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Text Chapter 576 Abolition

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    (Thanks to all the students of Chinese Tiger Army, Chaotic Three Kingdoms, Xiaoyao Kuangdao, Wuyuwuyu, proyello, Capitals, Moving in Motion, Treading Waves 54, and Yougu Jushi 1 for their support. Thank you!) On this day, Yang Su returned to the Duke of Chu  When he arrived at the house, his expression was heavy and his face was gloomy.  After dinner, when his uncle Yang Yue came over and asked him to go to his father's study, he knew that his father must have something important to announce.  He closed the book, put on his cloak, and followed his uncle through the huge courtyard to his father's study in the main courtyard.  It was very cold outside, which made him shiver.  My father's study was very warm. There was no iron stove that is now common in the room, and there was no charcoal burning. My father had always hated the smell.  The fire in the study was made of fine silver charcoal, and there was no smoke at all.  After closing the door, Yang Xuangan realized that there were many people in his father's study today. Not only was his uncle Yang Yue, who always walked around the house, but the other five uncles who rarely came here, Yang Xun, Yang Shen, Yang Yue, Yang Rui, and Yang Cao were also there.  Coming.  His three full brothers, Xuan Zong, Xuanting Xuan Jie, also came before him, and several other half-brothers also came, sitting quietly aside.  In addition to them, three Hongli, Hongwen and Hongwu cousins ??from uncle Yang Yue's family also came and stood behind their father.  In addition, there are two people, Yang Shi and Yang Hong, who have the same grandfather as his father.  There are also fifteen uncles from the literary generation who branched out from his great-great-grandfather's family, including Yang Wensi, Yang Wenji, Yang Wensheng, etc. His great-uncle Yang Wenji, who served as the Minister of Rites, also brought three brothers from his family's filial generation.  Xiao Mo, Xiao Shen, Xiao Yan.  Seeing this scene, Yang Xuangan was a little shocked. It seemed that something big had happened.  Otherwise, it would be impossible for almost all the Yang family¡¯s clan members in Beijing to come.  Almost all three generations of the Yang family, young and old, have arrived, and everyone is sitting in the study in silence.  "What happened?" he asked.  The father handed him a piece of paper. The paper had many wrinkles, and it looked like many people had turned it over.  "Any civil and military officials over sixty are ordered to serve." He continued to read, "Order the three yamen and the generals and below. The military attach¨¦s in all prefectures, towns, camps, and regiments, and those over fifty are to serve."  That is to retire and go home.  Throughout the past dynasties, officials were basically lifelong, but there was also a retirement age. "Book of Rites. Quli (Part 1)" records: "A doctor starts his career when he is seventy."  Retired at 70.  "Legal" time begins in the Zhou Dynasty.  However, under normal circumstances, if an official is in poor health, he can request to retire early.  At the age of seventy, officials can beg their bodies to retire, and sometimes the court will retain them. Those who are in good health and have strong abilities will serve as officials until they are eighty or ninety.  "This is the emperor's wish. The edict will be promulgated tomorrow. From now on, court officials will retire at the age of sixty. Those middle-level military attach¨¦s in the military can retire early at the age of fifty." Yang Yue explained to his nephew.  Yang Xuangan was greatly surprised and changed his age from seventy to sixty.  Suddenly it was ten years ahead of schedule, and this obviously stipulated that people would have to retire when they reached their old age.  On the one hand, the emperor launched a large-scale imperial examination, and thousands of new scholars were qualified to become officials every year. On the other hand, he also imposed a mandatory retirement age for officials. The emperor's move had profound meaning.  As a result, a large number of officials will face the problem of early withdrawal from officialdom.  Especially for those senior officials, my father is fifty-seven years old this year.  As the prime minister, he is already considered the youngest among senior officials.  For example, the right servant shoots Su Wei, who is already sixty-seven this year, ten years older than his father.  The other prime ministers, Li Gang was fifty-four, Xue Daoheng was sixty-one, Fan Zigai was fifty-six, and Niu Hong was also fifty-six, and they were also about the same age as their father.  Deputy Privy Councilor Han Sengshou was fifty-nine, and Su Xiaoci was sixty-three. However, the emperor¡¯s confidants were too young. Liu Wenjing was only thirty-three, Wei Zheng was twenty-one, Xu Deyan was forty-six, and others such as Wang Bao and Gao  A, Dou Jiande, Shan Xiongxin and others are all in their thirties, young and strong.  "Is the emperor going to expel all the old ministers from the court?" "The old people will not go, and the new people will not come. The emperor is now conducting imperial examinations, and thousands of new scholars are recruited every year. With so many new people, how can there be so many official positions?  The old man has to give up." "My father is fifty-seven this year, and he still has at least three years to reach his age. Don't worry, maybe it won't be long before this changes." Yang Xuangan said to his father.  "I'm going to retire soon." Yang Su said with some boredom, "The emperor also has an edict. Each position in the world is for four years, with a maximum of two consecutive terms. After taking office, he will either be promoted or transferred.  , shall not be re-elected. " Yang Su succeeded Su Wei as Shangshu Youpushe in the twelfth year of Kaihuang's reign, and he held this position until the nineteenth year of Kaihuang's reign.  After nineteen years of civil strife, Yang Su was promoted to Zuopushe, and later joined the political affairs hall of Jiapingzhang. Now in the second year of Kaiyuan, he has been a Youpushe for seven years and a Zuopshe for three years.  They are two different positions, but because they are both prime ministers, after the emperor's new edict is issued, he is among the people who have served as prime minister for three consecutive terms, which has already exceeded two.term of office.  As soon as the edict is issued and implemented, he will have to abdicate voluntarily. Even though he will reach retirement age in three years, he can no longer be prime minister.  The important positions in the two offices, three provinces and six ministries in the imperial court all belong to the prime minister, and he cannot be re-elected.  Therefore, unless Yang Su can accept being demoted to a leisurely ministerial position, he can only hold a nominal position like Tai Tu. To put it bluntly, no matter whether he is willing to retire or not, there will be no place for him in the court.  .  Su Wei was in a similar situation to him. Su Wei had already been up and down several times during the Kaihuang years, and had served as the chief officer of the three provinces several times. He had also served as a servant several times. He also had to step down this time.  It is obvious that the emperor no longer needs the old people from the previous dynasty to stay in the new dynasty.  Yang Su felt very tired. He was shooting in front of Zuo Pu and worried about political affairs, but in this new dynasty, his performance was quite unsatisfactory.  There are four Pingzhang political officials, five counselors and political officials in the political hall, plus there are five Privy Council envoys in the Privy Council. He, Zuo Pushe, has long ceased to be the prime minister. There are still thirteen people with equal power to him. The military and political power of the imperial court  Things have long been out of their control, and even if he is in charge of civil affairs, he has to share power with the other eight prime ministers.  Got to take turns holding the executive pen.  Normally Liu Wenjing, Wei Zheng and others had no respect for Zuo Pushe just because they were the emperor's trusted ministers.  Now, the emperor has issued these two edicts.  It was obvious that he was not willing to let him stay in the court at all, and it made him feel upset. It was because he thought he had taken over his position.  The emperor was really ruthless internally and externally. Externally, he defeated the Turks and Goguryeo and surrendered. However, internally, the glory of the twelve generals of the Eight-Pillar Country and the glory of the Guanlong Group have long since ceased.  One by one, big families fell. "In the past two years, countless wealthy families have fallen." He said, "Is the emperor going to attack our Yang family?" "That won't happen for the time being." Yang Su said to his son,  "However, it is not impossible. Everything depends on whether we are willing to understand the situation. If we can obey the emperor's wishes, then the Yang family may be able to be preserved like the Gao family. If we are not aware of the situation, then we will definitely die.  Just like He Ruobi, Shi Wansui, Liu Shu and others," Yang Su said to everyone in the family, "I saw everyone here today just to inform you that I have already thought about it. Since the emperor no longer wants me to stay in the court,  Then I will quit. I don¡¯t plan to stay in the court anymore, so I will retire three years in advance. Although the emperor stipulates that I cannot retire early.  Take the initiative to step back. All the older generations of our family should step back. My uncles and my cousins ??should all step back. " "All of you, please step back?" A voice of surprise rang out.  "Well, if you want to retreat, then retreat completely. It can be regarded as a firm statement and full support for the emperor. It's a good start." Yang Su nodded, "Actually, this is also the result of my careful consideration. We are all old.  Under the new system, even if you work hard for a few years, you will eventually have to retire. Instead of delaying for a few years, it is better to retire early. I hope that this support can be used to gain a place in the court for the third generation of our Yang family. This is me.  I think, let's all step down and be a rich man with peace of mind. We will fully support Xuangan and his brothers to stay in the official career and have a good future. When I resign to the emperor tomorrow, I will ask the emperor by the way.  Xuangan brothers all go down to the provinces and states, starting from the local level. There have been a lot of things happening in the court recently, so it is better to stay away from the court and the capital and stay in the local areas for a few years. Then they will have certain qualifications and political achievements.  Come back. I think you will be more promising in the future by studying literature than by joining the military. Although the Privy Council said that the civil and military affairs should be separated from the Political Affairs Hall, the emperor still has very strict control over the army. In the future, when the war will decrease, he will still practice martial arts and cultivate literature.  From now on, everyone must warn the next generation to study more and take the imperial examination to find a good career. " "If we just withdraw like this, we will all quit? Then how can we have a say in the court in the future?  "If you put it in the local government, the emperor's suspicion of us Guanzhong people will probably make you unable to become a governor. If you can't become a governor in the Year of the Monkey, then you can start as a county magistrate," Yang Su said.  You still expect to be granted the title of Duke and Marquis at an early age based on the merits of your fathers, as in the past, which is unthinkable. When I was promoted from the Duke of Qinghe County to the Duke of Ying County, I was originally the Duke of Qinghe County.  So I was given the Xuan Prize, and Xuangan was also granted the title of Yi Tong. By the end of the Emperor's reign, our family had eight dukes. Among the younger generation of men, none of them had a title. But in the end, the new emperor came to the throne.  The title was reassigned soon, and those were taken away. Now that the imperial examination is taking place, it will become more and more difficult for Chengyin to become an official in the future, and there will be fewer and fewer opportunities. Even if Chengyin becomes an official, it is unlikely to be reused.  Born in the right way. If we want to maintain the glory of our Yang family, the old way will not work. We have to adapt to the new situation and the new trend. If the emperor wants to take the imperial examination, we should let our children and grandchildren study more.  We will give up our position and give young people a chance.¡±  "The new emperor is mean and ruthless." Yang Cao said.  "Stop talking nonsense." Yang Su glared at his brother.  "What's the use of saying these words? This is the emperor's mentality. The most ruthless emperor's family. Haven't you heard of it? Who among the emperors will talk to you about friendship and trust? Do you think that Emperor Wen didn't want to clean up the title and eliminate Guanlong?  The wealthy families control the imperial court? It's not that they don't want to, but they can't. And now that the emperor has his own direct lineage and his own troops, he controls the imperial court by his own strength. Why do you think he still tolerates the control of the imperial court by the wealthy families in Guanzhong?  ? No one would allow it. In the final analysis, it is about strength. If the emperor has this strength, others will either succeed or perish. Is it true that too many families have verified this with their family fate.  You still don¡¯t understand? "Yang Su is a person who sees all this very clearly. As the saying goes, when the leader is weak, the subordinates will be strong. When the leader is strong.  Of course, the subject cannot be any stronger, he must surrender or be eliminated.  The whole family was silent. Li, Wei, Yu, Changsun, Dugu and others all fell down one by one. This all proved Yang Su's words. They had no words to refute.  The next day, there was a meeting.  Yi Feng asked the edict to announce several edicts that had been reviewed and approved by the Menxia Province, respectively, regarding the retirement of civil and military officials at the age of sixty.  As well as the edict that the official term is four years and the maximum term is two years.  And there is a special stipulation in it that the prime ministers and governors of the two governments can only serve two consecutive terms, and there are special stipulations.  Prime ministers must have local service experience as governor of a state, chief envoy of a province, and service experience as a minister or minister in the six ministries of the DPRK before they can be promoted to serve as chief officials of the three provinces and enter the political affairs hall as prime minister.  The same applies to the Privy Council's governance. You must have experience in commanding troops and fighting in the Wei Mansion, and you must have served as chief among the three yamen guards before you have the opportunity to be promoted to the Privy Council and become the governor.  As a prime minister, you can only serve two terms of eight years at most, and you will not be allowed to be re-elected after your term is over.  At the same time, if you reach the retirement age before your term is completed, you must retire immediately.  Anyway.  It is no longer easy to become a prime minister. There are many obstacles. This will make it possible to enter the two palaces in the future just relying on the favor of the emperor. At the same time, term limits and other restrictions are strictly stipulated.  Standardize early to avoid the possibility of power.  After the edict read out the edict, Yang Su and Su Wei resigned from the position together.  At the same time, Han Sengshou, who was in the Privy Council, resigned. The emperor approved all the resignations and did not play the modesty game of only three speeches.  After the court meeting, Yi Feng convened all the governors in Yanying Hall to discuss matters. Although the resignations of Yang Su, Su Wei and Han Senshou had been approved, there was still work to hand over. They still had three months to hand over, so the three  Months later they are still in charge.  "I have a plan to remove prefectures and restore them to counties. I will remove the current 300 or so prefectures, reestablish county administrations, and merge provinces. Finally, I will establish more than 190 counties across the country, and establish townships below the county level, which will be controlled by the imperial court.  Local officials were appointed to manage the countryside, forming a four-level system of provinces, counties, and townships. Each province had the same level as the central ministries of the imperial court. The county level was lower than the original state level, with five ranks, and counties with seven ranks. Townships were managed by officials.  "In the early Sui Dynasty, there were three levels of prefectures, counties, and counties. There were more than 500 counties in the country, and many counties only had one or two counties. The management scope of counties was too small, making them redundant and almost overlapping with states.  , Therefore, Emperor Wen later reformed, abolished counties, and provincialized some states, forming the administrative divisions of more than 300 states and 1,200 counties today.  However, the central court directly managed more than 300 states, which was obviously and quite difficult. In the end, the Xingtai Province and the General Administration were successively established. These newly established institutions also had many shortcomings.  After Yifeng ascended the throne, he immediately abolished the General Administration Office and then established provinces in the state.  This system has been implemented for less than two years, but the effect is good. But now the emperor wants to abolish the states and establish counties. Everyone is a little confused. Does this mean anything?  Of course, Yifeng would not be bored after eating. Every move of the emperor's policy actually had profound meanings.  Removing a state and restoring a county is not that simple.  First of all, there used to be more than 500 counties in the early Sui Dynasty, but now the restoration of counties requires the establishment of more than 190 counties in the world. This is not a simple restoration of counties, but a reduction of more than half of the counties.  Even the imperial court originally had more than 300 prefectures, but now the prefectures have been removed and prefectures restored, so that between provinces and counties, the number of prefectures has been reduced from more than 300 prefectures to nearly 200 prefectures, which has been reduced by one-third.  Of course, cutting more than 100 jobs will have a big impact.  As a result, more than 20 provinces govern nearly 200 counties, and nearly 200 counties govern more than 1,200 counties. One province governs * counties, and one county governs six or seven counties. The number of jurisdictions at each level is relatively high.  Reasonable, neither too much nor too little.  The imperial court suddenly lost more than a hundred states and counties, and also reduced a large number of expenditures, reduced a large number of officials, and enhanced the efficiency of the government.  The most important point is that the original level of states was relatively high. Before the establishment of provinces, states were the highest-level local settings, and higher-level states were third-level.  Today's provincial level is actually the state level. However, considering that the province would be a completely new organizational structure, we did not directly reorganize the counties into prefectures and counties. Instead, we set up provinces above the states. In this way, the provinces  These two levels of prefectures are high-level local officials. There are more than 300 prefectures., hundreds or thousands of senior officials appeared.  A large number of senior officials is certainly not a good thing. Now Yifeng directly abolishes the state and restores the county. One important reason is that the level of the county is originally lower than that of the state.  This is a disguised move to demote a large number of state-level officials.  The reduction of one-third of the state and county departments is also a large-scale reduction of officials.  Yi Feng wanted to use this state-to-county transition to remove a large number of old and unsuitable officials, and even those who remained would be demoted.  State level three, county level five, directly downgraded several levels.  At the same time, the township level is officially established as a national division and officials are arranged to manage it. This is to prepare positions for the large number of talented people who are emerging from the imperial examination, so that these newly admitted scholars can start from the bottom.  Adequate location.  While abolishing prefectures and setting up counties, Yifeng also added a lot of power to provincial governments, allowing local governments to have certain autonomy. In particular, Yifeng left one-third of the two taxes collected by local governments for local governments.  .  The two-thirds tax every year is 10 million yuan.  In the end, more than 3 million of these 10 million were retained in more than 1,000 counties across the country, more than 3 million were handed over to nearly 200 counties across the country, and the remaining 3 million were handed over to more than 20 provinces across the country. Governments at all levels retained  This tax is used for local development, and all expenditures no longer need to be paid by the central government.  "After the abolition of prefectures and restoration of prefectures, the 198 counties across the country will need to adjust their appointment of officials, big and small, in a timely manner. All the original officials of more than 300 prefectures will retire when their age expires, and all those who expire when their terms of office will be transferred  The remaining officials in the imperial court will be evaluated. Those who fail the evaluation will be dismissed or demoted, and the outstanding ones will be retained. In short, the most important task in the first half of this year is to complete the work of removing states and restoring counties.  In particular, it is required that at least 10% of the officials be candidates or Jinshi admitted in this imperial examination." (To be continued)
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