Golden sunlight shone on Qian Dafu’s astonished face.
Xiao Ming’s proposal shocked him. He said cautiously, “I, your old servant, can only chat casually with Your Majesty. I dare not comnt on such an important matter.”
With a light chuckle, he looked at Qian Dafu and said, “You needn’t be nervous. You’ll understand once I explain.”
rchants’ status in the Great Yu Empire had been suppressed for over a thousand years. Now, with their sudden liberation, there was bound to be a great explosion. This explosion was not only in the developnt of industry and comrce but also in the rchants’ mindset.
Because they had amassed a great deal of wealth, they felt they should have so say in state affairs. Of course, a very small number of ambitious rchants hoped to be like those in the West.
“Now, influenced by the Prince of Chu, rchants have many ideas in their hearts. Precisely because of this, Cao Zhengyang is thriving in Qingzhou Province, as rchants consider him a business leader and complain about the imperial court strictly limiting their comrcial activities.”
Xiao Ming had been observing the developnt of Qingzhou Province, so he was very aware of the current situation in Qingzhou Province.
After a mont of thought, he continued, “Therefore, I have decided to give them such an opportunity: to hold an annual court assembly composed of rchant representatives, artisan representatives, student representatives, etc., allowing them to offer suggestions on the Great Yu Empire’s governance. At the sa ti, a new institution will be added to the provincial office, nad the Political Consultation Council. rchants, students, and artisans who join the Political Consultation Council will be responsible for selecting candidates to attend the court assembly. How about it?”
In fact, the system Xiao Ming envisioned was basically sowhat similar to the Great Yu Empire’s previous “yuanwailang” (supernurary officials), except that yuanwailang had no right to participate in governnt affairs. Now, Xiao Ming was giving them a formal institution and officially recognized status.
Most importantly, they could express their dissatisfaction with governnt affairs or offer suggestions beneficial to the Great Yu Empire’s developnt directly in front of the Emperor.
The reason Xiao Ming thought of this was also due to inspiration from modern tis. Since rchants needed the right to participate in governnt, he would give them an institution that seed very important, but whose actual importance depended on his attitude.
At the annual rchants’ court assembly, he could adopt rchants’ more favorable suggestions. This way, rchants would feel valued and would have no other excuse to demand deeper involvent in governnt affairs.
After all, this court assembly was basically no different from the officials’ court assembly.
After hearing all this, Qian Dafu revealed a wry smile. So this was what the rchants’ court assembly ant. He said, “Your Majesty is wise. Since rchants like this, then let them try it.”
Xiao Ming nodded, “To avoid unnecessary turmoil, I think it’s necessary to reveal a little information about the Political Consultation Council in the newspaper.”
With that, he sat down and drafted a manuscript, which he sent to the newspaper office.
The next day, the Qingzhou Daily roared with the headline: “A Great Transformation in rchants’ Status After a Thousand Years: A Few Things About the Political Consultation Council.”
As soon as this newspaper was published, the originally calm Qingzhou City beca lively again.
“Anyone willing to join the Political Consultation Council can annually elect rchant representatives to attend the court assembly held on November 6th of each year. At that ti, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire will discuss state affairs with the Grand Secretaries and adopt beneficial advice.”
In the Wei Family Restaurant, Ding Wu read the content of the newspaper, his expression excited. After finishing the newspaper, he slamd the table hard. “Did you see that? Did you see that? This was personally written by His Majesty!”
Those who could afford breakfast at the Wei Family Restaurant were basically the influential rchants of Qingzhou Province. They had once greatly envied rchants in the State of Chu who could participate in governnt affairs, but now, this happiness ca too suddenly.
“This Cao Zhengyang boasts all day about how well the Cao family is doing in the State of Chu. Now, with this, they have nothing to say!”
“Ding Wu, if this Political Consultation Council is established, we will elect you as its head! Then we’ll see how long Cao Zhengyang can remain arrogant!” Others chid in.
Ding Wu heard this and stood up to express his thanks. “Thank you all for your kind regard. If I can have the honor of seeing His Majesty at the court assembly, I will surely report all your suggestions to His Majesty.”
“Good!” The rchants laughed loudly.
Cao Zhengyang sat not far from Ding Wu. The rchants’ blatant provocation made his face flush crimson. Now, the rchants completely disregarded him.
However, despite his anger, he felt more regret. This ti, he seed to have gone too far.
Ever since he settled in Qingzhou Province, things had been too smooth for him here. With the increasing freedom of Qingzhou Province rchants, he had not felt the ubiquitous majesty of the imperial court for a long ti.
Moreover, due to the Cao family’s extensive investnts in Qingzhou Province, officials and common people alike held him in great respect, which subtly made him a bit arrogant.
Most importantly, he believed that the Prince of Chu and the imperial court were one and would remain peaceful, just as they had for centuries.
But five days ago, an order from the Cao family completely made him see reality. The Prince of Chu and the Emperor did not seem to be so harmonious.
So, seeing the content of the newspaper, he felt a mix of emotions. He wondered what his father would think when he saw this newspaper.
But a drawn bow has no turning back. Since the Cao family had taken this step, there was no turning back. The silver had already been transported out of Qingzhou Province. Once the imperial court learned of it, the Cao Family Bank would be dood forever.
At the sa ti, he had already made preparations. After breakfast, he would, under the guise of engaging in comrce, travel from Qingzhou Province to Dengzhou, and then he would board a British rchant ship to Lin’an.
After hastily finishing his al, Cao Zhengyang left the Wei Family Restaurant without refuting those around him. At this, the restaurant manager glanced at Cao Zhengyang, then exchanged a look with the waiter.
The waiter understood and turned to walk towards the East Market. He was going to report Cao Zhengyang’s whereabouts to them.
While Qingzhou Province was in a state of fervor, news about the Political Consultation Council quickly spread to the workshops outside Qingzhou City. rchants like Zhu Wuliu, who had started from scratch, all cheered excitedly, eagerly anticipating the imperial court’s formal promulgation of the law regarding the Political Consultation Council.
While the rchants were excited, Xiao Ming was already discussing this issue with the Grand Secretariat. The Political Consultation Council had no rights stipulated by the Great Yu Empire’s laws. In other words, this Political Consultation Council existed as an institution for the imperial court to broadly solicit opinions.
Besides rchants, people from other industries of the Great Yu Empire would also participate. They would represent various strata of the Great Yu Empire and voice their opinions.
So, for Xiao Ming, this institution still had so benefits. It could give him a more direct understanding of the Great Yu Empire’s developnt.
At the sa ti, it could also make officials restrain their grasping hands. After all, the Political Consultation Council could also serve as an eye to monitor officials’ behavior.
“To pool wisdom and broaden channels for expression, this is what a wise ruler does. We, your humble servants, are willing to assist His Majesty in establishing this Political Consultation Council.”
Having understood the essence of the Political Consultation Council, Pang Yukun and Fei Ji both agreed.
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at /c/caleredhair
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