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

Chapter 736 The Tang Dynasty Cabinet
We hold discussions in the imperial court in the morning and manage affairs in our respective departments in the afternoon.

After the council meeting ended, the prime ministers returned to their respective provinces to handle their affairs. Li Yi, the Pingzhang, was now essentially a full-time prime minister.

Li Yi organized the resolutions of today's meeting, signed them first, and then asked the other seven prime ministers to sign them as well.

A formal resolution of the Council of State was then produced and stamped with the seal of the Council of State.

Li Yi took the document concerning the collection of two liters of millet per mu from the granary and the requirement that officials and gentry pay grain together to the emperor and present it to him.

If the emperor agrees to this document, it will be formally issued by the Secretariat and then signed by the Chancellery. However, once a resolution has been passed by the Chancellery, it cannot be overturned.

Wang Gui was able to reject the emperor's edicts four times in a row because the land restriction decree had not yet been decided by the Council of State Affairs. As the Grand Secretary of the Secretariat, he had the authority to reject it.

But now that the Council of State has made a decision, Wang Gui, as the Chamberlain, has no right to object anymore.

The retired emperor still lives in the Taiji Palace.
The Emperor has appointed Doulu Kuan to oversee the renovation of Hongyi Palace. The former Prince Qin's residence will be renamed Da'an Palace, and the Retired Emperor will move there around the end of the year.
The Taiji Palace would then be vacated for Emperor Zhenguan.

Walking through the Eastern Palace, Li Yi felt that it was indeed inconvenient for the emperor to rule from there. During the daily court sessions, there were fewer officials, which was fine. But on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, all the officials in the capital gathered for the court sessions, making it too crowded.

Moreover, the two inner offices, the Secretariat and the Chancellery, were also moved to the Eastern Palace, and their office space was not very spacious.

"You've come at the perfect time, just in time for dinner." Li Shimin was about to have his meal when he saw Li Yi arrive. He greeted him with a smile and asked the eunuch to prepare another set of tableware.

The emperor eats four meals a day.

It is said that this system originated from the Zhou rites, which is why the king ate four meals a day, so that he would know that there were things from the four directions and that the food was made according to the four seasons.

The four meal times are dawn, midday, lunch, and dusk.

It was midday at this time.

The emperor was eating his second meal.

The emperor's lunch was very simple.
A bowl of wild rice, a plate of cold sliced ​​mutton, a plate of steamed sea bass, a plate of mashed potatoes, a stir-fried pumpkin, and a soup with white fungus and ginkgo nuts.

Four dishes, one soup, and one rice
It was surprisingly simple; the meals served to prime ministers at work were far better.

Even the meals the emperor bestowed upon his ministers in the corridors were more lavish than this.

Wild rice grains are large and long, with a very chewy texture and a grassy aroma. However, Li Yi still thinks that the Osmanthus Crystal Rice produced in Yushu Township tastes better, as it is soft, sticky, and sweet.

"How did the meeting go?"

The emperor asked this question while eating.

“Wang Shizhong led the opposition to the land restriction order, and the discussion in the court was quite lively. His Majesty’s edict was not passed.”

Li Shimin simply smiled upon hearing this, as it was entirely within his expectations.

When Li Yi reported the resolution, it was to his surprise, "A revised land restriction order?"

The emperor put down his chopsticks, took the document handed to him by Li Yi, and carefully examined it. This revised land restriction order would not deal with land that had already exceeded the limit.

The key point is that it is forbidden to buy more land after exceeding the land occupation limit, but a loophole is left: there is no limit on the purchase of land in border areas and wide villages.

This modified version of the land restriction order is completely meaningless.

It can barely curb this trend of land annexation, but in fact, land annexation is already very serious. If the land in the hands of these nobles and officials who have exceeded the limits is not removed, then the land restriction order is only a temporary solution.

"It's not easy to get them to pay two liters of millet per mu of grain in the granary, and for officials and gentry to pay the same amount," Li Shimin said with a smile, though that was his real purpose.

"Shouldn't we introduce a primary customer system next, and then take the opportunity to conduct a thorough investigation of the population and farmland?"

Li Yi shook his head.
"Your Majesty, we must not rush. We must proceed one step at a time. Although the requirement of paying two sheng of grain per mu for the public granary has been approved by the Council of State Affairs, Your Majesty's approval will allow the Central Secretariat to formally issue the edict."

However, to successfully implement this policy throughout the land, there will likely be considerable resistance, and this matter will inevitably experience some setbacks; it must be approached gradually.

One by one,
The emperor and the prime ministers have reached a consensus on this matter, but the many nobles, officials and landlords, led by Changsun Wuji, may not support it so easily.

There will definitely still be struggles.

“That’s true,” Li Shimin nodded, putting down the documents in his hand. “Let’s eat first. Would you like some more dishes?”

"Four dishes and a soup, with fish and lamb, it's a very sumptuous meal."

After dinner,

Li Yi accompanied the emperor on a walk.

"I have recently been reading historical records. During the Han Dynasty, the Shangshu, Zhongshu, and Shizhong were all subordinate officials of the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department). The Zhongshu and Shangshu were originally the same position, in charge of the submission of memorials and the issuance of imperial edicts in the palace. If a scholar was employed, he was called Shangshu; if a eunuch was employed, he was called Zhongshu. Later, the Zhongshu and Shangshu were established concurrently, and the Zhongshu was also staffed by scholars. The Shizhong was originally an honorary title, meaning that he could enter and leave the palace and attend to the emperor. Later, he gradually became the emperor's close attendant."

Later, when matters were transferred to the central government, the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat became a key one, and the Minister began to replace the powers of the Chancellor and the Censor-in-Chief.

During the Southern Dynasties, major political decisions were mostly made by the Secretariat. However, due to the fact that powerful clans held high positions and disdained to pay attention to officialdom, the authority of the Secretariat did not lie with the Director of the Secretariat, but was once transferred to the Secretariat Attendant.

In the Northern Dynasties, warrior attendants became feudal nobles, serving the emperor within the palace. Their duties were roughly equivalent to those of the Attendant-in-Ordinary and the Yellow Gate Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Secretariat since the Han and Wei dynasties. Therefore, the Northern Dynasties placed great importance on the Secretariat officials, often appointing Attendants-in-Ordinary to assist in governance…

The emperor has been talking about it all the way to the present day.

"The Sui Dynasty adopted the Qi system, while our Great Tang Dynasty followed the Sui system and also continued the tradition of power residing in the Secretariat. The Prime Minister's Council, which decided the central government's deliberations, was also located in the Secretariat."

The state originally established the Secretariat and the Chancellery to supervise each other. If there were errors in imperial edicts issued by the Secretariat, the Chancellery would be responsible for revising them. However, people's opinions differ, so the prime ministers made decisions in the Council of State Affairs to avoid situations where they would pass the buck.

Li Yi listened quietly.

He believed the emperor wouldn't suddenly say these things; there must be a reason.

During the Sui Dynasty, central decision-making was once conducted within the Ministry of Personnel (Shangshu Sheng), and was known as the "Department of State Decisions." The Tang Dynasty established the Secretariat (Menxia Sheng) as the Hall of State Affairs, a move that weakened the power of the Ministry of Personnel and strengthened the power of the Secretariat.

From the Daye Dynasty to the present, the nominal or vacant position of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat reflects the declining power of the Imperial Secretariat.

The Hall of State Affairs, located within the Secretariat,
However, it was merely a place for prime ministers to discuss matters, not a real institution.

Originally, only the heads of the three provinces served as prime ministers, meeting and discussing matters in the Hall of State Affairs.

Now, however, the emperor is granting officials titles and positions in the Council of State Affairs, which is increasing the Council's power and even showing a tendency to become a new power center.

"I believe the Council of State Affairs needs to be strengthened."
Six additional offices, including those for officials and soldiers, were added to the Hall of State Affairs. Each office was staffed with three chief scribes: one was responsible for receiving and approving imperial edicts and drafting decrees; another was responsible for checking and submitting written documents; and the third was responsible for reading, stamping, and issuing the edicts.

The prime minister has court records for judging matters concerning the four directions, and court notices for disciplining officials in various departments.

Li Yi understood now.
The emperor wanted to transform the Council of State, which was originally just a meeting place for prime ministers, into a central institution that was above the three provinces.

It has six departments, each with three chief scribes, forming an independent central body for adjudicating government affairs.

It was both the highest decision-making body and also the administrative body; the six offices were the administrative departments of the six departments.

The Tang Dynasty had a system of multiple chancellors.
This prevented the prime minister from monopolizing power and threatening imperial authority.

However, a system of multiple powers, especially a system of decentralization among three provinces, can easily lead to inefficiency and infighting.

Now, considering efficiency, Li Shimin wants to expand the power of the Council of State Affairs, allowing the prime ministers to make major decisions directly in the Council of State Affairs, with the Chamberlain of the Secretariat participating in the decision-making process. Once a decision is reached, it cannot be rejected.

Furthermore,

He planned to increase the number of members of the Council of State Affairs, and to have officials other than the heads of the three provinces enter the Council of State Affairs with other titles to make decisions on major policies. This would also further divide the power of the prime ministers of the three provinces.

The Council of State Affairs established six secretarial offices, essentially a scaled-down version of the Six Ministries, directly subordinate to the Council of State Affairs and independent of the Six Ministries of the Ministry of Personnel.
From loose deliberation to independent decision-making.

To ensure that the Council of State makes sound decisions

Li Shimin also proposed that "the Left and Right Remonstrance Officials and the Imperial Censor should all participate in the Council of State Affairs meetings."

The Grand Master of Remonstrance and the Grand Censor participated in the Council of State Affairs meetings to supervise decision-making. Although they were not prime ministers, they made the council meetings more formal.

In Li Yi's view,
The original Three Departments and Six Ministries system, with the Secretariat making decisions, the Chancellery reviewing them, and the Department of State Affairs implementing them, was a relatively good system, with checks and balances on each other's powers.

Now, Li Shimin wants to strengthen the Council of State Affairs, which means he wants to recentralize power.
This government office was more like Li Shimin's cabinet.

It possesses an independent seal of the Council of State Affairs, and has its own subordinate offices, including six departments, and staff such as the Chief Secretary.

The decision-makers made the decisions, and the emperor made the final ruling.

All government decrees, including imperial edicts, must be formally approved by the Council of State Affairs and stamped with the seal before they can take effect and be promulgated.

The prime ministers took turns holding the pen in the Hall of State Affairs, with each person on duty for ten days. When there was a meeting in the hall, they would preside over the meeting; when there was no meeting, they would act as the prime minister on duty, handling daily official business and carrying out the emperor's orders.

However, the observant Li Yi still noticed some key issues.

Although the Council of State Affairs was strengthened, it failed to become a true central authority above the three provinces, because the Council's resolutions...

It also required the emperor's approval before an imperial edict could be officially issued.

Although Li Shimin added a clause that all government decrees, including imperial edicts, must be formally approved by the Council of State Affairs and stamped with the seal of the Council of State Affairs before they can take effect and be promulgated.

However, the resolutions passed at the Council of State Affairs must be reported to the Emperor for approval before they can be promulgated.

Seemingly contradictory,

In fact, they are not contradictory at all.
Although the Council of State Affairs had the power to make decisions and deliberate, which was equivalent to merging the powers of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, its power was not complete.

Only the emperor had the final say.

Therefore, in the end, even if the Council of State Affairs was strengthened, it was still just an inner cabinet of the emperor, simply carrying out his orders.

Li Shimin desired a more efficient support mechanism.

Therefore, he wanted to merge the Secretariat, which was responsible for decision-making, and the Chancellery, which was responsible for deliberation, into one office, so that the prime ministers could make decisions in the Council of State Affairs.

The procedure for handling affairs has changed from the previous one, where the Secretariat issued an edict, the Chancellery reviewed it, and then it was reported to the emperor.

Now, the prime ministers make the decisions first, then report to the emperor. After the emperor agrees, the Secretariat formally drafts the edict, and the Chancellery can no longer reject it. The edict is then handed over to the six ministries of the Ministry of Personnel for execution.

There will be no more disputes between the Secretariat and the Chancellery.

Originally, the Secretariat could reject imperial edicts. Six Attendants, two Vice Ministers of the Palace Secretariat, and two Attendants all had this power to reject edicts.

But now, the eight prime ministers made a decision in the Hall of State Affairs, and the power of review and rejection, which was originally exclusive to the Secretariat, has actually become shared by the eight prime ministers.

The emperor could also use his title to allow other officials of the fourth or fifth rank to enter the Council of State Affairs to share this power.

This naturally increased the emperor's control over the Council of State Affairs.

Take this land restriction order as an example. The emperor issued the order directly, and Wang Gui rejected it four times without success. Then, Li Yi presided over a meeting of the Council of State Affairs, gathered opinions from all sides, and came up with an improved version of the land restriction order, as well as the introduction of the public granary system. Wang Gui then lost the right to reject it again.

After the walk,
Li Shimin then approved the resolution of the Council of State presented by Li Yi.

“Take it back to the Hall of State Affairs and have the Imperial Secretary draft the edict.”

(End of this chapter)