Chapter 13 Chapter 10 Concentration of Power·Don

If we use the organization of a company as a metaphor, the Tang Dynasty had a single head system, so the room for adjustment and maneuvering was quite limited.If a chairman does something wrong, he will lose everything.If a chairman does not listen to persuasion, no matter how good the talent is, he will not be able to make full use of it.Taking Tang Xuanzong as an example, he had some very good assistants in the first half, such as Zhang Jiuling, Yao Chong, Song Jing, etc., who were all very good prime ministers.So Tang Xuanzong was able to govern the country well when he was young.Basically, the lives of ordinary people during the Kaiyuan period were quite good.In the second half of the period, he was old and lazy, and there were no virtuous people around him. Instead, he appointed some poor and selfish prime ministers.Kaiyuan and Tianbao formed two completely different periods.

The situation in the Tang Dynasty was very different from that in the Han Dynasty.Even if the emperor of the Han Dynasty failed, as long as the government itself did not cause trouble, the country could still maintain a fairly stable situation.A good chancellor can usually balance out a poor emperor.But the Tang Dynasty did its job. Under the single head system, the emperor enjoyed absolute power, and the government had relatively little chance and power to balance him.If the emperor uses the wrong people and does the wrong things, the government will be helpless and must collapse.The Tang Dynasty collapsed several times after Tang Xuanzong, because most emperors after Xuanzong were self-willed, did not listen to persuasion, and trusted people who were related or spoke nice words.Although we often think of the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties, after Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty, the lives of ordinary people were very difficult, and the services provided by the government were also very poor.This is a problem that almost always occurs in countries with a single head system.

Compared with the cabinet system, the presidential system is much less effective than the cabinet system.A presidential system is a unitary head system.For example, in the United States, although the government is a presidential system, because of open public opinion, competition between the two parties, and rotation in power, the single head system will not cause major problems, and it will be replaced if it is not done well.But the emperor does not change at will, and the emperor cannot be dismissed and a new one can be elected.Therefore, the single head of the imperial system has no power to check and balance him.From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, China has always been in the situation of a single head system. This is a rather unfortunate point in Chinese history.For more than a thousand years from the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, China basically did not develop a democratic system during this period.

We cannot have a single chief executive with a balanced cabinet and president.We must understand that just because a person is good or we like a person, we should not let him hold power until the end.The character of a leader is of course important, but if a person has been in power for too long, on the one hand, he will grow old, his energy will decline, and his ability will be relatively reduced; He no longer has the ability to reflect, to listen to different opinions, to think differently.This is how power corrupts people's hearts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.It is a false wish to expect a leader to be as good as ever when he is corrupted without realizing it.A person who we thought to be capable is no longer able to lead effectively under the single chief executive system.This is not a good phenomenon for the country itself and the people.Placing the future of the country on an outstanding and strong leader is not only a fault of the Chinese, foreigners also have this fault.Like the Russians often say that a good tsar solves everything.Chinese people often look forward to a good leader, they can completely rely on him, and even hope that this leader will have a lot of power, and a strong leadership center will be established so that the country can be stable.In fact, this kind of thinking often harms the leaders and the people of the whole country.It is very dangerous to entrust the welfare of the whole country to a leader who has no ability to reflect on himself, without any chance to correct it, and without any mechanism to help him correct it.

Next, let's go back to the Tang Dynasty itself to discuss the problems of the Tang Dynasty.Let's discuss several important figures in the three dynasties of Suzong, Daizong, and Dezong after the Anshi Rebellion, look at their actions, and look at the shortcomings of the single chieftain system from different perspectives.After the Anshi Rebellion, compared with the Zhenguan period, it was also a single head system, but when the emperor was in full power, the situation was very different.Emperor Taizong of Tang was a very careful person. Although he was very talented and generous, and spent a lot of resources and expenses to open up territories, the situation in the country was still very good; mainly because Emperor Taizong had trustworthy prime ministers, such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others.They recommended virtuous men for the emperor and made correct decisions.But their style is meticulous, and the suggestions they made for the emperor are unknown to the outside world. If they don't fight for credit or power, all the glory belongs to the emperor.They supported the government in fighting the war, and the general made meritorious service, but they did not make any contribution.In fact, they are the generals who support the battle, constantly providing resources so that the general can make meritorious service outside.Nor do they steal the glory of important admonishers.Wei Zheng, a well-known admonisher beside Tang Taizong, often advised Taizong not to do this or that.Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui not only helped the admonisher to persuade Taizong, but also tried their best to maintain Taizong's trust in the admonisher.These two virtuous ministers have made great contributions to maintaining the relationship between Tang Taizong's monarch and his ministers and the harmony of the court.But they are not in the limelight, and they don't think they are the only ones who make achievements.

During this period, the prime minister's role was as a designer, just planning, and did not interfere with implementation.The single head system was implemented very well at this time. On the one hand, it was also because Tang Taizong was more willing to listen to other people's suggestions, and he could get many different opinions, so that he could make the best judgment from different ideas. Relatively speaking, after the Anshi Rebellion, there was a Li Mi in the Tang Dynasty who held important positions under the emperors of the three dynasties.After the Anshi Rebellion, Xuanzong fled to Sichuan, and Suzong stayed behind to gather scattered troops and prepare for a counterattack.It was at that time that Li Mi came to work with Suzong.He was very young at that time, and he was famous all over the world.His usual behavior is not like that of an official, and he often wears a white robe; his style is to keep everyone from knowing that he is an important adviser to the emperor.He believed in Taoism and was unwilling to be an official.Even if the official worshiped the prime minister later, he often had to resign and go home.

Li Mi had a great influence on Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty, but not all of his opinions were adopted by the emperor.The imperial belt did not listen to several of his important suggestions.For example, he suggested to Emperor Suzong that if An Shixi committed crimes, the army of the Tang Dynasty should be one to block the east, one to block the south, and one to attack Anlu Mountain and Shi Siming's hometown from the north.This strategy is actually quite good, but Suzong did not adopt it.When Emperor Dezong arrived, Tubo invaded. At that time, there was Huihe in the west of the Tang Dynasty, Dashi in the west, India in the south, and the rising Yunnan Kingdom in Yunnan, which was later Nanzhao.Tubo is a regime in the Middle Ages in Tibet, which was quite powerful and was the great enemy of the Tang Dynasty at that time.Li Mi suggested to use the four forces of Huihe, Dashi, Tianzhu, and Yunnan to besiege the back of Tubo.This is a strategy of long-distance and close-attack, and it is a common technique to combine vertical and horizontal in the world.Li Mi actually provided quite a few good suggestions on these important issues, but the emperor did not adopt them.The three emperors of the Tang Dynasty: Suzong, Daizong, and Dezong were all quite self-willed, self-righteous, and jealous emperors, especially Dezong.

Let's take a look at the economic situation at that time.In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the land equalization system was implemented very well. The people had their own land to cultivate, and the tax payment method was a part of the land rent, a part of the labor force, and a part of the silk products produced by themselves, that is, the land rent was paid in kind.At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, when the transition from the Southern and Northern Dynasties had just occurred, and the situation was not yet fully developed, this method of land rent in kind, labor rent and tax was quite useful to the country.At the same time, Fubing can be self-sufficient without spending a lot of money from the state.The economic form at this time is equal to the relationship between large tenants and small tenants. The farmers of the whole country are equal to the tenants of the country. This economic form is quite simple. There is no strong currency economy, and it is still a real economy.After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty already had a monetary economy, and the south was also considerably developed. The center of gravity of the Chinese economy had shifted to the Jiangnan area.At this time, the population and the land could not match each other, and the land equalization system was no longer equal; the population continued to increase, and the ratio between the land and the land was constantly changing, and the regional imbalance was particularly obvious.The tax system based on the land equalization system was divorced from reality, and after the government soldiers were destroyed, the government had to spend a lot of money to support the standing army.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the government had to maintain a strong combat force and local armed forces, which cost a lot. In the case of insufficient tax revenue, it was necessary to open up new sources of revenue and establish a new fiscal policy.Fortunately, Emperor Dezong had two important financial experts to help him solve the problem.One is Liu Yan, who served as a transshipment envoy, and later in charge of the country's financial planning.He came up with two methods. The first was that the government received a lot of goods in various places at that time, such as silk, silk, grain and salt, etc., but because of the war, the exchange of goods was not very good.So Liu Yan sent some fast-moving messengers to survey prices across the country, and then transport the cheapest goods to the most expensive places for sale. In this way, the common people can get cheaper goods, and the government also gets considerable profit.The same method is used for salt. The government transports the salt to places where the salt price is expensive for storage.The government then sells the salt produced in the salt field to salt merchants, allowing the salt merchants to adjust their profits and find the most expensive place to sell them.In this way, the price of salt can remain stable all the time, and there will be no uneven distribution of salt.His method was to match the conditions of the market economy that emerged at the time, using the wealth in the hands of the government as a bargaining chip, so that the government could make profits, and the common people would not suffer from lack of supplies or high prices.His principle still puts the common people first. As long as the common people have enough income, the government's tax revenue will increase, and there is no need to increase other exorbitant taxes.

The second way is to take out the hoarded materials to help the people when there is a food shortage but it has not yet caused a serious disaster.In this way, the common people will not be impoverished. If the common people get through the difficulties quickly, the life will not be too bad, so that they can quickly recover from the disaster.Basically, most of the population under the Tang government was not threatened by too many natural and man-made disasters.When the common people are rich, the tax revenue of the same family will be more - this is Liu Yan's general principle.The two points of stabilizing prices and preventing disasters are important policies to enable the common people to live and work in peace and contentment, and the government can also have sufficient financial resources to support expenses.

When Liu Yan first served as a transshipment envoy, there were only two to three million tax-paying households nationwide. By the end of his tenure, the tax-paying population had increased several times.Liu Yan also had many assistants under him, and he trained them to be a group of conscientious, capable, clean, and shrewd people.At the same time, he checked their accounts very strictly.Liu Yan's subordinates are afraid of him and admire him, and he will not treat them badly. Once corruption is found, he will be punished immediately, and very clean people will be rewarded a lot.After Liu Yan, many financial officials in the Tang Dynasty were trained by Liu Yan for decades. Another financial expert is Yang Yan.As we have said before, the land equalization system had been destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, and the land and household registration did not match, especially the regional imbalance was very significant.Yang Yan changed the land equalization system into the two-tax law, and changed the rent, yong, and adjustment originally collected according to the land equalization system to two taxes in spring and summer; what was collected was household tax and land tax, and household tax was collected as long as there was a household registration. , If there is land, land rent will be charged.The two-tax law simplifies the tax payment process and makes it easier to check the taxpayers, that is to say, it expands the tax base and stabilizes the tax source.The tax collected by the Two-tax Law has changed from real objects to currency. This can be said to be a measure adapted to the monetary economy at that time, which has increased the government's tax revenue several times. The policies formulated by these two financial and economic experts are both timely and timely, but in terms of personal fate, they are not so smooth. Yang Yan framed Liu Yan, causing Liu Yan to die unjustly, and Yang Yan himself was killed by another treacherous official. None of the chancellors died well.Compared with the early Tang Dynasty, this situation can be said to be very different. The Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion was quite ruthless and unclear. Admonish officials in the early Tang Dynasty, such as Wei Zheng, often advised Emperor Taizong to be close to gentlemen and far away from villains, to listen to different opinions, and to listen to everyone's advice with an open mind.Basically, Tang Taizong listened to Wei Zheng and admired him, thinking that Wei Zheng was his mirror, which could let him know what he did right and where he did wrong. If Wei Zheng was not by his side, he would lose someone to remind him.Once, when Tang Taizong was going hunting, Wei Zheng came. He didn't dare to tell Wei Zheng that he was going hunting, so he put a hunting eagle in his sleeve. When Wei Zheng left, the little eagle died.Therefore, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty was quite acceptable and respectful to admonishers.In contrast, Dezong and Daizong were not so measured in listening to advice.The most famous admonisher at that time was Lu Zhi. He put forward many opinions around Dezong, but they were not necessarily adopted. This was very different from Taizong.Wei Zheng had a good death in Taizong's time, but Lu Zhi was exiled.Lu Zhi's article has been handed down to this day. "Lu Xuan Gong Zou Yi" is a famous essay, which has always been a model in ancient Chinese prose, with clear reasoning and sincere emotion. To give an example, in 783 A.D., the fourth year of Emperor Dezong's founding of the middle school, the emperor asked, "What's wrong with us that makes our country so restless, with so many rebellions, that the government can barely function?" Lu Zhi repeated. , the most important thing at present is to understand what the people want, to help them do what the people want to do, and not to do what the people dislike, that is, what the people want.Basically, order and chaos tend to be in people's hearts, and peace or chaos are all because of people's hearts.Therefore, in times of chaos and change, the common people hope for stability. As long as we find out the reasons and directions for the common people's desire for stability, the world will be stable.The monarch should listen to the opinions of all places, and should not listen to what he likes to hear. The civil and military officials of the whole court and the local leaders should convey all kinds of opinions to the government.A true leader should be the one who helps you with the wisdom of the world. As long as the ruler and ministers are of the same mind, will the world still be chaotic?These words seem simple, but in fact they are very important, and these things cannot be neglected.When this memorial arrived at Dezong, Dezong ignored it at all. Lu Zhi was not reconciled, and said that the foundation of our country is to get the support of the masses. How to know whether the masses support you? You must first know the feelings and wishes of the masses. .The so-called principle of governing the country is nothing more than knowing what the masses want and what the masses think.Since then, it has been explained that if the Qian hexagram is at the bottom and the Kun hexagram is at the top, it means Tai and Taiping; if the Kun hexagram is at the bottom and the Qian hexagram is at the top, it means whether or not, which is not good.If the Xun hexagram is at the top and the Zhen hexagram is at the bottom, it is beneficial and beneficial; if the Gen hexagram is at the top and the Dui hexagram is at the bottom, it will be harmful.The sky is below and the earth is above. Doesn’t it look like it’s upside down? How can I say it’s good?Because monarchs and ministers can communicate.Isn't it good that the king is above and the minister is below, how can it be wrong?Because the upper and lower cannot communicate, the people above do not listen to the opinions of the people below.People above impose their opinions on those below, which can only be said to be detrimental.The government is like a boat, and the people's sentiments are like water. If the government follows the people's sentiments, it will float; otherwise, it will sink.The monarch must listen to the words of the people and trust the suggestions of his subordinates.The monarch often uses majesty to suppress others, and is very strict with others, so there are many abuses.People far away do not understand you, so they suspect you; people near you know you, and avoid you, trying to cover up their mistakes.There is no way for the monarch and ministers to cooperate, and the upper and lower are separated.Your Majesty himself is angry, but the common people have no way to understand the reason for your anger.You can't be open and honest enough to make people want to tell you the truth.For the past six months, His Majesty has kept himself closed and refused to listen to others. Everyone came in and out respectfully. In this vast universe, who would tell you the truth?Although you also have the opportunity to meet ministers and envoys alone, everyone is afraid of you, and no one dares to tell you the truth. After Tang Dezong received his opinion this time, he sent someone to send a message to him saying: "I am very sincere to people, and I am willing to accept everyone's opinions, but I am open and honest, but someone wants to harm me, so I have to do it now." Being unprepared is not because I don’t want to be honest with others.”——In fact, this is of course caused by Dezong’s own suspicious character.Dezong said again: "You people who advise and advise often blame the emperor. In fact, I think what you say is very common. Why should I believe you? If you can say something that convinces me, I will definitely adopt it. At this time, Lu Zhi repeated: "You must accept many different opinions. If everyone's opinions seem to be similar, it means that everyone has the same idea. You must be honest with others, and you must be tolerant of their advice. Don't get angry easily, or take the opportunity to take revenge. Sincerity and trustworthiness are the most important. If you are not sincere, you will be wary of others; It is to use intelligence to suppress people, but in fact it is deceitful and fraudulent; it is said that you are guarding against others, but in fact they are taking advantage of the middle of defense, using many opinions that cater to you, and cutting off the path of the truth. Therefore, sincerity and trustworthiness are absolute. Pay attention. You should not use your own intelligence to cover up your mistakes, otherwise one mistake will cover up one mistake, and you will never get a real opinion. You can’t say that everyone’s words are the same, and it’s not worth listening to. You know , the reason why everyone has the same opinion must have a reason. You can’t stop listening just because everyone’s speech is very similar; if you are willing to listen, everyone will tell you the truth. If you are not willing to listen, there is no Someone told you the truth." Lu Zhi also said: "There are nine problems that everyone has, six of which are common to leaders, and three are common people's faults. Which six are these six problems? The first is that I want to To be better than others, the second is not wanting to hear people scold me and blame me for my mistakes, the third is that I like to debate, the fourth is that I think I am smarter than others, the fifth is to show off my dignity, and the sixth is Rejecting other people's suggestions and being self-willed - the above six are the mistakes that leaders often make. The mistakes that courtiers often make are: flattery, timidity, and talking based on their faces. These three mistakes plus the six mistakes just mentioned , no one in the world dares to tell you the truth. The people below will be confused if the situation cannot be understood by the superior. If the situation cannot be understood by the superior, the people above will not know what to do, and there is no way to make a decision based on it. So the monarch should understand that if there are many people who advise you, it means that you can accept different opinions; if the people who advise you speak straight, it means that you can tolerate; , it means that you can forgive; the person who advised you leaked what advised you, it means that you can obey the advice of others. At this time, the advice is really useful to you. " Lu Zhi said these words quite a few times, but Dezong only listened to them once.The ancient monarchs, in times of great chaos, had to issue edicts to sin against themselves.In the first year of Dezong's first year, AD 784, several important towns in the Tang Dynasty rebelled, and Dezong was helpless.The capital lacked food and soldiers, so they had to condemn themselves and blame themselves.Dezong wrote an article himself and showed it to Lu Zhi. After reading it, Lu Zhi felt that he was not sincere enough, so he wrote an article for him.This edict was promulgated to the world and changed to the first year of Yuan Zhen, which means to start with the people and start all over again.He said in the imperial edict: I grew up in the palace since I was a child, and I don't know the hardships of the people below, and I don't know the hardships of being a soldier.I only take the news that others tell me, and treat the fake as real, but I can't hear the real one.What I have done has caused great chaos in the world, the lives of the common people are not good, the government is unstable, and the country is in civil strife.This is my own fault, I have to pick up this burden and cannot pass it on to others.I want to get rid of the exorbitant taxes of the past.Apart from the guilt of the rebel leader, I don't blame the soldiers who followed the rebels either.Let's start a new situation together. When this edict was issued, the hearts of the people were overjoyed. Everyone admired the emperor's frankness, and even the rebel soldiers cried.In Chinese history, there are often examples of issuing edicts to sin against oneself. When something happened in the world, the emperor took all the responsibility.The content of Lu Zhi's manuscript is very moving.Standing in the position of the emperor, he takes all the responsibilities on him—as a leader, he has the right to push all the responsibilities on his subordinates, and when something goes wrong, he blames others instead of himself, This kind of person is probably not a good leader, and the number of people he can use around him will only decrease, not increase.Therefore, the tradition of the Chinese emperor issuing edicts to sin against himself is quite worthy of reference for today's rulers.President Truman of the United States once said: "When all responsibilities are pushed to my desk, I can no longer push them; when buckets of water come to me, I can no longer pass them on, because I am the last one." People, all the responsibilities should be taken by me.” If a leader only blames the people around him when something goes wrong, everyone is wrong, only he is right, and only he can correct everyone’s mistakes, then in the future No one can share his worries and labors for him.The leader of a country must take responsibility, as should the leader of a company or group.If all the credit belongs to oneself, the fault is passed on to others, and one's own fault is covered up with punishment and blame, then the company will soon lose its mind, and no one will be able to work around this leader. Although Lu Zhi was so dedicated, his luck was not very good. In the end, Emperor Dezong sent him to the frontier; compared with Wei Zheng when Emperor Taizong was in power, it was really a world of difference.However, his "Lu Xuangong Memorial" has been handed down to this day.Among the articles of the Tang Dynasty, Lu Xuangong's Memorial is a well-known good article, because the emotion is sincere and well-organized.Many of Lu Xuangong's articles were translated into vernacular, and they could also serve as models for editorials in newspapers.This way of expressing one's logical thinking with reason and sincerity is a legitimate way, and it is very admirable. If we saw such an article in an editorial today, we would also be moved. Comparing the Zhenguan period with the mid-Tang Dynasty, it can be seen that the main disadvantage of the Tang Dynasty was the single chieftain system. Almost all the power was in the hands of the emperor, and other people were only assistants and advisers.After the three dynasties of Suzong, Daizong, and Dezong, the Tang Dynasty has been in crisis, with constant internal and external troubles.At that time, it was not that no one came up with a solution, but the emperor often didn't use it, or used it too late, or trusted the villains around him.Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish, and finally some villains are left around the monarch.The three emperors of the Tang Dynasty basically had the same problem, but some were strong and some were cowardly.Dezong was the strongest of the three, so he also sacrificed the most virtuous ministers.Therefore, a dynasty as beautiful as the Tang Dynasty was so difficult when it rose, but it was so easy when it collapsed. Wei Zheng advised Tang Taizong all the time: It is very difficult to get something, but it is very easy to lose it; the hardest thing to get is the human heart, and the easiest thing to lose is also the human heart.It is not easy to start a business, but it is even more difficult to be successful, because those who are successful must not only abide by the established system, but also often find faults and make appropriate corrections and changes.At the same time, a leader must be able to distinguish who is a good person and who is a villain who can only flatter.Talents often have their own opinions. A talented person usually has character and is unwilling to flatter; a truly capable person knows what he should do, and will not wrong himself or cater to the leader's opinion.In the eyes of some leaders, this kind of person is disobedient and often sings a naysayer.With such a leader, and such obedient assistants, his dynasty would not last long.Today, it is no longer a dynasty with one surname and one family. The common people are the most important, and the common people should find the person who can best serve the country. It is the same when we apply this principle of governing the country to business operations.A good leader and decision-maker is definitely not an arrogant person, but a humble person who can listen to different suggestions and ideas, allow many people to help him, analyze the suggestions, and find the most suitable decision.A good leader must also keep his ears and eyes open, constantly collect important information, be able to grasp the clearest information and the clearest situation, and will not make decisions that go against the real situation.Decisions that go against the truth are absolutely disasters and will not be of real use. Now back to business and organization.Enterprises will not be dictatorial, and can be divided into one person in charge of major affairs and one person in charge of daily administrative affairs.Whether it's the chairman and the general manager, or the chairman and the CEO, as long as we treat each other with sincerity and our subordinates, trust their goodwill, and communicate with each other honestly and trustingly in the process of dealing with matters, In this way, opinions can be fully expressed, and many methods can be proposed.Everyone analyzes the pros and cons from different angles, and the organization is of course thriving.Conversely, if the leader is self-willed and does not accept other people's opinions, he may lose all his capital and the organization will collapse.There is no fluke in the success of the world, and there is no reason for failure. This is a lesson we have learned from history. Finally, I would like to end the Tang Dynasty with a passage from Lu Zhi.At that time, Emperor Dezong asked Lu Zhi: "Nowadays, many vassals and towns have second thoughts about the imperial court. What should we do?" It is impossible for people to prevent tens of millions of people in the world from defrauding you, because your power alone is limited. In the past, Xiang Yu killed all of Qin's 200,000 soldiers, which was considered very thorough. On the contrary, Han Gaozu was open-minded and magnanimous, and assigned work to all those who surrendered to him according to their abilities. Your Majesty thinks that you are smarter than others, you are very thoughtful, and you are very broad-minded, thinking that you can guard against others You use power to control all officials and rule the world with majesty. In this situation, talented people feel that they have nowhere to show their talents. Those who are loyal to you are afraid of being suspected by you, and those who have merit are afraid that you will not tolerate him. People who have misbehavior towards you are afraid that you will pursue his responsibility, so they take risks and do more bad things. The behavior of the emperor is watched by the whole world. Even if it is like this for some small things, let alone governing the world? I hope you will take it Take the many civil strife as your own warning, and don’t do wrong things.” This passage should be remembered by many leaders: You can’t allow your own wisdom to overwhelm the world.