A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 411 Grand Tutor Su

Li Yi felt that the Luozhou General Administration governed nine prefectures, which was still a bit too many.

The three prefectures of Yi, Ru, and Lu can be merged into one Ru prefecture, and the prefectures of Gu and Xiong can even be directly incorporated into Luo prefecture.

Zheng and Guan prefectures could also be merged into one Zheng prefecture.

There was no need to preserve Songzhou.

The Huai Prefecture General Administration Office could actually be abolished, and Huai Prefecture could be merged into the Luo Prefecture General Administration Office.

After eliminating some counties, Luozhou directly governed twenty counties, and also governed the three prefectures of Huai, Ru, and Zheng, which had seventeen counties.

This would also reduce the number of general administration offices and four prefectures, streamline the administration of many officials, and save a lot of expenses.

"My lord, Su Wei requests an audience!" The family retainer Song Yi came in to report.

Li Yi was writing a memorial to the emperor, suggesting that the two general administrations of Luozhou and Huaizhou be merged, and that the prefectures of Yi, Lu, Song, Gu, Xiong, and Guan, as well as Mengzhou, Mengzhou, Xijizhou, Beiyizhou, Yizhou, Zhizhou, Pingzhou, Yinzhou, Gongzhou, and Lizhou of Huai Prefecture be abolished.

The practice of having ten sheep and nine shepherds is unacceptable; the number of prefectures, counties, and officials must be streamlined.

During the previous war, anyone who submitted to the Tang Dynasty was granted official positions and titles, and a large number of prefectures and counties were established, along with a general administration office. Now that the war has ended, the focus has shifted to governance, and the first blow must be delivered to this area.

Huai Prefecture, east of the Qin River, should rightfully belong to Hebei, but since the imperial court only has this small corner of Hebei now, it would be better to directly incorporate it into the Luozhou General Administration of Henan.

"Suwei?"

"It's Wang Shichong's fake Grand Tutor Zheng!"

Li Yi smiled. Of course, he knew Su Wei; his knowledge of him was like thunder. "Su Wei is not just a fake Grand Tutor Zheng,"

This man was a legend; he was the son-in-law of Yuwen Hu, a powerful minister and regicide of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

Yuwen Hu can be considered the greatest regicide in history. Compared to him, Yuwen Huaji is nothing. Yuwen Hu killed three emperors in three years and also killed three pillars of state.

Su Wei was the son of a high-ranking official and the son-in-law of a powerful minister. He started his career as a clerk in the capital, inherited the title of Duke of Meiyang County, and married Princess Xinxing. His starting point in life was an end point that countless people could not reach even after several generations.

When Yuwen Hu seized power, Su Wei had long foreseen that he would not have a good end, so he often secluded himself in a mountain temple to read books for pleasure.

When Yang Jian was the prime minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he summoned him to his residence. Knowing that Yang Jian was going to usurp the throne, he ran back to his hometown and did not participate. However, after Yang Jian accepted the abdication and became emperor, he accepted the summons and was appointed as the Minister of Ceremonies and the Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince. Soon after, he also served as the Grand Councilor and the Minister of Personnel.

Su Wei even held five important positions concurrently: Grand Councilor, Minister of Personnel, Grand Censor, Minister of Justice, and Prefect of the Capital.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, he held a high position and wielded great power, and was known as one of the Four No

During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, the position of prime minister was reinstated, making him one of the Five Nobles of the Daye Era.

Later, whether it was Yuwen Huaji's regicide, Li Mi's rise to power in Henan, or Wang Shichong's usurpation, Su Wei was always used as a mascot.
He was advocating for himself and leveraging his prestige.

"When Wang Shichong surrendered, didn't Su Wei say he was old and seriously ill? Why is he back now?"

Su Wei is indeed very old; he is eighty years old this year.

At his age, even Li Yuan was unwilling to punish him further. After the pacification of Luoyang, Su Wei claimed to be seriously ill, so Li Yuan ignored him, neither punishing him nor sending him to Chang'an.

"Let him come,"

After some consideration, Li Yi decided to meet the old man. It wasn't because of his prestige, but because although the old man's character wasn't great, he did have some skills.

In particular, Su Wei's reform of the tax system at the beginning of Emperor Wen of Sui's reign was quite capable.

Yang Jian once commented on Su Wei: "He had lofty ambitions, but his selection of virtuous men was flawed. He was ruthless and greedy for fame. He was pleased when things went his way and angry when they didn't."

Yuan Shan said he was cowardly.

Like Xiao Yu, Su Wei liked to argue endlessly over trivial matters, lacking any semblance of ministerial decorum. Most importantly, Su Wei wasn't as upright as Li Gang, who served under two Sui emperors, as well as Yuwen Huaji, Li Mi, Yang Tong, and Wang Shichong.

He was fond of fame and power, and could remain honest, but he lacked integrity when it came to matters of principle.

When they met Su Wei,
The old man seemed to be on his last breath, about to die at any moment. He was being supported by his grandsons Su Xu and Su Dan, and he was trembling.

Seeing this, Li Yi frowned.

"Please forgive me, Your Excellency, for my advanced age and frail health, which prevent me from bowing."

Seeing his condescending attitude, Li Yi felt disgusted. If you can't pay your respects, then don't come. Does he really think he's the Grand Tutor?

"How old is Master Su this year?"

"Just over eighty."

"What an venerable age," he said. He did not bow, and Li Yi did not offer him a seat, but let him stand there supported by his two grandsons.

"Su Gong was the prime minister of the Sui Dynasty, but the country was in a state of political confusion and you could not save it, which led to the suffering of the people, the assassination of the emperor, and the destruction of the country."

You saw Yuwen Huaji, Li Mi, and Wang Shichong, yet you still bowed and danced, performing the grand rites of a ruler and his subjects. Now that you are old and ill, you should stay home and rest well.”

Li Yi immediately accused him of something.
Su Wei originally came relying on his prestige, and when facing the eighteen-year-old Li Yi, he wanted to put on some airs. However, Li Yi was very impolite, which made him lose face.

Just as Li Yi had guessed,
Su Wei came from the Su family of martial arts, a famous family in Guanzhong, but ultimately not as prestigious as the five families of Shandong and the six families of Guanzhong.

The Su family's martial arts skills were ultimately a level below.

Now that the world is about to be unified again, and the Mandate of Heaven is in the Tang Dynasty, Su Wei, despite being eighty years old, came to pay his respects to Li Yi, simply to find a way out for his grandsons.

His son, Su Kui, was very capable, but unfortunately passed away a few years ago.

Sunzi Suxu and Sudan are still young. Although they are both intelligent from a young age and have a family tradition of learning, they still need his support and guidance. After all, he was unable to follow the true emperor since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty.

Looking at the young man in front of him, Su Wei thought, "He's truly a rising star."

In him, he seemed to see his own lost youth, when he was also young and successful.

He pushed his two grandsons away.
With his body upright, hands clasped in front of his chest, and head slightly lowered to touch his hands, he said, "Martial arts master Su Wei greets the Minister of Works."

This is a form of respectful bowing, used by high-ranking officials in informal settings.

Eighty-year-old Su Wei bowed respectfully to eighteen-year-old Li Yi. This was a more solemn gesture than a simple crossed-hands salute.

Su Wei, of course, could not kneel or bow to Li Yixing.

"What kind of tea does Master Su drink?" Li Yi asked.

Su Wei stood there straight, trembling slightly.

"Thank you, Minister Xie, either way is fine."

"You two Su brothers, quickly help your grandfather sit down."

Su Xu immediately took the initiative to come over and brew tea.

After taking his seat, Su Wei breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head, and Li Sikong softened his attitude as well.

Li Yi directly asked Su Wei for advice on governing Henan, "Lord Su was once a prime minister of the imperial court and has rich experience. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Su Wei sat there upright, no longer acting like an old man. "Back then, my father was the Minister of Revenue of the Western Wei Dynasty. He was ordered by Yuwen Tai to reform the system and implement new laws."

He prescribed two remedies for Yuwen Tai, one of which was to recruit talented individuals to serve as governors, prefects, and magistrates. The root cause of the social unrest at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty was the overabundance of unqualified officials and bureaucratic redundancy; even the best policies from above were useless if they couldn't be implemented at the lower levels.

"The difficulty of governing officials lies not in the imperial court, but in the local areas, especially in the prefecture and county levels responsible for implementing policies. When people evaluate the quality of imperial policies, they are actually evaluating the effectiveness of implementation, not the policies themselves."

Li Yi agreed with Su Wei's words; he was indeed a seasoned veteran.

"Then what does Master Su think we should do?"

"While local officials were appointed and dismissed by the central court, local governance relied primarily on clerks and clerks. A major reason for the corruption in the Northern Wei bureaucracy was that local officials appointed clerks and clerks based solely on ability, not character."

High-ranking officials in prefectures and counties often only consider connections and do not select virtuous and capable individuals; low-ranking officials are only tested by their writing skills and are not considered for their character or conduct.

Some clerks are highly capable, but morally deficient. Employing such people will cause more destruction than contribution.

When employing people, both ability and character should be valued; in fact, virtue is even more important than talent.

When selecting officials, whether talent or character is more important is like choosing the eldest son or the most virtuous son as heir—it's not absolute.

"What about the second prescription?"

"By merging prefectures and counties and reducing personnel, we must break the situation of overstaffing. When officials are less involved, things are less complicated; when things are less complicated, the people are more peaceful. When officials are overburdened, things are complicated; when things are complicated, the people are more corrupt."

If the person is suitable, appoint him; if not, leave the position vacant.

Su Wei produced the six articles of the new laws that his father had reformed for Yuwen Tai: first, govern the mind; second, promote education; third, make full use of the land; fourth, promote the virtuous and capable; fifth, alleviate the suffering of the innocent and the guilty; and sixth, equalize taxes and corvée labor.

To govern a region, one must first govern its officials.

To govern officials effectively, one must first govern their hearts and minds. Governing their hearts means establishing correct values, closely following the imperial court, and unifying their thinking.

Su Wei's father even explicitly stated that local officials were not required to be completely honest and that some gray income was allowed.

To govern oneself, one must take the lead and practice what one preaches.

Promoting moral education is also very important; it's part of building a civilized society and strengthening morality. Otherwise, if no one helps an elderly person who has fallen, and men and women engage in thievery and prostitution, the world will descend into chaos.

Finally, there are lenient laws and punishments, and light taxes and levies.

Li Yi nodded repeatedly. Although this set of methods was decades old and originated from the Western Wei reforms, it was still effective in addressing the problems in Henan during the early Tang Dynasty.

There's nothing new in the world.

The most basic needs are food and clothing; everything should revolve around these. Judicial fairness is also crucial; maintaining stability, a stable environment, and a sense of security are essential for resuming production with peace of mind.

“If rewards and punishments are just, evil will be stopped and good will be encouraged; if rewards and punishments are unfair, the people will not know what to do. If the people do not know what to do, resentment and rebellion will arise.”

Su Wei stated very directly that criminal law is not for generating revenue, nor can it involve setting quotas or imposing penalties. It is better to let bad people go free than to frame good people.

“There are four types of people who cannot be forgiven: the treacherous and cunning, the immoral and corrupt, the immoral and unethical, and the disloyal and unfilial. These four types of people must be killed.”

Li Yi nodded.

It's like an old man falling down, and someone kindly helps him up, but you claim that the other person knocked you down and try to extort money from them.

This kind of person is very bad and must be severely punished, otherwise it will ruin the social atmosphere and no one will dare to help an elderly person who has fallen.

For example, if a businessman cheats on weights and measures or sells inferior goods, he must be severely punished, otherwise he will continue to cheat and swindle.

"Lord Su, I agree with everything you said, but now that the war is over, everything is in ruins and the treasury is empty. We need money and food everywhere, but with light taxes and levies, how can we possibly cover our expenses?"

Faced with Li Yi's aggressive gaze,
Su Wei hesitated for a moment before finally speaking: "In Henan today, only 20% of the registered population remains, and they have no surplus wealth. If we continue to levy taxes and conscript labor on them, it will only drive them into bankruptcy and forced them to flee."

The only option now is to resort to extraordinary measures.

"please say."

"Whoever has money and grain will be taxed. For example, if a family has a lot of property, then the tax will be levied according to their level. The higher the level of the household, the more tax will be levied, and the lower the level, the less tax will be levied. The lowest level is the second level, or even exempted from taxation."

For example, with farmland, if those who occupy farmland pay more taxes, the taxes can be levied per mu (unit of land area), with each mu paying one or two sheng (unit of volume).

Household taxes and grain allowances can temporarily solve the immediate crisis. After a few years of recuperation and hardship, and with the people accumulating some savings, things will return to normal.

Li Yi laughed and said, "I now own a total of 100,000 mu of land. If I pay two sheng of grain per mu, I will have to pay 2,000 shi of grain per year."

Su Wei said, "The Minister of Works has 100,000 mu of land. If each mu yields 6 dou of rent, he can also obtain 60,000 shi of millet. If he pays 2,000 shi of additional grain, it is only one-thirtieth of the total."

For ordinary people, paying two shi of millet per capita could mean losing their very means of survival.

Li Yi looked at the Su brothers and said, "If Su Dalang is willing, he can first serve as a military advisor in the Luozhou General's Office, and Su Erlang can go down to be a county magistrate. What do you think?"

They were all just low-ranking officials of the ninth rank.
Su Wei nodded, accepting on behalf of his two grandsons, "Thank you for your help, Master Sikong."

Su Xu and Su Dan stepped forward, bowed, and expressed their gratitude.

(End of this chapter)