Chapter 26: Cabinet System (Seeking Recommendation Votes)

  "Don't you all know who he is? Shen You Rong killed the Japanese pirates, and the seawater turned red. This Inspector Ding also killed the red barbarians in the Battle of Liao Bay, making them tremble with fear!"

  Others didn't seem to notice anything unusual, but Han Xiaoxiao behind the curtain on the second floor let out a cry of surprise: "Could it be Fujian..."

  She had originally wanted to say "Fujian Zanli Junwu Ding Yuanzhao", but when the words reached her lips, she remembered that the Ming dynasty law stipulated that officials were not allowed to enter brothels. Although this order was now almost equivalent to a scrap of paper, it would still be unseemly for the son of Fujian Zanli Junwu to frequent brothels if word got out. So she swallowed her words again:

  "Could it be that under the command of the vanguard General Zheng Zhi-long, the brave warrior Ding Yun-yi, who cut down two Red Barbarians and severely injured one?"

  Ding Yunyi didn't expect that his name would be known by a woman, and he was curious, wondering if he had become so famous now?

  Qin Yun replied, "It's indeed this very Ding Yunwei, Ding the Patrol Inspector!"

  Among those present, except for Qin Yun and Han Xiaoxiao, ten out of ten had only heard of the victory at Liuluo Bay, but had never even heard of Ding Yunyi.

  However, from what Qin Yun and Han Xiaoxiao said, this young man did indeed fight against the Red Barbarian and even made some contributions. What he said about the Red Barbarian was somewhat more credible.

  Korean Xiaoxiao fell silent, and after a while, only the maid's voice was heard: "My family's Korean girl is not feeling well, please go back, and Korean girl will not see guests again within three days."

  Those guests who came in a flurry were suddenly disappointed, but Han Xiaoxiao was not the person of "Lan Yue Lou", but just the boss who invited her back to support the scene, and couldn't make it difficult for her. At this moment, since she had issued an order to drive away customers, those guests slowly got up one by one and reluctantly left.

  Ding Yunyi and the other two were about to leave when they saw the maid walking down: "Master Ding, please stay a moment."

  Ding Yunyi was taken aback, and only heard the maid say: "My young lady has prepared a table of fine wine, and would like to invite Master Ding to join her."

  As soon as these words came out, Qin Yun and Xie Xuan immediately showed a look of great envy on their faces, and they couldn't help but wish they were Ding Yunyi right now, so that they could catch a glimpse of Han Xiaoxiao's beauty.

  Unfortunately, what others want to keep is not themselves.

  Qin Yun leaned in close to Ding Yunwei and whispered, "Third Brother, I and Zhebai are waiting for you at the inn. Tsk tsk, just with those few words, you can actually meet Han Xiaoxiao, it's really making me envy you to death."

  Ding Yunyi rubbed his nose and smiled, following the maid upstairs to the second floor.

  Arriving at the last room, the maid opened the door: "Master Ding, Miss Han is inside, please enter."

  Ding Yunyi walked in, and the maid gently closed the door.

  Han Xiaoxiao has met Lord Ding's son.

  As this melodious voice like a canary's rang out, Ding Yunyi saw Han Xiaoxiao for the first time.

  Beauty, beauty that shocks the heart and soul. Beauty, beauty... Ding Yunyi had rummaged through his stomach for words, but he really couldn't think of how to describe the woman in front of him.

  Ding Yunyi had also seen many beauties, but the beauty in front of him, Han Xiaoxiao, was completely different from those of his era. Han Xiaoxiao's every frown and smile, every gesture and movement, could make people feel like they were suffocating.

  Ding Yunyi stabilized his emotions: "Miss Han."

  "Master Ding invites you."

  Ding Yunyi sat down, and Han Xiaoxiao poured him a glass of wine: "Master Ding is knowledgeable and insightful. Today's conversation has broadened my horizons. Compared to Master Ding, the shallow things I knew before are like frogs at the bottom of a well."

  "Miss Han is being polite." Ding Yunwei didn't quite understand what Xiao Xiaohua meant, and responded casually.

  Han Xiaoxiao looked unusually serious: "I don't know where Mr. Ding learned about the country of Red Barbarians? Ah, call it Netherlands?"

  "Let's just call it Holland." Ding Yunyi smiled and casually made up a story: "I was in the army, I came into contact with some Westerners, and from their mouths, I learned about Holland."

  "Ah," said Xiao Xiao, and then sighed: "It's laughable that in our great Ming dynasty, there are hardly any people who know about Holland. What they say is either absurd or utterly strange. Although Mr. Ding only..."

  It seemed inappropriate to say that, so Ding Yunyi smiled and helped her out: "Although it's just a small inspection the size of a sesame seed or a green bean."

  Han Xiaoxiao smiled slightly: "Xiaoxiao was rude, Master Ding please don't mind. Although Master Ding's official position is not high, his understanding of the Netherlands is so thorough. What republic, what parliament, it's simply unheard of. It seems that those countries are extremely chaotic, the head of state can't even make a decision on their own, and they still need local consent to implement laws."

  "Miss Han is wrong," said Ding Yunyi seriously; "This was originally an advanced system, which prevented the country's power from being controlled by one person, avoiding dictatorship, corruption and chaos. In fact, their parliament has many similarities with our Ming dynasty's cabinet system."

  He thought a woman wouldn't be interested in these things, but Han Xiaoxiao listened intently, so Ding Yunyi continued:

  "Our great Ming dynasty's cabinet system is also extremely advanced. Our great Ming cabinet has the power of 'drafting', which limits the emperor's power, exceeding that of the past prime ministers. On the surface, the prime minister was abolished, and the emperor directly commanded the six departments and hundreds of officials, but in reality, most decisions were made through 'drafting', and the emperor's will and power were greatly restricted by the cabinet ministers. Because 'drafting' is the normal way to issue imperial edicts, the Ming dynasty's cabinet system limited the emperor's arbitrary issuance of edicts and orders, making it more institutionalized. Moreover, the cabinet system restricts the absolute power of the emperor, making our great Ming cabinet system the most advanced political system in the world today."

  Han Xiaoxiao mostly understood, but occasionally asked questions to clarify her doubts, and Ding Yunyi patiently explained each point to her.

  "Is it progressive to disperse the emperor's power?" Han Xiaoxiao asked with a slight frown.

  Ding Yunyi nodded: "Although the words are not so absolute, there is a precedent. The Zhengde Emperor of our dynasty was no less indulgent and warlike than the Sui Yangdi, but because there were cabinet ministers like Yang Tinghe who supported him, he did not become a great chaos. The Jiajing Emperor did not attend court for nearly thirty years, but ultimately did not let the imperial power fall, and the country's operation was normal, all of which are thanks to the cabinet system. Therefore, although our dynasty's cabinet system still has party struggles and various shortcomings, it has made significant progress compared to the past."

  "After hearing Master Ding's words, Xiaoxiao's eyes widened in surprise. She sighed and said: 'But now the Great Ming is plagued by internal bandits and external threats from the Red Barbarians. Why can't we restore peace to our country?'"

  Ding Yunyi also sighed in his heart, Han Xiaoxiao was a woman of the rivers and lakes, but she was so concerned about the country's major events: "This is just an empty good system, but the internal struggle for power has greatly weakened the country's strength."