The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 355 Fair Deal
There were two major changes made by Zhu Biao this time, and each one was very complicated.

The first was to set up a special zone, separating Cangzhou and Haijin Town from the jurisdiction of Beiping, and establishing a new special zone, Canghai Province.

Cangzhou is the area of ​​Cangzhou City, Hebei Province in the previous life.

As for Haijin Town, it is the predecessor of Tianjin.

Initially, this place was desolate. When the Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Beiping and needed to transport grain from the south, this place became an important grain transport transit station.

Therefore, it was named Haijin Town.

Zhu Di crossed the Grand Canal here when he was suppressing the rebellion, so the city was renamed Tianjin, which means the emperor's ferry.

Because of this reason, a city and a garrison were first built here during the Yongle period, which led to the later Tianjin City.

If there had been no Jingnan in this life, there would naturally be no Tianjin.

Moreover, because the capital of the Ming Dynasty was not in Peking, the demand for food and fodder from the south was not that great.

This also made Haijin Town, which was not very prosperous to begin with, even more desolate.

The decision to place the special zone here was not made on a whim.

Instead, it was selected after comprehensive consideration by Chen Jingke, Zhu Biao and others.

First of all, to put it bluntly, the Special Administrative Region is a test field, the purpose of which is to allow the court to understand the specific effects of various new policies.

In ancient times, information was transmitted very slowly, which meant that the special zone could not be too far away from Luoyang, otherwise it would be inconvenient for the imperial court to understand the local situation in a timely manner.

Secondly, the transportation must be convenient so that there is potential for development. There is no point in leaving it in the mountains.

Again, the land must be new enough, otherwise the initial construction will be too troublesome and the cost will be very high.

If one is not careful, one may easily be accused of disturbing the public.

Finally, you need certain resources so that you can develop faster and better.

After looking around, I found that none of the existing administrative regions met the standards.

But it's not a big problem, just cut out a piece.

So Cangzhou and Haijin Town were cut out from Peking.

Why them?
There are many reasons for this.

First, it is neither far nor close to Luoyang, and can be reached directly from the Yellow River.

Second, this place is poor enough and sparsely populated.

Cangzhou is relatively better. Haijin Town is just a water transport transit station and there are hardly any people there.

No matter how the imperial court messes around, it won't have much impact.

Third, the geographical location here is superior, it is close to the Bohai Bay and has developed sea transportation.

Haijin Town itself is a water transport transit station, and Cangzhou is located on the north bank of the Yellow River, so it can take advantage of the Yellow River's water transportation.

Four special products. Previously, Chen Jingke proposed to promote the method of drying salt, and salt fields were spread all over the coastal areas from Peking to Shandong.

Zhigu and other places in Haijin Town are one of the most important salt producing areas.

The status of salt in ancient times is unquestionable.

There is another reason: kelp is produced here.

This thing can be used as a dish, as salt, and can also supplement iodine to prevent and treat goiter. It was simply a panacea in ancient times.

5. The area of ​​Peking at that time was so vast that it included the three provinces of Hebei, Yanjing and Tianjin in later generations.

Chen Jingke had previously proposed to cut off this area.

However, the Northern Yuan Dynasty was very powerful at that time and constantly invaded the northern border.

Beiping was the front line against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and it would be inconvenient to manage if it was cut off.

So this proposal was rejected by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Now that the Northern Yuan Dynasty has been devastated, there are almost no large tribes south of the desert, and security is guaranteed.

There is no need to maintain such a large province any longer.

Moreover, if local governments are too strong, it will affect the authority of the central government.

Cutting becomes inevitable.

It just so happens that a special zone is to be set up this time, and the two things are happening at the same time, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

When the Canghai Province Special Economic Zone plan was announced, it unsurprisingly aroused opposition from both the government and the opposition.

With the example of Temasek, everyone has some understanding of the concept of special administrative regions.

Precisely because we understand, we must oppose it even more.

It doesn’t matter what you do overseas, because they are all newly acquired lands, and no matter what you do, it will not affect the local area.

But the Ming Dynasty’s homeland is different. This is the foundation of China and it must not be messed with.

If it collapses, it is likely to usher in a protracted period of chaos.

We understand that the emperor wants to make reforms, but you have to have a end, right?

If things keep changing, when will the state and people's hearts be able to stabilize?
Public unrest will endanger the country.

But now the emperor wants to set up a special zone to study new policies.

What does this mean? It means that change will never end.

This is definitely not feasible.

Even many officials who supported the new policy opposed the establishment of the special administrative region.

It is said that the new emperor is benevolent and magnanimous, so how come he is more radical than the retired emperor when it comes to reforms?
It must be Chen Jingke’s fault.

As a result, Chen Jingke, who was secluded at home writing books, was impeached.

Some people even wrote to Zhu, who was on a secret visit in Jiangnan, hoping that he could step in to stop this.

Faced with opposition from his ministers, Zhu Biao remained very calm and kept all of them to himself, leaving them for everyone to discuss.

Zhu Xiongying was still young and hot-tempered, and he could not stand it any longer, especially when he saw his good brother being impeached. He angrily yelled:
"How can we create a new era with just a bunch of insects?"

"Once the special zone is built and new officials are trained, they will all be replaced."

Zhu Biao frowned and scolded, "Nonsense, most of the ministers are also motivated by public interest, don't humiliate them like this."

Zhu Xiongying said unconvincedly: "They are short-sighted and smell like decay."

Zhu Biao said seriously: "It's not entirely their fault. They have been taught since childhood that being conservative is the right thing to do."

"Now they are just dealing with the problem in the way they think is right."

"Although it's pedantic, it's also out of public interest."

"You can dislike them and remove them from office, but you should not humiliate them."

Zhu Xiongying retorted: "If their opposition leads to the failure of the reform and eventually the destruction of the country and the family, should we still understand them?"

Zhu Biao was somewhat speechless and could only sigh: "It hasn't reached that stage yet."

Zhu Xiongying said angrily: "You are too kind. If it were Grandpa Emperor, he would send them all back to their hometown."

Zhu Biao shook his head helplessly. It’s not that he didn’t dare to kill anyone.

If killing can solve the problem, he will never hesitate to use some typical examples as the culprit.

The problem is that this matter cannot be solved by killing people.

Before new-style officials were trained, a group of people were killed and replaced by conservative bureaucrats.

Moreover, these people are afraid of being killed, so they will easily become timid, which is not a good thing for the country.

The political situation in the middle period of the Hongwu reign was the most typical example. Three major cases resulted in rivers of bloodshed, and then all the officials became speechless.

It’s not that no one dares to offer suggestions, but those who do offer suggestions often don’t end up well.

The end result was that no one dared to criticize the government.

There are problems with Lao Zhu's policies, but everyone pretends not to see it.

If Chen Jingke had not emerged, it is hard to imagine what would have happened to the Ming Dynasty under that flawed system.

Zhu Biao came from that era and personally experienced the changes in the political situation over the past decade or so, so he had a deep understanding of this point.

Zhu Xiongying was still too young and didn't have a deep understanding of the situation before Chen Jingke appeared.

He only saw that under the combination of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Jingke, the Ming Dynasty was thriving and developing rapidly, so he became accustomed to being radical.

Zhu Biao naturally understood his son's situation very well, and he was helpless about it.

The current atmosphere in the court is actually very rare. Although the ministers are conservative, they are still willing to support new policies that are truly tangible and visible.

Even if they oppose it in their hearts, most people will still push it forward as long as it is approved by the court.

It’s just that their abilities are limited, and many times they don’t know what to do.

It is much better than the situation faced by Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi in the Northern Song Dynasty.

This is the real reason why he can tolerate these people in the court. However, Zhu Xiongying does not understand this, so he is extremely dissatisfied with the attitude of the conservatives.

Fortunately, Chen Jingke is more pragmatic, otherwise he would really have to worry about the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Zhu Biao sighed: "You... Imagine if there was no Jing Ke, would you know so many things?"

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Zhu Xiongying with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

The ministers still opposed the special zone plan, but Zhu Biao still said nothing.

Even Li Shanchang and others remained silent, as if nothing had happened.

Their abnormal behavior made some people alert and cautious.

Everyone began to speculate, could it be that the emperor had other plans?
Then Zhu Biao's backup plan really came, and the second reform was announced.

The shock caused by this change far exceeded that of the special zone plan, and it can even be said that the impact of the two is incomparable.

Once the new reform plan came out, no one paid attention to the special zone plan anymore.

Because this new policy gives the cabinet the power to refute.

Anyone who knows a little about politics will understand what this means: the entire central power structure will change.

The most important thing is that the emperor is decentralizing and limiting his own power.

So at first, all the ministers thought they had heard wrongly.

What power does the emperor want to give to the cabinet?

After confirming that the order was true, the court was in an uproar, and soon the city of Luoyang was in an uproar.

Then the order was spread to all parts of the country at the fastest speed.

In the face of this matter, the new district is completely not worth mentioning.

Then as expected, everyone who heard the news for the first time was shocked.

Did the new emperor take the wrong medicine? Or was he possessed by a demon?
He actually wants to rebuild the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Of course, everyone knows that the cabinet’s power is far less than that of the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister's Office had an independent administrative status in terms of law and ritual, and could issue decrees without the emperor's permission.

Hu Weiyong relied on this power to undermine the emperor.

Although the cabinet scholars had the power to draft and refute proposals, the power of approval, that is, the final decision-making power, always remained in the hands of the emperor.

This means that the cabinet scholars can never issue decrees without the permission of the emperor.

But even so, after gaining the power to draft and refute, the Cabinet Scholars were qualified to clash with the emperor.

After all, if we are not satisfied with your approval, the emperor, we can reject it. This is a power granted to us by the law.

Ten years ago, the retired emperor took back the power at the cost of tens of thousands of lives, but the new emperor returned it to the officials one year after he ascended the throne?
It's so incredible that it's hard to believe.

After everyone reacted, opinions on this matter split into two camps.

One group couldn't wait to shout "Long live the emperor", "The holy emperor is ruling the country with ease" and so on.

The other faction remained silent. The emperor was still alive, so what did he mean?
If he is unwilling to come back suddenly, the consequences will be disastrous.

Someone even wrote a letter to ask indirectly whether the emperor knew about this matter.

But Zhu Biao still did not answer, but asked everyone to discuss whether this was feasible.

Is there any need to ask? Of course, all the ministers are willing to do so.

But as the saying goes, no one can feel at ease if the emperor doesn't speak.

Zhu Yuanzhang is still a dark cloud hanging over everyone's mind.

Seeing that his appetite had been whetted to some extent, Zhu Biao leisurely took out an imperial edict written by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The emperor did not give any direct opinion on expanding the power of the cabinet.

But it gave instructions for the reform itself:
Innovation is a major systemic event that involves many aspects that are interconnected and must be implemented as a whole.

If any link is missing, the whole thing may collapse.

This is particularly important and I hope everyone can keep it in mind.

……

If the ministers still don’t understand what it means after hearing this, then they are not worthy of standing in the court.

The SAR plan and the expansion of cabinet power are tied together. Either agree to both or give up both.

This is indeed Zhu's style. He used salary increase as a threat to force officials to agree to military reforms.

Now the same tactic is used again.

So the question is, should we agree to it?
Nonsense, this is not a problem at all. Whoever disagrees will be the sworn enemy of all civil and military officials.

It’s just a special administrative region, let’s do something about it.

As long as you can expand the cabinet's power, you can do whatever you want.

If you think Canghai Province is not big enough, you can also include Le'an Prefecture, Shandong Province, since they are adjacent to each other.

In this way, the Yellow River estuary can be enjoyed exclusively by Canghai Province.

Thus, the two changes were passed and implemented with astonishing speed.

The appointment of officials in the Canghai Special Zone and the establishment of various competent departments have been given the green light all the way.

All relevant departments passed it with their eyes closed.

As for the reason, it was naturally because they were afraid that the emperor would go back on his word, so they had to implement this matter quickly.

As for the cabinet adjustments, the efficiency is even faster.

All government offices cooperated unconditionally, and a complete set of docking procedures was implemented in just a few days.

On December 1st, after the court session ended, the ministers did not leave as usual, but instead waited together at the door of the cabinet in the severe cold.

No one spoke, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the cabinet door.

Li Shanchang and seven other cabinet scholars were leisurely sipping tea inside.

On the table in front of them were memorials approved by the emperor.

The only difference from the past was that after the emperor's approval, there was another reply.

Exclusive approval from the Cabinet.

And this is a sign of the expansion of power of this cabinet.

From now on, all government decrees must have both approvals to take effect, neither of which can be missing.

The ministers outside also wanted to witness the approval with their own eyes.

Also, why do you want them to drink tea here?

Naturally, they were putting on airs and using this incident to tell the world that the era of the cabinet had arrived.

Whether you are a senior official in one of the six ministries or an official in other departments, you are subordinate to the cabinet.

When you see us, you have to be polite and smile.

After a long while, Li Shanchang finally said:

"Everyone, is that about it?"

Xu Da nodded and said, "They are all important officials of the central government. It would not be good to make them wait too long."

Qiu Guangan just felt light all over and almost thought he was living in a dream.

I need to pinch my thigh from time to time to control my excitement.

Although there is no title of prime minister, everyone knows that the Cabinet Scholar is equivalent to the prime minister.

Prime Minister, this was a good thing that he had never dared to dream of before, but he never expected that it would really happen to him one day.

He sincerely thanked Chen Jingke. He never expected that his initial kindness would yield such great rewards.

Hearing the two big guys speaking, he quickly echoed:
"I will follow the orders of the two dukes."

Naturally, everyone else had the same idea.

Although they are all cabinet scholars, there are differences in rank.

Li Shanchang and Xu Da were the leaders.

Li Shanchang looked at Xu Da and asked him about it. After he nodded, he said:
"Send these memorials to the various ministries."

The cabinet members who had been waiting for a long time said excitedly:
"Yes."

The Cabinet has become the highest administrative body at the core, and their status has also risen. Isn't that very exciting?

Not long after these people left with the memorials, cheers were heard outside the cabinet.

(End of this chapter)