In the spring of the twelfth year of the New Year (772), fifty members were elected by other elected representatives and officially entered the gate of Xuanzheng Hall.
Most of these fifty members are from private business firms or workshops, and are the most prestigious people in the industrial and commercial circles.
As a white-bodied commoner, the congressmen entered the Xuanzheng Hall for the first time, and all of them were proud and high-spirited.
However, most of the officials in the DPRK did not have a good look when facing these people who entered the DPRK.
Different from the representatives who listen to politics outside the corridor, the role of these parliamentarians is almost that of deputy commissioners of the province. They are mainly responsible for supervising and regulating national policies and administrative decision-making.
Therefore, in the court, you can often see scenes like this. It is common for officials and parliamentarians to go back and forth, bickering and quarreling over a policy.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, one day in the morning, the court discussed that in order to cope with the development of North American trade, the court planned to build a port in Junliang City, Hebei (now Tianjin Port) to provide docking and supplies for sea trade ships.
According to "Tianjin General Chronicles·Port Chronicles", in the early Tang Dynasty, Junliang City was located in Yongji Canal, where three rivers, Hutuo River and Luhe River (now known as Beiyun River), entered the Bohai Bay and were called "Sanhui Haikou".
Junliang City is the earliest prototype of Tianjin's seaport. In the 17th year of Tang Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent troops to conquer Liao. At that time, the government transported 500,000 shi (about 3 million kilograms) of grain here from the south every year. Therefore, Junliang City got its name and became a battlefield.
An important military port at that time.
Later, during the Shenlong period, Junliang City gradually fell into disrepair. In the early years of Kaiyuan, Junliang City was gradually replaced by Yuyang Port in the northeast.
Although Yuyang Port is also within the scope of Tianjin Port in later generations, its draft depth and harbor area are still insufficient for maritime trade.
Therefore, at this time, the imperial court proposed a plan to rebuild the seaport in Junliang City.
Councilors with backgrounds in industry and commerce attached great importance to this plan. As usual, before the court meeting began, they used Changxing, Shuilu, Minyi and other channels to collect various information from various prefectures and counties.
At the court meeting, the parliamentarians gave the suggestion to Emperor Zhou Jun that the main construction project of Tianjin Port should be left to the private sector.
The congressmen said that if the government is responsible for this project, launching corvees, recruiting civilians, and mobilizing resources, it will be time-consuming and money-consuming, and it will also be difficult to meet the specific requirements of the sea trade port.
But if the private sector is allowed to undertake the project, then Hebei has many large civil engineering firms, shipbuilding, brick-making, logging and other workshops are also relatively developed, and various maritime trade merchants have warehouses and transit here, and are very familiar with the business.
, so things will become much simpler.
The Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Rites, General Supervisor, Honglu Temple, etc. all expressed their opposition to the proposals of the congressmen.
While the two sides were arguing, Luo Yingcai, the Minister of Household Affairs, came out and said to Zhou Jun: "Your Majesty, the reconstruction of the seaport is of great concern, how can we let the people be responsible? Especially the merchants, who are greedy for money and food, and pass off inferior goods to let others
If they come to build the port, how can we talk about stability?"
Councilor Changsha Shiqing heard this and retorted: "Businessmen love money, but they also value trust. Especially businessmen in the business circle, their reputation is more important than their lives. Often, if you break your trust once, you will never receive business again.
We can only close our doors."
Luo Yingcai looked at Sha Shiqing: "This is very interesting. In the sixth year of Kaiyuan, Chairman Sha was sentenced to cane for violating the prohibition of smuggling. Later, in the ninth year of Kaiyuan, he lied about the deed and hid the slave trade.
, and was sentenced to redeem thirty kilograms of copper; in the eleventh year of Kaiyuan..."
Listening to Luo Yingcai's report of the past, Sha Shiqing's face became increasingly ugly.
After Luo Yingcai said this, he shook his head and said: "President Sha has never been a law-abiding person, so how can he talk about integrity? Can the court be assured of letting such a person take over the work of port reconstruction?"
Zhou Jun had heard some rumors about Sha Shiqing's illegal record in the government in his early years.
In the past, Shuofang's army, including Wang Zhongsi, Guo Ziyi and other military envoys, secretly sold and captured prisoners of war in order to raise military pay, and Sha Shiqing was one of them responsible for the transfer.
After Luo Yingcai finished talking about Sha Shiqing's "old past events", he selected some people from among the fifty members of Congress and talked about the mistakes they had committed back then.
It can be as big as getting a lawsuit for committing a crime, or as small as living a disorderly life and being criticized by others.
After what Luo Yingcai said, the image of the congressman was greatly reduced, and he was directly degraded from a business elite to a social scum.
At this juncture, Sha Shiqing stood up straight, cleared his throat, and said to the people in the court: "Everyone, Sha has something to say."
Sha Shiqing: "No one is perfect, and no gold is perfect. Everyone will always have some unsatisfactory experiences in the past. We common people are like this, but I am afraid that the officials in the palace are not immune to this."
Hearing Sha Shiqing's words, Luo Yingcai said coldly: "Don't compare your ministers with you and other people who violate laws and disciplines."
Sha Shiqing looked at Luo Yingcai and said: "When Minister Luo was in Tianbao for four years, his article was submitted for writing and was judged by the examiner. After that, he failed the exam for seven consecutive years."
Luo Yingcai was stunned and became a little nervous when he heard Sha Shiqing mention the imperial examination.
Sha Shiqing: "I finally made it to the twelfth year of Tianbao. The examiner had a deep connection with the Luo family. I finally got the last seat and beat a loose official. After that..."
Luo Yingcai didn't wait for Sha Shiqing to finish. He was so anxious that he couldn't help shouting: "Shut up!"
Right Prime Minister Kong You, who was standing at the front of the hundred officials, raised his head and looked at Zhou Jun on the throne. Both of them smiled slightly.
Seeing that Luo Yingcai was so angry, Sha Shiqing no longer blamed the latter, but turned his attention to other officials in the palace.
Sha Shiqing: "Zheng Shilang, Director of the Yu Department of the Ministry of Industry, was responsible for supervising the construction of the Chenkui Bridge. The stone bridge cost a full 100,000 yuan to build, but it collapsed in just one year. The Ministry of Industry said that a heavy rain overnight washed away the bridge piers, but the truth is
I’m afraid it’s not that simple, right?”
"Wu Shaojian of Honglu Temple reported to the imperial court and exchanged state gifts with foreign countries from the 10th to the 11th year of the New Year, totaling more than 40,000 guan, but there seems to be a lot missing from the list of customs?"
"There is also the Xu School Office who will be the supervisor, and Wang Guishi from the Menxia Province..."
Hearing the series of names announced by Sha Shiqing, many officials in the imperial court were trembling with fear.
Luo Yingcai was even more at a loss in the palace.
Before launching the attack, Luo Yingcai thought that Sha Shiqing and other members of the House of Representatives would be powerless to resist. Who would have expected that this group of ordinary people would actually have the crimes of many officials in their hands.
At the end, Sha Shiqing knelt down to Zhou Jun on the throne and said in a deep voice: "The common people have made many mistakes in the past, and I feel ashamed of myself. But as long as we are human, we will have selfish thoughts. The common people do not believe in the people in the palace.
Officials can escape from the secular world and pat their chests and say that they have never exceeded the rules."
The officials in the palace were silent when they heard this.
Sha Shiqing added: "Sha boldly said that for major national affairs, the best plan can only be worked out when the people and officials work together and negotiate together."
Zhou Jun: "What suggestions do you have?"
Sha Shiqing: "In the court, sometimes we would argue about a matter and get no result for several days. The common people wanted to recommend Anxi Yanqi's method to the Holy One."
Zhou Jun: "Please tell me carefully."
Sha Shiqing: "The official office of Yanqi has a parliament, and all major issues in the town are decided by the votes of the government members. I thought that since the result cannot be achieved by arguing in the court, it is better for everyone to come up with their own plans and explain them in front of the court.
, then a vote will be held, and the one with the most votes can be recorded as an official document, which will be reviewed and approved by His Majesty."
Zhou Jun looked around the court.
Regarding Sha Shiqing's proposal, the ministers in the DPRK and China discussed it a lot, and most of them were worried.
Zhou Jun: "Continuing the debate between officials and members will not help solve the problem. Although there has never been any precedent for the plan proposed by Speaker Sha, we can try to implement it. If it doesn't work, we can try another one."
Just do it the other way."
The emperor finally made the decision, and the parliamentary voting decision-making implemented by Yanqi in Anxi has now begun to be tried out in the Chang'an court.
