After receiving the results of Sichuan's anti-terrorism battle, Shang Yi was also very pleased. It seemed that the original decision to establish such a special force in each military region was right. In previous battles, the special forces have played a great role. function, and after the country is unified in the future, such an elite force will be established.
Now Shang Yi is basically relieved about the war in Sichuan, because the city of Chengdu is not a concern. The Chinese army has enough experience in siege. It is easy to conquer a city like Chengdu, and the biggest threat to the Chinese army is , it was Wu Sangui who released these ancient terrorists, so after the terrorists were suppressed, it was only a matter of time before Chengdu was captured.
At this time, October 18th was approaching day by day, and Shang Yi would finally officially proclaim himself emperor, ascend the throne and found the country.
Although Shang Yi asked the cabinet to keep the ceremony of proclaiming the emperor as simple as possible, the proclaiming of the emperor is a major event after all, and it should not be too shabby. At the same time, it must also show the strength and magnanimity of a large country. The necessary luxury should also be included. In addition, There are rewards for ministers, troops, concubines in the harem, and envoys from various countries, and they cannot be too shabby.
Of course, this is also because the biggest advantage of the Nanjing government compared with the Ming Dynasty is that finance has always been in a relatively loose state. Although the Central Plains War occurred last year, the final national finance was still able to maintain a balance of payments, and this year The scale of the war is relatively large, and coupled with the expanded territory, it is expected to achieve a certain surplus.
Because unlike previous dynasties in China, the financial revenue of the Nanjing government is indeed mainly based on commercial taxes and handicraft taxes. The war is not carried out locally, and the impact on commerce and handicrafts is not great. On the contrary, the war has brought The large number of orders further stimulated the development of commerce and handicraft industry.
There is a typical example that illustrates everything. In the past two years, the order volume of steam engines has increased rapidly. In the two years after the steam engines came out, the orders for each year did not exceed fifty. This was still the case with Shang Yi. The result of forced promotion in factories controlled by some government departments, but last year the order quantity of steam engines reached 113, and so far this year, the order quantity of steam engines has exceeded 120. On the one hand, it shows that the application of steam engines is also being recognized by more and more people. On the other hand, it shows that the scale of many factories is further expanding. Only relying on manpower is not enough to meet the needs of production. It is necessary to start to use further machinery and equipment. .
Moreover, after the recovery of the South, Fujian and Guangdong are both traditional commercial distribution areas, and Sichuan is a famous land of abundance. There is still room for fiscal growth. Therefore, the Nanjing government does have enough financial resources to hold a summit. After all, the proclaiming of emperor ceremony and the founding of a country are events that only happen once in hundreds of years. Ministers also hope to make it a more grand event if conditions permit.
Shang Yi saw that the officials in the cabinet were all in great spirits, so he didn't want to dampen their spirits. He thought that this would only happen once in his life, so as long as it was not too outrageous, he would just let them do what they did, but there was one thing that was absolutely not allowed. That is, they are not allowed to misappropriate the money, food and materials prepared for the frontline war.
But whatever they were afraid of, they got what they wanted. Two officials from the Ministry of Finance misappropriated the military pay from the front line and planned to use it to repair the Nanjing Imperial Palace. They said euphemistically: Things have priorities. Soldiers' military pay is nothing. It will be paid a few months later. It's not too late, but we must not delay the king's proclaimed emperor ceremony. We can't let the king live in a ruined palace after proclaiming himself emperor.
After Shang Yi learned about this incident, he became furious and immediately ordered that all relevant officials be punished according to the system. Two officials in charge were dismissed, and the others were demoted or given demerits. Shang Yi also ordered the cabinet and officials to be punished according to the system. The officials of the Ministry of Finance severely reprimanded Shang Yi, and it was only when Wang Fuzhi and others repeatedly assured Shang Yi that similar things would never happen again that Shang Yi was relieved.
Then Wang Fuzhi asked Shang Yi what to do about repairing the palace. Shang Yi waved his hand and told Wang Fuzhi that there was no need to repair it. It was good to live like this now and wait until the world is peaceful in the future.
At this time, Shang Yi and all his wives and concubines had already moved into the palace. Everyone had chosen the palace they wanted. Naturally, Shang Yi lived in the Qianqing Palace, and Ye Yaoyu naturally lived in the palace. For the Queen's Kunning Palace, among others, Lin Fengwu chose the Longevity Palace, sisters Zhu Yurao and Zhu Yujie still wanted to live together, and chose the Kunyu Palace, and Alexandra chose the Xianfu Palace; Zhuan Shiji and Chen Yuanyuan They all chose Jingren Palace and Yonghe Palace respectively.
In fact, most of the buildings in the Nanjing Imperial Palace are basically well-preserved. However, Shang Yi's harem does not have a large number of people and the children are all underage. Therefore, the space is completely sufficient and there is no need to repair it immediately.
However, although Shang Yi only planned to proclaim himself emperor this time and did not want to make major changes to the system and system, after all, he officially proclaimed himself emperor, but there were still many things that could not be avoided and must be formulated immediately.
The first real problem encountered was that after Shang Yi and the concubines moved into the palace, there were not enough manpower in the palace, whether it was eunuchs or maids.
Although it is passed down from later generations that the number of eunuchs in the Beijing Imperial Palace in the Ming Dynasty reached 100,000, this number is obviously exaggerated, because no matter how large the Beijing Imperial Palace is, it will be overcrowded if it can accommodate 100,000 eunuchs. However, this also shows that the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were What a huge number. By the time the Qing Dynasty learned the lessons of the Ming Dynasty’s eunuch monopoly, they not only banned the power of eunuchs, but also limited the number of eunuchs. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the number of eunuchs had always remained at three thousand. about.
The Nanjing Palace is about the same size as the Beijing Palace, but now there are only 157 eunuchs and 42 maids. If it is to maintain the palace and clean it, it will be fine, but after Shang Yi and others officially move in. , such a small manpower is definitely not enough.
Therefore, on the first day when Shang Yi moved into the palace, the eunuchs who originally stayed in the palace were also in the Chongzhen and Hongguang dynasties. Wang Dehua, who had served as the eunuch in charge of rituals and seals, and Han Zanzhou, the former Nanjing garrison eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, came to Shang together. Yi suggested that the number of eunuchs in the palace should be expanded, and maidens should be recruited to serve as court ladies to supplement the needs of the palace.
In fact, after Shang Yi decided to proclaim himself emperor, the eunuchs in the palace were really happy, because most of these eunuchs were left over from the Hongguang era. Although the power of the eunuchs had been greatly weakened in the Hongguang era, after all, in recent times The remaining prestige accumulated over three hundred years is still there, so the ministers still respect the eunuchs and dare not offend them easily. However, after being occupied by the Qing army and the Chinese army regaining Nanjing, the imperial palace was sealed, and the Shang Dynasty After Yi became king, he did not live in the palace, let alone use eunuchs. The eunuchs became cleaners in the palace and had no power. This also made these eunuchs a little uncomfortable. Not that they all wanted to Autocratic power, and after falling from the peak of power, most people will feel a sense of loss.
Both Wang Dehua and Han Zanzhou had been eunuchs for decades, and they also knew that the power of eunuchs was actually dependent on the imperial power. Without the emperor, eunuchs would be nothing. Therefore, they both knew very well that they could only wait and wait. After Shang Yi officially proclaimed himself emperor, the eunuchs had a chance to rise again. Once Shang Yi proclaimed himself emperor and moved into the palace, he would inevitably use eunuchs, and his group would become the closest servants to Shang Yi. Naturally, the rising tide will lift all boats, and the power of the past will be returned to the hands, and now the opportunity is finally waiting for it.
At the same time, the two also formulated a temporary eunuch official hierarchy, responsibility and rights management system based on the eunuch system of the Ming Dynasty.
The eunuch system of the Ming Dynasty reached its peak in ancient China. It has formed a very complete set of hierarchies, responsibilities, and management systems. On the one hand, it can serve as the emperor's right-hand man, monitor, and restrain ministers. On the other hand, it will not cause any harm to the imperial power. Threats can be freely controlled, so in the Ming Dynasty, no matter how powerful the eunuch was, even Wei Zhongxian, who was said to be nine thousand years old, was almost vulnerable in front of the imperial power. As long as the emperor said a word, no matter how powerful the eunuch was, his power would be evaporated. The ashes are scattered, no matter how later generations comment on the eunuchs of the Shu Dynasty who were dictatorial and harmed the country, in terms of system, the eunuch system of the Ming Dynasty was indeed quite perfect.
The eunuch system of the Ming Dynasty was divided into two parts: the central and local parts. In the central part, that is, in the palace, there were twenty-four departments to manage various large and small affairs in the palace. In addition, they were in charge of the East and West factories and the Jinyiwei. System, and there are local garrison eunuchs and left-behind garrison eunuchs in important places. At the same time, the weaving bureaus of Nanjing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, the shipping departments of Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang provinces, and national warehouses in various places, and even minerals are also under Eunuch in charge.
Of course, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, many people also reflected on the system of the Ming Dynasty, believing that eunuchs had too much power and interfering in government affairs was a key reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Hongguang court, including several subsequent Southern Ming courts, , the power of the eunuchs was greatly weakened, and they were basically unable to interfere in government affairs. Moreover, after Shang Yi became king, he did not use eunuchs. This also shows that Shang Yi's attitude towards eunuchs was still very cautious.
Wang Dehua and Han Zanzhou were both fine people. They did not dare to express too much when they did not understand Shang Yi's overall attitude towards eunuchs. Therefore, the eunuch system they formulated was only limited to meeting the needs of personnel in the palace and dealing with responsibilities. There is no mention of factory guards, guard eunuchs in other places, or left-behind eunuchs. At the same time, the twenty-four departments of the Ming Dynasty were simplified into sixteen departments, and the number of eunuchs was also limited to one thousand. , and even made major suggestions, calling for a system that stipulates that eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in government affairs.