The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 43 Emperor Taiping

September 9, Guangshui Mansion, Luotian County (now George Town, Queensland, Australia)

Many foreigners who visit Hanzhou for the first time, or "dream chasers" who immigrate to China, are all shocked by the prosperity and prosperity of the country, the bustling cities, the numerous factories, the well-planned layout, and the generous work benefits. , as well as extensive farmland and pasture.In the eyes of everyone, Qi is a chosen country, an ideal country, and a prosperous country.

However, if a thoughtful person goes deep into the hinterland of Hanzhou, he will be shocked to find that there are endless deserts, large saline-alkali flats, and dry rivers that are dry most of the time. Except for railway lines and near major highways, there are only a few Outside several villages, towns and pastures, there are empty and traceless no-man's lands everywhere.

Although the northern and eastern coastal areas of Hanzhou have endless virgin forests and rich forestry resources.However, as early as 60 years ago, the government issued strict logging bans prohibiting the arbitrary felling of trees.Because, in Hanzhou, the low soil productivity caused trees and grass to grow very slowly.Once forests and pastures are destroyed, it will take a long time to recover.

In most areas of Hanzhou, especially in the west and inland, rainfall is very scarce and desertification is severe. Without irrigation, it is impossible to develop any agriculture.

In areas where food and other crops are produced, rainfall is generally heavier the closer to the coast.Therefore, when visitors head inland, the first thing they see is farmland full of crops, and nearly half of Hanzhou’s cattle are also here, with a very high carrying capacity.Going deeper into the interior, you can see countless pastures and sheep pens; walking further in, you will see cattle farms - the other half of Hanzhou's cattle are here, but the livestock capacity here is very low.Because rainfall is relatively low, raising cattle is more economical than raising sheep.Finally, deep in the hinterland is a desert where no food of any kind can be grown.

On the Hanzhou continent, the average rainfall is not only low, but also unpredictable.You know, in many parts of the world, regular rainy seasons every year can effectively help agricultural development.For example, in the Qin Jiangnan region on the mainland, there is generally more rainfall during the plum rain season from May to October every year, and less rainfall at other times.

In many places with high agricultural productivity, there is not only a rainy season, but it occurs at about the same time every year, and severe droughts are rare.Farmers plow and sow seeds according to seasonal patterns every year, and crops grow and mature under the irrigation of rainwater.

The rainfall in most areas of Hanzhou is impossible to predict. The rainfall in ten years is unpredictable, and the changes are even greater every ten years. This has caused serious troubles to the agricultural development of Hanzhou.

The only area with stable precipitation is Kunzhou Province located in the southwest of Hanzhou - a province named after the southwest is called "Kun" as noted in "Guoyu·Zhouyuxia".The area receives abundant, average and regular rainfall every year, and there is a bumper wheat harvest almost every year.In recent decades, it has become the largest grain-producing area after the Kaihua Governorate (today's Java Island).

In order to solve the problem of water shortage, Qi State can only continue to build farmland water conservancy facilities. So far, more than 280 reservoirs have been built in various parts of Hanzhou, as well as countless weirs and water storage dams, all over the country. In large and small towns, villages and ranches across the country.

In order to solve the problem of poor land and low fertility, Qi State spared no effort to transport large quantities of potassium phosphate ore from many guano islands in the South Pacific to improve soil fertility and effectively support local agriculture. scale of development.

Just as spring is coming when various crops are about to start sowing, Qi Shiwei, the Taiping Emperor of the Qi Dynasty, accompanied by many officials including Prime Minister Zheng Zhenhuan, is inspecting Luotian County, which is suffering from severe drought.

Since February this year, Guangshui Prefecture has suffered from a severe drought, with no rain falling for several months. The Guangshui River (now the Barang River in Australia) flowing through Luotian County also experienced a dry flow in April.

Although the nearby reservoirs and numerous weirs and ponds were used to barely survive the autumn harvest in May, the output was less than [-]% of previous years, and farmers' income dropped sharply.

"How does your cabinet plan to rescue and support the many farmers in the disaster-stricken counties?" Emperor Taiping stood on a high hill and looked at the countless farmers in the fields carrying buckets, irrigating and replenishing the moisture of the crops they had just loaded. , couldn't help but sigh slightly, and asked softly.

"Your Majesty, the Cabinet has ordered the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to allocate 40 yuan to Guangshui Prefecture." Prime Minister Zheng Zhenhuan bowed slightly and replied: "Except for part of this amount, it will be used to drill more than [-] wells to protect against disasters. In addition to the daily water needs of the people in the area, the remaining funds will be distributed to every farmer's family in the form of various daily necessities. Of course, the government's agricultural tax this year will also be fully exempted to alleviate the economic hardship of the disaster-stricken people. burden."

"Can your cabinet and government ensure that every disaster relief fund and material can be used in full on the victims?"

"...Your Majesty." Zheng Zhenhuan's expression suddenly changed after hearing this, and he looked at Emperor Taiping with embarrassment, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. If any dereliction of duty or corruption occurs during the disaster relief process, the cabinet will not tolerate it. Give him the most severe punishment!"

By the way, last year, floods broke out in Yingzhou Prefecture, Handong Province (now Newcastle, Australia), and the government allocated 60 yuan for disaster relief.Unexpectedly, dozens of local officials colluded and embezzled [-]% of the disaster relief funds.After the incident was revealed, it shocked the entire province, and hundreds of thousands of affected people in Yingzhou Prefecture became angry.

Although the Supervisory Yuan and Dali Temple quickly arrested and put on trial all corrupt officials and clerks, and the governor of Handong Province also took the blame and resigned, this incident was widely publicized by domestic newspapers and publications, attracting the attention of the general public. People have extremely negative views on the conduct of officials.

This looks too ugly!
On weekdays, you local officials protect those black-hearted factory owners and greedy business owners in every possible way, and receive countless political donations and benefits. Unexpectedly, you even corrupt relief funds from disaster-stricken people.

Where has the integrity of our officials gone?
Do you still want to lose face? "Your Majesty, our Oversight Council will also supervise the entire distribution of funds and materials during the disaster relief process. Corrupt officials will not be allowed to interfere and corrupt official discipline." Wang Fangyi, deputy chief judge of the Imperial Oversight Council, bowed and said.

"Yes." Emperor Taiping nodded and sighed, "The tens of millions of people in the country are busy all day long, and all they want is food and a comfortable life. If officials are corrupt and their governance is corrupt, causing public resentment to boil, you will think that Can he sit in his position? Our country of Qi has been developing at a rapid pace for decades, and has been ruled by Taizu and Taizong for decades. Only then can we achieve today's remarkable achievements and prosper the country. However, the trend of glitz in the country is gradually becoming more and more popular, with pleasure, luxury and comparison. It was a success. Under this situation, many officials would inevitably be infected and follow suit. If things go on like this, it is not impossible for the defeat of the late Ming Dynasty to happen in our country of Qi!"

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed!" After hearing Emperor Taiping's shocking words, Zheng Zhenhuan and other officials present immediately bowed and confessed.

Your Majesty is expressing extreme dissatisfaction with the cabinet and the entire officialdom!

In Qi State, the cabinet government has a fixed term starting from the fifth year of the reign of Han Dynasty. Each term is five years. If the emperor is satisfied with the administration of the cabinet, he can be re-elected, but he can only serve for a maximum of three terms.If there is a mistake in the administration of the cabinet, or if there is any big trouble, His Majesty the Emperor can issue an emergency decree to dissolve or order the cabinet to resign, and then appoint an interim prime minister to form an interim cabinet government.

After the term of the provisional cabinet ends, it will be composed of the Imperial Council (legislative body) and the Senate (which was transformed from the earliest Dengzhou Senate). It is currently mainly composed of members of the royal family, retired high-level government members, retired military generals, and social celebrities. Composed of people) to recommend a suitable candidate for the next Prime Minister, and finally His Majesty the Emperor will issue a decree to formally appoint him.

Of course, if the cabinet government is dissatisfied with certain policies or orders of His Majesty the Emperor, it can threaten to resign and leave the government directly to the Emperor to force the Emperor to make concessions.

However, if such a choice is made, it will undoubtedly be a serious challenge to the imperial power and a considerable blow to the emperor's personal prestige.As long as the emperor is not forced into an intolerable situation, the general cabinet government will not make such an extreme decision.

In the more than 80 years since the founding of the Qi State, there has never been any pressure between the monarch and his ministers.Even if the emperor is dissatisfied with the administration of the cabinet, he will only give a hint and will not directly dissolve the cabinet, let alone directly force the prime minister to resign. Instead, he will hold his nose and wait for the end of the term of this government.

Although the cabinet government may be criticized by His Majesty the Emperor when it is in power, or may resolutely oppose a certain decision and fail, there is no precedent for directly giving up the choice.Under normal circumstances, the cabinet will choose to shelve the dispute or respond passively, delaying an "irrational" decision by the emperor.

For example, in the 14th year of Taiping (1716), a Ryukyu trading company's ship was hit by a storm near Fengshan County in Yizhou (now Kaohsiung) and ran aground on the coast.A group of Dongfan people (now the Gaoshan people) who were fishing nearby took the opportunity to rob the cane sugar, rice, and some hardware tools on the ship, and clashed with the sailors on the ship, resulting in the death of six Qi people. This was the Fengshan Massacre.

Afterwards, four warships of the Navy's Ryukyu Fleet arrived in Yizhou and asked local Qin officials to give an explanation, which briefly triggered a maritime confrontation between Qin and Qi.

In order to show toughness to his cousin, the emperor of Qin, Emperor Taiping once wanted to follow the navy's operational advice and dispatch a large number of warships and marine troops to seize Yizhou, blockade Qin's coast, and force Qin to make drastic changes in trade. concession.

The cabinet government expressed firm opposition to this. Not to mention that Qin and Qi have signed a century-old alliance and are each other's strategic partners. Qin has a population of hundreds of millions and hundreds of thousands of soldiers. It is one of the few countries today. A land power cannot easily be forced into peace by a limited and short war.

Not to mention, the annual trade volume between Qin and Qi is hundreds of millions of yuan, the trade is closely linked, and both sides are Chinese civilizations, sharing the same origin, and their emotions and cultures are intertwined. This is going to be a big battle. Ten years of mutual help and friendship were all gone.

Fortunately, Emperor Taiping, after careful consideration despite the cabinet's delay, finally rejected the navy's suggestion and asked the Qin Yizhou local government to apologize to the victims for the Fengshan incident, thus peacefully ending the crisis.

"Grandpa Emperor, the Qin delegation has arrived in Chang'an for more than half a month, and no results have been reached with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yet." In a large and luxurious royal carriage, the emperor's grandson Qi Zexuan, sitting opposite, peeled a pear. , removed the core, and then handed it to Emperor Taiping respectfully, "What kind of regulations do we have regarding this?"

"Did that prince from Beiming find you?" Emperor Taiping took the pears and looked at Qi Zexuan with a smile, "You came to me to inquire about the negotiations between the Qin delegation and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Could it be that you were receiving someone's favor? Bar?"

"Grandpa Huang is a god!" Qi Zexuan said with a smile: "Zhu Boyin came to find me and also gave me some top-quality ginseng. Considering that Grandpa Huang and Grandma Huang needed to replenish their bodies, I took them all. ."

"Haha..." Emperor Taiping smiled, shook his head slightly, and said: "In the past, Emperor Taizu supported the establishment of Jianshuo in the Northern Ming Dynasty. In addition to finding a way out for the Zhu family, he also wanted to create a better future for the Zhu family. More Chinese people will expand their living space. As for their always thinking of returning to the Central Plains and restoring the Ming Dynasty, it should no longer be considered by our country of Qi. ... It has been noisy for so long, and it is almost time to stop."

(End of this chapter)