The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 864: The World Returns
On the second day of June in the third year of Tianshou (1717 AD), the cabinet drew on the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act, the Act of Settlement, the Parliament Act of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the unwritten constitutions of Western European countries, and combined them with the national conditions of China to formally promulgate the Constitution of Da Qi.

Constitution of the United Kingdom of Great Qi and Korea

The content is summarized as follows:

1. The Emperor of Great Qi shall rule over Great Qi and the United Kingdom of Korea for eternity and shall be respected forever.

2. The sacred dignity of the emperor is inviolable.

3. The power to promulgate laws and submit bills. Even if a law has been passed by the House of Representatives, it cannot be implemented if it has not been approved and promulgated by imperial decree.

4. The power to convene, open, close, suspend, and dissolve the House. Upon dissolution, the people are required to re-elect new members. The former members of the House are treated as ordinary citizens. Any refusal to comply will be punished according to the appropriate law, taking into account the circumstances.

5. The power to appoint personnel lies with the parliament, which is assisted by ministers. The emperor shall not interfere.

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Compared with the old constitution promulgated in the 18th year of Guangde, this version of the constitution has more detailed provisions on the rights and obligations of citizens:

1. Citizens who meet the qualifications prescribed by law may serve as government officials and members of parliament.

2. Citizens shall be allowed freedom of speech, writing, publication, assembly and association within the scope of the law.

3. Citizens shall not be arrested, imprisoned, or punished except in accordance with the law.

4. The lawful property and residence of citizens shall not be infringed upon.

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After three generations of hard work and the suffering of millions of people, the State of Qi was finally reborn and completed the transition from polar rule to constitutionalism.

The dictatorial Qin system of the Liu Zhaosun era is gone forever, and the dawn of modern civilization illuminates this land.

Constitutional monarchy became the choice of everyone. In the words of Kang Guangxu:
"The state exists to enforce the law; governmental power is only a means; the law itself is the end."

Now Prime Minister Kang talks about civil rights and freedom every time he speaks, he seems to have transformed himself into a senior legal scholar, which is refreshing.

In the constitutional era, whether it is the empress dowager or the prime minister, all rulers will rely on laws that are higher than themselves and serve as their existence. Otherwise, they may become tyrants and traitors to the people, stand against trillions of citizens, and eventually die without a burial place like Liu Wuji.

History will record this in bold strokes:
From the polarizationism of Taizu's era to the reformism of Emperor Guangde, and then to the figureheadism of Empress Tianshou, reality has told us that only constitutional monarchy can save Da Qi, only constitutional monarchy can develop Da Qi, and only constitutional monarchy can make Da Qi strong.

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On December 1, the third year of Tianshou, the Ministry of the Interior began the first national census.

This was the first comprehensive population census in Da Qi, so it was naturally of great significance.

The Ministry of the Interior takes 1717:12 on December 1, as the standard time point and ends at : on June , the fourth year of Tianshou.

After counting the population of 39 provinces, 573 states, and 5844 counties across the country, it was found that the total population of Qi was 370536875.

The 370 million people do not include foreigners who have lived in Da Qi for a long time.

In other words, the population of Qi State has reached nearly 380 million, and is still growing rapidly at a rate of 2% per year.

Scholars in Tianxin City attributed the explosive population growth to the opening of European trade routes, the growth of foreign trade, and the introduction of numerous crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

In addition, improved living conditions, medical advances, and political stability are also important reasons for population growth.

Of course, the most important reason is that Emperor Guangde and his successors abandoned polarization, returned power to the people, and changed the tragic fate of hundreds of millions of people.

When cattle and horses are no longer cattle and horses, they will naturally regain their reproductive instinct.

In just seventy years, the population of Qi State soared from less than 100 million in the time of Taizu to 370 million today.

Of course, in this process, the territory of Da Qi shrank by nearly 50%.

The Great Qi retreated from a superpower empire spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa in the early years of the Wuding reign to the current 39 provinces in the north and south, and gave up all overseas territories such as Australia and Japan.

The Emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty also changed from "All under heaven is the king's land, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects" to a mascot under the system of nominal monarchs.

History always progresses.

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On the eighth day of the eighth month in the fourth year of Tianshou (1718), Song Zhongya, a scholar from Pyongyang, submitted a memorial listing the three major drawbacks of the status system and imploring the cabinet to abolish it immediately.

The three major drawbacks are:
1. Personal privacy leakage: The identity system may lead to personal privacy leakage. If ordinary people's personal information is used by thieves, it will inevitably cause unnecessary losses and troubles.

Second, it is detrimental to freedom of expression: It may restrict freedom of expression. The implementation of the identity pass system may make people afraid to express their opinions freely, fearing that their speech will be tracked or punished. He cited his own example: because Wangjing (Pyongyang) had experienced a rebellion more than ten years ago, as a native of Wangjing, he was subject to unnecessary interrogation every time he entered the interior.

3. Increased government spending: The identity system requires the establishment of laws and regulations, which increases the cost and complexity of government management and easily leads to redundant officials and staff.

The proposal was presented to the Queen, who read it and said with pleasure:

"Song Zhongya hit the nail on the head, and the Koreans are also sensible. No emperor or government can have unlimited or unrestricted power, otherwise it will infringe upon the rights of citizens."

The queen thought of her grandfather, her brother.

Thanks to the unremitting "efforts" of these dictators, the Great Qi was like a galloping chariot, wantonly crushing those who were intoxicated with the illusory grand narratives such as "restoring the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties" and "for the Great Qi".

The latter were transformed into oxen and horses, suffering misery all their lives.

On August 30, the cabinet announced the abolition of the identity system.

The road permit and baojia system that had lasted for thousands of years in this land was officially abolished.

Letters of introduction and identity badges gradually became distant memories. ~~~~~~~~~~~
In November, Prime Minister Kang Guangxu and others actively promoted local autonomy.

In order to fulfill Emperor Guangde's last wish, the cabinet reached a consensus and decided to take the reform further.

On February 1, the fifth year of Tianshou, the cabinet divided the 39 provinces of Great Qi into eight major regions: Northeast, North Qi, Central Qi, East Qi, South Qi, Northwest, Southwest and North Korea based on factors such as geographical location and natural and human geography.

Each district's governor is elected by the district's voters and is accountable to the district council. Each district will form a national army, limited to self-defense.

In an emergency, the emperor has the power to remove district chiefs. When there is a conflict between the government and district laws, the laws of each district shall prevail.

At the same time, a letter was sent to the whole country, announcing the permanent abandonment of overseas colonies such as Annan, Japan, Yinzhou, and Australia.

The eight regions will obtain all powers except coinage, language and garrison, such as administrative power, legislative power, independent judicial power and final appeal power.

In a nutshell, Da Qi will allow a high degree of local autonomy.

Da Qi will transform from a military empire of the Guangde Emperor era into a republic with a nominal monarch.

Kang Guangxu and others agreed that although the cabinet system was not an ideal system, it could strengthen democratic checks and balances, prevent dictatorship, and make decision-making more democratic and scientific.

Only by getting rid of the cult of personality, establishing a sound system, and protecting the sanctity and inviolability of private property can we ensure the long-term stability of the country and the rejuvenation of the Great Qi nation.

In the same month, the Housing Land Law was officially promulgated, which stipulates:

Any head of a family or a citizen of the Republic who is twenty years old or above and has never participated in a rebellion, after swearing that the land is obtained for the purpose of cultivation and paying a fee of 100 qi of gold (approximately equal to 50 taels of silver), can register to receive a total of no more than 160 mu as a share of land. If the registrant has lived and cultivated the land for five years, he or she can obtain a land license and become the owner of the land.

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Jia County, Henan Province.

There was a huge crowd of onlookers at the gate of the county government office, pointing and talking at the notice on the wall.

A county official read from the notice whose ink was still wet:
"... However, at this time of renewal, we should abolish provinces and establish districts, dividing the entire country into eight major districts. The governors of each district will hold supreme power. The cabinet and the militia will discuss the power-sharing method. The overall goal is to ensure the safety of the people and peace in the country. The emperor and I will be able to retire and enjoy our years of leisure, enjoying the courtesy of the emperor. You, the ministers, must understand my intention!"

Before I finished reading, there was an uproar around me:
"The rumors are all true! Alas! The world is falling apart again!"

"When prosperity comes, the people suffer! When decline comes, the people suffer!"

"Is Henan going to be merged with Hebei?"

"Those corrupt officials in Tianxin City are only concerned about the world being in chaos. What kind of national policy is this? They're dividing the world among themselves. Aren't they afraid of rebellion?!"

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A group of young students who had just graduated from school expressed their opinions loudly in public, and each of them cursed the person in charge of Tianxin City.

"We finally took over Japan. General Yuan died for his country back then, and now they're just throwing it away so easily?!"

"I will submit a petition stating that this plan must not be carried out! The Great Qi must not be destroyed by these short-sighted people! We must restore the glory of the Taizu era! Conquer Annan!"

"Right! Charge into the county government office and let the magistrate make the decision for us!"

The students were filled with righteous indignation and were about to rush into the county government office.

Fortunately, there were no restrictions on speech in the Great Qi Dynasty. At least within the Great Qi, citizens still had full freedom of speech.

The straw raincoat guards and spies of Taizu's era have now become history. If it were a few decades ago, these people who spoke would have been thrown into the imperial prison and severely tortured.

"Snapped!"

A loud slap was heard, and the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

The students looked in the direction of the sound and saw a lame old man standing at the entrance of the yamen, leaning on a crutch, blocking the way.

Before everyone could react, they saw the old man pulling their ears with one hand and pretending to hit them with the other hand.

The owner of that ear was the student who had just clamored for the petition, and he was also the loudest among them.

He was in so much pain that he begged for mercy:
"Dad, please relax a little, and talk nicely!"

The students shouted, "Sir, you are preventing us from submitting a petition. Do you have the Great Qi in your heart? Do you have the millions of people in your heart?"

The old man staggered and almost fell.

"Don't try to scam me!"

The old man raised his walking stick and hit his son with it, making him scream.

"Back then, I lost a leg fighting in Liaodong. Three of my seven family members starved to death, and all the food was used for the war. Later, when we conquered Annan, the grain we paid increased instead of decreasing! If the Second Emperor (Emperor Guangde Liu Kan) hadn't stopped the war, you would have starved to death long ago!"

"Go back and ask your parents what they ate and wore twenty years ago. Do they want to fight? Do they want to go back to the time of Emperor Taizu?"

The students who were so full of energy just now suddenly wilted like eggplants hit by frost.

"Get out of here, you haven't even grown all your hair yet!"

The lame old soldier roared twice, dragged his crying son who had been beaten, and walked forward as if no one was around. Everyone was frightened by his momentum and retreated one after another.

(End of this chapter)