"The Southern Zhili Military Department has 49 guard posts and more than ten thousand-household posts, as well as a naval force stationed at the mouth of Xinjiang River in Nanjing. But you can see for yourselves how corrupt the Nanjing Guard Post is.
In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing's reign, a group of more than a hundred Japanese pirates landed from Shangyu and fought thousands of miles away. More than 500 defenders in Huizhou Prefecture actually fled in the face of the Japanese. More than a thousand officers and soldiers in Jingde County and more than 300 soldiers in Nanling County Defense, even failed to defend it,
The Japanese pirates plundered the two cities and were finally driven back by the people of Wuhu.
This group of Japanese pirates, who had fewer than fifty people left after fighting all the way, arrived in Jiangning on the outskirts of Nanjing, and commanded Zhu Xiang and Jiang Sheng to lead their troops to defend against the enemy.
As a result, Zhu Xiang was killed in battle, Jiang Sheng was seriously injured, and more than 300 soldiers were killed or injured. In the end, they were killed by the people of Chongming Island.
You don’t know this humiliating history, right? "
"Also last year, the Japanese pirates captured Shangyu County, and the Sanjiang Qianhu Army was completely wiped out. The surrounding guards were unable to attack, allowing the Japanese pirates to plunder the county town. If the Yanshan Guards hadn't arrived, the Japanese pirates would have continued to run rampant.
This is the garrison under the jurisdiction of the Nanjing Ministry of War. To describe it as rotten is to praise them. The garrison is empty of troops, poorly paid, poorly trained, without military discipline, etc.
Go and check for yourselves. Ten of the military attachés in South Zhili were arrested and killed, but none of them were unjust. "
"Let's talk about the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing. The officials and businessmen colluded, protected each other, and deceived the superiors and the subordinates. The officials in the Punishment Department were no longer officials of the court, but became servants of the gentry and wealthy businessmen, wiping their butts."
…
"My lords, tell me, this commander, what is the significance of Nanjing's existence?
Is it to make money when you go to retire in the future?
Or will he continue to be a thug for the wealthy gentry and businessmen of Southern Zhili?
Since the five ministries and six governments in Nanjing are unable to shoulder their due responsibilities, they should be directly abolished and directly managed by Beijing. "
Li Ruolian completely let go at this moment, tearing off all the fig leaves covering the five ministries and six government offices in Nanjing. The faces of the ministers who retorted turned red.
Although he didn't scold them, he actually scolded them every word.
Their feeling was right. As expected, the commander was so repulsive that they could not refute him.
At this moment, their heads were buzzing.
But some people still refused to give up and continued: "Commander Li, what you said is true. Now that we have discovered it, we have to rectify it. Cut it off when it needs to be cut, withdraw where it needs to be withdrawn, and start again..."
"Replace a new group of officials and continue to be corrupt. Is this what you mean?"
"You, you... what I mean is that the five ministries and six governments do not need to be withdrawn. After the rectification, the court does not need to give them independent rights, and they will be reviewed by Beijing..."
"Aren't you taking off your pants to fart? Isn't it unnecessary?"
"You, you... are vulgar!"
The person who spoke was trembling with anger at Li Ruolian's harsh words, but Li Ruolian ignored him and stared at the ministers.
"My lords, His Majesty has said that if you have any ideas, you can speak freely. The reasons you just refuted are not valid. Some of them are far-fetched. These are not convincing!"
"Your Majesty, I agree with the abolition of Nanjing. The existence of Nanjing has seriously restricted the development of the Ming Dynasty and the concentration of power. There are many dynasties that have used the two-capital system, but there is no such thing as Nanjing that exercises partial independent power.
Today's Nanjing feels like a country within a country. Now the Ming Dynasty is reorganizing, all wastes are being revitalized, and the unification of various strategies is more conducive to the management of the court. "
"I agree with Mr. Yuan Ge's point of view. Among the five ministries and six prefectures in Nanjing, except for the household department, which has a relatively large workload and a prominent role, the other five ministries are basically in a semi-idle state.
After the abolition, it will be unified and managed by Beijing, or like other administrative departments, three departments will be established, and the three departments will be responsible for the affairs of Southern Zhili. "
As soon as Yuan Keli finished speaking, Sun Chengzong also expressed his views. Without exception, he agreed with the abolition of Nandu and also gave a solution.
When the six ministers heard that the two elders agreed, they further guessed that the emperor was angry with the two, so he spoke out.
Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Household Affairs, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I agree with the suggestions of Mr. Yuan Ge and Mr. Sun Ge. The workload of the Household Department of the Six Ministries in Nanjing is the largest.
After the abolition, the Ministry of Household Affairs can add one minister, two yuanwailang and four or five chief officers to be stationed in Nanjing, responsible for water transportation, grain transportation, salt prospecting and management and collection of yellow records, and will no longer be responsible for taxation and other matters! "
"Your Majesty, the Nanjing Department of Rites is basically useless. There are not many opportunities for Your Majesty to go to Nanjing. The Department of Rites is basically idle and can be abolished directly.
The sacrifices at Taizu's mausoleum can be carried out by the eunuch guarding the tomb, and the Chief Secretary of Nanzhili can supervise them! "
"Your Majesty, the Nanjing Ministry of Industry is responsible for related affairs in Nanjing and nearby provinces. This is no different from the direct management of the Beijing Ministry of Industry."
…
All six ministers supported the abolition of Nanjing, and they were the biggest beneficiaries of the abolition of Nanjing.
If you think about it, the capital of the Ming Dynasty is Beijing. I am the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Beijing, but I cannot intervene in the imperial examination of officials in the southern Zhili region. Moreover, there is a Minister there who is of the same rank as me. It is unpleasant to think about it.
No one dared to mention it before, but now that the emperor has initiated it and the cabinet has agreed, why wait until now if he doesn’t agree?
Since the emperor mentioned it, it was just a formality in the Huangji Palace. It was said to be a discussion, but in reality it was just a notice. They still saw this very clearly.
The cabinet and the six ministers all agreed with the emperor to abolish Nanjing. This made the ministers who objected confused. Are these people not prepared for the future?
It's a pity that what they don't understand is that the six ministries are thinking about the present, while the opposing ministers are thinking about the future.
Seeing that the ministers were silent again, Chongzhen knew that it was his turn to make a decision.
"My dear friends, I propose to abolish Nandu. In addition to what I encountered, saw, and heard during this southern tour, I have also carefully considered the concerns of Yuan Aiqing and Sun Aiqing.
The southern capital's tail could not be lost, which seriously hindered the centralization of power in the imperial court and the development of the Ming Dynasty, and caused far more harm than good.
Now that the cabinet and the six ministries agree with my proposal, it means that my idea is correct. If this is the case, then the abolition of Nanjing has been decided.
After the abolition of Nandu, only the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Imperial College were left in Nanjing. The Ministry of Household Affairs followed what Bi Aiqing said and added officials to be in charge of Nanjing.
The Nanjing Imperial College is managed by a director appointed by the Beijing Imperial College, and the doctorates, teaching assistants, etc. in the prison remain unchanged.
All other ministries were abolished, and all current Nanjing officials returned to the north or were sent abroad to fill their vacancies.
At the same time, the governors of Yingtian and Fengyang were abolished. From the date of delivery of the edict, there will no longer be governors in these two places. "
Having said this, Chongzhen paused for a moment: "But the issues such as deception, geography, etc. that you are worried about just now are not unreasonable. Since I mentioned it, I naturally took some countermeasures."
