The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 399 Volume Commercial Tax?

Zhang Ji had performed outstandingly during the disaster relief work in Guanzhong in the past. During those two years of famine, Xinfeng County, which he governed, was one of the few counties where no one starved to death and instead saw an increase in population.

Thanks to his meritorious service in governance, he had already been promoted to the position of Jingzhao Yin, and was considered a capable official.

The official document Zhang Ji submitted to the emperor today was not about the system of three provinces and six ministries, but about an old event from long ago.

In the past, Liu Yan submitted a memorial to "abolish the historian and establish the prefect"!

In the fifth year of Zhongping, Liu Yan, who was then the Minister of Rites, made a proposal to Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, to appoint clan members and important officials as governors of the provinces, who would be superior to the provincial governors and prefects in the local areas, and monopolize power to stabilize the people...

This naturally led to warlord separatism and eventually caused the tragedy of the Guandong princes jointly attacking Luoyang.

Zhang Ji's letter was to clarify the matter and he hoped that the emperor would abolish the provincial governor system and restore the Inspector system.

And because of the implementation of the state-patriarch system, the current administrative system actually has three levels, namely, state, county, and county.

Abolishing the provincial governor system and retaining only the two-tier administrative system of prefectures and counties can also strengthen the central government's control over local areas.

Simultaneously.

Because a layer of organization was cut out, it essentially saved the court's costs and alleviated a lot of burdens.

As for the system at the "state" level, it is still implemented according to the "Inspectorate Supervision" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and is not regarded as a first-level administrative agency!

In official documents, Zhang Ji even quoted from classics and used a large amount of historical materials to prove his point of view.

For example, the "Inspector System" originated from the "Supervision System" of the Qin Dynasty, but was abandoned in the early Han Dynasty.

Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stipulated clear supervisory duties for the provincial governors, called "Six Questions", to strengthen the central government's control over the local governments.

As the central government's intervention in local affairs became more and more intense, the governors, who were originally "inspectors", gradually became "administrative officials".

It was not until Wang Mang's rebellious rule that the title of "Inspector" was changed to "Provincial Governor" that the position of Inspector became the local military administrative chief.

It was not until Emperor Guangwu restored order that the position of "Inspector" was restored to "Inspector" to perform the duties of supervision.

Now, times have changed, and the "Inspector" has once again become a local official, and even has subordinate officials such as Beijia and Gongshi, becoming another level of administrative agency in the local area of ​​the Han Dynasty. That's why Zhang Jicai suggested that we take this opportunity to directly issue an edict to abolish the administrative power of the Inspector and make him a "Supervisor" again.

Liu Xie found Zhang Ji's document interesting after reading it.

Let’s not talk about anything else.

Abolishing the first-level administrative agency can indeed save the country a lot of money.

What is the use of the remaining money and grain?

As the Jingzhao Yin, Zhang Ji wrote:

"Build a new Chang'an!"

Liu Xie summoned Zhang Ji into the Xuanshi Hall and pointed at the last words on his official document and half-jokingly asked, "Does Derong (Zhang Ji's courtesy name) want to use official business to complete his own private affairs?"

The credit for rebuilding Chang'an must go to Zhang Ji.

However, Liu Xie did not expect that Zhang Ji would be so bold as to abolish the first-level administrative agency as the source of money!
Does he know that if this document of his were to be circulated, it would ruin many people's jobs and make many people hate him?
Zhang Ji is handsome, tall and strong, a typical Guanzhong man.

When Zhang Ji heard the emperor's questioning, he was not afraid. Instead, he asked the emperor, "Does your majesty think that what I said is wrong?"

"How much time and money will be wasted if it is passed down from state to county? How much money and food will be wasted?"

"I started as a county magistrate and worked my way up. There are many things that your majesty doesn't know, but I know them very well!"

Liu Xie frowned when he heard this.

He immediately sat up straight, held out his hand to offer Zhang Ji a seat, and said, "Please explain clearly, De Jong."

Seeing that the emperor was really willing to accept advice, Zhang Ji also told him some of the problems he encountered.

"Nowadays, most of the court officials are from the imperial examination system. Since they have no vested interests with the local nobles, they can be dealt with fairly most of the time."

"But when faced with a difficult case, most of these officials are unwilling to get involved. They just want to report it to the county or state and let the higher officials handle it."

"Because most of the county and state officials didn't understand the truth of the matter, we had to go and investigate. This back and forth took up quite a bit of time."

"The three levels of government often pass the buck to each other and drag things out... When their term ends, they will naturally be free of involvement, and they will be able to get away with it after leaving a mess behind."

Such a familiar routine!

After hearing this, Liu Xie asked, "So Derong thinks that by abolishing the state system, we can prevent such things from happening?"

"It's impossible to prevent this kind of thing."

Zhang Ji had been an official all the way up. What kind of fickleness of the world had he not experienced? What kind of unpredictable human nature had he not experienced?

"I am writing to Your Majesty just to inform Your Majesty that not only the Shangshutai in the central government has problems, but also the government offices at all levels in the local areas have problems."

"I hope that Your Majesty will take these things into consideration when reforming the official system, and not just think about the central government and ignore the local areas!"

This is a bit serious.

But when Liu Xie heard this, he felt that Zhang Ji's plan was far-reaching, and this was indeed something that the court needed to deal with.

"I understand."

Liu Xie was ashamed.

"Over the years, I have been obsessed with recovering my homeland and conquering all corners of the country, but I have been too lax about government affairs."

"Since De Jong mentioned it today, I can't pretend I didn't hear it."

"Don't worry, I will consider this matter carefully. Even if the grand court meeting in the sixth year of Jian'an cannot make a decision, I will decide it in the seventh year of Jian'an." It was the first time that Zhang Ji gave advice to the emperor alone.

Even though he had heard too many stories about the emperor's benevolence and righteousness, it was only today that he truly felt the emperor's broad mind, which was as vast as the mountains and seas.

"but……"

Liu Xie turned a corner.

"I can consider what you said about abolishing the state-level system."

"But the matter of building Chang'an should be put aside for the time being."

"Even if I do save money and food, I will use it where it counts."

"Liaodong, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Jiangdong are still independent. If we have to fight a war in the future, it will definitely be a huge expense."

"So let's not talk about this anymore. I'll do it again in the future."

Zhang Ji heard this and took out a document from his sleeve.

"I beg Your Majesty to build Chang'an, not to flatter Your Majesty, nor for my own political achievements."

"If Your Majesty still thinks that the construction of Chang'an is not urgent after reading this document, then I have nothing to say!"

Seeing that Zhang Ji was determined to fight him to the end, Liu Xie had no choice but to watch carefully according to Zhang Ji's words.

……

……

Originally, the emperor looked quite relaxed.

But when he looked back, his two sword-like eyebrows were completely twisted together!
"De Jong! You have to take responsibility for what you said!"

"Your Majesty has been on the battlefield for many years and is unaware of the suffering of the people in Chang'an. Naturally, you think I am talking nonsense."

Zhang Ji remained calm.

"As early as when the Grand Tutor was still alive, His Majesty had issued an official document to inform the soldiers and the people of the palace that there were tiny poisons in the world that could make people sick."

"To be honest... I didn't believe this at first."

"But as I served as Jingzhao Yin for a longer time, I found that the "fine poison" was not just a rumor."

The more Zhang Ji spoke, the more serious his expression became.

"The streets in Chang'an were cramped, the roads were narrow, the houses were in disarray, the sewage and feces were not cleaned up at all times, and the people were often sick."

"Especially now that Chang'an not only has merchants from Liangzhou, Yizhou, and the Western Regions, but also a large number of people from Hebei and the Central Plains have poured in, making the situation of the people outside the city extremely bad!"

"I have discovered that every time foreigners come to Chang'an, the people there often become seriously ill!"

"I was puzzled, and then I thought of your Majesty's theory of Xi Gu. I thought these people brought Xi Gu from outside and spread it to the people of Chang'an."

"So every time I have foreign citizens coming here, I have to quarantine them first before allowing them to enter the city."

"This method worked in the past, but with your majesty's wise and powerful recovery of the populous Central Plains and Hebei, if Chang'an remains like this, it is very likely that something big will happen!"

Zhang spoke earnestly and was extremely anxious.

Liu Xie also became worried from his initial indifference.

As early as several years ago, Zhang Ji had advised him to build Chang'an.

But at that time Liu Xie didn't take it seriously and just thought that Zhang Ji was a flatterer.

But I didn't expect that the situation in Chang'an had become so critical!

"Why didn't De Jong tell me this reason before?"

Zhang was helpless.

"Although the theory of fine poison has been promoted by your majesty, most people still do not believe it, and even think it is a lie to confuse the public."

"Therefore, since Your Majesty is not in Chang'an, I dare not spread these words, lest it cause unrest."

Zhang Ji's good intentions made Liu Xie nod his head.

"It's a pity that I was so busy fighting that I didn't even notice this."

At this moment, Zhang Ji took out another official document from his sleeve, which made Liu Xie helpless and said, "How many official documents did De Jong prepare for this meeting? It would be better to take them out all at once!"

"Your Majesty, that's all. There's nothing else."

Zhang presented the official document.

"In fact, I was thinking before that if Your Majesty did not take Xi Gu seriously enough, I would present this document to you."

"Constructing Chang'an is not a waste of money and labor. If your majesty doesn't believe me, you can take a look at what I have recorded in the past few years."

When Liu Xie received this official document, his eyes immediately lit up!
What kind of official document is this?
This is clearly a financial statement!

Zhang Ji recorded the number and amount of transactions in Chang'an East and West cities every month according to the month!
As time went by, the amount of money on this document became larger and larger, and the number of goods also increased!

Zhang Ji's intention in submitting this document was very clear -

"Your Majesty, if Chang'an is built, the market is tidy, and order is established, can't we collect business taxes to support the country?"

(End of this chapter)