You have truly caused me great suffering!

At the court meeting the following day, Xu Jin, the Minister of Works, presented the Ministry of Works' method of ranking artisans in court.

Emperor Chen Shao summoned his ministers to discuss the matter.

To accomplish something this important, we must first reach a consensus to avoid any secret opposition that could lead to inefficiency.

As expected, many ministers vehemently opposed Xu Jin's remarks.

The nine ranks and eighteen grades were exclusive to scholars and were the foundation for everyone's promotion. The hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was being forcibly elevated to the same level as scholars.

Many people are worried that this move will lead the court to select officials with more emphasis on artisans than scholars.

Chen Shao's move, aimed at "emphasizing practical learning and strengthening the foundation of the nation," directly challenged the core principles of the Confucian political order.

For a long time, the upper echelons of the dynasty generally believed that scholars should govern the country, while artisans were merely servants who "used their skills to serve their superiors."

The fact that artisans were included in the product list offended them, as if merchants and scholars were now on the same level.

If artisans could be granted honorary official titles, wear official robes, and be exempt from corvée labor, it would be tantamount to acknowledging that "skills can lead to enlightenment," thus overturning the fundamental value of "all other professions are inferior, only studying is superior."

Many officials who strongly opposed him, including some from the Northwest, had no personal grudges against Xu Jin and were even on good terms with him.

But for the sake of their own class's interests, they had to immediately refute it.

Chen Shaoquan observed everything but did not participate, simply letting them argue amongst themselves.

He seemed to be deciding whether to adopt Xu Jin's advice based on their debate.

However, those with even a little experience in officialdom all chose to remain silent at this moment.

Such a big matter, His Majesty was unaware of it? Don't be ridiculous, it was discussed countless times beforehand!
If Xu Jin hadn't privately reported to the emperor and had instead announced such a shocking reform in court, he could have packed his things and returned to the Northwest.

You shouldn't be an official anymore.

He dares to say today that His Majesty has definitely agreed, and it is even possible that His Majesty proposed it.

So even seasoned veterans like Bai Shizhong, though fiercely opposed in their hearts, stood like wooden stakes in the hall, not uttering a single word.

In the previous dynasty, people would have dared to speak out against the law, just like when Wang Anshi reformed and established the "Regulations Office for the Administration of the Three Departments," using financial experts to sideline the prime minister. Sima Xiangru would have led everyone to curse in the streets, block the palace gates, and denounce him for "sacrificing righteousness for profit and disrupting the order of the world."

However, this tactic should not be used lightly in Dajing, otherwise there is a possibility that the entire group will be sent to Liaodong to cultivate land, bringing their families with them.

The Henan government's soft resistance to the land survey was that 50,000 people went to graze livestock in the Helan Mountains.

Nowadays, the places for military settlements are no longer limited to the Northwest. There might even be opportunities to mine in Annam or log in Ryukyu, which would be a living hell.

Especially for the scholar-officials who were used to the prosperity of Nanjing, the blow of being dismissed from the capital was too great. Nanjing was even more comfortable than Bianjing was back then.

Moreover, it is visibly thriving and has a strong upward trend.

Chen Shao listened to their heated debate. The side in favor consisted entirely of bigwigs personally involved, such as Liu Jizu, Xu Jin, Zhang Kejian, Zhang Xiaochun, and Huo Anguo.
Those who opposed it were mostly officials of the fourth or fifth rank, and many of them were officials who had no real power.

Chen Shao chuckled inwardly. This generation of officials was too shrewd; they had all been caught up in the vortex of internal strife in the Song Dynasty and were unwilling to show their faces easily.

Anyone who dares to object today will be quietly transferred out of Nanjing in a few months.

After everyone had argued until their throats were dry, Chen Shao, who was starting to feel sleepy, finally said, "Since everyone has different opinions, let's hold another court assembly another day to discuss this matter."

After saying this, he gave Wang Xiaojie a wink, and immediately flicked his whisk and said, "Court adjourned!"
-
After the court session ended, a group of officials who had approved of the agreement gathered at the Funing Hall for a small meeting and a meal together.

What Da Jing needs to do now is not to discuss whether this is feasible or not, but how to eliminate the opposition.
The first step is to identify the dissenting voices.

Everyone has already completed half of this task.

As for those who dare not speak, Chen Shao is not afraid. They are afraid to even speak, but they will gradually get used to it.

First, take a ruthless approach and drive all those who dare to stand out out of Jinling, then give the remaining officials some incentives.

Make everyone understand how important it is to stay in the capital, and never go against the Secretariat and Chancellery.

"This world is full of trade opportunities, but my beloved ministers are unaware of them."

"Cultivating the fertile land of the Central Plains remains a vital industry for the nation, with agriculture being the foundation of all industries. However, apart from this, distant royal families, nobles, and lords require a refined and elegant lifestyle; otherwise, they cannot demonstrate their supposedly superior lineage."

Our finely crafted silks and brocades from the Central Plains, our flawless white porcelain with beautiful patterns, our exquisitely crafted silver alloy tableware of jewelry-grade quality, and our delicious and pleasant spices are just what they need and can help them in their time of need.

"While they enjoy themselves, they also accumulate all their wealth in our Grand View. However, they can learn these things, so we need artisans to constantly innovate."

"Only when the Great Jing Dynasty continues to prosper and become stronger will people no longer have to fight and strife over limited benefits, land, and official positions. Only then will common people not risk their lives to rebel against the court because they lack food and clothing. Only then can the various problems of the court be fundamentally solved."

Chen Shao had the confidence to say this, and the ministers listened attentively. The reason for this was that these things had already been verified, and everyone had already benefited from them.

Overseas trade has indeed brought unprecedented prosperity to Dajing.

All the officials present benefited.

In the past, the imperial family won people's hearts and consolidated its rule by distributing land and property to its ministers and reducing their taxes.

The Great Jing Dynasty, on the other hand, shared profits from trade with its ministers, thus leaving a larger share of land for the common people to enjoy a slightly better life. The implementation of progressive taxes also prevented wealthy gentry from freely acquiring more land.

This is the origin of the current prosperity of the Great Jing Dynasty.

Chen Shao then looked at Zhang Xiaochun, the Minister of Personnel, and asked, "Have all the officials who spoke out against this today been recorded?"

"Your Majesty, I have written it all down."

"Okay." Chen Shao only said "okay" and didn't continue, but everyone understood that they were about to leave the capital.

Now that he holds military power, and the central government departments are all filled with Chen Shao's trusted confidants.

Outsiders can't even get in, especially since people like Cai Jing and Li Gang have already sided with Chen Shao.

In the eyes of those officials and scholars, the old and new parties of the previous dynasty, the upright officials and treacherous ministers, had all become the emperor's lackeys.

We can't win, we can't win at all.

Zhang Xiaochun hesitated for a moment, raised his head slightly, then lowered it again, and finally said, "Your Majesty, what the officials are worried about is mostly the impact on the imperial examinations and hereditary appointments."

"I intend to strive for success in the imperial examinations and obtain official positions through hereditary privilege."

Zhang Xiaochun was slightly taken aback, then said, "Then I have nothing more to say."

His Majesty doesn't care at all, so what do I have to worry about?

Regarding reforms, officials who transitioned from the Song Dynasty to the Jing Dynasty were most familiar with Wang Anshi's reforms.

What the scholar-officials hated most about Wang Anshi's reforms was his reform of the "hereditary appointment system," which directly touched the most sensitive nerve of the Northern Song Dynasty's bureaucratic group.

This also turned the factional struggle into a life-or-death battlefield.

The so-called hereditary appointment refers to the practice where high-ranking officials (usually of the fifth rank or above) could use their official positions to directly secure official positions for their children, relatives, or even protégés without going through the imperial examinations.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, a grand ceremony at the southern suburbs (offering sacrifices to Heaven) bestowed favors upon the sons of meritorious officials and nobles, totaling more than 1200 people.

Before Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, the number of people who entered officialdom through hereditary privilege far exceeded the number admitted through the imperial examination (approximately 360 people per year through the imperial examination, while the number admitted through hereditary privilege often exceeded 500).

During the Xining Reforms, Wang Anshi directly implemented the "Law on Reducing the Number of Officials by Hereditary Authority" in an attempt to improve the problem of redundant officials.

He imposed three restrictions.

First, there were strict restrictions on eligibility: only a very few high-ranking officials, such as the Three Dukes, the Prime Minister, and the Military Governor, were allowed to have their sons granted hereditary privileges.
Moreover, one can only have one son, and the son must be of a certain age.

Secondly, an examination threshold was added: the sons of those granted official positions through hereditary privileges had to pass the civil service examination (assessment by the Ministry of Personnel), which included knowledge of laws and regulations, case judgment, and calligraphy;
Those who fail to meet the requirements will not be granted official positions (previously, they were often directly appointed).

Thirdly, the benefits were reduced: the official positions obtained through hereditary privilege were mostly low-ranking and sinecure positions (such as "probationary secretary of the Imperial Library"), with no real power;

They will no longer automatically acquire the status of "officials in the capital" and must start from the grassroots level in local areas.

The "Reduction of Hereditary Appointment Law" in the Xining Reform, although it restricted hereditary appointments, still required the imperial examinations to select officials. In fact, it still left the door open for the scholar-official class. After all, how could ordinary people afford to study or hire famous teachers, and how could they compete with the sons of officials?

Even so, it still provoked a desperate counterattack from the bureaucratic class.

Chen Shao's current status as a craftsman with official rank directly threatens the imperial examination system. Although the court has not yet made it explicit, in the future, the appointment and removal of some officials, especially those positions requiring strong professional skills, will inevitably have to be based on the selection of these rank-holding craftsmen.

After the establishment of the Great Jing Dynasty, the previous dynasty's system of hereditary appointments was abolished. At least from the founding of the country to the present, only a few people who made great contributions were granted hereditary appointments, such as Yang Cheng, who repaired the river, and ten of his family members entered officialdom.

This is completely different from the hereditary appointment system of the previous dynasty, where anyone who held an official position could be appointed through hereditary privilege. Now, even if you are a Duke like Yang Cheng, it takes ten members of your entire clan to have made outstanding contributions to the river management before you can be appointed to official positions.

Strictly speaking, they weren't actually granted official positions through hereditary privilege; the Yang family members earned their positions through hard work and connections. When Yang Cheng went to the capital to attend Chen Shao's enthronement ceremony, he had to bring his nephews and nieces along, fearing that they wouldn't be able to endure the hardships of river management and would take the opportunity to escape back to their hometown in the northwest.

This renewed push to include artisans in product categories should, in theory, have angered the bureaucrats.

But they dared not; it wasn't that they didn't want to, they simply didn't dare.

There was no way around it; Chen Shao's base of support was too solid.

He did not need the gentry behind the officials to maintain the stability of his rule, nor did he need their legal backing.

He could even ruthlessly eliminate dissidents, but Chen Shao's character dictated that he did not carry out a large-scale purge, nor did he use cruel officials to silence dissenting voices.

No one is perfect. He may not be ruthless enough, but he is resolute enough.

The 100,000 small landowners scattered across various regions formed the framework of the grand landscape.

The millions or even tens of millions of farmhands supported by these demobilized Dingnan Army landlords constituted the very fabric of Dajing.

More than a dozen Silk Roads, both by sea and land, form the lifeblood of the Great Landscape.

The power of the gentry has never been smaller. Many newly emerging wealthy merchants, workshop owners, manor owners, and fortress groups all support Chen Shao.

Their interests are tied to the Great Jing Dynasty; if the gentry are allowed to make a comeback, they will be the first to suffer. (End of Chapter)