We often see on TV dramas that the emperor designates or deliberately sends officials to go deep into the people to observe the people's feelings, and most of these officials who are assigned to the hundred are majestic and full of style, and every time they go to a place, they will rectify local county orders, seek grievances for the people, and seek livelihood for the people.
And the people called these ministers Chincha ministers, so on what basis did the ancient emperors send officials to be Chincha ministers?
During the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu would often appoint some envoys or courtiers, eunuchs, etc. as officials to deal with emergency affairs, and in some local inspection work, he would also appoint many officials with special envoys, which was the model of the Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system.
The reason why there is such an inspection system is because the emperor needs to grasp the real situation of the grass-roots people, but it is impossible to personally complete the inspection work himself, so this special position for the emperor was born.
Therefore, the officials in the inspection system are equivalent to the stand-ins sent by the emperor, have great power in the process of the task, and have an extremely important role in the local inspection.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > First, the Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system can be divided into three forms</h1>
The Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system was actually inherited from the system of the previous dynasty, but in the Ming Dynasty, these officials had three different forms, namely the town guard lieutenant, the Chincha minister, and the special envoy.
These officials were directly appointed by the emperor so they have a lot of power, and these officials are also very complicated in their duties, observing the people's feelings, handling cases, and so on.
Sending commissioners to inspect the localities can not only achieve the emperor's goal of grasping the local situation, but also play a supervisory role in local governance.
It can be said that there are many things in one fell swoop, and the inspection system of the Ming Dynasty was not only produced because of the needs of the emperor, but also because of the needs of the times, which was an inevitable product of the concept of centralized governance.
The system of special envoys and inspectors played an extremely important role in consolidating imperial power and maintaining centralized power, just as the historical records recorded: "Publicize morality, inquire about the people's sufferings, clear away grievances, remove annoyances, observe the merits of officials, and depose Mingjia." ”
From this, it can be seen that during the Inspection System during the Ming Dynasty, there were many functions that special envoys needed to be responsible for, and they were also very important.
These dispatched officials had to return to Beijing to report on the situation after inspecting various places, and all the observations and news on the way had to report to the emperor, and to a certain extent, it can be considered that the dispatched officials had the power to inspect in addition to the power of inspection.
Therefore, in ancient times, there were always places where Chincha went, and officials everywhere did not dare to slacken off, even if they only passed through this, they did not dare to have any slackening.
So what are the specific contents of the Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system? The following will be from the Ming Dynasty three different inspectors as the object of analysis, the Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > Second, the first form of the special envoy inspection system is the town guard lieutenant</h1>
Not long after Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he revised the state's administrative system and abolished the post of Zhongshu Province, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not drastically revoke Zhongshu Province.
Instead, it was first implemented from the local level and then promoted to the whole country, and the change of Zhongshu Province to the three division system was precisely the beginning of the town guard.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" >1, the origin of the establishment of the town guard during the Ming Dynasty</h1>
The above-mentioned Zhu Yuanzhang reformed the state's administrative system, changing the original Zhongshu Province to the three-division system, and in essence, the Ming Dynasty changed Zhongshu Province to the three-division system, which is actually a decline of the provincial-level system.
The purpose of this is actually to prevent the instability of state power caused by excessive local power, and in the final analysis, it is a reform to strengthen the centralization of power.
However, the three-division system after the reform also has certain drawbacks, such as the original Zhongshu Province becoming the Department of Undertaking And Announcing Political Envoys, the Department of Punishment and The Department of Envoys, and the Department of Commanding Envoys.
However, in the three-division system, there is no chief with full responsibility, which makes the power not clearly attributed, if it is a system of peace and prosperity, it is no problem, and once there is turmoil, it is difficult to find responsible officials, making it difficult to deal with different powers and difficult to deal with.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" >2, the specific position for which the town guard was responsible for the inspection system of the Ming Dynasty</h1>
In order to solve this problem, Zhu Yuanzhang thought of a remedy, that is, to send ministers to preside over affairs in the name of "Zhen Shou", that is, the origin of the Zhen Shou Zhongguan, which was also the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system.
It did play a certain role in the implementation process, for example, when there was a rebellion in Shaanxi and Gansu, "ordered Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao, to pay tribute to the general Seal of Pingqiang and go to Gansu to guard." ”
There is also "Ning Zheng, who commanded the capital of Yunnan, as the left governor of the right army governor's office, and ordered the town to guard Yunnan." "These are all typical examples of history to follow.
Most of the above are as military generals to guard the territory, in addition to the local government affairs, there are actually the figure of lieutenants, for example, after Hongwu Jianyuan, Zhu Yuanzhang often sent eunuchs to participate in local government affairs.
Historical records record that "in the fourth year of Hongwu, Guanzhong was hungry, and he ordered the Shaanxi suffragette class to use Ji, supervise Yushi Zhao Shu, and Fengyu Xude to provide relief..."
It can be seen from this that although the official position of the town guard is not high, the affairs they are responsible for are very important, and they also enjoy high power in the process of dispatch.
However, during the sixteenth year of Zhengde, the town guard lieutenant began to take it back, until jiajing eighteen years the town guard lieutenant all recovered.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > Third, the second form of the special envoy inspection system is the Chincha minister</h1>
Although the Zhenshou Lieutenant was stripped of power during the Jiajing period, there were other officials in the Ming Dynasty who continued to perform the inspection system, and the Chincha Chancellor was one of them.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="19" >1</h1>
When studying the Ming Dynasty's special envoy inspection system, some people once asked, "Why are some of the officials in the field called Qincha, but some are not called Qincha?" ”
In fact, whether it is called Chincha depends on the nature of this official, if it is an official who holds a special edict issued by the emperor, he can be called a Chincha minister.
Moreover, the power of the Chincha minister is so great that it can determine the life and death plan of a local official, so the local officials in the places where Chincha is mentioned above do not dare to slacken off, because they are afraid of chincha's power.
According to historical records, "the owner of the flag can execute deserters or rebel generals on the battlefield, requisition local manpower and material resources, have a certain amount of cheap power, and play an important role in politics, military, and justice." ”
Through the above information, it can be seen that Chincha has great power, Chincha not only has the power to play to the emperor alone, but also can apply for some powers outside of his duties, so it is not unreasonable to say that local officials are jealous of Chincha's ministers.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" >2</h1>
It is said that the minister of Chincha is above ten thousand people under one person, and the Ming Dynasty is a dynasty that is very strong in fighting corruption.
However, in direct contrast to the anti-corruption efforts, the corruption of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be one of the best in Chinese history.
The Chincha minister is one of them, and after having extremely high power, many Chincha ministers have lost their determination to be honest, so the Ming Dynasty has a popular saying that "every time the imperial court sends a person on a business trip, it is a plan for his people to support." ”
From this record, it can be seen that the original intention of the Chancellor chincha was to help the emperor better understand the people's feelings and manage the country.
However, in the process of implementation, there was a qualitative change, and the chincha minister became the best way for some corrupt people to embezzle and accept bribes.
Many people took advantage of their status as chancellor of Chincha to be domineering, resulting in "state and county officials, agreeing to flattery, lest they be too late." Although there are also many incorruptible people among them, it is difficult for anyone to do it", "out of the mud without staining, clean and clear without demon." ”
Therefore, the minister of Chincha was finally reduced to "bribing the public line between the upper and lower levels, and being a little fearless." "So there are some reasons why corruption was so serious during the Ming Dynasty."
How could the Emperor, with such a Chincha chancellor, see the real sufferings of the people, and how could he possibly build a just and honest society?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > fourth, the third form of special envoy inspection system</h1>
In addition to the Zhenshou Lieutenant and the Chincha Minister, there was also a special envoy, that is, the special envoy, according to the records, the Yongle Emperor had sent envoys to inspect many times before and after, and most of them were imperial history officials, so it was said that slowly they became special envoys.
However, in the process of implementation, it was found that the role of sending special envoys to inspect was not great, and it was not as effective as relying on the existing system to control local officials, so it became less important to send special envoys.
However, in some special periods, the envoy is still very useful, for example, when there is a disaster, it is the time when the envoy plays a role, and the emperor must first send an envoy to understand the situation before making a decision in order to better cope.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" >5, the significance of the Ming Dynasty special envoy inspection system</h1>
The Ming Dynasty set up a special envoy inspection system in order to better govern the country, but in the process of implementation, problems continued to arise, such as the most serious mentioned above is the rampant phenomenon of corruption.
This is because the inspector represents the emperor, so what he holds in his hands is real power, and the local officials will naturally flatter him, and once the inspector is not self-controlled enough, it is easy to fall into the trap of power.
Although this inspection system also has a certain positive effect, for example, during the inspection of officials, some unjust, false and wrongly decided cases have indeed been rectified.
Therefore, the inspection system of the Ming Dynasty was a system with both advantages and disadvantages, and there were both good and negative sides.
In short, the system of special envoys and inspectors is a policy implemented by the rulers to strengthen the centralization of power, and its purpose is largely to expand their eyes and ears.
Strengthen the central control over the localities and reduce the possibility of local political power becoming strong, so in the process of implementation, the rulers will inevitably be misled by a lot of wrong information, and finally lead to the policy losing its meaning of existence.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > references:</h1>
[1] "State Power Structure and Operating Mechanism of the Ming Dynasty", Fang Zhiyuan, Beijing Science Press
[2] History of China's Political System, Bai Hua, Chinese Min University Press
[3] A Study of Chinese Bureaucratic Politics, Wang Yanan, China Social Sciences Press
[4] General Theory of Law and the State, Kelson, China Encyclopedia Press