Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 543 "Civil Affairs, Households, Rites, Soldiers, Punishments, Industry and Commerce" (Special thanks to book friend Xwf...6937 for three monthly tickets!)
Kou Zhun said:
“Your Majesty, after the four imperial examinations over the past few decades, business officials now account for nearly half of the total number of officials in the court.

Currently, most of these officials serve as deputy positions in charge of industry and commerce in various provincial governments, and the final decision-making power still lies with the governor.

If Your Majesty sets up a government office specifically for industry and commerce, I believe it will simplify administration, greatly improve the efficiency of approving industrial and commercial affairs, and promote the development of the national economy. "

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

“Since the business of industry and commerce is increasing, the existing governance structure of the court can no longer meet the needs of economic development. I intend to establish a new department, the Ministry of Commerce, in addition to the six departments of the court, namely, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Military Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works.

Its duties were to be in charge of all types of industrial and commercial affairs throughout the country, formulate and coordinate the development of various industries, safeguard the interests of merchants at all levels and convey the demands of merchants to the court.

My dear Lord Kou, you can explain my intention to the court officials in the next few days and see how they respond. Then I will officially issue it."

Kou Zhun agreed immediately.

The rumor that Emperor Chai Zongxun intended to establish a seventh ministry, the "Ministry of Commerce", in addition to the six ministries of the court quickly spread among high-ranking officials in the capital.

Once the Ministry of Commerce is established, nearly half of the officials in the court, both at the central and local levels, who are successful candidates in the industrial and commercial sciences, will immediately have more ways to advance. Their status will be equal to that of the officials in the traditional six ministries of "Li, Hu, Li, Bing, Xing, and Gong". Naturally, they will strongly support this proposal.

Although officials from traditional departments felt that the "Ministry of Commerce" was a form of decentralization, after decades of the "Kaixi Prosperity", the commodity economy of the Great Zhou Dynasty had developed greatly, and these officials had seen tremendous growth in both their salaries and family businesses. They were also the class that shared in the huge profits of the times, and therefore had no objection to the establishment of the "Ministry of Commerce" to promote the development of the commodity economy.

After more than a month of discussion in the court and the public, there was almost unanimous support for the establishment of the "Ministry of Commerce". Chai Zongxun issued an edict in August of the 44th year of Kaixi to formally establish the "Ministry of Commerce" as the seventh ministry on par with the "Ministry of Personnel, Households, Rites, Military Affairs, Criminal Affairs and Works".

As for the first Shangshu of the Ministry of Commerce, the court officials discussed and recommended three candidates:
The first one was Tang Ming, the younger brother of Tang Qi, the chief eunuch of the imperial palace.

In the first year of Kaixi, after Chai Zongxun took control of the government, when he established the Royal Arsenal, Tang Ming was recommended by his brother and was appointed by Chai Zongxun as the general manager of the Arsenal.

In the fifth year of Kaixi, after Chai Zongxun established the "Royal Commercial Group", Tang Ming, who was capable, honest and law-abiding, was promoted by Chai Zongxun to be the general manager of the "Royal Commercial Group" and was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Under the personal leadership of Chai Zongxun, after decades of operation, the "Royal Commercial Group", which covers many industries such as the "Royal Arsenal", "Royal Bank", "Royal Shipyard" and "Royal Mine", has become a huge group that controls the military and financial lifeline of the Great Zhou Empire and has total assets exceeding 10 billion silver taels.

Tang Ming's diligent and hard-working achievements are witnessed by all the government and the public.

Second: Wang Qinruo, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Wang Qinruo was born in the fourth year of Kaixi (963), with the courtesy name Dingguo. He was from Xinyu, Linjiang Army, and belonged to the Wang family in the east of Yu Shui District, Xinyu City. He was a representative of the Jiangnan scholars in the court after the surrender of Southern Tang.

In the 31st year of Kaixi (990), he ranked seventh in the first class of the Chinese subject, and was successively promoted to the position of Director of Imperial Edicts and Hanlin Academician. In the 41st year of Kaixi, he performed well in the examination and was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

He is a man of noble character, outstanding literary talent and meticulous work. Since he was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he has been in charge of industrial and commercial affairs of various departments and has made outstanding political achievements.

The compilation of Cefu Yuangui, which was presided over by Wang Qinruo and Yang Yi, took 8 years.

"Cefu Yuangui" has a total of 1000 volumes, 31 parts, and 1116 chapters. Although it has the same number of volumes as "Taiping Yulan", each volume has a larger capacity, so the total number of words is about twice that of "Taiping Yulan", with more than 940 million words.

The purpose of compiling this book is "to record the facts of all dynasties and serve as a code of conduct for the future, so that those who open the book can benefit from it." The characteristics of the compilation are that the materials collected do not change the old text, and no notes are added to the original text at inappropriate times. The scope of the materials is all serious classics and history. There is a general preface before each part and a small preface before each chapter, which are concise and to the point.

The materials collected are from official history, unofficial history, and imperial edicts and memorials of the four dynasties of the Tang Dynasty, and are of great historical and literary value.

After the death of his grandfather Li Yun, Li Enbo came to his senses and determined to study business. After passing the imperial examination, he asked Chai Zongxun to join the "Great Zhou Railway Bureau".

Over the past six years, Li Enbo has made outstanding political achievements. He has completed the laying of the first phase of national highway tracks in more than 1,500 of the more than 2,100 provincial capitals across the country, greatly improving the transportation efficiency of the Great Zhou society.

The rail construction led by Li Enbo has a reasonable design, the staff provides attentive service, and the rail transit is affordable and of good quality for the people, and has been widely praised.

After Chai Zongxun returned from the expedition to Maya, he saw that Li Enbo was so ambitious, so he promoted him to the position of Vice Minister of Works in the 42nd year of Kaixi.

Chai Zongxun considered the candidate for the Minister of Commerce for several days.

In terms of ability, these three candidates are all excellent choices.

These three people are between 40 and 50 years old, which is the prime of their life.

In terms of background, Tang Ming belonged to the eunuch force among the "six major political forces".

Taking into account that the two key departments, "Tianjichu" and "Wudesi", are currently controlled by eunuchs, although the eunuchs are the emperor's slaves and all power comes from the emperor, if Tang Ming is appointed as the Minister of Commerce, there will still be the problem of eunuchs having too much power and infiltrating the court.

Wang Qinruo represented the interests of the scholars and people in the south of the Yangtze River who surrendered to Zhou.

Li Enbo represents the old noble forces in the early years of Kaixi.

Chai Zongxun hesitated for a few days, thinking that in the court now, the only important official who represented the interests of the scholars and people of Jiangnan was the military general Lin Renzhao, and in the palace there were only a dozen concubines represented by Concubine Yi Zhou Nuying. Their strength was a little weak, which was not conducive to fully considering the interests of the scholars and people of Jiangnan when formulating policies.

Moreover, the area of ​​Jiangnan has now become one of the most economically developed regions in the Great Zhou Empire, and one of the "four major economic centers" of Bianjing, Yang (zhou), Jin (ling), Chengdu, and Youzhou. The tax revenue it contributes to the national treasury accounts for 20% of the national total, and maritime trade accounts for 40%.

Chai Zongxun finally selected Wang Qinruo as the first Minister of Commerce. The officials were equipped with the same staff as the other six ministries, with two vice ministers and more than ten running errands. There were more than 60 departments under the ministry, which were in charge of the commercial affairs of all prefectures and cities across the country.

These officials are all appointed by the cabinet from officials who have performed well in past examinations and are proficient in industrial and commercial management.

After the imperial edict was issued, the newly established Ministry of Commerce had a complete organizational structure and officials in place within a month, becoming the seventh ministry established by the court.

In accordance with the instructions of Emperor Chai Zong, the Ministry of Internal Affairs built a new Ministry of Commerce next to the "Six Ministries" in the front yard of the Imperial Palace.

In October of the 44th year of Kaixi, the government office officially opened.

After the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce of the Great Zhou Empire, industrial and commercial affairs were able to be "dedicated to specific matters", which changed the previous situation where many government offices could intervene and control things, and the economic development of the Great Zhou society has since entered the fast lane.

Historians of later generations all regarded the establishment of the "Ministry of Commerce" by Emperor Taizu of the Zhou Dynasty, Chai Zongxun, as a symbol of the Zhou Empire's official entry into a commercial society.

(End of this chapter)