The 11th day of October in the sixth year of the Great Ming Dao is the day of the beginning of the tenth month, and it is the day when the imperial court holds the imperial council.

There is no concept of a seven-day week, which is the rule of Christianity. Tiandao believers burn incense once every ten years, and then worship the tablet of Taiyi God at home, and a stick of incense in the morning and evening is enough. The day of burning incense at the Taoist Temple is the last day of each decade, that is, the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month. These three days are also days off. Most public institutions and schools have a day off.

By the way, there are also 30 days in February. According to the "Heavenly Dao Calendar" published by the Ming Dynasty, every month is 30 days, and there are five to six Tiandao days (there is a six-day Dao day every four years) in each year, which is a national holiday - of course, only students who eat public meals or study in schools and colleges can enjoy the benefits of vacation (if they can't take a vacation because of work needs, they can also get double their daily salary or change their leave).

The end of the month is the day when most public institutions hold regular meetings to plan for the affairs of the decade. The Ming Dynasty was no exception, in the morning the yamen held their own meetings, and in the afternoon, the heads of the cabinet, the four military departments and the advisory council went to the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace to hold a meeting.

The matters to be discussed on October 11 had already been written by the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, the Chief of Honor of the Advisory Council, and the Secretary of Shang of the Fourth Military Department and sent to the Imperial Secretariat, and the Imperial Minister Chen Derui (Chen Dexing's cousin and Chen Ming's founding minister) sorted it out and sent it to Chen Dexing for inspection.

In addition to some trivial things, there are four big things. First, the Tianshan Provincial Governor's Office reported to the Western Expeditionary Army for the massacre and plundering and the Army General Staff reported that Zhu Sijiu, the general of the Western Expeditionary Army, had privately built a boy scout, although there were two yamen who reported it, but it was one thing; Second, the Admiralty reported that Admiral Wang Shuifei of the Nanyang Fleet was unwell. Those who want to be transferred from the sea to return to their posts on land; The third thing is the issue of the autonomous city of Beimingzhou, which has been discussed several times, and this matter has been discussed since September. I haven't made a final decision yet; The fourth thing was put forward by Chen Dexing himself: to discuss the pilot of the army's military reform and to establish an infantry model division equipped with a large number of flintlock muskets.

Chen Dexing is still the same as in the past. Instead of taking a position right away, the officials present at the meeting were allowed to speak freely.

"It's just a matter of plundering and slaughtering barbarians, our Ming King has always been like this! Otherwise, how can it inspire the morale of the soldiers? But it's not right to form a Scout! The king of Qingjun has gone too far, and he must be recalled to the capital to be strictly controlled! ”

"Yes, this matter can't be tolerated, otherwise everyone will be like this in the future, and the world will not be chaotic?"

"The king of Qingjun should be punished lightly, at least he should be demoted to the third rank!"

"You should also take away your military position and send it to the fiefdom of Nanmingzhou as soon as possible!"

Zhu Sijiu seems to have become a street rat that everyone shouts and beats. No one spoke for him. However, the punishment they agreed on to Zhu Sijiu was just that, and the heaviest thing was to demote the lord and take the country. No one said to make an example of it......

Chen Dexing's eyes turned, and finally stopped at Monk Liu, this colonial secretary is in his fifties this year, he is the oldest of the Qionghualou brothers, and he is also kind and prestigious. It was the most suitable choice for him to go to the northwest to replace Zhu Sijiu -- after all, Zhu Sijiu had led troops in the northwest for many years, and it was impossible to do so without a little foundation.

"Monk. After the New Year, you can work hard and take a trip to Ili. Chen Dexing said lightly, "Go and be a general of the Western Expeditionary Army for a few days." Let's ask Sijiu what his plans are, is he going to be the king of the Western Regions? ”

To put it mildly, Zhu Sijiu's military power was removed. However, Zhu Sijiu was not labeled as a rebel -- in fact. Zhu Sijiu didn't rebel either, he just didn't want to go to Nanmingzhou to develop.

So Chen Dexing wanted to get rid of his military power. Give him a lot of land in the Western Regions. So everyone is happy...... It's best not to start with the matter of cutting your brother. Otherwise, I am afraid that I will not be able to stop the car.

"Obey the order!"

Monk Liu stood up and saluted. The heart of the mention is also flat, what Zhu Sijiu did in the Western Regions is definitely a bad thing in the Song Dynasty. Fortunately, Chen Dexing's equipment is grand and has not been studied deeply.

Of course, he didn't have the means to dig deeper. There are advantages, and there must be disadvantages. Since you want to learn from the feudalism of the Western Zhou Dynasty, you must tolerate a character of Zhu Sijiu's level to have a doorman......

If they are all like the civil officials of the Song Dynasty, they can't defeat all kinds of indigenous barbarians when they are sent to the New World.

"The minister has a word!"

Prime Minister Ren Yijiang straightened his waist and stood up again, and everyone's hearts jumped, could it be that this Prime Minister Ren wanted to beat Zhu Sijiu as a water dog to stand up......

"The minister looked at "Chen Li" the day before yesterday and found that my Ming officials and common people had more or less customized concubines. However, there is no regulation on the number of retainers to be supported at the door......"

These words made everyone's hearts slowly let go again, this Prime Minister Ren thought about it thoroughly, there should be a rule for this matter, otherwise everyone would not dare to recruit people at home in the future.

Ren Yijiang raised his eyes and looked at Chen Dexing, who was expressionless, and then said: "In addition, the mansions and embassies of the vassal families of each feudal state in the Ming Dynasty should also have a rule, how many people can live, and what kind of force can they have......

"You have to draw up a constitution, and you don't have to revise the ceremony, just go back and let the Council make a law." Chen Dexing kicked the ball to the council. The bills of the Council have always been divided into two types, one is that Chen Dexing himself drafted the main statutes and articles, and then the Council to modify and improve; The second is that the council itself makes its own decision, which is a game in all aspects. This law that restricts officials from raising Hakka retainers will naturally be handed over to the people below to play. Because Chen Dexing himself didn't know how many thugs to raise to ensure that they would not be killed by the natives after they went to the feudal country.

Zhu Sijiu's matter has come to an end here, but today's imperial meeting is not over yet. Chen Dexing suddenly threw out an issue that he had not said hello beforehand.

"There is Oceania to the south of the Nanfan Islands, and it has been several years since it was discovered, but it has not been developed in this way, there is not even a governor's palace, only two or three settlements have been built, less than 3,000 military households have moved to the past, and no inland exploration has been explored. I can't help but despise Oceania, although it is not as vast as Mingzhou, but it is much larger than the Central Plains......"

Chen Dexing said. While scanning the crowd with blazing eyes. Seeing that the big guy didn't understand much, he continued: "Such a big territory. Naturally, it is necessary to arrange important ministers to pacify and develop. Unlike Mingzhou, I intend to treat Oceania as my own territory. It won't be separated. ”

Hearing this, Ren Yijiang already understood a little, he stood up and said tentatively: "Sage, An Guogong (Wang Shuifei) said in the recital the day before yesterday that he was not suitable for drifting on the sea and wanted to find a dispatch on the shore. It is better to appoint him as the governor of Oceania, in the past, the affairs of Oceania have always been in the management of the Admiral of the South Ocean Fleet. An Guogong should be familiar with the situation there......"

Chen Dexing's eyes stayed on Wang Lufei, chief of staff of the army, Wang Shuifei was his brother, so he sent it to "Australia" where birds don't.

Wang Lufei hurriedly got up. Bow down: "Sage, my brother once wrote a letter to the minister, mentioning the slow development of Oceania, and also mentioning some ways to accelerate development. If the saint asked him to go to Oceania, it would have been in line with his heart. ”

Chen Dexing nodded, "That's the best!" However, the power of water flying alone is not enough to develop Oceania. And it is not very appropriate to put Oceania under the jurisdiction of the South Sea Fleet, which the Navy is not doing in the end. It is better to transfer Oceania to the jurisdiction of the colonial ministry, which is still ......"

Chen Dexing looked at Ren Yijiang. The Colonial Ministry Shangshu was originally a monk Liu, but he is now wearing his battle robe again. It's time to go to the Western Regions to lead the Western Expeditionary Army.

"Let the minister take charge first." Ren Yijiang couldn't come up with a suitable candidate for a while, so he volunteered.

Chen Dexing nodded, it was regarded as an endorsement that the prime minister should concurrently serve as the secretary of the colonial ministry, and he said slowly: "It can become a practice for the prime minister to concurrently serve as the secretary of the colonial ministry. From now on, the colonial ministry does not include the northern and southern Ming continents and the various feudal states. Only Oceania, the Ming Territories of the Nanfan Islands, the Ming Territories of Africa, the Ming Territories of the Atlantic and Pacific Islands, and the Hong Kong and Macao Territories of Europa. It is directly managed by another ministry in Mingzhou, and the Mingzhou Ministry, the Mingzhou Presidential Palace, the major Governors' Offices in Mingzhou, and the Governors' Offices and Municipal Governments of Mingzhou cities are managed at different levels. ”

Removed Mingzhou from the name of the Colonial Department. Of course, it is for the better and faster development of Mingzhou.

Chen Dexing mentioned Mingzhou, and the topic of the big guy naturally had to change. Discussion about the autonomous city of Mingzhou. It has been done many times. The officials of the DPRK and China have some concerns -- everyone has guns and wants autonomy. It would be wrong not to be careful.

But worries are concerns, but they can't think of a better way to develop Mingzhou. Not to mention the long distance, it is difficult to take care of it. Even where the investment in Mingzhou Development comes from is also a big problem. It is impossible for the imperial court to pay this money! Because most of the area of Mingzhou is to be divided out. How could the imperial court subsidize the country with a large amount of money? This precedent is about to be opened, and the Ming court will be bankrupt sooner or later.

Therefore, it is the most appropriate way to let the merchants and feudal kings pay their own money to develop Mingzhou. And for the merchants to pay, it is natural for them to participate in the management, and the city must be autonomous. Otherwise, no one wants to pay for it, even if there is a knighthood as an additive, it is useless.

When everyone was talking about it, Kong Yu, who had just entered the court as the deputy minister, suddenly spoke: "Since the matter of Mingzhou has to rely on merchants, we shouldn't have a closed-door meeting here. It is better to put two or three cities out to bid for tenders, and let businessmen who are interested in investing set their own conditions. It was not too late for the imperial court to discuss with the merchants. ”

When the important ministers heard this method, they were all stunned, and subconsciously shook their heads, and then saw Chen Dexing nodding there, and immediately looked at the emperor.

"Hehe, okay, Kong Yu, you said it well......" Chen Dexing clapped his hands and nodded with a smile.

Ren Yijiang has been floating on it for too long, and in terms of his ability to deal with the people below, he is really not as good as this Kong Yu, who has been "in the opposition" for a long time.

Now everyone's discussion of the autonomy of the cities in Mingzhou is empty talk, and the methods they discussed are not accepted by the merchants below, and they are still equal to zero!

"Kong Qing, you can do this." Chen Dexing simply handed over the errand to Kong Yu, "Let's take two cities out of the pilot first, one is Mingmen Port and the other is ...... It's Newport. All areas within a radius of 100 miles are under the jurisdiction of autonomous cities. In the autonomous city, except for the customs, which must be jointly managed with the Governor's Office of Beimingzhou, the tax is halved, and all other taxes are collected and paid by the city itself. As for the other conditions, you go and talk to the merchants, and report any progress to me at any time. ”

"Obey." Kong Yu saluted, which was the next dispatch. The establishment of an autonomous city in Mingzhou can be regarded as another step forward. What is to be discussed now is not whether or not to be self-governed, but the conditions for self-government.

"Okay, let's talk about the model teacher now." Chen Dexing smiled slightly and raised the last topic of the day: the establishment of an army model division. This was a key step in the reform of the Ming Army. This exemplary division will completely abandon bows and arrows in favor of flintlock muskets as infantry standard weapons. Even weapons such as horizontal knives, shields, and spears will be largely eliminated. In other words, it will be a mix of hot and cold weapons, and it will leapfrog to the era of hot weapons in one step!

This is not a petty reform, but a revolution in military affairs! It involves not only weapons, tactics, troop formation, etc., but also changes in the composition of the Ming Army. It will even affect the social status of the Ming military aristocracy, and even have a huge impact on the domestic political pattern of the Ming Dynasty.

Now the "old soldiers" in the Ming army all have good martial arts. The ability to fight in battle is not worse than that of the strongest Mongolian barbarians, as long as you wear good armor and have a good weapon, you can beat the Mongols all over the ground by hand-to-hand combat! The elite soldiers trained by more than ten years of non-stop warfare are not a joke.

But as soon as this hateful flintlock smoothbore gun appeared, the military superiority of the "old soldiers" suddenly disappeared! No matter how good the steel armor you are wearing, and how high your martial arts are, when a gunshot rang out forty or fifty steps away, you are still a dead man! Any peasant who has been trained for several months can easily kill a skilled warrior with a smoothbore gun.

The force of the lord is about to depreciate! In the future, the Ming army will no longer need professional soldiers with strong martial arts, only a few outstanding officers who graduated from military academies and a large number of peasants who can carry guns, and at most some children of sergeants who can act as cavalry can support a strong army. Although most of the officers and cavalry will still come from the noble families of the nobles, how much is the demand for officers and cavalry? How many noble families can this demand support?

Without the upward channel of meritorious service in the army, most of the families of the scholars may be reduced to farmers who manage the land. It won't be long before there will definitely be a large number of broken knights!

At that time, the political pattern of the Ming Dynasty will probably change. The status of the warrior will decline again! (To be continued......)