Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Chapter 100: Re-implementing the 'Imperial Edicts'!

Zhu Youcheng held the 'Imperial Edicts' and sat on the dragon throne, carefully examining it from beginning to end.

The content filled him with joy, and he even forgot about the time.

By the time he finished reading, he noticed that bright palace lanterns had been lit in the Imperial Study, and several braziers were placed around.

"Excellent, this is exactly what I need!"

Zhu Youcheng closed the last page of the 'Imperial Edicts,' having gained a comprehensive understanding of it.

In general, the 'Imperial Edicts' was a book specifically targeting the sentencing regulations for officials who committed crimes.

Although the scope of application of the 'Imperial Edicts' was all subjects of the Great Ming, about eighty percent of its content was related to how to punish officials.

Punishments for corruption cases accounted for about half of all cases.

Specific items included extorting the people and embezzling tax grain cases.

Selling official positions and privately employing laborers cases.

Arbitrarily taking from the people and embezzling commercial tax cases.

Falsely reporting disasters and encroaching on disaster relief cases.

Second to the corruption cases of officials, were the cases of punishing landlords for encroaching on money and grain, and gentry for evading grain taxes.

Such as group bureau registration, falsely reporting income, creating pretexts, arbitrarily collecting taxes, accepting bribes, fraudulently registering land, monopolizing and embezzling, embezzling disaster relief, and extorting money through false accusations.

The biggest difference between it and the 'Great Ming Code' was that the 'Imperial Edicts' imposed penalties on officials that were several times harsher!

The 'Imperial Edicts' listed thousands of cases involving clan extermination, slow slicing, and beheading!

There were more than ten thousand cases involving beheading and public display of the head, and lesser crimes!

The types of cruel punishments included clan extermination, slow slicing, beheading, decapitation, tattooing the face, tendon removal and finger removal, exile, military service, and castration into slavery, among dozens of others!

Those executed were mainly corrupt officials, tyrannical powerful figures, and relatives of the emperor who oppressed the people!

At the same time, for the same crime committed by officials, the penalties in the 'Imperial Edicts' were also several times more severe than in the 'Great Ming Code'!

Taking embezzlement as an example, in the 'Great Ming Code,' embezzlement of eighty strings of cash or more would result in strangulation.

But in the 'Imperial Edicts,' it was skinning and stuffing with straw!

The so-called skinning and stuffing with straw was to tie the corrupt officials to a chopping board and completely peel off their skin while they were still alive.

The peeled skin would be filled with straw and made into a human-skin scarecrow, which would be placed at the entrance of the yamen or the local temple of the earth god.

This was to warn the succeeding officials not to be corrupt and pervert the law!

In addition, many crimes that should only be punished with flogging or caning in the 'Great Ming Code' were aggravated to the death penalty in the 'Imperial Edicts'!

Judging from Zhu Yuanzhang's hatred for the officials in the world, more than half of the crimes written into the 'Imperial Edicts' were punishable by death, only the methods of death were different.

At the same time, in order for his people to better safeguard their own interests and bravely resist officials and powerful gentry who dared to oppress them, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically stipulated in the 'Imperial Edicts': anyone was allowed to hold the 'Imperial Edicts' and arrest officials who disturbed the people, escort them to the capital, and be personally questioned by Zhu Yuanzhang!

Any officials or leaders along the way, and all other people who dared to obstruct them, their families would be exterminated!

In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Chen Shouliu, a farmer from Changshu County, Nan Zhili, was oppressed by Gu Ying, the magistrate of Changshu County. He angrily tied up Gu Ying with his relatives and friends, placed the 'Imperial Edicts' on his head, and sent him to Yingtian Prefecture for punishment.

Along the way for more than two hundred miles, passing through many government offices, no one dared to stop them!

After Chen Shouliu entered the capital, Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to receive the news.

Zhu Yuanzhang personally tried the case, and Gu Ying's crime of corruption was confirmed and he was thrown into prison.

At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang also rewarded Chen Shouliu with thirty ingots of silver notes, exempted him from miscellaneous labor, and gave each of the other accompanying personnel two pieces of clothing.

Afterwards, in order to prevent other officials from retaliating against Chen Shouliu, Zhu Yuanzhang specially issued an imperial decree.

"Anyone who frames Chen Shouliu with fabricated charges will have their clan exterminated!"

"If Chen Shouliu uses the name of the imperial court to do illegal things, local officials have no right to make decisions and must escort him to the capital for trial."

From then until Zhu Yuanzhang's death, no official in Changshu County dared to be corrupt, accept bribes, or oppress the people!

Moreover, this was not the end of it. In order to allow the people of the Great Ming to know the power in their hands, Zhu Yuanzhang specially issued an order.

Each household should have a copy of the 'Imperial Edicts' to be passed down and recited!

Those who have the 'Imperial Edicts' in their homes will have their punishment reduced by one level for crimes punishable by flogging, caning, imprisonment, or exile!

Those who do not have the 'Imperial Edicts' will have their punishment increased by one level!

Those who refuse to accept it will be relocated to a foreign land and never allowed to return!

In order to facilitate those farmers who could not read, so that they could also know their rights, Zhu Yuanzhang specially printed the 'Imperial Edicts' into books, and ordered the officials of the Great Ming in various places to visit the homes of the illiterate people to explain the contents of the 'Imperial Edicts'.

And give the 'Imperial Edicts' to the local farmers.

Even during the imperial examinations, Zhu Yuanzhang specially asked questions from the 'Imperial Edicts'.

Forcing the scholars of the world to read, understand, interpret, and study the 'Imperial Edicts'!

During the Hongwu period, the 'Imperial Edicts' was the most widely disseminated law in history, with basically every household having a copy.

When the people saw the 'Imperial Edicts,' they felt as close as if they had seen Zhu Yuanzhang himself.

Unfortunately, this strict law, which was designed to benefit the people and oppose officials everywhere, was immediately shelved after Zhu Yuanzhang's death.

The wise and enlightened ruler Zhu Yunwen, in his enthronement edict, directly abolished the 'Imperial Edicts' on the grounds that the regulations were too harsh!

After that, everything was based on the 'Great Ming Code'.

Zhu Yunwen was so anxious that he abolished the 'Imperial Edicts' even before his formal enthronement.

It can be seen how much the civil officials of the world hated the 'Imperial Edicts'!

Now Zhu Youcheng has found this 'Imperial Edicts' again, allowing it to see the light of day once more.

It just makes up for the deficiencies in the interim transitional act regarding the punishment of officials.

It complements the 'Criminal Law Regulations' issued by the cabinet.

This constitutional amendment is well done. Relying solely on the 'Great Ming Code' is indeed no longer enough to deter these officials of the Great Ming.

Then use the 'Imperial Edicts' again to kill!

Just take the Wang brothers as an example to re-implement the 'Imperial Edicts'!

Zhu Youcheng looked at the 'Imperial Edicts' in his hand, a gleam flashing in his eyes.

...

Zhu Youcheng took the 'Imperial Edicts' in his hand, returned to Qianqing Palace, and asked the Shangshan Supervisor to send some food.

After finishing his meal, Zhu Youcheng was about to go to bed when a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs came to report: 'Your Majesty, Wang Zhi, the director of the West Factory, requests an audience.'

'Let him in.'

'Yes, Your Majesty.'

Soon, Wang Zhi walked into Qianqing Palace with a serious face.

'This humble subject has failed in his duty, please punish me, Your Majesty!'

Zhu Youcheng's eyes narrowed: 'What happened?'

'Reporting to Your Majesty, Earl of Chongshan, Wang Qing, could not withstand the torture and has died in the West Factory prison.'

'This is the confession written by Earl of Ruian, Wang Yuan.'

Wang Zhi said, presenting the secret letter in his hand to Zhu Youcheng.

The death of an Earl in the West Factory prison due to torture should have been a matter with a very bad influence.

But this small matter was not taken to heart by Zhu Youcheng.

Zhu Youcheng, who had originally raised his heart, put it down again, and smiled helplessly: 'I thought it was something, it turned out to be just the death of Wang Qing.'

'Although only one of the Wang brothers, Wang Yuan, is left, the effect is about the same.'

Zhu Youcheng took the secret letter, unfolded it, read it, and sneered: 'Three hundred thousand mu of land, the Wang brothers really have a big appetite.'

Wang Zhi reported again: 'Reporting to Your Majesty, a letter from Qin Lu said that in the past few days, they have found many ownerless fertile fields around Shuntian Prefecture.'

'Especially in the area from Shuntian Prefecture to Jinmen Guard, Changping, Huairou, Miyun, Tongzhou, Yongqing, Wuqing, and Xiqing have the most abandoned fertile fields.'

'These fertile fields originally belonged to some Yuanwailang, but these Yuanwailang have all run away now, and the land now belongs to no man's land, with an area of nearly one million mu.'

Zhu Youcheng frowned slightly: 'Abandoning fertile fields for no reason?'

'Could it be that these fields are also fertile fields forcibly occupied by those officials?'

'Now that they see the Wang brothers imprisoned, they quickly abandon the fields to save their lives?'

'This humble subject does not know.' Wang Zhi replied: 'The owners of these fertile fields, that is, those Yuanwailang, some have run away recently, and some have run away for several months.'

'Now the West Factory is organizing manpower to arrest them. When these runaway Yuanwailang are caught, the origin of these fields can be clarified.'

Zhu Youcheng nodded: 'Okay, investigate the abandonment of fields as soon as possible.'

'Yes, Your Majesty.'

'By the way, when you go to court tomorrow,押 (ya, press/detain) Wang Yuan and Zhang Hai to the court and publicly pronounce their crimes.'

Zhu Youcheng threw the secret letter in his hand back to Wang Zhi: 'Retreat.'

'Yes, Your Majesty.'

After Wang Zhi received the order, he respectfully withdrew from Qianqing Palace.

...

The capital.

Xu Pu's residence.

In Xu Pu's study, the four Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were all frowning, sighing and lamenting.

'Grand Secretary Xu, is the constitutional amendment really feasible?'

'We only reduced the punishment for some crimes, and we were ordered by His Majesty to modify it.'

'If these 'Criminal Law Regulations' cannot pass, how can the 'Great Ming Code' be revised?'

'And even if the 'Great Ming Code' is successfully implemented, will His Majesty abide by it?'

Xie Qian was already considering retreating, and he believed from the bottom of his heart that in the eyes of a tyrant like Zhu Youcheng, there was no such thing as law.

Even if the 'Great Ming Code' is successfully implemented, Zhu Youcheng will overturn the table, not govern the country according to law, and directly execute officials at will.

But Xu Pu was not only not discouraged, but even more passionate.

'Yu Qiao, you are probably wrong about this.'

'His Majesty's strict review of these 'Criminal Law Regulations' just shows that His Majesty has a very strong legal awareness.'

'If the modification of the law is expressed lightly, it is an act of contempt for the law.'

'The gradual relaxation of legal regulations is the general trend.'

'Think about the 'Imperial Edicts' of the Hongwu period, and then look at the current 'Great Ming Code'. This is already a victory for our predecessors.'

'If we can turn the 'Great Ming Code' into the 'Great Ming Code', this is a beautiful thing that can be famous for thousands of years!'

'If this matter is successful, it will not only concern you and me and the officials of the world, but also the officials of the Great Ming for hundreds of years to come!'

'Will future officials not sing our praises?'

Thinking of the content of the 'Imperial Edicts' during the Hongwu period, Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang turned pale and shuddered.

The Hongwu period can be said to be the most terrifying period for officials.

Among them, the 'Imperial Edicts' played a very important role.

Anyone who has read the 'Imperial Edicts' will not think about being an official during the Hongwu period.

Fortunately, the civil officials of the Jianwen Dynasty corrected the mistakes of the Taizu Emperor in time and let Zhu Yunwen abolish the 'Imperial Edicts'.

This matter has made these later officials grateful to this day.

And now, they are also doing such a great cause that will be passed down through the ages.

Thinking of this, the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were once again full of energy.