As soon as Zhu Youjian finished speaking, all the ministers present fell silent.
They could all imagine that if the emperor's decree were truly implemented, the Jurchens would surely slaughter mountains of corpses and seas of blood whenever the Ming Dynasty went to war with foreign powers.
There's even a high probability they'll kill innocent people to claim credit.
If it had been one of the previous emperors, there would definitely have been some short-sighted civil officials who jumped out to oppose it.
But when facing Zhu Youjian...
They thought about the fate of the Donglin Party and fell silent.
After a moment, it was Bi Ziyan who spoke.
"Your Majesty, let's set aside the matter of the Jurchens for now."
"After pacifying Liaodong, should Liaodong be returned to Qilu, or should a new Provincial Administration Commission be established?"
After conquering the Central Plains, the Mongols did something unprecedented: they sent the imperial court's Three Departments and Six Ministries to the local areas, calling them provinces.
In name, provinces were used to replace the original prefectures and counties, in order to strengthen the imperial court's control over local areas.
But the end result was that local power expanded to an unprecedented level.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't simply revert to the Song Dynasty's system, so he created a hybrid system called the Provincial Administration Commission.
They even avoided using the word "province" from the Yuan Dynasty.
However, after more than two hundred years, by the time of Zhu Youjian, no one cared about these details anymore.
If it weren't in front of the emperor, no one would even use this long and tedious name; they would simply refer to it as "Province X".
In fact, a few days ago, Bi Ziyan had already submitted a memorial to Zhu Youjian to discuss this matter.
This refers to the memorial that Zhu Youjian just read.
However, Zhu Youjian pulled a trick of keeping the document in the dark.
Bi Ziyan had no choice but to ask again in person.
Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said, "I already have a plan for this matter."
"Liaodong is a vast region, and I intend to relocate the grain transport workers to the area outside the Great Wall to increase the population. Therefore, restoring the Liaodong Regional Military Commission is really somewhat inappropriate."
"We should establish a new Provincial Administration Commission."
Bi Ziyan frowned slightly, seemingly not very supportive.
Seeing this, Zhu Youjian offered a few more explanations.
"Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Liaodong has been dominated by forces such as Goguryeo, Balhae, Jin, and Jurchen. It is clear that although Liaodong is not yet a stronghold of the emperor, it can no longer be underestimated."
At this moment, Zhu Youjian added to his mind: "If history were to follow its course, then the area outside the Great Wall would also be regarded as the birthplace of the Jurchens!"
He continued:
"If we don't firmly control Liaodong, then the situation there will inevitably change again in 30 to 50 years."
"In that case, we might as well strike in advance and nip these dangers in the bud."
Bi Ziyan sighed and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right, but the Liaodong Regional Military Commission already has twenty-seven prefectures. If the Regional Military Commission is to be abolished and Liaodong Province is to be established, then there will be at least twenty-seven counties."
"Liaodong has been ravaged by war for a long time and is already very damaged. The Ministry of Revenue should come up with additional funds."
"If we were to support so many officials in various prefectures and counties out of thin air..."
In the end, Bi Ziyan still brought up the topic of money.
Relocating the population to Liaodong is a one-off deal, and the cost is fixed.
However, maintaining a loss-making Provincial Administration Commission is a bottomless pit.
Zhu Youjian burst into laughter.
"Minister Bi is mistaken."
"Liaodong is a fertile land; how could it not support a Provincial Administration Commission?"
"Whether it's medicinal herbs or furs from Liaodong, they can all provide tax revenue for the imperial court."
"I have decided to establish a special office in Liaodong to purchase local specialties and then sell them inside the Great Wall."
"The profits in between are all handed over to the Ministry of Revenue."
Bi Ziyan's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this.
"In that case, Your Majesty agrees!"
The other ministers exchanged glances, but instead of refuting them, they were all tempted.
How many official positions will be created by establishing a new province in Liaodong?
How many younger generations and students can be trained in this way?
To voice opposition at this point would be to cut off someone's path to officialdom.
Although they were all high-ranking officials in the imperial court, they did not want to be the villains.
Zhu Youjian scanned the assembled officials, taking in their expressions.
They immediately understood what was on their minds.
He smiled and said, "Since none of you ministers object, then this matter is settled."
"As for the Jurchens who have submitted to my Great Ming, I think we should retain their Eight Banners system."
"The only thing to do is to place the imperial court's military supervisors and generals in them, and the so-called Eight Banners should also be changed."
These civil officials didn't care about such details.
"It is entirely up to Your Majesty's decision."
But then, someone suddenly remembered something.
"Your Majesty, you just said you wanted to wage war against the Mongols and the Japanese pirates... What does that mean?"
As for fighting the Mongols, this matter was politically correct for the Ming Dynasty.
It's simply because we couldn't win in the past, which is why nobody mentions it.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has seemingly rallied again and has so many troops, the ministers have little objection to its campaign against the Mongols.
But fighting the Jurchens...
An official from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, Emperor Taizu Gaozu, in his Imperial Ancestral Instructions, designated fifteen countries as non-conquerable, and Japan was among them."
"Besides, Japan has always been submissive and has not been an enemy of our Great Ming recently, so why should we attack them?"
A vice minister of the Ministry of War also hurriedly cupped his hands and said:
"I second that proposal."
“Japan is separated from our Great Ming Dynasty by a vast ocean. The former Yuan Dynasty once launched two campaigns against Japan, but ended up losing troops and wasting national strength.”
"Your Majesty, you must not repeat the same mistake."
Zhu Youjian was not at all surprised by their reaction.
However, he did not directly refute it.
He's the emperor now; he doesn't need to personally take to the battlefield.
Zhu Youjian said calmly, "This is a major matter, and I will naturally not make a decision lightly."
"Let's wait until the generals and ministers of Liaodong return before we discuss this together."
Upon hearing this, the courtiers guessed what the emperor was thinking.
Although Yuan Chonghuan was a civil official, he had been leading troops in the field for many years, so he was already considered half a military general.
Especially after he made great contributions in Goryeo, he might even be granted a noble title.
Then he'll be considered half a nobleman from now on.
Yuan Chonghuan's stance would definitely change, and he would begin to support foreign wars.
As for Li Ruolian and Qin Liangyu, they were deeply indebted to Zhu Youjian.
They would attack wherever the emperor pointed, without hesitation.
"It seems the emperor still wants to fight Japan."
"There's no rush. We can just challenge Yuan Chonghuan when the time comes."
"It's not easy to accomplish something, but it's not difficult to ruin something."
After leaving the imperial study, the ministers gathered together and began to whisper among themselves.
At that moment, a commotion arose in the distance.
It turned out that after Zhu Youjian had met with these ministers, he finally summoned the ministers outside the palace to come in.
After this period of time, the officials outside the palace gradually figured out what had happened in Shengjing.
They entered the palace with beaming faces and great joy.
Before even meeting Zhu Youjian, he was already laughing nonstop.
The palace eunuchs and guards, however, did not speak up to stop them.
The victory in Liaodong led to some minor lapses in decorum among the officials in the palace, but this was hardly a crime.
Even if Zhu Youjian saw it, he wouldn't be angry at all.
So they won't say anything.
But the high-ranking officials fell silent upon witnessing this scene.
A moment later, Bi Ziyan suddenly spoke up again: "Gentlemen, tell me, do those ministers also oppose the emperor's continued expansion abroad?"
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