Chapter 291 The law is ruthless
The dark room made Wang Qiong feel extremely panicked. His panic came from not knowing what the emperor wanted to do to him.
"I confess, I admit, that I received benefits from Zhou Yong, Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing, so I deliberately tried to slander His Majesty in order to transfer Luo Xiang back. However, I have never had any dealings with Eunuch Wei. I recommend him. Because I heard that Eunuch Wei has a gentler personality than Eunuch Luo and is willing to do things to make money with him. I just heard that, but I really don’t have any disobedience!”
Wang Qiong started to cry as he spoke. He didn't know how many pairs of eyes were looking at him across from him, so that even if he cried in this dark room where he couldn't see his fingers, he could only cover his face. Crying, extremely scared.
"His Majesty has repeatedly ordered that officials at all levels are not allowed to accept bribes. As the chief minister of the cabinet, why did you make this mistake? You should understand what the crime of accepting bribes is!" asked someone from the Dongchang Inspectorate.
"I, I couldn't help it, but collecting charcoal and paying tribute has always been something officials in Beijing often do."
Wang Qiong wanted to say that some of you in the Dongchang Inspectorate had also accepted bribes, but he knew that speaking out now would only make the Dongchang Inspectors silence him, so he did not say so.
The officials of the Dongchang Inspectorate Department also had mixed emotions at the moment. It was indeed common practice for officials in Beijing to accept filial piety. Even among them, some of them had received filial piety. Although none of them were considered poor, and some even became rich by investing in opening a business, but Naturally, there are only a few people who do not seek wealth in their positions. Most people are greedy, even though the Ming Dynasty has very strict laws on corruption.
Now, if Emperor Zhu Houzhao hadn't issued an edict asking them to investigate Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, they really wouldn't have taken the initiative to investigate Wang Qiong. After all, Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, was polite to his colleagues and was a very good person.
But now, Zhu Houzhao wants to clean up the Chao Gang and has already killed a group of Jinyiwei who were incompetent, violated laws and disciplines, and were not loyal enough. If they, the people of the East Factory Supervisory Department, do not abide by their duties and fulfill their responsibilities to maintain the Chao Gang, they will naturally Will inevitably be killed.
Because of this.
When interrogating Wang Qiong, they could not show any partiality.
Wang Qiong's questioning ended quickly, and the only possible crime was the one about accepting bribes.
In front of the imperial power, Wang Qiong did not dare to hide anything and confessed all his problems frankly.
then.
According to the current judicial system of the Ming Dynasty formulated by Zhu Houzhao, Wang Qiong was taken to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, where the case was filed. The Ministry of Civil Affairs dismissed Wang Qiong from his post, and the Ministry of Punishment tried and convicted him.
However, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, those who commit serious corruption and bribery will have their heads displayed in public and then be skinned and stripped.
However, this treatment of a cabinet minister was unacceptable to many officials in the Ming Dynasty.
Although princes break the law and common people are guilty, the Ming Dynasty is still a society ruled by people.
Neither the scholar-bureaucrats nor the people had a strong sense of legality.
Of course, if Zhu Houzhao was not a time traveler, but just an emperor of this era, he would not have such a strong sense of the rule of law.
"Your Majesty, although Wang Qiong said he accepted bribes, in the end it was just a matter of personal morality and selfishness for being an official. If it were really handled according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, if the owl's head was shown to the public and the skin was peeled off, wouldn't it be too harsh? Wang Qiong is a veteran of the Four Dynasties. Isn’t it a little unkind to be stripped of your skin and stripped of straw just for accepting bribes? Therefore, I have come to ask your majesty how to deal with it.”
Lin Jun, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, had to ask Zhu Houzhao for instructions at this time. He had no personal feelings for Wang Qiong, but as a Confucian official, he always believed in lenient punishment and careful law. He did not think that a chief minister of the cabinet who had made contributions to the Ming Dynasty was guilty of corruption. Taking bribes is worthy of having one's head displayed in public, and the skin is peeled off.
"How does the "Da Ming Law" stipulate it?" Zhu Houzhao only asked one question.
"An official who accepts bribes and violates the law shall be punished with the penalty of not less than 70 skewers, plus one for every five skewers, up to 80 straits; those who steal money, food and other items from the warehouse shall be punished by the penalty of not less than 80 skewers, but not more than 40 skewers. Anyone with more than sixty taels of silver will have his head displayed to the public and be punished by being skinned."
Lin Jun, the Minister of Punishment, replied.
"The outline of the Constitution has already clearly stipulated that all crimes and responsibilities shall be dealt with in accordance with the law, and there shall be no partiality!"
Zhu Houzhao knew that the officials of the Ministry of Punishment could not punish Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, who was also a civilian, by scalping the owl's head. In order to cultivate the legal awareness of Ming officials, he had no choice but to emphasize it again now.
"Your Majesty, the Ming Law is too strict, and I think it should be changed!" Lin Jun said.
"The outline of the Constitution has stipulated that only the emperor has the power to change laws or even establish new laws. In other words, I only have the power to change. However, if you want me to change it, you can do it. You, Lin Jun, have to write a memorial to suggest it. ", Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.
Lin Jun, the Minister of Punishment, really didn't dare to propose it to Shangshu, because it would be equivalent to him taking the lead in violating the ancestral system.
Zhu Houzhao saw that Lin Jun did not speak anymore and was in a dilemma, so he only smiled lightly. He believed that these officials in the DPRK should be aware of the importance of the legal system to a country by now, and should also be aware of the importance of legislative power to a country. importance of the country.
"I know you are worried that you will get a bad reputation for violating the ancestral system. Since you are not willing to violate the ancestral system, there is no need to change the law, but I hope you can understand through this incident that it is the ancestral system that is important. The law is still important!”
Zhu Houzhao said that he believed that Lin Jun and other court officials could gradually understand what legislative power and judicial power were.
"I sincerely obey your Majesty's teachings, and I will retire!"
Lin Jun is indeed thinking about this now. He now feels more strongly that His Majesty is like a good teacher from beginning to end, teaching his officials how to correctly understand the Ming Empire and how to rule the Ming Empire. Therefore, His Majesty established The legislative, judicial and administrative powers were stipulated in the constitutional outline.
However, Lin Jun had to admit that the thoughts of his officials had not yet completely caught up with His Majesty's. These officials still did not consciously subdivide the power to rule the empire. They only instinctively believed that the world belonged to the emperor. The lives and property of officials and people like myself are decided by His Majesty.
Because of this, he came to ask Emperor Zhu Houzhao for instructions, hoping that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would give Wang Qiong a lighter punishment.
But the behavior of Emperor Zhu Houzhao made Lin Jun realize that what he did was wrong. The emperor could not give Wang Qiong a lighter punishment. Only the law stipulates whether Wang Qiong should be punished lightly, and he could decide whether Wang Qiong should be punished. Joan received a lighter sentence.
Lin Jun had no choice but to follow the existing provisions of the law. Because Wang Qiong accepted bribes worth 30,000 silver dollars, Wang Qiong was sentenced to show his head in public and peel off the skin!
Immediately, as soon as this news came out, there was an uproar in public opinion.
Although the officials were afraid of Zhu Houzhao, they were not afraid of Lin Jun, so they accused Lin Jun one after another, saying that Lin Jun was seeking revenge for personal reasons.
Qiao Jin, the imperial censor, went to court to impeach Lin Jungong to avenge his personal revenge. The punishment was too strict, and he asked the court to file a case against Lin Jun for review. He even got the unanimous consent of the Metropolitan Procuratorate from the censor of Qiandu to the censor of the capital, and was able to get Zhu Houzhao's case. forward.
But Zhu Houzhao was very depressed about this. He had stated countless times how to use the supervisory power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but he did not expect that many officials in the Metropolitan Procuratorate still used their supervisory powers indiscriminately. He had to directly Qiao Jin denounced in his memorial:
"Without any evidence, you impeached the Minister of Punishment, Lin Jungong, to avenge his personal revenge. In addition, you said that Lin Jun's punishment was too strict. Lin Jun's trial of Wang Qiong did not follow any law of the Ming Dynasty. You must also point out which law of the Ming Dynasty you dare to abuse!" Quan, I will definitely dismiss you!”
The imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty has not been completely abolished. There are still many scholars with old Confucian education who entered the official career through this road, so the awareness of the rule of law is still very weak. Qiao Jin is one such example, and Zhu Houzhao's approval gave him a A lesson, when he After receiving the approval, I was quite surprised. I really wanted to read the Ming Law at first, but I found that Lin Jun was dealt with completely in accordance with the law. There was no punishment at all. As for avenging private vengeance, I am such a person. The censor could not find any evidence.
Zhao Jian, the Minister of Dali Temple, also conducted a reexamination. He found that he could not overturn Lin Jun's trial decision because it was a fact that Wang Qiong's corruption and bribery exceeded 60 taels. He could not find any reason to overturn Lin Jun's trial decision. .
But because of this, the civil servants of the empire were deeply aware of the importance of changing the law after this incident.
Originally, they didn't take the law seriously. After all, the doctor couldn't be punished. If the emperor didn't pursue the case, who would?
But the current emperor is a master who must rule the country by law. If the unreasonable laws are not changed, officials like him will not be easy.
However, the legislative power was in the hands of the emperor. How to get the emperor to change the laws was another headache for the imperial civil servants.
"My lords, the laws of the Ming Dynasty must be changed, otherwise, in this world, those who will become arrogant due to corruption will not know who they are." At a gathering hosted by Lin Jun, the Minister of Punishment, Zhao Jian, the Minister of Dali Temple, first put forward his own opinion.
Other civil servants also said so, but none of them dared to say that they would stand up to modify the Ming Law.
Because those who had contact with Lin Jun, the Minister of Punishment, were all high-ranking officials in the imperial court, and the high-ranking officials were very concerned about their status. They were afraid that they would be criticized by the officials below if they proposed to change the Ming Law.
However, in the end, Zhao Jian, the Minister of Dali Temple, saw that no one was willing to come forward, so he stepped forward resolutely and said: "Since no one dares to advocate a higher Ming law, then let Zhao do it! Is there anyone among the gentlemen who is willing to join the memorial? Please ask your Majesty to change the Ming Dynasty Law.”
For a time, several officials were willing to sign on.
Zhu Houzhao was really embarrassed after receiving this memorial. He had not yet decided how to exercise his legislative power. After all, officials in the Ming Dynasty were not used to suggesting that the emperor exercise his legislative power. But now, Wang Qiong's case is obviously A group of civil servants realized the importance of changing the law, but whether he exercised his legislative power to fulfill the wishes of these civil servants and change the Ming Law seems to be a question.
"Since the law governs the people of the world, I will leave it to Huang Ming Bao to solicit opinions from the people of the world on whether to exercise my legislative power to change the Ming Law's regulations on the handling of corruption. Whether to change the Ming Law and give lighter punishment to those who take bribes. At the same time, The governors of each province were ordered to select three representatives from each sector to divide the civil servants, agriculture, industry, commerce, and the military into Beijing to vote on whether to change the Ming Dynasty law! Note that the scholars here include officials, teachers, and craftsmen.
With this decree, the entire civil service group exploded.
"Solicit opinions from the people of the world, and elect representatives from all walks of life in each province to go to Beijing to vote. Why is it so troublesome to change the Ming law! Isn't the legislative power in the hands of the emperor?"
Zhao Jian, the minister of Dali Temple, said with some reluctance that in order to keep up with the times, he had read the outline of the constitution several times. He thought that if several of his officials jointly signed the memorial, the emperor would just follow the good advice and agree to the changes. , but he did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor wanted the people of the world to make decisions, which made him, the Minister of Dali Temple, very uncomfortable.
However, Lin Jun, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, did not see it that way. He only smiled and said: "Your Majesty's move is a wise move. The world is not your Majesty's world, and the laws are not the rules of the heaven. Since you want your Majesty to change the laws, your Majesty will naturally You can't use your legislative power to make changes without authorization. Naturally, you have to ask the opinions of the people in the world! Otherwise, wouldn't it be easy for everyone in the world to be like you? I, too, think that the crime of corruption is too strict, and your Majesty will naturally change it. What we think is also in line with the general trend of the world! But if the people of the world don't think so, it means that our thinking is very different from that of the people of the world. Then we can only I'm afraid it's not suitable to assist His Majesty in governing the Ming Dynasty! Because the people's hearts are different from what we think."
Zhao Jian had nothing to say. He hoped that people in the world would have the same opinion as him. He even thought about it for a while and laughed: "It's interesting to think about it carefully. People have the final say in everything in the world. Your Majesty's move is great. It seems to have far surpassed that of the great ancestors of the past dynasties!”
After hearing this, Lin Jun, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, just smiled lightly: "Your Majesty is a wise king, but the people may not necessarily understand it. Even the courtiers like you and me may not understand it. Your Majesty seems to have known about this matter hundreds of years before us." Once you tell the world, your Majesty may be able to predict it, but I’m afraid you and I can’t.”
As Lin Jun said, as soon as Zhao Jian and other civil servants' proposal to change the Ming Dynasty law was made public by Zhu Houzhao, controversy arose within the entire civil servant group.
After all, not all the civil servants support the idea of lenient sentences and light punishments. There are also officials who are just so jealous that they can't help but hate evil.
"I believe that it is inappropriate for Dali Temple minister Zhao Bing and other officials to advocate changing the Ming Dynasty law for the crime of corruption. They even have ulterior motives! Official governance is the great defense of the country. How can we easily forgive those who are corrupt and pervert the law! And the ancestral system cannot be changed. ! Zhao Bing and others have ulterior motives and intend to reduce the punishment of corrupt officials. Even if they are not corrupt officials, they are still cowardly officials and should be removed from their official positions! ”
"I also believe that Dali Temple Minister Zhao Bing and others are not worthy of being in charge of the Three Laws Division. They intend to reduce the punishment of corrupt officials and intentionally harm our Ming Dynasty! Destroy our country!"
For a time, many young officials from the middle and lower levels of the imperial court filed petitions to impeach officials such as Zhao Jian who advocated changing the law, scolding Zhao Jian and other officials to their full extent.
Zhu Houzhao was just amused by this. He had to admit that the officials of the Ming Dynasty were really cute sometimes. Some wanted to change the law to reduce the punishment, some were not allowed to change the law, and some even asked to change the law to increase the punishment. This is similar to the historical peace negotiations between Chongzhen Dynasty and Chen Xinjia. Just as all the officials wanted to impeach Chen Xinjia even though they knew that peace talks were a good idea, many officials now also knew that what Zhao Jian did was what most officials wanted, but there were also many officials who wanted to oppose it, sometimes for the sake of opposition. Sometimes I'm just too young and passionate.
But because of this, Zhao Jian is now furious: "It's not just for me, Zhao, who suggested changing the law! How come I am a corrupt official!"
Zhu Houzhao had no time to care about these disputes among civil servants. In his opinion, if everyone in the world felt that he could forgive bribe-taking officials and even receive lighter punishments, he, the emperor, could also comply with the wishes of the people in the world, but obviously this It's impossible. Some sins are destined to not be forgiven by the upright people in this world.
Now, Wang Qiong, who is sitting in prison waiting for death, has understood this truth. He is asked to explain why he accepted bribes even when he knew that the law punished corruption and bribery so harshly, and even when he was already rich. Well, he didn't know why. He could only admit that he was greedy.
Wang Qiong now only longed for Zhu Houzhao to use his power as emperor to violate the law and forgive him. Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao came to see him, he just kowtowed to Zhu Houzhao and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty! I know I am guilty, but I am guilty of this." You are really loyal, I don’t want to die! I beg you, Your Majesty!”
"Wang Qiong, it's not me who won't spare you, but the law can't spare you. Please tell me that you participated in the Infrastructure Bureau and earned a lot of money. Why do you still accept bribes from your subordinates? I want to excuse you, but once I am excused If you and other officials commit crimes in the future, I will have to excuse them. Then where is the majesty of our Ming law? "
Zhu Houzhao said.
Seeing what Zhu Houzhao said, Wang Qiong had no choice but to stop her tears and bowed to Zhu Houzhao: "Old minister, I understand! The old minister violated the law of the country first, and there is no excuse for it. Moreover, the old minister deceived your majesty, which is also disloyal. I only wish to be your Majesty’s minister again in the next life!”
"It's good if you think so. Don't worry, I will remember your contribution. After your death, you will still have your posthumous title and posthumous titles. These are what you deserve. After all, you have also contributed to the financial reform of the Ming Dynasty! ”
Zhu Houzhao left the prison as he spoke. Sometimes after spending a long time with some close ministers, he would indeed have some feelings. Seeing Wang Qiong so lonely now, he couldn't bear it and wanted to be lenient. After all, as the emperor, he had no regard for the people below him. Official corruption does not seem to be so hateful.
But Zhu Houzhao knew that he couldn't do this, he couldn't be a holy mother, he couldn't have the kindness of a woman, he had to stay rational, the law could only be modified but not violated! You must practice this! If he forgives Wang Qiong out of selfish interests, he will only destroy the majesty of the law and make other officials who have a good relationship with him unscrupulous.
Sometimes as an emperor, you have to be ruthless.
Getting rid of Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, is not the result that Zhu Houzhao wants emotionally, because Wang Qiong is not useless except for being clever and fooling himself. He even flatters himself and pays great attention to the way he gets along with himself. Compared with some The so-called direct ministers are even more popular with the emperor himself.
But rationally, Zhu Houzhao knew that he had to get rid of Wang Qiong! The position of chief minister of the cabinet cannot be filled by anyone with any different intentions, at least not against himself, and he cannot take the lead in violating the law. Otherwise, the officials below him will become even more unscrupulous.
"Your Majesty, news came from the Ministry of Punishment that Wang Qiong just bribed the jailer to commit suicide by taking medicine in prison!"
At this time, Qi Jingtong came to Zhu Houzhao and replied.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but stop the pen in his hand, and after a long time he said: "That's good, so as not to suffer the pain of beheading!"
With that said, Zhu Houzhao ordered Gu Dayong again: "With the cabinet, issue an edict to the Ministry of Rites to grant posthumous titles as per the rules. At the same time, issue an edict to the Ministry of Personnel to grant posthumous titles as per the rules!"
Gu Dayong responded "Yes!" He also secretly lamented that His Majesty can clearly distinguish a person's merits and demerits. Wang Qiong's faults were punished by the Ministry of Punishment according to law, and Wang Qiong's merits were rewarded by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. ”
……
Yang Yiqing also learned about Wang Qiong's death at this time, and his hair turned almost white overnight. He was also frightened. After all, as a bachelor of the cabinet, he also accepted the filial piety of his subordinate officials.
Yang Yiqing knew that even if the chief minister of the cabinet was found to have accepted bribes, he would not be forgiven. I am afraid that he, the third minister of the cabinet, would not be forgiven. The law is ruthless!
then.
Yang Yiqing decided to surrender because Zhu Houzhao had stipulated new rules in the Questioning Regulations (a supplement to the Ming Law, which existed during the Hongzhi period in history), and those who surrendered would be given a lighter punishment.
Zhu Houzhao was quite willing to see Yang Yiqing surrender. After all, he did not want to execute all these so-called capable ministers for corruption and bribery.
For the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, this was the first case of an official surrendering, and it also caused a lot of sensation.
However, the Metropolitan Procuratorate also approved Yang Yiqing's surrender application and filed the case. The Ministry of Punishment also sentenced Yang Yiqing to seventy years of cane punishment on the grounds of leniency according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
Although Yang Yiqing was already in his sixties, he was fortunately strong and well taken care of by officials from the Ministry of Punishment. Although he was beaten to death for seventy years, he was not beaten to death, but he could only travel in a wheelchair from now on.
But Yang Yiqing also made a good start by doing this. From then on, once an official was impeached by the censor for being corrupt, many timid officials voluntarily surrendered and handed over the money for corruption. However, there were also some who were lucky enough to wait until the incident happened. Regret endlessly.
Yang Yiqing was also dismissed from his position as cabinet scholar. After all, cabinet ministers cannot be allowed to have the slightest stain.
For a time, two cabinet ministers fell, which was considered a major event that caused a sensation in the Ming Dynasty.
But Zhu Houzhao did not want this to end. He wanted to clean up the Chao Gang in all aspects, and Zhu Houzhao also knew that he had not dug out the real empire worm. In Jiangnan, he dared to directly instigate the patrol censor to execute the fourth-rank official without authorization. Dare to collude with the eunuchs in the border town to mix gunpowder with sand, which clearly shows that there are many moths corroding the empire secretly.
"I have long said that the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, as a magistrate, must not abuse his power just because he has the power of supervision. The censor of Nanzhili, Hu Shiyan, the deputy envoy of military preparation and the prefect of Songjiang, Xiong Wei, is partial to personal interests and perverts the law, and is corrupt and derelict in his duties. , so where is the evidence of his partiality, bending the law, corruption and dereliction of duty?”
Zhu Houzhao called Jin Xianmin, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and reprimanded him directly.
"Then your Majesty's intention is to reject it?" Jin Xianmin asked.
"What do you think?" Zhu Houzhao asked back angrily.
"I understand, I will go and approve it immediately and ask him, Hu Shi, to provide evidence!" Jin Xianmin hurriedly replied.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and called Ma Yongcheng over again: "The Dongchang Inspectorate will send a capable person to Nanzhili to ask this Hu Shi to explain the problem and ask him who gave him the power to let him He dared to directly lynch court officials and directly suspend them from office. Did he want to be the emperor of Southern Zhili and give up the power of appointing and removing officials, judicial power, and supervision power of Southern Zhili?
I have already issued an edict that the provincial censors only have the power of supervision, while the power of trial is in the hands of the censors, and the power of appointing officials is in the hands of the governor. Officials in these places really don't take my edict seriously! ”
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(End of chapter)