How to strengthen the centralization of power and balance the gap between the landlord class, the aristocracy and the common people. It has always been the goal that the ancient emperors wanted to achieve throughout their lives. Throughout history, whether it is the many changes in the law staged, or various uprisings. The root cause is that the power of the monarch is weakened, and it is not enough to control the entire country, which will produce the phenomenon of turmoil.
The intuitive manifestation of the weakening of the monarch's power is that the difference between the landlord class and the people is getting bigger and bigger. This phenomenon intensified, which caused the monarch to be unable to stop this phenomenon, and gradually formed a social form similar to the "collapse of liturgy" in the Spring and Autumn Period. Today, we will talk about two famous measures in history to strengthen the centralization of power. Let's talk about the difference between the Shang martingale transformation law in the Warring States period and the Tui En Decree issued by the Han Dynasty. Obviously, they are all measures to strengthen centralization, so why do they cause two very different results?
First, the era background of the "Martingale Transformation Method" and the "Tui En Order" is different
The Shang martingale transformation method is in an era in which the Warring States are rising. Previously, there had been a war and strife between two dynasties. For example, the division of princes in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, more than 100 princes had been produced. The reason for this phenomenon is that the apparent reason is that Zhou Tianzi's real power is getting weaker and weaker, and he is no longer able to control it. These princes could only be indulged, privately cultivated forces, divided up national sovereignty, and the country's internal strife became more and more intense, and finally the Eastern Zhou regime was declared extinct. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the same turmoil also occurred, that is, the famous "collapse of liturgical music" in history, which led to the rise of the masses, a large number of court liturgical music culture, introduced to the people, and the state system appeared a large degree of disorder.
The root cause of the above two phenomena is that due to the sub-feudal system, the power of the princes is too much, leaving aside the lives of the people. The sub-feudal system was once inherited, which directly led to the fact that the power in the hands of the Son of Heaven was getting lower and lower, and the sense of belonging of the state was weak, which posed a huge threat to the monarch, but there was no way to improve the situation. As the left chief of the Qin state, Shang Martin was also a famous thinker and politician during the Warring States period. He was deeply trusted by the ruler at that time, Qin Xiaogong. Considering the weakening of the national strength of the Qin state over the years, the reason is attributed to the high-class nobles represented by landlords and princes, and the power of comrades-in-arms is too much, so that if it continues, it will continue the turbulent situation of the previous dynasty, and the country will inevitably not be strong. In order to balance the power of the noble princes with the powerful Qin state, shang martingale decided to use the "county system" to abolish the "sub-feudal system" of the previous dynasty in response to this phenomenon. In the Left Biography, it is recorded:
"The enemy is defeated, the upper doctor is subject to the county, and the lower doctor is subject to the county."
This was the result of the shang martingale's implementation of the county system, which changed the local official positions from the original hereditary posts of princes to not be hereditary officials. Progressing from township, county, and county levels has reduced the phenomenon of the original princes cultivating forces without permission.
Compared with the promulgation of the Tui En Order of the Han Dynasty, the background of the era of the Shang Martingale Transformation Law is much more severe. The background of the promulgation of the Tuien Order, before that, has gone through two major games. In the previous period of the Han Jing Emperor, there had been a strategy represented by Chao Wrong, advocating cutting the domain and strengthening the centralization of power. Chao's "Cutting the Domain" advocated weakening the fiefdoms of the princes in order to reduce the threat to the monarch. And this move, although it was strongly supported by the Han Jing Emperor, it violated the interests of the princes and nobles. In the end, it also led to the phenomenon of rebellion, which is the famous "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" in history. In the end, chao's death was exchanged for the stability of the regime, and the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms was soon disintegrated.
However, the drawbacks of excessive power of local princes have already been revealed. From the Han Jing Emperor to the later Han Wen Emperor, he had already made many policy preparations for strengthening the centralization of power and weakening the power of the princes, and the people and officials saw the determination of the monarch. Therefore, by the time of Emperor Wu of Han, it was inevitable to weaken the power of the princes. In the Chronicle of the Patriarch of The Marquis of Pingjin, it is recorded:
The "Lord Father" said: "The princes of the ancients are only a hundred miles, and the form of the strong and the weak is easy to control." Now the princes or cities dozens, thousands of miles in the place, slow arrogance is easy to fornication, anxious to prevent their strong and obedient to rebel against the capital division. If you cut it now, it will sprout in reverse, and the previous day's chaos was also wrong. ”
With the foreshadowing of Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han, Emperor Wu of Han decided to cut down the domain in order to strengthen the road to centralized power, which was much smoother than the Shang martingale transformation method.
Second, the specific measures of the martingale transformation method and the "Tui En Order" are different
The main measures of the martingale transformation method are generally five points:
"Abolish well fields, open up strange places, implement the county system, reward farming and fighting, and implement the method of sitting together."
In the first step, Shang Martin pointed the spearhead at the princes and the upper nobility. The well field system in the Western Zhou Dynasty was abolished, and most of the fiefs of the princes were taken over to the state, so that the people could rent land without being exploited by the landlords represented by the princes. The implementation of this measure has expanded the scope of private ownership of land. From the current point of view, although it is a major progressive strategy, it also has its drawbacks, laying the groundwork for the failure of the subsequent reform of the law, and Shang Martin encouraged agricultural products to cultivate and weave and strengthen the harvest of grain. Rewards are also given to those who cultivate weaving and those who have military merit, and under the so-called heavy rewards, there will be brave men.
Shangmartin vigorously developed the people's livelihood economy and greatly improved the military capabilities of the Qin state. The system of hereditary military merit was abolished, and the power of the princes was vigorously attacked. The establishment of a "system of marching" in the army has transformed the army from its previous chaos and disorganization into a new one. In addition, Shang Martin did not advocate the Confucian idea of leniency and equality in the rule of law. He believed that the rule of law should still be based on the rule of law, so he invented the punishment of "sitting together" and stipulated:
"One person commits a crime, five families are in protection, and ten families sit together."
It probably means that if a person makes a mistake, if the five surrounding families do not report it, they will have to sit together with the surrounding ten families. Under such rule of law measures, the Qin state did gain a temporary strength, but it also laid a major hidden danger for the failure of its change of law.
The measures of the Tui En Order are much more explicit. From the beginning of emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the throne, he had already made it clear that he wanted to improve the phenomenon of excessive power of the princes. Later, the main father played the song, hoping to implement the "Tuien Order" to gradually disintegrate the forces of the princes:
"Now the sons of the princes or a dozen, and the right heirs to stand on their behalf, although the remainder of flesh and bones, the land of no size, then the way of benevolence and filial piety is not proclaimed." May Your Majesty order the princes to divide their sons and daughters, and to do so. He who is pleased with what he wants, who is virtuous in his charity, divides his country, and is slightly weaker without dissipation. ”
The view of the lord father is that in the current Han Dynasty, the fiefs and power held by the princes are too large, and in the long run, the imperial court will not have any strictness. Therefore, it is imperative to find ways to weaken the power of the princes. The Tui En Order suggested by the Lord's father, to the effect that Emperor Wu of Han ordered that the fiefs of each prince must be divided among his own heirs, as recorded in the Book of Han, Biography of the Thirteenth King of Jing, and Liu Sheng, King of Zhongshan Jing:
"Emperor Wu used his father's plot to order the princes to divide the land and divide their sons and daughters with private favors, and Han was given a custom title and belonged to Han County. Han has a generous favor, while the princes analyze the weak clouds slightly. ”
It can be seen that although the implementation of the Tuien Order, although it hit the power of the princes like the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, it was substantially different. The Shang martingale transformation method directly pointed the spearhead at the princes, and from the beginning of its implementation, it formed a bull horn with the princes, and the process was often blocked. The Tuien Order, on the other hand, only asked the princes to divide the fiefs among their heirs, but did not say that they would take it back. From the perspective of the princes, they did not lose money, and according to historical records, the princes even thought in their hearts that "Han has great grace." Therefore, the measures of the Tui En Ling were agreed by all the government and the public, and the princes had no reason to oppose it. In the end, the purpose of Emperor Wu of Han was achieved, and the fiefdoms of the princes were divided more and more, and in the end, the fiefdoms of the princes showed such a number: "The big country is only more than ten cities, and the small marquis is not more than ten miles." "Fundamentally, the phenomenon of too many fiefdoms of the princes was solved, and the power of the princes was gradually disintegrated, and the centralization of power was strengthened. Whether it is in terms of effect or people's hearts, the Tuien Order during the Han Wudi period was much more powerful than the Shang Martingale Transformation Law.
Third, the same is to strengthen the centralization of power, why the Martingale Transformation Law and the Tuien Order have different results?
In essence, both the Shang Martingale Reform Law and the Tuien Order were a huge measure to weaken the power of the princes and strengthen the centralization of power. The result was very different, the Shang Martingale Transformation Method eventually failed, and the Tuien Ling won a great victory. The root cause of this result lies in whether the measures are reasonable. It is undeniable that the Shang martingale transformation method has greatly improved the military and economic aspects of the Qin state. However, the implementation was too radical, and the landlord class and the princes and nobles were the primary scope of the attack. Whether it was the abolition of the sub-feudal system or the abolition of the tun tian system, without exception, it violated the interests of the princes. And that alone would not fail so quickly. The fundamental reason for the failure of the martingale transformation method is still the command in the general direction, and there have been serious mistakes. Shang Martin advocated the rule of law and the use of a strict legal system to make the whole country "have no different intentions" and achieve great unity. But he ignored the real feelings of the people, and the heavy taxes and exploitation, coupled with the harsh punishments, had long made the people's lives worse. On the surface, the country does seem to be prosperous by providing the people's lives, but in the long run, it will inevitably form a situation in which officials force the people to rebel. And Shang Martin also suffered insults from the people because of this wrong measure. What is even more ironic is that Shang Martin finally died on the "sitting punishment" he created.
The success of the Tuien Order, on the surface, like the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, was a blow against the forces of the princes. However, in terms of specific operation, it is very humane. After the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings", there were ancestors of Emperor Jing of Han and Emperor Wen of Han, and the lesson of defeat. In the generation of Emperor Wu of Han, he was already very cautious about the weakening of the princes. Coupled with the Lord's Father's Decree of Grace, it was much easier for the princes to accept than the Shang Martingale Transformation Method. Moreover, the Western Han Dynasty at that time was already extremely powerful by the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The princes were also well aware of the situation at that time, and received "generous favors" from Emperor Wu of Han, which was equivalent to giving them a step down. It has invisibly weakened the power of the princes and has not yet caused disputes. The success of the Tuien Order was a roundabout policy. It is much more clever than the quotient martingale transformation method.
summary:
Although the martingale transformation method failed, it still promoted the process of the emergence of new ideas. From the beginning of the Warring States, the Shang martingale and the king had realized that the excessive power of the princes was undoubtedly a great threat to the king. And the princes and nobles are all beneficiaries, and naturally they will not make a sound. Shang Martin's change of law successfully abolished the sub-feudal system and the Tuntian system, and to a certain extent, it still dealt a blow to the forces of the princes. However, the measures are somewhat improper, but they are also positive reforms. Tuien Ling was much more clever, thinking about the psychology of the princes in another position, in a roundabout way, letting the princes take the initiative to "give up the land", fighting a beautiful battle, behind which was the wisdom of Emperor Wu of Han and the wisdom of the emperor's mental skills.