Han officials

Chapter 305 The Difficulties of Being a Great Power [4K]

With Wei Zhe ascending to the throne as "Duke of Wei," the General of the Cavalry's staff became a thing of the past in the blink of an eye.

However, how to establish a new shogunate, or even whether to establish one at all, became unknown.

After all, the State of Wei was quite different from a typical shogunate; in terms of its system, it was undoubtedly a state.

Therefore, out of a sense of prudence, Xun You suggested that it would be best to follow the example of the Han Dynasty and establish a number of civil and military officials in the State of Wei, including the Chancellor, Grand Commandant, General-in-Chief, Minister, and Attendant.

Furthermore, Wei Zhe, the ruler who established this enterprise, should also build the ancestral temple of the State of Wei to worship his ancestors.

Wei Zhe felt there was no problem with the second half, but he was very resistant to the first half.

When things reach an impasse, they must change; change leads to progress; progress leads to longevity.

This is not just a choice, but a social rule.

The fact that the Han system has persisted for so many years to reach its current state shows that it must have had its shortcomings.

If Wei Zhe were to completely adopt the Han system, wouldn't that be just changing the skin without changing the essence?

But how to discard the dross and select the essence has become a problem.

Of course, the system from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods is not feasible.

Putting aside everything else, the development of productivity during the five hundred years of the Qin and Han dynasties alone was enough to eliminate the Zhou system.

If we were to govern the world today using the ancient methods of the Spring and Autumn Period, wouldn't Wei Zhe become a second Wang Mang?

The scene of time travelers battling the chosen ones will likely reappear.

However, on the other hand, it seems that it wouldn't work to completely abandon the Han system and start from scratch.

Wei Zhe thought about it and felt that this was a bit too risky.

Taking too big a step can easily lead to disaster, and being too reckless in governing the world can also be fatal.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he, Guo Yuan, Xun You, and Xi Zhicai listed all the Han system regulations from top to bottom on wooden plaques and hung them on the wall.

Then the four of them began to criticize the current affairs, writing down all the shortcomings that had prevented them from submitting petitions in the past.

Since the Han dynasty was about to fall anyway, the group spoke freely, with Wei Zhe taking the lead.

This was the solution that Wei Zhe had come up with after much deliberation:
Identify problems, analyze problems, and solve problems.

By simplifying complex matters, we can find the optimal solution.

To solve a problem, you must first identify it.

……

Afternoon, inside the Hall of State Affairs.

Xun You's opening remarks were a bombshell, directly addressing the issue of eunuchs:

"Although there were eunuchs who were close to the emperor during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, they were merely favored ministers."

"During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Former Han Dynasty, in order to weaken the Chancellor and the outer court, he vigorously promoted officials in the inner court. This made the Secretariat, which was originally only in charge of miscellaneous affairs in the palace, increasingly important. A large number of eunuchs were able to fill positions such as Grand Secretary and come into contact with confidential political affairs. This was the beginning of chaos!"

"By the end of the Former Han Dynasty, Emperor Yuan was indecisive, weak and sickly, and unable to govern. He trusted eunuchs and ordered Shi Xian, the Grand Secretary, to control key positions and monopolize power for more than ten years. He suppressed dissidents, controlled the government, sold official positions, and committed bribery and perverted the law. Even Emperor Yuan's teacher, General Xiao Wangzhi, could not escape the persecution and was forced to commit suicide."

"If Emperor Cheng had not ascended the throne, Shi Xian would probably still have been able to hold onto power and cause trouble."

At this point, Xun You walked to the wall and pointed to the wooden plaques of the Secretariat, saying:

"Therefore, after Emperor Shizu of this dynasty established the country, he took this as a warning and strictly prohibited eunuchs from taking charge of the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel was to be filled by scholars, and even restricted the sons of eunuchs from becoming officials. This was to prevent eunuchs from forming cliques and engaging in corruption after gaining power, and from interfering in the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel."

"If the late emperor had not been so muddle-headed in his later years, appointing Zhao Zhong as General of Chariots and Cavalry and in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat, things might not have turned out this way."

"Therefore, if a duchy is established, the primary concern should be preventing the threat of eunuchs."

It's not entirely unreasonable to blame Xun You for harboring such deep resentment towards eunuchs; it's just that the Xun family had suffered greatly at the hands of eunuchs.

From his grandfather's generation to his father, and even his own generation, they were all greatly harmed by eunuchs.

For example, during the Guanghe era, Tang Heng, a eunuch, wanted to marry his daughter to Fu Gongming, but was rejected. He then promised her to Xun Yu instead.

Even if Tang Heng was not a eunuch, this behavior was still an insult to the Xun family.

Not to mention that Tang Heng was one of the "Five Eunuch Marquises," known for his greed, tyranny, arrogance, and infamy.

However, Xun Yu's father, Xun Kun, fearing the power of the eunuchs, had no choice but to take the initiative to facilitate Xun Yu's marriage to Lady Tang.

For this reason, the Xun family of Yingchuan was criticized by the literati for a period of time, who believed that they were currying favor with eunuchs and thus tarnishing their family reputation.

However, Xi Zhicai did not quite agree with Xun You's perspective.

Although he, who came from a poor family, also disliked eunuchs, he did not hate them as deeply as Xun You.

"Emperor Shizu established the Grand Secretariat to prevent the Three Dukes from becoming too powerful and difficult to control."

Xi Zhicai walked to Xun You's side, pointed to the wooden plaques of the Three Dukes above the Secretariat, and spoke eloquently:
"Emperor Shizu heavily relied on the Secretariat, and from then on, the Three Dukes lost their power, and affairs were handed over to the Secretariat."

"There is nothing wrong with this."

"In my opinion, the dangers posed by maternal relatives are far greater than those posed by eunuchs."

Xi Zhicai's reasons were also quite valid; he only mentioned two people, yet Xun You had no choice but to nod in agreement.

The reason is simple: he was referring to Wang Mang and Liang Ji.

It should be noted that although Emperor Cheng of Han solved the problem of eunuchs interfering in politics, he faced an even greater danger.

After Emperor Cheng of Han ascended the throne, Wang Feng, as the elder brother of Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, was appointed "Grand Marshal and General-in-Chief, in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Secretariat," concentrating military and administrative power in his own hands. This marked the beginning of an era in which "Wang and Liu shared the empire." He monopolized the government for eleven years, creating a situation where "Wang Feng held absolute power, and the Five Marquises ruled the court."

Even after Wang Feng died of illness, the political power of the Former Han Dynasty was almost entirely controlled by the Wang clan, who were related to the empress.

Before his death, Wang Feng recommended his cousin Wang Yin to succeed him, and Emperor Cheng then appointed him "Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry, in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat".

After that, Wang Shang, Wang Gen, and even Wang Mang all took control of the court.

"Grand Marshal, in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat" has almost become the standard for the Wang family.

Even after the last emperor, Emperor Ping of Han, ascended the throne, he was no longer able to subdue the Wang family.

For forty years, the Wang family thus took turns becoming the masters of the Han Dynasty.

From this perspective, Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han dynasty was actually a natural outcome, just like the Sima family.

Xi Zhicai said with a serious expression:

"The Former Han Dynasty had the treacherous Wang Mang, and our dynasty also has the domineering general Liang Ji."

"Although Liang Ji never usurped the throne, he deposed and installed emperors three times, and even poisoned the young emperor. His actions were no different from those of Wang Mang."

"While the eunuchs' interference in politics is certainly hateful, they ultimately cannot usurp the throne."

"In comparison, if the calamity of the maternal relatives were to arise, there would be a danger of the world collapsing."

After saying this, Xi Zhicai bowed to Wei Zhe and solemnly said:
"For the sake of the nation, I urge Your Excellency to cut off the path for relatives of the empress to seize power."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe seemed to be deep in thought, but did not immediately express his opinion.

In truth, he was already somewhat convinced by Xi Zhicai, after all, another usurper from the imperial family had emerged in later generations. However, Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, had a much better reputation than Wang Mang.

Even though he usurped the throne from his own grandson, he was still given the posthumous title of Emperor Wen, which was considered the most honorable posthumous title.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe silently made a note on the desk beside him:
Relatives of the empress should not hold important positions, enter the central government, or participate in military affairs.

Unfortunately, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were ultimately special cases; in most cases, maternal relatives could only produce powerful ministers or rebellious ministers.

To be honest, it's only because there are only a few of them having this small meeting right now that it's happening; otherwise, it would be really inconvenient and impossible to talk about this in a different setting.

……

"...Upon Emperor Yuan's ascension to the throne, he implemented many lenient policies. Ultimately, this led to decline and the loss of his authority, ultimately making him the root cause of the Han dynasty's downfall... The principles of governance and the reasons for success and failure can serve as a lesson for him..."

"...Punishment is the medicine for ordering chaos; moral education is the sustenance for peace. Using moral education to eliminate cruelty is like using sustenance to cure illness; using punishment to maintain peace is like using medicine to nourish life...Now we suffer from the ills of a hundred reigns and are in the midst of a calamity. Since the beginning of several generations, the evils have accumulated, and it is truly time to use strong medicine..."

In the study, the group discussed things from day to night.

After having a light dinner, the group continued working late into the night.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that Wei Zhe noticed Xi Zhicai's exhausted face, and he suddenly realized what was happening and quickly called a halt.

He didn't want to accidentally outlive Xi Zhicai to death just when things were about to get done.

So Wei Zhe quickly asked Fan A, the physician who served in the manor, to come and examine Xi Zhicai.

For safety reasons, Wei Zhe even ordered Fan A to move into the opera house in the next few days to take care of him and help him recover.

However, after Xi Zhicai and the others left, Wei Zhe fell into deep thought as he looked at the wall in the study covered with notes.

After today's discussion, he realized that he had almost fallen into the trap of redundant officials.

Yes, the ruling logic of monarchical autocracy is indeed centralized power, but it depends on the degree.

If he insists on seizing power, then how should the end of imperial power be defined?
The current population of the world is only forty to fifty million, and even with a period of rest and recuperation, it can only support a maximum of sixty million people.

These objective conditions were far inferior not only to those of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but also to those of the Northern Song dynasty.

After all, although the Northern Song Dynasty was incomplete, it was the first empire in China with a population of over 100 million.

The historical peak of 1.26 million people was almost twice that of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Furthermore, more than 60% of these people were from the south, and the development level in the south far exceeded that of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Especially after Emperor Zhenzong of Song sent envoys to obtain 3 bushels of Champa rice seeds from Fujian and distributed them to the Jianghuai and Liangzhe regions for promotion, the grain revolution in the south directly changed the ecology of the entire China.

The widespread availability of three meals a day is the most earth-shattering change.

It was precisely because of this level of grain surplus and a population of over 100 million that the urbanization and industry of the Northern Song Dynasty were provided with a social foundation; otherwise, urbanization would have been nothing but a castle in the air.

However, it was precisely because the Northern Song Dynasty was too urbanized and other aspects did not keep up that this tragedy occurred.

Taking history as a mirror, we can know the ups and downs.

Wei Zhe loves power, but he doesn't want to cause the collapse of China again.

Therefore, he felt that even if his imperial power was somewhat limited, it was not unacceptable.

The most powerful emperor in Chinese history?

Haha, let whoever wants to do it do it, he doesn't ask for anything more.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe immediately summoned someone to retrieve the grain production records of the past few years and sent someone to Zhixing Academy to retrieve the grain production data of all dynasties since Liu Bang founded the country.

After all, ministers' memorials can be embellished with clever words, but data does not lie.

Even if some data is distorted, a large amount of data can still reflect some aspects of the situation.

It was fine if he didn't calculate; the more he calculated, the deeper Wei Zhe's brows furrowed.

Compared to the Former Han Dynasty, grain production has actually increased to some extent due to technological innovation.

For example, during the Western Han Dynasty, the yield per mu was about 1.5 shi (equivalent to 60 kilograms today), while during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, it increased to 3 hu (about 120 kilograms). The main reasons for the increase were the popularization of iron farm tools, the promotion of ox-drawn plows, and the construction of water conservancy projects throughout the country.

Even so, the total arable land in the country is only about 700 million mu, and that is an optimistic estimate.

If we calculate based on a yield of 3 hu per mu, the average annual total grain output of the Han Dynasty would be approximately 210 billion hu.
(One Hanhu (a unit of dry measure) is approximately 27 jin (a unit of weight), equivalent to 2835 million tons today.)

It may seem like a lot, but it's nothing compared to the sheer size of the bureaucratic system.

Currently, officials are divided into five grades and eighteen levels, and their salaries are mainly paid in grain.
For example, first-rank officials such as the Chancellor and Grand Commandant, who held gold seals and purple ribbons, were all paid 10,000 shi of grain per month, with an actual annual grain allowance of around 4,000 to 5,000 hu, with occasional fluctuations, the remainder being supplemented with money and goods. Second-rank officials such as the Nine Ministers and Prefects were generally paid 2,000 shi of grain per month.

As for the lowest-ranking clerks, such as the fifth-rank assistant clerks, they received only 96 bushels of grain per year, a huge difference in their salaries.

Wei Zhe roughly calculated the salaries paid by various dynasties. Even including the redundant salaries paid to empty employees, he found that even during a prosperous and enlightened period like the "Rule of Ming and Zhang," the Han Dynasty only supported about 150,000 officials.

And you'll also get the evaluation of "abundant public funds"!

However, during the reigns of Emperor Huan and his predecessors, there were at most 100,000 officials, and possibly even fewer.

Because the imperial court no longer had enough grain to support so many officials who were not working full-time.

Without salaries, many low-level officials naturally wouldn't sit idly by and wait to starve to death; fleeing became inevitable.

This, in turn, created a chain reaction, leading to the usurpation of power at the grassroots level by local powerful figures.

The plundering by powerful clans and aristocratic families left many farmers homeless, forcing them to become refugees, their families torn apart, and the amount of grain the imperial court could receive dwindled.

This cycle repeated itself, eventually leading to the earth-shattering Yellow Turban Rebellion!

Of course, compared to before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wei Zhe's rule was definitely much better.

Even though Wei Zhe is now promoting large-scale land reclamation, which has led to a significant increase in the amount of grain the government can collect, there has been no technological revolution, no significant improvement in grain varieties, and no further development in the south.

Under such circumstances, an optimistic estimate suggests that the new dynasty could probably only support a maximum of 200,000 off-duty officials.

Even so, this is only possible under the conditions of no war, no disasters, and no fluctuations in agriculture.

If we include the army, royalty, noble families, and aristocratic clans, the burden on ordinary people becomes even heavier.

After all, the Wei army had a much larger cavalry force compared to the Han army of the current dynasty.

The presence of a large number of horses naturally increased the cost of supporting the army.

……

He wakes up and holds the power of the world, but he lies drunk on the knees of a beautiful woman.

Wow, that sounds pretty romantic.

But reality forces us to admit that governing a country is an extremely tedious and frustrating task.

Looking at the numbers in front of him, Wei Zhe suddenly couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

In other words, he could only employ 150,000 effective officials.

His design for the new dynasty had to be completed within this framework.

Otherwise, even the most advanced system would be nothing more than poison for the people of the Han Dynasty at present...

(End of this chapter)