In the ancient imperial system, the prime minister was the pinnacle of a supreme minister, above 10,000 people, and his influence was like Mount Tai's top; The county order is a small local official, in charge of the order and affairs of a place.
When compared to his time in office, the prime minister undoubtedly sits on a supreme position and extensive decision-making authority.
When the country's old prime minister returns to his roots and lives in a quiet village, will he still be able to exercise his former authority? Who has more influence than the local prefectural ordinance? The history of the important post of prime minister is rooted in the soil of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in our country. "
Zai"Symbolizes dominance"phase"It represents the assistant, and in terms of integration, it is the key person who assists the emperor in handling the complicated government affairs of the world. Within the scope of his duties, the prime minister not only shoulders the heavy responsibility of overseeing the overall situation of the imperial court, but also leads the ministers.
After the change of dynasties, although the title of prime minister has changed, its core power has always shone brightly.
Since ancient times, from the left and right phases of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Warring States Period"Xiangbang", and then to Qin and Han's"Prime Minister"Until the Sui and Tang dynasties, although the title of the post of prime minister has evolved repeatedly, its core power has always been significant.
As the pinnacle official position in the feudal imperial system,"Under one man, above ten thousand"The praise belongs to the prime minister. Usually, those who can sit in this position are the ministers of the court who have distinguished themselves and hold authority.
Although the imperial power was supreme in the feudal society, and the prime minister seemed to be the emperor's assistant, in fact, in the face of the country's complicated government affairs, the emperor needed to rely on the assistance of the prime minister and his ministers. In the delicate balance between imperial power and administration, the prime minister is like the pillar of the system, standing below the emperor and controlling the vital decision-making and execution power.
In other words, in the decision-making of the imperial court, the emperor and the prime minister are almost in control, and the authority of the prime minister is obvious. In some extreme cases, such as the emperor's neglect of government affairs or the succession of the young lord who needs to rely on auxiliary government, the position of the prime minister becomes more and more crucial, and he is actually in charge of the running of the country.
When the imperial power declined, the prime minister naturally took over the central power. Taking Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms as an example, he used the authority of the Son of Heaven to command the heroes, which is a vivid portrayal of the far-reaching influence of the prime minister's power.
Since ancient times, contests between the imperial power and the prime minister have been common. While relying on the prime minister, the emperor skillfully implemented strategies to restrain his influence and prevent his power from spiraling out of control.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he gave Jiuqing and hundreds of officials the right to directly act to the emperor by doing it himself, bypassing the link of the prime minister and strengthening the centralization of power. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the power of the prime minister was cleverly decomposed by the "three provinces system".
In the Northern Song Dynasty, the military authority of the prime minister was stripped away, and three envoys were added, further weakening his power. It was not until 1395 that Zhu Yuanzhang's actions made an epoch-making end to the millennium-old prime minister system, marking the end of this historical stage.
Since ancient times, the position of prime minister seems to have been shrouded in the shadow of power reduction and prevention, and although it has been repeatedly weakened, it has always held the supreme authority at the top of the imperial court.
Compared with the county order that controls a corner, the power of the prime minister is like the peak. It also originated from the prefectural order of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when the head of the administration was honored as "Ling", and this title was passed down.
With the changes of the Warring States period, the county system was established, and the county order system became more and more mature. As the supreme ruler of the county in ancient times, although the county order has limited territorial jurisdiction, its status within its jurisdiction is comparable to that of the emperor and enjoys supreme real power.
The prefectural magistrate, the core administrator of the ancient Zhengqipin, oversees all local affairs, from administrative, military, and judicial to law and order and taxation. However, in ancient times, the selection method was relatively simple, mainly relying on the imperial examination, resulting in a small number of counties available for the imperial court to appoint.
This limited selection mechanism has directly led to the shortage of personnel and the excessive concentration of power in the bureaucratic system. Usually, the county magistrate not only has to take the lead alone, but also has to select and appoint the auxiliary ministers for the rest of the key positions, forming a unique power structure.
Therefore, in the county-level administrative system, the county magistrate is often surrounded by core cronies, which makes their authority not to be underestimated. However, the imperial court set up a checkpoint to ensure that the prefectural magistrate performed his duties fairly and avoided abuse of power through regular monitoring and review.
Historically, however, such oversight measures were not common, and most of the time prefectural ordinances were managed relatively independently, requiring only regular reporting to the prefect. In the absence of the presence of the ministers, the prefectural commanders had almost supreme power at the local level, and could do whatever they wanted.
Occasional inspections, if you can use your property to open up the joints, the protection of officialdom is at your fingertips. This has also led to the widespread occurrence of corruption in ancient county ordinances.
When he first ascended to the position of county commander, every ** may have the enthusiasm to serve the public, but in this power vacuum, far from supervision, it is inevitable to deviate from the right track for a long time, and its situation is similar to the mediocrity of ancient emperors.
Although some of the ** stick to themselves and keep themselves clean, like the pillars of history, their integrity is admired by people, but they are rare. After all, most county orders are difficult to resist the powerful ** and fall into a lost path.
Although the position of county magistrate is small, it is all-encompassing, reflecting the complexity and test of power.
Each county is like a mini-nation, with its own administrative apparatus, including the **, the Treasurer, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Security Corps. However, the county order monopolized power, and its influence was no less than that of the imperial prime minister.
However, under the normal state of officialdom, the prime minister who is active in his post obviously surpasses the county order. But imagine what happens when the outgoing prime minister returns to the countryside and meets the incumbent county magistrate?
In fact, once the prime minister becomes a commoner, according to the management system, he will accept the management of the prefectural order, and there is no way to talk about any power struggle, and the advantages of the prefectural order are self-evident.
Original text: The former prime minister who was in power for a while also needs to bow humbly in the face of the insignificant seven products**. If the prime minister is at fault, the prefectural ordinance, as the guardian of the place, has the right to adjudicate fairly according to the law, even though he was a close confidant of the emperor.
However, in the interest of justice, the prefectural order has the authority to punish according to law. However, in reality, even if the prime minister has no power after abdication, the county order will still treat each other politely and will not be arrogant, because the prime minister's influence is still in the shadow of officialdom.
As an important minister of the imperial court, the prime minister's connections and influence are his unique capital. Even if they leave office and return to their hometowns, they are already old, and their years of career have woven an intricate network of political relations.
Although they have no real power, there are many friends who hold great power and are willing to stand up behind them. Therefore, if the county magistrate tries to rely on official authority to put pressure on the retired prime minister, it may usher in a collective counterattack from the entire top brass.
However, this prestige does not stem from power, but from former status. In the face of such a former prime minister, the current prefectural order still cannot shake its invisible influence.
Although the prestige of the prime minister can cause the prefectural magistrate to cooperate within his authority, and the prefectural magistrate usually respects it, this influence wanes when the prime minister leaves office. Even if the recommendation of the retired prime minister is no longer as weighty as it was when he was in office, for the county order, especially the seventh grade**, a letter of recommendation from the former prime minister may still open the door to promotion.
However, this is limited to the interaction between regular retirement and incumbency**. If a retired prime minister had lost power, such as because he was alienated by the emperor or lost a party dispute, their return would have brought a very different situation.
In ancient China, there were very few prime ministers who could actually retire peacefully, and most of them went into hiding early for various reasons, returning to their hometowns with the label of frustrated or losers.
Prefectural orders do not seem to be attractive or desirable to the prime ministers, so they clearly lack the capital to challenge the balance of power. On the other hand, those ministers who were once in high positions of power were relegated to the local government due to their mistakes, and the prefectural orders often became their new starting point.
For them, the prefectural position may only be a temporary stage, and when they return to the center in the future, power and prestige will return to their hands. Therefore, the power of this type of prefectural order goes beyond the norm and goes far beyond that of ordinary prefectural orders.
Compared with the retired prime minister, they are not only experienced and confident, but they will naturally not lose in the power struggle.
Original text: The prime minister and the county decree are like the difference between heaven and earth, and they seem to be incomparable. However, in a particular context, the two positions reveal a subtle similarity.
The contest of power is not only defined by the level of official position or whether he is in office, but also involves a wealth of complex factors, which is the unique wisdom of ancient Chinese officialdom.