hotmtlnovel Chapter 550: Treaty of Xiaying Capital
Chapter 550: Treaty of Xiaying Capital
Chapter 550: Treaty of Xiaying Capital
The two consecutive ministers of the Ministry of Revenue basically eliminated the problem of treasury deficit during the Zhaowu period, and the emperor was both happy and sad.
Because the people in the Ministry of Revenue were always eyeing his private money.
Looking at the cartloads of silver being taken away from the palace gate, his mood became bad again.
I'm in a bad mood, but I can't let you be too happy!
"Issue an imperial decree, ordering the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel to re-draft the examination rules, increasing the weight of mathematics and law..."
what?
"Your Majesty, this may cause a stir in the court and the country. Why don't we summon a few ministers from the cabinet to discuss this?"
This time even Xia Shouzhong was frightened. The imperial examination was a private domain for scholars and also the main channel for the Chinese people to rise.
If the weight of mathematics and law was suddenly increased, wouldn't those scholars be furious?
He wanted to give some advice, but the emperor snorted coldly: "I heard that when a county magistrate takes office, he must bring several criminal and financial advisors with him, otherwise he won't even be able to sit in court. What is the purpose of the court to support such officials? What welfare can they bring to the people?"
Looking from the railing into the distance, a figure appeared on the imperial road.
The emperor suddenly became in a good mood and waved his hand at Xia Shouzhong: "Just tell the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel to hurry up and go to the East Palace to find the crown prince if there are any problems. The crown prince will be responsible for this matter. I haven't been feeling well recently, so I need to take good care of myself..."
Having said that, he turned around and left, ignoring his good son who was almost approaching.
"Alas, Dragon Head Palace is still cooler. I'm going to go and keep my father company and have a good rest..."
The confused Crown Prince Liu Hong looked at the emperor who was walking away and asked in confusion: "Xia Daban, why did the emperor run away when he saw me?"
Xia Shouzhong's mouth twitched for a while, he looked at the prince with pity, bowed and said: "My lord, the emperor said he is ill and needs to rest well. The state affairs will be handed over to me temporarily..."
These words sounded so familiar that Liu Hong couldn't help but shudder.
It’s over. I’ve been cheated by my own dad again.
Liu Hong smiled bitterly and asked again: "Xia Daban, why don't you tell me frankly, how big of a trap has your father dug for me?"
……
The emperor is "sick" and needs to rest for some time.
The first and most important thing that Crown Prince Liu Hong did as regent was the reform of the imperial examination system.
If rectifying the administration of officials and reforming the taxation system touched upon the fundamental interests of the civil and military officials and the scholar-official class, then reforming the imperial examination system could definitely be said to be cutting off the source of the problem and directly digging up their roots.
Some were happy and some were sad. The commotion in the court and the country was so intense that even the emperor hiding in the Dragon Head Palace could clearly feel the pressure.
Fortunately, my son is there to support me...
"How old is Hong'er? Is there anyone who is as good as you as a father?"
The old emperor was very angry and was about to hit his fourth son with the fishing rod in his hand.
The imperial examination system has been passed down from generation to generation for nearly a thousand years since its implementation. Both the system and the content of the examination have been modified but basically follow the contents of Confucian classics.
Now the proportion of mathematics and law has suddenly increased, which is a challenge to the entire Confucianism.
For the scholar-official class, this is like digging up their own roots, which can easily cause dissension between the ruler and his subjects.
What the old man is worried about now is whether his grandson's handling of this matter will affect the crown prince's image and status in the court and the country.
He glared at the emperor who was giving up, and finally put the fishing rod back in his hand.
"You are his father, why are you pushing Hong Er to the front? I know what I should do, but you should be the bad guy!"
The emperor begged for mercy, sat up straight and explained in a serious tone: "Father, how could I not understand the danger. The reform of the imperial examination is imperative, the court officials know it, and the scholars below know it too. I am the one who struck the blow with my own hands. When the commotion is almost over, let Hong'er give up a few dates. Wouldn't the gratitude of the scholars be concentrated on Hong'er?"
He hid in the Dragon Head Palace not just for peace and quiet.
When those people in the court cannot find the real culprit, they will go to the East Palace to bargain with the prince.
"My son has already told Jia Cong that he is most familiar with what should be added, what can be streamlined, and what systems can be changed. After all, he was the first to come up with this idea. Let Jia Cong tell Hong'er."
……
"I've been badly screwed by my father. I've slept for less than four hours in the past two days!"
My God, the court officials were submitting memorials to the palace like crazy.
The censors from the six departments of the Censorate ran to the gate of the Eastern Palace almost at dawn. Not only did they break down the door, some even sat in protest outside the Eastern Palace.
The last time we saw this kind of scene was when the emperor wanted to abolish tax exemptions for the gentry and increase commercial taxes.
Sure enough, the hole his father dug has never been small.
Jia Cong looked at the prince's dark circles and almost couldn't help laughing.
He handed over a long-prepared proposal: "Fourth brother, don't worry for now, take a look at this..."
Regarding the reform of the imperial examination system, this matter was written as early as the eighth year of Yuanyou when the imperial court was rectifying the administration of officials.
After several revisions over the past two years, it is basically complete.
The most important thing is to emphasize practice over poetry, and to increase the content of theories on mathematics, logic, law, and governance and people's safety.
If most of the scholars nowadays were not physically weak, Jia Cong would have wanted to add riding and archery as an exam item.
It is divided into five major subjects: civil affairs, justice, business, engineering, medicine, and education. Each subject has different focuses, so the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel should discuss it, classify it, and recruit the talents they need.
"Your Majesty, you are not exaggerating. The current imperial examination system has indeed selected a lot of talents for the court. But the vast majority of Jinshi are assigned official positions and go to local posts. Without hiring one or two legal advisors, they can't even go to court to try cases. This phenomenon must be eradicated!"
Jia Cong was not talking nonsense. When his second uncle was first appointed by the court to go to Zhejiang as an educational official, he was both happy and worried.
Why?
Mr. Zheng is only good at talking, he doesn't understand the procedures at all.
It was only after Master She asked Master Lin for help and found a legal advisor who was familiar with the situation in Jiangnan that he gradually understood how to be a school inspector.
A group of newly graduated scholars from the academy are probably not even as good as Master Zheng.
Let them govern a county for the imperial court, it would be good enough if they don't cause harm to others.
Liu Hong quickly read the proposal submitted by Jia Cong. It was concise but full of information.
However, the details are still under discussion, and many of them seem quite... idealistic and not very practical to Liu Hong.
"Okay, I'll take this proposal and discuss it with the cabinet masters in the next two days."
Liu Hong was a cautious man with a clear mind. He did not give orders rashly.
Jia Cong also knew that his proposal was just a fantasy based on what he had learned and seen in his previous life.
Whether it can succeed or not depends on the actual situation and the discussion and improvement by the senior ministers in the cabinet.
After completing the task for the Emperor, Jia Cong wanted to quickly escape from the vortex of the Eastern Palace, but he received a report from a eunuch outside the main hall.
"Young Master, there is an urgent report from India. Young Master Wen has conquered eleven cities in India, and now he has blocked the coalition forces of the Western countries under the snowy mountains of U-Tsang!"
……
If it weren't for this urgent report, Jia Cong would have almost forgotten that the second official fleet of the Celestial Empire that sailed to the West should have returned long ago.
Unexpectedly, Wen Lian opened up a new battlefield in Tianzhu and did such a shocking thing.
Jia Cong leaned forward and was stunned at first sight.
Are all the diplomats in Daxia so cruel?
Portugal, which colonized India, formed a coalition with England and other countries, hoping to take advantage of the U-Tsang Rebellion and cut a piece of meat from the Celestial Empire.
Unexpectedly, after hearing the news, Wen Lian took prompt action and led more than 10,000 naval forces to land in India. He eliminated the colonial outposts of Western countries in India one by one, not only cutting off the logistics supply lines of the Western coalition forces, but also blocking the coalition forces at the foot of the Great Snow Mountain.
When Xu Jin was about to put down the rebellion of the U-Tsang Dharma King, he received a letter from Wen Lian.
The two armies joined forces to set up a large pocket, encircling the entire Western coalition force of more than 50,000 people in the valley of the Yarlung Zangbo River.
"It seems that Master Wen wants Fourth Brother to announce this news so that those Western envoys will take the initiative to seek an audience to discuss terms."
It would be such a waste to just throw them into the Yarlung Zangbo River to feed the fish. Wen Lian also figured out the customs of the Westerners. There were many nobles from Western countries among this coalition force. It would be perfect to capture them alive and sell them for silver.
Jia Cong had never expected that Wen Lian's flowery words could express such a shameless... ahem, such a gratifying meaning.
It was the first time that Liu Hong knew that he could make so much money by fighting a war, and he was stunned for a moment.
"Is this... really okay? Isn't it inappropriate to go through so much trouble for one or two million silver? After all, the court still has to deal with Westerners..."
It's not that he is soft-hearted or has a good reputation, but the country's trade with Western countries brings in at least tens of millions of profits every year. It is really not worth it to ruin the trade for a small amount of ransom money.
However, Jia Cong's next words dispelled the prince's concerns and made him extremely excited.
Jia Cong said, "One or two million? Don't even mention it if it's not eight or ten million."
"That's not much..."
Jia Cong curled his lips and said, "I mean 10 million taels per country. Portugal, Spain, England, and the Netherlands are exactly 40 million taels. And then they are required to cede their colonies in India to the Celestial Empire, which will be the fief of Prince Ji's Mansion."
hiss!
Forty million taels of silver is almost as much as the country's tax revenue for half a year.
You can also get a large piece of territory!
Bang!
Liu Hong slammed the table excitedly and said, "Done! Go and call the masters from the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites... Also, go and invite Uncle Prince Ji to the palace!"
……
Because of the reform of the imperial examination, there was chaos in the government and the country.
But the court continued to operate as usual, and everything was running normally according to plan.
When the emperor is "resting", the cabinet will be busier.
When the big guys saw Wen Lian's report, their expressions were similar.
"I think that Master Wen's idea is very good. It doesn't make sense that if they want to secretly take a piece of meat from the Celestial Empire, we can't take it back."
Although he has been away from the post of Minister of Revenue for several years, Wen Tongxuan's Pixiu temperament is still there.
When I thought that 50,000 people could be exchanged for 50 million taels of silver, I knew that this deal must be done perfectly.
Xia Lingxing was a little worried, fearing that this would hinder trade.
He turned his gaze to Jia Cong, who was sitting at the end, and asked, "Marquis Yongfeng, you are most familiar with the West. If we do this, will these four countries cut off their business with us?"
"Lord Xia, you can rest assured about this. Trade is not a necessity for us. The products of the Celestial Empire are in short supply, and Western countries are begging us to sell them. Even if we go to war with a Western country today, it will not have much impact on trade."
You must be kidding. If Daxia announces a maritime ban today, envoys from Western countries will beg Daxia to open the sea for trade tomorrow.
From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.
After being used to wearing exquisite silk, how can you let Western nobles wear their ugly linen clothes?
The grasslands and the Central Plains have been fighting for thousands of years, and those nobles are still looking forward to the Central Plains dynasty opening up trade.
This is the advantage of a leading civilization. The dominant power will always be in the hands of the country with the leading civilization.
"But there is one thing we must prepare for in advance. The envoys of these four countries will definitely cry poor or even threaten us. When the time comes, the people from the Ministry of Rites might as well scare them by saying that France is our ally and that the Celestial Empire has signed a package of cooperation treaties with the Kingdom of France, including military and technological exchanges..."
France is truly a good friend of China. As long as England is around, France will always be a good friend of China.
I think the English envoys would eagerly seek mutual "understanding" with the Celestial Empire, and then sign the same cooperation agreement with the Celestial Empire as they did with France.
As for countries like Portugal and the Netherlands, the outdated maritime overlords, they are destined to become a dish on the table, slowly waiting to be devoured alive by the new maritime overlords.
……
In the West, the power of the nobility is great enough to depose the monarch.
The envoys of Western countries did not dare to let the Celestial Empire throw their officers into the Yarlung Zangbo River to feed the fish, otherwise they would have to throw themselves into the river.
However, the 10 million taels of silver from the Celestial Empire and the ransom of a colony really made it difficult for these envoys to make a decision.
The amount was too large and they couldn't raise so much money at once.
However, Daxia is thousands of miles away from the West, and it is impossible to transport silver and money from the country in a short period of time.
Fortunately, the Celestial Empire was extremely benevolent and righteous, and said that it would treat the prisoners well, and as long as the envoys were willing to sign a treaty with the Celestial Empire, they would be given half a year to raise silver.
Nowadays, who doesn’t have colonies overseas?
When the English envoy heard that Great Xia and France had formed an alliance, he was the first to sign the Treaty of Great Xia and Great Britain.
However, he secretly met with officials from the Ministry of Rites and put forward a request, that Daxia should treat all countries equally and sign an alliance treaty with England similar to that of France.
After the Ministry of Rites reported this to the Crown Prince, he readily agreed.
As for the treaty, Daxia will definitely abide by the terms of selling firearms and warships to England. As for the offensive and defensive alliance, it can be completely disregarded if necessary.
Anyway, it was he, the crown prince, who signed the treaty. Does the crown prince have the power to sign an alliance with a country?
Maybe there are in the West, but not in Daxia.
A treaty without the imperial seal is just a piece of waste paper.
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!
(End of this chapter)