In China's ancient history, the power of the emperor has always occupied a major position in the ruling class. The emperor set up many official positions in order to share his own pressure, and the prime minister, as the apex of the civil official, held heavy power is also a normal thing, and the emperor also needs the prime minister to help govern the country's government, so the imperial power and the power constitute the most favorable shape in the centralized system.
In the Song Dynasty, the system of prime ministers matured, but why was he entrusted with heavy responsibilities, including military, government affairs, finance, and talent election? Why has the power of the prime minister not diminished, but has continued to increase?
First, what power did the Song Dynasty prime minister have?
1. Government affairs, military and finance are grasped by one hand
The duty of the prime minister is undoubtedly to assist the king in managing the affairs of the country well, and it is even more necessary for the emperor to discuss state affairs and formulate policies with his courtiers. The Song Dynasty attached great importance to civil servants for its historical reasons, and the prime minister, as the head of the civil officials, indirectly became the head of the hundred officials.
There are many records of the discussion of political affairs between the prime minister and the courtiers in the "Continuation of the Zhizhi TongjianChang", "The consuls gather in the capital hall every three or five days, and the hall officials hold the documents every day." After the emperor and other ministers went down to the dynasty, they would meet for three to five days to meet in a special chamber to discuss the affairs of the dynasty.
At the same time, the prime minister also has a unique right, that is, there is an opportunity to "stay" in the chamber, and this opportunity is either requested by the ruler to stay, or the prime minister himself takes the initiative to ask for permission. During the Northern Song Dynasty, most of the discussions with the emperor after the chancellor stayed were discussed by the court, and after the Southern Song Dynasty, the prime minister gradually turned to discussing military and political matters, and the prime minister also overtook the military general in the general direction of the military.
Before Song Yuanfeng's reform, the emperor had discussed the appointment and dismissal of the three divisions with the prime minister, and after the reform, the prime minister could still decide on the appointment and dismissal of the household department and the financial expenditure, although the household department began to take charge of the financial power, but in essence did not shake the real power of the prime minister's financial management. Therefore, the power of the prime minister of the Song Dynasty was already very large, integrating government affairs, military and finance.
2. In addition to the election of personnel, it is also necessary to manage the royal ceremonies
On the one hand, the prime minister can also make suggestions for the selection of talents for the needs of the ruler, on the other hand, the prime minister can also put forward his own suggestions for the selection of talents, and at the same time, he can also recommend the excellent talents he admires for the emperor's reference. The direct appointment of officials by the Song Dynasty prime minister is called "tang division", and whenever there is a change in personnel appointment, the prime minister can use the "tang division" to replace it, so it is not only the personal privilege of the prime minister, but also a political treatment.
As the prime minister of a country, the prime minister also needed to participate in large-scale sacrifices and national festivals during his tenure, with the example of Taishan Fengchan as an example, which was to demonstrate the orthodox status of imperial power.
At the time of the royal funeral, the prime minister also had to supervise the repair of the imperial tomb, not only to manage the repair of the palace inside the palace, but also to make a cameo appearance as an interpreter to face the foreign envoys. The position and power of the prime minister had reached its peak at that time, and the work was numerous and important, as if it was an indispensable right hand for the ruler, but the growing power would also make the ruler jealous.
Second, why the Song Dynasty prime minister was able to hold several positions
1. Traditions left by successive dynasties
The Song Dynasty's system of prime ministers followed the Sui and Tang dynasties, in this period there was already a situation where the prime minister held several positions, according to the Tang Dynasty historical records: "All those who have national sympathy are made of the prime minister as a courtesy", the Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin himself is a General of the Later Zhou, so it is normal to inherit the ancestral system.
Moreover, at the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many wastes to be revived, and the affairs that the emperor had to deal with were too much and too busy, so it was necessary for the prime minister to share the pressure. At this time, it is necessary to choose a person who has both ability and military merit to preside over the overall situation, then the founding hero has become the first choice, so that on the one hand, the founding heroes can be cared for and motivated by high positions to continue to work hard; on the other hand, these are brothers who are born and died with themselves, which is conducive to consolidating their own ruling regime.
In addition, at the beginning of the founding of the country, the emptiness of the national treasury is a common thing, so if you want to survive the difficulties, you also need the support of ministers with strong financial resources, so that with the prime minister holding several positions, you can better please the ministers and let them serve the Song Dynasty wholeheartedly, such a policy is actually to give new rewards to those ministers who do not lack money and power, so that they can also encourage these ministers to serve the Song Dynasty more seriously, and at the same time can lash out at the ministers who think that they no longer need to seriously check the government affairs.
At the same time, the prime minister who holds several positions will also warn those lazy and inactive ministers, who will naturally not slack off in order to continue to be officials, which can effectively improve the atmosphere of the imperial court and promote the prosperity and development of the Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty inherited the previous generation of the prime minister system, and then gave it more functions according to its own national conditions, this measure can not only better consolidate the rule of the early Song Dynasty, appease the ministers, stabilize the people's hearts, but also supervise whether other courtiers have overstep their own power, and the prime minister is also a person around the emperor, and any wind and grass can be detected by the ruler in time, so it can also avoid the situation of the prime minister's monopoly.
2. Objective phenomena created the Song Dynasty prime minister to hold several positions
The policies of the rulers of successive dynasties have their own differences, so whenever a new ruler comes to power, it is inevitable that different changes will occur, and this change may lead to some places failing to keep up with the rhythm, and these loopholes need to be filled by the prime minister, who also holds several positions and becomes the ruler's right hand and left arm, so the objective reality of a large number of political affairs has caused the prime minister to inevitably need to play more roles.
The Song Dynasty faced more than one border force, so the border war became an obstacle to the development of the Song Dynasty at that time, and because of its long-term "redundant officials and redundant soldiers" and the historical reasons of heavy literature and light weapons, it led to the front-line war and rear communication was very time-consuming, which also led to repeated delays in fighters.
Because the complicated official positions delayed a lot of time, so that the Song Dynasty and foreign wars often failed, the land was lost, a large amount of military and financial resources were wasted, naturally attracted many ministers to write to the advice, so that the military function once again fell on the prime minister's body, and then because of the frequent wars, the military function of the prime minister could not be put down, which also made the prime minister smoothly hold this power.
The grain and grass and military supplies needed for the front-line war were also delayed due to red tape, and the rulers of the Song Dynasty simply lost the financial function to the prime minister during the war, and the prime minister took into account government, military and finance.
Such a result is more conducive to the ruler to control the overall situation, and the loyal prime minister is like a gun in his hand, and he can fight wherever he wants. Over time, although the power of the prime minister has been slightly weakened, its main responsibility has not changed, and in the end, after everyone has adapted to this situation, the prime minister has become the acquiescence of the ruler.
3. The status of the prime minister makes the prime minister himself want to pursue it even more
The status of the prime minister himself is not low, in the official field can be called "under one person, above ten thousand people", and the people who hold the position of prime minister are generally capable people, and the ruler can rest assured that difficult events can be entrusted to him. The ruler is willing to believe that the prime minister can complete the task, but if he cannot do these things well, that is, the prime minister himself is not capable enough, the ruler can still blame him, and it is also allowed to make the necessary sacrifices to complete the rule of the emperor.
Therefore, the Song Dynasty prime minister could hold several positions, in order to meet the needs of the rulers, but also to meet the needs of the people for the dynasty, and the good social influence made this phenomenon continue for a long time.
As one of the prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi already had a lot of power, but he continued to increase his rights and functions in order to better implement his new law. The ruling classes of successive dynasties have continuously strengthened the centralization of power and consolidated their imperial rule, so the prime minister has been indirectly weakened, which has led to some prime ministers trying to use the convenience of their own power to increase their power as much as possible.
They wanted to achieve a state of mutual restraint with the imperial power through such measures, so the prime minister of the Song Dynasty would intensify his efforts to seek power after he was reused by the emperor.
The Song Dynasty prime minister was the first person in the official field except for the emperor, and if the figures in this position were not done well, there would be a situation in which the prime minister had the exclusive power to interfere in the government, and the Song Dynasty did not appear.
The prime minister is the courtier who contacts the emperor the most, and the prime minister has more say than other ministers, so it is usually the prime minister himself who decides what he wants to say to the emperor, so that the emperor is led by the nose of the prime minister. After all, the prime minister is not a saint, he will also chase for his own power, who can not be willing to hold the power himself?
4. Changes in imperial power and phase power during this period
The change of imperial power and phase power is actually a struggle between the ruling class and the scholar class, and under the long-term exchange and competition, the blessing of various factors has made the emperor constantly make concessions and compromises, and finally formed this situation. The ruler wants the country to be able to maintain long-term peace and stability, but he cannot do it alone, so he can only choose to rule the world together with the scholar class represented by the prime minister.
And the emperor is the representative of the will of the country, if he is no longer in power, then the country is bound to fall apart, the merit and fortune pursued by the prime minister and the scholar will also be in vain, so the two sides reached an agreement, each took a step back, and finally formed a mutual check and balance between the two, which not only maintained the stability of the country, but also correspondingly weakened the power of the courtiers.
The two sides each took a step back and performed their respective duties, and the so-called "skin does not exist, Mao will be attached" principle, they still understand, the Song Dynasty was able to allow the prime minister to be in government, military and finance, naturally has its own reason.
3. Summary
The Song Dynasty's prime minister held several concurrent positions, which was a self-change made under the foundation of inheriting the previous dynasty, and the more functions of the prime minister, the greater his ability.
The ruler needs the power of the prime minister to better manage the dynasty, and the social credibility obtained by the prime minister can make the people trust the ruler more, so the concurrent position of the prime minister can not only meet the needs of the ruler, but also keep the society in a stable state, so the Song Dynasty will allow the prime minister to hold several positions.
bibliography:
1. "Continuation of the Zhizhi Tongjian Long Edition"
2. History of the Song Dynasty
3. General History of China's Political System