On the night of the seventh day of the first lunar month in the thirty-fourth year of Taiping, similar things to those in Fengyuan occurred one after another in a large number of Ming Dynasty vassal countries across half of the world.
Most of the vassal states seemed to repent, and took the initiative to cut off civil contact with Xiyi, and began to wait with peace of mind or actively requested to withdraw from the vassal.
Most of the earth was awake all night, but the instigator, Zhu Jingyuan, slept quite soundly.
The next day, on the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Jingyuan got up as usual, ate, did morning exercises, washed up, and then continued to take his father's car to go to the Yamen to work.
The old emperor asked Zhu Jingyuan not to participate in key affairs for the time being. Zhu Jingyuan simply skipped the morning court in the palace and went directly to the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.
Before Zhu Jianyan went to the palace to attend court, he first went to the Yamen of Honglu Temple.
Yesterday, the General Affairs Department announced the news of the withdrawal of the vassal. The Ministry of Revenue also notified Ryukyu to start trying to withdraw the vassal. There may be some movement in the vassal country last night.
Under normal circumstances, all news from the vassal state should be forwarded to Honglu Temple, unless it is submitted to a certain department by name.
Through the personnel on duty, Zhu Jianyan obtained the important telegrams received last night and dug out more than thirty telegrams from the vassal state.
Some of the six seals are similar to Fengyuan Kingdom, and they all took the initiative to withdraw from the vassal in the name of the vassal king.
Most of them came to inquire about the situation of the withdrawal of the feudal clan and wanted to confirm the news and plan for the withdrawal of the feudal clan.
Zhu Jianyan quickly went through the contents of the telegram, took the slightly special Fengyuan State telegram with him, and then went to the Wenhua Palace for the morning meeting.
The princes and ministers who went to court today noticed that there was no one following Zhu Jianyan. After being confused for a few seconds, they realized that the big boy Zhu Jingyuan was not following him!
Although many people were surprised, they also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was no one to disrupt the situation, and this morning was finally stable.
Especially Zhu Jianfeng, he obviously relaxed.
Thus, in a rather relaxed atmosphere, the morning session of the new day officially began.
After everyone saluted, the old emperor Zhu Zhongliang noticed that there was no one around Zhu Jianyan, and immediately asked subconsciously:
"Jingyuan didn't come?"
Zhu Jianyan immediately replied:
"Report to Father, Jingyuan went directly to the Ministry of Industry to plan the warship design. He said that since he was not involved in government affairs for the time being, there was no need to come to court early. He planned to concentrate on finishing the work at hand, and then follow up on the progress of the reform. …”
The entire Wenhua Palace fell into silence.
Ordinary princes do not need to attend morning court every day, unless the emperor requests it, or they have something to do.
Although Zhu Jingyuan has been appointed as the acting minister of Honglu Temple, Zhu Jianyan is actually doing the job of Honglu Temple Minister now.
Therefore, Zhu Jingyuan does not need to report to the morning court on foreign affairs, and he cannot report at all...
Since the old emperor asked Zhu Jingyuan not to interfere with government affairs these days, it is indeed normal for Zhu Jingyuan not to come to court directly.
But this is a bit too willful. If you say you can’t come, you really won’t come, right?
Then everyone saw that the old emperor suddenly sneered:
"Does this kid still have a temper? But it's the right thing to do the work you're doing first. I used to hammer here and there, but as soon as I think about it..."
Just saying a few words casually, the old emperor didn't seem to take this matter to heart. He waved his hand and began to give instructions:
"Ignore him, let's get started first. How is the progress in all aspects? Let's start with the staff department... Lao Jiu!"
Just let it go? But speaking of it, this child's contribution is really great, and no one will do anything to him now.
Zhu Jianfeng quickly put Zhu Jingyuan's matter behind him and stood up to report the situation:
"Father, after internal discussion and analysis yesterday, the Ministry of Personnel believes that the minimum labor remuneration amount for craftsmen can be temporarily set at the level of a six-yuan silver note.
“In this way, if both parents work, they can barely support their two children.
“The initial remuneration for typical workers was too low, and now it is rashly raised too much at once, which may cause prices to skyrocket, thereby affecting market and social stability.
“We plan to use six yuan as a basis and gradually increase it to a level of more than ten yuan in the next few to more than ten years.
“The specific level of improvement should be determined based on market and technological development, and may be used as a long-term policy as a means to promote industrial development and control the market.
“At the same time, the Ministry of Household Affairs should increase wages while cooperating in regulating the low-level slave labor market to avoid large fluctuations in the slave labor market.
“Otherwise, simply increasing workers’ labor remuneration may make factory owners inclined to try using low-level slave labor.
“And this will definitely cause the price of low-level slave labor to rise rapidly, which will in turn prompt more merchants from the Ming Dynasty and the vassal states to join the slave labor trafficking industry.
“If the imperial court is determined to completely abolish slavery in the future, it must avoid this situation in advance.
"My suggestion is to collect slave transaction and holding taxes to simultaneously increase the long-term cost of slave labor above the minimum labor remuneration."
After hearing this, the old emperor nodded gently and said:
"Okay, I've thought it through quite carefully, so let's follow this direction and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance to implement it.
“But remember, taxation is a way to control the slave labor market, but it is obviously not the only way.
"As long as the purpose can be achieved, you can try it after evaluating the effect."
Zhu Jianfeng breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this is the normal morning rhythm:
"My son understands."
After Zhu Jianfeng, it was Wang Niansun, the Minister of Household Affairs, who stood up and reported the Ryukyu Kingdom's response.
Next, we will immediately arrange personnel to implement the actual withdrawal of the vassal vassal.
After hearing this, the old emperor nodded slightly, and then looked in the direction of Zhu Jianyan:
"Second brother, have other vassal states responded?"
Zhu Jianyan immediately stood up and reported:
"For the record, Father, from last night to this morning, Honglu Temple received a total of thirty-seven telegrams from the vassal state.
"Most of them asked about the details of the withdrawal of the vassal, and six of them were direct applications for withdrawal of the vassal in accordance with Ryukyu regulations, among which Toyohara's request was the most detailed.
"Not only the petitions of the main ministers of the vassal state, but also the petitions of King Fengyuan himself..."
Zhu Jianyan briefly described the contents of Fengyuan's telegram, and then sent the telegram documents to the old emperor for review and confirmation.
The old emperor took the telegram and read it for a few times, nodded slightly and said:
“If you know your mistakes and can correct them, there is no greater good.
“The proposed decree: establish the Fengyuan Chief Envoy Department, the Fengyuan Punishment and Prosecution Envoy Department, and the Fengyuan Capital Command Envoy Department.
"The former King Zhongdong of Fengyuan, in addition to the title of King of Fengyuan Domain, was granted the title of Prince of Ming Dynasty, recalled to the capital to take care of himself, and selected a son to be the envoy to the left of Fengyuan.
"The imperial court selected Fengyuan as the right chief envoy, Fengyuan as the envoy for punishment and inspection, and Fengyuan as the capital commander.
“The remaining officials in Fengyuan and other places were transferred from the original officials of Fengyuan State, and then continued to hold official positions in Fengyuan State concurrently.
"Fengyuan and other places do not have permanent governors or governors. The number of posts for prefectures, counties and the third division will be determined based on actual conditions. The original county divisions will not be changed as much as possible.
"Honglu Temple, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel cooperated to start preparations for the establishment of three local divisions in Fengyuan and other places to ensure the safe return of the lord to the capital.
"If other vassals apply to withdraw from the vassal, the necessity of withdrawing the vassal will be reviewed first. If it is really necessary to withdraw from the vassal, it will be implemented step by step with reference to the plans of Ryukyu and Toyohara.
"But remember not to be overly eager, and remember not to overachieve. Maintaining stability is the first priority."
When the relevant officials heard the call, they immediately stood up and bowed together in agreement:
"I obey the order."
Next, under the guidance of the emperor, some things were continued to be discussed and determined, and today's morning court was over.
When the emperor stood up and left, all the princes and ministers present heaved a sigh of relief.
This is the normal rhythm of the morning!
Under the leadership of His Majesty the Emperor, everyone performed their duties and cooperated with each other to control the giant ship of the Ming Dynasty and sail forward in a stable and orderly manner.
What kind of things did Zhu Jingyuan do when he was in court?
All kinds of things were showing signs of being uncontrollable, and he wished he could drive the boat straight up.
This guy seems to have indeed designed an airplane.
When they subconsciously thought of these things, many officials couldn't help but look in Zhu Jianyan's direction.
Then everyone discovered that Zhu Jianyan's father also looked relaxed now, as if he hadn't been so stable in a long time.
It seems that His Highness the Second Highness usually works very hard.
