Late Han Zhao Tang

June 28th, the second year of Shenwu.

Zhang Yu, north of Chang'an, on the banks of the Wei River, offered sacrifices to the heavens, told the gods about his plan to become emperor.

When Zhang Yu previously claimed the title of King of Tang, he performed the duties of an emperor with the title of king. Therefore, Zhang Yu only needs to ascend to the throne now. In addition to the three imperial seals and the Imperial Seal, which together with the three imperial seals of the previous emperor, there are a total of seven seals.

On that day, he proclaimed himself emperor and established rites. Zhang Yu first issued an edict establishing an empress and a crown prince.

Wang Ji became Empress, and Zhang Luo became Crown Prince. The titles of the remaining concubines remained unchanged, but their treatment was elevated to that of imperial concubines.

Subsequently, Zhang Yu bestowed titles and rewards upon the officials. In order to have more honorary positions, he established three honorary positions under the Three Dukes, thus forming the Three Dukes and Three Masters system.

The three dukes were Liu He, Wang Hong, and Wei Duan; the three teachers were Cai Yong, Ma Teng, and Zhao Wen.

The Nine Ministers included Feng Fang, Grand Herald; Zhang Ze, Junior Steward; Tao Shang, Commander of the Imperial Guard; Ying Shao, Minister of the Imperial Clan; Yuan Mi, Grand Master of Ceremonies; Zhang Lu, Grand Master of the Palace; and Zhang Ji, Grand Master of the Imperial Stud. These fifteen high-ranking officials received increases in their fiefdoms based on their merits and seniority, ranging from approximately fifty to one hundred households.

Zhong Yao, Du Ji, Guo Tu, Yu Yi, Lü Fan, Wang Chen (of Dali), Jia Xu, and other founding ministers all received additional fiefs. Zhong Yao's fief increased to 3,000 households, an increase of 1,700 households compared to before. Yu Yi's fief increased by 1,600 households, matching Zhong Yao's 3,000 households.

For example, Wang Chen's household count increased from 300 to 1,000, an increase of 700 households.

Ministers such as Du Ji, Jia Xu, Xun You, Guo Tu, and Lü Fan were all granted fiefs of up to two thousand households, with the increase ranging from one thousand to one thousand five hundred households.

The local governors such as Dong Zhao, Sun Zi, Chang Lin, and Yang Pei were slightly below them, and their fiefdoms ranged from one thousand to five hundred households.

As for military generals, Lü Bu retained his previous fief of ten thousand households and was promoted to Grand Marshal.

Zhang Yang was dismissed from all official posts and enfeoffed as the Prince of Zhongshan, with Zhongshan Commandery as his fief.

Zhang Liao was appointed Grand General, granted the authority to act on behalf of the emperor, Governor of Yuzhou, and Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of the three provinces of Xu, Yu, and Yan in Huaibei. He was also granted the title of Marquis of Mayi, with a fief of five thousand households.

Li Song was appointed General of the Cavalry and Marquis of Chaoge, with a fief of four thousand households; Man Chong and Xu Huang were appointed Generals of the Left and Right Chariots and Cavalry, with the same fief as Li Song, also four thousand households.

Hao Zhao, Xu Chu, Gao Shun, and Shi Yi were appointed as the Four Generals, with fiefs ranging from 3,500 to 2,000 households.

The Four Garrison Generals were Zhang Yan, Zhao Yun, Ke Bi, and Meng Ningzhi; the Four Expeditionary Generals were Xianyu Fu, Cheng Pu, Zhang Feng, and Ma Chao; the Four Pacification Generals were Yan Rou, Zhang Xiu, Qu Yi, and Xu Shu; the Four Peace Generals were Gao Lan, Zhang He, Yan Rou, and Zang Ba.

Since there are four ranks of generals, there is a corresponding range of increases in fiefdom, ranging from a thousand households to a couple hundred households, depending on the length of service and merits.

After the promotion and changes in civil and military ranks, Zhong Yao and Du Ji complained slightly about the sudden increase in their fiefs.

"When Your Majesty founded the dynasty, all civil and military officials were granted fiefs, which increased by more than 40,000 households compared to when you became king, which is equivalent to the size of a large prefecture."

Zhong Yao calculated the expenditure of the fiefdoms and said with a sigh, "Now, the fiefdoms of all the ministers amount to about 130,000 households, which is the output of a large province and accounts for almost one-thirteenth of the registered households in our country."

“In the past, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed 143 marquises, which amounted to more than 100,000 households. How come I have so many?” Zhang Yu was slightly surprised and asked in return.

Compared to Liu Bang, he saved a lot on rewards. When Liu Bang founded the country, he generously enfeoffed over a hundred marquises, each with more than a thousand households. Xiao He and Cao Can were marquises with ten thousand households, and later Zhou Bo, Li Shang, Guan Ying, Xiahou Ying, and others all had more than five thousand households. Therefore, his rewards were probably no less than Liu Bang's.

Zhong Yao smiled wryly, “Although Emperor Gaozu’s rewards were generous, the number of marquises granted ten thousand households was small, consisting mainly of Xiao He, Cao Can, and Zhang Ao. However, Your Majesty has granted many more ten thousand households: the Duke of Shanyang, Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, Liu He, and Zhang Lu alone have fifty thousand households. Tao Shang, Zhang Yan, Zang Ba, and others have combined fiefs of over ten thousand households. Later, the military generals have generous fiefs, totaling forty to fifty thousand households. Although the civil officials have slightly fewer, they still have around twenty thousand households.” “Your Majesty already possesses the Central Plains. In future campaigns against the southern bandits, the granting of fiefs and rewards should be handled with caution. Excessive rewards may burden taxes.”

Zhang Yu said helplessly, "What you said is timely. I will consult with the officials before bestowing any rewards upon you."

After a pause, Zhang Yu said, "Equal taxation per household is insufficient to enrich the national treasury. As previously stated, we must divide households into three classes and nine grades. The upper-class households will pay a hundred times the tax to enrich the national treasury, while the lower-class households will pay less tax to reduce the burden on the people."

"I have discussed the matter of tax classification with the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, but because Your Majesty has recently ascended the throne, we have not yet presented a strategy." Zhong Yao pondered for a moment and said, "I will try my best to submit it in July and promulgate it in autumn and winter, and collect it with the new tax next year."

"good!"

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "During the Han Dynasty, merchants were strictly forbidden from wearing silk. I think this is inappropriate. From now on, only those from middle-class or upper-class families can wear silk. If a merchant is extremely wealthy, we can simply impose heavy taxes on him. Why make things difficult for traveling merchants?"

Throughout history, dynasties, considering issues of grain production and social stability, invariably suppressed merchants. This ironically led to the integration of merchants with the gentry, forming vast local economic organizations. However, in Zhang Yu's eyes, merchants were not unacceptable; he even allowed them to seize political power, but all on the condition that they pay taxes.

"promise!"

Zhong Yao frowned slightly. Although he had different opinions on the policy of not banning merchants, he decided to reserve his opinion for the time being, considering that Zhang Yu had just taken office.

While the emperor and his ministers were chatting, Xun You entered the palace after being informed of the changes to the military system.

"The candidates for the Four Prefectures and Sixteen Guards are here. Your Majesty, please review them personally," Xun You said.

After declaring himself emperor, Zhang Yu, considering the issue of military command, instructed Xun You to establish four offices and sixteen guards within the Privy Council to govern the military forces of China. The generals of the four offices were Gao Shun, Xu Chu, Zhao Yun, and Hao Zhao, who were responsible for the affairs of each office.

Among them, the four prefectures were the Protectorate and the Left and Right Prefectures of the Divine Prefecture, each prefecture commanding four guards. The guards were military units subordinate to the army, each guard having 30,000 men, totaling six armies. The twelve guards together comprised seventy-two armies, totaling 360,000 men, encompassing all the troops of the Tang Dynasty, including the navy, cavalry, and infantry.

The Imperial Guard consisted of 30,000 men in six armies, selected from the 72 armies to fill the ranks of brave men. Those selected for the Imperial Guard were required to serve two years of military service.

After a series of adjustments, the changes seemed significant. In reality, Zhang Yu had already been considering the military system for some time.

Previously, the Tang dynasty used an army of five thousand men, stationed roughly according to geographical proximity. All military orders were issued by Zhang Yu to prevent generals from rebelling. Therefore, when going on a campaign, Zhang Yu had to issue an imperial decree to mobilize the various armies.

However, as Zhang Yu's army swelled to over 100,000, even 200,000, a force of 5,000 men per army was clearly insufficient to cope with the war. Especially after Zhang Yu became emperor, the time he spent personally leading troops would be greatly reduced, so it became necessary to establish guards at the army level.

Of course, to avoid the formation of a concentrated rebel force, General Wei did not command troops; the actual commander remained the general. General Wei's role, besides overseeing the military and political affairs of the six armies under his command, was to be ordered to lead troops into battle during wartime.

The four generals did not command troops; instead, they were responsible for the inspection, training, and armor of the four guards and sixteen armies under their jurisdiction. In the event of a sudden war, the emperor would appoint them as generals to lead troops into battle. Since the personnel at the middle and lower levels of the military system remained unchanged, and only the personnel changes of the middle and upper-level generals were involved, it did not cause much of a stir.

The selection of the Sixteen Guards Generals was almost entirely made up of the sixteen generals from the Four Garrisons, Four Expeditions, Four Pacifications, and Four Peacekeepings.

Zhang Yu glanced at the list and said, "The Sixteen Guards can be divided into Left and Right Guards, and the six armies under their jurisdiction should be located in one prefecture as much as possible, so that they can be directly transferred by the central government."

"promise!"

P.S.: I'm inexplicably feeling terrible today! (End of Chapter)