Ming politicians

The first day of October in the 16th year of Chongzhen was an auspicious day for the zodiac, and Su Tiancheng chose this day as the day when he proclaimed himself emperor.

Zhu Shenxuan, Yang Sichang, Fan Jingwen, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng, Zhang Pu, Sun Chuanting, Song Yihe, Li Juesi, Wu Weiye, etc., have submitted proposals many times, begging Su Tiancheng to proclaim himself emperor. As King De, in less than eight months so far, everyone has already regarded Su Tiancheng as the emperor.

Su Tiancheng accepted everyone's suggestions without too many excuses.

Of course, proclaiming the emperor is not just as simple as Su Tiancheng becoming the emperor. There are also matters such as the title of the country and the era, the entrustment of civil and military ministers, and the conferring of queens and noble concubines. All of them need to be declared emperor on the day completed within.

After Su Tiancheng agreed to everyone's entreaties, Zhu Shenxuan, Yang Sichang, Fan Jingwen and the others were too busy to keep their feet on the ground. There were too many things to prepare. Of course, the place of enthronement was chosen to be in the Imperial Palace in Nanjing , The time has also been determined, and the rest is what should be done on the day of enthronement and proclaiming emperor.

The enthronement and proclaiming emperor ceremony is very cumbersome. According to the general rules, the auspicious day of the zodiac is selected first. After the date is confirmed, on the day of enthronement, a special person will read the enthronement edict. The person who reads the enthronement edict is also the newly appointed The chief assistant of the cabinet, and then the emperor ascended the throne with the support of his servants, and received the congratulations from all the officials. After that, the newly enthroned emperor would announce amnesty to the world.

These ceremonies are only carried out in the palace, and there will be more ceremonies to follow, including the newly enthroned emperor offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple and the people, and if there is time, there will be a ceremony of enshrining Zen, which is a ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

The time required for enthronement is usually about half a month.

But Su Tiancheng had already spoken.The enthronement ceremony doesn't need to be so cumbersome, that is, the ceremonies held in the palace can be just a cutscene. He knows very well that these ceremonies are all for outsiders to see. The more grand the ceremony, the more time-consuming it is.Historical experience shows that the more solemn the ceremony, the shorter the reign time of the emperor, and the simpler the emperor, the more prosperous he was able to create.

Enthronement is just a formality, but the situation behind the enthronement ceremony is complicated. The most important thing here is the matter of enfeoffing hundreds of officials. This is a game in the power struggle, and it exists at any time.Su Tiancheng also had to face this situation correctly, firmly grasp this situation, and appoint talents to ensure the prosperity of the dynasty.

As for the establishment of officials, a decision has been made long ago, focusing on lean use, and there is no need for any other changes, the establishment of court officials.Su Tiancheng will not completely copy the rules of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang removed the prime minister before.The purpose is to consolidate the imperial power and concentrate all the power in the hands of the emperor. This is something that Su Tiancheng does not approve of. If the prosperity of the country is entirely on the emperor alone, this is almost impossible to imagine.

So Su Tiancheng is going to restore the setup of three provinces and six ministries.Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province, and Shangshu Province were established, but in terms of related responsibilities, there must be some emphasis, that is, Shangshu Province is the most important, and Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province are relatively detached.

Su Tiancheng who traveled through time.I have my own views on whether the system is good or bad. No system in history is perfect. It is all for the needs of the ruling class. This is an eternal truth. The key is that the ruling class wants to serve the people. In order to let the people live a good life, it is still the most important thing to focus on their own ruling interests. This is the key point, and the many systems determined around this kind of thinking really play a decisive role.

With the establishment of the system of three provinces and six ministries, the power of the prime minister is very great, and sometimes it can even limit the imperial power, so this aspect needs to be considered emphatically.

Su Tiancheng does not intend to abolish the cabinet system. The chiefs of Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province and Shangshu Province are all in the cabinet and are actual prime ministers, including the chief of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They also enter the cabinet and are also prime ministers. One's own responsibilities, focus on one's own affairs, and when encountering important matters, they must discuss together.

From this point of view, the candidates for the three provinces and the Metropolitan Procuratorate identified by Su Tiancheng are basically finalized. Each province will have one officer. Zhong Zhangpu, Fan Jingwen, the imperial envoy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, all four of them entered the cabinet.

Another major move by Su Tiancheng was to raise the status of the army.

The status of the military officers in the Ming Dynasty was very low, which almost formed a chronic problem. The military officers who were killed on the battlefield, because of their lack of education, could not hold their heads up in front of the civil officials, and the civil officials who came from the imperial examinations would soon be able to In charge of the army, although there are many outstanding talents among them, they can finally stand out, but more civilians who don't understand the military command the battle, which leads to the defeat of many battles and seriously dampens the enthusiasm of the officers.

In today's era, the role of the army is huge. Even after hundreds of years, the role of the army cannot be ignored. The army is the pillar of the country. If the army is not taken seriously, the status of the officers is generally low. It is unimaginable for the army to have a huge combat effectiveness.

Regarding the construction of the army, Su Tiancheng spent a lot of energy. On the surface, the Ming Dynasty had millions of troops, including regular troops and guard troops set up in various places. It's a few million, but it's a pity that the number of troops that can be dispatched is pitifully small, and the guard army basically has no combat effectiveness.

Such a situation must be avoided. The number of the army must not be too large, otherwise it will be a huge burden for the country. The system and policy of high salary and honesty that Su Tiancheng advocates is the same for the army. Whether it is an officer or a sergeant, the treatment is different. It should be very good. At least it is no problem to support the family and live a decent life. Only in this way can the sergeants stay in the army with peace of mind. When the country is in danger, the soldiers can charge at the forefront. Give up your own life to defend the safety of the country and people's names.

Su Tiancheng even had disputes with Zhu Shenxuan, Yang Sichang, Fan Jingwen and others about the establishment and treatment of the army, and even Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng who were in the army did not say much. People have always had the previous understanding that the military household system should be preserved, and that the salary of the army should not be too much, otherwise the sergeants will start to slack off, they will not think about making progress, and so on.

Su Tiancheng insisted on his own opinion, believing that the most important thing for a soldier is to have a sense of honor, to be able to feel the responsibility on his shoulders, and to be able to play a major role at critical moments, the so-called raising soldiers for a thousand days and using them for a while.

Based on this understanding, Su Tiancheng insisted on abolishing the military household system and implementing the recruitment system.

In fact, the implementation of the recruitment system determines that the treatment of sergeants must be greatly improved, otherwise no one will be willing to serve as a soldier. It is impossible to guarantee the combat effectiveness of just recruiting those who are dawdling into the army. Dignity and status, with sufficient military pay, there will be many outstanding young men who choose to join the army.

Secondly, there is the issue of the establishment of officers in the army. According to Su Tiancheng, with the development of the situation, it is necessary to set up a special school to train officers, and the responsibility of this school is to educate and train new officers. There are mainly two ways, the first is to be promoted based on one's own military achievements, and the other is that officers who come out of the school can be promoted. This promotion mode must be fixed. If the cultural level is not enough, they must enter the school for special training.

The last is the establishment of the army’s organizational system, the establishment of the Dudu Mansion, which is directly responsible for the mobilization of the army. The Ministry of War among the six ministries is mainly responsible for the construction of the army. It belongs to dual leadership and must also obey the leadership of the Dudu Mansion. The cabinet, which ranks as the prime minister, sets up a governor to assist the governor in governing the army. The emperor is personally responsible for the dispatch of the army. No matter at any time, the emperor's permission or authorization must be obtained for the transfer of the army.

As for the officers in the army, or the commander-in-chief, etc., they will not concurrently hold other positions in the court in the future. That is to say, the officers will become professional soldiers. The administrative affairs of the army are independent as a system, and the army's salaries and all expenses are directly allocated by the court, regardless of the place where they are stationed.

The inspection department is responsible for local security and other matters, and the army does not participate in maintaining local security.

The number of troops is tentatively determined to be 50, and this limit cannot be broken. The monthly salary of ordinary sergeants is determined to be five taels of silver.

As for the candidate for the governor, it was naturally Hong Chengchou, and the candidate for the governor was Lu Xiangsheng.

Su Tiancheng's emphasis on and reform of the army made Zhu Shenxuan and others feel a new way of thinking, that is, the military and people's livelihood are equally important.

People's livelihood is the key, this is the law in history, any king, as long as he is not a fool, must pay attention to people's livelihood, but it is rare to pay such attention to the army, this at least shows that the army still has Many things need to be done, the unification of the world is not the end, I am afraid it is the beginning.

The army mentioned such a height, not only Zhu Shenxuan and others did not expect it, but even Hong Chengchou and others did not expect it. Hong Chengchou never dreamed that he would be able to enter the cabinet and become one of the prime ministers. Being controlled by the imperial court and directly obeying the emperor's orders, this will also be able to play the role of the army independently and avoid the army from being disturbed by the local government. However, Hong Chengchou and others also understand that wherever they are, they will be responsible No matter how big the responsibility is, I am afraid that for a long time, the army will have many tasks to expand the territory. (To be continued..)