Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"This is like building a mini-dynasty!"

"The Council of the Court of Colonial Affairs and the Council of Nobles were simply replicas of the court assembly and the parliament."

Looking at the Emperor's revised structure of the Court of Colonial Affairs, the court officials quickly came to this conclusion.

After the council was established, the Court of Colonial Affairs had a decision-making body, much like the court's morning assembly.

A noble council is easier to establish than a parliament and can form a check and balance relationship with the council.

Through these two institutions, the emperor maintained firm control over the Court of Colonial Affairs.

What made things even more difficult for the civil servants was that they began to sense:

In the future, they will no longer face scattered aristocratic forces, but rather a unified political group.

This political group still has the Court of Colonial Affairs as its core base. Without overthrowing the control of the aristocracy over the Court of Colonial Affairs, it is impossible to eliminate the aristocratic group.

Zheng Sanjun, the newly arrived Minister of Justice in the capital, asked his disciple with a puzzled expression:
"Does His Majesty trust the nobles so much?"

“He just had his inheritance rights revoked from those who were not feudal nobles!”

According to the recently enacted Fiefdom Act, only fiefdom nobles can inherit titles.

Nobles without fiefdoms can only inherit hereditary official positions such as commanders.

Zheng Sanjun originally thought that many nobles would be dissatisfied with the emperor, and that the emperor would not trust them.

Unexpectedly, the emperor still trusted the nobles and allowed them to take charge of the Lifan Yuan (Court of Colonial Affairs).

Hou Xun gave a wry smile and explained to the teacher:
"His Majesty is most adept at playing one faction against another."

"He used the new nobles to subdue the old nobles and seized their estates in the capital."

"He also instructed Sun Yuanhua to promote the wealth of India and to lead the old nobles to India to establish vassal states."

"Those who really do not want to go overseas, the emperor recently granted them territories near the Arctic Circle."

"Although the area is harsh and cold with little profit, it is also free from enemy occupation. Moreover, because there are few natives and little military pressure, the emperor allows them to send someone to govern it on their behalf, without having to personally go to their fiefdom."

"In this way, the noble titles can be passed down, just as before."

This measure was unexpected by Zheng Sanjun, who had not received any news about it while in Nanjing.

He frowned and said:

"After going around in circles, the nobles will remain the same as always."

"What exactly is the Emperor's purpose?"

Huang Jingfang, who also served as the editor of the daily records, said:
"The Emperor's goal is that hereditary nobles must have fiefdoms, whether in name or in reality."

“Once they have land overseas or in the border regions, they must pay attention to those places and no longer keep their eyes on the estates in the capital.”

"This is the same as the land restriction policy in the private sector, forcing these wealthy people to turn their attention to other areas."

This made Zheng Sanjun thoughtful, and he began to understand the emperor's plan.

As far as he knew, although the land restriction policy in Jiangnan was strictly enforced, there were still some large households that owned thousands of acres of land under the guise of public land such as sacrificial land and school land.

Some families, though nominally divided into households, did not actually divide the land. The amount of land they actually controlled could reach tens of thousands of acres.

It can be said that the imperial court's land restriction policy was not actually implemented very well. Even in Suzhou, where it was implemented best, land in the newly developed Jiangnan region was used to exchange for the official land that had been seized by wealthy landowners.

This situation has prevented the land restriction policy from achieving its intended goals. However, Zheng Sanjun would absolutely disagree that it was completely ineffective.

As far as he knew, in addition to buying land in Liaodong and Xinjiang, many wealthy families in Jiangnan were also engaged in industry and commerce and had established businesses in the Susong New Area.

When Zheng Sanjun returned to Chizhou to visit relatives during the holiday, he was surprised to find that their enthusiasm for industry and commerce was comparable to that for farming.

This made him realize that the emperor's restrictions on land ownership were not merely aimed at enabling more people to have stable property, but more importantly, at encouraging large households to focus on industry and commerce.

With limited acreage and close monitoring by the government, most families were not so stubborn as to insist on buying land.

Many people, like the wealthy families of Suzhou, set up factories in the Su-Song New District, utilizing government orders to run family-owned industrial and commercial businesses.

Gu Yanwu's clan-based industry alliance model has been widely admired. Major clans in Jiangnan are already emulating this model, with the main lineage controlling core enterprises while other family members establish smaller businesses specializing in a particular industry.

The development of industry and commerce was in full swing in Jiangnan, and many families began to regard enterprises with stable orders as their family business.

The emperor's current restrictions on nobles' estates in the capital are clearly for the same purpose.

This would encourage nobles to shift their focus away from land and towards industry and commerce.
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Analyzing the emperor's actions, Zheng Sanjun asked Huang Jingfang:

"In any case, the Emperor has confiscated their estates."

"Don't these nobles have any grievances?"

They didn't believe those nobles would obediently submit.

Huang Jingfang said to the teacher:
"Sir, you should pay more attention to Parliament; it has its own set of rules."

“The nobles in the capital have all become fiefdom nobles, so naturally they have seats in the noble council.”

“Dissatisfied nobles can make proposals in the council of nobles and seek support from others for their opinions.”

"But if it doesn't pass, it means no one supports it, and even if they are dissatisfied, they can't cause any trouble."

"Now His Majesty has given noble councilors the opportunity to serve as ministers of the council. Compared to this gain, what they have lost is the estates that they will resell to the new nobles."

This made Zheng Sanjun realize that the confiscation of estates was more of a struggle for interests between the new and old nobles.

Once the strength of both sides was revealed in the Council of Nobles, it was clear who would win and who would lose.

Even if the old nobles were reluctant, they had no choice but to give in under pressure from the new nobles.

After the new nobles expressed their willingness to take them to India and other places to establish fiefdoms, many old nobles have turned to the new nobles and transformed into fiefdom nobles.

For feudal nobles to establish their own fiefdoms, they needed the emperor's support; it was impossible to incite these people to rebel against the emperor. Moreover, the current emperor had already stated his willingness to co-govern the feudal court with the nobles.

Zheng Sanjun sighed and gave up the idea of ​​inciting the nobles, believing that the current situation of the Court of Colonial Affairs was difficult to change.

At this moment, Hou Xun said:

"Sir, should we impeach a few nobles and teach them a lesson?"

Zheng Sanjun shook his head and said:

"Right now, the focus in the court is on the change of leadership, and no one wants to offend the emperor."

"Even if the impeachment succeeds, it will only alert the enemy."

"Moreover, the Ministry of Justice needs the cooperation of the Court of Colonial Affairs on some matters."

This puzzled everyone, who wondered what Zheng Sanjun was talking about.

Zheng Sanjun explained to them:
"Recently, His Majesty granted the Imperial Guard the authority to apprehend criminals worldwide, in order to prevent criminals from fleeing overseas after committing crimes in the Ming Dynasty."

"After much thought, I felt that the Ministry of the Imperial Guard alone would be insufficient to handle the task, so I planned to cooperate with the Ministry of the Imperial Guard and the Court of Colonial Affairs to establish a Criminal Police Corps within the Ministry of Justice."

"This requires the cooperation of the Court of Colonial Affairs. The Ministry of Justice plans to establish criminal police detachments in each of the vassal states."

This idea caught the attention of Hou Xun and Huang Jingfang, who realized that if the Ministry of Justice had this power, it could increase its voice in the court.

They believed that, under their teacher's guidance, the Ministry of Justice would surely regain its position as the head of the three judicial departments and become an undeniable force in the court.

However, the right to apprehend criminals worldwide was granted to the Imperial Guard by the Emperor. Could the Ministry of Justice seize it?

Zheng Sanjun smiled slightly, full of confidence.

His years in Nanjing were not spent idly; rather, he was studying the current emperor. He knew that while the emperor appeared tough, he was actually very adept at compromise.

What is particularly advantageous is that the current emperor cherishes his reputation and, under Liu Zongzhou's persuasion, is very concerned about "benevolence and righteousness."

However, governing the country requires the use of criminal law, and he felt that the Ministry of Justice could take on this responsibility.

It seems the emperor would much prefer to have a stricter official in court, allowing him to establish an image of a benevolent ruler. (End of Chapter)