Song Xiu

Chapter 99 Separation of Powers: Guangyi Thinks of War
The Northern Song Dynasty was known for its "three redundancies": redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses.

Many people in later generations believed that the problems of redundancy, redundancy, and redundancy were the root cause of the poverty and weakness of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Regardless of whether it was the root cause, Zhao Dexiu only knew one thing—if it was an illness, it had to be treated!

As the saying goes, "Treating illness before it occurs, and preventing chaos before it arises," the best way to cure illness or turmoil is to address the root cause.

Zhao Dexiu knew that although the memorial was presented by Zhao Pu, most of its contents were actually Zhao Kuangyin's ideas.

Once this memorial is made public, it signifies that Zhao Kuangyin is about to formally launch sweeping reforms to address the various malpractices of the Five Dynasties period.

The "Jianlong New Deal," a historical wave that laid the foundation for the Song Dynasty's century-long rule, had already struck Zhao Dexiu directly.

Zhao Kuangyin led this wave to Zhao Dexiu, not to have Zhao Dexiu become an executor.

"The emperor holds power, and the crown prince discusses politics"—this is a perfectly legitimate and righteous principle throughout history.

Today, Zhao Dexiu, who has one foot in the Eastern Palace, has gradually become a leader in the affairs of the world, not just a participant.

Zhao Dexiu's mind raced, and soon he had an explanation in mind:
"Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the country has been divided among warlords, and local powers have become very strong."

A regional military governor, nominally a military governor, was in reality no different from a feudal lord during the Warring States period.

Now that the Great Song Dynasty has just been established, in order to ensure its enduring prosperity for generations to come, my father, the emperor, must start anew with the people and reform the nation's afflictions.

Zhao Dexiu first affirmed the necessity for Zhao Kuangyin to implement the new policies.

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu explain his original intention in implementing the new policies, Zhao Kuangyin stroked his long beard with satisfaction.

Under Zhao Kuangyin's satisfied gaze, Zhao Dexiu continued:

"However, the world is plagued by deep-seated problems, and the new policies may be urgent in some matters and slow in others."

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Kuangyin's brows furrowed subconsciously.

But the moment he saw Zhao Dexiu, who was full of confidence, his furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

This memorial discusses too many reforms at once, and it certainly deserves the description of being "urgent".

Zhao Kuangyin was aware of this, but although he knew it was inappropriate, he had no choice but to act hastily due to objective reasons.

From Zhao Kuangyin's perspective, most of the founding emperors of the Five Dynasties, except for some who died violent deaths, did not live long.

This is because the founding emperors of successive dynasties, like him, were all military generals who had suffered countless hidden injuries from their early battles.

Most importantly, once a hidden injury recurs, the time from health to death is often only a few days.

With numerous precedents to follow, Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to take them as a warning.

In addition, the earlier impressions of Zhao Dexiu's weakness and Zhao Guangyi's shortsightedness further amplified Zhao Kuangyin's sense of urgency.

But now, with Zhao Dexiu's increasingly outstanding performance, Zhao Kuangyin felt that some things could indeed be put on hold.

"Then what do you think should be urgent, and what should be delayed?"

When Zhao Kuangyin asked about the specifics, Zhao Dexiu answered without hesitation.

"Establishing a prefectural governor should be done urgently, while establishing a vice-prefectural governor should be done more slowly."

The full title of "知州" should be "权知某州事".

The Five Dynasties inherited the Tang system, and the most important local administrative region was the "zhou".

The highest-ranking official in a prefecture is called the governor.

"Since the An Lushan Rebellion, the prefects of various prefectures have often been concurrently held by the military governors of their respective regions, which has become a customary practice."

This system resulted in all states being controlled by military officials, and local taxation, military affairs, political affairs, criminal affairs, and personnel affairs were not subject to central government control, with local authorities making their own decisions.

Over time, regional warlords rose up, bringing devastation for a century.

One reason why the power of local warlords persisted despite repeated attempts to eradicate them since the late Tang Dynasty was that the system itself was flawed.

As Zhao Dexiu said, the distorted local system made the military governors of each town practically the feudal states of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Given these objective factors, it would be a miracle if the central government could still consolidate power.

Since the problem lies in the system, let's start by fixing the system.

"The appointment of civil officials as prefects was a fixed practice, which was intended to deprive the governors of their power and to diminish the autocratic influence of the military governors."

Having civil officials govern a prefecture and using civil means to control the military is indeed the best policy.

However, with the world still in turmoil, civil officials, once in charge of a region, would know very little about military affairs.

If a sub-prefect is appointed to supervise and assist, when important matters arise, the two will shirk responsibility and create numerous obstacles, which will inevitably lead to chaos in the prefecture.

"If the borders of the state are in chaos, how can the Great Song Dynasty remain safe?"

Zhao Dexiu expressed his concerns.

One important consideration behind the Song Dynasty emperors' laissez-faire attitude towards the phenomenon of "redundant officials" was to "decentralize authority."

Just like the position of a prefectural governor (通判) to a prefectural governor (知州), the prefectural governor is the highest-ranking official in a prefecture, in charge of all military and political affairs of the prefecture.

However, the main purpose of establishing the Tongpan was not just supervision, but "to work in parallel".

The combination of "working in parallel" and "civilian officials" inevitably leads to a predictable situation:
Endless infighting, endless attacks.

In fact, this chaos is beneficial to centralized power.

However, if one thinks of strengthening central authority through this measure, the Song Dynasty's national strength will gradually weaken within thirty years.

Each prefecture was like a brick, and the close connection between these bricks formed the foundation of the Song Dynasty.

Once cracks appear in any of the bricks and stones, the collapse of the foundation is basically already on the countdown.

Zhao Dexiu's words made Zhao Kuangyin fall into deep thought.

After some thought, Zhao Kuangyin asked:

“If the power is not decentralized, even though the prefect is a civil official, he cannot raise troops to rebel.”

However, under autocracy, if a prefect of a region is courted by ambitious individuals, it can easily become a major problem.

"How do you plan to address this hidden concern?"

With Zhao Dexiu's step-by-step explanation, Zhao Kuangyin gradually came to regard him as someone with whom he could discuss new policies.

Once you've expressed your opinion, you must offer constructive suggestions; otherwise, you're just engaging in idle talk and reckless debate.

In response to Zhao Kuangyin's question, Zhao Dexiu inquired:
"Father, may I begin writing?"

Seeing that Zhao Dexiu was about to pick up his pen and write down his thoughts, Zhao Kuangyin smiled.

"Just use it."

As Zhao Dexiu spoke, he took a writing brush from the brush holder on the table, but before he could even pick up a brush, Zhao Kuangyin stopped him, saying:

"When discussing politics, one should naturally use a vermilion brush."

There was only one vermilion brush on the table, the very one Zhao Kuangyin had used when reviewing memorials.

Having received Zhao Kuangyin's permission, Zhao Dexiu picked up the vermilion brush, unfolded a blank silk scroll, and carefully wrote two large characters:
"Decentralization!"

Gazing at the two crimson characters, Zhao Kuangyin lightly tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Please tell me specifically."

Since ancient times, China has possessed the political wisdom of "separation of powers".

However, the specific methods of decentralization differ in each era, and Zhao Kuangyin wanted to hear Zhao Dexiu's specific views.

"What the Emperor was worried about was that the prefect had too much power, so he wanted to send a sub-prefect to share the power."

However, dividing power equally would lead to chaos in state administration and have far-reaching consequences.

To achieve the best of both worlds, I believe that decentralization is worse than equality.

The key tasks of a state can be mainly divided into three aspects:

The first is military and political affairs, the second is civil affairs, and the third is the judiciary.

The three powers should be separated, not subordinate to each other, and all should be directly under the command of the imperial court.

In this way, it will be difficult for local areas to form separatist regimes, and with each of the three branches of government having its own primary responsibility, it will be less likely for state affairs to become chaotic.

Separation of powers?

This idea of ​​decentralization was not unfamiliar to Zhao Kuangyin.

The Three Departments system of the central government during the Sui and Tang dynasties arose under this political ideology.

The separation of the three central provinces greatly reduced the possibility of the prime minister's power threatening the emperor's power.

If the central government's power can be divided into three parts, why can't the local governments?

Zhao Kuangyin tapped his fingers on the desk more quickly. Seeing that Zhao Kuangyin seemed interested, Zhao Dexiu continued:
"In my opinion, the various states can be mainly divided into three parts in the future:"

One was the Transport Commissioner, responsible for civil administration, and filled by civil officials.

The second was the Judicial Commissioner, responsible for both judicial and supervisory duties, and filled by civil officials.

The third was the Pacification Commission, responsible for military and political affairs; capable generals were appointed to these positions on the borders, and they could also fill positions within the interior.

"Now that our army has won a great victory in the Funiu Mountains, there are many in Luzhou who fear the might of our army."

"By leveraging this prestige, this idea can be implemented first in Luzhou to observe its effectiveness."

The Three Offices mentioned by Zhao Dexiu were local institutions that the Song Dynasty would have established in history.

However, these three offices have not yet been formally established, as they actually belong to the local administrative regions at the "circuit" level.

Currently, there is no administrative concept of "road".

A review of the evolution of China's local administrative system reveals that the separation of powers at the local level is a primary way to effectively prevent local separatism.

Unfortunately, once these three departments appeared in history, the Song Dynasty had already embarked on a path of excessive bureaucracy from which there was no turning back.

The establishment of the Three Departments at that time not only strengthened the central government's control over local areas, but also further exacerbated the problem of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty.

Fortunately, the Song Dynasty is newly established, and there is still time for everything. The Song Dynasty can avoid taking many detours.

In Zhao Dexiu's mind, the purpose was not to establish three departments at the prefecture level.

With the development of people's livelihoods in various regions, the original "dao" level administrative regions are no longer applicable. A higher-level local administrative region concept that is more conducive to centralization of power must be created.

"Province!"

However, practice makes perfect, and conducting a pilot program in Luzhou is the safest approach.

After carefully considering Zhao Dexiu's suggestion, Zhao Kuangyin put down his fingers that were tapping on the desk.

"What you suggested is not impossible."

However, this requires further discussion.

Zhao Kuangyin's concerns were justified.

After all, if this three-official system were implemented in Luzhou, there would be many aspects of the new policy that would need to be reconsidered.

For example, should the position of prefect be re-established, and if so, which department should the prefect serve as the head of?

After hearing Zhao Kuangyin's concerns, Zhao Dexiu offered another suggestion:
"The new policy is a matter of great importance."

Your Majesty, I believe it would be better to establish an advisory body within the court, with distinguished officials from various departments serving concurrently, so that everyone can contribute their wisdom and efforts to discuss new policies.

Zhao Dexiu made this suggestion based on many historical examples.

Many reforms in history either failed halfway through or became unrecognizable as they were changed.

One important reason for this is that reforms throughout history were initiated by a wise ruler or some famous ministers, and there was no dedicated institution in charge of this matter.

Without a dedicated agency to coordinate the various departments, it will lead to departments passing the buck and paying lip service while secretly opposing the directives.

Most importantly, it is difficult to quickly form an interest group that supports reform.

Using incentives to drive reform is the best way to implement new policies.

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu's suggestion, Zhao Kuangyin's eyes lit up.

He hadn't thought of that before.

With his profound political insight, he immediately recognized the numerous benefits of establishing an advisory province.

"good.

After I return to court, I will issue an edict to establish an advisory department.

Zhao Kuangyin looked at Zhao Dexiu with approval.

"I am very pleased that you have offered many insights today."

In the future, I will consult with you more often on important national affairs.

When you were young, I thought your talent was not as good as Guangyi's.

Unexpectedly, my son is like King Zhuang of Chu, remaining silent for three years, but when he does speak, he astounds everyone!

After saying this, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

In the past, Zhao Kuangyin's biggest worry was what would happen to the Song Dynasty if he suddenly collapsed from his old injuries.

Now, that worry is not so great.

"You are my eldest son, and you have made great contributions in supporting the emperor and quelling the rebellion. It is not unreasonable for me to bestow upon you the title of Prince."

However, once you become a prince, according to the custom of the previous dynasty, you will need to remain in the capital.

I know that your ambitions lie elsewhere, and the world is not yet at peace, with frequent wars. Military power cannot be entrusted to a different person indefinitely.

Furthermore, without outstanding military achievements, you may not be able to completely suppress the many arrogant and fierce generals in the court in the future.

I hope you can understand my good intentions.

Zhao Kuangyin's words stirred Zhao Dexiu's heart.

Dad, what a load of rubbish you've been making!
But I'll eat this flatbread.

"With the world still unsettled, how can we defend the country?"

"Your Majesty's good intentions are clear to me."

Zhao Dexiu's words prompted Zhao Kuangyin to pat him on the shoulder again:

"After you return to Beijing, you have one urgent matter to attend to."

Hearing this, Zhao Dexiu looked up curiously.

"I hope Your Majesty will speak plainly, and I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty."

Unbeknownst to Zhao Dexiu, a hint of mockery had already appeared in Zhao Kuangyin's eyes when he said those words.

"After returning to the capital, she should get married and then quickly give birth to my eldest grandson."

"I've already thought of a name for your eldest son."

"what?"

Upon hearing Zhao Kuangyin's request, Zhao Dexiu was somewhat troubled.

This kind of thing can't be done quickly, can it?

Besides, the first child isn't necessarily a boy.

After news of the imminent return of the troops from the front lines reached the capital, Zhao Guangyi also received a secret letter from Chu Zhaofu.

In the secret letter, Chu Zhaofu explained in detail the matter of Zhao Dexiu being granted the title of king.

Compared to the matter of being granted the title of king, Chu Zhaofu believed that the more dangerous thing was that everyone was convinced that Zhao Dexiu had been granted the title of king at a young age.

This signifies that Zhao Dexiu's prestige among the officials has reached a new height.

Now that Zhao Dexiu's power has become considerable, it is no longer possible to contain him.

In order to compete with Zhao Dexiu in the future, Chu Zhaofu offered Zhao Guangyi a plan.

Upon receiving this plan, Zhao Guangyi summoned a group of his trusted confidants for a discussion.

"Recently, Li Chongjin has been making moves and his signs of rebellion have become obvious."

I have decided that after he rebels, I will volunteer to lead the army to the throne.

What do you all think?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guangyi's confidants were all greatly surprised.

They had never seen Zhao Guangyi display military talent before, so sending him to the battlefield rashly was probably not a safe thing to do.

While some hesitated, others offered their support.

Yao Shu spoke first, saying, "In chaotic times, military merit is of utmost importance."

Your subject supports what Muzhou said.

As soon as Yao Shu spoke, a look of joy appeared on Zhao Guangyi's face.

Seeing that some of his confidants still hesitated, Zhao Guangyi reassured them:
"I am of the Zhao family bloodline and have been well-versed in military strategy since childhood, so please do not worry."

Zhao Guangyi was confident in himself.

(End of this chapter)