"Kang Shangshu, when my father put you in a high position and asked you to be responsible for implementing the New Deal in Jiangnan, facts have proved that you have not let down my father or the Qi Dynasty. Being an official is impartial, compromise and reconciliation, which is the golden mean. Neither. Like some officials who are superstitious about the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" and make rapid progress, but they can also be considerate of the people's sentiments, make up for the losses and make up for the shortcomings, so as not to make the people suffer... You and Kang Shoufu are both pillars of Qi. Your Majesty. Come, let me toast you!"
"Your Majesty, you are so flattering! I am ashamed of myself. It is my greatest honor to be able to implement the new law for the Supreme Emperor and to serve the great Qi. I should uphold my uncle's last wish, be loyal to the great Qi, devote myself to the great Qi, and die!"
On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifth year of Guangde, on New Year's Eve, Liu Kan followed the old practice of his father Liu Zhaosun and convened the ministers for a New Year's Eve dinner in Huagai Hall.
Although it is a family banquet, the guests invited to this dinner are all cabinet ministers, officials, and military generals.
Almost none of Liu Kan's relatives were present tonight.
The so-called lonely person is probably like this.
After Emperor Guangde's various "reverse actions" in the past few months, the emperor's relatives and relatives have been offended. From the two empress dowagers to Liu Kan's sister, the emperor's relatives and relatives all complained about the new emperor.
Not long ago, the eldest princess Liu Yufei set off from Nanjing to her villa in Taicang to celebrate the New Year on the pretext of "occasionally catching a cold".
The Cisheng Queen Mother Jin Yuji refused to attend the family banquet on the grounds that she was in mourning at home - she believed that the Emperor had passed away - and it was not convenient for her to have a banquet.
The Eastern Queen Mother Yang Qing'er believed that the Supreme Emperor was still alive and was busy reciting the Diamond Sutra. It is said that she has read it 18,700 times and needs to recite it 80,000 times before her merits can be completed.
Although Emperor Guangde had explicitly ordered the abolition of Buddha, Yang Qing'er still went against the trend and filled the Cining Palace with Buddhist scriptures and magical instruments, and arranged his palace into a dojo. Liu Kan knew it, but he could do nothing about it. Who let Yang Qing'er be himself? Where is the queen...
Among all the royal relatives, the only ones who came tonight were the concubine Chen Yuanyuan and Yongping Bo Zhang Duan.
Because the concubine Chen Yuanyuan looked exactly like Zhang Yan, after Zhang Yan's death, she was used as the adoptive mother of Emperor Guangde and stayed with Liu Kan to take care of her.
At that time, Liu Kan was still young, and Liu Zhaosun was away at war all the time, so Chen Yuanyuan was mostly responsible for taking care of the prince. There were even rumors in the harem that the Supreme Emperor had the idea of supporting Chen Yuanyuan and promoting her to the queen - although there were already two queens at that time.
In any case, the Emperor's original intention was for Concubine Chen to take good care of Liu Kan.
However, Mrs. Chen seemed to have no feelings for this child.
Twenty years ago, Chen Yuanyuan was in her prime and was the most beautiful woman in Daqi. As one of the most beautiful women in Daqi, her energy was mainly focused on competing with the empress dowagers of the two palaces, Bumu Butai, Liu Rushi and other beauties. There was no time to take care of the young prince Liu Kan. More importantly, Liu Kan's existence reminds Chen Yuanyuan all the time, letting her know that she is just Zhang Yan's shadow and a substitute for this woman, so she has little feelings for Liu Kan.
Logically speaking, Emperor Guangde should have no feelings for this foster mother who was not worthy of her name. However, as soon as he took power, he posthumously named Concubine Chen the Queen Mother and built a brand new palace for the Queen Mother.
This may be done to win over people.
As for his uncle Zhang Duan, when the Supreme Emperor was in power, Zhang Duan's father Zhang Guorui, also known as the Queen Mother Zhang Yan's father, was demoted to a commoner by the Supreme Emperor because of corruption and dereliction of duty and careless management of people's lives. Zhang Duan was also sent to Ninggu Pagoda.
A month ago, Emperor Guangde issued an edict to recall this unfortunate uncle from Ninggu Pagoda to Nanjing, named him Yongping Bo, and granted him good land and a beautiful house.
When a person achieves enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, Emperor Guangde promoted his close relatives in order to consolidate his imperial power. There is nothing wrong with this. After all, when someone comes to power, someone will be eliminated. Metabolism has been a natural phenomenon since ancient times.
However, Emperor Guangde promoted ministers so quickly that it was jaw-dropping.
The funeral of the Supreme Emperor has not yet been held, but Liu Kan has already arranged for his people to be appointed to six departments of the cabinet and important places in the capital.
Against this background, the ministers who attended the Da Qi Emperor's night banquet this year were very different from those in previous years.
Almost all the old ministers from Liu Zhaosun's era have disappeared, and the few old people who remain are also like mascots, looking dull among the shining new rich.
The person sitting next to Emperor Guangde tonight is not the general manager Dongfang Zhu, nor the commander of the coir raincoat guards Liu Xingzuo, nor even the commander of the guards Jiang Liuer, but the official minister Kang Jingxiu.
Kang Jingxiu was the eldest nephew of Kang Yingqian, the former chief minister. He was talented and learned. He had inherited the previous dynasty and was promoted many times. When the Supreme Emperor was in power, he was appointed governor of Zhejiang and the administrator of the five provinces, and took charge of the southeastern reform affairs.
He did not disgrace the emperor's orders and carried out reforms in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places. He risked being assassinated and successfully completed tasks such as clearing his parents-in-law and paying taxes. He made great contributions to the Supreme Emperor's final control of Jiangnan without any bloodshed.
Kang Jingxiu had an easy-going temperament, neither humble nor arrogant, and was not alarmed by changes. In the second year of Taichu, powerful men from Jiangsu and Zhejiang sent dead men to assassinate Kang Jingxiu, but Kang Jingxiu stood firm on the wall of his mansion without fighting. The assassins set fire to the east, and Kang Jingxiu ordered the guards to defend the northwest. Soon the dead soldiers entered through the northwest gate.
People at that time compared Kang Jinglue to Zhou Yafu of the Han Dynasty.
After Emperor Guangde came to power, Kang Jingxiu naturally became the key target to win over.
There are rumors in the capital that Kang Jingxiu, who is only in his forties, is likely to become the new chief minister of Daqi's cabinet. If so, he will be the youngest chief minister in the history of Daqi.
Kang Jingxiu raised his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, looked at Emperor Guangde, and said respectfully:
"My emperor is wise and has only been in power for three months. He has eradicated the long-standing disadvantages, stopped fighting, and rested with the people. This is the blessing of the country and the blessing of all the people! I sincerely wish your majesty a long life, and I wish the Qi Dynasty to be far away from the Han and Tang Dynasties, and to establish Immortal achievements!”
All the ministers raised their glasses at the same time and congratulated each other: "Through the ages, you will reach the Han and Tang Dynasties far away!"
The young and energetic Emperor Guangde nodded slightly and looked around, scanning the upstarts of Da Qi and his trusted ministers.
Kang Yingqian's nephew Kang Jingxiu, Kang Yingqian's son Kang Guangxu, Mao Wenlong's son Mao Chengdou, Mangui's nephew Mao Yan, Shen Lian's nephew Shen Shen, Wang Erhu's son Wang Jin, Yuan Keli's son Yuan Shu, Qi Jin's son Qi Ming, Sun Chuanting's son Sun Shirui, of course There is also Li Juying, the eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Seeing that Emperor Guangde had something to say, the ministers all raised their heads to look at the emperor, their eyes full of expectation.
Liu Kan's handsome face turned slightly red, "As far as the Han and Tang Dynasties, my father has already done it. Now, what I and all of you dear friends have to do is to defend this foundation. Sometimes defense is more difficult than offense. I have always To put it bluntly, Da Qi expanded too quickly in the past few years. As the saying goes, if benevolence and righteousness are not practiced, the offensive and defensive momentum will be different."
"The "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" made a great contribution to Da Qi's conquest of cities and territory, but now it can come to an end. Da Qi needs a golden mean. My father often taught me that walking fast does not necessarily mean walking fast. Well, walking steadily is the right path.”
The ministers were silent.
Although most of the people present were close confidants of Emperor Guangde, and they all relied on Emperor Guangde to be in power. However, the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" was, after all, the economic foundation of Da Qi and the foundation of the existence of the imperial political system.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see clearly that the land ownership system cannot be changed casually at any time. If you are not careful, your country will be ruined and your body will be destroyed, and there will be no recovery.
It should be noted that the reforms in Fujian, Jiangxi and other places at that time paid a heavy price in the loss of millions of people simply by clearing landowners and state-operating businesses.
"I know, what are you worried about?" Liu Kan's eyes were firm, as if possessed by the Supreme Emperor, and he said in an unquestionable tone:
"Are you my dear friends worried that the corps will not support the reform?"
Wu Sheng, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, was the most senior among the new rich. At this time, he had to stand up and admonish:
"Your Majesty is wise, abolishing the harsh laws, weakening the joint sitting system, and allowing private land sales will certainly gain more support from wealthy households and descendants of the gentry, and reduce potential enemies who resist Da Qi. Considering the current situation of the imperial court, it has to be done. . However, in the final analysis, doing so is a step backwards and a betrayal of the regulations of Daqi over the past twenty years. I am afraid that the army and the people will not be able to accept it for a while..."
Emperor Guangde interrupted Wu Sheng and said disapprovingly: "Master Shangshu, are you worried that the regiments will rebel? I have already re-selected training officers to go to each camp to control the military power. Now I dare not say that I am in command. If there is a rebellion, I will calmly deal with it. It can still be done easily.”
Sun Shirui added: "Your Majesty, don't worry, as long as you firmly control the food and grass logistics of each army, you can sit back and relax."
Sun Shirui is currently the Civil Affairs Officer and the Head of the Household Department. He succeeded Xie Guangkun and is in charge of the logistics and supplies of each corps. Together with the Secretary of the Household Department, he controls the money bag of Daqi.
~~~~~
In the first month of the sixth year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde summoned the chief officers and training officers of each regiment to Beijing.
On the 28th of the first lunar month, the chief officers and training officers of the fifteen corps arrived in Nanjing.
Emperor Guangde announced to the generals that the war between the north and the south was now at a standstill, and maintaining a force of 500,000 troops in Haihe and Yanqing was too heavy a burden for the court, so he decided to disband all the corps and streamline the military and administration.
It is planned to reduce the fifteen major corps to eight major corps and reduce the number of troops by 200,000.
The decision to disarmament was made by Liu Kan after careful consideration.
If you want to change the polarist system, restore people's power, and replenish the severely overdrawn national power, you must first start with the gold-swallowing beast army to control the size of the army.
Suppressing military personnel through disarmament and restoring the normal civilian elite system is the first step in reform.
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