The controversy between the vassal state and the province is a lingering issue after the revival of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also an issue that has never been completely resolved.

In the first few decades after the revival of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court's attitude towards vassal states was negative, and almost all ministers believed that vassal states should not be set up, and that provinces directly under the central government should be adopted as much as possible.

This is the continuation of the ancient dynasty's ideas of "cutting down the feudal domain" and "strengthening the cadres and weakening the branches".

At that time, the vassal king wanted to keep the vassal state, and being a local emperor was not much more comfortable than going to the capital to be an empty prince?

This is also the typical mentality of the ancient vassal kings, as for the people at that time, where did the small farmers care about this.

Due to various practical reasons, mainly the prohibitive cost of ruling in distant places, the vassal state was eventually retained.

But in recent decades, the situation has changed dramatically.

The Ming Empire gradually completed basic industrialization and transformed from a traditional feudal dynasty into a semi-modern industrial state.

The efficiency of communication and transportation increased dramatically, and the barriers between the various parts of the empire were broken, and the connection between them became closer and closer.

The level of education of the people has also risen, and there are more and more people who can think and pursue a better life in the whole society.

The most important thing is that in modern times, the interest groups of capital have really taken shape and have begun to interfere and influence politics.

At the same time, the Ming Empire is the most powerful, richest and most civilized country in the world today, and has a high attraction to the whole world, and the vassal states are the first to bear the brunt.

The magnates of the Ming vassal states, the emerging capitalist elites, and even the ordinary people all hoped that they could withdraw the feudal domains and set up provinces, and they could truly become a member of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Then why did the vassal state want to become independent?

Because the imperial court always refused to abolish the feudal domain and establish provinces, and almost all the ministers opposed the abolition of the feudal domain and the establishment of provinces, the vassal state never saw hope.

Why didn't the Ming court allow vassal states to become provinces?

In the final analysis, it is a question of the division of interests, and the root cause is Emperor Shizu's new system of benevolence and martial arts.

According to the new system of benevolence and martial arts, the inhabitants of the Ming Empire were divided into eight levels from top to bottom.

Imperial Citizen, Imperial Citizen, Vassal Citizen, Vassal National, Imperial Abode, Vassalal Abode, Imperial Servant, Vassalal Servant.

Only the most senior citizens of the empire, who had full political power throughout the empire.

It is possible to invest, do business, participate in politics, join the military, and can work in any legal industry, similar to that of a citizen of a modern country.

The rights of the second-tier imperial nationals were clearly restricted.

It is not allowed to participate in politics or the army in the empire, nor is it allowed to invest and operate across regions, participate in financial investments, or buy and sell liquid stocks.

The citizens of the vassal state, on the other hand, had complete political rights only within the vassal state.

When the citizens of the vassal state arrived at the empire itself, their rights were equal to those of the citizens of the empire, and the citizens of the empire were given priority in all things, and so on.

At the same time, when the inhabitants of the empire reach the realm of the domain, the power level must be increased by one level by default.

When the citizens of the empire arrived in the territory of the vassal state, they directly had the right to citizenship, and the citizens of the empire, not to mention, had a higher priority in everything.

As a result, the citizens of the empire were able to move freely within the domain.

You can run and engage in any industry, you can directly obtain any fame, and you can hold any military and political official position.

However, the citizens of the vassal kingdom were restricted at every point in the empire itself.

Not only can they not join the army, but they cannot be even the smallest officials, and the key is that even the scope and amount of investment are limited.

As a result, the citizens of the empire unilaterally squeezed out the military and political positions of the vassal state, and the imperial capital unilaterally squeezed the living space of the vassal capital.

This is a typical colonial style of political and economic oppression.

When the elite group of the vassal state was small, and when the capital power of the vassal state was weak, the effects of these oppressions were not obvious.

However, when the size of the elite group of the vassal state continued to grow, and the capital power of the vassal state became the main force in the political arena of the vassal state, separatism inevitably breeded.

When the empire fell into passivity on the battlefield, the Xiyi forces put little pressure and lure on them, and most of the vassal states showed a tendency to so-called self-reliance.

Their idea was simple, since they could not profit from the empire itself, it was better to simply be independent.

After independence, he expelled the imperial people from the vassal state, and took back the interests occupied by the imperial people, so that he could at least share more.

The most crucial change included in the policy of abolishing feudal domains and establishing provinces was the promotion of feudal citizens to imperial citizens.

As a result, the empire's own market, the largest market in the world, was completely opened to vassal capital.

The large number of military and political posts in the empire itself was also opened to the elite groups of the vassal states.

The vast number of jobs in the empire itself were also opened to the common people of the vassal states.

Coupled with the cultural centripetal force that existed in the empire itself, the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of provinces became a common ideal for all strata and groups in the feudal state.

Once the policy is implemented, most of the vassal states should quickly change their stance and return to the side of the Empire.

However, the removal of feudal domains and provinces would harm the interests of the empire's native capital, empire's native elites, and the empire's native people.

The capital of the feudal kingdom will come to compete for the market, the elite of the feudal kingdom will come to compete for military and political posts, and the people of the feudal kingdom will come to compete for jobs.

Therefore, this policy was also unanimously opposed by the whole empire itself.

This is also the main reason why the reform of the province has been brewing for decades, but there has been no substantial progress.

All strata of the empire did not accept the withdrawal of the feudal provinces, and in the final analysis, they did not want to let the capital and people of the feudal states to compete with them at the same time as the withdrawal of the feudal provinces.

This even includes the clan group that controls the royal family's foundation.

Therefore, if you simply consider personal interests, no one on the scene, including the emperor, will support Zhu Jingyuan's proposal to withdraw the feudal domain and establish a province.

Zhu Jingyuan actually understood this, but he still said it directly, and then fell into the siege of course.

The princes and ministers attacked in a row, and the inexperienced Zhu Jingyuan couldn't parry it at all, and in fact, he didn't need to parry.

The practice of the Imperial Council of the Ming Empire, if someone puts forward a proposal that is unanimously opposed by the ministers, then there is no need to discuss it, and it is directly vetoed.

Unless the emperor himself wants to impose it, there is room for further discussion, but that means that the imperial family has to cede benefits.

So after a commotion at the scene, the princes and ministers stopped arguing one after another, and looked up at the emperor above with tacit understanding.

The old emperor Zhu Zhongliang looked at the situation at the scene, coughed lightly, raised his hand and pointed to the ministers sitting on both sides, and said to Zhu Jingyuan seriously:

"See, kid, you're on the opposite side of everyone now.

"Even if I directly agree to this suggestion of yours, there is no way to implement it smoothly.

"Do you understand why?"

Zhu Jingyuan replied calmly and solemnly:

"I understand, so the second support I would like from the imperial court and the foundations is the economic adjustment in line with the abolition of the feudal domain and the establishment of provinces.

"I hope that the imperial court and the consortium will open the ban on alcohol, sugar, tea, steel, big ships, and large locomotives to the people!"

Before Zhu Jingyuan's words were finished, the old emperor Zhu Zhongliang's expression froze.

The meeting scene fell into a deathly silence, and then immediately resounded a series of exclamations, and the Wenhua Hall was lively again.