History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 960 Terminator——Zhao Kuangyin 4
Zhao Kuangyin's reforms were all-round and covered all aspects. Here are a few key examples to supplement Zhao Kuangyin's reforms:

1. Political Reform

The early Song Dynasty retained the three prime ministers of the Later Zhou Dynasty: Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu. Zhao Kuangyin respected and treated the three well, but he still disintegrated their real power as expected. He first dismissed their titles of "Assisting Privy Councilors" and gave his confidant, Privy Councilor Wu Yanzuo, the title of "Second Rank of the Secretariat" (actually "Second Rank of the Secretariat", because Wu Yanzuo's father was called Wu Zhang, so Zhao Kuangyin was very considerate to help him avoid the taboo), which was equivalent to limiting and taking back the power of the "Three Prime Ministers".

Later (in January 964), the three of them submitted their resignations collectively, and Zhao Pu became the sole prime minister. This was a rare "sole prime minister" since ancient times, and many people made a big fuss about it, especially when exaggerating Zhao Pu's ability to rule the world. However, in fact, Zhao Pu could not have the power to rule the country, because his boss, Comrade Zhao Kuangyin, was very sympathetic to his hard work and helped him to place several deputies, such as Lu Yuqing and Xue Juzheng as assistant ministers, and later let the two of them "know the seal and report to the class" together with Zhao Pu. The historical records clearly record: "to share their power."

Moreover, Zhao Pu's first task after he was appointed prime minister was to supervise the national history. Zhao Kuangyin personally nominated him, which was equivalent to restricting some of Zhao Pu's power as prime minister. The story of restricting Zhao Pu will be described in detail later.

There is also a small detail that is easy to overlook. According to regulations, the appointment letter of the new prime minister needs to be signed by the current prime minister, but Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu resigned on the same day, so Zhao Pu could not find anyone to sign the appointment letter, which was embarrassing. So Zhao Pu reported this small bug in the procedure to Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Kuangyin was straightforward. "That's not a big deal. I'll just sign for you."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Pu refused more straightforwardly, saying that this was not in compliance with laws and regulations and had no legal effect.

Faced with this difficult question, Dou Yi finally came up with a compromise solution, saying that his younger brother Zhao Guangyi held the title of "Tongpingzhangshi", which meant he was the prime minister, so he should sign.

This is a detail that is easily overlooked.

What kind of person is Zhao Pu? Is he a corrupt scholar who nitpicks over words? The emperor and his minister seem to be chatting and chatting about nothing, but there is an undercurrent behind the scenes, hiding the game between imperial power and prime ministerial power.

Zhao Kuangyin emphasized the supremacy of imperial power, while Zhao Pu, in contrast, tried his best to maintain the feudal bureaucratic system and power order that had existed for thousands of years. The essence of this order was the limitation and restriction of imperial power by the power of the prime minister.

If the prime minister signed, then Zhao Pu was a product of this system and he would be responsible to this system, not to the Song Dynasty, let alone Zhao Kuangyin himself; if Zhao Kuangyin signed the appointment, then Zhao Pu's legal legitimacy would come from Zhao Kuangyin himself and he would need to be responsible to Zhao Kuangyin himself.

In the end, the "Prime Minister" Zhao Guangyi signed the agreement, which shows that Zhao Kuangyin did not defeat Zhao Pu in this round, and Zhao Pu won a small victory. However, the role played by this small victory in the struggle between prime minister power and imperial power cannot be said to be better than nothing, it can only be the effect of farting on the acceleration of a bicycle.

On the same day, the three prime ministers were dismissed, and the civil service group was firmly controlled by Zhao Kuangyin. Although Zhao Pu was given many restrictions, Zhao Kuangyin was still worried about him, so he continued to increase the actual power of the Hanlin academicians in order to continue to divide and weaken the power of the prime minister.

Zhao Kuangyin not only gave Hanlin scholars the power to participate in discussions and decision-making on state affairs, but also specifically instructed them to bypass the prime minister and communicate directly with the emperor himself, not by implication, but by explicit instruction. This was equivalent to sidelining the prime minister to a certain extent.

In addition, Zhao Kuangyin also weakened the power of the prime minister in form and abolished the long-standing practice of "sitting and discussing philosophy".

From the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, when the emperor discussed state affairs with the prime minister, he would give the prime minister a seat, which was called "the etiquette of sitting and discussing". When the emperor and his ministers sat and discussed, they would not only be given a seat but also tea. However, Zhao Kuangyin was not so polite to the three prime ministers of the Later Zhou Dynasty. When discussing state affairs, he pretended to be ignorant and no longer gave them seats. The three prime ministers were afraid of Zhao Kuangyin and did not dare to remind him. They could only stand and report their work in an orderly manner, or directly submit their work reports. They did not even have the opportunity to meet the emperor. Over time, the precedent became a routine. From then on, the prime ministers no longer had the opportunity to sit on an equal footing with the emperor, and the emperor's majesty was highlighted.

What kind of prime minister did Zhao Kuangyin want? Answer: Fan Zhi. In September 964, the former prime minister Fan Zhi died. During his illness, Zhao Kuangyin visited him many times to express his condolences. As a result, an embarrassing scene occurred. Fan Zhi's family did not have decent tableware, wine utensils, and tea sets to entertain guests. It was too shabby, so Zhao Kuangyin ordered the imperial gift of fruit beds, wine vessels, etc. on the spot.

"You are a prime minister after all, how come you are so poor? You have brought shame upon the prime minister."

Fan Zhi answered truthfully, saying that he was an old homebody and had never hosted any private banquets when he was prime minister. His family only entertained old relatives from when they were poor, so he had never prepared luxurious and exquisite wine utensils and tableware, not because he could not afford them.

During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the prime ministers often accepted bribes from various vassal states and had ambiguous relationships with them. Since Fan Zhi became prime minister, this unhealthy trend has been effectively curbed. As mentioned above, the Wuyue Kingdom once gave Zhao Pu a large sum of money, but Zhao Kuangyin caught it on the spot, which made Zhao Kuangyin very unhappy and Zhao Pu trembled with fear. The prime ministers of the Five Dynasties accepted bribes from local vassal states, which was one of the reasons why the separatist regimes of the vassal states became more and more serious.

After Fan Zhi's death, Zhao Kuangyin held him up as a model for a prime minister, personally praising him, "I heard that Fan Zhi did not accumulate assets outside of his residence. He is a true prime minister!"

The prime minister does not accept gifts or bribes from local forces, nor does he make money through side jobs, so that he will not be interfered with or corrupted by external forces when formulating national policies. Today, many experts and professors often make shocking quotes. Don't simply think that they are doing it to attract attention. If you dig deep into their economic transaction bills and find out the capital forces behind the scenes, all doubts will be solved. If you don't believe it, just look at the so-called economists who are supported by real estate companies. They strongly advocate fallacies and heresies, create public opinion and lead the rhythm, interfere with national policies, and put the people in danger for their own selfish interests, misleading the country and the people.

In 962, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict, requiring Hanlin scholars, central and local officials to each recommend a civil servant with both outstanding moral integrity and ability. If the recommended person broke the law in the future, the recommender would be punished as well. He also opened up the channels for communication and stipulated that Hanlin scholars and officials would appear in court once every five days, "and must point out the gains and losses of current politics, the urgent affairs of the court, the injustice of criminal justice, and the sufferings of the people."

These two are old tricks used by Chai Rong, and are also powerful control measures over the civil service group.

As expected, just half a year later, Gao Xi, the Zuo Shiyi and Zhi Zhigao, submitted a memorial saying that he had heard that there was a case of accepting bribes when recommending officials.

The opportunity is coming!

"Close relatives, servants, and neighbors are allowed to report the incident and be rewarded handsomely." The masses were mobilized and the mass line was followed, leaving tainted officials nowhere to hide. A large number of officials were subsequently brought down.

In September of the same year, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict that "the successful candidates are not allowed to call the examiner "the disciple of the emperor", "the teacher of the emperor" or "their own disciple". The successful candidates, the examiners and the candidates who passed the exam together are an important part of official ethics, especially when there are party disputes. Starting from Zhao Kuangyin, all successful candidates were disciples of the emperor, not disciples of the "official in charge of the examination". Although it was only a small change in the name, it greatly eliminated the soil for party disputes.

In the first month of 964, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict to expand the recruitment of civil servants and reopen the three subjects of "virtuous, upright and able to speak out and make extreme suggestions", "excellent and profound in classics and worthy of being a model", and "detailed and idle officials who can reach the level of education". This was still part of Chai Rong's reform, and Zhao Kuangyin did not forget it. These examinations were a supplement to the traditional Mingjing and Jinshi subjects. They were relatively low in value and threshold, and were more friendly to children from poor families, making it possible to "be a farmer in the morning and enter the emperor's hall in the evening".

Among the candidates, Zhao Kuangyin clearly pointed out that special care should be given to "failed candidates" and that talents should not be buried by blindly following old rules. He also specifically stated that there would be no threshold for this exam, and that both civil servants and civilians could apply for the exam and the best candidates would be admitted. For example, Comrade Ying Zhi, the military judge of Bozhou, passed the "virtuous, upright, and outspoken" exam and was promoted to Zuo Lang, moving from the local to the central government.

Allowing those who originally had no hope of passing the civil service exam to overtake others and be absorbed into the civil service in various ways, or providing marginalized people within the system with better upward channels, these people will usually become staunch supporters of the system, and they will also dilute the old rights of the civil service group.

From the prime minister to grassroots civil servants, the civil service group underwent a comprehensive reshuffle from top to bottom. In this process, power was quietly taken away by the emperor and imperial power was consolidated.

Thanks to my old friends "江湖留白" and "杨奎" for their monthly ticket support! I will be on a business trip next week, working in Malaysia, which will affect the update. Please understand and be patient. Thank you!


(End of this chapter)