The definition of the imperial court and government is a problem that has tripped up almost every dynasty.
It is said that the emperor is the Son of Heaven, but no one has ever seen God. It is said that all officials are to govern the people on behalf of the emperor, but many officials only think about how to stuff their pockets with silver and do not care about the lives of the common people.
The fundamental reason for this is the flawed definition of the imperial court and government – they both place the imperial court and government above the people, believing that people are divided into different ranks. The emperor is the highest Nine-Nine Supreme, princes and lords are feudatories second only to the emperor, officials are responsible for managing the world for the emperor and lords, and the common people are like sheep to be "herded."
This problem also exists in Europe. Although there is no concept of officials governing the people on behalf of the king in Europe, the priests all call themselves shepherds.
Zhu Jinsong tapped the table with his fingers and said, "Placing the imperial court and government above the people and managing them, this cannot be said to be wrong. After all, the people are easily swayed and can cause trouble with the slightest carelessness."
"Let's not mention the Bagua Sect and the White Lotus Sect from before. Even the civil strife between the two small villages of Xingping and Xing'an that I encountered before, if the army had not suppressed them, they might have caused great chaos."
Hearing the names Xingping Village and Xing'an Village, the expressions of Zeng Cheng and other big shots became somewhat strange. Who would have thought that two small villages, which could not be found on the map of the Great Ming, or even on the map of the Jiangxi Provincial Administration Commission, but could only be found on the map of Ganzhou City, could cause such a huge disturbance?
Hundreds to thousands of strong young men, more than ten cannons, hundreds of flintlock muskets, thousands of rounds of ammunition, a hundred hand grenades, all sorts of strategic tactics, plus a temporary battlefield command center and a wartime hospital staffed by veterinarians, and a logistics team composed entirely of old women and children…
Zeng Cheng felt that if these two hastily assembled, motley groups were to engage in a head-on fight with the soldiers of the衛所 (wei suo - garrison units), it would be suicidal. However, if they were to fight Napoleon, it might be hard to say who would win or lose.
But Zeng Cheng felt something was not right.
If, according to what His Majesty is saying now, is there still a need to consider the issue of the definition of the imperial court and government? Naturally, they need to manage the people, otherwise, if the people cause trouble, wouldn't the government and the imperial court be the ones to clean up the mess in the end?
However, as Zeng Cheng and the other big shots were all bewildered, Zhu Jinsong quietly instructed Zhang Dequan a few words, and then slowly began to tap the table again.
Zhang Dequan quickly returned, but this time he was holding several newspapers.
Zhu Jinsong took the newspapers from Zhang Dequan, glanced at them briefly, and then threw them onto the table, signaling Zeng Cheng and the other big shots to take a look.
Zeng Cheng and the other big shots were a bit confused.
As big shots of the Great Ming imperial court, it had become their instinct to read the "Great Ming Newspaper" every day. Even though many of the policies published on it were from the Cabinet or the Six Ministries, the content related to these policies was of no use to Zeng Cheng and the other big shots. The so-called latest news in other sections was also a bit behind the news delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Censorate.
But!
What if Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, published a new article in the newspaper?
If everyone else in the Great Ming knew the content of the new article, but these big shots in the imperial court were completely unaware, wouldn't that be a joke?
Therefore, Zeng Cheng and the other big shots felt bewildered. It was something they read every day, yet they were being asked to read it again?
However, this thought disappeared without a trace as soon as Zeng Cheng picked up the newspaper on the table.
The newspapers on the table were not the "Great Ming Newspaper," nor were they the "X Provincial Administration Commission Newspaper" approved by the Ministry of Rites and published by the Rites Offices under each Provincial Administration Commission. Instead, they were small newspapers from who-knows-where.
So the question arises.
How did these newspapers come out?
Who approved them?
And how many were sold?
More importantly, since Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, could have these newspapers specially compiled, then the content within them…
After Zeng Cheng read a few lines, his face darkened, and he exchanged glances with Liu Huaiwen and other big shots.
These newspapers, which appeared from nowhere, were actually questioning whether Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, was a descendant of Emperor Chongzhen. The basis for this was the case of the Third Son of Zhu during the Great Qing. The Third Son of Zhu was already dead, so where did this Zhu person come from? If you were going to rebel, you should rebel openly; why were you using the name of Emperor Chongzhen?
What was even more infuriating was that these small newspapers were also fighting among themselves. Some newspapers questioned whether Zhu Jinsong was a descendant of Emperor Chongzhen, while others cited how many Jingguan (towers made of skulls) Zhu Jinsong had built and how many major cases he was involved in to prove that Zhu Jinsong was definitely a descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, cases involving tens of thousands of people were only comparable to Zhu Yuanzhang. Their similar styles made it hard to believe they were not related.
So Zhu Jinsong was also confused.
What the hell is going on?
You didn't step out to question me when I was rebelling, and even the Great Qing group led by Qian Long, the old dog, didn't question whether I was a descendant of Emperor Chongzhen. Now you, who appeared out of nowhere, are questioning me?
The key is that you don't question the unclear background of Qian Long, nor do you question how much silver he wasted and how many people he harmed during his six southern tours. Instead, you question me?
Of course, if it were just about questioning Zhu Jinsong's lineage, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, the Great Ming dynasty has never lacked such trivial matters. Even though Zhu Di was clearly the biological son of Empress Ma, some people still doubted Zhu Di's lineage, didn't they? Even though Zhu Di did not execute the ten degrees of punishment on Fang Xiaoru, historical records still wrote about it vividly, didn't they?
In the final analysis, the imperial courts of successive Great Ming dynasties simply didn't care about such trivial matters. If the common people wanted to write or spread them, let them. After all, unofficial histories did not affect official histories. Those who truly understood would look at the "Veritable Records" rather than the so-called unofficial histories.
Zhu Jinsong had the same attitude. It wouldn't hurt him, and it was good for the common people to have something to talk about during their leisure time. It was better than them having nothing to do and engaging in civil strife.
But!
Most of these newspapers were particularly nostalgic for the civil administration of the Great Song dynasty, believing that the Great Song dynasty indeed had a flourishing civil administration, developed commerce, and peaceful people, with the most relaxed governance conditions. In short, they listed all sorts of benefits and then listed the various rules and regulations of the Great Ming to prove that the Great Ming was indeed inferior to the Great Song, all implying that the Great Ming's control over commerce and merchants was too strict.
This was what Zhu Jinsong found most unbearable. If one were to talk about the flourishing civil administration of the Great Song dynasty, Zhu Jinsong had nothing to doubt. After all, Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan dramas, Ming novels – the Great Song dynasty had lyrics. It was not an exaggeration to call it civil administration.
If one were to talk about the developed commerce of the Great Song dynasty, Zhu Jinsong also could not refute it. After all, the Great Song dynasty always had a small court purchasing tax farming system, and the status of merchants was indeed very high.
But to say that the common people lived in peace and contentment… That's utter nonsense! If the common people of the Great Song dynasty really lived in peace and contentment, would they have constantly rebelled for three hundred years? Would they have created the vast but incapable Xiang Army?
As for the so-called most relaxed governance conditions… Zhu Jinsong suspected that they had welded Su Dongpo's coffin lid shut.
Furthermore, why did the Great Ming strictly control commerce and merchants? Anyone with a brain should know this – how did the Eight Great Locust Merchants collude to sell out the Great Ming?
If it weren't for the Eight Great Locust Merchants and Yuan Dadudu continuously bleeding the Jian Yi (Manchus), how could the Jian Yi have survived a few rounds of military strikes from the Great Ming?
Although the Chenghua Ploughing in the third year of Chenghua did not completely eliminate the Jian Yi, the Great Ming army at that time was also in decline. The phenomenon of nobles enslaving soldiers in the capital garrisons had already begun to emerge. Even in such circumstances, they could still plough through the Jian Yi. However, the more professionalized garrison soldiers after Jiajing could not eliminate the Jian Yi. The matters within this…
Moreover, even without the troubles of the Chongzhen era, Zhu Jinsong had never intended to relax control over commerce and merchants.
Didn't someone say that as long as there is a 300% profit…
Thinking of this, Zhu Jinsong said with a dark expression, "De Quan, tell everyone about the situation with these newspapers."
Zhang Dequan immediately bowed in response and then said to Zeng Cheng and others, "These newspapers mostly come from Jiangnan, mainly from the Jiangxi and Zhejiang regions, especially from Songjiang Prefecture."
"After investigation by the Eastern Depot, the imperial court did not approve the publication of these newspapers. These newspapers were not reported to the imperial court at all, but were approved by the local Rites officials themselves."
Hearing this, Zeng Cheng could not help but interrupt Zhang Dequan: "Eunuch Zhang, I remember that the Great Ming Law does not allow the Rites offices the power to approve the establishment of newspapers, does it?"
Zhang Dequan chuckled and said, "Elder Zeng has a good memory. Our Great Ming Law does not grant the Rites offices the right to approve newspapers. According to the Great Ming Law, to establish a newspaper, it must be reported layer by layer through the Rites offices in various places and approved by the Ministry of Rites."
Zeng Cheng immediately turned his gaze to Meng Fanzhi, the head of the Ministry of Rites, and frowned, "Does Minister Meng know about the existence of these newspapers?"
Meng Fanzhi was startled and stood up from his chair, bowed to Zhu Jinsong, and said, "Your humble servant is guilty!"
Zhu Jinsong snorted, waved his hand to signal Meng Fanzhi to sit down, and then said, "The Bureau of Censors will naturally deal with your affairs. What we are discussing now is unrelated to this."
After Meng Fanzhi sat down with apprehension, Zhu Jinsong signaled Zhang Dequan to continue.
Zhang Dequan said, "These newspapers were not issued under the name of newspapers at all, but were issued under the names of poetry collections or essay collections. Local Rites offices do indeed have the power to approve them."
Seeing the increasingly dark expressions of Zeng Cheng and other big shots, Zhu Jinsong then sneered and said, "See? No matter how well your imperial court manages, can you control everyone?"
"Coincidentally, with this incident, I also intend to see how well the separated Bureau of Censors and the Censorate Office can handle matters. If any news of today's events leaks out…"
Zhu Jinsong did not continue speaking, and Zeng Cheng and other big shots understood very well that if today's events were leaked, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, would not mind first carrying out a severe crackdown before restraining imperial power. It was not impossible to stir up another major case that might involve tens of thousands of people.
Zhu Jinsong then continued, "From these chaotic and messy affairs, it cannot be said that the imperial court's concept of managing the people is wrong. However, is this concept really without any problems? All of you might as well think about who proposed this concept?"
Zhu Erdan immediately replied, "It must be scholars or officials. Ordinary common people would definitely not think this way. Anyway, before I followed my imperial brother to rebel, I never thought this way."
Liu Huaiwen also nodded and said, "Er Dan is right. Before we rebelled, who among us did not hate the government to the core?"
Zeng Cheng suddenly shifted his body slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He himself had been a prefect in the Great Qing, and he was not unaware of how the officials of the Great Qing were viewed by the common people.
However, when he served as an official for the Great Qing, Zeng Cheng also felt that the common people needed to be managed, and they needed to be managed with severe laws, otherwise the common people of the Great Qing would not know what it meant to abide by laws and regulations.
But after defecting to the Menglianggu rebellion, Zeng Cheng began to doubt whether his previous ideas were correct. After all, the Menglianggu rebellion group, which only occupied Yizhou at the time, did not use harsh laws and severe punishments against the common people, but the common people of Yizhou strongly supported the Menglianggu rebellion group, even to the point of leaving their last grain of rice as military provisions and sending their last son to join the army.
From then on, Zeng Cheng felt that considering everything for the common people was the right way. As Zhu Jinsong said, people who kept the common people in their hearts would be held high by them.
The key point was that as the Great Ming gradually unified the world, all sorts of chaotic and messy affairs constantly impacted Zeng Cheng's ideology. It seemed that the common people still needed to be managed, otherwise, they would always come up with new tricks.
It was precisely these conflicting ideologies that gave Zeng Cheng a severe headache.
Zhu Jinsong continued, "You might as well also think about where the power held by you, the Emperor of the Great Ming, and by yourselves comes from? Is it that Heaven gave me the power, and then I distributed this power to you? Or is it that the people granted power to the emperor, the imperial court, and the government?"