The squires of the Tang Dynasty military department performed their duties, how did they pass the se

Mondo History Updated on 2024-01-28

Contents: The history of Xiao He Kanqing.

Edited by Xiao He Kanqing History.

The military department of the Tang Dynasty was an institution responsible for military and political affairs, and its chief officer and soldier department secretary and deputy chief officer and soldier department were under the jurisdiction of the four divisionsThe general decree plays a pivotal role in the operation of the military department.

From the period of Gaozong and Empress Wu, under the background that the power and status of Shangshu were gradually usurped by other officials, the squire gradually became powerful and became the actual person in charge of the military department.

However, in the late Tang Dynasty, the eunuchs were autocratic, the feudal towns were in charge of the army, and the power of the military department was encroached upon, and the power of the squire also declined.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Sui system was followed, and the administrative system of three provinces and six ministries was implemented in the first place. Shangshu Province is the first administrative body, under the subordinateThere are six departments: officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers, to lead the national government affairs, each performing its own duties.

Among them, the military department is the department responsible for the whole political affairs, the chief is Shangshu, and the deputy is the squire. The Ministry of War has four divisions, namely, the Ministry of War, the Department of Driving, the Department of Staff, and the Department of Treasury, which deal with various specific affairs.

With the gradual development and maturity of politics in the Tang Dynasty, the official system was also adjusted and changed to a certain extent.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the military department was still a puppet and prime minister, or went out to fight, but still had the ability and time to deal with the affairs of the department, and the squire was only the deputy of the military departmentIt plays a basic auxiliary role.

Since the beginning of the military post, the post has gradually become more and more institutionalized, and the secretary of the military department has gradually not been returned to the department. Objectively, it prompted the squire to change his authority and appearedSquire chiefizedand gradually replaced Shang Shu's responsibility and became the main person in charge of maintaining the normal operation of the military department and handling important military and political affairs.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the military department was changed to the honorary post of ** for describing qualifications and showing meritorious service, and its own post was abandoned. As a result, the squire of the military department replaced Shangshu in the actual position. It is worth noting thatIn the late Tang Dynasty, the authority declined, the feudal towns and eunuchs seized military power, and the military department lost power seriously.

Although Shangshu's power in the military department was transferred to the squire, the squire of the military department also served as an envoy during this period, and it may be difficult for him to perform his duties.

In the late Tang Dynasty, the military and political situation underwent great changes, which prompted the duties of the military department to be adjusted to a certain extent and were eroded.

On the one hand, the election of military attachés and the power to elect are increasingly weakened;On the other hand, the power of the military department has also experienced a gradual decline due to the growth of local power and the decline of centralized power.

In this process, in order to deal with the redundancy problem in the military attache system, the military department squire needs to make reasonable adjustments to the military attache system, which is another responsibility derived from the development of official governance.

There is also a tendency for the power of the military department to be delegated from the ** to the localities。"Tang Liudian" contains: The person who should be selected "is not allowed to go to the election in the military town, and the committee is appointed to make the Quan, and the ranking is to apply for it." That is to say, at least in the Kaiyuan period, the Jiedu had the power to replace the military department to preside over the selection of the officers of the Jiezhen town, so that the selection scope of the military department squire was narrowed.

After the Anshi Rebellion, there were many local feudal towns, and the system of awarding and establishing military generals in the shogunate of Jiezhen and the selection of military departments in the imperial court existed at the same time. According to the rules and regulations, the generals selected by the feudal towns must be reported to the military department and approved by the commander.

Moreover,In the late Tang Dynasty, the military department entered many departments, and the disadvantages of military selection were heavierUndoubtedly, it hinders the actual effectiveness of the military department's performance of the right to elect.

Due to the fact that the military examination was repeatedly abolished due to the small number of candidates, or due to the low quality of military attachés, or due to natural disasters and other reasons, the real restriction on the implementation and role of military juju was that after the decline of the military system, the feudal towns controlled most of the military forces, and the military attachés of the towns were often appointed through summons, and the influence of the military juju system was naturally on a downward trend.

Later, with the development of politics in the Tang Dynasty,The bureaucracy is redundantIt is inevitable that there will be shortcomings and affect administrative efficiency. The proliferation of military attaches and the proliferation of diseases are among the problems.

In addition, the financial situation is tight, and reducing the number of decisions has become one of the decisions to deal with the accumulated malpractices, and the military attache who was selected by the military attache was naturally given the task of reforming the military attache through the selection.

As the deputy commander of the military department, the military department squire has the responsibility to reform the ranks of military attachés and control the number of officers under the condition that Shangshu is not in charge of the affairs of the headquarters, so as to ensure the effective operation of the military attache system and maintain the ruling order.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the relationship between the military department and other powers such as Shangshu existedOne trades off the otherof the transformation.

The general principle of the military department squire as the object of the system is ,It was first drafted by the prime minister, and then authorized by the emperor himself

Then, after obtaining the qualifications for selection based on their personal ability and conduct, how are they selected and recommended, and then awarded official positions according to certain procedures?

The emperor's personal election is one of the main ways for the Tang Dynasty military squire to serve, and there are many reasons for his appointment, which will be affected by multiple factors such as **'s character ability, identity background and monarch's own emotions. After all, in times of turmoil inside and outside the imperial court, those with outstanding personal ability and loyalty are often directly promoted by the emperor.

Not only that, but those who accept a good family style will also be favored and chosen by the emperor. Prime Minister Lu HuaishenAlthough he was born in a famous family, his family style is thrifty, and he is humble and faithful, and he has also been reused.

According to the "Old Tang Book" volume 98 "Lu Huaishen's Biography": "Prudent and thrifty, not engaged in industry, utensils and clothing, no gold and jade Qiwen beauty." All the income is scattered at any time, and the family has no savings, and the wife is scarce. ”

At the same time, the status of the former minister and clan relatives of ** brought the emperor a sense of trust and gave him the convenience of transfer. The identity of his relatives is the main reason for his appointment as a squire in the military department.

Outstanding military and political ability, profound qualifications and prestige, and loyal and upright character constituted the conditions and factors for the selection of the military department in the Tang Dynasty, and it was also the standard for examining whether the first person was competent for the work of the military department.

In the early Tang Dynasty, not only did the squire of the military department be required to have basic political skills, and he was required to lead the daily government affairs of the military department, but also emphasized ** when the national conditions were more complex and unstableProficient in military affairs and the ability to handle military affairs

In the late Tang Dynasty, due to the change of the political system, most of the soldiers in the military department served as envoys, but were not responsible for the affairs of the headquarters, so the requirements for military and political capabilities were relatively weakened.

*After meeting the requirements for the candidacy of the military department, it is often passedThe emperor was personally elected and promoted by the ministers, two ways to serve. The emperor's appreciation is the main way to serve as the head of the military department, and the monarch often selects the head of the military department directly under the collision of his benevolent heart and ability and character.

The promotion and recommendation of the prime minister and the minister is another way to serve in the military departmentIn this way, the eunuchs can expand their friends and cultivate their influence.

With the development of the political system and situation, various military situations such as unstable borders in the late Tang Dynasty, self-respect of the feudal towns, destruction of the original military system, and eunuch supervision of the army have existed for a long time. The squire of the military department is responsible for the military and horse government orders, and is familiar with the handling of national military and government affairsIn order to deal with emergencies, the squires of the military department are often entrusted with important tasks because of their duties related to military affairs.

It is worth mentioning that according to the needs of the emperor, the squire of the military department will also serve as an envoy to the mountains and the book to participate in the country's sacrificial ceremonies. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor's funeral was mainly presided over by the prime minister and important ministers.

After the Wu Zetian period, the mountain envoys gradually differentiated into many envoys。After the generation and virtue, the mountain envoy, the ceremonial envoy, the honor guard envoy, the halo book envoy and the bridge road Zhizhi Dun envoy appeared, the division of duties was clear, and the court officials filled the position.

In the early years of Ruyuanhe, Li Xun and Cui Xuan, the squire of the Ministry of War, served as the deputy envoy of the mountain mausoleum, responsible for the construction of the Fengling Mausoleum of Shunzong. After the deed, Xianzong "inquired about his achievements and ranked them in rank". In the late Tang Dynasty, the mountain envoy was in charge of the construction and funding of the mausoleum, and Li Xun, the squire of the military department, judged the support and was in charge of finance, making him one of the candidates for the deputy envoy of the mountain mausoleum.

In the first year of Tianyou (905), Zhaozong Daxiang, hundreds of officials went to the west in plain clothes. Emperor Mourning Prime Minister Pei Shu Chong Mountain Tomb Etiquette Envoy, Prime Minister Dugu Loss Chong Mountain Tomb Envoy, "Military Department Squire Li Yan Chong Lu Book Envoy, Quanzhi Henan Yin Wei Zhenchong Bridge Road Envoy, Zong Zhengqing Li Keqin Chong Exercise", participated in the sacrificial activities together. ”

Out of the emperor's trust, the role of the soldier's squire is multifacetedDisaster relief for the people and comfort the towns;Envoys to foreign countries to regulate ethnic relations

It was the first effective link between the localities and the frontier management in the Tang Dynasty. In addition, the emperor's funeral was an important event to convey the ruler's filial piety and political image.

From the construction of the mountain mausoleum, the preparation of the funeral rites to the holding, it is inseparable from the strong lineup composed of the envoys of the mountain mausoleum. As a court official, the squire of the military department will serve as the deputy envoy of the mountain tomb and the envoy of the halo book, responsible for the construction of the mountain tomb and the funeral book of the funeral.

In fact, the military department was not created in the Tang Dynasty, and its long evolution process can be traced back to the "Zhou Li". After the embryonic stage of the Qin and Han dynasties, the formation stage of the Three Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was finally formally established in the Sui Dynasty. Tang Cheng Sui system, further improve the system and structure of the Shangshu Military Department.

Although the positions of Xia Guan and Xiao Sima contained in the "Zhou Li" are under the entry of "Military Department", there are certain discrepancies with the functions of the later Tang Dynasty military department squire.

When Emperor Wen of Sui established the system of three provinces and six ministries, although he placed a waiter, his function was only equivalent to that of Langzhong in the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty further improved the administrative system, and placed two waiters under the six Caos, who were the deputy of Shangshu.

So far,The Ministry of War is an independent department and is in charge of state affairs with five other departments。Although the names and posts of the officers of the military department have changed many times in the process of development, their organizational structure has not changed with them, and their basic functions have not changed.

The rulers of the Tang Dynasty tended to follow stricter criteria and conditions to select military squires to ensure that they were able to maintain their rule. This requires the military squire to have excellent military and political ability, the accumulation of qualifications and prestige, and the reliable character and virtue of loyalty and loyalty.

**After meeting the conditions for the election of the squire of the Ministry of War, he may be selected by the emperor and promoted by the ministers, and then he will be given the opportunity to be transferred, and then entrusted with the responsibilities of the Ministry of War. The transfer of the military squire is an important aspect of the investigation of his official career, which to a large extent reflects the characteristics of the development of the official system and is inseparable from the changes in the current situation.

1] (Han) Sima Qian;(Southern Song Dynasty) Fei Chu Ji Jie, (Tang) Sima Zhen Suo Yin, (Tang) Zhang Shoujie Justice. Historical Records [M].Chung Hwa Book Company, 1959

2] (Liang) Written by Xiao Zixian. Book of Nanqi [M].Chung Hwa Book Company, 1972

3] (Tang) Zhang said, Author. Zhang Shuoji Proofreading [M].Chung Hwa Book Company, 2013

4] Ma Maoyuan, Collation. Han Chang Li Wen Ji Proofreading [M].Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1987

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