When we watch ancient film and television works, we often feel that the monarchs in the past were eloquent, and their words were edicts and heavenly constitutions, right? If the emperor had a whim or wanted to do something, he would shout: "Pass - prepare an edict!" and then dictate an imperial edict. Once the imperial edict is written, it immediately becomes the supreme law. Anyone who dares to object will be guilty of "resisting the edict". If you believe this is true, then you have been led into the gutter by the bloody TV series.

In fact, the monarch’s edict usually needs to go through very strict procedures from drafting to taking effect. Let's take the Song Dynasty as an example to see the process of issuing the so-called "imperial edict" under normal circumstances. All imperial edicts are issued in the name of the monarch. Of course, the monarch has the power to directly authorize the drafting of edicts. However, it is more common for the prime minister to first write down his opinions in a letter (this opinion often needs to be discussed by the court officials) and then submit it to the emperor. After being approved, the imperial edict will be issued.

Whether the decree comes from the emperor himself or from the prime minister's organization, according to the system of the Song Dynasty, when it enters the process of drafting an imperial edict, it is generally assigned to Zhongshu Sheren of Zhongshu Province (before the Yuanfeng restructuring, it was The drafting of "Zhizhigao" does not mean that the emperor appoints one of his trusted eunuchs to do it with the stroke of a pen.

After Yuanfeng's restructuring, Zhongshu Sheren had two responsibilities. One was to "make words", that is, drafting edicts according to the emperor's will (this is called "word head"). But Zhongshu Sheren in the Song Dynasty had another privilege: if he felt that the "prefix" was illegal, regardless of whether the prefix came from the emperor or the prime minister, he could refuse the imperial edict. This was called "returning the prefix". This is the power clearly given to Zhongshu Sheren by the law of the Song Dynasty: "If something goes wrong and it is not the person who has granted the award, then the memorial title will be returned to the head of the poem."

If the person in Zhongshu "returns the prefix", and the emperor stubbornly insists on issuing an edict, then the person in Cishe can draft the edict, but the person in Cishe can also "return the prefix". Theoretically, as long as the people in Zhongshushe reach a consensus of "refusing to draft an edict," an inappropriate edict can be "nipped in the bud."

Let’s take a look at an example: In the third year of Xining (1070), Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi, a political advisor, wanted to promote Li Ding, his confidant and supporter of the new law, to the position of "supervisory censor Li Xing". The emperor also agreed. However, Li Ding had a bad character and a bad reputation. Song Minqiu, the Zhizhigao, immediately refused to draft the edict appointing Li Ding, returned the title, and resigned three days later; the other two Zhizhigao Su Song and Li Dalin who succeeded him , also on the grounds of "cherishing the legal system of the imperial court", the title was returned to the title again. In order to allow Li Ding to pass the appointment smoothly, Shenzong and Wang Anshi removed Su Song and Li Dalin from their posts, and appointed obedient people who should know the imperial edicts, and finally got Li Ding into the imperial court as censor.

If the person in charge of drafting the imperial edict thinks that the prefix is ??not inappropriate, or he is too lazy to do anything else, he can draft the edict and write it beautifully, then he can submit it to the emperor for "imperial painting" " (signed and stamped), "Lu Huang" (copied on yellow paper) below. But this does not mean that the edict can be issued smoothly. It must be "announced and implemented" by the person in charge of the book, which involves another function of the person in the Song Dynasty: "The person who is authorized to declare the edict will be implemented."

Since the person who drafted the edict and the person who announced it may not be the same person (because the person who announced it is in rotation), if the person who announced it thinks the edict is inappropriate, he will still He has the right to refuse to "sign the edict", that is, to refuse to sign on the record, which is actually to reject the edict. On July 29th of the first year of Yuanyou (1086), Su Shi, who was then the official of Zhongshushe, rejected a plan to "give money to scattered green seedlings": "All the records were recorded in yellow, and I didn't dare to name the book." Exit. I would like to record the report and wait for the edict."

If the person responsible for the announcement has no objections, he can sign to express approval. This is called "book execution", and then the official will. The provincial governor (prime minister) signs it and sends it to the next province for review.

The provincial agency responsible for reviewing and recording pornographic records is Gishizhong (it was the "Session Department" before Yuanfeng was restructured). If you think the edict is inappropriate, you also have the power to refute it. In the Song Dynasty, the power to refute edicts during matters was also legal: "If the decree is inappropriate and it is not the person who issued it, then the edict should be discussed and refuted." Huang dismissed the edict and refused to pass it.

Let’s look at another example: In the early Southern Song Dynasty, there was an imperial doctor named Wang Jixian. Because he cured Gaozong’s disease, Gaozong wanted to make him a "Martial Arts Doctor". According to the decree, he was given the title of "Fu Zhongfu". Zhirou refuted it because this kind of exceptional personnel appointment was inconsistent with the "technical official law" of the Song Dynasty. Emperor Gaozong said, "This is a special case. The achievements of Jixian's diagnosis and examination are really unparalleled by others. I can order the book to be read and read, but I still give my opinion." Fu Zhirou was unyielding and refuted it again. In the end, Emperor Gaozong had no choice but to "succumb to his will, and all the commands that had been surrendered were not carried out."

If you don't have any objections to the pornography, you can sign your name to indicate that you have passed the review. This is called "book reading". If there is no "book reading" in the letter, and the provincial governor (prime minister) signs it first, it is "violating the rules". Obviously, the failure of Zhongshu Sheren to "read books" and the failure of "Books to read" to Shizhong constituted a legal refutation of the emperor's imperial edict: "Anything that is consistent with the scriptures, given to Shi Zhongshu to read and Zhongshu Sheren to read, After the writing is completed, it will be recorded and recorded. If it is not feasible, it will be executed without writing it, which is called a refutation. If no problems are found after the three checkpoints, including "book travel", "book reading" and "book reading", it can become a formal decree and be handed over to the Shangshu Province, a branch of the prime minister's agency, for execution.

But here we have to add one more point: as an official decree, the edict must be countersigned by the prime minister. If the prime minister does not countersign, the edict will not be effective. In the second year of Qiande (964) in the early Northern Song Dynasty, three prime ministers including Fan Zhi resigned on the same day, and Song Taizu subsequently appointed Zhao Pu as prime minister. However, when the appointment edict was issued, procedural troubles were encountered: the edict was not countersigned by the prime minister and had no legal effect; and prime ministers such as Fan Zhi had resigned. Taizu wanted to relinquish power, so he said to Zhao Pu: "Is it okay for me to serve as your minister?" Zhao Pu replied: "This is a duty for you, not an emperor's business." Zhao Kuangyi, the Yin of Kaifeng Prefecture with the title of "Position", signed the edict as a countersigner.

After the edict comes into effect, what should you do if you find something inappropriate in the edict again? There is also the last hurdle - Taijian. Tai Jian has the statutory power to discuss the pros and cons of political orders, review edicts, and even revise edicts: if "the edict is not approved, officials are involved in personal affairs, handling is inappropriate, punishments and rewards exceed the limit, punishments are unreasonable, and injustices are not redressed," The admonishment officials will report and the ministers will testify." At this point, we need to complete the example of Li Ding mentioned earlier: Although Song Shenzong and Wang Anshi finally succeeded in appointing Li Ding as the "supervisory censor Li Xing" by changing the method of making imperial edicts, the censor, however, Shi Chenjian, Lin Dan and others then launched an impeachment against Li Ding on the grounds that Li Ding refused to marry his mother Ding You, and finally forced Li Ding to resign in embarrassment.

Now we can summarize the process of issuing an imperial edict in the Song Dynasty: the emperor instructed the preface—Zhongshu Sheren drafted it (at this time, Zhongshu Sheren had the right to return the preface)—Lu Huang Execution————The person in Zhongshushe announces the execution (at this time the person in Zhongshushe has the right to seal and refute the record)————To review the matter (at this time the person in the matter also has the right to seal and refute)————The prime minister’s countersignature (the prime minister If it is not countersigned, the edict will have no legal effect)——Taiwan impeachment. Throughout the entire process, every link constitutes institutional supervision and checks and balances on the monarch's power. To think that the emperor can just mouth the Constitution is an imagination created by bloody TV dramas and "feudal autocracy" historical narratives.

Of course, the monarchs of the Song Dynasty could also bypass the legal procedures such as drafting the edict and reviewing the matter, or directly issue the edict without the counter-signature of the prime minister. This is called a "hand edict" or "internal edict". "drop" and "internal batch". It is not uncommon in history. However, this kind of private purpose does not have legality in law. The so-called "if it is not implemented by Fengge Luantai, it is not called an edict"; the government can also refuse to implement it. "Anything that is not implemented by the three provinces is called ' "Sealing the imperial edict obliquely is not effective enough." During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, Prime Minister Du Yan refused to release any "manual edicts" privately issued by the emperor. "Whenever the edicts reached ten, they would be returned with seals." The emperor had no choice but to praise him. "Help me a lot."

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