Some people believe that the phenomenon of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty was caused by the system of separation of official positions. However, I want to say that redundant officials have existed in all dynasties, but other dynasties may not have a system of separation of official posts. The separation of official posts system is not the main reason for redundant officials. The main reason for the bloated bureaucracy and redundant officials was the ancestral law of "Enyin System" formulated by Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin. This is also one of the backgrounds why Song Shenzong decided to appoint Wang Anshi to implement reforms.
Bao Zheng is the governor of Kaifeng, and he is assigned a secretary to protect him to see if he dares to kill Chen Shimei. It’s no big deal if officials increase the financial burden. Printing more money is just inconvenient to use silver as currency to carry a song in your pocket when you go out. Especially Zhang Yuan, in the three battles with the Northern Song Dynasty during the founding of Xixia, the Battle of Sanchuanzhai, the Battle of Haoshuichuan, and the Battle of Dingchuanzhai, he made many suggestions for Li Yuanhao, which caused the Song Dynasty to suffer a lot, and was very important to the founding of Xixia. , also has many suggestions. An official is a rank, and a post is a position with real power. There is no official position, and the annual salary received is only enough to support the family. Only by having an official position can you make a decent income and support your family, and can you use your abilities to the best of your ability.
The so-called official dispatch, official is a false title, which only indicates the level of official position and salary. Zhi is an honorary title for civil servants. Dispatch refers to the actual position held by an official. For example, if the title is Shangshu, he is sent to serve as a magistrate. The magistrate is the actual position, because the demise of any dynasty does not happen overnight, nor is it caused by a certain reason. It can be said that the demise is necessary. A process may be fast or slow, and the cause of death is caused by the intertwining of various reasons.
Blindly expanding the imperial examination to select scholars. As we all know, the Song Dynasty was a prosperous age for literati, and was known as the dynasty that scholars most wanted to visit. The scale of imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty was much larger than that of previous dynasties. In the Song Taizu era, the number of scholars each year was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, and 120 officials at the county level and above had to be supported. Why did the people suffer?
The specific situation may be more serious, because in ancient times "imperial power did not go to the countryside" and the countryside was usually managed by gentry, while the urbanization rate in the Song Dynasty was about 20%