With the change of cabinet ministers, Chongzhen appeared in Wenhua Hall less and less, but Qian Qianyi and his colleagues came to Xiyuan Jingshe more and more. All of a sudden, the new cabinet was also called the West Garden Prime Minister by some officials.

The two things about Chongming Island's tidal disaster and Song Yingsheng's unauthorized mobilization of local troops were also quickly reported to Chongzhen. So on this day, Zhu Youzhen called several ministers to Xiyuan Jingshe and asked them about the handling plan for these two things.

In front of the square table in the living room of the conference, Qian Qianyi glanced at his silent colleagues, and then said to Chongzhen at the end of the square table: "The opinion of the cabinet is that for the tidal disaster on Chongming Island, 50,000 yuan is ready to be allocated for the reconstruction of the damaged earthen embankment and residential houses around the island. As for Shanghai, the ministers did not think that the shacks washed away by the water were necessary for disaster relief, so they ordered Shanghai to solve the problem on its own.

As for the case of Shanghai Mayor Song Yingsheng mobilizing local troops without authorization, the cabinet studied the report transmitted by the General Staff Headquarters and the excerpts submitted by Song Yingsheng himself. ”

Qian Qianyi paused, looked at Chongzhen's face, and found that the other party had not changed, before continuing: "The ministers thought that the incident of transferring local troops without authorization was true, and as for whether Shanghai was in a state of emergency at that time, the ministers thought it was difficult to confirm the situation at that time.

However, judging from the current information, when Song Yingsheng issued the order to transfer troops, he was indeed out of public interest. But the ministers also believe that Song Yingsheng has been the mayor of Shanghai since the first year of Chongzhen, and it has been nearly five years since then. Even according to the regulations, he has been in this position for too long.

Therefore, the ministers thought that it was better to transfer Song Ying from Shanghai to the next level, and understand this matter, and I thought that the criticism of the government and the opposition on this matter would gradually subside..."

Zhu Youzhen listened to Qian Qianyi's report, and was silent for a long time before saying, "This is the opinion of the cabinet?" Why do I think you're in the mud?

I know that there is a lot of quarrel outside about Song Yingsheng's affairs, and the officials think that he should be punished for not following the rules, but the people think that he is a rare good official and should be rewarded.

As a result, you don't want to offend the officials, and you don't want to be scolded by the people, so you want to suppress the matter. So I would like to ask, after Song Yingsheng was transferred, were the local officials and officers and soldiers of the garrison division in Shanghai who helped the people relocate in vain? ”

Qian Qianyi and the ministers were a little overwhelmed and didn't know how to answer the emperor's question. In fact, what the emperor said was not bad, and they did think so in their hearts. The cabinet has just been replaced, and no one wants to cause more trouble, so with the attitude that more things are better than less things, everyone chose to solve the problem with the mud.

After the room was quiet for a long time, Qian Qianyi had to ask tentatively: "Then according to Your Majesty's wishes, how should this matter be handled?" ”

After Zhu Youzhen glanced at everyone, he said slowly: "If you are entangled in whether Song Yingsheng used the local army without authorization, the dispute between the government and the opposition will never subside.

For the imperial court, Song Yingsheng was punished, who would dare to take responsibility for the local officials in the future? If Song Yingsheng was commended for mobilizing local troops without authorization, then how will the central government manage local officials in the future?

So, let's look at this from another angle. Don't focus on Song Yingsheng, but from the perspective of the army helping the local people.

I have long said that the reason for the existence of the army is naturally to protect the family and defend the country. Defending the country is not only about killing the enemy on the battlefield, but also about helping the people when disaster strikes.

I think the army's initiative to go out to the camp to help the people of Shanghai is worthy of commendation. We will inform the General Staff Headquarters to issue a commendation order to the 1st Shanghai Garrison Division and call on the whole army to study it.

As for the cabinet, I don't think about how to calm public opinion, but rather guide it. As the center of power in the Ming Dynasty, when such an incident occurs, the first thing we should consider is whether there is something wrong with our system, so that officials who want to save the people have to risk breaking the law to help the people?

If there is something wrong with the law, we should change the law; If there is a problem with the system, we need to adjust the system. I have heard two idioms, one is to cut the foot and the other is to tailor the clothes.

Whether it is the system or the law, they are just the shoes and clothes of the country, and only the people are the foundation of the country. It is the responsibility of the Cabinet to let the institutions and laws defend the people, not to adapt them to our institutions and laws to the detriment of the people.

For example, Chongming Island and Shanghai are just separated by a river, why are people saved in one place, but disaster in another? I think there is a problem in the system.

Although Shanghai is independent, Chongming Island and Songjiang Prefecture are also independent local administrative institutions. Everyone did not interfere with each other, and Shanghai was preparing for disasters, but Songjiang Prefecture and Chongming Island still felt that there was nothing serious. Officials have their own opinions, but should a typhoon from the sea be divided into a zone before coming ashore?

It's going to plague Shanghai, so it won't go to Chongming and Songjiang? Or will it land on Chongming Island, and it will not go to scourge Shanghai and Songjiang Mansion?

Shanghai and Songjiang Prefecture happen to be a prominent fish mouth terrain, if a typhoon makes landfall in this area, it will inevitably sweep the entire area, and add Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

I believe that Shanghai, Songjiang, Chongming Island, and Jiading should be merged into one large administrative region, and the local water conservancy and disaster relief activities should be managed in a unified manner, especially during the typhoon season in the summer of the region. The region is relatively abundant in terms of economic development, human resources and material resources, as long as there is a unified administrative body, the rest does not need to worry about the imperial court. ”

Qian Qianyi and his colleagues made eye contact for a while, and then said to the emperor: "Your Majesty is far-sighted, and it is indeed far beyond the ministers. The ministers thought that they would unite these places into one, one..."

Zhu Youzhen quickly answered: "It is still a municipality directly under the central government, but the administrative specifications have been upgraded to the provincial level, and it is still called Shanghai, and the establishment of Songjiang Prefecture will be abolished, and it will be merged with the Shanghai Municipal Hall, and this area will be divided into county and city levels in the future."

Song Yingsheng still holds the post of mayor of Shanghai, but he can hold the title of governor. Since he is the governor, the troops in the Shanghai area can naturally be mobilized at his own discretion in the future, as long as they do not leave the Shanghai area. ”

Qian Qianyi was suddenly a little unsure, and he couldn't help but say: "But Your Majesty, although Song Yingsheng has not moved his position, but Shanghai has been promoted from the county level to the prefecture level, and now to the provincial level, hasn't he been promoted several levels in five years?" Isn't the speed of this promotion a bit of a criticism? ”

Zhu Youzhen turned his head to look at Qian Qianyi, and couldn't help but smile and said: "That's also his luck, who let Daming have only one Shanghai?" Since he was able to develop Shanghai, I thought there was nothing to criticize. ”

The ministers of the cabinet looked at each other, not knowing what the emperor meant by this. Only Su Changqing, who has traveled from later generations, knows what it means to be in Shanghai. As part of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai is backed by the Jiangnan region, which is the most elite of the Ming Dynasty in this era, and can also connect the two lakes and Sichuan through the Yangtze River.

As long as Shanghai is restarted in accordance with the process of its rise in history, the bright light of the so-called famous city in the south of the Yangtze River will be monopolized by Shanghai as a city. In later generations, how could the north, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and the eastern magic capital be casually talked about.

As far as Zhu Youzhen is concerned, his intentions to support the rise of Shanghai are also a little bad. The reason why the Jiangnan gentry are now powerful is nothing more than relying on the wealth of the Jiangnan region, thus blocking the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty economically.

Once the wealth of Jiangnan flowed from Suzhou, Yangzhou, Wuxi, Jinling, Huzhou and other places to Shanghai, then it was the imperial court that choked the economic lifeline of the Jiangnan gentry. After the opening of Shanghai in less than 60 years, the former Jiangnan region has become the magic capital of the East.

The change in the economic pattern will change the foundation of the existence of the Jiangnan gentry one by one, and eventually this class will be crushed by the wheel of history.

Of course, Zhu Youzhen didn't mean to explain to the ministers now, and after he clicked on this sentence, he opened the topic and said: "As for the disaster relief on Chongming Island, I think 50,000 yuan is too little, and it is only to repair the earthen embankments on the periphery and the houses of the villagers, not the root cause."

I have checked before, and Chongming Island has suffered from tidal disasters more than once. With the topography of Chongming Island, once the tide breaks through the earthen embankment, it is basically difficult for the villages in the low-lying areas to save themselves. Chongming Island is surrounded by rivers and fields, and almost all of the homes of ordinary people are in low-lying areas, and it is said that there are tens of thousands of people.

The breach of the embankment is not a special case, as long as there are typhoons every year, the tide may break through the embankment. So what I mean is, since we need to help the disaster, then we have to find a way to solve the problem at the root.

The large stone pond built in Haining area to defend the sea fish scales has now been built nearly 4,000 zhang, and it is said that the effect is not bad. What I mean is that some people from Haining will be sent to Chongming Island and Shanghai to study how to build a stronger stone embankment.

Before the stone embankment around the island was built, the residents of the island were ordered to build a large mound on the edge of their village. Once the storm comes, let the whole village go up to the pier and wait for rescue, at least to save the lives of the people first..."

Although Qian Qianyi and other cabinet ministers accepted the emperor's proposal, they said that it was really difficult to raise funds for the construction of the stone pond.

So Zhu Youzhen said that he would order the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the customs to allocate a part each, and he also said: "I also said before that the tax is taken from the people and used by the people.

Since the people in Shanghai have suffered a disaster, I see that a part of the local tax revenue can also be deducted, and it will be directly allocated to the construction of the stone pond. In addition, the local arrears can also be thoroughly cleaned up, and those who have money will pay back, and those who don't have money will naturally have to contribute..."