I

Jinshen Palace.

March 3rd is a holiday for the imperial court and the emperor has no office today.

Li Xiangjun was studying ink, and Zhao Han unfolded the paper himself and pressed a paperweight on it.

"Your Majesty, the ink is ready." Li Xiangjun handed over the brush.

Zhao Han picked up his pen and wrote down a line of words: Datong China’s Imperial Constitution.

The content of the "Laws of Datong" should be compiled with reference to the Constitution, but Zhao Han asked the Ministry of Punishment to compile the "Laws of Datong" first. This is because Zhao Han himself is not sure about some things in the constitution, and they will be revised in the future based on the implementation process of the "Law of Datong".

There are many types of constitutional monarchs, just like colonial styles.

The overseas colonization of Spain and Portugal was completely a bandit-style plunder. Not only did they oppress the natives and black slaves, but also exploited their own immigrants. The Portuguese royal family even forced Portuguese immigrants to leave their mother country in large numbers and choose to convert to Hinduism.

Britain's overseas colonies continued its trouble-making style, the most obvious of which was in India. He first acted low and small to gain the trust of the Indian emperor, and then wooed and divided the feudal states, fished in troubled waters to make profits, and then tied the princes of the feudal states to the chariot of his own interests.

France's overseas colonization has a strong flavor of the continental empire. They will also move French language, culture and systems there.

If Zhao Han wanted to engage in colonization in the future, he would definitely do it in the French way.

Let’s talk about constitutional monarchy again. The German constitutional monarchy and the British constitutional monarchy, except for the same name, are completely two different things - the German emperor is the chairman of the parliament and has the power to convene, postpone and close the parliament, and to appoint the prime minister. , has the power to promulgate, supervise and execute laws, and has the power to appoint any officials. The emperor is the supreme leader of the army.

"Article 1: Heaven and earth are in harmony, all things thrive, and man is the spirit of all things, and he gathers people to form a country. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty was corrupt, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was cruel, and hypocrisy was rampant. As a result, all life was in ruins, and the Great Harmony China was born in accordance with the will of the people. Having won the hearts of the people, When the Dao of Heaven is followed, Datong is a country that inherits Heaven and responds to the people. This is Datong China!"

"Article 2: All people in the world of Jiuzhou are the people of China. The Han people are the people of China. The Tong, Hui, Mongolian, Dai, Yao... and other ethnic groups, if they live in the land of Jiuzhou, they are also the people of China. All ethnic groups are descendants of the Huangdi Miao, just like separated brothers and sisters. The Han people are the elder brothers, and all ethnic groups are brothers. The great unity of China is also the country of Huaxia. The great unity of China is also the great unity of all ethnic groups in China."

"Article 3: The country of China was born due to the destiny of China and is responsible for revitalizing China. The place where Chinese civilization spreads should be the land of Great Harmony China, and it is indispensable."

These three articles talk about the country, its citizens and its territory.

Li Xiangjun stood aside and watched, thoughtfully, understanding but not completely understanding. He always felt that these three articles were very meaningful.

"Article 4: Since Datong is a country that inherits heaven and serves the people, everyone is born equal. Although there are three, six or nine levels of positions, there is no distinction between superior and inferior. The people are also people, the officials are also people, and the emperor is also Human beings too.”

"Article 5: Although the emperor is a human being, he gathers the hearts of the people and becomes the emperor. He inherits the way of heaven and proclaims himself the emperor. He is a monarch inspired by heaven and man. He is responsible for preserving the great unity of China and the Chinese people. Therefore, he establishes a central government, appoints hundreds of officials, and appoints concubines. , so that the country is stable, the foundation is firm, and the country lasts. The emperor is the monarch of the country and the head of all officials, the army, and the people. The citizens must respect and love him."

"Article 6: If the people have talents, the emperor will select them as officials. Officials are not the parents of the people, but are actually the brothers of the people. Those who serve as officials should take improving the people's livelihood as their own responsibility, and promote benevolent government for the monarch to all people. Officials also The people should abide by the law. Anyone who violates the Law of Datong will be guilty of the same crime as the people who violate the law."

"Article 7: Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are all people, and monks, Taoists, doctors and divination are also people. There are different professions, and people are not high or low. People should serve the public and abide by the law, love the monarch, and respect officials."

These four articles, from the "Gate Theory" and "Sanyuan Pian", determine the status of the emperor, officials and the people.

"Article 8, the inner court is the emperor's institution..."

"Article 9, the outer court is also an institution of the state..."

The next two articles summarize the inner court and the outer court.

The inner court mainly consists of the emperor, harem, female officials, and bodyguards. It also has to formulate corresponding laws in accordance with the constitution.

The emperor is the king of a country, and family affairs are almost equal to state affairs. Everything in the inner court is carried out to stabilize the country. Including the selection of concubines, it was also for the purpose of stabilizing the country. Therefore, the emperor was different from the officials and people who were prohibited from taking concubines. The officials and people of the Ming Dynasty were also not allowed to take concubines, at least that was the law, except for some specific circumstances.

At the same time, Zhao Han also stipulated that the selection of concubines, female officials and maids should not disturb the people with great fanfare, and everything should be based on the principle of people's voluntariness.

The imperial guards are the emperor's personal guards, and the outer court cannot interfere, otherwise they will be punished as treason.

The outer court is led by the cabinet, and the constitution establishes the powers and responsibilities of the cabinet.

It even stipulates that the number of cabinet ministers must be an odd number, with a minimum of three and a maximum of nine. In case of disagreement, the chief assistant can make a decision, but this decision must be approved by the emperor.

To repair the Constitution and the Law of Datong, the emperor, the cabinet, the ten ministries, and the ten Cao Cao must all be present.

The Cabinet can propose changes and additions to laws based on the status quo. The emperor convened a court meeting, with more than 90% of officials of third rank and above attending, to discuss changes to the legal rules. Each person has one vote and can pass if the vote exceeds 70%. The emperor has the right to reject it!

Party struggle is a struggle between people, let alone the civil servant group or the businessman group. There are many officials with gentry and merchant backgrounds in the Ming Dynasty who stand on the opposite side of the Donglin Party.

As for voting resolutions, Zhao Han only stipulates that voting is allowed during legislation. It is difficult for the civil servant group to reach a consensus, and there is no need to form party disputes over a few laws. If the civil servants really reach a consensus and amend the law indiscriminately, then there are only two possibilities: first, there are powerful officials in the court; second, the collusion between officials and businessmen has corroded the central government.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the chief minister could not make the final decision and had to vote on even cabinet decisions. This would stimulate the emergence of party strife. This is purely because Zhang Juzheng left a shadow on the emperor and his ministers. His successors overcorrected and were afraid that powerful ministers would appear again. The cabinet was changed to a voting system and it was a mess.

Zhao Han, the chief minister of the cabinet under the provisions of the Constitution, has roughly the same power as the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties.

Local governments can also formulate local regulations, which must comply with the Constitution and the Law of Datong. After several local teams reach an agreement, it must be reported to the central government for approval.

In addition, there are provisions for the military.

The emperor is the supreme leader of the Datong Army, and the army cannot interfere in politics. However, after a military general retires as a commander, he can be transferred to the Ministry of War as a military attache, or even join the cabinet as a cabinet minister - he cannot be the first or second assistant.

The British constitutional monarchy is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Parliament is the country's highest legislative body and authority.

Germany's constitutional monarchy is a dualist constitutional monarchy. The monarch is the head of state and has real power. He can appoint cabinet officials and have veto power over parliamentary legislation.

Zhao Han established a constitution, somewhat similar to that of Germany, but without the existence of a parliament.

Because the dualist constitutional monarchy is the product of compromise between the emperor and the powerful class, and Zhao Han does not need to compromise at all. Dual constitutional monarchy, what is the result of its compromise? It is the parliament that does not care about the life and death of civilians when legislating. All laws are beneficial to the powerful and the bourgeoisie.

Zhao Han's "Constitution" is completely different. His real purpose is to confirm his will in the form of a constitution.

For example, the concept of the Chinese nation includes the Han and other ethnic groups, all of whom are Chinese people. Another example is the theory of personality, which states that everyone is born equal in terms of personality, and slaves and slaves are not allowed to exist. The emperor who served heaven to carry his fortune became the emperor who served heaven and served the people.

There is also the legal system. Zhu Yuanzhang pioneered the integration of the government and the people under the law. Zhao Han went a step further on this basis and determined it in the form of a constitution. Officials and common people face the same law.

The opening of the sea is also determined by the constitution.

Later generations of monarchs and ministers, no matter what circumstances they encountered, were not allowed to completely isolate themselves from the country. At most, they would temporarily block the ports because of wars.

Even though Zhao Han did not mention equality between men and women in the constitution. But everyone is equal, and men and women should also be equal. Aren’t women just human beings?

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, monks, Taoists, doctors and divination, all kinds of professions are also equal in the constitution.

Zhao Han just started an era and set the general direction for future generations of monarchs and ministers. As for the messy things caused by the monarchs and ministers in later generations, Zhao Han was too lazy to take care of it, and it was impossible for him to take care of it.

Maybe after two or three generations, female officials would be abolished and the emperor would use eunuchs again - this possibility is very small, but it is difficult to say with certainty.

Zhao Han even had expansion and colonial thoughts embedded in the constitution.

That’s the sentence: The place where Chinese civilization spread should be the land of the Great Harmony of China, and it must be indispensable.

At first glance, it seems of little use, but ambitious monarchs and ministers in later generations will definitely use this sentence as a reason for expansion.

About the Confucius family in Qufu, the Zhang family in Longhu Mountain, including Wudang Mountain and so on. When Zhao Han talks about land, these cultural and religious forces can respect and offer sacrifices, but they must strictly abide by land laws. It is a very serious violation of the constitution for future monarchs to grant an extra half acre of land for sacrifices.

Violating the constitution means not abiding by the virtues of a monarch!

After the Qingming Festival holiday, Zhao Han called Chen Wenkui over and took out the fresh "Constitution": "Just read it here. I don't want to make this Constitution public for the time being. If you major in "Datong Law", just follow the "Constitution" 》framework.”

Zhao Han went to review the memorial, and Chen Wenkui sat beside him and read slowly. The old man memorized the general content in a daze.

At noon, Zhao Han called Chen Wenkui to have dinner: "What do you think?"

Chen Wenkui said: "Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision, but I am afraid that I can only make guesses. This "Constitution of Datong China" is quite similar to the "Ancestor Instructions of the Emperor Ming" written by Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. The "Ancestral Instructions of the Emperor Ming" was written for the descendants of the Zhu family. The "Constitution of Great Harmony China" is written for all the people of the world to see, and it is also written for future generations of monarchs and ministers."

Zhao Han smiled and nodded: "Continue."

Chen Wenkui added: "The Ancestral Instructions of the Emperor Ming Dynasty are the ancestral instructions of the Zhu family, which is unavoidable for the petty family. However, it is also mixed with state affairs, so it can only be shelved by the descendants of the Zhu family. He said that the Annan Kingdom repeatedly violated the previous Ming Dynasty, and Ming Taizu used it to It is a great fallacy to be respectful and list Annan as a country not subject to conquest. Your Majesty's "Constitution of Great Harmony in China" rarely talks about details and only lays down a general outline. This is a great message that future generations of monarchs, ministers and all people in the world can follow. The country can be governed according to His Majesty’s principles, and the country’s affairs can be changed due to changing times.”

"This is a great thing to say!" Zhao Han immediately expressed his admiration.