The author's current state is feeling drained and unwell, similar to many other authors who are recovering from an illness. The author is focusing on revising previous chapters and describes experiencing symptoms like insufficient sleep, sweating, and mental fogginess, questioning if it's just a mild cold. They also mention an impending new variant and advise readers to prepare for digestive issues.
Tokugawa Ienari's expression immediately darkened.
The commoners and untouchables of Yamato were relatively easy to handle. They could be driven away normally, or dealt with violently if they resisted. A few low-ranking commoners or untouchables wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.
Because merchants from the Great Ming were not subject to Yamato's laws, no matter how serious their offenses, they could only be handed over to the Great Ming's embassy in Yamato or the Governor-General's office on Kyushu Island for processing. The Shogunate had no right to even arrest them, let alone try them. xxs1
Moreover, the Great Ming Emperor was famously protective. There had been more than one instance of the Great Ming dispatching naval fleets because their citizens were bullied overseas. Even in Yamato, there had been cases where Rōnin samurai provoked Great Ming merchants, leading to the Kyushu garrison intervening, arresting the Rōnin samurai, and publicly beheading them!
Now, with Yamato's commoners and untouchables hiding around the Great Ming merchants, what could the Shogunate do?
If they angered the Great Ming merchants, causing them to draw their swords and confront the Shogunate, the Shogunate would be the one to suffer!
The more he thought about it, the more troubled Tokugawa Ienari became. He frowned and asked, "Have you negotiated with those Ming merchants? Aren't they afraid of contracting leprosy?"
Watanabe Uemon bowed deeply and replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency the Shogun, Matsushita Ichiban has once again visited those Great Ming merchants, but... but judging from their current reactions, they don't seem very concerned about leprosy."
Tokugawa Ienari asked, completely bewildered, "Don't they know how contagious leprosy is? Or do they have a way to deal with leprosy?"
Watanabe Uemon shook his head blankly and replied, "According to Matsushita Ichiban, those Great Ming merchants aren't indifferent to leprosy, but rather because they haven't received a withdrawal notice from the Great Ming's embassy in Yamato, they both care about leprosy and yet don't take it too seriously."
Tokugawa Ienari felt completely numb – caring yet not taking it seriously, what kind of attitude was that?
Seeing Tokugawa Ienari fall into a daze, Watanabe Uemon tentatively asked, "Your Excellency the Shogun, should we still prepare some medicinal herbs for those Great Ming merchants?"
Tokugawa Ienari couldn't help but frown, his face filled with indecision.
Preparing medicinal herbs for those Great Ming merchants would mean further straining the Shogunate's already tight resources. Giving more medicinal herbs to a Great Ming merchant would mean the potential death of more commoners or untouchables under the Shogunate's rule. However, not preparing medicinal herbs for those Great Ming merchants... what if some unfortunate soul died because of it? What if Chen Yan, the Great Ming's ambassador to Yamato, pursued the matter? Even if Chen Yan didn't, would the Governor-General's office on Kyushu Island pursue it? Would the Great Ming Emperor pursue it?
The more he thought about it, the more his head ached. Tokugawa Ienari simply waved his hand and said, "Prepare enough medicinal herbs for them. It's better to have too much than too little. This is a critical juncture for our Yamato. We absolutely cannot offend the Ming people over some medicinal herbs."
As he spoke, Tokugawa Ienari suddenly sighed, "Our Yamato, after all, must still rely on the Great Ming. Yamato must still do business with the Great Ming."
Watanabe Uemon also fell silent.
Watanabe Uemon suddenly remembered a dish he had eaten before.
Garrison Stew.
This was a delicacy that didn't require any advanced cooking skills. The ingredients often depended on what leftovers the Great Ming's garrison in Yamato had, and the cooking method was to pick up various leftovers and throw them all into a pot to stew.
This was a delicacy first created by the Yamato people and quickly popularized. Apart from the Great Ming and France, this delicacy had spread throughout the world with the footsteps of Yamato auxiliary troops.
As for the taste of this delicacy... Watanabe Uemon, having personally tasted Garrison Stew, couldn't honestly say it was delicious. After all, no matter how much it was washed or stewed, the slop-like smell could not be removed.
Watanabe Uemon understood clearly that it wasn't that the Yamato people were inherently fond of the slop smell, but rather that the Yamato people were not qualified to refuse the slop smell. The commoners of the Great Ming could be picky, and many children in the Great Ming would even vomit at the sight of fatty meat, but what could the Yamato people use to be picky?
In Yamato, commoners weren't even considered truly human. Even some low-ranking samurai families had to rely on Garrison Stew to improve their lives. Only the Daimyo or the "Hua" class lords of Daimyo rank or above could refuse Garrison Stew.
Given Yamato's abject humility, ignoring its own commoners and untouchables and taking some trouble to prepare medicinal herbs for the Great Ming merchants was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
Watanabe Uemon lowered his head and bowed, responding, "Hai! I will have people prepare sufficient medicinal herbs for the Great Ming merchants!"
...
As a merchant of the Great Ming, Qi Feng had been involved in Yamato's medicinal herb market for nearly ten years.
During these ten years, Qi Feng's mindset had gradually shifted from making money to enjoying life.
In the later era, plagued by the "rolling-and-grinding" patients, the "dog sons" of the Eagle of Sillyness always used "This country why, it's the system" to cause trouble.
The problem was that Emperor Zhu himself was trapped in the question of "system."
What kind of path should the Great Ming take?
Should it adopt the European so-called "three-powers division" of freedom?
In fact, such an idea could only be entertained in thought. If this model were implemented in the Central Plains, it would be a recipe for disaster.
A deep analysis of the specific reasons behind this would be too complex, but ultimately, it all boiled down to the word "interest."
It's your choice.
This is actually why Europeans and the barbarians of the Eagle of Sillyness are generally so audacious. Because Europe has never had a truly unified dynasty, and the barbarians are accustomed to the mentality of small populations and small states, and also accustomed to small court systems.
Russia is similar – are the Bolsheviks good? Yes! The key is that human beings have desires!
This kind of system was naturally not a problem in normal times, as even the commoners in the Central Plains seemed to be the same, and there appeared to be no difference.
However, once disasters like the Little Ice Age occur frequently, or when the common people truly cannot survive, the difference between large and small courts becomes apparent.
The Eagle of Sillyness is no better than Europe; otherwise, Comrade Bai Zhenhua wouldn't have ascended to the throne, nor would the ridiculous joke of internal conflict in the Eagle of Sillyness, starting with the second country, have occurred.
However, even the directly transplanted Bolshevik system of a large court might not work.
Directly copying the Bolshevik system has a huge hidden danger, which is that the Great Ming does not currently have the environmental conditions for that theory to survive.
But it has only been a few years since the Great Qing fell?
Of course, it cannot be said that this theory is wrong, because all countries in the world promote it.
Is it not better to strive for the merit of "riding the dragon and eliminating the enemy" than to wholeheartedly serve those "mud-legged" commoners?
At that time, the Central Plains had not yet experienced the pain of imminent national annihilation.
And then, the Great Ming became what it is now – the Great Ming has an emperor, and Emperor Zhu is the founding monarch who cannot be constrained by anyone, but the Great Ming also has a Grand Secretariat, and the Grand Secretariat's power is no less than the Emperor's.
Especially when the Emperor gradually delegates power, the Grand Secretariat can even directly replace the Emperor's role.
This is because Emperor Zhu directly clarified the "江湖地位" (social status/influence, often informal and power-based) of the Grand Secretariat.
This is quite funny, because when Zhu Laosi created the Grand Secretariat, he treated the Grand Secretariat officials as secretaries. Later, after the reigns of Emperors Ren and Xuan, the Grand Secretariat's authority gradually increased.
However, despite their authority, the Grand Secretariat officials who could lead the Six Ministries were not of high rank. Leading the Six Ministries was technically not proper and not justified, and they were also subject to the supervision of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Now, Emperor Zhu has clarified the ranks and responsibilities of the Grand Secretariat. The Grand Secretary is ranked as First Rank Senior, while the other Grand Secretaries are ranked as First Rank Junior. The ministers of the various ministries are ranked as Second Rank Senior.
Correspondingly, the original Six Ministries of the Great Ming, as well as the later established Ministry of Poverty and the Ministry of Railways, which was upgraded from the Railway Directorate, and many other ministries are clearly placed under the management of the Grand Secretariat. In addition to the Grand Secretary, the remaining six Grand Secretaries are each responsible for a portion of the affairs, with responsibilities clearly assigned to individuals.
Parallel to the Grand Secretariat is the Five Chief Military Commissions. The Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat can inquire about matters of the military commissions, but it is only an inquiry – they can ask, but they have no decision-making power. The decision-making power of the military commissions rests with the Grand Marshals of the military commissions.
There is not much to say about the Censorate; their main responsibility is to criticize. The Emperor and all civil and military officials are their targets of surveillance.
However, the Censorate is not subordinate to the Grand Secretariat. The true authority over the Censorate is the Office of the Censor, which, along with the Court of Judicial Review, are two departments not under the Grand Secretariat but directly responsible to the Emperor. Among the officials of the Office of the Censor, those stationed in the capital are responsible for criticism, while the rest undertake the duties of investigation. The Court of Judicial Review is responsible for both trial and judgment.
The final interpretation of the Great Ming Law, however, rests with the Ministry of Justice.
In short, there are all sorts of departments with clearly defined responsibilities, and they are expected to support each other while also checking each other.
Basically, it can be said that the Emperor is useless, but without the Emperor, it wouldn't work. Emperor Zhu, of course, can do anything he wants directly bypassing the Grand Secretariat, the various ministries, and even the Five Chief Military Commissions. However, future emperors after Emperor Zhu, except for the ability to supervise and have the right to replace the Grand Secretary, will generally be unable to interfere in government affairs.
To regain power by replacing the Grand Secretary?
First, the Embroidered Uniform Guard must find evidence of the Grand Secretary's crimes, then the Censorate must impeach them, and the Court of Judicial Review must convict them. Only after completing this process can the Grand Secretary be replaced. If any single step of this process cannot be completed, the Grand Secretary cannot be replaced.
Furthermore, the tenure of the Grand Secretary and the Grand Secretariat officials is fixed, counted from the day they enter the Grand Secretariat. Five years constitute one term, and they can serve a maximum of two terms. This is a rigid law directly enacted by Emperor Zhu and cannot be changed.
In addition, the Great Ming Law emphasizes that what is not prohibited is permitted. It also established a series of policies to suppress clans and wealthy merchants. The protection of ordinary people is reflected not only in the law but also in the responsibilities undertaken by farmers' associations.
This places the Great Ming's state system in a very delicate position: it appears beautiful, almost a model of a nominal monarch, and apart from still having an emperor, the rest can be considered democratic and free, even operating with near-perfect efficiency.
This places the Great Ming's state system in a very delicate position: it appears beautiful, almost a model of a nominal monarch, and apart from still having an emperor, the rest can be considered democratic and free, even operating with near-perfect efficiency.
However, Emperor Zhu knows in his heart that such perfection is essentially nonsense.
Even the system of the Rabbit is not without flaws!
Whether it was the tearful execution of two Ma Su's, or the later phenomenon of those who got rich first but were unwilling to help others get rich and even tried to extend their influence into the court, these things are objective facts!
This is why Emperor Zhu has been delegating power to the court but has never relaxed the grip of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Censorate – the officials of the Great Ming do not have that high a level of awareness! If they are given the slightest leeway, they can create huge problems!
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhu couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.
No matter how he tried, he was not a god, and how could he possibly solve those long-standing problems?
"And those officials who are acting recklessly on their own, do I need to say more about how to deal with them?"
Of course, Emperor Zhu didn't need to say more, because Emperor Zhu had already used the word "朕" (Zhen - "We/I," used by emperors).
Once Emperor Zhu harbored the intention to kill...
After Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming, along with a group of senior officials, bowed and agreed, Emperor Zhu turned his gaze back to Zeng Cheng, saying, "Minister Zeng, you have been serving as Prime Minister for almost thirty years now, haven't you?"
Of course, the Great Ming has always treated its meritorious officials well. Although he was no longer the Grand Secretary, he would still receive all the treatment of a Grand Secretary, and even a noble title.
Now that Emperor Zhu, old as he was, suddenly mentioned that he had been Grand Secretary for almost thirty years, did he intend to dismiss him?
(End of this chapter)
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