Chapter 604: The Heaviest Blow to the Office of Military Governor

On the twenty-fifth day of the second month of the second year of Shaoming, after extensive discussion — even the fortified-manor great clans of the countryside around the divine capital Luoyang and the eastern capital Kaifeng Prefecture had been consulted — Zhang Zhou's political system reform was unveiled in full.

At the central level, among the existing Three Departments, the Secretariat Director of the Secretariat no longer remained a standing post, nor was he any longer the head of the Secretariat; it became a nominal position, equivalent to a later-age honorary chairman.

The Secretariat gave up the supervisory offices of Left and Right Cavalier Attendants, Left and Right Remonstrators, Left and Right Rectifiers, and their corresponding functions, handing all this supervisory and remonstrative power over to the Chancellery.

From then on the Chancellery's supervisory authority was expanded, but the Chancellery's Gate Director — the office that managed the capital and imperial city — and the Seal Director, who held the precious seals, issued imperial edicts, and bestowed banners of authority, were given to the Secretariat.

The Secretariat, headed by the Secretariat Vice Director, in effect became the Emperor's private staff organ. Below the Secretariat Vice Director, its duties were divided into two parts.

One part was called the Zhangtai — the Emperor's advisory and secretarial body — headed by the Secretariat Drafter of Edicts, with six Secretariat Drafters beneath him corresponding to court affairs, and a number of Clerks and Scribes.

The other part was called the Luantai, which managed the Emperor's private property and personal army. Beneath it were established the Brocade Guard Personal Army Command, the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Infantry Personal Army Command, and the Inner Service Office.

The Brocade Guard was divided into northern and southern armies. The Northern Army was responsible for domestic investigation, rooting out treachery, and serving as the Emperor's honor guard.

The Southern Army was responsible for foreign intelligence work and information gathering, with one Commander and three Vice Commanders.

The Imperial Guard Cavalry and Infantry Personal Army Command governed the Emperor's remaining seven guards of the personal army and the Hanshan Capital Command.

The Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Infantry Personal Army was not a standing post; it was held in rotation by the Commanders of the Left and Right Feathered Forest Guards, the Left and Right Golden Guard, the Left and Right Dragon Valiant Guards, the Left Thousand-Bull Guard, and the Commander of the Hanshan Capital Command.

Whoever's turn it was to stand guard and mount duty became the Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Infantry Personal Army.

The Inner Service Office was the steward of the Emperor's private assets. Its head was the Inner Service Prefect, who managed the Emperor's white sugar, rock sugar, cotton, the Hexi trade route, the Lanruo Bank, and the imperial properties and imperial estates in various places.

You can see it now, can't you? The Zhangtai and Luantai under the Secretariat were in effect the Emperor's Directorate of Ceremonial and Eastern Depot.

Moreover, the seemingly lofty Chancellery Vice Director, without the Emperor's authorization and without holding the imperial tally, could not manage Luantai affairs. This prevented the Secretariat Vice Director from becoming something like an Eastern Han General Who Opens a Headquarters.

And through these two levers of political and military power, Zhang Zhao gripped the most essential authority firmly in his own hands.

He could also use the inner court to siphon talent away from the outer court. Even the imperial examination path would henceforth be separate: any great talent would first serve in the Secretariat, then be released to the outer court — a way of drawing talent to himself.

And after the Chancellery alone held the powers of supervision and remonstrance, to prevent all supervisory power from falling into the hands of the Chancellery Vice Director, Zhang Zhao did not abolish the Censorate.

Instead, he had the Censorate supervise high-ranking capital officials and dispatch censors to tour the regions, while the Chancellery was responsible for remonstrating with the Emperor, sealing and returning edicts, receiving imperial orders, and supervising mid- and low-ranking officials in the capital.

Of course, the Chancellery also had the power to supervise high-ranking capital officials. This was Zhang Zhao deliberately letting the two sides' authority overlap slightly, lest each monopolize its own domain.

As for the Department of State Affairs, it was precisely the greatest beneficiary of this reform. Zhang Zhao gave up the post of Director of the Department of State Affairs, which he had held concurrently — because he was in fact already Secretariat Director — and Zhang Xichong was thus able to take up the post of Director of the Department of State Affairs.

The Department of State Affairs, with its Director managing all government affairs, became the de facto Chancellor — er, or rather, one should say something like the Ming dynasty's Senior Grand Secretary.

Because as for the supervisory sphere, the Chancellery Vice Director and the Censorate were still dividing his power.

To strengthen the authority of the Director of the Department of State Affairs, Zhang Zhao also decided to add "Concurrent Affairs of the Chancellery" to the Director's title, allowing him to manage, to a certain extent, the affairs of the Chancellery and the Censorate.

Otherwise, the Director of the Department of State Affairs — the dignified head of all government affairs — would have no supervisory power at all, and would inevitably be constrained at every turn in getting things done. That would be far too unsightly.

At the same time, the posts of Left and Right Vice Directors of the Department of State Affairs were abolished. The Left Vice Directors of the six ministries were directly promoted to Ministers, with Left and Right Vice Ministers and other assistant officials established beneath them.

And the Court of Judicial Review — an institution that had basically been paralyzed during the Five Dynasties — Zhang Zhao also brought back out, making it primarily responsible for the final adjudication of major cases from the prefectures and counties and cases from the capital region.

The Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Ministry of Justice formed the Three Judicial Offices. This was to divide the Ministry of Justice's power within the Department of State Affairs, lest the Ministry of Justice become too powerful.

In addition, Zhang Zhao established the Salt and Iron Commission, a post specialized in raking in money. The Salt and Iron Commissioner, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Budget Drafters of the Secretariat responsible for expenditures jointly controlled the state finances.

Finally, the most important of all: the Bureau of Military Affairs. Apart from not managing the seven guards and one capital command of the personal army, all the imperial armies, garrison armies, prefectural and county troops, and so on under heaven came under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

The head of the Bureau of Military Affairs was the Commissioner of Military Affairs, with a number of Vice Commissioners established, but only the Left Commissioner and Right Commissioner actually managed affairs; the rest were honorary appointments.

Three Academicians in Waiting of the Bureau of Military Affairs were also established, serving in rotation at the Emperor's side so that the Emperor could communicate with the Bureau of Military Affairs.

At this point, this government system — combining a great many Song and Ming features, yet still reasonably suited to the current situation, with organs both mutually independent and overlapping — had taken shape.

This was in truth a reform by which the Emperor vigorously centralized power. Through the Secretariat, Zhang Zhao divided the court into an inner court and an outer court.

The inner court was directly subordinate to the Emperor and could get a hand into almost any matter. The outer court handled concrete government affairs but could no longer act as it pleased.

The state's collective chancellorship was composed of the Director of the Department of State Affairs, the Chancellery Vice Director, the Commissioner of Military Affairs, and two to four officials bearing the title of Participant in Determining Government Affairs.

Those bearing the title of Participant in Determining Government Affairs could be the Ministers of the six ministries, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, the Left and Right Commissioners of the Bureau of Military Affairs, or the Salt and Iron Commissioner — it all depended on who could win the Emperor's favor.

At the local level, Zhang Zhao changed the current three-tier system of circuits, prefectures, and counties to a model of provinces, superior prefectures (prefectures), and counties.

Province — the full title being "Bearer of the Tally, Pacification Commissioner of Such-and-Such Place, Chief Minister of the Branch Secretariat."

For example, in Hedong, it could be called "Bearer of the Tally, Pacification Commissioner of Hedong, Chief Minister of the Branch Secretariat," abbreviated as Hedong Province or Hedong Circuit.

Each province had one Chief Minister governing all affairs, with a Administration Commissioner, a Surveillance Commissioner, and a Defense Commissioner established beneath him, as well as a non-standing Special Salt and Iron Commissioner.

Generally the Chief Minister concurrently held the post of Administration Commissioner and handled government affairs.

The Surveillance Commissioner was responsible for supervision, inspection tours, criminal law, and related matters.

The Defense Commissioner was in charge of the entire province's defense. The prefectural and county troops, sworn followers, and militia braves of each superior prefecture (prefecture) and county all came under the Defense Commissioner's management.

Below the Defense Commissioner, the head of each prefecture's prefectural and county troops was the Troop Supervisor, and the head of each county's militia braves was the County Defender.

At the same time, at key points in each prefecture and county, Inspection Offices were established to organize valiant sworn followers for rooting out treachery, capturing bandits, setting up checkpoints, and guarding critical points. The Inspectors of the Inspection Offices also fell under the Defense Commissioner's management.

The greatest purpose of establishing the Inspectors was to make up for the insufficiency of rural military mobilization after village officials were converted into corvée posts.

Inspectors were generally selected from retired meritorious low-ranking military officers, and had the authority to organize paramilitary organizations such as archery societies and spear-and-staff societies.

From these societies, the finest were selected as sworn followers, and the state gave them a certain amount of pay in silver to maintain local stability.

At the same time, the establishment of the Inspectors carried an important symbolic meaning: it showed that the Emperor only wanted to strip the Military Governors of their power, not to weaken the power of military men.

This realm still belongs to the warriors!

Among the provincial high officials, each province's Chief Minister was a member of the Secretariat and directly responsible to the Emperor, while at the same time, because of his concurrent post as Administration Commissioner, he was also subject to a certain degree of jurisdiction by the Department of State Affairs.

The Surveillance Commissioner was directly responsible to the Chancellery, while also subject to a certain degree of jurisdiction by the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review.

The Defense Commissioner was directly responsible to the Bureau of Military Affairs. The Special Salt and Iron Commissioner was dispatched selectively by the Salt and Iron Commission under the Emperor's orders, or could be held concurrently by the Administration Commissioner.

And the unit of the superior prefecture was established specifically for the Military Governors.

From now on, any prefecture with a Military Governor would be upgraded to a superior prefecture.

For example, the Zhongwu Army at Xuzhou was changed back from Xuzhou to Xuchang Superior Prefecture.

The Guide Army Military Governor's Songzhou was renamed Guide Superior Prefecture.

The Weisheng Army Military Governor's Dengzhou was also changed back to Nanyang Superior Prefecture.

As for the Military Governor, this unit still existed, but the full title changed from Military Governor to "Bearer of the Tally, Pacification Commissioner of the Troops of Such-and-Such Superior Prefecture, Concurrently Prefect of Such-and-Such Place."

For example, the Military Governor of Zhongwu at Xuzhou now bore the full title of "Commissioner Holding the Staff to Pacify and Guard the Troops and Horses of Zhongwu at Xuchang, Concurrently Governor of Xuchang Prefecture."

This was an enormous change. With this revision, although the Military Governor still existed, his authority was confined to his own prefecture and was further greatly dispersed.

This dispersal did not mean his power was carved away by others, but rather that the source of his authority became dispersed. The original and most important "Commissioner Holding the Staff in Command of Such-and-Such a Place" became "Commissioner Holding the Staff to Pacify and Guard."

And the title "Commissioner Holding the Staff to Pacify and Guard" alone was meaningless; it had to be supplemented with a suffix.

For example, only with the suffix "in Charge of Military Affairs" could he command the local troops, and even then the prefectural and county troops and the local militia braves were divided away under the Troop Supervisors and Patrol Inspectors.

As for the civil affairs of the prefecture he was in, only with the suffix "Governor of This Prefecture" could he administer them. Without that suffix, the court would dispatch a Prefect to divide the civil administration.

Under these circumstances, the office of Military Governor was bound to develop rapidly into the honorary post it became in the Song dynasty. Without the suffixes for military affairs and governorship, it was nothing but an empty title.

Even at the very least, even if one held the authority over military and civil affairs, the scope had still been reduced.

Take the change of Xuzhou into Xuchang Prefecture as an example. Originally, Xuzhou administered the four counties of Yanling, Yangzhai, Changge, and Xuchang, with a total population of over two hundred thousand.

Therefore, at its extreme limit, the Zhongwu Army of Xuzhou could draw up ten or twenty thousand troops, and in ordinary times could also maintain two or three thousand yabing guards.

But now that it had been changed to Xuchang Prefecture, the Military Governor had to rely on the suffix of Governor of Xuchang Prefecture to manage affairs. The four county magistrates below him immediately changed from subordinate officials whose lives and deaths were at the pleasure of the Zhongwu Military Governor into lower officials who likewise belonged to the state.

Although the Governor of Xuchang Prefecture was still their superior, the implicit relationship of lord and vassal that had existed under the Military Governor was gone.

Without that relationship, even relying on his former prestige, the Military Governor of the Zhongwu Army could at most control the single attached county of Xuchang.

As for the remaining counties, civil affairs lay in the hands of the county magistrates, the prefectural and county troops lay in the hands of the Xuchang Troop Supervisor, the militia braves lay with the county sheriffs, and the sworn followers at the strategic passes lay in the hands of local military officers such as the Yingchuan Patrol Inspector.

In this way, all that remained under the Military Governor's control was the yabing guards of the Zhongwu Army at Xuchang Prefecture.

Without the support of local forces, Xuchang County alone, though a large county and the seat of the prefecture, had only sixty or seventy thousand people or even fewer, so the regular establishment of the Zhongwu Army could at most maintain around a thousand men.

With a thousand yabing guards, no matter how hard they tried, they could never stir up any waves.

Of course, things had not yet reached the point of collapsing the Military Governors in one stroke.

One must remember that the Zhang Zhou realm still had more than a dozen Military Governors, including Sage Zhang's trusted men Ma Zhaoyuan, Ma Yaozi, Fan Quan, and others, all of whom were Military Governors.

Not to mention the local magnates of Hebei and men like Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing.

If the measures were too harsh all at once, it would wound the hearts of all the military men under heaven, and every one of them would oppose it openly or covertly. No matter how formidable Zhang Zhao was, he could not fight the whole country alone.

Therefore Zhang Zhao decided that he still had to add weight to the Military Governors.

But it would not be the old way of adding. For example, An Shenqi was now the Military Governor of Ziqing and Pinglu, so Zhang Zhao would grant An Shenqi the posts of Pingzhang of the planned Jiaodong Province and concurrently Jiaodong Administration Commissioner, all at once.

In this way, An Shenqi's authority did not appear to have shrunk, yet it seemed to have shrunk.

It had not shrunk because the power in his hands had not actually diminished.

It had shrunk because it truly had, for the offices added to him were no longer within the Military Governorship itself and could be revoked at any time.

Once all parties had finished communicating, Zhang Zhao immediately rolled out the reform plan.

The Khotan, Kucha, Shule, and Ningyuan (Fergana Basin) regions of Anxi were made into Anxi Province, with Shule as the provincial capital.

Li Shengtian was made Pingzhang of Anxi Province, while the Military Governor of the Four Garrisons of Anxi was retained, with Li Shengtian as Military Governor of the Four Garrisons.

Tingzhou (around Urumqi), Xizhou (Turpan), Yizhou (Hami), and Ningzhou (Yining) of Beiting, along with Yanqi, formerly part of Anxi, were made into Beiting Province, with Tingzhou as the provincial capital.

Cao Yanlu was made Pingzhang and Administration Commissioner of Beiting Province, and Chen Huiyao of the Chen family of Yizhou was made Defense Commissioner of Beiting.

The Gua, Sha, Yi, Xi, Gan, Su, Liang, and Shan prefectures of Hexi were made into Hexi Province, with the Western Capital, Chengtian Prefecture at Liangzhou, as the provincial capital.

Pei Yuan took the posts of Pingzhang of Hexi Province, Defender of the Western Capital, and Governor of Chengtian Prefecture, while also concurrently serving as Defense Commissioner of Hexi.

One could say that Zhang Zhao gave Pei Yuan all the powers in Hexi except the power of surveillance.

The Lan, He, Wei, Tao, Dang, Cheng, Wu, Qin, Cheng, Min, and Hui prefectures of Longyou were made into Longyou Province, with Jia Yanchang as Pingzhang of Longyou Province and Lanzhou as the provincial capital.

But at the same time, in order to coordinate the grand rear-area strategy of Hexi and Longyou, Zhang Zhao additionally enfeoffed Pei Yuan as Commissioner Holding the Staff, Governor-General of the Affairs of the Two Provinces of Hexi and Longyou, styled the Grand Governor of Hexi and Longyou.

Jia Yanchang, the Pingzhang of Longyou, was transferred away from Lanzhou to work at Tianshui Prefecture (Qinzhou).

In reality, this still helped Pei Yuan monopolize the great authority of Hexi and Longyou, demonstrating Zhang Zhao's trust in this trusted and much-tested minister who had been of one mind with him from early on.

In addition, Guanzhong also became Guanzhong Province, with Cao Yuanzhong as Pingzhang of Guanzhong Province, Defender of Chang'an, and Governor of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Then, the Yuan, Fu, Wei, Yan, Xia, Yin, Sui, and Fu prefectures east of Longyou and north of Guanzhong were made into Ningxia Province, with Xiazhou as the provincial capital, and Zhe Congyuan was transferred to be Pingzhang of Ningxia.

It roughly corresponded to later northern Shaanxi, part of Ningxia, and part of northeastern Gansu.

And within the Republic's Ningxia, Zhang Zhao made Lingzhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Fengzhou into Shuofang Province.

That is, most of the Republic's Ningxia plus Qingyang in Gansu, as well as the entire Hetao region from Hohhot to Baotou in Inner Mongolia and on to the Urad Front, Middle, and Rear Banners, were formed into Shuofang Province.

Lingzhou was the provincial capital, and She Taijun's father, Zhe Deyi, was made Pingzhang of Shuofang Province.

The vast majority of later Henan Province — that is, from Shanzhou (Sanmenxia) east to Caozhou and Shanzhou beyond the Eastern Capital at Kaifeng Prefecture, including Xuzhou, Chenzhou, Caizhou, Songzhou, Zhengzhou, and Mengzhou — was formed into Zhili Province.

The Pingzhang of Zhili held a high and weighty post, and was generally selected from among the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, the Palace Attendant, the Commissioner of Military Affairs, and the Chancellors bearing the additional title of Participant in Determining Government Affairs.

Xiangzhou was changed to Xiangyang Prefecture, and Xiangyang Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, and the Tang, Sui, Fang, Ying, and other prefectures were formed into Shannan Province, with Liu Zaisheng as Pingzhang of Shannan Province.

The yabing guards of the Military Governor of Xiangyang Prefecture were disbanded, and the Weisheng Army of Nanyang Prefecture was moved to Xiangzhou, with Erzhu Jing as Military Governor of the Weisheng Army.

The entire Shandong Peninsula became Jiaodong Province, with Qingzhou (Yidu) as the provincial capital, and An Shenqi took the post of Pingzhang of Shandong Province while concurrently serving as Military Governor of Ziqing and Pinglu.

With Xuzhou as the provincial capital, together with Suzhou, Chuzhou, Haizhou, Haozhou, Sizhou, and Yingzhou, Huainan Province was formed, with Ma Zhaoyuan (Ma Yaozi) as Pingzhang of Huainan Province and concurrently Military Governor of the Wuning Army at Xuzhou Prefecture.

The greater part of Shanxi still in Liu Zhiyuan's hands was made into Hedong Province, with Yan Jin remotely holding the posts of Defender of the Northern Capital, Pingzhang of Hedong Province, and Military Governor of Taiyuan.

Hebei, still in a state of confrontation, was made into Hebei Province, with Fu Yanqing as Pingzhang of Hebei Province. Hengzhou (Zhengding) was changed to Changshan Prefecture, and Fu Yanqing took the post of Pingzhang of Hebei Province and concurrently Military Governor of the Zhangde Army at Changshan Prefecture.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun, occupied by the Khitan, were made into Youyun Province, with Gao Xingzhou as Pingzhang of the province. Youzhou was changed to Beiping Prefecture and made the provincial capital, and Gao Xingzhou concurrently served as Military Governor of the Fanyang Army at Beiping.

At this point, Zhang Zhao had further stripped the military-province character from the original Military Governors and restored the original intent of the Tang dynasty in establishing the office.

He made this office gradually become a weighty minister dispatched by the state to confront powerful enemies and resolve urgent frontier problems.

Of course, such a great change could not possibly meet with no opposition. Zhang Zhao estimated that those Military Governors, yabing officers, and yabing guards who still longed for their former might would begin to gravitate toward Liu Zhiyuan's camp.

And Zhang Zhao could take this opportunity to sweep them all at once into the rubbish heap of history!

In the third month, Li Shengtian, who had been traveling for nearly a year, finally emerged from Guanzhong through Tong Pass along the canal and would soon reach the Yellow River, where he could immediately sail downstream to the Divine Capital, Luoyang.

By coincidence, the end of the third month was the birthday of Zhang Zhao's legal mother, Li Shengtian's sister as dear as a mother, the Compassionate Blessing Empress Dowager Lady Li.

Zhang Zhao prepared on one hand to receive Li Shengtian, and on the other to prepare the birthday banquet for his legal mother.

At the same time, he began appointing officials, demolishing the private fortresses of the entire Zhili Province and Jiaodong Province, and after releasing the common people, immediately set about reorganizing the land, restoring military-agricultural settlements, and preparing for further equal-field distribution.

And the sworn followers of Guanzhong also learned that they would be allotted land in Hexi and Longyou, each of them able to become a great fubing householder with four to five hundred mu of land and over a hundred cattle and sheep, and every one of them was moved to tears of gratitude, their morale soaring like a rainbow.

Most crucial of all was in Hebei and Hedong, where Liu Zhiyuan and Yelu Ruan reached a final cooperation and were now feeding their horses and sharpening their weapons, waiting for the ice and snow to melt.

The great battle was about to arrive!

(End of Chapter)

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