Chapter 8 Section 2 Reform the regime and strengthen the imperial power

The first person in the history of our country to establish a centralized state of feudal despotism was Qin Shihuang.The feudal political system he created was inherited by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and it was perfected and established.Many undertakings done by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a great influence on the feudal society of later generations. Establish "China and North Korea" and improve monarchy.In the early Western Han Dynasty, the prime ministers were all served by Liehou, with a high position and great power.After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, he witnessed that both Dou Ying and Tian Fu wanted to monopolize power, which was very unfavorable to the court.Therefore, Emperor Wu took measures to weaken and limit the power of the prime minister and strengthen his own imperial power.He personally intervened in the government affairs. At the same time, he also employed a group of middle- and lower-level officials and attendants who had been with him for a long time and had a low status as senior advisers and assistants to advise him.For example, the official Shangshu Ling of the Shaofu, who was originally a low-ranking official, was used as the emperor to manage the chapters and documents, and his status became increasingly prominent.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also selected some virtuous and literary men as Langs, and crowned them with titles such as Shizhong, Gishizhong, and Changshi. People like Zhu Fuyan, Zhu Maichen, Yan Zhu, Yan An, etc., could enter and leave the court, participate in military and state affairs, and establish "China North Korea" (also known as "Inner North Korea").The "Zhongchao" composed of Shangshuling, Zhongshu, Shizhong, etc. became the actual decision-making body and the loyal tool of the emperor.Since the Qin Dynasty, the state organs headed by the prime minister and composed of the three princes and nine ministers have become "outer courts" and have been reduced to agencies that perform general government affairs.The formation of Chinese and foreign dynasties was an important measure taken by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to strengthen the imperial power.

Establish an official selection system such as "examination and examination", and extensively recruit talents.Before Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, most of the officials at all levels were selected according to the rank of military merit, that is, the heroes or the children of the heroes, and some were selected from Zhonglang, Shilang, Langzhong, Yilang and other officials.They are all small officials who guard the palace and follow the emperor.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the centralized rule was continuously strengthened and the bureaucracy was also expanded. The original method of selecting officials could no longer meet the needs of the development of the new situation.Under such circumstances, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established a new system of selecting officials based on the original method of selecting officials.During Emperor Wen's time, there were already choices of "virtuous" and "filial piety" that had not yet been established.At the time of Emperor Wudi, officials at all levels such as prime ministers, lieutenants, governors, and guards were ordered to recommend virtuous, upright, outspoken, and extremely admonishing people, who passed the assessment and selected the best for employment.For example, a group of famous scholars such as Dong Zhongshu and Gong Sunhong were reused after going through the "virtuous" policy test.Afterwards, the method of holding elections in proportion to the size of the population was adopted, regardless of the size of assets.For those who are indeed talented but unwilling to become officials, through the method of "recruitment", Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty personally summoned them, and those who did have real talents and learning were awarded official positions.At the same time, officials were selected in the form of letters and deeds.Officials and common people all over the world can submit letters, as long as they have made contributions to the development of the country, they will be awarded positions based on their strengths.People like Zhu Fuyan, Zhu Maichen, Dongfang Shuo and others entered the imperial court through this way and became famous officials.In the fifth year of Yuanshuo (124 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Gongsunhong's suggestion that the children of five classics doctors who performed well in the annual examinations could also be appointed officials.In doing so, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty not only recruited talents, enriched the bureaucracy, but also expanded and consolidated the ruling foundation.

Set up "inspectors" to suppress tyrants.In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty's system of setting up a supervisor and a censor to inspect the local area was abolished, and instead of full-time officials, the prime minister temporarily dispatched the prime minister to inspect the local area.At this time, the powerful forces in various places took advantage of the feudal patriarchal relationship to form a powerful clan, annexed the land with the tyrants, and ran rampant in the countryside to dominate one side.In response to this situation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took decisive measures to restrict and attack local powerful forces.In addition to continuing to use the method of migrating the powerful in the early Han Dynasty, a group of officials known for their harshness were reused to kill the powerful landlords.For example, Hanoi prefect Wang Wenshu is one of the famous "cool officials".He hunted and killed the cunning and treacherous powerful surnames in the county, implicated more than a thousand families, and lost all their family properties.

In order to strengthen the central government's control over local areas, in the fifth year of Yuanfeng (106 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the country to be divided into Ji, You, Bing, Yan, Xu, Qing, Yang, Jing, Yu, Yi, Liang, Jiaozhi, and Shuofang. There are 13 state departments, each state department is a supervision area, and a governor (salary 600 shi) is set up to specialize in supervision.Every August, the governor patrols the counties and counties to which he belongs, "inquiring about matters with six points", that is, the governor is responsible for picking up the right field house of the strong Zonghao for overreaching the system, and bullying the weak by the strong; Attached are six items including tyranny and forced bribery.At the end of the year, he returned to the capital Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi) to report to the emperor.In the fourth year of Zhenghe (89 BC), Sili Xiaowei (salary 2000 shi) was set up, with Sanfu (Jingzhao, Zuo Fengyi, You Fufeng), Sanhe (Hedong, Hanoi, Henan), Hongnong Qi The county is the supervision area, which is responsible for inspecting the hundred officials of the imperial court and the main chief executives of the seven counties except the prime minister, the Taiwei, and the "three princes" of the censor.Both the Governor of the Inspector and the Colonel of Sili belonged to the Doctor Yushi. In fact, they directly obeyed the emperor's orders and became the emperor's eagle dogs.A complete monitoring network has been formed from the central government to the local government, and a fairly strict monitoring system has been formed, from the imperial censor to the governor and Sili Xiaowei.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty further strengthened the management and control of bureaucracy at all levels.

Implement the "Tweet Order" and "Benefit Law" to attack the separatist forces of the kings.In the early Han Dynasty, the prefecture and county system was implemented locally, and there was also a feudal state system, which was actually a "parallel system of prefectures and states".Liu Bang enfeoffed his children as princes and kings, also called "kings with the same surname".At that time, there were nine feudal states, all of which had vast territories and large populations.For example, King Liu Fei of Qi has six counties, a total of 72 counties.Wu Wang Liu Bi [bi coin] has three counties, a total of 52 counties.Wang with the same surname has great political power, and has certain military power and financial power.After the princes and kings became adults, the country became more and more powerful and became an independent kingdom on one side of the separatist regime.The contradiction between the central government and the princes and kings is intensifying day by day.Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty adopted the suggestion of the censor Chao Cuo's "cutting the vassal policy". In 154 BC, some counties and counties such as King Wu of Chu were cut off, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the princes and kings.Wu Wang Liu Bi took the opportunity to collude with Chu, Zhao and other six countries, and launched the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" under the banner of "Please kill Chao Cuo and use the Qing Dynasty's side".Taiwei Zhou Yafu and general Dou Ying led the army for three months to quell the rebellion.Emperor Jing ordered the abolition of the power of the princes and kings to govern the people, weakening part of their power.

During the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the power of the princes and kings was still very large, which seriously interfered with the centralization of power.In the second year of Yuanshuo (127 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Zhu Fuyan's suggestion and promulgated the "Decree of Tweeting Grace".It is stipulated that after the death of the princes and kings, not only the eldest son of the direct (di enemy) can inherit the throne, but the rest of the children can get allotment of land within the scope of the feudal country and serve as princes.It is to divide the large vassal state into many small states, which are under the jurisdiction of the counties set up by the central government.At that time, Qi State was divided into seven states, Zhao State was divided into six states, Liang State was divided into five states, and Huainan State was divided into three states.A big country is no more than a dozen cities, and a small country is no more than a few dozen miles.In the early Han Dynasty, there were 408 princes, most of whom were enfeoffed after the implementation of the "Tweet Order".The implementation of this system has achieved the effect of "many build princes but less power".

In the first year of Yuanshou (122 BC), because Liu An, the king of Huainan, and Liu Ci, the king of Hengshan, made friends with guests and deliberately rebelled, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the capture of the two kings and the abolition of the two countries as prefectures. Tens of thousands of princes, officials and guests were killed. people.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty formulated the "Law of Zuo Guan" and "Law of Supplementary Benefits". "Zuoguan Law" clearly stipulates that all officials serving in vassal kingdoms have lower status and treatment than officials appointed by the central government, and will not be held by the court.In this way, the private employment of subordinate officials by princes and kings was strictly restricted. The "Benefit Law" strictly prohibits the princes and kings from recruiting guests, forming parties for personal gain, and restricting their actions. "The princes only get food, clothing, tax and rent, not political affairs" ("Han Shu · Princes and Kings Table · Preface").In the fifth year of Yuanding (112 BC), Emperor Wu ordered the princes to contribute 酎 [zhou Zhou] gold to assist the sacrifice in order to worship the ancestral temple.He abolished 106 Liehous, accounting for half of Liehous at that time, under the pretext of insufficient gold and gold or poor color.Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the situation of the separatist regimes of the princes and kings has basically been resolved.