In an era where "This country why, the body determines the question" was a common refrain among the mentally unwell, the dog-like offspring of the fool eagle's patronage were always using this to stir trouble.
Now, no one dared pose such a question before Emperor Zhu. After all, the Great Ming was the guiding light, the beacon in the darkness. If such questions were asked at all, it was by the "rolling and chirping" folk of other nations; it had nothing to do with the Great Ming.
The problem was that Emperor Zhu himself was caught in a dilemma of "body determination."
What path should the Great Ming take?
Continuing on the path of imperial rule was clearly untenable. The central plains had proven the strengths and weaknesses of imperial rule over thousands of years of history – if the emperor was reliable, then imperial rule was an unbeatable optimal system; if the emperor was unreliable, then imperial rule was the fastest path to self-destruction.
Should they switch to the so-called "three-branch separation" of liberty system from Europe?
In reality, such an idea was only a fantasy. If this system were truly implemented in the central plains, it would be a sure way to invite disaster.
To put it more plainly: how many years have their systems, whether three branches or liberty, or even Bolshevism, been around? Europe, in its pursuit of the three branches, had been on a downward spiral, only able to sustain itself on the wealth accumulated from its past exploitation of the Great Qing and two world wars. The fool eagle, in its pursuit of liberty, made the lives of its "Kunlun slaves" incredibly expensive. As for the brute bears, their pursuit of Bolshevism led to their complete downfall!
A deep analysis of the specific reasons behind this would be too complex, but in the end, it all boiled down to one word: profit.
For instance, the so-called "three-branch separation" in Europe was, in essence, just a pretty packaging for a system of aristocratic rule – without touching military power or financial control, what was left of the so-called three branches?
To put it bluntly, Europe's system was merely the mutual checks and balances between various aristocratic families and clans. On the surface, it gave ordinary people a voice and a sense of participation, but the actual rulers never changed; they were still the same families, the same people, at most putting a puppet of humble origins on the stage as a figurehead.
As for the so-called liberty peddled by the fool eagle, it was even more absurd. Because both the donkey and the elephant in the fool eagle's house had owners. Those wealthy patrons of Judeo-Christian finance were indeed striving to guarantee the freedom you desired, but they never guaranteed the safety of your life.
You choose.
In fact, this was also why the Europeans and the fool eagle's barbarians were generally so bold.
Because Europe had never had a truly unified dynasty, and the barbarians were accustomed to the mentality of small states and small populations, as well as the system of small courts.
It was similar for the brute bears – was Bolshevism good? Yes! The key issue was that human beings have desires!
Therefore, if Europe's and the fool eagle's approaches were directly copied to the central plains, it would inevitably lead to further turmoil. The system of small courts meant that life and death were left to fate. Since freedom was granted, you couldn't expect the court to manage your life or death.
This system was fine during normal times, as even the people of the central plains seemed to be accustomed to it, and on the surface, there seemed to be no difference. However, when disasters like the Little Ice Age struck frequently, or when the common people were truly pushed to the brink of survival, the difference between large and small courts became apparent.
The Europeans, accustomed to the system of small courts, relied on themselves for everything. They were also accustomed to the court being incompetent. But the people of the central plains, accustomed to the system of large courts, would demand that the government handle disaster relief and provide a way out for the people. The court could falter once or twice, but if it faltered repeatedly, someone might stand up and shout, "Are kings, lords, and generals born to their positions?"
Of course, there was also another rather novel perspective to consider: the reason why the European systems worked in their early stages was because the Great Qing continuously supplied them with blood. The fool eagle benefited from two world wars to suck their blood. But what about Europe and the fool eagle when the Great Qing was gone and the world wars ceased?
In Europe, the chosen leaders were becoming younger and younger, their promises of welfare higher and higher, and their ability to govern increasingly unreliable. In the land of the three islands, there was even a warrior leader who, upon taking office, only blew up pipelines before collecting his pension, his shelf life shorter than that of lettuce.
The fool eagle was not doing any better than Europe. Otherwise, how could Comrade Biden have ascended to the throne? And how could a major joke like the internal conflict of the fool eagle starting with the "second boy" have occurred?
However, directly adopting the system of Bolshevism, which was also a system of large courts, might not work either.
Directly copying Bolshevism carried a significant hidden danger: the Great Ming did not have the environmental conditions for that set of theories to survive.
The reason the Rabbit could implement Bolshevism was that the Great Qing had already collapsed. After the bald man in the middle took over the country, he proved through his actions that the Western systems they learned from were also unreliable. Hence, the Rabbit later learned from the brute bears and implemented Bolshevism as a means of national salvation.
But how many years had it been since the Great Qing collapsed?
Even before the Great Qing collapsed, they were desperately promoting the idea of the emperor's wisdom, the emperor's love for his people, and that only a few corrupt officials were at fault. They urged everyone to look forward to the arrival of a wise and benevolent official.
Of course, it couldn't be said that this theory was wrong, as all countries in the world promoted it.
However, the crucial point was that when Qianlong and his subordinates were promoting this theory, Qianlong also boasted of his "Ten Complete Campaigns." At that time, the Great Qing had not yet been beaten by the foreign powers, nor had it suffered the humiliation of compensating Britain, then Japan, and ceding Qingdao and Lushun.
Therefore, when Emperor Zhu raised the banner of rebellion to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, the people of the world were still willing to believe in imperial rule. Consequently, there was no fertile ground for that theory to flourish at the time. If Emperor Zhu had not called for "overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming" but had directly promoted the theory of "distribution according to need," the most likely outcome would not have been widespread support and rebellion against the Qing, but rather the entire populace rallying around Qianlong to help him fight Emperor Zhu.
Would it not be better to gain merit by assisting the dragon and destroying the rebels than to serve those lowly peasants wholeheartedly?
At that time, the central plains had not yet experienced the pain of imminent national demise.
Then, the Great Ming became what it is today. The Great Ming has an emperor, and Emperor Zhu is the kind of founding monarch that no one can restrain. However, the Great Ming also has a Grand Secretariat, and the Grand Secretariat's power is no less than the emperor's. Especially as the emperor gradually delegated power, the Grand Secretariat could even directly replace the emperor's role.
This was because Emperor Zhu had explicitly clarified the Grand Secretariat's status within the "jianghu" (the political sphere).
This was rather amusing, because when Emperor Zhu the Fourth (Zhu Di) established the Grand Secretariat, he treated the Grand Secretaries as secretaries. It was only after the reigns of Emperors Renzong and Xuande that the Grand Secretariat's power gradually increased.
But regardless of their power, the Grand Secretaries who led the Six Ministries did not have high ranks. Their leadership of the Six Ministries was not officially sanctioned, and they were also subject to the restraint of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Now, Emperor Zhu had clarified the ranks and responsibilities of the Grand Secretariat. The Grand Chancellor was to be of the first rank, the other Grand Secretaries from the first rank, and the ministers of the various ministries were to be of the second rank.
Correspondingly, the original Six Ministries of the Great Ming, as well as the later established impoverished ministry, the Ministry of Railways (upgraded from the Railway Directorate), and a host of other ministries, were all clearly placed under the management of the Grand Secretariat. Aside from the Grand Chancellor, each of the remaining six Grand Secretaries was to be responsible for a specific area, with responsibilities clearly assigned to individuals.
Parallel to the Grand Secretariat was the Five Chief Military Commissions. The Grand Chancellor could inquire about matters within the military commissions, but only to inquire; they had no decision-making power. The decision-making power of the military commissions rested with the Grand Commanders of the Five Chief Military Commissions.
There was little to say about the Censorate; their main duty was to criticize. The emperor and all civil and military officials were their targets.
However, the Censorate was not managed by the Grand Secretariat. The entity that could truly manage the Censorate was the Office of the Censor, which, along with the Court of Judicial Scrutiny, was not managed by the Grand Secretariat. Both of these offices were directly responsible to the emperor. Among them, some censors in the capital were responsible for criticism, while the rest bore the responsibility of investigation. The Court of Judicial Scrutiny was responsible for both trial and judgment.
And the final interpretation of the Great Ming Law rested with the Ministry of Justice.
In short, there were all sorts of departments with clearly defined responsibilities. They were to mutually support each other, as well as keep each other in check.
Essentially, it could be said that the emperor was largely irrelevant, but the absence of an emperor was also impossible. Emperor Zhu, naturally, could bypass the Grand Secretariat, the various ministries, and even the Five Chief Military Commissions to do anything he wished. However, future emperors after Emperor Zhu, aside from supervising and having the right to change chancellors, were essentially no longer able to interfere in political affairs.
To regain power by changing chancellors?
First, the Imperial Guard had to find evidence of the Grand Chancellor's crimes. Then, the Censorate had to initiate impeachment. The Court of Judicial Scrutiny had to convict. Only after completing this entire process could the chancellor be changed. If even one step of this process could not be completed, the Grand Chancellor could not be changed.
Moreover, the terms of office for the Grand Chancellor and the Grand Secretaries were fixed, calculated from the day they entered the Grand Secretariat, with each term lasting five years, and a maximum of two terms. This was a strict iron rule established by Emperor Zhu and absolutely not to be changed.
In addition, the Great Ming Law emphasized that anything not prohibited by law was permitted. Coupled with this, a large number of policies were established to suppress clans and wealthy merchants. The protection of ordinary people was reflected not only in the laws but also in the fact that the Farmers' Association bore a part of this responsibility.
This placed the national system of the Great Ming in a very delicate state. On the surface, it appeared quite ideal, almost a model of a nominal sovereign. Apart from the existence of an emperor, everything else could be considered democratic and free. It could even be said to be operating in a near-perfect manner. However, Emperor Zhu knew very well that this perfection was essentially nonsense.
Even the Rabbit's system was not flawless!
Whether it was the tears shed when executing two Ma Su's, or later, those who became rich first but were unwilling to help others become rich and even wanted to extend their influence into the court – these things were objective realities!
This was why Emperor Zhu had been delegating power to the court but had never relaxed his control over the Imperial Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Censorate. The officials of the Great Ming did not have that high a level of integrity! If they were given even a little leeway, they could create enormous problems!
Upon thinking of this, Emperor Zhu couldn't help but laugh at himself.
No matter how hard he tried, he was not a god. How could he possibly solve problems that had existed for so long?
After a self-mocking laugh, Emperor Zhu spoke directly: "What I need to say today is very simple. First, we must eliminate those ruffians and vagabonds. Since they are unwilling to live good lives, let them be sent to construction sites to endure hardship for a few days. Especially those who bully the locals or commit illegal acts – they should be shot directly."
"The second matter concerns those workshop owners who are unwilling to earn money honestly but instead seek to oppress the people. Those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be exiled should be exiled. The longer they are allowed to roam free, the more suffering countless citizens will endure because of them."
"And what about those officials who, by their own actions, court disaster? I don't need to elaborate on how they should be dealt with, do I?"
Of course, Emperor Zhu did not need to elaborate further because he had used the word "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I").
Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and the other high-ranking officials present knew very well that when Emperor Zhu referred to himself as "咱" (zan, a more informal "I"), there were usually no major issues. However, apart from the Grand Court Assembly, once he used the word "朕," it usually indicated murderous intent.
And once Emperor Zhu harbored murderous intent...
After Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and the other high-ranking officials bowed in agreement, Emperor Zhu turned his gaze to Zeng Cheng and said, "Minister Zeng, you have served as Prime Minister for nearly thirty years now, haven't you?"
Zeng Cheng was momentarily stunned.
This former prefect of the Great Qing, who had voluntarily defected to Emperor Zhu during the Liangshanpo period, had become the Grand Chancellor of the Great Ming in the year Emperor Zhu first ascended the throne, due to his capabilities and his ability to understand and execute Emperor Zhu's various instructions. He had held this position for twenty-six years. The reason for this situation was not that Zeng Cheng was clinging to power and unwilling to resign, nor that Emperor Zhu insisted on keeping Zeng Cheng to break his own established rules. Rather, it was that when Emperor Zhu formulated this rule, it was already considered the twentieth year of the "Sage Emperor" reign, as the common people would say.
This meant that Zeng Cheng, as Grand Chancellor, could continue for another four years, after which he would have to honestly step down from the position. Furthermore, he would not be allowed to hold any other positions with real power, and would have to live out his days peacefully in the capital or return to his hometown to retire.
Of course, the Great Ming had always treated meritorious officials well. Although he would no longer be the Grand Chancellor, all his benefits would still be in accordance with those of a Grand Chancellor, and he would even be granted a noble title.
Now that Emperor Zhu suddenly mentioned that he had served as Grand Chancellor for nearly thirty years, did he intend for him to step down?
As Zeng Cheng's mind raced with thoughts, Emperor Zhu smiled and said, "I still remember, when Minister Zeng first came to join us, he didn't have so many white hairs on his head – so, have you saved up enough money?"
Being asked this by Emperor Zhu, Zeng Cheng was immediately enraged. What did he mean? Was he suspecting his prime minister of corruption?
(End of this chapter)
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