Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 435: Split into Six Parts (End)

Lu Jin looked at the list handed over by Li Shanchang. He had never studied the inner court of the Tang and Song dynasties before. Now, after comparing them, he found that the Song Dynasty was actually much more streamlined than the Tang Dynasty.

There were twelve bureaus in the inner court of the Tang Dynasty, and in the Song Dynasty, even if we counted the Imperial City Bureau which was responsible for the capital's security, there were also the Hanlin Academy, Longtu Pavilion, Tianzhang Pavilion, and Imperial Pharmacy (Imperial Hospital) which were between the inner and outer courts, there were only nine institutions in total, and there were only three or four purely inner court institutions.

Lu Jin thought about it and said, "Then let's set up a few prisons based on the old system of the Tang Dynasty."

He said as he counted the functions needed in the inner court.

"There is a Shangbaojian, who is in charge of the imperial seal, the imperial ribbon, the military token, etc.; there is a Yuqijian, who is responsible for the manufacture of palace utensils; there is a Sishejian, who is in charge of the arrangements for the emperor's travels; there is a Yumajian, who is in charge of the inner court's carriages and horses; there is a Zhidianjian, who is responsible for sweeping the palace;

"The Shangshanjian was responsible for the food in the Forbidden City; the Shengongjian was in charge of the keys to the palace gates and the sacrifices in the Imperial Ancestral Temple; the Shangyijian was responsible for the production of clothing in the Forbidden City; the Sikujian was in charge of the treasury; the Silijian was in charge of the inner court's origins and supervised the inner court's various supervisors.

"There are ten prisons in total. That's it. It should be enough."

Everyone nodded when they heard this. This was modeled after the Tang system, but with two fewer institutions to show frugality. At the same time, it had everything it needed, and it could also maintain the inner court. This lord's performance was simply too perfect, and sometimes it made them feel suffocated.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked. Lu Jin, the leader, has behaved so frugally. How can you, a subject, be more extravagant than your lord?

In fact, the ten offices set up by Lu Jin were three less than the twelve offices set up by Zhu Yuanzhang in original history. Zhu Yuanzhang's inner court also had a Seal Office, which was also in charge of letters and tokens. Its functions somewhat overlapped with the Shangbao Office, which was in charge of seals. Therefore, Lu Jin only retained one Shangbao Office.

There was also a Du Zhijian, who was originally responsible for supervising and checking the documents between the inner courts, but later this function was merged into the Silijian, which also had the responsibility of managing the inner court. The role of one to manage and the other to supervise was a bit redundant. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Du Zhijian had completely become a miscellaneous person.

There was also the Internal Affairs Bureau, which was in charge of palace utensils and lighting. Its functions overlapped with those of the Imperial Artifacts Bureau and were abolished by Lu Jin.

However, compared with the inner court of the Ming Dynasty, Lu Jin added a Treasury Supervisor to manage the inner treasury, that is, the emperor's small treasury and the royal finances. This was not available in Zhu Yuanzhang's inner court, which was a functional deficiency. Now it was made up by Lu Jin, so three supervisors were cut and one was added, and finally the twelve supervisors became ten.

Li Shanchang then asked, "Your Highness, do we still need to set up the Hanlin Academy?"

"Of course there must be a Hanlin Academy, but from now on the Hanlin Academy will belong to the outer court and will no longer be an inner court institution." Lu Jin said immediately.

The Hanlin Academy was first established by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. At first, it was filled with people who were good at poetry and painting, had good literary talent, or knew medicine, divination, and health preservation. To put it bluntly, they were recruited by the emperor to accompany him. Li Bai once worked in the Hanlin Academy, where he accompanied the emperor to drink and write poetry all day.
By the Song Dynasty, the functions of the Hanlin Academy were gradually formalized and turned into an official position for the imperial examinations, and its function also became that of the emperor's secretary and advisory agency.

Now with Lu Jin, the function of the Hanlin Academy has been further improved than that of the Song Dynasty.

“In the future, the Hanlin Academy’s function should be to serve as the central secretariat. In addition to helping the emperor draft imperial edicts, it should also help the cabinet with secretarial work, but the Hanlin Academy has no decision-making power over government affairs.

“At the same time, the Hanlin Academy will also play a role similar to the former Longtu Pavilion and Tianzhang Pavilion of the Song Dynasty. Those who have been promoted but have no vacancies in the central government, or those who have passed the civil service examination, can first be placed in the Hanlin Academy as secretaries and intern in the cabinet.

"When there are vacancies in key local departments and there is no civil service examination, officials will be selected from the Hanlin Academy, which is the central talent reserve agency, to fill the vacancies and serve as secretaries to the emperor and the cabinet at the same time."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other and began to pay more attention to the Hanlin Academy. After Lu Jin's changes, it suddenly changed from an institution that accompanied the emperor in eating, drinking and having fun to a hot central talent reserve pool.

Moreover, you usually work as a secretary for the emperor and the cabinet, which means you get to know many national affairs. You can learn a lot from interning in the cabinet. Even if you are not here for learning, being familiar with the emperor and the prime minister will make your career brighter in the future. What if the boss remembers you when he gets promoted in the future?
Wang Guangyang also asked, "Your Highness, the Longtu Pavilion and Tianzhang Pavilion of the former Song Dynasty were used to reserve talents, and now they are placed in the Hanlin Academy. Does the new dynasty need to set up several pavilions like the former Song Dynasty?"

Lu Jin thought for a while and said, "We can build a pavilion, but it doesn't have to be used as a talent reserve. I heard that the Lingyan Pavilion in the Tang Dynasty was used to honor meritorious officials, so the Xin Dynasty can also build one to honor meritorious officials.

"Build two more halls to house the Cabinet and the Privy Council, one civil and one military. You can think of two names for them."

Everyone finally had a place to use their skills, and they quickly started thinking. Li Shanchang immediately asked, "How about the Wenhua Palace and the Wuying Palace?"

Lu Jin was speechless when he heard this. You were the one who gave Old Zhu the name, right? How come it is exactly the same as the one from the Ming Dynasty?
So he asked, "What about the others?"

Wang Guangyang also said, "In the former Song Dynasty, there was Zhaowen Hall, and the prime minister often served as the university scholar of Zhaowen Hall, so he was also called Zhaowen Xiang. Since it was the name of the office of the cabinet of the new dynasty, it can also be called Zhaowen Hall and Wuwei Hall."

Lu Jin thought about it and made a decision immediately, "Then we can choose one from each, and call them Zhaowen Hall and Wuying Hall. The pavilion for honoring meritorious officials is called Tianji Pavilion. All cabinet ministers will be granted the title of Grand Secretary of Zhaowen Hall and Wuying Hall, and the two academies of science and engineering will be granted the title of Grand Secretary of Tianji Pavilion. In addition to honoring meritorious officials, Tianji Pavilion will also serve as a scientific advisory agency for the emperor and the cabinet."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Tao An immediately asked, "Your Highness, can't the political officials and military officers of the Privy Council enter the Tianji Pavilion?"

"No, the Tianji Pavilion is only used to honor the academicians of the two academies of science and engineering who have made contributions. They can be granted titles of nobility or dukedom while alive, and can be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple after death."

The people present were immediately dissatisfied. What are the functions of these two academies of science and engineering? Why are their honors higher than those of civil and military officials?
Chen Yu immediately asked, "May I ask, Your Highness, what are the selection criteria for the two academies of science and engineering? Why are they higher than those for civil officials and military generals?"

Lu Jin said immediately, "If you want to join the two academies of science and engineering and obtain the title of academician, it's very simple. There are top talents in all 360 professions. As long as you can be the best in a certain field, you can become an academician. If you can also make achievements that benefit the people and the country, you can be granted a title, enter the Tianji Pavilion, and be entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. Chen Yu asked again, "But Your Highness, it is said that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. The saying that there is the first in the world is too general. How can we select them? Also, if you can be granted a title without military merit, how can you accept the honor of military merit?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin explained again.

“It is precisely because there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts that I said that Tianji Pavilion has nothing to do with the two academies of literature and martial arts, because you can’t tell who is first and second, but the two academies of science and engineering can. If you are good, you are good, and if you are not good, you are not good.

"As for the question of conferring a title, what does it mean to have made great contributions to the country and to benefit the people of the world? Let me give you an example. Who knows the current yield of wheat per mu and corn per mu?"

Qin Conglong immediately said, "Wheat grown in dry fields yields one dan per mu, about 120 to 130 jin, and corn yields two dan per mu, about 250 to 260 jin."

Lu Jin nodded, and then said, "I can offer a reward now. Whoever can make the corn yield more than 500 catties per mu will be made a marquis, and whoever can make the corn yield more than 800 catties per mu will be made a duke!

"If the wheat yield per mu exceeds 800 catties, he will be made a marquis. If the yield per mu exceeds 1,000 catties, he will be made a duke! He will be admitted to the Tianji Pavilion, be made a Grand Secretary, and be buried in the Imperial Ancestral Temple after his death. How about that? Who in your State Council and Privy Council can do this? Is such a person considered the best in the world?

"What do the generals do when they conquer cities and take over so much territory? Isn't it for farming? If someone can increase the grain yield per mu tenfold, wouldn't that mean the country's territory has increased tenfold out of thin air? If we calculate it based on the grain yield per mu and the territory area, wouldn't it be greater than the generals' contribution to conquering half of the world?
"Is it too much to make him a duke for such a merit?"

"It's not too much." Zhan Ding, who had been silent, said immediately.

But the others were still looking at each other in bewilderment. Chen Yu muttered, "If someone can really do it, then he can be called the best in the world. It's not an exaggeration to call him a living god. But can anyone really do it?"

“Of course you Confucian scholars can’t do it, because the Four Books and Five Classics won’t teach you how to increase grain production, but Gongshu Shi can, because the Gongshu Secret Book teaches you.

"What is the Tianji Pavilion? Tianji, Tianji, is the place to comprehend the secrets of heaven. If you don't have such ability, how can you enter the Tianji Pavilion?"

Lu Jin suddenly stood up and said, "I have four great wishes in this life. If I can achieve them before I die, I can die with my eyes closed."

Wang Guangyang asked curiously, "What is your ambition?"

"The first is high-yield grain, the second is an endless supply of fertilizer, and the third is machinery that can cultivate the land without human labor."

"What about the fourth one?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "With these three things, I will have the confidence to abolish the grain tax that has lasted for thousands of years, so that the people of the world and the court will have endless grain to use and eat. This is the fourth wish.

"And to achieve all this, only the two academies of science and engineering can do it. Does this count as benefiting the people of the world?"

Everyone gasped when they heard this. Abolish the grain tax that has been in place for thousands of years? This is even more outrageous than hearing that wheat yields 1,000 kilograms per mu.
Tao An immediately said, "If these four wishes of your Highness can really come true, then your achievements will surpass the three emperors and your virtue will surpass the five emperors."

After hearing this, Lu Jin sat down and said, "This is a good idea, but it's a pity that I'm afraid it won't happen to me. Now I don't even have an academician. I don't know how many of these three things I can accomplish before I die."

Chen Yu also asked, "Then how should the academicians be selected? If we only talk about the best in the world, how can we compare them?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "In the two academies of science and engineering, the Academy of Sciences is the academic officer, and the Academy of Engineering is the technical officer. One is responsible for theoretical research, one is responsible for engineering application, one is responsible for principle experiments, and one is responsible for implementing experimental results. "As for the method of admission, first go to college. After graduating from college, if you do not take the civil service exam, continue to study in college. After completing your master's and doctoral degrees, you can go to the research institutes under the two academies of science and engineering, or stay in school to teach and continue to guide master's and doctoral students to do research in school. If you have results, you can be elected as an academician. After being elected as an academician, if you can do what I just said, you can enter the cabinet and be granted a title. "

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. This means they will have to work in school for the rest of their lives.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about the cabinet. From now on, the cabinet will be located in the Zhaowen Hall, and the Privy Council will be located in the Wuying Hall. The ministers of the Privy Council will be selected from the military, not through the imperial examination.

"The cabinet ministers can only be selected from the ministers of the Executive Yuan and the Privy Council, and the number of cabinet members must be an odd number, with a minimum of five, a maximum of nine, and a maximum of thirteen.

"When there are only five people in the cabinet, at least one must be from the Privy Council. When there are nine people, at least two must be from the Privy Council. When there are thirteen people, at least three must be from the Privy Council. The military must have a seat in the cabinet. Civil officials cannot dominate alone."

Everyone nodded when they heard this. This system was not too beyond their expectations. The system of multiple prime ministers had existed in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were generally three prime ministers, the first prime minister, the second prime minister, and the last prime minister. Then there were many deputy prime ministers, called the ruling officials. Therefore, together they were also called prime ministers. In theory, there was no limit on the number of prime ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty, and any number of people could be there.

After the reform of the Southern Song Dynasty, the number of prime ministers was completely determined. Generally, there were two ministers and four ruling officials, namely the prime minister and the deputy prime minister, plus four ruling deputy prime ministers.

It's not so bad for Lu Jin. He decided the number of cabinet members as soon as he came to power, ranging from five to 13 people. He just required that the total number must be an odd number. He also stipulated the minimum number of seats in the Privy Council. This is good, so as to avoid wrangling in the future.

Lu Jin continued, "The prime minister's title in the early Song Dynasty was 'Shang Shu Zuo Pushe Tong Zhong Shu Men Xia Ping Zhang Shi', because the Tang and Song dynasties still used three provinces and six ministries, but now the three provinces and six ministries are gone, replaced by one cabinet and two courts, so it is not appropriate to use this name anymore.

"Well, in the former Song dynasty, there were two prime ministers, the left and the right. The left prime minister was called 'Cabinet Minister of Military and State Affairs', and was given the title of Grand Secretary of Zhaowen Hall; the right prime minister was called 'Cabinet Minister of Privy Affairs', and was given the title of Grand Secretary of Wuying Hall. The rest were called cabinet assistants.

"If the cabinet has only five people, then there will only be two prime ministers. If the cabinet has more than seven people, two deputy prime ministers can be appointed, called 'cabinet assistants and co-prime ministers'. The left and right prime ministers and the deputy prime ministers will be a maximum of four people, and the rest will be regents.

"The left and right prime ministers are of the second rank, and the rest are of the second rank. The term of office of the left and right prime ministers is five years. They can serve two terms at most, which is ten years. Then it is almost time for them to retire."

The prime minister is of the second rank, which is actually not a problem. The prime minister of the Song Dynasty was also of the second rank. Some people may be curious, since he is the top civil official, isn't he still of the first rank? Of course not, because the prime minister can also be given an honorary title, such as the crown prince's tutor, the crown prince's tutor, which are only of the first rank, and the first rank, while the prime minister's official position is of the second rank.
When everyone heard the rule Lu Jin said, they looked at each other and thought that this rule was really...
In the former Song Dynasty, there was at least a distinction between a prime minister and a deputy prime minister. But under Lu Jin, there were two prime ministers, the left and the right, and they were of equal rank. So who should they listen to?

Moreover, the prime minister actually has a term of office, each term is five years, and can be re-elected for a maximum of two terms of ten years. If this rule is established, then no one can touch the emperor, let alone think of dominating the country.

Feng Guoyong and Li Shanchang also looked at each other, opened their mouths, but said nothing. They were both still young. Li Shanchang was 39 years old now. If the country was established in two or three years, he would be 42 years old by then. He would be prime minister for another ten years, and he would be 52 years old. It would be too early to retire at 52.
Feng Guoyong is even more miserable. He is only 28 years old now, not even thirty years old. He will work for ten years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and retire at the age of 40, which is the prime of his life.
As if he could see what the two were thinking, Lu Jin added.

"The rule that the term of office is five years and the maximum number of consecutive terms is two, excluding the first cabinet, is mainly for future considerations.

"I think so. The term of office for local officials in the Tang Dynasty was six years, and in the early Song Dynasty it was two and a half to three years."

The term of office of local officials in the Ming Dynasty was nine years. However, Lu Jin did not say it.

“I want to set the term of office for officials in the new dynasty to five years. You can do the math. Even if you graduate from college at the age of 20 and take the civil service exam, you can become a local official that year, starting as a town mayor or even a county magistrate.

"After five years as county magistrate, you will be 25 years old; after five years as prefectural governor, you will be 30 years old; after five years as provincial councilor, you will be 35 years old; after five years as vice minister of the government, you will be 40 years old; after five years as provincial governor, you will be 45 years old; then you will return to the central government and be a minister for five years, at the age of 50; and finally, you will serve in the cabinet for two terms, at the age of 60; or you can first serve in the cabinet as a regent for five years, and then be prime minister for five or ten years. Anyway, by then you will be 60 or 65, so it is time to retire and return to your hometown to enjoy your old age.

"But now that the new dynasty has just been established, the promotion system has not yet been established, so this example does not apply. It will not be too late to use this rule after the universities and civil service examination system are established in the future."

call--

Feng Guoyong and Li Shanchang secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Fortunately, fortunately, Lu Jin did not include them in it. Otherwise, it would be too sad to be driven back after serving as prime minister for less than ten years just after the founding of the country. The two of them followed Lu Jin to conquer the world so early, all the way from Luzhou to the present. Even if they had no merits, they had worked hard.

However, Qin Conglong did not think so much. He is 57 years old now. In two or three years, he will be years old. After working in the cabinet for ten years, he will be years old. By then, even if Lu Jin continues to keep him, he will probably insist on retiring. After all, at such an old age, his body may not be able to hold on.

Therefore, Qin Conglong's focus was not on the fact that the cabinet could only be re-elected for two terms, but he frowned and asked.

"Your Highness, the term of office at the central government is five years, which is not a big deal, but the term of office at the local level is also five years. Isn't this a bit too long? It takes five years for local officials to pass the exams and get promoted. Will this dampen their enthusiasm?
"Also, the Song Dynasty changed the six-year term of office of the Tang Dynasty to two and a half or three years in order to avoid separatist regimes. County magistrates and prefects may be better, but if the provinces also use five years, will it lead to a powerful and difficult-to-eliminate regime?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin said, "The idea of ​​separatist regimes is purely unnecessary. Not to mention now, even the former Song Dynasty had already implemented the separation of powers at the local level. Financial power, administrative power, and military power were not in the hands of one person. How could separatism exist?

"Especially after the six ministries were split up and new local departments were established, power became more decentralized. The governor does have administrative power, but he wants to set up a vassal state? Isn't that a joke?

"The reason why the Former Song Dynasty greatly shortened the term of office was that they were afraid of the feudal lords being too much. After all, the Former Song Dynasty came from the Five Dynasties and they had really seen feudal lords. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, they immediately implemented a series of reforms that could be called 'overcorrection', such as splitting up local power, shortening the term of office of local officials, etc. It cannot be said that they did something wrong, but it is redundant for us to continue to think so now.

"As for why the term of office is set at five years, it is for the sake of getting things done. Two and a half or three years is too short. If a local official wants to do something after taking office, it may take a year or two to sort out local relations. Then he will start to do things, and he will be transferred away before he finishes his work. This can indeed prevent separatism, but local officials can hardly get anything done."

Everyone nodded when they heard this. Lu Jin was right. Not every local official can get things done upon arrival. If you want to get things done, you must first understand the situation in your jurisdiction and the relationship between you and the important forces. To do this alone, the fastest time would be about half a year.

"Then there is the cycle of getting results. For example, building a new university takes at least three to five years, from site selection, approval, construction to completion and enrollment. If it is accomplished during the tenure of a local official, then it is entirely the official's achievement.

“If after two and a half or three years, you applied for a state-owned factory with great difficulty, but it was not completed until halfway through and the person was transferred away, and it was completed and put into production during the next term, then all the achievements would belong to the next term. If this is the case, would you still be motivated to work?

"I bought the vegetables, cut the meat, hired the chef, and finally prepared the banquet. When the meal was almost ready, you were transferred away. The whole table of banquet became someone else's. Who would be happy? If it were me, I wouldn't be able to eat it myself, so I simply wouldn't prepare it from the beginning. At least this way, I wouldn't let others get away with it."

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

Lu Jin continued, "So five years is a time that takes into account the construction cycles of various projects. Generally, small projects are completed in three years, and results can be seen in the fourth or fifth year. Larger projects can generally be completed in four or five years. At least they can be completed during your term of office. After acceptance by the court, the achievements are still yours. This is a real achievement that can be seen.

"Also, I have another consideration. Although I have abolished the era name and now directly use the Yellow Emperor calendar, but when there were era names in the past, have you ever thought about why the era names were changed so often, especially in the Han and Tang dynasties, the era names were changed every four to six years. Why is that?"

"This..." Everyone was immediately stumped by this question. They usually never consider it from this angle.

But Wang Guangyang still said, "Generally speaking, when the reign title is changed, it is mostly when the court encounters a major event and decides to implement a new policy to distinguish it from the past, and then the reign title is changed."

Lu Jin nodded in approval, "Yes, a new era name brings a new mood, which means that the country has new goals and expectations for the future. I like this attitude. Whether it is for the country or for people, we should not muddle through. Living in a muddleheaded way and not moving is like a turtle. It means that the country is stagnant and has long lost its vitality.

"So people should be proactive in their lives and make plans for their future. The Art of War calls this "planning before action." People should set goals for their future, but how to set these goals is also very particular.

“I have a big ambition, but it is too far away, so far out of reach that I don’t know if I can accomplish it in this lifetime. If the goal is set too big and too far away, people will lose the confidence and motivation to catch up. However, if the goal is set too small and too close, it will be easy to complete, and people will be prone to slack off. Look, I have accomplished this, so I should stop and take a break.

"So how should you set goals? It's best to set goals that are not easy to achieve. You need to chase, catch up, jump, and make efforts. You need to persevere to achieve the goal. Then when you finally achieve the goal, you will look back and be amazed and admire yourself. I actually did something I didn't dare to think of before. Only in this way can people make progress, whether in life or study."

Everyone secretly admired what he said. They never thought that this lord had such a positive attitude towards life.

Lu Jin continued, "This is true for people, and it is the same for the country. The country cannot live in a muddle-headed way. It cannot say that it encounters a crisis and then finds a way to remedy it. It cannot think of training troops only when the enemy is at the doorstep. This is not acceptable.

“We should also set goals for the country’s future when governing the country, and govern the country with plans and purposes, rather than just following the crowd. That would only make us drift with the tide and be unable to cope with it. Therefore, I decided to take the initiative in governing the country, rather than passively facing various challenges. I call it the National Development Plan, which will last for five years.

“It is just the right amount of time to formulate a five-year plan for the country. Five years may seem a bit long to a person, but it is just right for the country. I have just said the reason, because if you want to see results, it will take at least three to five years.

"As for the formulation of a specific plan, I can give you an example, such as how many people will be migrated to the Central Plains and Hebei within five years, and how much land will be reclaimed to increase the population in the north and reduce the land carrying capacity in the south.

"Or how many cotton fields have been reclaimed in five years, how much cotton production has increased compared to before, how many teachers have been trained in five years, how many schools have been built, how many divisions need to be re-equipped and reduced in the Shengwu Army in five years, and so on and so forth.

"Once the goals are set, the cabinet will distribute them to the ministries, urge the two courts to complete them, urge local officials to complete them, assign tasks to local officials, and then let the Ministry of Personnel and the Supervisory Office assess them to see how much they have accomplished. I call this the performance evaluation method. Completing the country's planned tasks is a political achievement and will be promoted first.

"One five-year period after another is like climbing a mountain on stone steps. Only by climbing up step by step can you go higher, and the same is true for the country.

"The cabinet has a five-year term, and two consecutive terms mean two five-year plans. When these two five-year plans are over, when you look back, you will find that you are already at the top of the mountain. The beautiful view of all the other mountains is not something you can see by standing still at the foot of the mountain."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment after hearing this. They could already imagine how miserable the officials of the new dynasty would be in the future. Lu Jin was planning to treat the officials like cattle and horses. It sounded nice, like "all the mountains are small from a high place". It meant that climbing mountains would not be tiring, right?
(End of this chapter)