The yamen runners of the Song Dynasty were very different from those in later generations, especially in the Qing Dynasty. When it comes to yamen runners, most people who think of them in county or prefecture government offices, stand on both sides of the court wearing soap clothes, hold water and fire sticks in their hands and shout in a low voice: "Magnificent...", in fact, this is not the case. The scope of yamen runners is actually very wide.

In the Song Dynasty, the group of yamen runners was very large. They each performed their own duties and did their own things, assisting officials and officials in jointly forming local management. Without them, they would definitely not do it.

The yamen runners are servants in the yamen, also called "xu servants", and are respected by the people as "tolerant".

There was no formal position of yamen runners in the previous dynasties. It was straightforward to Song Qi, and yamen runners became a special "position" in the yamen.

Yabo runners are generally divided into two classes, inside and outside, and the inner class serves within the yamen, such as doormen, tea and water service, etc.

The main responsibility of the servants is to help the official affairs of the yamen. They are the private entourage and slaves of the yamen chief, but they are different from ordinary slaves. They have no personal dependence. Everyone is free and can choose at will, similar to ordinary helpers.

The external classes are divided into strong classes, soap classes, and fast classes. The place where they do business is called "class rooms". Until later generations, people still regarded "sitting rooms" as a synonym for going to prison.

Zhuang class, also known as Min Zhuang, is composed of people temporarily summoned by the yamen. It is mainly responsible for working handymen and guarding the city gates in critical situations. These people are outsourcing personnel, similar to temporary workers in later generations, and are not in the establishment of yamen runners, and their levels are sometimes uneven.

The people in the soap squad are responsible for standing squads and serving as honor guards for the county magistrates. They also act as executioners during the trial and help to intimidate prisoners. These people can basically represent the people in the yamen.

The fast shift is divided into horse fast and step fast. Their tasks are to detect cases, arrest thieves, patrol the streets and urge rent and taxes, etc. The constables that people often call belong to the scope of the fast shift. Each shift has a squad leader, also known as the first man, who is responsible for leading the class.

The three-class yamen runners who are often called the strong class, the soap class and the fast class of the foreign class.

What Zhao Zhen wanted to do was to integrate three yamen runners from the official yamen. The Song Dynasty's Execution Department already had the function of a fast yamen, but the Execution Department was a judicial institution at the Song Dynasty's Road level. It was first used at the prefecture level, but it did not.

What the Song Dynasty needs most is the stability and peace on the ground, which is still necessary for a brand new local security system.

In this way, the Public Security Department became Zhao Zhen's first choice. He established the Public Security Department in the court and set up public security offices in various prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty to replace the three yamen runners in the yamen. Of course, the servants in the Public Security Department were the yamen runners in the prefectures and counties, but they needed to be assessed and trained before taking office. Only after mastering and having the ability can they take office.

The public security department in various places is under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal Department at the road level, and the Tribunal Department is under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Department. The Public Security Department is directly responsible to the emperor, which means that the emperor has the right to inquire about the public security situation in the world.

In this way, the situation where power is used for personal gain and the situation where the Public Security Bureau cannot pose a threat to the powerful. Zhao Zhen knew that in order to popularize the rule of law, he must eliminate the privileged class to the greatest extent.

The next step is to improve the status of the yamen runners, at least they must be on par with the officials and be classified as the court.

Due to the perfection of the imperial examination system, the difference between officials and officials has gradually widened from the perspective of the appointment system. Scholars can achieve fame and fortune through the imperial examination and enter the official career, and their official positions can be continuously promoted; while officials basically remain unchanged for life and have no promotion channels, which is disdainful to scholars.

Zhao Zhen has given officials the opportunity to rise over the years. As long as he is efficient in his work, he can be qualified to take the internal examinations of the Ministry of Rites and become a professional talent to obtain an official position. Of course, the official position obtained in this way is far less valuable than the official position obtained in the imperial examination, but it can be regarded as getting rid of the ranks of officials.

It’s not possible to be a yamen runner. Their status is lower than that of the officials. Although the officials do not have a rank, they are also official personnel. They are “official members” and now there are more channels for promotion. Maybe they will get up one day…

The yamen runners have no official identity at all. They just serve in the yamen and perform their duties in the nature of their duties.

Originally, the yamen runners in the Song Dynasty could be exempted from labor service, which was their privilege, but now the Song Dynasty has basically exempted agricultural taxes, and labor service has been replaced by a model of spending money to hire, and this privilege of the yamen runners has basically disappeared.

Of course, you can take care of your relatives when doing business in the government, but because of your low status, no good treatment, and not recognized by the world, many families strictly prohibit their descendants from being yamen runners.

In the eyes of the people, the yamen runners are the "representatives" of the yamen. In order to prevent yamen officials and clerks from going to the countryside to disturb the people, the law stipulates that unless it is urgent, yamen officials and clerks are not allowed to go out without any trouble.

"In the eyes of the people, the servants are only one level worse than the emperor." Although the yamen runners have a low status in society, they are called "heavenly different" by the people, so-called "the power lies not in the size of the world."

Although the people regard the yamen runners as "the best", the yamen runners are just errand runners in the yamen after all. For the yamen chiefs, their status is low and not worth a fortune. For their domineering behavior and blackmailing the people, the yamen chiefs usually turn a blind eye to the purpose of making the yamen runners work wholeheartedly.

But once the yamen runners fail to do their jobs and endanger their own interests, the yamen chief will unceremoniously punish the yamen runners the most severe sanctions.

Therefore, the yamen runners of the Song Dynasty basically belonged to the lowest level in the entire management system. If they were despised by others, they might become cannon fodder by accident and completely finished.

Just imagine, who would do such a servant, and who would do it diligently?

That's why Zhao Zhen set up the Sixteen Guards in various places, one to supplement the troops of the Song Dynasty and the other to ensure local public security. Now that the Sixteen Guards have been abolished, an institution that can replace the Sixteen Guards needs to be deployed to manage and ensure local public security issues.

The Public Security Department, the Criminal Department and the Public Security Bureau are such an institution, especially the Public Security Bureau. The most basic public security agencies in this place must be done well, otherwise there will be no effect at all.

If you want to use the public security office to replace the role of the sixteen guards in the local area, you must make good coordination of high and low levels, and even give the public security office a reasonable identity and status, especially their recognition in society must be high!

Zhao Zhen bit his pen and wrote down various welfare benefits and honors while thinking. The first step was military training. These yamen runners would receive regular military training from the imperial guards, making them a special profession with the spirit of the army.
Chapter completed!