Chapter 15 Chapter Four The Founding Emperor IV. Strengthening of Centralization

Zhu Yuanzhang summed up his long-term practical experience in governing the country and the lessons learned from the successes and failures of the 90-year rule of the Yuan Dynasty. It is more concentrated, more authoritative, and more complete. During the Hongwu Dynasty, the strengthening of the centralization system was the result of class struggle. The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory, and it was necessary to establish a set of efficient and highly centralized central and local government agencies, so as to truly achieve unity and centralization, and to achieve internal suppression and external defense of the country. functions.The trend of historical development and the objective situation at that time forced Zhu Yuanzhang to carry out drastic reforms.

Let me talk about the local institutions first: the Xingzhongshusheng in the Yuan Dynasty was set up separately from the Zhongshuxing in Dadu. What kind of officials did the Zhongshusheng have, and what officials did the Xingzhongshuxing also have? The Ministry of Zhongshu still manages military administration, civil administration, and finance, and its powers are too heavy.In the later period, soldiers rose everywhere, local people fought on their own, and often made their own decisions about big and small matters. The Yuan Dynasty could not intervene, resulting in a situation of local domineering, decentralization, ineffective command and scheduling, strong branches and weak branches, and fragmented regimes.Zhu Yuanzhang himself started his career as the prime minister of the Xing Zhongshu Province in the Song Dynasty. He never got the approval of King Xiaoming for anything he did. A Xing Zhongshu Province is actually an independent kingdom.When he was Pingzhang and Prime Minister, the greater the power, the better, and the less restraint the Dragon and Phoenix Emperor had, the better. Even when he was full of feathers, he didn't care about King Xiaoming's court at all, except for using the Dragon and Phoenix's year name. in the eyes.Now the situation has been reversed, and he has become the emperor himself, in the position of Emperor Yuanshun and King Xiaoming, and conflicts have arisen.Is it decentralization?Or centralization?Is it to let all the secretaries of the provinces fight for independence like he did back then?Or do you hold all the main powers in your own hands, tightly control the place, and ask them to obey orders?This is an extremely serious problem that must be properly addressed.

King Xiaoming's ruling system was inherited from that of the Yuan Dynasty, and he also set up any institutions in the Yuan Dynasty's court and localities.Zhu Yuanzhang was promoted to the prime minister of Jiangnan Xingzhongshu Province with his military exploits. After opening up the territory, he could only inherit this system if he set up officials and divided duties.Until the ninth year of Hongwu, he felt more and more that there was something wrong with local authority.Over the years, on the one hand, he was busy fighting, and on the other hand, he was studying how to reform. By the ninth year of Hongwu, he had matured his thinking and decided to centralize all the power in the imperial court. .The chief envoy is an envoy sent by the emperor to a local area, and is in charge of the government of a province, mainly in charge of finance and civil affairs.The imperial dynasty stipulates policies, laws, procedures, and temporary tasks, which are issued to local officials in various prefectures, states, and counties through the chief envoy.The whole country is divided into Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Beiping, Guangxi, Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Henan, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Shanxi, and there are twelve chief ministers. In fifteen years, the Yunnan chief minister was added. 【01】The geographical division of the Chief Secretary basically inherited the Yuan Dynasty’s Xingzhongshuguang.Since the term Xingzhongshusheng is used to being called, even though it was changed to chief political envoy, the imperial court and the people still called it provincially, or province for short.Moreover, in terms of status, the Xing Zhongshu Province was established in the local area from the institution of the Zhongshu Province in the imperial dynasty. It is necessary to uphold the will of the imperial court. The former is the decentralization of power from the central government to the local governments, while the latter is the centralization of power from the local governments to the central government. The nature has undergone a fundamental change.In addition, the chief ministers are in charge of the courts and prisons, and set up a division for the punishment and inspection.The Second Division of Buyin and the Commander Division in charge of military and political affairs are collectively called the Third Division, which are the three dispatched agencies sent by the dynasty to the localities.In this way, the three administrative organs of civil affairs, taxation, courts, and standing army are independent and not under the jurisdiction of each other. vertical rule.The local government under the chief envoy is divided into two levels; the first level is the prefecture, and the chief is the prefect; there is Zhili Prefecture, which is a state directly under the chief envoy, and the chief is the prefect, whose status is equal to that of the prefect.The second level is the county, the chief is the county magistrate; there are states, the chief is the magistrate, and its status is the same as that of the county magistrate.States and counties are political institutions that directly manage the people. The so-called officials close to the people. This reform also simplified the three-level system of road, government, state, and county in the Yuan Dynasty. The number of government orders was reduced, and the command was more convenient and flexible . 【02】The reform of the imperial government's governing body was later than that of the local government.The control and command of local civil affairs, finance, courts, prisons, and the standing army are all concentrated in the Zhongshu Province. The more power the Zhongshu Province has, the more authoritative it is, and the conflicts and contradictions with the emperor will become more and more serious. reconcile.In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, the political crisis broke out. As a result of the power struggle between the emperor and the prime minister, Zhu Yuanzhang directly controlled the imperial army and secret service agencies, and eliminated and attacked the Huaixi New Landlord Group that was competing with him for leadership. The prime minister Hu Weiyong and many veteran veterans were killed. 【03】Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of this opportunity to abolish the Zhongshu Province. On the surface, he imitated the system of Zhou officials and six ministers, and raised the status of the original six ministries under the Zhongshu Province. In the Ministry of Industry, each department has one minister and two assistants (left and right).The Ministry of Officials is in charge of the appointment, performance appraisal, promotion, and punishment of officials across the country; the Ministry of Households is in charge of agricultural tax, commercial tax, salt tax, and manpower collection; the Ministry of Rites is in charge of ceremonies, religion, sacrifices, education, examinations, and diplomacy; the Ministry of War is in charge of the appointment and dismissal of officers in the standing army and military orders The Ministry of Punishment is in charge of law, courts and prisons; the Ministry of Industry is in charge of engineering (weapons, currency, civil construction, etc.), water conservancy, transportation, etc.They are directly responsible to the emperor and follow the emperor's will.The prime minister was gone, and Zhu Yuanzhang assumed the power of the emperor and the prime minister, and the centralization of power developed to the highest peak, and Zhu Yuanzhang became the most powerful monarch in history.

Military agencies are also the most troublesome, and the key is the relationship between the army and the commander.To fight a war, a commander must be appointed, and every war cannot be led by the emperor himself.But after appointing a commander-in-chief and commanding the army, how can he take back this commanding authority after the war is over?If it is not withdrawn, the general will have a fixed army directly under him. Once there is a change, his rule will not be reliable.To take it back, what method to take?Xie Zaixing defected to the enemy because he changed commanders when he was in battle, his memory is still fresh, this mistake must not be repeated.In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the Privy Council of the Yuan Dynasty into the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion to control all military affairs at home and abroad, and appointed his brother Zhu Wenzheng and reliable generals as the governor.After a while, I still felt that the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion was more powerful. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion was divided into the center, and the left, right, front, and rear five armies were the governor's mansions.One is divided into five, and each government is headed by the left and right governors, and all the subordinates command envoys and guards. The powers and military departments cooperate with each other and check each other.The Ministry of War has military orders and the right to select officers, but it cannot command the army.Although the Governor's Mansion is in charge of military registration and military administration, it does not directly command the army.When there was a war, the emperor made a decision, the Ministry of War issued an order to deploy troops, and the chief of the governor's mansion was ordered to be the general commander-in-chief to lead the mobilized army and command the battle.In the army, there are also censors sent by the emperor or supervising the army (later additional eunuchs were sent to supervise the army) to directly deliver military information to the emperor.When the war is over, the commander-in-chief should hand over his seal and return to his original post to handle affairs.The mobilized troops also immediately returned to the original Weisuo system. [04] The political and military management agencies of these two systems are not enough. How can we ensure that the officials of these agencies are loyal, dedicated, and fully implement the emperor's orders?There must be another set of supervisory agencies.

The supervisory authority was originally the Yushitai of the Yuan Dynasty.In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, it was changed to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the chief executives were the Yushi of Zuodu, the Yushi of Zuodu, and the Yushi of Zuoqian.There are 100 supervisors and censors under him. According to the setting of the chief envoy, the area under the jurisdiction of one chief envoy is divided into thirteen departments.The power is to impeach all ministers and identify wrongdoers. All ministers who are treacherous and evil, villains who form a party to rule the country, officials who are corrupt and corrupt, academically dishonest, and those who disrupt the ancestral system can all be impeached at any time.The supervisory censor is a seventh-rank official, the rank is the same as that of the foreign magistrate, but they are very powerful. The emperor uses them to restrain the big officials, use the small to control the big, and the internal to control the external. They can say anything and have any opinions. It can be mentioned, and any high-ranking official or even a prince can report on it.The officials of this yamen are regarded as the eyes and ears of the emperor, listening and seeing for the emperor, and reporting to the emperor at any time.It is also regarded by the emperor as an eagle dog, tracking and fighting officials and people who are not loyal to the emperor for the emperor. In a word, it is an organ that monitors bureaucrats for the emperor, and an organ that maintains traditional thinking and discipline for the emperor.The supervisory censor supervises all bureaucratic organizations in the court; those who go to the local area have positions such as patrolling, Qing army, admiral school, patrolling salt, tea horse, and supervising the army. In the department, it is the most authoritative mission to make decisions on small matters and make decisions on major matters.

The administrative, military, and supervisory organs are independent and independent, and they are all responsible to the emperor.Officials use internally and externally, and communicate with each other. Their status is determined by rank. From the ninth rank to the first rank, there are nine ranks and eighteen ranks in total. Officials and ranks are the same.The system is clear, the powers are clear, the laws and regulations are detailed, the organization is strict, the number of personnel is fixed, and it is orderly. Compared with the Tang and Song Dynasties, the officials and positions do not match, and the powers are divided into actions, observances, and examinations. The confusion has greatly improved.In the entire bureaucratic organization, they also restrain each other. The supervisory organs monitor all officials, the secret service organizations suppress and coerce all officials and the people, the six ministries manage political affairs, and the governor's office manages the army. The Ministry of Households supplied food and fodder, the Ministry of Industry supplied weapons, and the emperor made policy decisions.Concentrating all the power in the hands of the emperor, the six ministries, governments, and courts are directly subordinate to the emperor. Not only is the bureaucracy more complete and efficient, but the authority of the emperor has also been greatly improved and developed.At the same time, the foundation for national unification has become firmer, stronger, and expanded than in previous eras.In terms of the entire historical development, in terms of the gradual consolidation of the unified country, this is a progress that cannot be underestimated.In this process of progress, Zhu Yuanzhang played an active role.

Law is a written document that determines the relationship of class oppression, records that determine the privileges of the ruling class and the constraints imposed on the ruled class, and specific provisions that protect and consolidate the ruling class and suppress the ruled class.The Yuan Dynasty used laws and regulations as rules, which were very complicated. Moreover, class relations and ethnic relations had undergone tremendous changes in the Ming Dynasty, and the old rules could no longer meet the objective requirements of the new era.In order to use the law to achieve the purpose of protection and suppression, and to consolidate the rule of the dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Taiwan and provincial officials to make legislation concise and strict in the first year of Wu. , changed and deleted four or five times, and compiled it into "Da Ming Law".The regulations are simpler than the "Laws of the Tang Dynasty", but stricter in spirit than the "Laws of the Song Dynasty". It is an extremely important code in the history of Chinese law.After compiling, he asked people to translate the part of the law code related to people's life into oral language, called direct interpretation, and distributed it to all prefectures and counties, so that the common people could understand it and abide by his laws and regulations. Ji, to achieve the purpose of class rule. 【05】

The lessons of history made Zhu Yuanzhang deeply understand the harm of eunuchs and relatives to politics.He thought that the disasters in the Han and Tang dynasties were all the fault of the eunuchs.Such people are indispensable in the court, but they can only be used as slaves, sweeping and running around, the number should not be too many, and they should not be used as confidantes, confidantes, confidants, eyes and ears, and eyes and ears.The method of control is to make them abide by the law, and they will not be able to do bad things if they obey the law; don't let them have credit, once they have credit, it will be difficult to control.He made a rule that all courtiers (eunuchs) were not allowed to read and write.There is also a cast iron plaque on the gate of the palace, engraved on it: Ministers are not allowed to interfere in political affairs, and those who commit crimes will be beheaded.Internal ministers are not allowed to hold civil and military titles in foreign courts, and they are not allowed to wear the clothes of officials in foreign courts.Moreover, the yamen of the outer dynasty are not allowed to have official documents with the inner officials.These several regulations aimed at the malpractices that had occurred in history, making eunuchs truly serve as servants of the palace. [06] The preventive measure for foreign relatives to interfere in politics is not to allow concubines to participate in political affairs.In March of the first year of Hongwu, Confucian officials were ordered to compile "The Precepts for Women", compiling stories of ancient virtuous women and concubines, to educate the palace people.It is stipulated that the queen can only manage the affairs of the concubines in the palace, and no interference is allowed outside the palace gate.The palace people were not allowed to communicate with the outside world, and the offenders were put to death.As a rule, the wives of courtiers and bureaucrats meet with the queen on the first and fifteenth day of each month. At other times, they are not allowed to enter the palace without special reasons.The emperor did not meet wives from other courts.The royal family chooses children from good families, and those who enter the female mouth privately are not allowed to accept.Yuanzhang's mother and wife's families are both extinct, and there is no maternal family.The descendants also abide by the precepts of the ancestors, and concubines must be chosen from the people's families.Foreign relatives are only given high titles and generous salaries, and they are big landlords, and they are not allowed to predict political affairs. 【07】During the more than 30 years of the Hongwu Dynasty, the eunuchs carefully abided by the law, and the court was isolated from the outside court. Compared with the past historical dynasties, the family law was the strictest.

Secondly, the Yuan Dynasty ruled the country with officials. The laws and regulations were extremely complicated, and the files were piled up like a mountain.Moreover, because the regulations on official documents are too trivial, office work has become a specialized technology.The palm seal officers (chief officers) of each yamen have a certain term of office, and they are transferred after they have just learned a little bit.Officials, on the other hand, generally have a lifelong career. As a result, those who govern the country and the people are all officials, not officials.Small officials are only interested in profit, regardless of the interests of the feudal ruling class. In fact, politics is getting worse and worse because of official administration. Official administration has damaged the interests of the bureaucratic landlord group and the interests of the Mongolian and Han ruling classes.In the twelfth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang issued the official documents to each yamen in a reduced and troublesome manner, which simplified the official documents and made the official documents clear and easy to understand, so that the officials could not cheat and exercise power.From then on, officials were dismissed as miscellaneous in politics and could not be officials. Officials and officials were completely separated. Officials could only manage administrative and technical work, while officials presided over government orders. 【08】

Associated with the simplification of official documents is the issue of article formatting.Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the government writings have been issued from top to bottom, and written from the bottom to the top. According to the custom, they all use the parallel Li Si Liu style, which is flashy and unrealistic.No matter how many literati advocate restoration and reform, the so-called ancient prose movement has succeeded among the people, but the government has not moved, and it is still the same old way.At the same time, two kinds of scripts were used, the government used parallel prose, and the folks used prose.Zhu Yuanzhang was very disapproving, thinking that the ancients wrote articles, reasoned, talked about world affairs, and the words in the classics were all clear and easy to understand. Like Zhuge Liang's "Teacher's Table", why did they carve out words and intend to make articles?But it has content, emotion, flesh and blood, and it still moves people after reading it, and I miss his loyalty.Recently, literati write essays. Although the writing is difficult, the meaning is very simple. Even if the writing is as good as Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong, it is of no use if people can't understand it!For this reason, he asked the secretary (Hanlin) to write the text, as long as he could explain the truth and understand the affairs of the world, he was not allowed to use rhetoric. 【09】He also criticized the papers entered by the officials: there are too many words of praise, and no words of precepts, which is not the way of the ancients to tell each other sincerely.From now on, the text should only make the article plain, and don't take empty words as beauty. 【10】Rebuke the subordinates for blindly singing praises and virtues without mentioning rules and regulations.In the sixth year of Hongwu, it was simply ordered to prohibit the use of dual four-six styles in government writing, and selected "Xie Biao" by Liu Gongchuo and Han Yu's "He Yu Biao" as the standard. [11] This reform made the government's writing simple and clear, and opened up the temple and the folk, and modern people wrote in modern language, which had a great influence on the style of writing and literary works at that time.

Zhu Yuanzhang not only advocated ancient prose and opposed parallel characters, but also advocated the use of spoken language to write characters, called straight interpretation, and used this method to educate people from all walks of life.In the twelfth year of Longfeng, Confucian scholars Xiong Ding and Zhu Mengyan were ordered to compile the "Book of Gongzi" and "Book of Farming Skills and Merchants". "Gongzi Shu" is for the children of nobles and nobles. Although these princes have more opportunities to study, they generally do not understand the more profound truths. It is better to compile ancient facts about loyalty, goodness and evil, and explain them directly in common Chinese to make it easier for readers to read. Easy to understand, in the future even if there is no academic achievement, it will be beneficial to know how the ancients behaved.Similarly, the children of folk farmers, businessmen and Jia also explain the business knowledge they should know in straight words and compile it into books to turn the people into customs and facilitate governance.After the book is printed, it will be distributed throughout the country. 【12】 Tang and Song dynasties still had the same bad atmosphere. After the imperial order for appointing officials was issued, the appointed officials had to submit their resignations as usual, again and again, even six or seven times, and the emperor would not allow it as usual. Use text to persuade again and again, until this person takes office, he will not stop.Those who resigned and persuaded were all playing word games, wasting time, wasting paper and ink, and cultivating a culture of hypocrisy and dishonesty.Zhu Yuanzhang thought it was unreasonable to do so, and ordered it to be abolished. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the emperors used female music as a rule, and it was abolished in June of the first year of Wu. 【13】 Notes from the original book: 01: In the first year of Yongle (AD 1403), Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Beiping was appointed as Beijing.In the eleventh year, he set up the chief envoy of Guizhou.Ming Xuanzong Xuande three years (AD 1428).In addition to Nanjing and Beijing, it is designated as the thirteen chief envoys. 02: "History of Ming Dynasty", "Records of Officials" 03: "Ming History" Volume 308 "Hu Weiyong's Biography", "Journal of Yanjing" Issue 15 Wu Han "Hu Weiyong's Party Case" 04: Song Lian's "Hongwu Shengzheng Ji Su Junzheng" fourth. 05: "History of the Ming Dynasty", Volume 93, "Criminal Law Records" 1. 06: "Ming History" Volume 74 "Official Records" "Eunuch" 07: "History of the Ming Dynasty", Volume 108 "Preface to Enzehou's Foreign Relatives", Volume 113 "Preface to the Biography of Concubines", Volume 300 "Preface to the Biography of Foreign Relatives" 08: "Ming Taizu Records" Volume 26, "History of Ming Dynasty" Volume 71 "Election Records" 09: "Ming Taizu Records" Volume 39 10: Volume 17 of "Records of Ming Taizu". 11: "Ming Taizu Records" volume eighty-five. 12: Volume 16 of "Records of Emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty". 13: Volume 19 of "Records of Emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty".