Chapter 76 is all about centralizing power
"The 'three provinces' are Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province, and Shangshu Province, and the 'six ministries' are the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Industry."
The three provinces correspond to the three ministers, and the six ministers correspond to the nine ministers. However, it sounds like the six ministers are three less than the nine ministers. What's going on?
Li Niandao: "The Zhongshu Province drafts the imperial edict, the Menxia Province is responsible for reviewing the edict and has the power to approve and refute it, and the Shangshu Province is responsible for handling daily government affairs."
In short, the Zhongshu Province The Shu Sheng is the decision-maker and the one who issues decrees, the Menxia Sheng is the reviewer and provides opinions, and the Shangshu Sheng is responsible for the specific implementation.
"The chief officer of Zhongshu Province is Zhongshu Ling, who has ministers, ministers, and other officials; the Menxia Province has Shizhong, Huangmen Shilang, and Shizhong Denggan; the chief official of Shangshu Province is Shangshu Ling, and there are left and right servants, left and right servants, etc. Cheng, left and right minister, middle official However, because the post of Shangshu Ling is very important, it is generally not permanent. "
Ying Zheng has been in power for many years. Once he heard that Shangshu Province was responsible for handling daily government affairs, he understood why later emperors did not have a permanent Shangshu Ling.
The real power of the Shangshu Ling is too great, and it will compete with the monarch's power. If one person is allowed to serve as the Shangshu Ling all year round, will he be the emperor, or will he be the emperor?
Li Nian's next words also confirmed what he thought: "The six ministries are under the Shangshu Province, each with a Shangshu and a minister as chief and deputy officers. Each ministry has four divisions, including a doctor, a Yuanwailang, a chief officer, etc. Official. "
Three provinces and six ministries. Although the Zhongshu Province and the Menxia Province have the power to propose opinions and make decisions, they must be implemented by the Shangshu Province. The six ministries are all under the jurisdiction of the Shangshu Province. The actual power of the Shangshu Province is the head of the three provinces. .
“The Ministry of Personnel is mainly responsible for the appointment and dismissal of officials, examinations, promotions, transfers, etc.; the Ministry of Revenue is responsible for the country’s territory, fields, household registration, taxes, salaries and all financial matters. If a disaster occurs in a certain place, the court needs to provide disaster relief and allocate money. The Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for the food supply. "
When talking about the Ministry of Rites, Li Nian paused. In order to facilitate Yingzheng's understanding, he said: "In later dynasties, the imperial examination flourished, and there were schools like Jixia Academy. The Ministry of Rites. Take charge of it The Ministry of Rites manages these schools and imperial examinations. At the same time, the Ministry of Rites is also responsible for dealing with other countries. If envoys from other countries come to visit, the Ministry of Rites is responsible for receiving them. "
"The Ministry of War, as its name implies, is in charge of the selection and food of generals. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the supply of ordnance and conveying military orders to the king; the responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice are similar to those of Tingwei, and the Ministry of Work is similar to that of the Shaofu.”
After Li Nian’s explanation, Ying Zheng had a general idea of the three provinces and six ministries system. understanding.
With the eyes of an emperor, he could see at a glance the advantages of the three provinces and six ministries system compared to the three gongs and nine ministers system.
The three provinces and six ministries dispersed the powers that originally belonged to the Sangong and Jiuqing, making them less threatening to the imperial power, especially the Sangong.
The three princes, the prime minister, the Taiwei, and the imperial censor, each have great powers. If the prime minister is the highest administrative official, and the government of a country is in his hands, it will inevitably conflict with the power of the king. fight.
But the three provinces divided the powers of the prime minister. The power of issuing edicts was given to Zhongshu Province, the power of deliberation was given to Menxia Province, and the power of execution was given to Shangshu Province.
Although this still does not completely solve the hidden danger of the prime minister having too much power. The Shangshu Province is clearly a prime minister with some power decentralized, but it is already a big improvement compared to the Three Gongs and Nine Ministers system of Great Qin!
Think about the late Eastern Han Dynasty, how much influence did the fourth and third generation of the Yuan Shao family have in the Eastern Han Dynasty?
It is not a joke to say that the disciples and old officials are all over the world, but they really have this strength. It is a pity that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are not capable enough to transform the Yuan family's influence into the capital to conquer the world.
As a feudal emperor, Ying Zheng naturally wanted to concentrate more power in his own hands. He was wondering if there was any way to weaken the power of the prime minister and more centralize power? Ying Zheng did not ask immediately, but listened to Li Nian continue to speak: "The system of three provinces and six ministries was established by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. It changed in the Tang Dynasty, because although the three provinces have diluted the power of the prime minister, the three provinces are definitely not as good as the two provinces or one province." Government affairs are faster."
"But the emperors of the Tang Dynasty saw the benefits of the three provinces and were unwilling to reunite the three provinces into one province. They also wanted to handle government affairs more quickly. If it worked, they came up with a series of countermeasures, such as using officials with lower qualifications and not conferring official positions such as Zhongshu Ling, Shizhong, and Shangshu Ling to others. "
"These countermeasures still cannot avoid the prime minister. The emergence of the Prime Minister has lowered the rank of official positions with the power of the Prime Minister, that is, officials no longer have the power of the Prime Minister but also have a lofty status. "
Ying Zheng nodded. This was indeed a good method, but it was still not what he wanted most.
Because this only reduces the status of officials with the power of the prime minister, the power of the prime minister still exists.
“In the Song Dynasty, further changes were made to the system of three provinces and six ministries!”
The Song Dynasty was really awesome, not only suppressing military attachés, but also civilian officials, not just Emphasizing civility and suppressing military power only gave more preferential treatment to civil servants than to generals, but the suppression of power did not fall at all.
One of the ways that the Song Dynasty came up with to suppress the power of civil servants was to decentralize multiple departments. That is to say, one department could obviously handle the problem well, but the Song Dynasty was able to consolidate three or four departments.
The advantage of this is that the power of civil servants is divided thinly and it is not easy to threaten the imperial power. As for the shortcomings, you can know it by looking at the "redundant officials", one of the "three redundant" in the Song Dynasty.
Although the kings of the Song Dynasty had many cowards, they were not lacking in political skills and were not fools. How could they not see the shortcomings of "redundant officials"? Why didn't they change it?
Firstly, they have accumulated a lot of trouble, and wanting to reform is like removing bones and cutting flesh from their own body, which is so painful; secondly, "redundant officials" are good for them.
After listening to Li Nian's talk about the Song Dynasty's changes to the six-ministry system in three provinces, Ying Zheng said: "In such a dynasty, defense against civilians, civil defense, and military affairs is all-encompassing. Although the country may last for a long time, it is difficult to be strong. No wonder it will Stand side by side with the Hu Dynasty! ”
Li Nian nodded and said: "What the king said is true. The Song Dynasty was also called the 'Great Coward' in later generations. The famous 'Jingkang Shame' in history came from this dynasty. In order to survive, the Song Emperor did not hesitate to sacrifice himself. His wife and daughter were also sent to the barbarians for humiliation.”
Ying Zheng was silent. There is such a shameless emperor. Why not find a pillar and hit him to death?
Li Nian hadn't told him yet that Huizong had excellent fertility. Even though he was captured in the Jin Kingdom and gave birth to children, what he said already made Ying Zheng feel very unhappy. The dynasty produced such a bastard emperor. Du was able to rule the country for more than three hundred years, but the Qin Dynasty collapsed in more than ten years from the time he became emperor.
He calmed down the dissatisfaction in his heart and looked resolutely: This time, we will never repeat the mistakes of history mentioned by Li Nian!
Li Nian continued: "When the Ming Dynasty was first established, it also followed the system of three provinces and six ministries. Emperor Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, rose up as a beggar and became the supreme king of the world. How could he not see the three provinces with his wisdom? The six-ministry system did not solve the hidden dangers of prime ministerial power to imperial power?”
What? Ying Zheng was also shocked when he heard this. He rose as a beggar and became the supreme king in the world? Is there such an emperor in the history of later generations?
(End of this chapter)