The changes in the eastern Wu governor system reflected the decline in the power of the monarchs. With this as a starting point, we can better understand the background of the times and institutional changes.
The relevant records of the governor are all found in the Book of Wu. Under the influence of literary works, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lü Meng, and Lu Xun were called the "Four Governors"—of course, this was only the novelist's side note, and the first Governor of Eastern Wu was actually Lu Xun.
Eastern Wu pursued a system of left and right supervision, which did not subordinate to each other and contained each other. Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu are left and right governors, Lü Meng and Sun Jiao are left and right governors, Zhu Ran and Quan Chun are left and right governors, and Quan Chun and Zhu Huan are left and right governors, all of which are the same.
The left-right supervision system reflects Sun Quan's idea of checks and balances. Because Sun Quan was young and had insufficient fame, he had to use his subordinates to restrain each other.
After Sun Quan gradually grasped the authority, the left and right supervision system also weakened, and eventually Lu Xun appeared as a metropolitan governor who was both inside and outside the country.
However, the grant of the Metropolitan Governor is both a blessing and a curse. Sun Quan's hand edict could still force Lu Xun to "be angry and die". It can be seen that the post of metropolitan governor is actually an appendage of the peak of Sun Wu's autocracy. In a word, "thunder and rain dew, can not be the grace of heaven.".
In this article, I would like to discuss the left-right supervision system of Eastern Wu, and explore its beginning and end changes and the logic behind it.
This article totals 5300 words and takes 10 minutes to read
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > the so-called "governor"</h1>
The post of governor is not found in the Book of The Hundred Officials of the Later Han Dynasty, which shows that it is not the old system of the two Han Dynasties, but a temporary position. In layman's terms, it is "dispatch officer".
The emergence of dispatch officers is often associated with the proliferation of depreciation of old official positions.
Note: For the issue of the characterization of official positions, see Yan Buke's Introduction to the Ancient Chinese Official Rank System.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, warlords were "arbitrarily arranged", resulting in a large number of honorable positions such as generals, lang generals, and lieutenants being abused in large quantities.
(Lü) Bu thought that he had contributed to the Yuan clan, and he was arrogant (Yuan) shao subordinate to the generals, thinking that he was good at signing and not enough to be noble. --Heroes
Physicians and pawns are all lieutenants, and the imperial history is not engraved, but is painted with a cone, showing the text, or from time to time. --Wang Shen, Book of Wei
Confusion in the ranks inevitably raises the question of subordination. Therefore, in addition to generals and lieutenants, new positions need to be added to achieve the purpose of commanding the army.
Cao Wei and Shu Han generally used "leader, protector, and supervisor" as dispatch officers, while Eastern Wu mainly used "Du Du" as a dispatch officer.
It can be seen from this that the position of governor is not a senior title, but only represents a "ministry task".
The following is a concrete case study of the rank of the Governor.
(1) Ganning
Gan Ning served as the "Governor of Shengcheng". Not only did this governor have no actual power, but even Gan Ning himself had to "practice in his hands, be in the city, and be the first of the officials." Named Dudu, he is actually a daredevil captain.
(Lü) Meng Nai recommended Gan Ning as the governor of Shengcheng, and the governor was in front. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Lü Meng
(Gan) Ning held the practice (i.e., white silk), the edge of the city, for the official Shi Xian, pawn to break Zhu Guang. --WuShu Gan Ning Biography
Gan Ning practiced in his hand, and was a pioneer in the city
(2) Step by step
Bu Yan, the son of Bu Qi, served as the Governor of the Circle of Accounts. The task of the Overseer is to protect the safety of the Lord. In other words, the Chief of Security.
In the first year of the FengHuang Emperor, he summoned (Bu Yan) as the Governor of the Circle. --"Wu Shu Bu Qiao Biography"
The Overseer of the Tent, one man, Wu Suo, was in charge of the guards. --"List of Officials of the Three Kingdoms"
(3) Chen Qin
When Ling Tong was the Sima of the other departments, he had an unpleasant quarrel with the governor Chen Qin, and even committed a crime and chopped Chen Qin up.
(Ling) Tong and Inspector Chen Qin will drink, and Qin Gang will be brave and arrogant... (Chen) Qin Nu (Ling) Tong, and his father (Ling)... (Ling Tong) lead the knife to cut (Chen) Diligently, a few days is death. --"Wu Shu Ling Tong Biography"
What is even more ironic is that because Ling Tong was "meritorious in battle", the crime of killing the governor was once again written off.
(Ling Tong) leads a strong soldier, and is a yashi... (Sun) quan strengthened his fruitfulness and made it atone for his sins with merit. --"Wu Shu Ling Tong Biography"
It can be seen that the position of governor can be large or small, high or low, and there is no fixed rank at all, and it is purely an official created according to the situation. Zhou Yu, Lu Xun and other governors are naturally respected and powerful, while Gan Ning, Chen Qin and other governors are not worth mentioning.
In other words, whether the governor is honorable or not depends on the identity of the person who serves as the governor, and the title of the governor has limited to do with it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="147" > left and right supervision system</h1>
When Sun Quan was in charge, he implemented a system of left-right supervision. That is, two governors are set up to contain each other.
The setting of the left and right governors was very careful, and when Sun Quan conferred titles, he often deliberately made people with incompatible relations serve as left and right governors to achieve the purpose of mutual restraint.
For example, during the Battle of Chibi (208), Sun Quan appointed Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, who had tense relations, to jointly serve as left and right governors. As a result, Cheng Pu was old and senior, and often bullied Zhou Yu and even disobeyed the dispatch.
(Zhou Yu) has a great temperament, and has a great rate of gaining people, but he is not at peace with Cheng Pu. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Zhou Yu
(Cheng) Pu Po is older and counts Ling Insult (Zhou) Yu. Yu folded the festival to tolerate, and finally did not work with the school. --"The Legend of Jiang Biao"
Fortunately, Zhou Yu was elegant and did not have the same knowledge as Cheng Pu, and finally maintained the stability of the front line.
It can be seen from this that the hidden dangers of the left and right supervision system are very large. Lü Meng later discussed this matter and said bluntly: "Although the matter is decided by Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu prides himself on his qualifications and loses state affairs several times. ”
Xi Zhouyu and Cheng Pu were the left and right governors and jointly attacked Jiangling. Although the matter was decided by (Zhou) Yu, (Cheng) Pu was a long-time general, and he was the governor, so the communists were not harmonious, and they lost state affairs several times. --"Wu Shu, The Biography of Sun Jiao"
Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu were the left and right governors, so they were not harmonious
In Lü Meng's view, Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu were "governors" with the same name, resulting in mutual disobedience and eventually "several defeats in state affairs".
Even if the hidden dangers are so huge, Sun Quan still goes his own way. Lü Meng and Sun Jiao, Zhu Ran and Quan Chun, Quan Chun and Zhu Huan, and then successively served as left and right governors. It seems that Sun Quan does not care about the negative impact of this system.
Lü Meng attacked Nan Commandery (南郡), and (Sun) Quan wanted to make (Sun) Jiao and (Lü) Meng the Governors of the Left and Right. --"Wu Shu, The Biography of Sun Jiao"
(Sun) Quan zixiang Xincheng, (Zhu) Ran and Quan Chun each received axes and were left and right governors. --The Book of Wu, The Biography of Zhu Ran
Shi Luxun was the marshal, and Quan Chun and (Zhu) Huan were the left and right governors. --The Book of Wu, The Biography of Zhu Huan
If we trace back to the roots, we will find that the setting of the left and right governors contradicts the original intention of the metropolitan governor system.
The appearance of the governor itself was to deal with the problem that there were too many generals and lieutenants on the front line, and it was difficult to distinguish between high and low.
The indecency of military positions is clearly recorded in the "Biography of Zhou Qu". In the seventh year of Wu Huangwu (228), the Poyang Taishou Zhou She, in his book of surrender, asked the Wei general Cao Xiu to provide fifty general seals, one hundred Zhonglang general seal silks, two hundred lieutenant seal silks, and two hundred du wei seal silks.
Now that the great event is important, there is no way to persuade the non-knighthood, and he begs the general and hou yin to have fifty buttons each, lang will print hundreds of buttons, and the lieutenant and the lieutenant will each have two hundred buttons, and they can be falsely awarded to the commanders. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Zhou Qu
At that time, Zhou Qu was just a county guard, and dared to ask for so many general seals--the side shows how obscene and corrupted the military positions of the Three Kingdoms era were.
In this context, the "governor" should have played the function of distinguishing between the high and low positions; but the "left and right governor" system is equivalent to repositioning two commanders of equal rank on the front line, making the already chaotic military system even more chaotic, completely contrary to the original intention of its establishment.
This is related to sun quan's own situation.
The Fuchun Sun clan was extremely despised for its "lonely traces". Sun Jian and Sun Ce were not known for their culture and were repeatedly treated unfairly. The Sun father and son even killed people to vent their anger.
(Wang) Ruixian and (Sun) Jian jointly attacked Zero and Gui Thief, and took (Sun) Jian as a military attaché, which was quite light. --Wu Lu
Or it is said: "Gao Dai is a general (referring to Sun Ce) but a heroic warrior, and has no literary talent..." (Sun) Plotted to win the hearts of the people and killed him. --Wu Lu
Sun Quan first led Jiangdong (200), still less than twenty years old, "the guests are lied to Shangjian", and did not take him seriously at all.
At that time (Sun) was a general, and the guests of the generals were Li Shangjian. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Zhou Yu
In this context, in order to seize the authority in his hands, Sun Quan had to deliberately provoke contradictions among his subordinates and make them check and balance each other. Only in this way could Sun Quan sit firmly in Wu Hou's chair.
Taking Zhou Yu as an example, before the Battle of Chibi (208), Zhou Yu had asked Sun Quan to "ask for 50,000 soldiers"; as a result, Sun Quan said that "50,000 soldiers are difficult to join", and after bargaining, finally gave Zhou Yu 30,000 soldiers.
(Zhou) Yu please see (Sun Quan), "... Although there were many people, they were not afraid. Fifty thousand elite soldiers, self-sufficient system, may the general not worry. (Sun) Quan caressed his back: "... Fifty thousand soldiers were hard to join, and thirty thousand men had been selected. "--The Biography of Jiang Biao"
In fact, in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Eastern Wu had just finished the battle against Jiangxia and killed Jiangxia Taishou Huangzu. At that time, Sun Quan threatened the power of great victory and raised troops to Chaisang. It can be known that all the elites of Eastern Wu are on the front line.
(Jian'an) Thirteen years of spring, (Sun) Quan reinstated Huang Zu... Slaughtered the city. --Book of Wu, Biography of Wu
As for Xia Kou, (Zhuge Liang) Liang said, "Things are urgent, please be ordered to ask for help from General Sun." "Shi (Sun) Quan supported the army in Chaisang and waited to see if it succeeded or failed. --Book of Shu, Biography of Zhuge Liang
During the crusade against Jiangxia, Zhou Yu was the "Former Governor" and naturally knew the actual number of Wu Bing, so "fifty thousand" was a practical and feasible number, and it was definitely not Zhou Yu's words.
In the spring of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, (Sun) Quan was given to Jiangxia, and (Zhou) Yu was made the former governor. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Zhou Yu
Sun Quan was in charge of Jiangxia, and Zhou Yu was the former governor
From this, it can be seen that Sun Quan's so-called "50,000 soldiers are difficult to join" is undoubtedly a pretext. His real intention was that he did not want to grant Zhou Yu too many soldiers and horses, because he was afraid of both Cao Cao and Zhou Yu.
The final treatment plan was that Zhou Yu led 30,000 troops first, and Sun Quan "continued to send people and carry more food as a backup."
Qing (referring to Zhou Yu) and Zi Jing (referring to Lu Su) and Cheng Gong (referring to Cheng Pu) were in the front, and Gu (referring to Sun Quan) was a continuation of the masses, carrying more food and grain to support Qing. --"The Legend of Jiang Biao"
Sun Quan's "multi-load grain" naturally choked on the supply of grain on the front line; at the same time, he "renewed the masses", indicating that Sun Quan's headquarters should be no less than 30,000 people.
Even so, Sun Quan was still not at ease, and sent Cheng Pu to the front to divide Zhou Yu's power, so that the two were left and right governors. In this way, Zhou Yu's 30,000 soldiers and horses had to be discounted in half.
(Cheng Pu) and Zhou Yu were the left and right governors, and Cao Gong was in Wulin. --Wu Shu Cheng Pu Biography
Cheng Pu's arrogance and erection on the front line and his "several defeats in state affairs" are inevitably related to Sun Quan's instructions and acquiescence, in addition to personal character problems. Zhou Yu was probably also aware of the knot behind it, so he didn't bear it.
After the capture of Nan County, Zhou Yu was promoted to Nan County Shou, and Cheng Pu was promoted to Jiangxia Shou, one east and one west, continuing to balance.
(Cao) Renyu is retired. (Sun) Quan Bai (Zhou) Yu Wei general, Lingnan Commandery Taishou. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Zhou Yu
(Cheng Pu) attacked Nan Commandery and took Cao Ren. Bye general, lead Jiang Xia Taishou. --Wu Shu Cheng Pu Biography
At the same time, Sun Quan also allowed Liu Bei to be stationed at the mouth of the Youjiang River on the south side of Jiangling and insert a wedge in Zhou Yu's heart, which made Zhou Yu very embarrassed, saying that "Liu Bei is like raising a tiger."
(Liu) Set up camp at Youkou and changed its name to Public Security. --"The Legend of Jiang Biao"
(Zhou) Yu was sick and sleepy, with (Sun) Quan's note: "... Cao Gong is in the north, the frontier is not quiet, Liu Bei is in a residence, it is like raising a tiger, the affairs of the world, the unknown end. "--The Biography of Jiang Biao"
Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu are the first left and right governors in the Book of Wu, and the background of the position is clear at a glance. Later, the successive governors of Eastern Wu also implemented this concept of checks and balances.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="171" > the background of the era in which most metropolitan governors appeared</h1>
Eastern Wu has a record of the governor of The Great Capital, starting with Lu Xun, followed by Quan Chun, Shi Ji, Zhu Yi and others.
Most of the governors Shi Ji and Shang Shu Ding Mi performed ceremonies and were crown princes. --"General Language"
Quan Chun was the governor of Dadu and fought against the Wei general Wang Ling at Qianpi. --Wu Shu Gu Tan Biography
In the second year of taiping, (Zhu Yi) was a holiday and was the governor of Dadu. --Book of Wu, Zhu Huan's Biography - Epilogue
Taking Lu Xun as an example, I would like to discuss the establishment of the post of metropolitan governor and the background of the times reflected.
Lu Xun became the governor of Dadu in the first year of Wu Huangwu (222), the same year that Liu Beifa Wu was.
In the first year of Huang Wu's reign, Liu Bei led the masses to the western boundary, and (Sun) Quan ordered (Lu) Xun to be the governor of Dadu and a false festival. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Lu Xun
In the first year of Huang Wu's reign, Sun Quan appointed Lu Xun as the governor of Dadu
The era name of the year (222) was extremely disordered, in the third year of the Huang Dynasty in Wei, in the second year of Zhang Wu in Shu, and in wu in the first year of Huang Wu. At that time, although Sun Quan had not yet claimed the title of emperor, he had already set up his own era name and fought against Wei Shu.
In other words, the emergence of the first governor of Eastern Wu was in the context of Sun Quan's "solid foundation". Because the act of setting up a self-era number is equivalent to self-reliance, it is only one step away from the usurpation.
The "Huang Wu" era name also has a profound political metaphor. Han is fire virtue, earth is fire, and Huang Daichi is the law of the five virtues, and Cao Pi's "Huang Chu" and Sun Quan's "Huang Wu" are all taken from the meaning of Tude. It can be seen that Sun Quan at that time (222) already regarded himself as the successor of Han Zuo.
With Huang Dai Chi, the second of virtue. --The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, The Biography of Yuan Shu
Wu Changed Yuan Huang Wu, also with the luck of the Five Virtues, Chenghan as Tude Ye. --Husan Province
To sum up, the post of metropolitan governor appeared in the historical background of Sun's authority. It can be seen as an adjunct to the peak of Eastern Wu's autocracy.
This is indeed true of the development of history.
Although Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu were only left and right governors, when the two families had slaves and refused to serve in force, Sun Quan not only did not dare to ask questions, but also had to take the initiative to defend the Zhou and Cheng families.
Hou (Sun Quan) wrote an order: "Therefore, the generals Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, who have guests, are not allowed to ask." --Wu Shu Zhou Yu Biography
Although Lu Xun was the governor of the capital, he was killed and robbed by others, and Sun Quan could directly give him death with a single hand edict. At that time, Lu Xun refused to commit suicide, and Sun Quan was "tired of being reprimanded", and eventually Lu Xun was "angry and died".
(Sun) Quan sent envoys (i.e., court emissaries, generally referring to eunuchs) to rebuke (Lu) Xun, who was angry and angry, and was sixty-three years old at the time, and had no surplus wealth in his family. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Lu Xun
Note: "Sending envoys" is a common means of death, see "The Book of Han, Zhang Tang's Biography" and Song Jie's "Secret Executions and Political Assassinations in the Han Dynasty".
As for the governors of Quan Chun, Shi Ji, and Zhu Yi, they were purely vassals of the Sun clan.
Quan Chun was Sun Quan's son-in-law, Shi Ji (i.e. Zhu Ji) was Zhu Ran's adopted son, and Zhu Yi was Zhu Huan's son. The career honor and disgrace of these second-generation nobles is due to Sun Quan's enwei, so their energy is relatively limited--they even need to actively participate in political affairs to maintain their status.
For example, Quan Chun, Shi Ji and others actively participated in Sun He's political clique with Sun Ba in the Battle of the Second Palace. In Pei Songzhi's view, "Lü Dai, the disciple of Quan Chun, the cover is not enough."
Lu Xun, the great general Zhuge Ke、...... Most of the governors Shi Ji, Shang Shu Ding Mi and so on performed rituals, and the Prince of Zongshi... Sima Quanqun the Great, the Zuo general Lü Zhao, and zhongshu Ling Sun Hong, and other vassals of Lu. --"General Language"
Lü Dai, the disciple of Quan Chun, covered the ear of the insufficient. --Pei Songzhi
Comparatively speaking, when Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lü Meng were alive, although they were only left and right governors, they were full of words and high merits; as for many noble relatives after Lu Xun, although the officials worshiped most of the governors, they were actually just the eagle dogs and claws of the Sun clan.
In a word, the emergence of the metropolitan governor does not represent the rise in the status of Eastern Wu's courtiers, but rather a metaphor for the peak of Eastern Wu's absolute monarchy.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="183" > summary</h1>
The left and right governors are the pioneering works of Eastern Wu, which has a very strong color of the times, reflecting sun Quan's mental journey and the dissipation of the power of the monarchs.
When Sun was weak, for the sake of his own safety, he had to set up two governors on the left and right, and divided powers and checks and balances - because only in this way could he maintain his own position in the case of "the generals and guests are polite and simple".
When Sun was powerful, he dared to add a metropolitan governor. Although the "nominal status" of the metropolitan governor was higher than that of the left and right governors, the actual power of Quan Chun, Shi Ji and others was far less than that of Zhou Yu, Lü Meng and others. This is because the Metropolitan Governor himself was a by-product of the peak of Eastern Wu's autocracy.
Since the post of Governor of Dadu was set up by Sun Quan, it naturally followed the principle of "rewarding the lord by the heart, and torturing in the mouth", and finally achieved the purpose of "thunder and rain dew, can not be the grace of heaven".
Sun Quan stooped to endure humiliation, Ren Cai was still calculating, there was a strange sentence of practice, and the master of the british. --Book of Wu, Biography of Wu
Sun Quan stooped to endure humiliation, and Ren Cai was still calculating
It can be seen that both the left and right governors and the metropolitan governors have their own historical missions.
Strictly speaking, the post of governor is originally intended to make the army respect and inferiority and orderly, and each has its own subordinates; therefore, the equal system of "left and right governors" actually runs counter to the original intention of establishing the governor.
Going a step further, although the left and right governors have limited titles, they are precisely the powerful ministers that Sun Quan is jealous of; as for the governors, although their names are high, they are actually just vassals of Sun Quan's subordinates.
When Lü Meng was seriously ill, Sun Quan needed to "order the Daoist priest to ask for his life under the stars"; when Lu Xun was seriously ill, he was "reprimanded by the emissaries in the tired dispatch". It can be seen that the title name does not represent the actual status.
(Sun) Quan looked at himself (Lü Meng) and ordered the Daoist priest to ask for his life under the stars. --The Biography of Wu Shu and Lü Meng
As stated at the beginning, the changes in the governor system reflect the dissipation of the power of eastern Wu monarchs. Through the exploration and analysis of this problem, we can better understand the background of the times and the changes in the system.
I am Fat Mi, the original author of the history of the headline number. Talk about historical anecdotes and focus on the history of the Three Kingdoms. From the clues in Shi Hai's sinking hook and the Yoshimitsu katayu, to analyze the hidden meaning behind the unfolding.
Thanks for reading.