prosperous age

Just as Liu Yaohui realized that his previous actions had been led by the nose by Wei Guangde, if he really followed Wei Guangde's orders and handed over the management of the moat to the common people, he was afraid that he would not be able to leave any good reputation among the scholars.

With this thought in mind, Liu Yaohui's conversation with the magistrate of Xiangshan County became much longer.

"Giving the people of Haojing the right to self-governance only allows them to manage the people in the city on a regular basis. However, all official documents must be reported to Xiangshan County, registered, and then reported to Guangzhou and the Governor-General's Office."

The authority given to them was merely an ad-hoc response, not a formal government order. Only with the approval of Xiangshan County and the official seal of Xiangshan County would it be considered officially valid.

"Do you understand this?" Liu Yaohui reminded the magistrate of Xiangshan County.

"Sir, this and..."

The magistrate of Xiangshan County sensed that the governor's attitude seemed different from before.

Previously, the adults' words implied that Haojing should govern itself, and they had no intention of taking power back to Xiangshan County.

"You don't need to worry about this. Just tell Frank about the three hundred bushels of grain and what we just talked about."

As for the rest, I will report to the capital later.

Liu Yaohui did indeed intend to submit a memorial on this matter immediately, but of course, he first wrote a letter to the Grand Secretary to mention it.

This is no small matter; it concerns Liu Yaohui's reputation, and if things go wrong, he could alienate himself from the literati.

While some scholars in ancient times were shameless, the vast majority valued their reputation and would not blindly flatter their superiors for the sake of their career advancement.

In later times, foreign countries used the right to elect officials to restrict the behavior of local officials, while domestically they relied on their superiors. At this time, it was the reputation of the literati that mattered.

At this time, Wei Guangde also began to face doubts from the State of Xu.

"Your Excellency, when we first joined the cabinet, we hadn't figured out the situation yet, so we didn't think it through at the time and simply acquiesced because of Your Excellency's attitude."

However, after thinking it over and over these past few days, I still feel that it is not appropriate.

What kind of people live in the Haojing? Apart from the Portuguese, they are all commoners. They have no official titles or ranks. How do they govern the Haojing?
"The practice of scholars jointly governing the country has been a tradition since ancient times. What makes Hao Jing think he can change that?"

Xu Guo spoke up.

Upon hearing Xu Guo's speech, Shen Shixing, Yu Youding, and others all remained silent.

Xu Guo's words had some merit, namely "governing the world with scholars," but the others disagreed with his use of the phrase "since ancient times."

However, at this point, they naturally wouldn't come out and undermine their own position.

In fact, they had not anticipated Xu Guo's questioning. Even if they hadn't realized it at the time, they had long since thought of it by now.

However, they chose to remain silent, or rather, wait for the right opportunity.

"To govern the country together with the scholar-officials" is a phrase that came from Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, and it is indeed a typical characteristic of Song Dynasty politics.

In ancient Chinese history, "governing the world together with scholar-officials" is both a political term and a "historical statement" with clear historical support, and it is a high-level summary of the political ecology of the Song Dynasty.

The formation of this "co-governance" was neither an accidental "special case" nor a misinterpretation by later generations; it was the result of the political logic and institutional practices actively constructed by the ruling group of the Song Dynasty.

After Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, "released military power over a cup of wine," he clearly put forward the governing policy of "emphasizing civil affairs and suppressing military affairs." He once erected a "oath stele" in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, one of the oaths of which was "not to kill scholar-officials or those who submit memorials to the emperor." Although it may not be the original text, it reflects the Song Dynasty's tradition of protecting scholar-officials.

When Emperor Taizong of Song came to power, he declared directly, "I wish to seek out outstanding talents in the imperial examinations. I do not dare to hope that five out of ten will be selected. Even if only one or two are selected, it will be enough to achieve good governance."

The scholar-officials did indeed participate in actual political operations.

During the Song Dynasty, scholar-officials were not only executors of the bureaucratic system, but also core participants in policy-making. In addition to daily government affairs, economic policies, land policies, and national reforms, they also used civil administration to control military affairs and foreign conquests. This became very evident after Emperor Renzong of Song.

The Song Dynasty provided institutional support for the "co-governance" of scholar-officials through the imperial examination system, the supervisory system, and the system of censors.

The Song Dynasty abolished the "family background restriction" in the imperial examination system, such as the "passing the examination papers" practice in the Tang Dynasty. The imperial examination system was completely democratized, and the "anonymous grading and copying" was implemented to prevent cheating. The scale of admission was expanded.

Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, a large number of scholars from humble backgrounds, such as Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu, entered officialdom through examinations, creating a situation where "most scholars and officials came from humble backgrounds."

As for the previous dynasty, there was naturally no such thing as "co-governance".

During China's imperial era, emperors held three roles: head of state, head of government, and religious leader.

Religious leaders need to explain that the Chinese tradition is to revere Heaven and honor ancestors. Heaven and ancestors are the objects of faith and worship, respectively. The emperor also played the role of religious leader, praying for favorable weather, peace and prosperity for the country.

The monarch calls himself the Son of Heaven, the son of Heaven, representing the will of Heaven, and ruling over all directions.

This tradition began in the Zhou Dynasty, when the monarch was called "King," meaning that all land under heaven belonged to the King.

Later, Qin Shi Huang changed the monarch's title to Emperor and also adopted the self-proclaimed title of Son of Heaven.

Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, raised an army in rebellion, overthrew the Qin Empire, and competed with Xiang Yu for supremacy, eventually seizing national power.

For the next two thousand years, starting with the Han Dynasty, every dynastic change in China was achieved through military force. Therefore, the emperor and the royal family were the most powerful military forces in China. To put it bluntly, China during the imperial period was a military government, and the emperor was the most powerful warlord.

The saying goes that since the Qin Dynasty, all emperors have been thieves.

Let's talk about the scholar-officials. The concept of "scholar" comes from the Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. They were illegitimate nobles who could not inherit titles and property, but possessed the ability and knowledge to govern.

Therefore, in ancient China, the term "scholar-official" referred to officials, landlords, and intellectuals, which is equivalent to the bureaucrats, capitalists, and intellectual elites of later generations.

For thousands of years, this has been the force that has ruled China.

Wei Guangde is currently a "scholar" (士), so it's impossible for him to express any dissenting opinions or advocate for democratic governance.

If he dares to say that, the government and the public will launch an attack on him tomorrow and collectively impeach him.

Infighting among civil officials was a reality, but when faced with external enemies, they would unite against them, such as suppressing military generals and confronting eunuchs, in order to maintain their core position of co-ruling the country with the emperor.

"hehe."

Wei Guangde chuckled and said, "Although what Grand Secretary Xu said seems reasonable, there is one thing that Grand Secretary Xu may have misunderstood."

Haojing was originally a small fishing village under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County, and it was always managed by the local clan.

Wei Guangde offered a suggestion.

Although the emperor and scholars jointly governed the country, there was another phenomenon throughout history: imperial power did not extend to the countryside, and the most basic units were controlled by clan forces.

Wei Guangde's answer was that although Haojing is now a city, according to tradition, it should actually be the territory of clan forces, not something that the imperial court needs to manage.

Although his administrative direction did indeed aim to extend imperial power to the countryside and directly participate in grassroots management, it faced significant resistance at the moment.

First, we need to improve literacy rates so that the people can understand the court's policies and announcements before we talk about anything else. "Moreover, Haojing was originally inhabited by barbarians, and whether they are barbarians or local people of our Great Ming, they have already formed their own set of rules, just like clans."

If the imperial court had intervened at this time, it might have sparked a popular uprising elsewhere.

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he looked at the others and saw that they all had serious expressions before continuing, "Of course, the barbarians are different from the people of our Great Ming. We allow them to govern themselves, but the court has never said that it will not interfere."

Otherwise, there wouldn't be today's discussion, with the imperial court wanting to reclaim the military rights of the moat.

It was only to restrict the council hall they built in order to ensure that the local people could live and work in peace and to prevent the barbarians from becoming too powerful in Haojing.

If the Yi people have lived there for a long time, they can participate in the discussion of local affairs. The local people can also participate. Both sides are equal. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the final decision-making power rests with the magistrate of Xiangshan County.

There is no question of breaking the idea of ​​scholars jointly governing the country.

Moreover, since the founding of the dynasty, I do not recall any former emperor mentioning the concept of 'shared governance,' though I vaguely recall that Emperor Taizu did mention the idea of ​​the people jointly governing the world.

Zhu Yuanzhang's rule was characterized by centralized power and harsh laws, such as abolishing the prime minister system and establishing the Embroidered Uniform Guard. These measures weakened the power of the scholar-official class and strengthened the direct control of the imperial power over the people.

Although he proposed similar ideas such as "sharing the world with the people," he actually maintained his rule through high-pressure policies rather than granting the people the right to participate in politics.

As for the idea of ​​governing the country together with scholars, it seems that none of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty ever mentioned it.

Although everyone seems to have done so, allowing scholars to participate in politics and even retaining the right not to kill officials who speak out and to provide preferential treatment to scholars.

"In my view, the so-called council hall of the Haojing is actually the ancestral home of the local clan, a place for discussing and resolving clan affairs."

And those so-called councilors are simply clan elders, each family resolving its own affairs—isn't that how it is?"

Wei Guangde looked at Xu Guo and asked in return.

This is also the basic model for resolving affairs in the countryside of the Ming Dynasty, and he believes that no one present would object to it.

Otherwise, if the news gets back, the clan might have some opinions about them.

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, Shen Shixing, Wang Jiaping, and the others all nodded slightly.

Viewing the council chamber as a room for clans to explain their affairs, and the members of parliament as clan elders, seems to make sense.

The main point was that Wei Guangde mentioned that although Haojing was under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County, it was a rural area, and the government probably wouldn't go there to conduct its business, a point they agreed with.

Even so, Wei Guangde managed to get through this hurdle, but when it came to discussing the Portuguese people's desire to become citizens of the Ming Dynasty, opinions still differed.

This time, Xu Xuemo did not stand up to object, but simply listened to the opinions of others.

In fact, what the opponents said was mostly true: "Those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts."

In fact, the appearances of Ming people and Mongols are distinguishable due to differences in environment and diet, let alone those of barbarians.

Black hair and black eyes are the standard features of Han Chinese, which are not found in other ethnic groups, so they are difficult for people to accept.

Even though Jiang Zhi said that Bu Jialao had special skills and was a cannon-casting master that the court urgently needed, the others were not interested.

Ultimately, these are all just tricks and gimmicks, and Shen Shixing shared this attitude.

After listening to the opinions of others, Wei Guangde noticed that Xu Xuemo had not spoken, so he took the opportunity to say to him, "What is your opinion on this, Lord Xu? In fact, this matter is still the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites."

"There is no precedent for naturalization of people of different races, making the decision very difficult."

Regardless of the outcome of this cabinet meeting, I must return to my headquarters to convene a meeting to discuss the matter further before a decision can be made.

Xu Xuemo immediately began to dodge the question, saying that the cabinet disputes were their business, and that the Ministry of Rites would handle its own affairs.

Don't think that the Ming Dynasty's acceptance of Mongol household registration at this time was a move to allow foreigners to become citizens. Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang had long ago stated that the Ming Dynasty inherited the legacy of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, so in reality, the Mongols were not included among the foreigners they referred to.

The term "Mongols" is merely a way of distinguishing Han Chinese, but they were actually considered Ming people long ago, only they did not submit to the rule of the Ming.

As for those from Europe and the surrounding vassal states, those were the truly foreign races.

"Hehe, this matter is only because it involves foreigners, so we invited Lord Xu to come and discuss it, to see the attitude of the Ministry of Rites."

In fact, the Ministry of Revenue still managed household registration.

Wang Jiaping then spoke in a lukewarm tone.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xuemo's face immediately fell, and he remained silent.

If the cabinet agrees to grant citizenship to that Bulao, then it really won't have anything to do with the Ministry of Rites.

As for the Ministry of Revenue's opinion, given Zhang Xueyan's current attitude of blindly following Wei Guangde, there certainly wouldn't be any opposition. They could simply register the households and issue household registration certificates.

However, Shen Shixing suddenly reminded him, "Your Excellency, do not forget the past of the Tang Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "I have never forgotten the good loan, which is why I have thought of registering them in the household register of our Great Ming, prohibiting them from commanding troops, and unless by special decree, their families for three generations shall not be allowed to take the imperial examinations. Only those with a special skill shall be recruited."

"Issue some restrictions to ensure that all talented individuals can serve His Majesty in our Great Ming Dynasty."

The old stories of the Tang Dynasty are actually the history of the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty was one of the most prosperous and open periods in Chinese history. The Tang Dynasty was inclusive of people from all over the world, and friends from all countries came to this prosperous land, hoping to get a share of the benefits.

For example, Chao Heng, whose original name was Abe no Nakamaro, was a Japanese envoy to Tang China. He served as the Left Attendant-in-Ordinary and Protector-General of Annam during the Tang Dynasty; Gao Xianzhi, a Goguryeo person, served as the military governor of Hexi during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang; An Lushan, a Turk, served as the military governor of Pinglu, Fanyang, and Hedong, as well as the Grand Censor.

According to records, there were 3,000 foreigners who served as officials in the Tang Dynasty, and foreign officials once accounted for more than one-tenth of all officials in the court.

Emperor Taizong of Tang declared: "Since ancient times, the Chinese have been valued and the barbarians despised, but I alone love them equally." This directly labeled the Tang Dynasty as "embracing without discrimination."

The influx of foreigners into the Tang Dynasty certainly enhanced its internationalization and promoted the integration of diverse cultures, but it also sowed the seeds of future troubles.

This internationalization is actually like cooking a "cultural stew." Although it tastes delicious, it's easy to burn the pot if the heat isn't controlled properly.

Li Linfu, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, disliked the Confucian officials who rose through the ranks based on their military achievements, feeling that they threatened his position. Therefore, he suggested that the emperor appoint more generals of non-Han origin to command the army.

As a result, many local military commanders became non-Han people, such as An Lushan, Gao Xianzhi, and Geshu Han, and many of their soldiers were also non-Han people.

Originally, the Tang Dynasty used military force to defend against the Hu people, but it ended up supporting Hu people as soldiers, completely violating its original intention, and what followed was the decline from prosperity.

"The restrictions are good, but they still need further consideration."

Shen Shixing spoke. (End of Chapter)