In just one month, Daqian's bureaucracy was already on the verge of collapse.
Even in the Senate Hall, there are many senators who are either ill or have simply resigned.
Not only because of the harassment and threats from the Demon Sect, but also because of the 17 million troops that Dashang has gathered near the Henglian Mountains.
A total of 400,000 Xuanhuang second-level Taoist soldiers have arrived at the border.
In addition, there are a total of twenty nine-tooth giant ships and hundreds of seven-tooth warships, which are also gathered in the sea of clouds near southern Xinjiang, faintly forming the overwhelming force of Mount Tai. They will only wait for everything to be completed before they sweep across the south.
At this time, Daqian was still optimistic about those who trusted Zong Shou, and they still accounted for the majority. Especially those generals, whose confidence is almost blind.
After Zong Shou succeeded to the throne, his behavior was certainly absurd. But every battle is invincible and every attack is invincible. He defeated more with less several times and laid the foundation of Daqian. Therefore, even though he knew clearly that Zong Shou was acting recklessly and leisurely in the palace during this month, he still never wavered.
However, there are also some people who are really not optimistic about Daqian at this time.
"There are internal and external troubles in the country, but the king lives in a deep palace. What does this sound like?"
"In the past, the Emperor of the First Qin Dynasty burned books and harassed Confucian scholars, which resulted in the death of a whole generation. I'm afraid this Daqian won't be much better."
"Although your Majesty is a talented person, you are too young. You have too much confidence and you are too willful. It is a pity-"
"The great merchants are coming from all over the country, and they are invincible. Their military strength is six times that of my Dagan! In fact, if we take a step back and retreat to Huizhou and Nanfeng Yunlu, I might still have some chance of survival."
"It's been a month since I returned, but I haven't touched any government affairs, and I haven't summoned any of my ministers. Such actions are of no use to those foolish kings in history who didn't go to court early for several years and neglected government affairs."
"Although Qiantian Mountain is more prosperous than the Imperial City at this time, I predict that Daqian is not far away from defeat. It is like a flash in the pan, only a moment of fragrance, it is a sigh-"
Although Zong Shou was in Hanyan Palace, the news was not blocked. There are secret guards copying the words of these resigned ministers.
But he didn't take it to heart. What these people said was also true. Zong Shou was really tired of politics and didn't want to spend too much time on government affairs. In fact, he just resigned to avoid trouble, which was considered a minor matter. Many of the powerful people in Qiantian Mountain City are already flirting with the great merchants and Confucianism and Taoism, and many of them are secretly working for them.
At this time, Daqian relied entirely on Ren Bo and others to support the government and maintain normal state affairs.
However, a large number of officials and councilors resigned, which made Ren Bo and others extremely hard to support, but it was not without benefits.
Although Zong Shou ignored those complicated government affairs, in the month after his return, he had been planning to implement several major policies that he had already intended to implement.
At this time, with the departure of these officials and counselors, interference and resistance were reduced to a minimum.
The first political task was to gather scholars and rewrite the national law. Ren Bo naturally had no objections to this matter.
At this time, many of Daqian's methods were inherited from the barbaric era and were indeed out of date.
It's just that Zong Shou's intention is to give lighter punishments. All the punishments of cutting off limbs and cutting in half will be removed from the national law and converted into the punishment of hard labor.
It is even more necessary to reorganize the three law departments and merge them into one. It is completely independent from the six cabinet ministries and is only supervised by the Senate Hall and the Yushitai.
Among the six departments, the Criminal Department was removed and a Commercial Department was established.
"But if the punishment is too light, how can we make the people abide by the law? Why is it necessary for the three legal departments to be independent?"
Not only Ren Bo, but also the cabinet and the chief officials of various ministries were also extremely confused.
"Corporeal punishment is cruel, maiming [limbs], making it almost impossible for ordinary people to resurrect, and also destroying labor. I think the point of punishment is not to punish, but to make people regret, change their ways, and persuade people to do good. To To make all people abide by the law, it is not about whether the punishment is severe or not, but about being fair and just, and must abide by the law, and put an end to favoritism."
Before Da Qian, although there were strict laws. However, favoritism and bending the law occur frequently.
Qiantian Mountain City was fine when it was under his feet. However, in other cities, the powerful and powerful often behaved recklessly and escaped punishment, treating the national law as nothing.
In this way, how can we convince the people of Daqian
Zong Shou was extremely disappointed with the original three law divisions. This time, he simply became independent like a funeral, and was only supervised by him and the Yushitai of the Senate Hall. In the future, the case will be decided without being influenced by the cabinet ministries and those powerful people.
"Is there any law that must be followed?"
Ren Bo murmured to himself, then smiled bitterly. Even if he considers himself to be incorruptible, he is actually not without any flaws.
Yunjie Confucianism has always believed that human feelings are greater than national laws. Therefore, there is a saying that relatives hide themselves from each other, which is regarded as the teachings of saints and is justified.
But if the law is not followed and everyone is selfish, no matter how powerful a country is, it will weaken and its foundation will slowly decay.
Your Majesty is indeed extremely disgusted with Confucianism.
At this time, the officials who were still in office in Daqian were either loyal to Zong Shou or pursuing someone wholeheartedly. Either he is an upright person who is not afraid of death threats from the Demon Sect. Or they are optimistic about Daqian and are speculative.
Zong Shou pushed hard for it, and although Ren Bo wanted to stop it, he was helpless.
The second major policy is to subsidize farmers.
Ren Bo had no opinion on this matter, but now the spiritual tide is rising. Warrior spiritual masters can easily obtain massive wealth.
On the contrary, there are fewer and fewer people working in agriculture. Using monetary subsidies to enable farmers to maintain their livelihood is good governance and a policy that emphasizes agriculture.
However, the third major event made Ren Bo frightened and sent chills down his spine.
Zong Shou's intention was to establish a minimum salary guarantee for all workers in Daqian and limit the working hours. I also want to allocate a lot of money from my income. The cabinet was ordered to formulate pension plans similar to those for military personnel.
This method should open the eyes of all the people of the great cadres, so that those workers can have food, clothing, clothing and warmth.
Ren Bo knew in his heart that if this policy was implemented, there would be countless dignitaries in Da Qian who would hate him to the core.
As for the appropriation part, setting up a pension policy for these hard workers is not a big deal. Zong Shou was unwilling to invest the money in the army, so he had nothing to do.
But for this strategy, he must still give advice.
"The salary of employees should be determined by the employer. If the salary is high, the employees will naturally accept the scenery and be willing to defect; if the salary is low, there will be no one interested in it. Why does the court need to force it? Moreover, this is not the time - "
Zong Shouze shook his head and did not summon Ren Bo. He only handed out an informal secret edict to his trusted people.
"I heard that the key to economics lies in consumption! At this time in Daqian, there are many workers and few workstations. And employers are vying to lower wages. If this continues, sooner or later, the people of Daqian will not have enough to eat. If the people have no money left, , even if thousands of utensils are made, who will spend money to buy them? Limiting the working hours is to increase the number of work stations. As the prime minister, you should be clear about the way of economics and not be influenced by those wealthy merchants. "
Qiantian Mountain is prosperous on the surface, but Zong Shou knows that secretly, there are still many people who don't have enough to eat, and ten of the twelve hours a day are busy. As busy as a dog every day—
In fact, he didn't bother to care about the life and death of these people. It was just that these people had worked hard for a long time and took the opportunity of others to work hard. It was very inappropriate.
"As for the timing, this policy will be implemented. It will be after the war with Dashang is over. Prime Minister, there is no need to worry! If Ren Qing is unwilling, you can ask for resignation and Zhang Huai will take over -"
Knowing that it was planned to be implemented after the war, Ren Bo felt relieved. If he really wanted to make this policy public at this time, he would probably start a mess on his own before starting a war with Dashang.
As for the last sentence, Ren Bo laughed out loud. Is this the king's method of provoking generals
Speaking of which, his second term is indeed coming soon.
Dashang prohibited the cabinet minister from serving two consecutive terms, but he could hold the post of prime minister again after ten years.
However, if your Majesty really wants to implement this policy, he is not afraid.
Although this policy offended those businessmen, the real powerful people actually didn't care about the wages.
Once implemented, it can also accumulate huge reputation among the people. Ten years later, it is still easy to hold the phase in your arms.
It’s just consumption and economics. Will limiting working hours and setting a minimum wage be beneficial to the country? He, Ren Bo, refused to be gullible. He needed to carefully investigate and weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.
If it was harmful to the country, and he offended Zong Shou again, he would definitely stop it with all his strength.
The fourth major policy is to sort out the land in the world and make sure that the officials and gentry all pay for it. The transaction of land in the world was prohibited and could only be purchased by the Daqian court and then loaned to the landless people at a fair price. This was another decree that offended all the nobles.
There are countless hidden fields in this world, and most of the fields owned by nobles and officials do not need to pay taxes.
Zong Shou's great policy deprived these people of countless benefits. Fortunately, only a few people knew about these two great policies, and they were all Zong Shou's true confidants.
Otherwise, there will definitely be an uproar after word spreads.
Zong Shou's intention seemed to be to implement this strategy after the Great Commercial War.
Ren Bo was both uneasy and frightened.
Judging from the intentions of this monarch, it is clear that he is preparing to start liquidation after repelling the great merchants and cut into pieces the powerful people in the country.
"Prime Minister, there is no need to worry. From what I see, the implementation of this policy will be easier than we imagined. Now that the spiritual tide is rising in the world, it is a time for warriors to flourish. All you need is to get a fourth-grade spiritual stone beast crystal. I can keep myself warm and worry-free. My great work has also made me rich in business, which is far better than farming. To be honest with the Prime Minister, my family originally planned to sell some acres of land."
Xu Shu is the right council envoy, so he is naturally an indispensable support for Zong Shou in implementing several major policies, and he also knows the inside story.
"This is good governance. If the officials and gentry can all pay taxes together, it will be a great good thing for our government. Since we have paid the grain, we should have subsidies. In fact, we have not lost anything."
Ren Bo was startled, but smiled bitterly: "Of course it is a good thing, even if the resistance is a little greater. Ren Bo will definitely try his best, but I am old and can't understand you anymore."
"Your Majesty, it is true that he is intolerant of details and miscellaneous affairs. However, from what I have observed, the methods your Majesty has taken clearly seem to be rebuilding the house. Changing the beams and pillars, and reconstructing the political system."
Xu Shu chuckled lightly, his eyes shining brightly: "I don't know what others think, but in my eyes, your Majesty is a well-deserved sage! He is more than a thousand times stronger than the great Shang Yin Yu!"