bookrebus Chapter 81 Corvée Law vs. Labor Service Law
Chapter 81 Corvée Law vs. Labor Service Law
At this moment, the entire hall was completely silent, as if time had stood still.
If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's sudden whim to order someone to bring a small light screen to court today, none of the ministers present would have anticipated that their actions would be recorded in history.
For a moment, everyone's eyes were shifting back and forth between Zhang Dun and Sima Guang.
Zhang Dun was also annoyed. The old party members had no martial ethics! Not only could he not win an argument with them, but he had also kindly given them a way out, and they turned around and betrayed him!
Hmph! Since the escalation of tensions between the two parties is inevitable, why should I look for a way to ease the conflict?
He was really angry!
……
Lin Ke continued her live stream.
"In the first month of the first year of the Yuan You era (1086 AD), Sima Guang launched his second offensive, hoping to abolish the labor service system and restore the old system—the corvée labor system."
"The so-called corvée labor system refers to the practice of having upper-class households in villages take turns performing corvée labor assigned by the imperial court. If the court suffers losses during the service, these upper-class households will be responsible for compensation."
"However, most upper-class households lacked experience in handling court affairs, and the errands for the officials often bankrupted them."
"Therefore, thanks to the improvements made by Han Qi and other scholar-officials, by the time of Wang Anshi's reforms, the corvée system had been transformed into a labor service system based on recruitment."
"The biggest difference between the labor service system and the corvée system is that the common people of society paid exemption fees and labor service fees to the imperial court based on their own assets, and even privileged officials and monks had to do so."
"Finally, the imperial court would use this money to hire people to perform labor services. In general, this method of levying taxes distributed the responsibilities of the original upper-class households to all levels of society."
A farmer in the Ming Dynasty: Isn't this better than the corvée system?
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: This is more advanced than the corvée system!
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: So why restore the old system?
……
"From Sima Guang's perspective, he was not unaware of the shortcomings of this system of corvée labor. As early as the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Sima Guang submitted a memorial suggesting that the court hire other people to handle the corvée labor, such as having urban residents share the corvée labor of farmers."
"He believed that farmers generally didn't have much wealth, especially the lower-class farmers. Furthermore, Sima Guang particularly disliked Old Wang's approach to financial management. So, Sima Niu and the stubborn Prime Minister, their disagreement escalated into a full-blown argument!"
Sima Niu Guang: ……
Wang Anshi, the Stubborn Prime Minister: ...
"Later, some scholars argued that part of the reason for the disagreement between the two sides was the difference in opinion between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, who were from the North and the South respectively."
Sima Guang, a northerner, believed that the lower classes in the north lived in hardship and lacked spare money. On the other hand, farmers in the south were better off, so Wang Anshi, a southerner, felt that it wouldn't be difficult for farmers to pay the exemption fee.
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: Is it possible that Sima Guang had no experience serving as an official in any region?
Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...
"Now, Wang Anshi, who was standing in Sima Guang's way, has retired. So Sima Guang proposed that he had revised the corvée labor system. How did he improve it?"
"First, he believed that after more than ten years of development during the Xining era, the Yamen servants had been reclassified as government-employed personnel, a point he agreed with, so there was no need to change it."
"Secondly, inquire about the collection of corvée labor fees from official households, temple households, and female households. This need not be changed, but the amount must be reduced. Collecting exemption fees is harmful and must be stopped."
"While the upper-class households in the countryside will be restored, the common people can hire their own servants. Previously, the people hired by the court were mostly street urchins without land, who could easily take the money and run away. Letting the common people hire local people they know will make management easier."
"Finally, Sima Guang also said that if there were any problems in the local counties, they should be handed over to the prefectural government within five days, but the imperial court had already spent more than ten days reviewing his memorial."
"The main reason for this was Cai Que. He knew that Sima Guang was about to declare war, and he was also well aware that there were still problems with this memorial, but he dared not confront him directly. So he dragged Han Zhen and Zhang Dun into the picture, wanting them to be the ones to take the lead."
Zhang Dun of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...
Han Zhen of the Northern Song Dynasty: Do I look that stupid?!
Tang Dynasty Troll Wei Wumei: Look at me! I dare to criticize even the emperor!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty (smiling face): ...If you can't speak, you don't have to speak!
……
"What nearly infuriated Cai Que was that Han Zhen, in order to curry favor with Empress Dowager Gao, actually sided with Sima Guang. As for Zhang Dun, he wasn't unaware of Cai Que's ulterior motives, so this time he chose to remain silent. However, although he kept quiet this time, his rebuttal memorial was already prepared."
"Now, Cai Que is truly isolated and helpless. No one is speaking up for him. Since the conflict between the party and the government is unavoidable, Cai Que might as well escalate the conflict. He wants to make Sima Guang's flawed memorial public, and then see how he handles the situation."
"Therefore, Sima Guang's corvée labor law was officially promulgated to the world on February 7th of the first year of the Yuan You era, and the result, naturally, was a 'pong' explosion!"
"Although this memorial appears good on the surface, and its logic seems sound, it's all based on theory—it's all just empty talk and theoretical discussions!"
"Sima Guang ultimately suffered from the lack of internet access. He spent years writing in a cellar, disconnected from society. He lacked both the experience of conducting factual investigations and the experience of communicating with local county officials. Therefore, this memorial was merely his own idea."
"He didn't realize that although the county government office was small, it was a place of great complexity and intricate affairs, making it impossible to provide timely feedback within five days."
An official from the Ming Dynasty: I suggest you don't make suggestions casually!
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: You can't speak without investigation.
A soldier from the Han Dynasty: Isn't this similar to the story of that Zhao Kuo?
"Not to mention Sima Guang's mortal enemy, even his follower Liu Zhi thought it was outrageous."
"Fan Chunren and Cheng Yi (important figures in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism) also believed that such a large-scale undertaking would easily lead to personnel problems, and they used Wang Anshi's reforms as an example to persuade Sima Guang to proceed slowly."
"And Sima Guang, who reportedly gave his feedback, was just like Wang Anshi back then—he wouldn't listen to anyone. No wonder they once accused each other of being stubborn."
Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...How could I possibly be like Old Wang!
Wang Anshi, riding a donkey after retirement: ...Who's like him!
"At this point, Su Shi said that although both methods had their drawbacks, the development from corvée labor to labor service was a historical trend towards a more detailed division of labor. If the corvée labor system were restored, wouldn't that be a reversal of history?"
"There's nothing wrong with what he said, but Sima Guang stubbornly insisted on his own opinion, which angered Su Dongpo so much that he cursed Sima Guang when he got home."
Lao Ge, the expert: Brother is right!
Optimistic Su Dongpo: Hehe!
"The feedback from the previous individuals didn't affect Sima Guang much; it was the next person who truly made the usually stubborn Sima Guang realize what it meant to be broken down!"
"This gentleman is someone we all know; he is Zhang Dun, the Privy Councilor."
He bluntly pointed out that since the imperial court was hiring people to serve as yamen runners, where did the money come from and who would pay for it?
"If immunization is abolished and corvée labor is reduced, will the imperial court still have enough funds to hire people?"
"Furthermore, before the reforms, ordinary people did hire street thugs to perform their duties, but the court was unaware of this. If the court were to hire such people, management would be much stricter, and criminal records would be easily checked."
"In addition, Zhang Dun refuted almost every point made by Sima Guang, and his arguments were all reasonable. He also thoughtfully advised him that if he wanted things to succeed, local officials needed to conduct a six-month review and provide feedback, and then experienced central officials should be involved in the practical implementation."
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: This guy is the one who gets things done!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: What kind of subject would abolish the new laws of the late emperor right after his death!
"From the perspective of the old party, Zhang Dun's language was too sharp, and this edict should have been revised by the prime minister, but Cai Que, wanting to see him make a fool of himself, did not make any changes, which aroused the hostility of the old party."
"And Sima Guang was the leader of the old party; to humiliate him was tantamount to humiliating them, thus provoking public anger."
"The court subsequently became a battleground for debate between the new and old factions. Generally speaking, the old faction denounced Zhang Dun as a treacherous villain, accused him of forming cliques and causing trouble, and launched various impeachments and insults. But as the saying goes, even a clay figure has some temper, and in the end, Zhang Dun finally snapped!"
"Zhang Dun roared before the emperor: 'I'd gladly face your sword someday!' This outburst was utterly pathetic. What he had done to deserve such humiliation? Did he truly deserve to be insulted?"
"It was this shout that made Empress Dowager Gao express her anger at Zhang Dun's disrespect before the emperor, and perhaps it also made the young Emperor Zhezong remember this minister who had been forced to such a point."
"Subsequently, under the relentless pressure from the old party, Cai Que, Han Zhen, and Zhang Dun were all sent to distant posts. The old party achieved a complete victory. Sima Guang became the prime minister, Lü Gongzhe became the right prime minister, and Han Wei became the regent."
"To better leverage the prestige of veteran officials from Emperor Renzong's era, Wen Yanbo, already over eighty years old, was appointed as a mascot for the court."
"As Empress Dowager Gao gradually used these veteran officials to control the Censorate, an unexpected event occurred: Sima Guang, who was serving as Prime Minister, passed away at the age of 68."
"Putting everything else aside, Sima Guang was actually quite diligent in his duties, personally handling all matters day and night."
Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty: Hehe, who isn't diligent in their duties?
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Even if Han Zhen joins the old faction, it won't do him any good!
A student from the Ming Dynasty: It's such a pity about Lord Zhang Dun!
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: Doesn't this mean that Emperor Shenzong's efforts were all in vain?