The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 440 Reform begins, research continues, visits arranged

After the arrangements drawn up by the princes were announced and the representatives of all parties were made aware of them, they were arranged to cooperate in formally starting to implement them step by step.

The officials required for the reform were mainly new employees of the Ministry of Justice and officials from the Governorate sent to the Free State.

Core officials and clerks will be drawn from the existing central court of the kingdom, the provinces of the kingdom, and the dominions to first build the framework of the corresponding departments.

As for other ordinary members, special examinations will be held temporarily and people will be directly recruited to fill the positions.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, all those who have achieved the title of Shengyuan (Xiucai) or above, including university graduates recognized by the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Rites, can sign up for the civil service examination.

Juren and Jinshi could directly take the official examination and could be directly responsible for the affairs of a branch office.

The examination was scheduled for early August, and practically only students from America could make it.

At the same time, three imperial examinations were urgently organized throughout July before this exam, combining the regular county exam, prefectural exam, and annual exam into one.

The emergency exam could only be held in New York and would be organized directly by personnel arranged by the Kingdom's Ministry of Rites.

Nominally, it is open to everyone in the country, and people with Free State household registration can also participate, and no additional registration fees are charged.

The actual expenses were borne jointly by the existing finances of the Kingdom and the Free State.

In fact, it is aimed at the civilian representatives of the free states who have arrived in New York, as well as the wealthy classes of other free states who followed the civilian representatives.

Except for people from New York and New Jersey, it is probably too late for ordinary people in other free states and provinces to participate.

For the princes, the most crucial role of these four consecutive examinations was to introduce these civilian representatives into the bureaucratic system of the kingdom's court while avoiding the nomination process.

Establish relatively clear rules for the kingdom and the free state.

No matter how a person becomes famous or how he gains the support of the people, if he wants to enter the court and become an official, he must pass the imperial examination.

They eventually became official personnel because of the kingdom's examinations and selections, rather than simply because of public support.

Ordinary people will no longer be allowed to attend similar meetings in the future, and similar public meetings will most likely not be organized unless there is a special need.

The civilian representatives who attended the meeting were worried after the meeting because they had to go back and wait for the prefectural government to be established before taking part in the imperial examination.

They felt that this process should take at least a year, and they might have to wait until next summer to have the opportunity to become official personnel of the Prefectural Government sent by the Kingdom.

Only then can they use their identities to proactively monitor and change the status quo of the Free State.

When the arrangements for the princes were announced, they all realized that this was prepared for them, and naturally they were very happy.

Examinations were a daily affair for the imperial court at all levels in the Ming Dynasty. The venues and personnel were readily available, so there would not be any major problems even if they were organized in an emergency.

It’s just that these representatives have never participated in the imperial examination and are not very familiar with the examination process and answering procedures.

Even if the candidates for the emergency examination were originally qualified, not all Free State civilian representatives could pass this examination.

Of the two hundred civil representatives from various free states, only about half passed in the end.

However, at the same time, more than 300 students were directly selected from ordinary Free State citizens, and a group of local New York citizens were also selected.

Afterwards, these people immediately took part in the selection examination in August. This time, because of their origins in the Free State, all the 100 representatives were admitted to the Prefectural Government.

At the same time, another one hundred people were selected, and together with personnel drawn from existing departments, a team of more than three hundred people was organized.

There are more than 300 people in total. If they are directly divided into five prefectural governments and dozens of branch offices are set up at the same time, each office will have less than five presidents and will be unable to do anything.

If these people are asked to hire additional staff to do the work, the cost will be extremely high.

Therefore, after discussion, the princes decided to only establish the prefectural-level institution for the time being, and not to immediately set up a branch office in charge of county affairs.

They used the temporary office provided by the Free State Government and immediately began organizing local imperial examinations.

The time for the imperial examination was relaxed this time. There would be only one examination each month: county examination, prefectural examination, and annual examination. At the same time, an imperial examination supervision tax would be collected before registration.

Before the end of this year, a group of people will be directly selected from the Free State, and after raising a sum of funds, we will begin to organize the next level of branch offices.

The princes' original plan was to enter the Old River (St. Lawrence River) from the northernmost tip after completing their investigation in the Free State, and then return to Taiping Prefecture through the Great Lakes waterway.

After all, Taiping Prefecture is the central capital of America, and New York Prefecture is only the eastern capital.

Moreover, the next development focus in America should be on the Mesopotamian River Basin and the northern coast of the Gulf of America, including the Florida region.

It is more convenient to command in Taiping Prefecture.

But now that the reforms of the Free State have begun, the princes' plans have to change.

At least a few people should be left in New York to preside over the reform of the Free State.

After in-depth discussions, the fifteen princes finally decided to divide into three groups.

The three men returned to the American Palace to take charge of the work on the west coast.

Five people remained in New York City to oversee work on the East Coast, especially the reform of the Free States.

The seven returned to Taiping Prefecture to oversee the overall development of America.

Each prince must arrange two secretaries to go to the offices of the other two groups of princes.

As the prince's representative, he participated in discussions and decision-making meetings of the other two groups, and at the same time delivered messages to the prince at any time.

Because the affairs on the West Coast are the simplest and are basically daily work.

Things on the east coast are a little more complicated, mainly involving the institutional reform of the Free State and the establishment of the Governor's Office.

However, the reform is generally of a compromising nature. It was reached after representatives from all parties gathered together for discussion and a prudent plan was made to be completed gradually and step by step.

From the aristocratic ruling group, to the official governance body, to the representatives of the new generation of wealthy groups, all have recognized such an arrangement.

Although some people are reluctant, the direct resistance is not strong and there will basically be no head-on confrontation.

The kingdom's troops in New York, combined with the garrison militia, were sufficient to maintain order during this reform.

The most important thing is the new development plan in America.

In addition, Taiping Prefecture has a higher status, so the largest number of princes are assigned to Taiping Prefecture. New York Prefecture and America Prefecture are considered two branches.

When the framework of the five governorates of the Free State was established and they were able to do their own work, the princes also had a little time to complete the last local inspection in America.

Including the five princes who were planned to stay in New York, they also temporarily left New York City with their other brothers to conduct research in the northern free states.

When passing through Connecticut and Rhode Island, they visited the battlefield monument in Rhode Island together, which was an important landing battle in the American Native War.

When he arrived in Boston, he specifically visited the important docks in the north outside of New York and tasted the lobster that had been improved according to the instructions of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Before modern times, lobster was not only not a high-end food ingredient, it was not even considered a proper food ingredient. It was considered a curiosity food on the same level as various insects.

The upper class, such as nobles and wealthy businessmen, would not eat it. They would usually give it to workers or even slaves.

Lobsters are abundant in places like Massachusetts and Maine. Historically, local factory owners used lobsters as a staple food for workers, causing the workers to refuse to eat lobsters even when they went on strike.

The final compromise was to eat lobster no more than three days a week.

Because people at that time did not understand that lobsters would decompose immediately after death, and would quickly rot and stink. Ordinary fishermen at that time would kill lobsters on the spot after catching them in the sea.

Then they were transported to the factory canteen using traditional mule and horse carts and piled up there, where the factory chefs simply and roughly cooked them.

Then it is not just a matter of not tasting good, but also a matter of being difficult to swallow or even poisonous.

Zhu Jianxuan knew about this, so when he was on an activity in America, he took the time to remind his chef, specifically how to handle lobsters.

Lobsters should be kept in running water and sent to the kitchen. They should be killed and eaten while they are still alive, so that they will be very fresh and delicious.

However, the price of lobsters that have been transported and processed in this way has become a bit expensive when they are delivered to restaurants and homes in the city, instead of being almost free.

Plus, this production method was directly instructed by the former king and current emperor, which adds another label to the lobster.

So much so that in today's American cities, lobsters can be found on the tables of the highest-end banquets.

After all, lobsters processed in this way taste really good.

What Zhu Jianxuan did originally was to instruct merchants from Boston and Massachusetts to do business and add a specialty with commercial value to the local area.

Now this industry is indeed thriving, and the world has "Boston lobster".

The princes left Boston and continued north. After visiting Portland in northern Massachusetts, the five princes who stayed in New York returned by train.

The other princes went round the peninsula east of Massachusetts into the old river mouth, visiting successively Quebec and Montreal, which belonged to Hanover and England.

Zhu Jian originally exchanged Quebec and Montreal for two pieces of land in Hanover. Now the whole of Britain and Hanover have become vassal states.

Naturally, the two cities were once again completely open to the Ming people and Americans, but they remained administratively separate.

The princes will not directly manage the affairs here, and nominally have no direct jurisdiction over this place.

After all, this land belongs to other de facto overseas vassal states, not to the nominal vassal state of the United States, where the emperor directly serves as king.

But precisely because it is an overseas vassal state, the officials here are more cautious when facing the prince.

The princes stayed here for a few days, got to know the general situation here, and then left.

Go upstream along the Laohe waterway and visit the Laohe Dam, the Qinglong Lake Levee, and the Longque Canal between Qinglong Lake and Zhuque Lake.

These major projects diverted the route of the Great Lakes' estuaries from the cold Old River Estuary to the relatively warm New York, and completely opened up the internal waterways between the Great Lakes.

This series of water conservancy projects eventually made New York the most important city in eastern America.

Next to the Longque Canal, next to the now disappeared waterfall, there is the Longque Guard that Jian Xuan once personally inspected, and now it has become the Longque Mansion.

Longquefu is the core city of the eastern half of the Great Lakes region.

The princes stayed here for half a month, and then continued upstream along the lake waterway, landed at Zhuque Youwei on the west side of Zhuque Lake, and then parted ways again.

Three princes took the train to America Palace, and seven princes took the train to Taiping Palace to take charge of their respective responsibilities.

By the end of the 29th year of Tiangong, the official work scheduled for the fifteen princes in America was finally basically fully launched.

According to past experience, a normal training phase lasts two years, and now half of it has passed.

The princes were also somewhat worried, wondering what else they could accomplish in America during this year apart from the reforms of the Free State.

All matters related to the Free State reform, including the initial overall plan and detailed reports, have been sent to Shuntian Prefecture.

They didn't know whether these things were considered positive achievements in the eyes of their emperor father.

In any case, after the end of the 29th year of Tiangong and the beginning of the 30th year of Tiangong, the princes took the initiative to work harder than before.

The seven princes who were supposed to stay in Taiping Prefecture did not all stay here.

Two more people were assigned to Florida to take charge of the work, two people went to New Orleans to take charge of the work, and three people stayed in Taiping Prefecture to take charge of the work.

They cut down trees on both sides of the Beauty River to open up new land, cleared swamps in New Orleans and Florida, and settled new immigrants.

Although most things on the scene are under the charge of corresponding local officials.

However, with the princes watching on the scene, the psychological pressure on everyone to be lazy and slack off was somewhat higher, and the officials and workers worked a little more attentively.

As for the Free State, the first round of local imperial examinations in the Free State was completed in the 29th year of Tiangong without any major accidents.

After the beginning of the 30th year of Tiangong, the county-level prefectural offices were formally organized, and by the time summer came, they were basically completed.

By the autumn of the 30th year of Tiangong, the first relatively formal county examination at the grassroots level of the Free State was completed.

The imperial examination system of the Free State was basically established, and the entire process encountered no obvious obstacles.

But the more important local supervision work is not that simple.

After two local imperial examinations, the group of scholars in the free state began to take shape, and local conflicts began to ignite.

Civil conflicts began to increase in various free states, and the prefectural government began to intervene in local judicial trials from time to time at the request of local scholars.

However, the intervention method at this time is mainly flexible.

Before the formal public trial, the Free State Court will be notified in advance to ask the other party to remain impartial in a certain case, request sensitive personnel to recuse themselves, etc.

After the public trial and before the formal judgment, the deliberation process will be supervised with the cooperation of scholars.

Mainly in cases involving scholars, it is to avoid local nobles and people with special connections from using their personal energy to influence the trial.

There has been no direct investigation or trial of local officials.

Now the nobles and bureaucrats of the Free State have not shown much objection. They are still patiently cooperating as much as possible and trying not to cause trouble for the time being.

However, after the prefectural and detached offices have established their own office structures and organized formal executive personnel, they will begin direct and hard supervision.

If they really start arresting and trying nobles and official personnel, there will most likely be more intense conflicts.

When the winter of the 30th year of Tiangong arrived, the princes who were busy in several places in America received a notice from Shuntian Prefecture.

They were required to select one hundred representatives from the Free States, two hundred representatives from the Dominions and other American provinces, and finally one hundred representatives from the royal court.

Accompanying official and civilian reporters and photographers, along with the fifteen princes of America, they gathered at New York Harbor in early December and waited.

The Ming Navy and Immigration Company will arrange a fleet to pick them up to visit other places in the Ming Dynasty.

After receiving the notice, Zhu Jingkun and other princes subconsciously thought that it was the same as arranging visits to vassal states in the past, and that this was to show the prosperity and strength of the Ming Dynasty to all walks of life in America.

Let the American people admire and yearn for the Ming Dynasty, and let the American aristocracy fear the power of the Ming Dynasty court and be content with the status quo.

This arrangement should indeed be useful at a critical moment in the reform of the American Free States.

By the time the Governor's Office begins to deal with the nobles and old bureaucrats of the Free State, their patience and endurance should be higher.

However, this arrangement should not be specially prepared for the American Free States.

(End of this chapter)