guard to eunuchs for management, and Ying Zheng would also deliberately provoke relations between the three parties.

Ying Zheng also formally established the secret memorial system, whereby all officials of the fifth rank and above could submit secret memorials directly to the emperor.

Central and local officials were encouraged to submit secret memorials directly to the emperor. The memorials submitted by the emperor were not allowed to leak secrets, and they were sent directly to the emperor without going through any institutions or personnel. This system looked simple, but it was actually very effective. It put all high-ranking officials in a prisoner's dilemma, making it more difficult for them to unite, and the information the emperor received would also be more comprehensive and true.

Hearing both sides will lead to enlightenment, while hearing only one side will lead to confusion. Ying Zheng would never believe in information from only one side. He had to confirm from multiple aspects and make a comprehensive judgment.

All correct decisions in this world must be based on information that is as correct and comprehensive as possible.

From top to bottom in the court, from the central government to local governments, the power design is also a check and balance. Among the subordinate responsibilities of the main departments, some appropriate ones are always taken away by other departments. The principle is similar to the "interlocking" of administrative regions, just like the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Measurement, the Ministry of Measurement and the Ministry of Commerce, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Punishment and the Censorate, etc., all of which are checks and balances.

The local military power was restricted and managed in various ways. The central imperial army was directly managed by Ying Zheng, and all middle and high-level officers were appointed and dismissed by Ying Zheng. The main focus was safety! Absolute centralization!

In this official system planning, Ying Zheng designed more than one hundred and sixty pairs of checks and balances, with stability as the main focus!

This system is too advanced for this era. Compared with the original one, it is much more detailed and complete, and the checks and balances are much stronger.

But it is necessary. The previous system was too crude and the responsibilities were unclear. The original government planning seemed simple, but in fact it was risky and chaotic.

As the country grows, the administrative structure must necessarily become larger, but it must also become smaller, otherwise there will be the danger of being upside down.

It seems that many new official positions have been added, but in fact there are none.

It’s not that there weren’t official positions before. The things that needed to be done, the people who did the things, and the positions had always been there. It was just the titles, the sizes of power, and the unclear responsibilities.

The things are there. It is impossible that no one did this job in the past just because there is no official position with a new name now.

In the past, all the people, big and small, were squeezed under the three dukes and nine ministers, which was not conducive to the checks and balances of power or the clear division of rights and responsibilities.

Just like the Shaofu, it was originally a huge organization, and many things were listed as separate official positions, which was very messy. In fact, this was not a good thing.

There is also the grassroots level. Don’t mention that the imperial power does not extend below the county level. Whoever mentions it will die.

Power will never be in a vacuum. It is not officially occupied by the court. It is occupied by gentry, local celebrities, and large landlords. These people will not do anything except erode the power and majesty of the court.

The interests of the court (emperor) cannot be allowed to be eroded by them and must be under the control of the court.

Now that the cake has been divided into smaller pieces, the only ones who actually suffer are the top level, as their power has been greatly restricted. However, all the middle and lower levels, including some of the top levels, benefit.

If a system is promoted by the supreme ruler and the vast majority of people, including some at the top and all the middle and lower levels, agree with it, then this system is bound to succeed, and the few at the top cannot stop it.

As for those at the highest level, Ying Zheng would also appease them with rewards that would make them happy.

None of them would think of stopping Ying Zheng. None of them is so stupid.

There is one most important key point to achieve all this, that is papermaking and printing. These two things are so important!
It is precisely because of these two things that policies can be truly disseminated on a large scale and actions can leave traces.

Many of the things I have done before are inseparable from these two things.

As for the newly compiled classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought, if you want to promote them without these two things, it will really take a long time.

In the past, officials had strong autonomy because it was difficult to spread government orders and leave traces of their work. It was also difficult to promote and disseminate policies. If we just rely on two mouths to talk, how long would it take?

Bamboo slips are inconvenient in many ways, expensive to make, and difficult to promote on a large scale.

Many decrees, policies and systems are not unthinkable, but are simply impossible to implement due to objective limitations.

Without papermaking and printing, many things could not be promoted on a large scale, talents could not be cultivated on a large scale, and work could not leave traces. For all these reasons, it was only possible to give department heads and local officials greater autonomy.

Of course, there are also many experiences that have been gained through the losses suffered by successive dynasties, and now Ying Zheng has avoided these pitfalls.

As the saying goes, the mistakes of the past are lessons for the future. Now Ying Zheng has avoided the pits based on his experience, but these officials have not. They will still fall into the pits if they are not careful. In comparison, one is stronger while the other is weaker, and Ying Zheng can better control power.

(End of this chapter)