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Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 108: Privy Council

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    Mandalay, Privy Council.  According to the ancient tradition of Myanmar, His Majesty the Divine King, as the son of the God of Heaven, has the undisputed supreme power.  But the king's power is by no means unrestricted. The Privy Council, composed of big nobles and senior monks (mainly monks), also has huge influence. The imperial power in Myanmar has never developed as powerful as its northern neighbor.  To the extent that most kings cannot do without the support of the Privy Council.  Of course, in the long history of Myanmar, it is not that there have been a few kings who ruled the country directly without the Privy Council. However, these few kings have left a reputation as tyrants in history, and they often ended up very tragic. This is from the side.  Proving the importance of the Privy Council.  As time entered the second half of the nineteenth century, the situation changed.  The First and Second Anglo-Burmese Wars forced the Privy Council, which represented the interests of the nobility, to make concessions to the King. The long war and unprecedentedly powerful foreign enemies required that the power of the country be concentrated in the hands of the supreme military commander, the King.  Therefore, the Burmese kings in the second half of the nineteenth century had far more power than their predecessors.  Regarding this situation, the Burmese nobles were reluctant. They were unwilling to sacrifice their own interests to fight a war without spoils.  That's why Meng Ji easily gained the support of quite a few nobles after the coup not long ago - in the eyes of many nobles, once a contract is signed with the British, then naturally the new king will have no reason to continue to maintain such a large army.  The army was the biggest pillar of the king's power. They could force the king in the Privy Council to repeal new taxes, cancel the amnesty issued to fleeing peasants, and restore the concessions he had to make previously.  However, the situation did not develop as the nobles expected. Two external forces beyond their control intervened in the war in Myanmar. Whether it was Dashun in the north or the British, their power far exceeded the nobles in Myanmar.  If the previous kings were able to maintain a semblance of calm in Myanmar by walking a tightrope between Dashun and the British, now this balance has been broken by the coup, and the entire Myanmar has been torn apart and needs to be re-established.  There was only one way to restore the balance - a victory for one side, Tashun or the British. This was possible only after a brutal war, and this war took place on the soil of Burma, in which these Privy Council members  The arrogant nobles, just like the peasants who were looked down upon by them in the past, were involuntarily tossed and rolled by the big hand of fate, not knowing what was waiting for them next moment.  Eight months have passed like this. Many nobles feel as if a lifetime has passed. If they could hide in their own manors to avoid disaster during civil wars in the past, even remote manors are no longer safe in this civil war.  The rioting peasants destroyed the manor's fortress, separated the food and property in the warehouse, and burned various contracts and IOUs. Many nobles who usually did evil things were killed by the rioting peasants, even if they were hiding in Mandalay.  The nobles in big cities are not living a comfortable life either. Both the Shunjun and the British impose high military taxes within their control. A considerable part of this heavy burden still falls on the nobles.  .  Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine how much the nobles in the Privy Council hated Song Shen, the instigator.  When the Shun army defeated the British invasion in Bagan and peace seemed to be coming, the nobles in the Privy Council were waiting day and night for Her Majesty the Princess Regent to issue a decree declaring Song Shen and his men traitors and restoring their rule.  Land and property, back to the good old days.  So it is not difficult to imagine how joyful the noble members of the Privy Council were when they were informed that at nine o'clock tomorrow morning the Princess Regent and His Majesty the King would come to the Privy Council in person to announce a new decree!  Many congressmen stayed up all night, preparing the content of their submissions to Her Majesty the Princess Regent the next day.  At nine o'clock the next day, there was silence in the Privy Council. All the nobles stood up from their seats, with their upper bodies slightly hunched, waiting for the sedans of Princess Regent Luo Lin and King Luo Qin to enter from the main entrance of the Privy Council and board the high court.  Two thrones side by side.  "Dear nobles and respected teachers! The Buddha once said: 'Compared to gems and gold, wisdom is more precious!' Today, my brother, His Majesty the King, and I came here with a difficult problem.  Seeking the help of your wisdom, I hope you will show wisdom worthy of your reputation." After Luo Lin said this, she sat back on her throne. A follower standing behind her stepped forward, took out a scroll, and shouted loudly.  Read aloud.  There was a slight commotion among the nobles, but they soon calmed down and began to listen attentively to the contents of the scroll. In fact, the contents were very simple. The original Burmese royal army had ceased to exist in the previous civil war, and  Many of the soldiers in the new army that had to be re-established were peasants who had escaped from noble estates and, according to the old Burmese law,?, these farmers are actually the wealth of the nobles. His master is the leader of these teams. After he retires, he will return to the master's manor to continue farming.  However, the officers of the newly established army are either the backbone of the army sent by the army, or the confidants of Her Majesty the Princess Regent, and a large number of soldiers are unwilling to return to the manor to continue to be serfs after breaking away from the old shackles.  Under such circumstances, if we want to restore the old system, it will be equivalent to the disintegration of the new army.  Soon the attendant finished reading the contents of the scroll, and the nobles all lowered their heads and thought about the real purpose of Her Majesty the Princess raising this question.  A member of parliament stood up, bowed to the king and the eldest princess, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, eldest princess, I think the best way to solve this problem is to give the soldiers freedom and land, and as soon as possible!" Among the members of the parliament!  There was a commotion. The congressman in front of him said what a considerable number of nobles were thinking, but at the same time, his words also touched the most secret chord in the hearts of the nobles - that is, the property and rights of the nobles must not be violated.  "I cannot agree with you, because this violates the rights of the nobles and shakes the foundation of the kingdom. These fleeing peasants are the wealth of a certain noble. If they are given land and freedom, there will soon be people in our manor.  There is no one left. Who will grow rice and pay taxes at that time? " "I don't know if there are any farmers in your manor, but there are no farmers in my manor. No, even my manor has no farmers.  They no longer exist. Song Shen led his men and robbed them all!" The first member of parliament to speak paused: "I am also a nobleman, and I know no less about the power of a nobleman and what a kingdom is than you do!  foundation, but if we don't pass the law immediately and give the soldiers land and freedom, your estate will soon cease to exist, just like mine!" "That's right!  Agree to give the soldiers land and freedom!" The first member's speech was drowned out by applause and approval. His speech was very convincing. The vast majority of the nobles in the Privy Council understood what kind of threat they faced.  , if they don't make some concessions first, they'll lose everything they have left.  Then the nobles in the Privy Council passed the next bill, which was to provide certain compensation to those nobles who could prove that the soldiers were farmers on their estates, as well as to give the soldiers an amount of land and a minimum period of fifteen years of service required to obtain freedom.  Year.  But whether intentionally or not, the nobles did not pass a bill stipulating where the soldiers would get their land and whether their land could be inherited by future generations if the soldiers died in battle.  "I have another proposal!" A voice suppressed the noise of the nobles. Everyone looked at the source of the voice in surprise. The speaker was the first member of Parliament who stood up to express his approval of giving land and freedom to soldiers.  He stood up and said loudly with a loud voice: "Your Majesty the King and the Princess, the civil war has ended now, but the glory of the two distinguished Majesties has not yet fully shined on every land of the Kingdom of Myanmar.  Some gangsters even used various despicable methods to escape punishment for their crimes!" At this point, he paused and shouted in a louder and louder voice: "I demand that the bandit leader Song Shen be deprived of all his official positions.  Declare him to be a despicable gangster, robber, and murderer, unprotected by the law. Anyone who brings his head before the palace will be rewarded, and if he is a noble, he will receive a fief and an official position;  If he is a commoner, he can choose to become the governor of a city and a village; if he is a slave, he can get freedom and the most gold he can get. Only in this way can the order of the kingdom be restored and the light of justice can shine.  In all the lands of Burma!" "Beheading!" "Execution!" If the applause expressed by the nobles in the Privy Council just now was a thunderstorm, then the applause that broke out this time was simply an earthquake.  The young king sitting on the throne even carefully looked up at the roof to see if it would be lifted by the applause.  The nobles who usually behaved very reservedly were slapping their palms and the table with red faces. Many of them even had their hands swollen.  As much as these nobles and senior monks usually hate Song Shen, they are so excited now. If in order to defeat the British, they have to temporarily compromise with this bandit in their eyes, then now that the threat from the British is no longer  existence (at least in their eyes it no longer exists), then tearing off the disguise in the next second and tearing the opponent into pieces is the instinctive choice of these nobles.  Thinking of the pain of losing their manor and the various sufferings they had endured in the past few months, the nobles wanted to whip this "lowly bandit" severely, then chop off his head and limbs and place them??On the various city gates of Mandalay, everyone who enters and exits the city gates can see the tragic consequences of violating the majesty of the nobles.  Luo Qin, who was sitting on the throne, looked at the nobles below with some flinch. He lowered his voice and said to Luo Lin beside him: "Sister, sister, I'm a little scared! Are these people crazy?"
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