Chapter 724 Constituent Assembly

Chen Xie's biggest helplessness lies in the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, the difficult transition process from the agricultural era to the industrial age is simply impossible to achieve in one step. is also because of this era, Chen Xie must cooperate with a group of bureaucrats, otherwise he will not be able to manage such a big country alone.

This enlarged meeting of the Imperial Council was like a court meeting. The main persons in charge of the six departments and departments in Beijing have all arrived, and the huge round table can't sit down, so they can only put a few small tables in the back for those martial artists to sit on the periphery and listen.

Zhu Cihong was the last to arrive, and when he appeared, the ministers no longer had to kneel to greet him, but stood up and bowed collectively: "Greetings to Your Majesty." In this way, the status of the monarch is determined, which is a helpless reality and a compromise of politics.

Sitting in his seat, Zhu Cihong carefully recalled what Chen Xie said, "If you don't want the Ming Dynasty to repeat history, you must improve it." "The most glaring thing about this reform is the restriction of imperial power, which was intended to restore the history of the imperial power during the Taizu period, but it backfired and embarked on a road of restricting the monarch's power. I don't know if this road is good or not, but it will definitely be a big blow to the emperor. The only good thing is that henceforth the emperor's inaction will no longer be subject to the ministers' control. You can go wherever you want, pay out of your own pocket, no one can control it, and every year the household department will allocate one million silver yuan, which is exclusively for the royal family. The biggest blow this time was not Zhu Cihong, but some people who tried to change their fate through this opportunity. The main members of these people were chamberlains and relatives, one who wanted to restore power and the other who wanted more wealth. That's why it hit it off!

"Since the reform of the Holy Father, the atmosphere of the kingdom has been renewed, and I am deeply encouraged. I invited you here today just to discuss with you. How to continue to deepen the reform. In Mr. Sihua's words, it is to reform and enable Daming to achieve sustainable development. Zhu Cihong calmed down, tried his best to calm his tone, and set the tone of today's meeting.

The historian in charge of the record writes the dragon and snake. This passage was recorded, and marked on the side: July 23, the sixth year of the founding of the new year, the imperial meeting, the civil and military gathering, the emperor deepened the reform for the national ancestor, and warned the ministers. Because of this record, this meeting is known in history as the "July 23rd Conference" and also known as the "Constituent Assembly".

The topic of the meeting is to deepen the reform. In fact, Zhu Cihong and other ministers who presided over the meeting were all listeners, and there was only one person who expressed his actual opinions, and this person was naturally Chen Xie. After the printed white paper was printed for each person, Chen Xie stood up and looked around, no one dared to do it. Chen Xie was very dissatisfied with this state, but there was no way, they couldn't take the initiative to accept their own set. Passive imposition is the only option. Therefore, Chen Xie is still in the white paper. The term "reform" was abandoned, and the reform was used.

"How to change it, the white paper is very clear, political, economic, military, cultural and educational, all have quite detailed explanations. I won't go into too much detail here, but I will talk about the need for reform. During the reign of the first emperor, the Ming Dynasty was actually in a very dangerous situation. On the outside, there was the military pressure of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and on the inside, there were rogue bandits who were rampant in the Central Plains. The fundamental reason for this situation is essentially that the past system is no longer suitable for the development status quo of Ming society. The Ming Dynasty during the Taizu period and the Ming Dynasty during the first emperor were completely two concepts. Land annexation and commercial taxes have become a non-functional, leading to a sharp decline in the revenue of the national treasury. Externally, it is powerless, and internally, it is unable to provide relief and comfort to the people affected by the disaster. The first emperor saw this and made an attempt at reform. In the end, under the correct leadership of the first emperor, the Ming Dynasty achieved victory in internal and external wars and returned to peace. Since his ascension to the throne, His Majesty has insisted on holding high the banner of reform ...... the first emperor. Speaking of this, Chen Xie paused and glanced at Zhu Cihong, the poor comrade emperor tried to smile.

The essence of politics is the art of compromise, and what Zhu Cihong never expected was that a compromise was reached between Chen Xie and Wenchen. In the past, there were eunuchs and nobles as helpers, but now that the celebrant is gone, the nobles are also pressed by Chen Xie, and they dare not move. Last night, the heads of the news spies sent by those restless elements were killed in one go, and those who could go back alive were all scared and half dead. There is no doubt that the cooperation between the strongest force and the Wenchen led to this meeting without any suspense.

Even if the Wenchen Group is not of one mind, these heavyweight Wenchen present have all chosen to remain silent. The scene outside the palace gate made them remember it deeply, didn't they cooperate? Jiang Fengyuan is the end, and now he is still sitting on the side with a blue nose and swollen face, covering his cheeks with one hand, and the blood stains have not dried. Maybe the compromise is temporary, and what Chen Xie wants is temporary.

The big seal of "Fengtian Carrying the Emperor" on the white paper was stamped, even if some people wanted to oppose it, looking at Chen Xie's flying momentum, they all chose to keep silent.

Picking up a white paper, Chen Xie held it up and said: "Everyone look at the words on the title page clearly, after the reform, the Ming Dynasty implemented a constitutional monarchy system. What is a constitutional monarchy? To put it simply, it is to have a constitution that includes all the people in the country. Even if it is a majesty, it is within the scope of application of the law, and cannot be above the law. To put it more simply, the law protects everyone. ……。 ”

All the participants were listening to Chen Xie's speech, which was a great rebellion in the past, but at this time everyone listened very carefully. The law protects everyone, and even His Majesty cannot be above the law, which is still very attractive. Although it is a program that corrupts the monarch and the minister's father and son, will the person who gets the benefit care about this? Not to mention that the first article of the white paper says: The constitution establishes the Ming imperial family as the highest symbol of China, and no one or anything can be changed.

The emperor is still there, not a lot has changed. But then again, just because there was no opposition at the scene doesn't mean that no one else objected. As for whether it is useful to oppose it, then hehehe.

The meeting lasted twenty days, and all but the first day was a repeated revolving of all the articles. That's right, it's, Chen Xie is very patient with everyone. One by one, one by one, the compromise leads to guò. None of this is the point, the point is the minutes of the entire meeting, which appeared in the newspaper the next day and caused controversy all over the world.

With the end of the meeting, a "King James State Edict - Constitutional Monarchy" was finally issued, which was printed in full and released all over the world. For the first time, the political model of the Ming Dynasty was informed to the world in a public way, and as long as it was literate, it could be understood because it was in the vernacular. Why not use classical Chinese? In the prologue, it is stated that the world is informed, and it is also clearly pointed out that in the future, all government documents must be written in the vernacular, so that everyone can read and understand.

When the news came out, the whole country was shocked, and officials from all over the country were angry, confused, and eager to try. The traditional gentry class is a mixture of joy and sorrow. Sadly, the constitution imposed strict restrictions on the gentry, prohibiting slavery and tax exemption, and once found to be unconstitutional, their descendants were automatically disqualified from the imperial examination. This is an improved version of the integrated payment of grain by the gentry. Hi? It is reflected in another aspect, that is, the right to participate in politics. The Upper House is composed of the nobility (those who have a knighthood automatically become members), and the House of Representatives is renamed by the Consultative Bureau. The House of Lords is essentially a nursing home, and its sole function is to elect justices. The House of Commons is more powerful, holding the legislative and supervisory powers of the government, as well as financial supervision. Originally, there was still the right to financial approval, but because of the collective opposition of Wenchen, he compromised without giving in. From examination and approval to supervision, the specific power to dispose of government members is in the hands of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is directly under the leadership of the emperor.

All in all, this is a constitution full of Ming characteristics, and although it is still far from perfecting, it has already taken an important step. The political model of the monarchy of the Ming Dynasty is gone.

Among them, the imperial examination system, Chen Xie did not let go of the spoof, and changed its name to the National Civil Service Examination, continuing the past examination level, but the content has completely changed. The corresponding fame and position have also been determined, so that Xiucai is qualified to serve as the chief official and the chief of the department and the tax officer (grain chief) at the township level, and the person who is raised is qualified to be an official at the county level, and the jinshi can be an official at the county order level. The content of the exam was still retained, but the proportion was weakened by Yan zhòng. The content of the examination is divided into four subjects: arithmetic, gewu, law, eight strands, and four books and five classics.

For the underworld, the most fucked up thing is not the change in the content of the exam, but the age limit and work experience limit. How so? After Zhongxiucai, you must have two years of practical work experience, which means that you must first work as a township official for two years before you are eligible to participate in the next stage of the imperial examination. Similarly, after the election, you must have more than three years of work experience as a county official before you can participate in the next stage of the election. The most fucked up thing is that after you get the Jinshi, you still have to work for more than six years, and you must have three stages of experience in the county, government, and province before you can participate in the examination of the Hanlin Academy, and in the form of the law, non-Hanlin is not allowed to participate in the court push. In other words, if you don't have the identity of Hanlin, don't worry about being in the cabinet.

It can be said that this constitutional monarchy, under constant compromise, has become a freak, even if it is a freak, it is also a constitutional monarchy, and the prototype of capitalism is basically born.

If the Constituent Assembly and the new system reform were the year, the whole Ming Dynasty was shocked. What shocked the world even more was that Chen Xie personally wrote an article claiming that he was not from Hanlin and did not meet the rules for entering the cabinet, so he resigned as a cabinet minister and became the head of another new department, that is, the first speaker of the National Assembly, for a period of five years. (To be continued......) R1292