Zhu Jinsong spent a long time agonizing, unable to find a way to break through the deadlock. The reason was that all these messy problems were strongly interconnected, truly embodying the saying that touching one part moved the whole body.
Simply put, if it were just a matter concerning the Five Military Commissions, then action would only need to be taken against them. If it were merely an issue within the imperial court, then action could be directed solely at the court.
However, when the problems of the Five Military Commissions became entangled with issues in the imperial court and local administration, and further complicated by the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review being drawn into these problems for various reasons…
For instance, soldiers who retired from the army due to various reasons often entered local government offices, with some also joining the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate. As the Ming army's requirements for soldiers increased, more scholars would enter the military in the future, making interpersonal relationships much more complex.
After pondering for a while, Zhu Jinsong finally said, "Let's first split off the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review. After they are separated, then we will split the current Six Ministries."
As he spoke, Zhu Jinsong turned his gaze to Zeng Cheng. "Your Cabinet must also prepare. The first cabinet will be based on you, Minister Zeng, and the existing Six Ministers. Each of you should discuss and finalize your respective areas of responsibility."
Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials immediately bowed and replied, "Your subjects obey."
This was almost a necessary measure. By first separating the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate, they could later be tasked with supervisory and inspection duties. If any issues arose during the splitting of the Six Ministries, they could be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate to resolve.
The Grand Court of Revision was relatively simpler, as it was originally a more independent institution. The real trouble lay not in its inconspicuousness, but in the Ministry of Justice.
This was because the Ministry of Justice held the power of legislation and the authority to interpret the Great Ming Laws. The division of the Ministry of Justice was also based on these two points.
Zhu Jinsong then continued, "Once all the ministries are split and the Cabinet is on the right track, it will be time to revise the Great Ming Laws."
Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials felt an urge to resign and leave – more trouble? Haven't you finished yet!
Zhu Jinsong tapped the table with his fingers and said gravely, "Do you feel that I am too disruptive?"
After silently answering yes in his heart, Zeng Cheng cupped his hands and bowed, "Your subjects dare not."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled, and while slowly tapping the table, he said, "Dare not? 'Dare not' actually means you still have that thought in your heart, doesn't it?"
Zeng Cheng's expression stiffened, and he quickly replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your subjects truly do not have this thought."
Zhu Jinsong ignored Zeng Cheng and said slowly, "Actually, I don't wish to be disruptive, but it cannot be helped. I ask you, did the Great Ming have railways before? Now that we have railways, haven't relevant regulations also been introduced?"
"What about the telegraph? Did the Great Ming have such a thing before? No. But now we do. What kind of provisional regulations should be in place for the telegraph?"
"Not to mention strengthening private rights – strengthening private rights is not only in relation to public power and imperial power, but also in relation to clan power."
Speaking of this, Zhu Jinsong directly turned his gaze to Ke Zhiming. "Minister Ke, can you tell me how many cases of clan power privately resolving disputes among the common people there have been in the Great Ming in the past few years?"
Ke Zhiming immediately bowed and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, in the first year of Sheng Huang's reign, there were countless cases across the Great Ming where clan law was used to privately resolve disputes among the common people. There were several cases in every village on average. The Farmers' Association has indeed made efforts in this regard, but with little effect."
"Since the second year of Sheng Huang's reign, the number of such cases has indeed been on a downward trend year by year. However, the reason for this situation is not that the Farmers' Association and local government offices have solved the problem of clan law, but rather that with the increasing number of workshops in various places and the court's continued implementation of land equalisation and population relocation policies, the income of the common people has increased, and the disputes between them have relatively decreased."
"Since the eighth year of Sheng Huang's reign, most of the problems between clan laws in various places have been related to romantic affairs, with 'sinking in a pig cage' being the most frequent. Although local government offices and the Farmers' Association have repeatedly emphasized that clan law and private punishment are not allowed, this problem cannot be stopped at all."
"Furthermore, according to data jointly compiled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Heaven and Earth Society, ninety-nine out of every hundred female workers who return home to give birth after becoming pregnant do not return to the workshops to work."
Hearing Ke Zhiming say this, Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials knew that trouble was brewing.
Strictly speaking, clan power has existed for thousands of years. Dynasties after dynasties have also faced the problem of clan power being greater than national law to some extent, which is not unique to the Great Ming.
For example, sinking in a pig cage.
Generally, when such a situation occurs, it is often the case that local clan elders and members of the clan gather together, discuss the matter, and handle it, without involving the government offices. They don't even care about the provisions in the law. Even the person sentenced to be sunk in a pig cage by clan law does not resist.
However, regardless of whether those individuals resist or not, and regardless of what the clan elders think, the existence of clan power not only deprives many people of their private rights but also forms a confrontation with official power to some extent.
The phrase "imperial power does not reach the villages," which is mentioned in historical dynasties, largely refers to this situation.
However, as the ancestors once said, "times change, affairs change," meaning that things will change with the passage of time. Just as one should "sing a song according to the mountain one climbs," the tradition of "sinking in a pig cage," which has been passed down for countless years, is no longer applicable to the current situation in the Great Ming.
This is because the biggest difference between the Great Ming and previous dynasties is that women have begun to possess a portion of the means of production.
Before the Great Ming, women in previous dynasties mostly engaged in activities such as sericulture, family weaving, needlework, and washing. A very small number of them, voluntarily or by force, made a living in brothels or semi-disguised establishments. Few workshops hired female workers.
With the advent of steam engines and new textile machines, a large number of female workers began to enter workshops. They also worked for several hours each day, and some educated women began to engage in writing and accounting.
It must be admitted that women do have advantages over men in certain types of work.
However, the rather frustrating thing is that the protection of women's private rights in the Great Ming Laws largely remains only on paper, and many provisions are not even on paper.
For example, maternity leave is nonexistent in the Great Ming. If female workers become pregnant, a large number of them choose to go home to await childbirth when they are close to delivery, and whether they can return to work in the workshop afterwards becomes uncertain.
It should be noted that these female workers are skilled laborers. Without them, workshops would have to spend time and effort training new workers to replace them, inevitably leading to a decrease in production efficiency and profitability. Combined with the existence of clan private punishments and other issues, the final result would be an impact on the imperial court's tax revenue, as well as the emergence of various other messy problems.
Therefore, even if only from the perspective of the imperial court's tax revenue and stability, certain changes are necessary.
Then there are the issues of railways and telegraphs that Emperor Zhu of the Great Ming just mentioned.
Are there any clauses related to railways in the Great Ming Laws of the first year of Sheng Huang's reign? Are there any clauses related to strengthening private rights after the division of clans?
Obviously not, because the Great Ming Laws at that time did not need to consider these issues, especially things like railways that appeared later, which were even less likely to exist in the Great Ming Laws at that time.
Therefore, it is obvious that some clauses in the Great Ming Laws of the first year of Sheng Huang's reign may not be applicable to the situation in the tenth year of Sheng Huang.
Seeing that Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials had come to their senses, Zhu Jinsong chuckled and asked, "Have you all understood?"
Zeng Cheng nodded and bowed in reply, "Yes, your subjects have understood."
However, Zhu Jinsong's penchant for disruption was indeed beyond the expectations of Zeng Qing and others.
Zhu Jinsong said, "The Great Ming Laws are now showing signs of inapplicability. I believe that as the Great Ming continues to develop, such situations will occur more and more frequently in the future. What should be done then? Should the Great Ming Laws be revised every time a problem arises?"
Hearing Zhu Jinsong's question, Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials could not help but feel a sense of frustration.
Were not all these messy problems raised by Your Majesty just now? And was not the idea of revising the Great Ming Laws also first proposed by Your Majesty?
So, Your Majesty raised a series of problems first, and then followed up by creating a string of further issues?
This is like stealing a rope, finding a cow behind the rope, then a cart behind the cow, and on the cart, a pile of gold and silver treasures, with two people following behind!
Of course, Zeng Cheng also understood that since Zhu Jinsong had raised these issues, it meant that Emperor Zhu of the Great Ming must have had some ideas in mind. Thus, he cupped his hands and asked, "Then, what is Your Majesty's opinion?"
Zhu Jinsong tapped the table with his fingers again and said, "My opinion is that the Great Ming Laws must be revised. However, it is unrealistic to revise them every time a new matter arises. Therefore, there must be a fixed schedule for revision."
"I think, why not set ten years as the period? Every ten years, the Great Ming Laws will be checked and supplemented. Except for certain ancestral statutes that cannot be changed, all other clauses will be reviewed every ten years to see if they are suitable for the current situation?"
Hearing this, Zeng Cheng could not help but spit in respect in his heart – the "certain ancestral statutes that cannot be changed" mentioned by Emperor Zhu, without even thinking, must surely be the ancestral statutes that stipulated the skinning and stuffing of those who embezzled sixty taels of silver, as well as the severe punishments and heavy penalties for crimes like kidnapping and dismemberment, and rebellion.
Zhu Jinsong continued, "As for the new things that constantly appear, such as railways and telegraphs, the Cabinet and the ministers of various ministries can first discuss and formulate provisional measures."
"Of course, before discussing these measures, the opinions of the common people must be heard. My intention is that every time the Great Ming Laws are revised or new provisional measures are introduced, the common people from all over the empire should be invited to attend as observers, and they should be allowed to submit their opinions."
The expressions of Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials immediately darkened.
Allowing the common people to attend as observers? And allowing them to submit opinions?
Well, the Great Ming now has a population of nearly four hundred million. By the time all the opinions of the common people are collected, it might take several years. And then, to implement these provisional measures…
That would be too late!
After thinking about it, Zeng Cheng still cautiously persuaded, "Your Majesty, it is not that your subjects are unwilling to let the common people observe, nor are your subjects unwilling to listen to their opinions. It is just that the Great Ming now has four hundred million people. If we were to listen to the opinions of the common people, I am afraid…"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and shook his head, "My intention is not to let all four hundred million common people submit opinions, but rather to have representatives from each prefecture and county. For example, representatives of small vendors, representatives of old farmers, representatives of students, representatives of workshop owners, representatives of women, representatives of workers who are unwilling to farm and only want to work in workshops. All these should be considered."
Zeng Cheng thought that this was still terrifying enough – the Great Ming's territory is no longer just the small area during the Qing Dynasty. There are already about fifty provincial administrative divisions of various sizes. If further divided into prefectures, and each prefecture needs to send several representatives, then this time alone would require tens of thousands of people.
Tens of thousands of people discussing one matter…
Thinking of this scene, Zeng Cheng could not help but feel despair.
Zhu Jinsong, however, continued, "Speaking of this, I have always wanted to ask all of you – what is the purpose of the Great Ming imperial court for the common people?"
Being asked this by Zhu Jinsong, Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials were stunned.
What is the purpose of the Great Ming imperial court for the common people?
Of course, it is to manage the hundred… for the emperor.
That's not right.
His Majesty the Emperor just said that he wants to limit imperial power while strengthening public and private rights. Therefore, saying that the Great Ming imperial court manages the people on behalf of the emperor is no longer appropriate.
So, the question arises – if the court is not for managing the people, then what is its purpose?
After thinking for a moment, Zeng Cheng cautiously asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "Actually, this involves the definition of the imperial court and government offices."