Chapter 168: Liu Kun first, Zu Ti later, with Sima Rong in between
"Replace the six ministries of the Sima family, namely, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Punishment. Each of them will have a ministry. If there is anything that cannot be decided, they can report it to me. Replace the Ministry of Menxia with the Ministry of Imperial Edicts and the Ministry of Imperial Edicts, and replace the Ministry of Shangshu with the Ministry of Cabinet Grand Secretaries... Establish a Censorate to investigate the mistakes of the ministers together with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Cabinet Grand Secretaries."

Most of these ideas of King Li Hao of Tang were slightly modified from the official system of the Ming Dynasty.

The official system of the late Ming Dynasty was the culmination of ancient society. Li Hao also corrected some drawbacks while copying it.

For example, there was no strict boundary between civil officials and military generals. The chief officials of each department under the six ministries were promoted to the fourth rank, and the deputy chief officials were promoted to the fourth rank. The circulation channels of internal and external officials were specially strengthened.

For Lu Zhi, Fei Li, Chang Qian, Du Liang and other demoted officials who had served as local county magistrates and county governors in the Jin court and also worked in the royal palace, the Tang King's court planning was easy to understand.

It was nothing more than that the majority of the powers of the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel were reduced, while the status of the Ministry of Personnel, which had the power to appoint and dismiss all officials and part of the supervisory power, was unprecedentedly improved.

"Your Majesty, if this continues, I am afraid that the Ministry of Personnel will take over the leadership and usurp the position of the head of the cabinet. Please reduce the authority of the Ministry of Personnel."

Chang Qian, with a head full of white hair, stepped out from the east side, bowed, and then made a respectful proposal.

He had served as Gongcao and other officials in Shu County and other places for a long time. Gongcao was an assistant to the county magistrate and county governor, in charge of laws, appointment and removal of officials, and assisting the county magistrate and county governor in selecting personnel.

In other words, when he was young, he mostly held positions at the county level.

"I also have this concern. I have set up six more departments, with the Chief Secretary in charge of the seal, and the Left and Right Secretary assisting them to supervise the affairs of the six ministries and to review and reject the imperial edicts and memorials issued by the Imperial Edict Office, the Imperial Edict Office, and the six ministries. Their ranks are set at the 7th rank for the Chief Secretary and the 7th rank for the Left and Right Secretary."

"Then order the six ministries and the Censorate to register the official affairs that the ministry and the county magistrates should handle in a book called the Performance Book, which will be cancelled quarterly. The Performance Book will be made in triplicate, one copy will be sent to the six ministries for cancellation, one copy will be handed over to the cabinet ministers for review, and one copy will be kept in the ministry and the Censorate. Official affairs that are completed on time will be marked off with a red pen, and those that are not completed on time will be copied on a table and reported quarterly, and the original officials will report back on the original situation."

The power to appoint low-level officials can only be entrusted to the Personnel Department's Selection Office, which is responsible for this matter. Senior officials, such as officials of the six ministries, generals from other places, and governors of a state can only be recommended by the court and appointed by imperial decree.

Chang Qian blinked as he listened to King Tang's words. When the voice ended, he bowed hastily and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

He was quite familiar with this matter. This kind of performance evaluation book could enhance the authority of the six departments in supervising and impeaching officials, which was equivalent to taking away most of the original performance evaluation responsibilities of the Ministry of Personnel, and indeed reduced the power of the Ministry of Personnel.

After roughly arranging the court framework, Li Hao ordered people to carry out the first court recommendation.

"The court recommendation is for the officials to recommend the officials of the six ministries, the Censorate, and other government offices. In my opinion, the six ministries must have a Shangshu and two Shilang to handle various government affairs, but the Tang army does not have many counties, so each ministry should recommend a Shilang first, and the Censorate can recommend a Du Yushi."

"I have recommended Chang Qian, a mature and prudent man with a reputation for being honest and noble, to be the Chief Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate to supervise and investigate me and my ministers."

No one objected to this recommendation, but some people raised questions.

"May I ask, Your Majesty, what is the rank of this Chief Censor? Where does it rank above or below the six ministers and cabinet ministers?"

Another old man, Du Liang, asked.

He and Chang Qian were the only two men over fifty years old among the rebel army officers. They had not held high positions in the Jin court before, but were well-known among the rebel army for their integrity and frugality.

"Second rank, listed among the seven ministers along with the six ministers. His rank is after the ministers of the three ministries of civil affairs, household affairs and rites, and before the ministers of the three ministries of military affairs, disciplinary actions and public works."

This is just the official statement. As long as the six ministries are put into operation according to the plan of the King of Tang, officials will soon find that the power of the Chief Censor is second only to that of the Minister of Personnel.

Whoever can decide the appointment, promotion, dismissal or retention of officials is the head of the officials. The Chief Censor controls some of the duties of performance appraisal and can influence the promotion and demotion of officials, or even dismissal, through supervision and impeachment. His power is quite considerable.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"In this way, the administration of the Tang State will surely be successful."

The civil servants and military officers in the hall all spoke up to flatter the emperor.

The King of Tang raised his hand and pressed lightly, and the group of people calmed down and began to seriously recommend six ministers. After all, this matter was related to the situation of the small Tang court.

"I recommend Li Ji as the Minister of Works. Under his rule, there is no case of craftsmen in Ye City running away with their families or slacking off on their work."

"I recommend Du Liang as the Minister of Rites. Du Liang has served as Zhongzheng before and can recommend talented people from all over the country for the King of Tang to use."

"Yecheng County Magistrate Lu Zhike can be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He loves the people. With him around, some of the people who fled from the counties south of Ye may be able to move back."

"General Li Ju guarded the two counties of Pingyang and Taiyuan. He has made great contributions and should be appointed as the Minister of Personnel."

All the officials started to nominate their close ones. Even Li Ju, who was in Pingyang County, was nominated. However, no one nominated Wang Mi, who had made several contributions recently.

"Appoint Li Ju, Lu Zhi, Du Liang, Li Lian, Wang Mi, and Li Ji as assistant ministers of the six ministries, and Chang Qian as the chief censor. Appoint Fei Li as the seal holder of the six departments. Since the court is just being established, Fei Li should be able to do more work and take charge of all the affairs of the six departments."

King Tang announced his appointment.

The officials who heard their names came out and knelt down, while the other officials looked envious.

After roughly sorting out the framework of the six ministries, Li Hao enthusiastically discussed the matter of conferring titles on each general and official.

"Award titles based on merit, promotion based on talent. The Tang army was not easy to establish. The two brothers Li Ju and Li Lian were awarded for their contributions as the original followers, Wang Mi and Huangfu Shang for their contributions in bringing the people to join them, Lu Rong, Li Xiang and other generals for their contributions in attacking cities and capturing strongholds, and Sun Bin, Fei Li, Lu Zhi and other officials for their contributions in assisting in government affairs..."

When Wang Mi led his people to surrender, he had only sixty or seventy people, but he made many contributions afterwards. Li Hao attributed his subsequent merits to the fact that he led his people to surrender.

As for Huangfu Shang, he was a general of the Jin court who took the initiative to surrender to the rebel army with more than 8,000 soldiers from Yecheng when the Dangyin troops retreated to Luoyang.

This man had no intention of surrendering to the rebels at first, but was forced by the situation.

His elder brother was the governor of Qinzhou and did not get along well with Sima Yong, the King of Hejian who was guarding Chang'an. Logically, he should have used this as an excuse to submit to Sima Jiong, the King of Qi who occupied Luoyang. However, Sima Jiong's situation was very good, and countless people came to the King of Qi's mansion every day to ask for official positions and buy titles. The brothers Huangfu Shang and Huangfu Chong had not been noticed by the King of Qi's subordinates.

After Sima Ying's death, the officials under the King of Chengdu were either killed or fled. The Yecheng army had no strong people to control it, and there were several large-scale routs. The Yamen army and the Xuchang army took the opportunity to capture Yecheng soldiers and use them as their own soldiers.

Huangfu Shang could not contact his brother, nor could he get close to Sima Yong and Sima Jiong, the two princes with the most military power. So he raised his arms and gathered thousands of Yecheng soldiers near Dangyin. After looting some military supplies and livestock, he led his troops north to surrender to the rebel army.

Although he surrendered late, he brought 8,000 soldiers from Yecheng, and then followed Li Hao to the south to capture the Dangyin counties, so his contribution was not small. "…These 18 people will be granted the title of marquis, and each will be given 1,000 acres of land. The annual salary is 1,500 dan. For those who have made great contributions, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War will record their contributions and copy them into the register. They will be discussed in the next few days and given the three levels of nobility, namely, baron, viscount, and baron, and they will be conferred together when I succeed to the throne."

Conferring titles was another demand of the generals and officials of the rebel army, and many people were delighted by the move of the King of Tang.

Even people like Lu Zhi, who were good at cultivating their Qi, had smiles on their faces.

"I have received your grace, but I have no way to repay you. Please allow me to send my servant back to Fanyang County and order the Lu clan to find a way to offer Zhuo County to the King of Tang."

Fanyang County is located in the northeast of Zhongshan County, and Li Lian is stationed there with his troops. If a powerful aristocratic family like the Lu family expresses their stance, the situation of the Tang army near Zhongshan County will be greatly improved.

"Allowed, but after the Lu family surrenders, their dependents and private soldiers must also be registered in the official register and placed under the unified jurisdiction of the government."

Lu Zhi stepped out again, complimenting and bowing.

After the general rewards and promotions were finalized, several surrendered officials began to offer suggestions.

"The military households were originally in poverty. In order to avoid the heavy labor service imposed by the Jin Governor's Office, the soldiers drowned their baby boys. This is a result of harsh policies. Please decree that if the wife of a regular household gives birth to a baby boy, she can be exempted from labor service for one year."

The speaker was Fei Li, and this proposal was aimed at restoring the population.

Even if the gentry had not used their private soldiers to force their families to move south, most of the ordinary people in the counties south of Ye had fled. Although the rebel army's territory had been expanding, the growth in the number of households and people did not match the increase in territory.

"Having a male baby is not enough. If every household uses a male baby to avoid labor service, won't there be more boys than girls in the future? One year is too short and lacks sincerity. In my opinion, a family that gives birth to a male baby will be exempted from labor service for three years, and a family that gives birth to a female baby will be exempted from labor service for two years."

As long as it is a feudal society, there is no solution to the problem of favoring boys over girls. If only male babies can avoid labor, there will soon be a situation where a large number of female babies are drowned and then boys are born. This is not the original intention of restoring the population.

Officials such as Fei Li praised the King of Tang for his wisdom, saying that the King's wisdom far exceeded their imagination.

The meeting lasted until dinner time, and the issue that the officials talked about most was not the specific government affairs of the Tang Dynasty, but the issue of the Tang King's offspring.

Even though their king was in his prime, and even though Li Hao himself had plans to marry concubines and have children, the officials could not wait and suggested that the King of Tang first adopt several sons with the same surname from among the military officers or relatives of the Li family in Zhao County, in case of emergency.

"It would be better for me to marry a few more concubines. You should also pay more attention to this. It doesn't matter if they are women who have given birth. As long as they are young and beautiful, they will be fine."

Li Hao also planned to adopt a son, but he never met a young man who caught his eye. It would be better for him to stay in the harem and raise a biological son as soon as possible.

The King of Tang currently has two concubines, Wu Xianying and Le Ya. Le Ya is the former wife of the King of Chengdu, born in the Nanyang Le family, and is the daughter of the current Shangshu Ling Le Guang. After the rebel army conquered Yecheng, the King of Tang had no choice but to take Le Ya into his palace.

"I have several cousins. If Your Majesty does not mind, I can order my clansmen to send their portraits to Your Majesty for you to choose as concubines."

He became a high-ranking official in the Tang army and was awarded the title of marquis. Lu Zhi began to be active in front of the King of Tang.

He himself had average facial features and an unremarkable figure, and his cousin was not supposed to be pretty either, but Li Hao did not refuse. After all, he had to take whatever opportunity he could get, and what's more, it could win the hearts of these ministers.

The servants of the General's Mansion brought dinner. Just like before, the generals and officials ate with the King of Tang. Most of the topics discussed during the meal were the situations in various places. Except for Bingzhou, the situation of the Tang army was stable and improving. Many officials therefore put their time into it, and compared with before, the practicality of the strategies they put forward was much better.

……

Ji County, Ji County, the lobby of the county government.

The county magistrate was sent to other places to work, leaving this government office to the governor Liu Kun who was stationed there.

After defecting to the King of Qi, the young Liu Kun's luck turned. He was promoted to the title of General of the North and the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Bingzhou.

Bingzhou had already fallen into the hands of the rebel Li family and the Tuoba Xianbei. His title of Governor of Bingzhou was just an additional title to enhance his authority. In fact, most of the troops under his jurisdiction were the Yamen Army and part of the Xuchang Army.

But Liu Kun could not be the leader of the Jin troops in Ji County and other places. Today, a new commander-in-chief from Luoyang arrived.

Generals led by Liang Wang Sima Rong, Zuo Jiangjun Meng Guan, and Qi Wang's subordinate Zu Ti entered Ji County. Liu Kun and his men greeted them at the south gate, and then both sides went to the county government office to discuss matters.

"General Liu, the King of Qi appoints you as the vanguard commander and stations troops in Chaoge to prevent the Li bandits from invading Ji County and Henei County."

The aging Sima Rong quickly seized the power of the governor in the name of the court, and then designated the vanguard army and ordered Liu Kun to garrison in Chaoge, 80 miles northeast of Ji County.

Liu Kun agreed. "King Liang, I have one more thing to tell you. Yanjin, south of Chaoge, is also a ferry crossing. We need to send a general to guard it to prevent Li the thief from crossing the Yellow River and invading Yanzhou to plunder."

He proposed that Sima Rong send troops to garrison Yanjin City.

"The court has already made a decision on this matter. General Meng Guan will station troops in Yanjin, Liyang and other places."

Sima Rong replied.

He and Meng Guan had been leading troops for many years and knew each other well. This time, the King of Qi forced him to go to Ji County to quell the rebellion, so Sima Rong took Meng Guan and his subordinates with him to prevent him from being sold out to the enemy troops by the King of Qi's Xuchang troops.

"I heard that Linlu City to the west of Dangyin was not breached by the bandits. King Liang asked me to garrison Linlu City to form a pincer attack with General Liu Kun."

Zu Ti brought a part of the Xuchang army. Although he could ignore King Liang and do his own thing, it was not yet time to do that.

"No, Linlu City is isolated among the enemy troops, and we cannot send more troops. In my opinion, General Zu Ti should be stationed in Xiuwu or Shanyang to prevent Liu Yuan from sending troops to harass our army."

Liu Yuan captured the two Shangdang counties and occupied several county towns in Hedong County. He also had an exchange of views with the King of Hejian in Guanzhong. Sima Rong sent Zu Ti to the two western county towns in the name of guarding against Liu Yuan's troops.

This arrangement took a lot of thought on the part of King Liang. He separated the two capable generals under the King of Qi on both sides of Ji County, and he himself was stationed in Ji County in the middle. If the situation became tense, he could enter Yanzhou under the escort of Meng Guan to avoid the chaos.

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(End of this chapter)