Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"The situation in Suzhou has finally stabilized."

"It seems they have accepted the new order."

Looking at the report sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhu Youjian said with satisfaction.

He had always been concerned about the situation in Suzhou, and he knew that some Suzhou gentry were unwilling to accept the fact that their official land had been taken back and their slaves had been released.

However, after seeing that they had not made any bigger moves, I realized that most of them had accepted their fate and started to find their own position in the new order of etiquette and law.

In this case, Zhu Youjian did not go too far and planned to take some time to let things settle down and allow more people to adapt.

What he needs to do now is to reach a consensus on this matter and prevent the policy from being reversed.

To this end, he raised a question at the last imperial lecture of the year on October 2, asking the ministers to discuss:

“What is the standard for a well-off society?”

“What will people’s lives be like?”

“Please try to explain it!”

This shocked the ministers, who knew that the emperor was going to make another big move.

The last time the emperor mentioned Datong and Xiaokang, he determined the national policy of re-establishing rituals and music.

By now, it had become a consensus to re-establish rituals and music, and all the officials were eager to finalize the "Great Ming Rituals and Laws Convention."

However, because this etiquette law is so important, only a few clauses have been determined so far. Many people have also put forward various opinions on the proposed clauses and weighed every word.

If Liu Zongzhou had not been so famous that he could keep the situation under control, the ministers would have been arguing so much that they would not have been able to write the draft.

Now, the emperor mentioned the concept of moderate prosperity again, which made them realize that this must be related to the re-establishment of rituals and music.

As the person in charge of remaking rituals and music, and also the official in charge of imperial lectures, Liu Zongzhou was the first to speak:
"In a well-off society, propriety and righteousness are used as the rules to regulate the relationship between ruler and subject, between father and son, between brothers, between husband and wife, and to establish systems and villages."

"I believe that in a well-off world, there must be perfect etiquette and laws, everyone will love their own relatives and their own children, and the world will be in order."

This is what the Book of Rites says. Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and said:
"Etiquette is the most important thing, what else?"

"Mr. Han, you are the chief minister of the government. Please try to tell us how to achieve a well-off society."

“What will the people of a well-off world look like?”

Han Yu, as the chief minister and also the official in charge of the imperial lectures, knew that the emperor would definitely ask him a question, and he had already started thinking about it.

When he heard the emperor mention his name, he immediately said:
"In a well-off society, goods and strength are for oneself."

"I believe that the people should be allowed to reap the rewards of their labor, so that all people, whether scholars, farmers, merchants or workers, can survive by working."

This statement surprised Zhu Youjian a little, and he said with satisfaction:

"Mr. Han is right. People should be rewarded for their hard work."

"Mr. Liu, write this into the Convention of Etiquette and Law: Ming citizens have the right and obligation to work. Workers include but are not limited to scholars, farmers, merchants, and other Ming citizens who engage in labor activities. They have the right to be paid for their labor and are obliged to participate in labor service."

"Then use specific labor laws to define the rights and obligations of workers. Let them be rewarded for their work and survive."

This point was recognized by Liu Zongzhou and his ministers, and Han Yu was also somewhat happy.

He only proposed this because he saw that the emperor paid attention to hiring workers. He did not expect that the emperor would approve of it so much that he even wanted to include it in the etiquette and law convention.

In the future, when people mention this, they will inevitably mention Han Yu. In the future, he will leave his mark in the conventions of etiquette and law.

The ministers looked at him with envy, and the Minister of Rites Cheng Jiming said unwillingly:

"I believe that every citizen should have the right to receive education." "All citizens of the Ming Dynasty should be educated and be able to participate in the imperial examinations."

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement, and was very pleased that he had learned something from his hard work.
"This point should also be written into the etiquette convention: Ming citizens have the right and obligation to receive education, and the court encourages the development of education and encourages citizens to learn."

"And when teaching, we must use the Ming Dynasty's correct pronunciation and correct writing, as well as the standardized teaching materials formulated by the Hanlin Academy and various universities."

“All of this needs to be written into the Great Ming Code of Rites.”

There is one more article in the etiquette and law.

Seeing this, the ministers became more enthusiastic and put forward various suggestions.

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Bi Ziyan, proposed that the young should be educated, the old should be cared for, and the dead should be buried, and that the poorhouses, leaking gardens, and charity cemeteries should be improved in various places.

Zhu Youjian assigned the management of the orphanage to the Civil Affairs Department, and established an orphanage specifically for it. He encouraged the establishment of nurseries and kindergartens, and allowed the Maternal and Child Health Association, which was under the charge of the Empress, to participate.

As for the Louze Garden and the Yizhong Cemetery, they were handed over to the City God Division.

All matters related to death are managed by the City God's Office.

These were written into the "Great Ming Etiquette and Law Convention", which eventually established eight items: children should be educated, students should be taught, workers should be paid, the sick should be treated, the elderly should be taken care of, the dead should be buried, the homeless should be housed, and the weak should be supported. From birth to death, it covers all aspects.

The vision of a well-off world gradually emerged during the discussions between the emperor and his ministers.

Although Zhu Youjian did not take the initiative to propose anything, he firmly grasped the initiative and guided his ministers to explore how to build a well-off society.

The ministers were very satisfied with this, believing that the emperor accepted their views and was a wise ruler who was good at accepting advice.

However, there was someone who was unwilling to give in, and that was Qian Qianyi. He originally thought that besides Liu Zongzhou, he was the only one who could preside over the revision of rituals and music, but he did not expect that this time, the ministers in charge of various affairs had already brought up these rituals before he even spoke.

This made him very anxious. Thinking about the emperor's recent actions, he said:

"In the age of great harmony, men have their share and women have their home."

"Although a well-off society is not as good as a harmonious society, men should farm and women weave, and everyone should be able to live and work in peace and contentment."

"I think that land should be allocated to men and looms should be allocated to women."

"This will realize the first step of 'men have their share, women have their home', and allow the people to live and work in peace and contentment."

This statement made the ministers' eyes widen. They did not expect Qian Qianyi to come up with this suggestion.

Zhu Youjian also looked at him in surprise. He didn't expect Qian Qianyi to dare to say that.

Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan said:

“It is too difficult to distribute land and looms.”

"The court doesn't have that much land, nor that many looms."

Qian Qianyi was very pleased with himself and said leisurely:
"There's none in China, but what about outside China?"

"How can it be difficult to distribute so much land overseas and beyond the Great Wall?"

"The court has already allocated land to immigrants who moved abroad, and now it should be confirmed by etiquette and law."

"As for the looms, I think we can use rent and taxes instead of buying them. Let women pay rent and taxes with the cloth they weave, and when they reach a certain amount, they can own the looms."

This was the policy implemented by the imperial court in Suzhou, and Qian Qianyi was very familiar with it.

The people who moved out of Suzhou were allocated land, and the weavers were rented and sold looms by Suzhou Weaving Factory.

He believed that it could be written into the etiquette and law as a provision of etiquette and law. (End of this chapter)