Chapter 307: Establishing Institutions (VI)

Cao Chuan's procedural amendments to the ennoblement of the nobility were certainly not for his own sake — everyone was clear on that point. The founding emperor's authority is the greatest; a certain person needs no one's approval to ennoble nobles.

But the very purpose of establishing rules is to constrain the strong. Even if Cao Chuan could do as he pleased, his descendants would not be so powerful, so the rule amendments he proposed today were in fact prepared for later generations.

Under a constitutional monarchy, although the king holds the right to ennoble nobles, in practice noble candidates are nominated by the Prime Minister or Parliament; the king retains only the right to perform the ceremony.

And with the gradual development of capitalist society, so-called nobility ranks would lose their significance as markers of the feudal landlord class.

It would not take many years for noble titles to quickly degenerate: any native social elite who rendered meritorious service to the state or made outstanding contributions in literature, art, science, and other fields could be granted a nobility rank.

Under these circumstances, Cao Chuan wanted to leave a loophole for his descendants: with a few privately held quotas in hand, they could casually ennoble a few scoundrels who were rich but uncharitable, which would also count as finding a meal ticket for his progeny.

However, his innermost thoughts were seen through at the first moment by his wily old ministers. On this issue, members of both parties instantly and tacitly merged into one: limiting imperial authority is political correctness, after all.

Thus "both sides" launched a round of "cordial and friendly" "exchange of views" on this matter. In the end, after folding all ennoblement matters into a package negotiation, everyone still reached an agreement on a simplified six-tier imperial nobility system.

Considering that the nation founded by these Transmigrators would transition into a fast-paced industrial society in not too many years, they had no intention of large-scale enfeoffment here — nobles in an industrial society lack the rights they held under the feudal system, ultimately becoming a bunch of down-and-out wretches with neither real power nor money, who might even have to marry off their daughters to rising capitalists; what was the point of enfeoffing them?

Therefore, the attendees unanimously decided: except for the top-ranked heirs of the Imperial Household, who could be enfeoffed as "Duke" and "Prince," all other members of the Imperial Clan would no longer be granted nobility ranks.

As for the 200-plus Transmigrators, they would receive "Baron," the lowest rank of noble title; in this way, the Transmigrators would meet the requirement for forming a Noble Parliament.

Meanwhile, the three middle ranks of the five-tier nobility — "Marquis, Earl, Viscount" — would remain temporarily vacant. These positions would in the future be awarded to those who rendered great service to the nation, and to a few retired advanced government officials... which in practice meant the Prime Minister.

The above five nobility ranks were all "Hereditary Titles," scarce in number. And for the endless stream of social elites from every walk of life, there was also a lowest-tier, non-hereditary title of "National Scholar" awaiting them.

This "National Scholar" title fell between nobility and commoner, and was essentially a simplified version of the British "Sir" title.

The knighthood system that evolved from the ancient knightly order is actually quite complex, with as many as nine grades. The Transmigrators here naturally had no need for that many grades — the public does not care which grade of knighthood Run Run Shaw or Alex Ferguson holds.

The ennoblement rules initially proposed by the Cao Emperor were also reflected at this "National Scholar" tier. The members of both parties ultimately reached a compromise with Cao Chuan: the emperor could, each year and without the consent of Parliament or the Prime Minister, ennoble two social elites at the "National Scholar" level.

After the ennoblement system negotiations concluded, all was still and the moon hung high. Following a brief rest, the attendees once again threw themselves with keen interest into bargaining over the last major agenda item: Imperial Household entitlements.

As previously mentioned, a certain Cao was at least a graduate of a third-rate university and not so easily fooled. So when it came to discussing the future emperor's entitlements, he was quite uncompromising.

As for so-called entitlements, annuities and wages were secondary; territory was the key. Unlike the other Transmigrators, the emperor could possess tax-exempt territory, just like the Imperial Estates of the Old World — taxes from the territory would still be collected, only they would not enter the Treasury but the emperor's own pocket.

After a round of heated verbal sparring, both sides finally reached an agreement: the future Imperial Household could select one territory on each of the two continents, east and west, with a total area not exceeding 100 square kilometers.

The next moment, Cao Chuan rubbed his face, took a deep breath, and then extended a finger. First, he drew a circle on the map spread out before him: "Right here. Remote, sandy soil, and hardly anyone around."

Next, he tapped a spot on an island in the eastern part of the map: "Mm, this place looks quite desolate, a godforsaken spot where not even wolves would shit. I'll grudgingly accept it — consider it me helping you dispose of a non-performing asset."

The location of his first circled area would be called Lujiazui in later generations. The location of his second circled area would be called Manhattan Island in later generations. The two parcels of land together amounted to roughly 100 square kilometers.

Even though all the assembled ministers were battle-hardened veterans, at this moment they were shocked speechless by the emperor's sheer shamelessness.

The so-called tax-exempt territory was merely meant to provide some compensation for the Imperial Household's enormous expenses. On this point, everyone had a tacit understanding: keep it quiet, and minimize matters that would draw public criticism.

Yet a certain person insisted on playing dumb: the palm-sized Manhattan had a GDP of 550 billion US dollars in 2016, while Cha the Sledgehammer waited his whole life and his total assets were no more than 300 million US dollars...

Could these bridgeheads on the two continents be privately owned by just anyone? To rake in a hundred billion US dollars a year in taxes alone into one's own home? Emperor? Have you lost your mind — don't you know there's a piece of equipment called the guillotine?

"Ahem..." Xia Xianze's face rarely darkened at this moment: "Cao Zong, let's just pretend we didn't hear that. You can pick two different places."

"I chose these places based on my own ability — why should I choose again?!" Cao Chuan flew into a rage upon hearing this.

"Ahem... well, Your Majesty, this is called competing for profit with the people — it truly is far too horrifying!" Bai Hongda also stepped forward at this point to chime in.

"I invested for the Empire, I got seasick for the Empire, I... We have made Our decision; you may comply with the edict."

"This is a reckless command; your servant dares not obey the decree."

The arduous negotiations truly began only from this moment. Thereafter, the ministers took turns entering the fray, leveraging their numerical advantage to explain the stakes and plead earnestly, a process punctuated by some teacups flying through the air, before they finally managed to pacify the inflated Cao Emperor.

Both sides ultimately reached an agreement. The previous fief became three parcels, and as for the locations... Lujiazui was impossible even to consider, but the area next to Lujiazui would do. Thus, a plot of land in the northern Taicang area was carved out for the emperor to squander.

The Manhattan side was handled in the same manner: forget about going onto the island itself; a plot of land would be carved out in a place like New Jersey, which was full of low-end population... at least it was next to Manhattan, so they'd be neighbors, right?

The additional parcel of land was in Hawaii; the emperor could just live as a rent collector in the future.

By the time all agenda items had been discussed, it was unknowingly already the early hours of the morning, and dawn was about to break in the east. And these people, who had "toiled for the nation" all through the night, now stood before the gates of Jianyuan Hall, breathing the cool morning air and gazing out at the glittering lights of Taijiang. Then, looking down at the several hard-won draft documents in their hands, everyone let out a long breath of relief.

In the brief span of just 24 hours that had passed, the fledgling controllers of the Empire had stumbled and fumbled their way through hatching the nation's most core institutions. This neither-fish-nor-fowl regime, grown amidst the fierce collision of Eastern and Western thought, still had a long road ahead.

Having decided the future of the Empire, the next moment the people scattered like birds and beasts... they now needed to go back and catch up on sleep.

But Xia Xianze and Cao Chuan were not so fortunate. Xia had to hurry and arrange for his subordinates to transcribe and record the draft documents; a great deal of subsequent paperwork still remained.

Cao Chuan, on the other hand, had to return to the later generations. The commemorative coin companies, the custom national flag company, and the garment factories he had previously contacted could all now be set in motion. Thanks to the developed light industry of the later generations, as long as the money was sufficient, items essential for the enthronement — such as gold and silver coins, flags, and ceremonial robes — could be rush-ordered very quickly.

As the big day approached, the atmosphere on Dayuan Island grew increasingly tense. Not only were additional guards posted before the gates of all Shang Halls, but the diplomatic envoys of various nations also received explicit notification: for the coming half a month, all Shang Hall personnel were forbidden from trespassing anywhere except the Coastal Scenic Road, which could be used for strolling.

Alternatively, everyone could temporarily relocate to Beixianwei Island across the way and return after a few days.

However, unexpectedly, while all the Shang Hall envoys expressed their respect for the notification, they also made clear their attitude of absolutely refusing to budge: the foreigners, anticipating that a major event was about to occur, would never let slip this excellent opportunity for observation.

And in the following days, large numbers of vessels that had been cruising outside returned one after another to Taijiang. With the arrival of these ships, all the Transmigrators scattered throughout the Great Ming, along with some "progressive figures," also made their way to Dayuan.

The Empire's intelligence station personnel posted in Jiangnan and Fujian were all withdrawn this time. In addition, the Transmigrators' old friend, the Great Dragon Head of the Hangzhou Beggar Sect, Mr. Zhou Tong, also arrived with the ships on this occasion.

On the very day he arrived at Dayuan, Zhou Tong eagerly ran off to the Kiln District Industrial Park to look his fill. Although, as one of the natives who understood the Transmigrators best, Zhou Tong had already tried his utmost to overestimate the capabilities of these "Upper Realm Immortals," he was still utterly shocked when he saw those cold, emotionless assembly lines and the industrial goods rolling off them in a steady stream.

What shocked Zhou Tong most was not even the industrial park. What do the people of a traditional agricultural nation care about most? Food! Even a bandit is extremely sensitive when it comes to agriculture.

So when Zhou Tong saw the rice seedlings on the plain, spread out like a green carpet, and the gas tractors belching black smoke and dragging long steel plows as they slowly tilled the great plain, it was only at this moment that he truly set aside his worries about the Empire's future, and sighed with emotion at the good fortune of the brothers of Pingfeng Stronghold.

Apart from people like Zhou Tong, there was one more person who must be mentioned who also returned to Dayuan: the universally beloved Comrade Huang Zhicheng. Parentheses: Deputy Division Chief, Provincial Graduate.