"You always make people feel at ease when you do things, and you have always been very generous, aboveboard, and scheming, and you are always able to predict things in advance. I am not very worried, not to mention that there is a South African colony. Where?
It can be regarded as the backbone of our family, and it is already doing very well now."
"It's just a pity that I won't be able to see it in my lifetime."
Zhang Mao nodded happily after hearing Liu Jin's words.
He was quite relieved about Liu Jin. Liu Jin was actually thinking about this issue himself, so he must be able to find a way to retreat safely, so he didn't need to worry too much.
"Mr. Zhang, take care of yourself. When you feel better, you can go to South Africa for a visit. Mr. Du Hou sent a telegram not long ago to invite everyone to come and have a look."
Liu Jin comforted him with a smile.
"You know how to make people happy. How could I not know my own situation?"
When Zhang Mao heard this, he couldn't help laughing again.
"It's time for us to get old too, times are changing too fast."
"Steam engines, trains, cars, ships, telegraphs, factories, these things are all springing up like mushrooms after a spring rain. New things and new changes are really hard for us old guys to adapt to. Sometimes we go out for a walk.
I can’t even cross the road anymore.”
"After all, this world still belongs to you young people."
"Zhang Gong has changed a lot now, and the changes will be even greater in the future. This is what I am most worried about now. Many things are bound to happen, and I can't hide even if I try to hide."
"Boy, you have to remember that one generation does its own thing. We can't do things too full. If it is too full, all our escape routes will be blocked. You have done enough, and you can't do it too full."
Good enough.”
"Mr. Zhang, I know, but sometimes when I'm in this position, I always think about doing something instead of doing nothing and living a simple meal. My Ming Dynasty is in a moment of great change that has never happened in history.
In a position like this, there are too many things to worry about.”
"Boy, this is what I admire about you."
"In fact, everyone knows and understands many things, but there are only a few people who have the courage, perseverance and courage to do it since ancient times. You are one of them."
"Everyone in the world knows that you have a heart for the country and the people, but you should also remember that this country is named Zhu. There are many things that you don't need to worry too much about."
"Mr. Zhang, I understand, and I will keep it in mind."
"Well, if you really want to do a good job, you can go to South Africa in the future. Wherever our families belong, that is your own. You can run whatever you want and do whatever you want."
"The current system in South Africa is actually very good. As a noble family, we all vote together, speak together, and elect the governor. This is actually quite good. It will not lead to a dominant family, and everyone will restrict each other. If something goes wrong
Let’s discuss it with everyone.”
"Now I think this is really good. I don't know how you came up with it in the first place. Since ancient times, the power of emperors has been too concentrated. When encountering a capable monarch, the people can still live a good life.
If the king is ignorant, the people will have a hard time."
"Coupled with the over-centralization of power, everyone is digging into the core of power, which naturally leads to all kinds of weird things."
"In South Africa, the model of the Western United Trading Company is very good. The power of the governor is greatly restricted, and there are also term limits, which are publicly recommended by everyone. Those who can become the governor have their abilities recognized by everyone.
people."
"Everything is governed by the code that we jointly formulated, and we all do things according to the rules. This is actually quite good, as it can ensure stability and the common interests of everyone."
"This may become a trend in future development."
When Zhang Mao talked about the South African colonies, he admired the model of the Western Joint Trading Company very much. After spending his whole life in officialdom and being familiar with history, Zhang Mao was also thinking about many issues and things.
Does a country really have to have an emperor?
Does a country really belong to one person? Doesn’t it belong to the entire world?
The excessive concentration of power in the hands of the emperor caused too many problems.
The biggest problem is corruption, the corruption of the emperor, and the corruption of people close to and trusted by the emperor.
Look at the history of the Ming Dynasty and the history of all dynasties.
Many times, the changes in dynasties and the rotation of emperors brought about turmoil, which seriously affected the healthy development of a dynasty.
Whether the emperor does something or not is also related to the lives of the people and the rise and fall of the entire country. This concentration of all power in the hands of the emperor brings supreme power and also puts the happiness and well-being of the people of the entire country on the line.
This is a very dangerous thing for a person.
Therefore, Zhang Mao now highly admires the system in South Africa. On the colonial side, South Africa, under the initiative of Liu Jin, implemented a democratic system similar to the separation of powers of later generations.
Emphasize the mutual constraints and limitations of power, emphasize democracy and the rule of law, emphasize the humanistic spirit, and oppose and limit exclusive power.
At first, everyone didn't quite understand why Liu Jin said this, but gradually everyone discovered the benefits of doing so. It not only fully guaranteed the rights and interests of the shareholders of the South African colony, but also protected every citizen of the South African colony.
power.
At first, the superiority of this system was not highlighted, but with the rapid development of industry in the South African colony and the rapid growth of productivity, the superiority of this system was gradually highlighted.
It perfectly adapted to the new productive forces, allowing the South African colony to develop even more rapidly.
There are no traditional private schools in the South African colony. All schools are new schools, from new primary schools, middle schools to colleges and universities. The content of teaching is also based on the content of new schools, focusing on all-round and multi-faceted development.
At the same time, there is no imperial examination in the South African colony. All officials are admitted through a unified official assessment. Of course, officials who reach a certain level are basically people who come from the families or are recommended by the shareholders of the South African colony.
Generally speaking, the South African colony belongs to the Ming Dynasty and other distinguished groups, and the governor of South Africa has always been served by people from each family in turn.
The election of the Governor-General of South Africa has always been elected by the South African Parliament. The South African Parliament was also evolved from the shareholders' meeting of the South African colonial trading houses. Each party obtained corresponding parliamentary seats and voting rights according to the number of shares they owned.
At the same time, the South African Parliament also has the power to formulate and amend the South African Code, and has the power to remove the Governor-General of South Africa. In addition, it has also established a separate South African Warden Department to handle various illegal and criminal matters in South Africa based on the South African Code.
Civil disputes, etc.
Under such a system, the three core powers of the Governor, the Parliament, and the Warden restrained and restrained each other, and jointly maintained the healthy and orderly development of the South African colony.
Of course, the reason why such a system was able to be formed was mainly because the managers, officials, and even the immigrants here in the South African colony were basically composed of the children of these noble families.
For example, in the British government, don't think that there are only Zhang Mao and Zhang Lun. The entire Zhang family is actually a very large family. Each generation has many children. Of course, there are differences between legitimate sons and concubines. The legitimate sons are the core members, while the concubines are the core members.
He is a member of the family and is responsible for managing the family's property and so on.
The whole family has spread out, and with various supports from the British government, the population is actually getting bigger and bigger, and there are many descendants of the whole family.
Because the entire South African colony is composed of children of various major families, even the immigrants are descendants of various major families, clan children, relatives, friends, hometown folks, etc.
Therefore, even if the Governor-General of South Africa wanted to be the emperor of the country, he would not be able to do so at all, because if you violate the South African Code and go against everyone's wishes, everyone will not listen to you, or even directly remove you.
This is the benefit and superiority of this system. Zhang Mao now increasingly feels that this system is a better system, and the traditional feudal imperial system may gradually collapse in the future.
Liu Jin and Zhang Mao chatted for a long time, for several hours. They talked about all aspects of things, including the past, the present, and the future.
We talked about the Ming Dynasty, the South African colonies, the oil in the Persian Gulf, etc. It can be said that we talked a lot about all over the world, like old friends we haven't seen for many years.
Zhang Lun also listened by the side and rarely said anything.
After Liu Jin left, Zhang Mao's condition became more serious. He often coughed violently, vomited blood, and fell unconscious.
Emperor Hongzhi, Prince Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jian in the capital, even Li Dongyang who was ill, and many princes and ministers in the court also visited Zhang Mao one after another.
And Zhang Mao has been holding on strong until the beginning of the 28th year of Hongzhi's reign, when he finally couldn't hold on any longer.
After Zhang Mao's death, Emperor Hongzhi was so grieved that he stopped working for Zhang Mao for the first time. At the same time, he posthumously named Zhang Mao the King of Ningyang, with the posthumous title of "Gongjing". At the same time, Zhang Mao's grandson Zhang Lun also inherited the title of the British Duke.
He became a new generation of British Dukes.
Zhang Mao's departure also marked the end of an era.
He is a representative of the traditional nobles of the Ming Dynasty, and he is also a representative of the traditional Ming Dynasty officials and noble class system. When he gets old, he also represents the gradual end of the traditional feudal society.
