Zhu Jianyan looked at the documents sent by the cabinet. The plans above were basically directly designated by himself, and the cabinet understood his intentions very well.
So after reading it, Zhu Jianyan nodded slightly, expressing satisfaction with the cabinet's work. Then he shook his head again.
His plan was placed in front of him with the surname in the standard document. Zhu Jianyan once again realized that this reform could not be truly complete.
Due to various reasons and special considerations, he was unable to delegate all court affairs to Jiu Qing.
Things that are not suitable to be handed over to Jiu Qing, plus things outside the imperial court and matters within the inner court, the things that he has to directly manage are still quite complicated.
As the emperor, it is obviously impossible for him to directly manage the entire world with just a dozen people.
Zhu Jianyan picked up the pen on his desk and carefully reviewed the distribution of Jiuqing's powers and responsibilities in the document again. The document "Looking for possible existence is not unreasonable design" is not a final public document, but a first draft that was given to Zhu Jianyan for review, and it took at least two or three revisions before it was finalized.
Overall, it seems that Uncle Zong has a lot of things to do, most of which are the work of the former Ministry of Rites. Among them, Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu were handed over to Zhong Zai, and they still looked very mixed.
Zhu Jianyan subconsciously thought of the candidate for Uncle Zong, Huang Yue, the Minister of Rites who stayed from the Taiping Dynasty.
Today I am about to turn 60 and I can retire at any time. You can let him continue to serve as Zongbo for another term and use the official position of Jiuqing to stay in office, and Huang Yue can't refuse to take it.
Then let Shen Fu, who was born in Honglu Temple, take over... However, Shen Fu is not yet fifty years old this year. Even if he is the next to be the uncle, he will only be in his early fifties.
Is this arrangement reasonable? Tsukazai seems to be in charge of not many departments and things, but it is a very important and very complicated position.
The person in charge of the Ministry of Personnel has the right to make personnel recommendations. No matter how the size of the imperial court is adjusted, as long as its responsibilities remain unchanged, its status will always appear to be very special and transcendent.
Since the departments under their jurisdiction are very intuitive, the candidate for Tsukasa is also very obvious. The natural choice is Wang Tingzhen, the current Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
But Wang Tingzhen is only fifty-three years old today, and there are more than one or two officials who are more qualified than him and are suitable to be Jiuqing.
Moreover, Tsukasa was in charge of the staff department, which was also involved in the prince's political training. According to previous practice, the next successor selected by the emperor would serve one or two terms as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel before ascending the throne.
From now on, he will be his successor, and he will continue to serve as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and work under Zhong Zai.
Or should I directly change to become a Tsukasa? Then the young master is in charge of Qin Tianjian and Taipu Temple. Although it seems to be just two departments, the categories of things they manage are equally complex, such as meteorology, astronomy, calendar, timing, resources, environment, transportation... These two departments seem to be able to Split it up again.
Zhu Jianyan looked at it for himself, considered it in his mind, and asked the bachelors next to him for their suggestions from time to time.
Jiu Qing's responsibility is extremely important, so he cannot rush to finalize it. Moreover, once the draft is finalized, it may not be implemented immediately, and it is also difficult to implement it simultaneously in one fell swoop.
If all central government offices began large-scale organizational restructuring, the Ming Central Court, which had already very low administrative efficiency, might directly enter a state of near paralysis.
Therefore, we must start with several departments, one or two in charge of Jiuqing, and then gradually complete the merger in turns.
This process is considered fast if it can be completed within one year. However, the distribution of responsibilities among the nine ministers was decided by internal discussions between the emperor and the cabinet.
As the emperor, Zhu Jianyan also had to find some work for the outer court. So at the morning meeting two days later, after the routine reports and discussions, Zhu Jianyan directly issued an imperial edict: The main idea is that, taking into account the daily usage habits of the court officials and the people, the follow-up will
"Waiting Place" became officially renamed
"Province". In all the official documents, memorials, and newspapers of the imperial court, as well as the official newspapers and broadcasts of the imperial court, you can directly use such and such province to refer to such and such a place, and to refer to the three divisions of such and such place.
This imperial edict can be regarded as very popular, and it is truly a decision that conforms to public opinion. Folks originally meant two capitals and thirteen provinces, but in official documents and official newspapers, it has always been
"So-and-so is somewhere" is a very awkward way of saying it. Officials also need to be careful not to make mistakes in official documents and memorials.
Now that the official name has finally been changed, you don’t need to pay special attention to it in the future. So when the imperial edict came down, all the officials bowed and agreed with a sigh of relief.
actually
The awkward term "waiting place" was still frequently used in official documents after the Qing Dynasty. However, it is not used for the chief envoys and provinces, but for the governor-general of Zhili, which is not a province, and other governor-general titles in charge of many places.
The official title of the Governor-General of Zhili is
"The governor-general directly oversees military affairs, food and salary, river management and other local affairs." Then Zhu Jianyan continued to bring up matters that needed to be discussed on the spot: "In addition to the renaming of the three divisions into provinces, I am planning to establish independent provinces in the north and south Zhili.
"There is naturally nothing to say about Beizhili. It can directly correspond to Henan Province and be named Hebei Province after Hebei Province in the Tang Dynasty.
"After Southern Zhili is established as a province, how should the name be determined? Do you have any suggestions?" Officials who usually go to the morning court may not have the opportunity to participate in internal meetings hosted by the emperor.
Although basically only minister-level officials were eligible to attend the morning court, there were still dozens or hundreds of people present.
Most of the bureaucrats in the outer court are not aware of the large-scale reform plan planned by Zhu Jianyan and his son. Without the understanding of large-scale reforms, the establishment of provinces directly under the North and South is a big news.
The situation of the Northern and Southern Zhili in Ming Dynasty is very special. They are not two provinces, but a group of
"Government directly under the Central Government". The prefectures in the northern Zhili are under the direct management of the Central Government Office of the Capital, and the prefectures in the southern Zhili are under the direct management of the nominal Nanjing Central Government Office.
Although they do not have the status of modern municipalities equivalent to provinces, they are still higher than ordinary prefectures.
In the classical era before the Renwu Dynasty, it was not too complicated for the central government office to manage all provinces in the country, as well as more than a dozen prefectures under direct control in the north and south.
After the Renwu Dynasty, there were more and more affairs in the central government offices, and these direct-controlled prefectures in the north and south gradually became a burden.
At the end of the Taiping Dynasty, after the reform of abolishing vassals and establishing provinces began, the North and South Zhili became even more burdensome, and more than one official raised the idea of establishing provinces, either explicitly or implicitly.
For example, a fixed governor or governor is appointed to go to the local level to directly manage most of the administrative affairs of the north and south Zhili, and no longer directly hand them over to the central government departments.
But the emperor never responded. Unexpectedly, he would now take one step to establish a province.
Wang Tingzhen, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was well prepared. He stopped when he heard the emperor's words and immediately followed the emperor's question: "I think that we can refer to the southern Zhili province to establish the province. We can also refer to the name of the Tang Dynasty and directly use Huainan Province." ." Then Lu Yinpu immediately stood up and asked tit for tat: "I think it is inappropriate. The jurisdictions of Huainan Road in the Tang Dynasty were all south of the Huaihe River and north of the river.
“And the most important areas of southern Zhili in the Ming Dynasty, such as Suzhou, Changzhou, Songjiang and other places, are all south of the river.
"So in my humble opinion, since Southern Zhili was established as a province, it is more appropriate to call it Jiangnan Province." Wang Tingzhen was not to be outdone and immediately pushed back: "The essence of Southern Zhili is south of the Yangtze River? But Fengyang is in North of the Yangtze River!" The Qing Dynasty named Southern Zhili Province in the Ming Dynasty Jiangnan Province, probably because by the time of the Qing Dynasty, it no longer made sense whether Fengyang was north of the Yangtze River.
But this argument is actually guiding the discussion. Let’s not discuss the issue of establishing a province itself, but directly take the establishment of a province as a prerequisite for discussion, and discuss the naming issue of South Zhili Province, which is actually not that important.
However, this kind of guidance is actually unnecessary. The establishment of provinces in the north and south is in line with the trend, and Zhu Jianyan is also arbitrary. The ministers below will not deliberately find trouble for the modern emperor.
Zhu Jianyan waved his hand to stop the meaningless bickering between the two people, and looked at Huang Yue, the Minister of Rites, who was about to be sixty years old: "Won't Huang Qing express his opinion on this matter?" After Huang Yue heard the point, he immediately stood up. He stood up and bowed: "I think that both Jiangnan and Huainan have certain truths, but they are also inappropriate.
“My idea is that it is better to compromise between the two and call it Jianghuai Province, or Jianghe Province.
"Because the Huaihe River and the Yellow River can actually be regarded as one river." The current Yellow River is still in a state of diverting the Huaihe River and flowing into the sea.
In its original history, the Yellow River broke through again and changed its course in 1855, gradually entering the sea channel of the Yellow River in later generations.
In this world, because the Ming Dynasty has completed industrialization, its overall management and engineering construction capabilities are many times stronger than in the feudal dynasty.
Continuous management of the Yellow River and Huaihe River basins has brought the existing channels of the two rivers under control.
If nothing else happens, it will be impossible for the Yellow River to follow its historical trajectory and change its course to the north in a few decades.
So now the Yellow River and the Huaihe River can be regarded as one river. So after Huang Yue compromised, he gave two candidates, Jianghuai and Jianghe.
Zhu Jianyan heard Huang Yue's statement and said with a smile: "Everyone really likes to compromise, so let's call it Jianghuai Province.
"That area has been the Huaihe River Basin since ancient times. Although the Yellow River is large, it is an outsider.
"The Hebei Provincial Government Office is directly stationed in the capital, and the Jianghuai Provincial Government Office is also directly stationed." The matter was settled like this. No official came out to question whether Jianghuai Province was too big and too powerful, and whether it should be split into Topics like two provinces.
Now that the imperial court can no longer control it, the current mainstream opinion is to merge the Chief Envoy Department and reduce the number of subordinate agencies.
Jianghuai Province is a little more difficult to manage, but it is easier to manage than splitting it into two. Because it was difficult to manage, the Sansi Yamen were directly placed in Yingtian Mansion and Shuntian Mansion, and they were looked down upon.
Now Yingtianfu still has the status of the capital of the Ming Dynasty and is also the de facto economic center of the southern part of the Ming Dynasty.
The issue of establishing provinces under direct control in the north and south was basically determined, and Zhu Jianyan followed this direction and formally launched the large-scale reform: "In order to solve the problem of too many provinces and excessive management pressure, I am planning to conduct a pilot project in Nanyang.
"The two areas of Nanyang and Tiannan will be merged into a new large-scale administrative level, tentatively named Dayu.
“The framework structure of government offices in large areas can be established with reference to the former three divisions and patrol censor systems.
“After the establishment of the Great Region, the various ministries of the imperial court no longer directly connected with the three bureaus in Nanyang and Tiannan provinces, but instead connected with the officials in charge of the unified Nanyang Region.
“If this plan is feasible, it will be gradually promoted throughout the Ming Dynasty and all overseas provinces will be integrated into about nine large regions.
“At the same time, we will adjust the local provinces and select some of them to be under the direct jurisdiction of the central government office, which is equivalent to the former direct control of the north and south.
"This matter cannot be completed overnight. Everyone can start to conceive and discuss now, and actively offer suggestions and suggestions." The matter of Dayu was thrown out, but there was no on-site discussion.
Today is to give officials a vaccination first and give officials who have not yet received the news time to think.
At least formal discussions will not begin until tomorrow morning. In the next few months, Zhu Jianyan, with the assistance of the cabinet's bachelors, gradually determined the adjustment plan for the Central Government Office and the plan for the establishment of Jiuqing.
At the same time, with the cooperation of officials from outer dynasties, they began to promote the adjustment and reform of local administrative divisions. After the provinces were established and renamed under the direct control of the North and the South, other provinces also began to officially change their names.
In official documents, titles such as places, chief envoys, and third divisions are replaced with the names of provinces. Then began to discuss and determine the scope of provinces directly under the imperial court, and at the same time make small-scale adjustments to the divisions of existing provinces.
This is a question that can be both simple and complex. The most traditional two capitals and thirteen provinces, Hebei and Huaihai, are Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Fujian and other places, which must be directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. No one has any doubts.
However, different people have different ideas about the adjustment of divisions between provinces and whether other provinces should be directly governed.
Should Fujian Province merge the Haidong Chief Envoy, which was established just a few years ago, that is, Dongning Island and the Ryukyu Islands?
Should Guangxi Province merge the Chief Envoy Department of Cochin? Should we even continue to merge the Lancang and Chenla Chief Envoys?
Was the Liaodong Chief Envoy Office established after the Renwu Dynasty merged into Shandong Province? In the era of two capitals and thirteen provinces, Liaodong only had the Capital Command and Envoy Division, which was responsible for managing the local garrison.
The civil affairs of Liaodong have long been managed by the Shandong Chengxuan Envoy Department, so there is no problem in returning Liaodong to Shandong.
From then on, to the east of the Liaodong Chief Envoy, the Lelang Chief Envoy in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and the coast of the Whale Sea, the Kuwu Chief Envoy in and around Kuwu Island, and the Heishui River in the Huntong River further north Should the Chief Envoy be listed as directly under the Central Government?
Will the six chief envoys of Korea and Japan in the east be merged? Will the chief envoys of Myanmar and Siam in the south also continue to be merged, and will they also be under direct jurisdiction?
Should Mobei, Xijiang, and the Snowy Region in the northwest be directly governed? There are more provinces under direct jurisdiction, which means that the central government office of the imperial court has more subordinate agencies to directly face.
The fewer provinces directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty may lead to the weakening of the core strength of the Ming Dynasty. How should we make a decision on this issue?
