At the end of Song Dynasty: I want to be the master of ZTE

Chapter 343 Constitution and Imperial Power

In the cabinet hall, the nine assistant ministers sat in groups, all thinking silently.

The emperor's words were so impactful that even if they had weathered many storms, even Li Tingzhi, who had been among the dead, needed to slow down.

After a long time, Wen Tianxiang sighed: "Your Majesty's sincerity is beyond the reach of the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, let alone the emperors of the Sui and Tang Dynasties."

Li Tingzhi continued: "It is indeed God's blessing that our country can meet such an emperor. What more can I ask for if my ministers can meet such an emperor?"

"If you can meet such a holy king, why not risk your life?" Chen Wenlong said.

Wang Yinglin said: "You don't have to talk about life and death lightly, you must live up to your majesty's trust."

"That's true." Li Tingzhi nodded and said, "According to what His Majesty said, we must first determine the source of the imperial power. How do you say that?"

Hard to say.

The throne is power, and power comes from force. This is the reality in the world.

So where does the force come from?

Force is the army, and the main body of the army is the people. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the imperial power is determined by the people.

But how can we say that imperial power is determined by the people?

Everyone is a well-educated person with top-notch intelligence. Except for a certain person who makes up the numbers, even so, they can't explain it well for a while.

"In His Majesty's words, the imperial power comes from the people, so let's define the people first!" Li Tingzhi said: "The people are the people if they have a national household registration and are registered with the government."

"It's inappropriate. How can those who commit crimes and commit crimes serve the people?" Liu Fu retorted.

Chen Wenlong said: "Being guilty of crimes may not be incapable of turning the tide, just like Di Qing."

When Di Qing was a teenager, he was arrested by the government and thrown into prison because of a conflict with the villagers. He had his face tattooed, his household registration was cancelled, he was sent to the capital and sent to the army, and then he became the official city of the country.

"This is an individual case. Most people who commit crimes and violate laws gain power, but only bring disaster to the country and the people, such as Gao Qiu!" Liu Fu said.

"Let's put the dispute aside for the time being. Let's sort out the outline first. It won't be too late to discuss the differences slowly!" Zhao Jirui acted as the peacemaker.

"It should be like this, time waits for no one." Wang Yinglin said.

The ultimate ambition of a minister is never to replace the emperor, nor to help the country achieve immortality, but to lock the emperor's power in a cage!
From the beginning of the birth of the emperor, everyone has been pursuing this.

From the earliest struggle for imperial power to the issuance of this imperial edict, we can see the restrictions on imperial power.

But the effect is not great.

The prime minister disappeared and became three provinces. There are very few stories of the three provinces rejecting the imperial edict.

In the final analysis, the emperor is life and death, and if he is not obedient, he will be replaced. There will always be obedient ones. This is the root of the unrestricted imperial power.

"So to limit the imperial power, we must strengthen the power of the cabinet?" Zhao Jirui frowned.

As the prince who is the mascot of the cabinet, he does not care about the power of the cabinet, but what if a powerful minister appears and completely controls the cabinet and completely empties the emperor?
When the time comes, there will be a change of dynasty.

Today's cabinet ministers are all loyal, but that may not be the case in the future.

"Strengthening the cabinet may lead to evading the imperial power, but as long as it ensures that powerful ministers cannot establish themselves as emperors, it will not affect the overall situation." Chen Gangzhong said: "In the final analysis, what your Majesty wants is for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, and the incompetent king will give up power to strong ministers. Only in this way can we guarantee this.

As long as the powerful ministers cannot stand on their own feet, the dynasty can be guaranteed to last forever. "

Strengthening the cabinet and restricting powerful ministers are two extremes, and it is difficult to strike a balance. "When cabinet ministers take office, they must be nominated by the emperor and voted by all the military governors and governors in the world. How about that?" Liu Fu said.

"No, if the emperor neglects government affairs and refuses to nominate him, wouldn't there be a vacancy in the cabinet?" Chen Gangzhong said.

Li Tingzhi nodded on the table and said: "Let's not care about these details for now, let's discuss the framework first.

Furthermore, His Majesty has proposed a five-year development plan, which is of long-term relevance and cannot be delayed because of constitutional matters. "

"What Prime Minister Li said is true." Lu Xiufu said: "As for the constitution, we might as well go back and draft proposals separately, and discuss them together after one month. At that time, we can seek common ground while reserving differences, and finally a draft can be produced.

In addition, when the world's most intelligent people are invited to participate, you may wish to ask Your Majesty to publish the matter in the newspapers. "

"Yes." Miao Zaicheng nodded and said: "We will set up a Constitutional Division to take charge of this matter. The Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Yushitai will allocate capable personnel to fill it. Officials and people will all vote for it if they have something to say."

"Prime Minister Miao's opinion is excellent and feasible." Chen Gangzhong praised it, and then said: "We just have to wait until the pseudo-Yuan envoy leaves to avoid leaking the secret.

If the pseudo-Yuan follows suit, I'm afraid the traitors in the North will become more determined and increase the difficulty of the strategy out of thin air. "

"Prime Minister Chen's words are reasonable and should be so." Li Tingzhi nodded.

Miao Zaicheng was a military officer after all, and couldn't help but say: "The peace agreement has certainly given the country an opportunity to recuperate, but if a war opportunity appears, how can we just sit back and watch it be lost!"

"Twenty years is not a long time to expel the Tartars." Li Tingzhi said: "Five years later, the new artillery of the state will be put into use. No matter how hard it is to fortify the dangerous passes, they will be vulnerable. By then, they will regain their homeland and conquer the world in one go."

"At that time, our term of office is about to expire, so we can make room for meritorious ministers." Wen Tianxiang grinned and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to listen to music and dance?"

"I'm afraid that my heart is full but my strength is not enough." Zhao Jirui made a long stab.

Seeing that the topic was going off topic, Wang Yinglin coughed and said: "Without any gossip, there is one thing that can be determined in advance, and that is the national symbol. This does not involve too much, and can be widely distributed to the world for solicitation."

"Indeed." Liu Fu said: "The national flag and national emblem should be simple and easy to recognize and have the characteristics of the country and the dynasty. The national anthem should be simple and easy to understand, inspiring and teaching people loyalty."

"Ask for the decree and bring enlightenment to the world." Li Tingzhi made a decision.

It can be said that this part of the Constitution is the simplest, because it does not involve the fundamentals. At most, it is a dispute over which of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers should be included in the national emblem.

The cabinet pressed the matter and began to build the framework of the five-year plan according to priorities.

Mining and weapons manufacturing in industry, the promotion of new agricultural tools and new technologies, water conservancy, improved seeds, new farming methods in agriculture... There are many things, and everyone has been discussing them all day, and they have just figured it out.

At the end of the discussion, Wen Tianxiang said: "Everything is complicated. I'm afraid that the Ministry of Household Affairs will not have the energy to take charge of the census. How should we deal with it?"

"Why don't you leave this matter to Zong Zhengfu?" Zhao Jirui asked with uncertainty.

He was born in Zongzheng and knew that the Zongzheng Mansion was actually very busy, managing the household registration of the royal family and relatives, guarding mausoleums, and occasionally participating in the handling of noble crimes.

"It is appropriate for the emperor, the father of the people, to manage the household registration with Zongzheng." Wang Yinglin made a joke.

"In that case, I would like to ask Your Majesty to let Zongzheng Mansion be in charge of household registration in the world, and the royal family, ministers, ministers and common people will be treated as one!" Li Tingzhi said.

Chen Wenlong said: "Everyone is equal before the law and it should be included in the constitution!"

"This is also a restriction on the imperial power, yes." Wang Yinglin nodded in agreement.

When the emperor established the constitution, it cannot be said that he was trying to tie himself up. After all, he wanted an unshakable country. It can only be said that the days to come may not be so comfortable.

(End of this chapter)