Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Turning the bills passed by Congress into law is an important step in re-establishing ritual music.

According to the emperor, this is the rule of law.

Laws are enacted under the guidance of rites and music as codes of conduct that everyone should abide by.

If someone disagrees with the bill, they can propose amendments.

But before it is amended, it must continue to be implemented, or the emperor may issue an imperial decree to temporarily abolish it.

Liu Zongzhou supported this, and it is said in the Book of Rites: Music:

Rites guide their will, music harmonizes their voices, politics unifies their conduct, and punishments prevent their treachery. Rites, music, punishments, and politics all have the same ultimate goal.

Confucianism has always viewed rites and punishments as complementary, and has regarded rites and laws as the highest level of rules and regulations.

Confucianism on the outside and legalism on the inside is also a prominent feature of Confucian governance after the Han Dynasty.

The only difference between Confucianism and pure Legalism is that Confucianism regards criminal law as a means of education, to prevent evil people. They also advocate the use of rituals and music to improve the moral level of the world.

The Book of Rites, Music says: "Rites regulate the people's hearts, music harmonizes the people's voices, politics implements it, and punishment prevents it." If rites, music, punishment and politics are spread everywhere without conflict, then the kingly way is complete!
This is also the purpose Liu Zongzhou hoped to achieve by remaking rituals and music.

He hoped to use rituals, music, punishment and politics to assist the emperor in exercising the kingly way.

As a great scholar, Liu Lishun also agreed with this. He said to Liu Zongzhou:

“Congress can make bills, but can local councils make them?”

"If the demands of the local government and the imperial court are different, how should they be resolved?"

This is one of the things Liu Zongzhou is busy with, setting standards for how Congress and parliaments at all levels should formulate bills, he said:

"Your Majesty has said that laws and regulations should be divided into different levels."

"Lower-level laws cannot conflict with higher-level laws. If there are contradictions in the same-level laws, they must be modified and explained."

"The initial intention of the National Assembly Planning Office is that no matter which level of parliament, the bills passed cannot conflict with the law."

“And before it becomes law, the implementation date and scope must be determined.”

"For example, the salt monopoly law to be formulated for this salt industry reform will be temporarily implemented in northern Zhili, and the date is set for three years."

“After three years, we will look at the results and decide whether to extend it to other places, summarize the implementation of the bill, and make corresponding amendments.”

This is the final solution reached after intense debate.

With the emperor's repeated statements and the strong support of the Ministry of Revenue, the salt company's monopoly policy will be implemented in northern Zhili, and will be promoted to other places later depending on the situation.

The issuance of subsidiary currency notes was also implemented in the capital and Shuntian Prefecture. As banks and money houses in other places were not well-developed, they were not forced to use paper money.

Liu Lishun listened to Liu Zongzhou's explanation and nodded repeatedly in agreement. Ni Yuangong, director of the Administrative Affairs Office, who was also listening nearby, said:

"It seems that the duties assigned by the Emperor to the Department of Etiquette and Law will fall here."

"The Etiquette and Law Department will not only review whether official documents are legal, but also review proposals."

“There is no need to vote on proposals that are not in compliance with the law.”

“The MP’s unrealistic demands should be decisively rejected.”

As the director of the Government Affairs Department, he was extremely dissatisfied with some legislators' interference in administration.

He could barely tolerate some members of parliament who could offer useful suggestions and help the government implement its policies.

In his view, some members of parliament were simply looking for trouble, proposing exemptions from taxes and corvée labor.

Now that there was a rule that proposals could not violate the law, he immediately proposed that the proposal be reviewed by the Etiquette and Law Department.

Liu Zongzhou disagreed with this and said:
"Parliament has the duty to amend the law. Not all bills that are inconsistent with existing laws cannot be introduced."

"Members of Congress can propose amendments to the law while introducing bills. The final outcome will depend on the vote of Congress."

"The feudal states and localities do not have the authority to amend the law, but they can amend local regulations in accordance with the autonomy granted by the imperial court."

"If a local bill is only in conflict with certain laws and regulations, it is not impossible to amend it."

Then he continued:
"The bills of the local council must be submitted to the standing committee of the higher-level council for approval and cannot conflict with the bills enacted by the higher-level council."

"The initial opinion of the National Assembly Organizing Office is that the proposals of the district and county councils must be passed by the Standing Committee of the Provincial Council and approved by the Provincial Attorney General before they can become bills."

"The bills of the prefectural council must be passed by the provincial council standing committee and approved by the provincial censor and the governor-general before they can become laws."

"Provincial council bills must be passed by the National Assembly Standing Committee and approved by the Censorate and the Supreme Court before they can become bills."

"Because the distance between the feudal states and territories is too great, the court authorizes the governor-general to temporarily approve the bills, which will become bills after being passed by the Council of Nobles and the National Assembly."

Compared with provinces and counties, the feudal states and territories had great autonomy, and as long as they did not violate the laws of the imperial court, they would be approved.

Even because of the need to govern the natives, some vassal states or territories would be allowed not to enforce certain laws and have greater autonomy.

The court's departmental regulations did not apply to the vassal states. They had to abide by the court's laws and the bills of the Congress and the House of Lords.

Huang Zongxi was somewhat moved while listening, and suddenly said to the teacher:
"Sir, I heard that Prince Lu is seeking talents to establish a fiefdom."

"I wonder when the Lu Fan parliament will be established. Can you recommend me to go there?"

Liu Zongzhou was very surprised and said:

"how?"

"You don't want to take the exam?"

"Want to be an official in Lufan?"

Huang Zongxi hesitated for a moment, but still said firmly: "I have studied for more than ten years and I feel that I have accumulated knowledge and want to show it."

"Today's emperor is wise and wants to share the power of the world's interests among the people."

“Students want to find a place to try it out and build a more complete parliament.”

He was ordered by Liu Zongzhou to keep an eye on the Zhuolu District Council and gradually became obsessed with the council.

In his view, the parliament established by the emperor was indeed a major innovation to divide the power of the world.

However, Zhuolu District is adjacent to the capital, and the parliament is still greatly influenced by the imperial court.

After hearing that the domain had greater autonomy, he decided to go to the domain to establish a parliament.

Liu Zongzhou naturally supported Huang Zongxi's idea. The emperor had also asked him to formulate a charter to give the vassal state parliament more power to restrain the feudal lords.

Now Huang Zongxi was going to the Lufan Advisory Council. Whether he succeeded or failed, it was a good thing in his eyes, so he stroked his beard and said:
"You are willing to share the country's worries, and as a teacher, I will naturally support you."

"This parliament may affect the power of Prince Lu, and you may not be able to obtain the title he promised you."

In order to invite Dacai to help him establish a fiefdom, Prince Lu offered the condition of becoming a viscount. This matter spread widely in the capital, and many people applied.

These people are either good at military affairs or administration, and they may have the opportunity to be awarded a title by making meritorious deeds in the future.

However, the parliament Huang Zongxi chose was to limit the power of Prince Lu, and it was difficult for him to make achievements. If he wanted to be granted a title in the future, he needed Prince Lu to be kind.

Huang Zongxi, who was still a young man with a lot of enthusiasm, didn't care much about this. He said with great ambition:

"Disciples do not seek titles, but to put into practice what they have learned."

"Master, I will practice the etiquette you taught me in Lu Fan."

When Liu Lishun and others heard this, they all clapped their hands in praise, thinking that Liu Zongzhou had accepted a good disciple, and that his teachings would be passed on to future generations.
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Chen Hongshou, who was also a disciple of Liu Zongzhou and was watching the Zhuolu District Council together with Huang Zongxi, watched this scene with envy, but did not make up his mind to go to the vassal state.

One reason was that the vassal states granted by the imperial court were located in remote areas, and he did not want to leave the Central Plains and go there.

Second, after Zeng Jing was specially granted the status of Yuanshi, he, a painter who was also good at figure painting, felt that he also had an opportunity.

Zeng Jing's figure paintings are indeed lifelike, but the figures painted by Chen Hongshou are more praised. In figure painting alone, Chen Hongshou can confidently say that he dominates the painting world, and Qiu Ying and Tang Yin are not as good as him.

Long before the emperor made the reward cards, he painted a set of 40 "Water Margin Leaves" in the fifth year of Tianqi. The paintings were based on the characters of Water Margin and were engraved into prints, which were bought by the people.

However, after Emperor introduced sets of fifty-four playing cards with more complete gameplay, the sales of his "Water Margin Leaves" were far lower than before.

Now, he is being asked to draw other Water Margin generals. He plans to draw all 108 generals and make two sets of playing cards.

These two sets of cards took him a lot of effort, and they were what he intended to present to the emperor to impress him.

However, after I privately proposed this idea to my mentor Liu Zongzhou and asked him to present the cards, Liu Zongzhou refused and said:

"What good does it do to the country to draw Water Margin characters?"

"What's more, the world is plagued by disasters and there are many thieves among the people."

"Your Majesty is worried that they will gather in the mountains, so why would you be willing to promote Water Margin?"

"The better your paintings are, the angrier His Majesty will be. It's already a relief that you are not banned, but you still want to gain a birthright?"

He scolded Chen Hongshou severely, thinking that Chen Hongshou had skills but was not on the right path.

Moreover, although his paintings have both form and spirit, they are not as realistic as Zeng Jing's, and it is not what the emperor required, that can recognize human images.

Liu Zongzhou did not think that the emperor liked this kind of painting. What the current emperor valued most was practicality, and he even encouraged Qian Qianyi to study practical science.

Chen Hongshou was reprimanded and his face turned pale. He never thought that he could flatter someone and end up hitting the horse's leg. If his teacher hadn't pointed it out, he might have been disliked by the emperor.

However, as he loved Water Margin very much, he still defended himself:

"The heroes of Liangshan Mountain also accepted the amnesty, and there is no rebellious intention in "Water Margin"."

"Most of them are still loyal to the country. How can Your Majesty not be happy?"

Liu Zongzhou said with great regret:
"It is because they did not have a good ending after being recruited that Your Majesty hates this book so much."

"If the ending is that they enjoy wealth and glory after being recruited, and the thieves in the society flock to accept the amnesty, how can Your Majesty not be pleased and restrict its spread?"

"Have any bookstores in the capital ever printed a copy of Water Margin? Even the newspapers don't mention this book."

This is a soft ban, which means just ignoring it.

Even if it is explicitly banned, some people in the public will go and watch it out of curiosity.

As the printing volume of bookstores in the capital increased, the influence of "Water Margin" was naturally not as great as before.

Chen Hongshou now understood why the sales of his Water Margin Leaves had plummeted. He had previously thought it was because of the popularity of the fifty-four cards. But now it seemed that it was not the case, but rather the soft restrictions imposed by the imperial court.

He was very disappointed with this, so he put away the cards he had drawn and was about to ask his teacher what he should draw. Huang Zongxi, who was listening nearby, suddenly said:

"I think the Water Margin playing cards can be presented to you, and you can also ask your majesty to revise the Water Margin."

"This way, Brother Chen can not only show off his painting skills, but also get the task of repairing the book. If he can complete it, wouldn't it be a sure thing for him to qualify as a Yuanshi?"

"Among the Yuanshi specially granted by His Majesty, there are many people who can edit books!"

He learned this from communicating with the students of the Imperial College, and he believed that Chen Hongshou could also follow this path and compile and revise "Water Margin".

If the emperor is superstitious about this book, then we should repair the book according to the emperor's wishes, and this way we can also obtain the origin of a Yuanshi.

Moreover, becoming a Yuanshi by editing calligraphy sounds better than becoming a Yuanshi by painting skills.

After hearing this, Chen Hongshou was also moved. (End of this chapter)