I originally wanted to write an expansion pack about the official system of the Tang Dynasty, but then I found that there were too many flaws, the topic was too big, and the thinking it elicited was too deep, which would deviate from the theme of the book.

Therefore, I have excerpted some parts that are related to the content of this book and published a separate chapter. These contents are basically beyond the readers’ psychological expectations, so I still have to say a few more nonsense.

The first thing to talk about is the involution and polarization of officialdom.

The so-called involution means that there are too many people serving as officials, and "official position" (this word is in quotation marks, I will explain it later) is not enough.

In the middle and late period of Tang Dynasty society (including Kaiyuan Tianbao), the entire officialdom had been institutionalized, which triggered a series of chain reactions. For example, some novels (I won’t mention the specific ones) like to quote Feng Yan’s "Eight Heroes Say"

", that is, there are eight steps to promotion to prime minister, with two official position options at each step to illustrate that this was the dream of the Tang Dynasty scholars to become officials.

Bajun said he couldn't be wrong, but he didn't get to the point. Considering the context, it was completely wrong.

Scholars in the Tang Dynasty can be understood as those who were awarded official positions after passing the imperial examination, or those who aspired to be officials. Therefore, Zhang Jiuling was a scholar, and the frustrated scholar who failed the imperial examination was also a scholar. So, what are the characteristics of a scholar?

Is the ideal really the "eight-step promotion method" to the prime minister?

In fact, no, their dreams are just "clear" and "wanted".

The concept of Qing is very complex. To put it simply, it means not doing anything, or doing less. A hard-working official position like the Governor is definitely not "Qing", so there is absolutely no such thing as a Governor in the eight-step promotion method.

After explaining the Qing Dynasty, let’s explain the “needs”. The so-called “needs” simply mean important. Some officials are just the Qing Dynasty and do not need it. Leisure is very leisurely, but it is not important at all, such as the administrator of the library.

official position.

After explaining this, let’s explain what a “scholar” is. To put it simply, studying is for officials and their families. From birth, there is only one path for them, either to become an official or to become an official.

On the way to the imperial examination, or after being dismissed from office, he was "raising his family" at home and was in a state of idleness.

In short, it is impossible for them to participate in social labor, to farm, to do business, and to marry the children of non-officials.

After understanding these concepts, the involution in the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods can be easily understood.

There are an average of 27 Jinshis per year, which seems very small, but there are even fewer suitable official positions. Not to mention, it takes three years for the Jinshi to be selected as an official. During these three years, these Jinshis use connections and use the back door.

The preparation period!

Counting those who have become officials since the Ming Dynasty, the vacant official positions are far from enough.

Although there are many official positions in the Tang Dynasty, not all of them will be held by scholars! This is very important. Historical novels about the Tang Dynasty that ignore this point are basically just talking to themselves and having fun.

.

Scholars had a monopoly on noble official positions. If there was no promotion by the emperor, they would not allow someone with a similar background like Li Linfu to hold such an official position, let alone Niu Xianke, who had no backing and had not taken the imperial examination.

For the same reason, these people will not hold non-noble official positions, such as magic officers. There are a large number of such officials, such as medical officers in Taiyuan Hospital, or a large number of grassroots workers in prefectures and counties.

They had official positions and were not low-level officials, but there were no official historical records. Many official positions were determined by epitaphs unearthed through archeology in later generations.

Then we can deduce a terrible conclusion from this: the history of the Tang Dynasty written by the Song Dynasty is actually just the history of the scholars of the Tang Dynasty, and the history of the Tang Dynasty in the eyes of the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty. The types of noble official positions in the Tang Dynasty only account for the total number of civilian official positions in the Tang Dynasty that have been discovered

Between 20% and 25% (100 /400), if the number is also included, the proportion of noble officials is even more terrifyingly low.

Officials in the Tang Dynasty generally had a four-year term, and they generally had to be transferred after expiration. They resigned first and then waited for the election of officials (such as what happened to Lao Zheng after returning to Chang'an). It is easy to resign, but it is difficult to be awarded an official position again. Many

In the reader's impression, officials should continue to be officials until they die.

But this was not the case in the Tang Dynasty.

People like Zhang Jiuling, Bai Juyi, and Li Deyu have held more than 20 official positions. They are basically people who have been serving as officials and are the leaders among successful officials. But what about ordinary officials?

It's just 3-5 terms. Maybe an official career is only 12-20 years in full. Many people who live in their 50s and 60s have an official career of less than ten years! They spend most of their lives in seclusion.

Either working as an official, or being forced to live in seclusion at home, this is the living condition of officials. Some people were officials themselves, but were not considered officials in the eyes of the scholar-bureaucrats who revised history in the Song Dynasty, such as magic officers, etc., because history books did not record them.

Therefore, there are very few records about these people, and the historical materials are fragmented.

But one thing that is certain is that after the Anshi Rebellion, because Jiedushi wanted to maintain the situation, a large number of hard-working officials were needed, so a large part of these people were reused. Jiedushi had a great demand for talents, and began to

The salary is also very high, providing a large number of jobs for various types of magic officers who are not recorded in detail in history books.

To sum up: in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the bureaucratic class dominated by scholars was seriously solidified, the ascending channels at the bottom were blocked, and the internal competition among scholars was fierce.

The second thing I want to say is: after the mid-Tang Dynasty, it gradually became the norm to set up officials based on "services". The three provinces and six ministries system was in name only. The efficiency of government affairs was extremely low, and the "patching" model had to be adopted to maintain operation.

This point is also inseparable from the gradual decline of the scholar class. People with real talents and practical knowledge often come through "special channels", and the things they do often leave because of "special channels".

The three provinces and six ministries that maintained the operation of the imperial court, as well as many unimportant departments and official positions, gradually became idle.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! For example, the Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for collecting taxes, but it can only collect those taxes that were set when the Tang Dynasty was founded. And the extra sex workers and the like are just

There is absolutely no other way. After the Anshi Rebellion, the position of Minister of Household Affairs became a virtual one. There are countless similar examples.

Therefore, whatever duties the emperor or the central government needs to do, they establish whatever positions they need.

If you need to manage the transportation of taxes, then set up a "transshipment envoy".

If it is necessary to collect a salt tax, then set up a "salt and iron envoy".

Even Li Longji sent people to search for beauties among the people and set up a "Flower and Bird Envoy"!

These duties were constantly created for the needs of the offices, which greatly impacted the structure of the three provinces and six ministries. Since the end of the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty had been in a state of inefficiency for thirty years, and officials often went to work every few days.

One shift was so leisurely that I almost faded away.

The reason is that many official positions in the three provinces and six ministries have been vacated by new positions responsible for exclusive matters.

The evolution of this process is one-way and irreversible. Li Longji's appointment of financial officials to manage finances is a passive response to these virtualizations. It is also the call of the times and is not based on personal will.

After reading the above, I think readers should also understand what I want to express.

The general trend of history is vast; those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish.

Where is there anything absolutely right or wrong, where is there any absolutely good person?

Zhang Jiuling must be a good guy? Li Linfu must be a bad guy?

These questions need to take into account the position of the questioner and what he wants to know in order to have an appropriate answer.

Many people have asked, and I don’t mind saying that in the process of researching historical materials, I have increasingly discovered that the model of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is unsustainable. The Tang Dynasty is hopeless. If you like to watch the plot of saving the Tang Dynasty, maybe

It would be better to switch to a book that can be read without thinking. This one cannot be saved.

I can't change the materialist view of history in this book just because I want to watch the plot of saving the Tang Dynasty.
Chapter completed!