熙宁、元丰年间（1068-1085），各级官府为推行新法频频派出使者。其中，有三类使者起到了尤为重要的作用。第一类以提举常平官为代表，乃朝廷派到地方直接负责特定新法实施的专使。熙宁二年，朝廷颁布青苗法，遣使掌各地常平钱谷，并提举青苗、免役、农田水利诸项新法。起初诸路常平官有着明显的“使者”性格，元丰以后提举常平司逐渐成为独立的路级常设机构。提举常平司设有勾当公事、指使等属官，管下逐州置管勾官，县置给纳官，州、县均设案专门处理有关事务。从朝廷到诸路常平官，再到部内各州、县的有关官员，形成了一套责任清晰、考核严密的系统，以确保新法落实到地方。第二类以察访使为代表，乃朝廷临时派往地方考察、监督新法落实情况的特使。鉴于各地对新法条目反响惨淡，中书屡屡派遣检正官充察访使，下到地方督促地方各级官员，察访农田水利、青苗、雇役新法利害，其察访范围后逐渐延伸到以新法实施情况为主的各类地方事务。相较于常平司，察访使的派遣较灵活，且辖区时而会打破既定的行政区划。察访司在州、县没有对口部门，但察访使常常自辟或由朝廷委任勾当公事、准备差遣等各色名目的属官，也会视具体事务需要临时指挥地方官员协助其完成任务。第三类以司农寺丞、主簿、勾当公事为代表，乃部分中央、地方官司为解决疑难事务，而向下差出的具有使者性质的属官。英宗朝司农寺已置主簿一员，但正是在熙丰时期，司农寺属官员额空前膨胀，且频频差出相度役法、兴修水利、按察保甲、监督造簿等。司农寺属官的差出通常以处理某项或数项明确的事务为导向，没有固定的管辖区域，也极少见属官，因此他们在地方的行动离不开监司、州县官员的配合。正是依靠这些角色各异、但在功能上又互相补充的使者，新法才得以从朝廷的一纸诏令深入到州县乡里。许多使者任满后又迁往各路监司、州军，影响着地方的行政。综上所述，熙丰时期的各类使者在新法推行和当时的央地关系中都发挥着重要作用。
During the Xi-feng period (1068-1085), governments at all levels frequently dispatched officials to implement the new policies. Among them, three types of officials are particularly important.The first type, represented by the Price Regulation Commissioners (T’i-chu Ch’ang-p’ing kuan 提举常平官), were officials dispatched by the royal court to implement the specific new policies. After the Green Sprouts Policy (Ch’ing-miao fa 青苗法) was promulgated, the royal court dispatched officials to take the responsibility for implementing the Green Sprouts Policy, the Hired Service Policy (Mu-i fa 募役法), and the Regulations on Land Reclamation and Water Conservancy (Nung-t’ien shui-li fa 农田水利法). Initially, these commissioners were regarded as envoys by local officials. But after the Yuan-feng period, the Price Regulation Commissions (T’i-chu Ch’ang-p’ing ssu 提举常平司) gradually became independent permanent institutions. The Commission had its staff, and under the jurisdiction, there were officials in charge of each prefecture and county. Both prefectures and counties had dedicated offices to handle related matters. From the court to the commissioners, and then to relevant officials in prefectures and counties, a clear and rigorously assessed system was established.The second type, represented by the Supervision Commissioners (Ch’a-fang shih 察访使), were officials dispatched by the royal court to temporarily inspect the implementation of the new policies. Due to the poor response to the new policies, the Secretariat-Chancellery (Chung-shu men-hsia 中书门下) repeatedly dispatched its subordinates to urge local officials, inspect benefits and drawbacks of the Green Sprouts Policy, the Hired Service Policy, and the Regulations on Land Reclamation and Water Conservancy. The scope gradually extended to various local affairs primarily related to the new policies. Compared to the Price Regulation Commissioners, the dispatch of the Supervision Commissioners was more flexible, and their jurisdiction sometimes broke through established administrative boundaries. Since there was no corresponding department for the Supervision Commissioners at the prefectural and county levels, they often appointed officials themselves or were appointed by the royal court. And they would temporarily direct local officials to assist them in completing tasks as required.The third type, represented by subordinates from the Court of Agricultural Supervision (Ssu-nung ssu 司农寺), were officials dispatched downwards to solve difficult affairs by central and local governments offices. It was during the Xi-feng period that the number of officials from the Court of Agricultural Supervision expanded unprecedentedly, and they were frequently dispatched for tasks such as inspecting the Hired Service Policy, building water conservancy projects, and conducting the pao-chia (保甲) systems. The dispatch of subordinates from the Court of Agricultural Supervision typically focused on handling specific or multiple clearly defined tasks. They did not have fixed jurisdictional areas, and seldom had staff. Therefore, their actions in the regions depended heavily on the cooperation of local officials.It was precisely due to these dispatched officials with different roles but complementary functions that the new policies were able to penetrate from the royal court to the grassroots level in prefectures and counties. Many officials, after completing their terms, were reassigned to various regions, thereby influencing local administration. In summary, dispatched officials played crucial roles in the implementation of the new policies and in the relationship between the central government and local authorities during the Xi-feng period.
