Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

In the winter of the seventeenth year of the Zhizheng era, a heavy snow fell in Dadu. The newly built conference room in the imperial city of Dadu was brightly lit, and the heat from the underground passage also rose, making the entire conference room as warm as spring.

The bonsai trees in the conference room were in full bloom, as vibrant as springtime.

This is a newly built structure, renovated from the original building.

When Chen Jie had just entered Dadu, some people suggested that the old place where the tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty had once lived should be burned to the ground, just like Xiang Yu burned down the Epang Palace.

However, Chen Jie rejected the proposal. After all, building a palace would be a waste of resources and manpower. The existing palace in Dadu was actually quite good and could be renovated as needed, which would minimize the losses to the country.

Although Chen Jie had become the strongest person in the world, he could not forget the suffering of the people. He always remembered the hard times he had spent in Mianshui and understood the difficulties the people faced.

Therefore, Chen Jie used his private treasury, that is, his personal resources, to renovate the palace. Since his residence had moved from Huangzhou Prefecture to Dadu, many customs also needed to be changed; for example, Chen Jie introduced underfloor heating within the palace.

This improvement involved making the floor of the palace hollow during construction, and then installing fire channels inside, similar to the style of a traditional heated bed in Northeast China. Special personnel were responsible for maintaining the heat in the fire channels 24 hours a day, making the palace warm and comfortable.

At the same time, Chen Jie also launched the Northern Heated Bed Project, recommending that people build heated beds in cold areas for warmth.

However, this plan had a problem: there wasn't enough firewood in the north. People didn't even have enough to cook, let alone money to buy firewood to heat their kang (heated brick beds). In order to get enough firewood for cooking, people even cut down the surrounding mountains almost to the point of baldness.

This won't do. Chen Jie understood all this and knew the importance of firewood in this era. There's an old saying that goes, "The seven necessities of life are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea."

The firewood is placed before the rice, which shows the importance of firewood. People nowadays may find it hard to understand, since most of them live in heated apartment buildings. However, the older generation who experienced the hardships of the past still remember that in winter, every household had to go up the mountain to cut grass. Yes, without firewood, they could only cut grass.

In response, Chen Jie's first task was to solve the firewood problem. Based on his memories from his previous life, Chen Jie directly ordered the Ministry of Works to send people to explore the Mentougou and Fangshan areas, where they indeed discovered a large coal mine.

With coal mines in place, things became simple. The coal produced from these mines could first supply the newly built large steel mills around the capital, as well as various supporting large factories and mines. These factories and mines could provide jobs for the people, giving them money to buy products from the city, thus revitalizing the capital's economy.

Meanwhile, all the inferior coal produced by the coal mine was processed into fully combustible honeycomb briquettes by Chen Jie's honeycomb briquette factory. The production method was simple: these inferior coals were crushed and ground into powder, and then combined with loess. The ratio of inferior coal to loess was 7:3, and the ratio of superior coal to loess was 8:2.

This is how honeycomb briquettes with a ratio of 7:3 coal to 3: mud were produced. Because they were made from inferior coal, they were very cheap, thus solving the heating problem for most families.

This has made the once frigid capital a little more habitable for humans.

In fact, when the capital was established in Dadu, the civil and military officials were somewhat resistant. After all, most of those who followed Chen Jie in conquering the country were from the south, and they preferred the southern environment, so they were quite resistant to the north.

Moreover, the reason for the resistance is not simply that the environment is unsuitable.

There are roughly three reasons for this. The first is geographical. Most of them are actually close to foreign lands and not inland, so many people are worried about geographical security.

They felt that the capital should be built inland, such as Huangzhou Prefecture, Xiangyang, or even Yingtian Prefecture. Why did they have to choose Dadu?
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said: "It is precisely because this place is surrounded by enemies that we must establish our capital here. The emperor guards the nation's gate, and the monarch dies for the country. This is what the ruler of our Great Han should do."

Upon hearing this, the entire court was speechless for a moment, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at Chen Jie.

Chen Jie continued, "Furthermore, on the border, the northern border has retreated to Ulaanbaatar, the eastern border has recovered Goguryeo, and the remaining small country of Fusang can be easily destroyed. What power could possibly threaten Dadu?"

Upon hearing this, the court officials had no further concerns about security and immediately raised another question.

The small population in the north, especially the small number of Han Chinese, was a disadvantage for the rulers.

Chen Jie looked at the person who raised the question and said, “Very good. This is a very pointed question, and it is also the key to my decision to establish the capital in Dadu. You are right. Since Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the north at the end of the Tang Dynasty, it has not returned to China for four hundred years. We Han people have a very low level of recognition for this place.”

“Don’t even mention the common people, even you think this place is barbaric and not our Han land. So what will the common people think? Therefore, I must set an example, otherwise China will only have a corner in the south left.”

"Your Majesty, there are few Han Chinese in the north. How should this be handled?"

When a minister asked Chen Jie for advice, Chen Jie replied directly, "Then let the southerners migrate north, from densely populated areas to the north. Provide them with policies and benefits. If their clan mentality is too strong, we can use force."

"In short, we need to solve two problems: first, to fill the population gap in the north, and second, to solve the historical problem of the imperial power not extending to the countryside."

After Chen Jie finished speaking, all the officials were speechless. In the end, none of the civil and military officials could find a reason to reject Chen Jie's plan, so the decision to make Dadu the capital was finalized.

In fact, there was one more thing Chen Jie didn't explicitly say, which was that establishing the capital in Dadu was also to rationalize the acceptance of all the regimes of the Qian Yuan dynasty and lay the foundation, including Chen Jie's future westward expeditions against the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate, and the Ögedei Khanate.

These are all branches of the Great Qian Dynasty. In other words, if Chen Jie establishes his capital in Dadu and acknowledges the Qian Dynasty as the legitimate dynasty of the Central Plains and inherits the Qian lineage, then when Chen Jie's army marches into Western Europe, it can be said that he has recovered lost territory.

The Chinese have always valued having a legitimate reason for their actions, so some things need to be done well.

Moreover, Chen Jie is not content with the mere land of China; his goal is to unify the world and establish a new emperor.

Chen Jiedu has already completed these tasks one after another. The meeting to be held today is not to discuss how to build the capital, but the first meeting for the appointment of government officials.

The main conference room, the first major building after the expansion, can accommodate one thousand people at the same time when fully open.

There weren't that many people participating today. At that moment, a group of people walked in from outside the palace. Leading them were Hu Weiyong, Zhou Chu, Wu Hong, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and other high-ranking officials and key figures in the court.

The other group consisted of military officials, led by generals such as Zhang Dingbian, Chen Xiaohu, and Xu Da, who also came to the Hall of State Affairs.

This was also their first time seeing the expanded Dadu Imperial Palace.

From a distance, everyone could see the building ahead, with a huge plaque hanging on it that read "Hall of State Affairs".

"Wow, the palace looks much more magnificent after the renovation!"

Zhou Chu spoke up, recalling that when he first went north and saw the imperial palace in Dadu, his attitude was just so-so, but today it seemed quite different.

Hu Weiyong and the others then looked at the magnificent building, and there before them stood the "Hall of State Affairs".

The foundation of the hall is three zhang high and is entirely built of Suzhou Jinshan stone, with molten tin embedded in the gaps to prevent slipping and freezing.

The white marble balustrade is carved with cloud and dragon patterns. The snow piled up in the dragon's mouth is heated by the earth's heat, and drips down, falling onto the blue bricks and immediately freezing into thin ice.

On both sides of the imperial road in front of the palace, bronze tortoises and cranes exhaled sandalwood incense, the smoke rising straight up and dissipating only under the "Deliberation of State Affairs" plaque on the eaves. The iron horse-shaped ornaments on the eaves jingled and clanged in the north wind, their sounds mingling with the footsteps of the crowd and somehow drowning out the wind and snow outside.

The Fengtian Hall has nine bays in width and five bays in depth. Its double-eaved hip roof is covered with bright yellow glazed tiles, and the chiwen (a mythical beast-like creature) is over ten feet high with a sword hanging from its mouth, which is said to be able to suppress fire.

Inside the hall are sixty-four giant pillars made of Phoebe zhennan wood, each requiring three people to encircle it. The pillars are painted in vermilion and decorated with gold-leafed lotus patterns that extend from the base to the beams.

The ground is paved with "golden bricks" that make a sound when struck and have no holes when broken. They were made by Suzhou craftsmen who spent three years firing mud from the bottom of Taihu Lake.

The officials filed in according to their rank. Inside, there were rows of seats, and opposite the seats was a platform with a dragon throne made of golden nanmu wood. Chen Jie was sitting there.

Upon seeing Chen Jie, many officials immediately knelt and kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, King of Han."

At this moment, Chen Jie's aura was soaring, truly displaying the grandeur of a monarch. Upon seeing this, all the officials were terrified, and the imperial aura emanating from the Prince of Han was indeed even more pronounced.

Chen Jie then gestured and said, "Everyone, please make yourselves at home."

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, the officials immediately agreed and then took their seats in order.

The first row is divided into two columns, one for civil officials and one for military officials, with six seats in each column.

Civil officials on the left, military generals on the right.

The first among the civil officials was Hu Weiyong, the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty; the second was Zhou Chu, the pillar of the Han Dynasty; the third was Li Shanchang; the fourth was Wu Hong; the fifth was Liu Bowen; the sixth was Bai Wenjing; the seventh was Tao Guangyi; and the eighth was Shen Wansan.

On the right are the military officers. The first is Zhang Dingbian, the Commander-in-Chief of the Han Army; the second is Chen Xiaohu, the First Marshal of the Han Clan; the third is Xu Da; the fourth is Jin Yanzi; the fifth is Shi Gengming; and the sixth is Ding Pulang. There are also two observers: the Prince of Ruyang and Wang Baobao.

Following them were numerous civil and military officials, each in the second and third rows.

At this time, there were about a hundred people sitting in the council hall. These were all middle and upper-level personnel of the vast Han Empire. Any one of them would be a force to be reckoned with, capable of shaking the entire region with a single stomp.

But here, they can only cower like dragons or hide like tigers, being incredibly obedient. There's no way around it; this is now the highest authority in the Han Dynasty, and there are many people more powerful than them.

At this moment, everyone's eyes fell on Chen Jie, who was sitting in the head seat.

Chen Jie sat on the platform, with Chen Chun standing beside him serving tea and water. Chen Jie looked at everyone in the room and said, "I'm sure you all know why I've gathered you all here today."

"That's right, the topic of discussion today is the arrangement of your official positions."

At this point in his commentary, Chen looked at the audience and asked, "What are your thoughts on this?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room fell silent. After all, the official position belonged to the emperor, and they could not possibly usurp the throne at this moment.

Just then someone said, "Your Highness, you should be in charge now. We will listen to whatever you say."

Chen Jie said, "Alright, let's go through them one by one."

"Firstly, regarding the military, we will maintain the six major legions: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Beggar, Buddha Soldiers, and Destroyer. Each legion will be expanded to 100,000 men. This detailed plan has already been arranged. There's no need to discuss internal military matters here."

"Next, we will discuss the official positions of the imperial court. After discussing it with the officials, we have decided to simplify the Three Departments and expand the power of the Six Ministries to form a new imperial court based on the original Three Departments and Six Ministries system."

"It is currently proposed that there be three officials of the first rank in the imperial court, known as the Three Dukes."

"They are, respectively, the Chancellor, the Grand Marshal, and the Grand Tutor."

Upon hearing this, the officials present were all stunned. A first-rank official was a true national leader, whose words could change the very existence of the country.

Chen Jie gestured and said, "Chen Chun, please explain to the gentlemen the specific duties of these three positions."

Upon hearing this, Chen Chun immediately stepped forward and said, "My lords, let me explain the specific official positions to you."

"First is the Prime Minister, the head of the civil officials, who oversees all the departments of the court, assists the emperor in handling government affairs and formulating policies, and is a first-rank official, a pillar of the country."

"Grand Marshal: The head of the imperial military officers, commander of the imperial army, assisting the emperor in handling military affairs and formulating war plans. He is a first-rank official and the sharpest sword of the nation."

"Grand Tutor: A person of high moral character and prestige, in charge of national education, talent cultivation, and other related matters, holding the rank of First Grade, a model for the nation!"

After Chen Chun finished speaking, the entire court was abuzz with discussion. These three positions were extremely important, practically second only to the emperor.

Especially the Chancellor and the Grand Marshal, these two positions, one civil and one military, almost completely control the military and political affairs of a country.

The position of Grand Tutor is more about high moral standing and prestige than actual power.

So who will get these three positions?

As everyone pondered, they looked at one person: Hu Weiyong. This great man was undoubtedly the number one civil official. He was now in charge of many affairs of the court, and the position of prime minister should belong to him without a doubt.

There's nothing to argue about.

But this Grand Marshal?

All eyes turned to the two people: Zhang Dingbian and Chen Xiaohu. As for the others, they were either not capable enough or did not have enough merit, so they were not qualified to get involved.

However, of these two, one was exceptionally capable, the greatest general in the land.

Although one person's abilities are inferior to the other's, their status is that of a relative of the emperor, a status that no one can compete with. In terms of seniority, the other person was the emperor's little follower when the emperor was still a toddler. Who can compare to that?

Therefore, there are some opinions on who among these two should be the number one person in the army.

The crowd watched the two with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation, wondering whether the emperor valued talent above all else or loyalty more. (End of Chapter)