It happened that it was such a person who served as prime minister in the Tang Dynasty 18 and 7 months, and was the longest-serving prime minister in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Jiuling, Yao Chong and others have only been doing it for a few years.
What's so remarkable about him that Tang Xuanzong appreciated him so much?
Presided over the revision of legal provisions and led the completion of the six codes of the Tang Dynasty.
During the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty, the country encountered many difficulties in its development. While thinking hard about the future of the country, Li lost no time in entering his field of vision. In the eyes of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li was ruthless, capable of great things and capable of governing officials, so he was very optimistic about Li.
Li advocates legalism, pays attention to principles and order when dealing with people, and does not talk about the world. He advocates the rule of law, so that people can be bound by the law and obey the rules, and the country will have a good order. Tang Xuanzong also attached great importance to this.
In order to realize the rule of law, it is necessary to amend the legal provisions. In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734), just after Li entered the central organization, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty entrusted him with the important task of presiding over a large-scale revision of laws and regulations. Li has been engaged in legal work, so he is very familiar with this revision. He convened a group of legal experts and made a solid and detailed revision of the law.
After two years, the revision work has finally achieved something. According to records, in this revision, the irrelevant clause 1324 was deleted and the other 2 180 was modified. The revised code was presented to the Emperor of Song Dynasty in 737, including: Law 12 and its 30 volumes, 30 volumes of decrees and 20 volumes of forms. These codes were promulgated to the whole country in the autumn of the same year.
The revision of this code is also of trans-generational significance. "History of the Sui and Tang Dynasties in China", Cambridge commented as follows: "This is the last activity of systematically compiling all the codes of the Tang Dynasty, so it is a very important legal revision. Many of these principles conform to the characteristics of the development of the China era and have a far-reaching impact on later generations. Although some minor changes were made during this period, these laws were still authoritative until the beginning of the14th century. "
Through the formulation of the new code, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty fully realized Li's meticulous thinking and determination to reform when dealing with administrative issues, so he gave Li more reuse and trust. In the 24th year of Kaiyuan (736), Li was appointed Prime Minister, and his career as Prime Minister began.
Li portrait
Later, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Li to write a book called Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty.
This book contains all the official names in the system of Xuanzong period of Tang Dynasty, and makes a detailed textual research on the historical evolution of the official names, and stipulates the rules, systems, responsibilities and other related rules of government departments at all levels, and attaches Zhou Li's account and makes a systematic theoretical introduction.
The Six Classics in Tang Dynasty were widely used and made great contributions to improving the efficiency of government affairs. This is a pioneering work in the ancient legislative history of China. In the next century or so, this code has always been regarded as the most convenient and authoritative political law, which is popular throughout the country. Even if the old and new government institutions are reformed, this system has not changed.
Later historians attached great importance to the Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty and regarded them as an encyclopedia of the political system of the Tang Dynasty. But later generations have different views on its original intention. Some people think that this is an administrative law of the Tang Dynasty Empire, but more people think that the Six Codes of the Tang Dynasty is a book of rites and a Tang version of the Confucian classic Zhou Li.
Li statue
In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the law, Li also set an example everywhere. No matter who it is, even noble families or dignitaries, they must act according to law, or they will face severe punishment.
Through the adjustment of decrees, laws and decrees, Li Wei established an effective system to maintain the operation of the government. I have to say that Li is still very serious about his work.
An Lushan is very intimidating in the imperial court, especially afraid of him.
As for Li, Sima Guang said that he had "honey in his mouth and a sword in his stomach", but at the same time he was insidious and cunning, and he was also a prestigious person in the court. The court has only one word for him.
Li was the prime minister when he was in power. However, he is not quite the same as the treacherous court official who plays politics and takes bribes as we remember. In most cases, he can keep things fair and behave appropriately.
"Old Tang Book" said: "It is very difficult to adjust yourself to the platform, follow the rules and dress up like a gentleman. Therefore, in the past 20 years, the ruling and opposition parties have looked at each other and feared their authority. " It means that Li is careful and treads on thin ice, especially on the sensitive issue of personnel appointment and dismissal, and can basically handle affairs according to law. Therefore, the court is also in awe of him.
There is also an interesting story about Li's deterrence in the imperial court. There was a man named An Lushan, whose official position was imperial doctor, second only to Li. Because An Lushan is a clown, the emperor loves him, so he is arrogant.
At that time, there was a man named Wang Hao who worked as a platform doctor under An Lushan. They decided to teach An Lushan a lesson together.
Li portrait
At that time, An Lushan and Wang Hao came to visit Li together. After seeing Li, Wang Hao stood at attention and saluted respectfully, far exceeding the general respect of subordinates to superiors, and it looked more like a trembling respect. An Lushan is so respectful to see Wang Hao. The straight waist bent involuntarily, and it was more bent than Wang Hao, which made people very happy.
In addition, Li has many eyes and ears, and he often asks about the whereabouts of the emperor and other ministers. He used it against An Lushan again. An Lushan has eyes and ears to report any of his actions or plans to Lee. Li and An Lushan face to face, and An Lushan thinks that Li has the ability to connect with the gods, so every time he sees Li, he is respectful.
Later, An Lushan went to other places to be an official. Every time an envoy came back from Beijing, he would ask Prime Minister Li if he had said anything about himself. If the messenger answers, "The Prime Minister said you did a good job." An Lushan cheered. Once the messenger says, "The Prime Minister says you should be careful." An Lushan fell to the ground patting the chair and said, "Oh dear! I am going to die! "
As for An Lushan's fear of Li, Cambridge's History of Sui and Tang Dynasties in China has such an evaluation: "Although An Lushan is strong, he is still very afraid of Li personally, and this relationship has played an important role in maintaining the stability of the imperial court in these turbulent times."
At this time, the Anshi Rebellion had not yet rebelled, because Li could contain the Anshi Rebellion. After Li's death, Yang came to power. Seeing that Yang was just a weak man, An Lushan launched a mutiny without scruple.
Advocate preferential treatment for soldiers and modify the financial system of long-distance travel orders
The military reform in Xuanzong period of Tang Dynasty was a change from the system of officers and men to the system of recruiting soldiers.
The so-called recruitment system is a way to form an army by temporarily recruiting civilians. Recruits generally choose those who are rich, brave and good at fighting, and recommend retired civil and military officials, heroes or talented people as generals at all levels. The equipment is provided by the local government, and the insufficient part is provided by myself or funded by relatives and neighbors.
In the 25th year of Kaiyuan (AD 737), in order to attract people to join the army, Li introduced a new policy of giving preferential treatment to professional soldiers: "Make the troops in Zhongshumen and other provinces more interested, review the soldiers' defense quota, recruit Ding Zhuang from various recruiters, serve as border troops for a long time, increase their accommodation and be compassionate. "
This kind of reform was based on the strong national strength in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the border guards were growing day by day with remarkable results.
Li portrait
However, there are many hidden dangers in this military system. The huge border guards consumed a lot of financial resources, resulting in a huge deficit in government finance and logistics. After the establishment of the professional army, the government not only needs to pay the expenses of the army all the year round, but also needs to deal with the rewards and privileges of the army. The sharp increase in military spending has overwhelmed the court.
At the same time, the recruitment system also strengthened the troops in the border town, while the central army was empty and the military situation gradually formed, which laid the groundwork for the outbreak of the "An Shi Rebellion".