“The third piece of support I hope the court and the consortium will give is for the adjustment of the domestic economy and labor system.
“I suggest formulating and raising minimum labor remuneration standards in various regions and industries, setting working hours no more than twelve hours a day, and setting a minimum of two public holidays per month.
“The royal family consortium, as well as manufacturers operating in newly opened industries, should take the lead in enforcing these regulations.
“The court should set up a special permanent agency to supervise the strict implementation of relevant regulations and punish manufacturers that violate regulations.
“Then, officials, clerks, and workers who have worked for the empire for more than twenty years should receive retirement subsidies after they retire or lose their labor force.
“The subsidy should be borne jointly by the court and the service providers, and the monthly amount should be enough to enable them to maintain their basic living standards.
“If this kind of policy is implemented in place, it should be able to quickly stabilize the domestic situation, and civil unrest in various places should subside significantly.
"And it can improve the production efficiency of various factories, so that the war on the front line can continue and provide support for lasting negotiations."
“The fourth piece of support I hope the military will provide is the resettlement of combat soldiers and their families.
“I suggest that for the meritorious soldiers who were killed or disabled in the battle to defend the empire, their spouses and immediate family members should be granted imperial citizenship.
"At the same time, based on the amount of meritorious service, they will be assigned jobs in the royal consortium, which can be arranged after they retire, or they can be arranged for immediate family members.
“After the meritorious soldiers lose their combat effectiveness or ability to work, the imperial government and consortia will provide pensions to support them until their natural death.
“Specialized meritorious service homes should be established in various parts of the empire to take care of these meritorious and disabled veterans. The specific operations should be coordinated according to the actual situation.
"This can eliminate soldiers' worries, stimulate the combat effectiveness of frontline soldiers, and prevent the battlefield situation from deteriorating further.
"That's all I can think of at the moment and the high-level support I need. I hope Grandpa Huang will give me permission."
Zhu Jingyuan once again raised his hands to the princes and ministers, and bowed to the old emperor on the stage, indicating that he had finished speaking for now.
Then there was a tendency to chaos again in the Wenhua Palace, and the direction of public opinion changed again.
Of course they had no problem with Zhu Jingyuan helping them fight for benefits before, but now that Zhu Jingyuan asked them to transfer benefits to the bottom class, they immediately had objections.
It's just that the atmosphere in the palace is special now. Everyone feels that the old emperor seems to be on the verge of breaking out. No one among the princes and ministers dares to speak rashly.
At the same time, everyone generally believed that the emperor, who represented the interests of the royal family, would not support Zhu Jingyuan's last two suggestions.
This is a suggestion that all nobles, nobles, and new elites will suffer, and only the mud-legged ones will benefit. It should not appear in the court at all.
Even if the emperor doesn't directly veto it, he should give it an ambiguous attitude and let the ministers discuss it.
If the ministers have a tacit understanding to advise against it, and if the emperor humbly accepts the advice and vetoes it, the matter should be over.
So after Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking, no one said anything immediately, but they all pricked up their ears, waiting for the old emperor's response.
Then everyone discovered that the old emperor Zhu Zhongliang did not ask for more details, and even closed his eyes, nodded slightly and began to order:
"The proposed purpose is to be led by the Ministry of Household Affairs, coordinated by the cabinet, and cooperated by all the ministries in the court to formulate detailed rules for the withdrawal of the vassal vassal as soon as possible, and cooperate with the progress of the negotiations to announce and implement it."
“Establish an Invalides Academy to honor meritorious and disabled soldiers, and the funds will be shared by military expenditures, the court, consortiums, and local governments.
“Establish a labor bureau to formulate minimum wages, maximum working hours, and formulate disposal plans for enterprises that violate regulations, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate will set up corresponding agencies to cooperate with inspections and penalties.
“An imperial pension fund was set up to support retired workers and officials, and the funds were shared between enterprises and the imperial court.
“There will be a ban on tea, sugar, iron, motorcycles, and large ships, and private operations will be allowed.
"Honglu Temple will host the peace talks with the Anti-Ming Alliance."
As soon as the old emperor spoke, the ministers below waited silently, instinctively wanting to interrupt, but none of them dared to interrupt.
Because after the beginning of "intended decree", there are all the orders that the emperor wants to issue. This is the moment of the emperor's absolute authority.
At this time, everyone could only listen. Even if they had opinions, they had to wait until the emperor finished speaking.
When the emperor's words finally ended and everyone could finally speak, a burst of noise immediately erupted from the scene.
"Your Majesty! No, absolutely no!"
"Your Majesty, limiting working hours and compulsory holidays will only encourage the tendency to enjoy leisure and hate work!"
"Your Majesty! His Highness Jingyuan's proposal also includes banning alcohol!"
"Your Majesty! Private business is already difficult. If you pay extra pensions and pensions, there is only a dead end."
"Your Majesty! This will definitely cause public resentment!"
"Brother Imperial! With so many businesses open, the relevant market of the consortium will inevitably decrease sharply, and the existing clerks cannot arrange it——"
Facing the mess below, the originally weak old emperor seemed to regain his energy and suddenly patted the imperial case.
The old emperor's cloudy pupils scanned the entire audience, and all the ministers immediately fell silent.
The old emperor spoke again in a calm and unquestionable tone:
"The royal consortium will take the lead in implementation. All money consortiums will pay not a penny, all rules will be followed, and the costs of all manufacturers will rise simultaneously.
“In industries where bans are lifted, the royal consortium will open technology licensing to the private sector, and those who are willing to operate related industries can directly approach the consortium to purchase.
"Don't talk about the clan anymore. What time is it now? When Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Huang Taiji, and Dorgon show up again, let alone money, you may not even be able to survive!
"There is no time for wrangling. This matter is over now. Let's discuss the peace talks plan."
The old emperor ceded some benefits again, but he also knew that this was the bottom line and stopped accepting relevant opinions.
Vassal states can still strive for independence, but the local dignitaries and capital are really helpless in the face of the real capital emperor.
If the emperor wants to push everyone to death, then they can still make trouble together, but now the emperor has given a compromise.
In exchange for lifting the ban on tea, sugar, iron, machinery, cars, and large ships, all capital was subject to the previous conditions such as the withdrawal of feudal vassals and the establishment of provinces, the opening of the Invalid Military Academy, and the establishment of a labor bureau.
This was modified on the basis of Zhu Jingyuan's proposal, and it is basically a plan that is stuck on the edge of everyone's bottom line.
If it were normal, we would definitely have to continue wrangling for a while, at least to fight for the alcohol ban.
His Highness Jingyuan brought it up, but was detained by His Majesty again. The duck flew out of his mouth. How can this be done?
But the current situation really does not allow for everyone to argue, and the royal consortium also abides by its promises, so it can only silently accept it.
The emperor, the "chairman" of the clan, had the final say. Coupled with the threats of "Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Huang Taiji, and Dorgon", they did not dare to speak harshly.
