Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1696 Haircut and the Emperor's Image Crisis
Zhuoxian, Inn

Ye Mingsheng was in his room looking at the account books of Zhuo County.
To be fair, Zhuoxian's account books are quite impressive. This year's revenue has exceeded 3,500 taels of silver, reaching half of Yuyang's, which is remarkable for a county.

Moreover, based on this development trend, Zhuoxian County may become the third largest town in Youyan in just a few years.

Although Wang Chong's work seemed to be doing well from a financial perspective, the price of these achievements was that many people were left homeless, suffered hardships in the factory, and were even injured and disabled.

The people of Zhuoxian had considered resisting Wang Chong's various atrocities, but their efforts were ultimately thwarted by a lack of unity and some people's unrealistic expectations. Some of them were even made an example of to deter others.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng was certain of his guess. Wang Chong knew very well what he had done in Zhuoxian County over the years to climb the ranks and create a good record for himself. He also knew what kind of fate awaited him once all of this was investigated!
So Wang Chong wisely accepted his defeat!

Ye Mingsheng felt that a death sentence was far too lenient on Wang Chong, this cruel official!

Ye Mingsheng had an impulse to use some means to make Wang Chong die a less than pleasant death!
Besides, didn't Wang Chong want to protect Zhang Zhiwen in order to get Zhang Zhiwen to take care of his affairs after his death?
He could kill Wang Chong's entire family right now. He wanted to use Wang Chong's example to warn the many cruel officials of the Great Qian Dynasty not to be so unscrupulous and reckless in their pursuit of political achievements. Anyone who did such a thing would have Wang Chong as a cautionary tale…

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng immediately wanted to give the order. With just one command, Wang Chong and his entire family would be beheaded!

However, just a second before giving the order, Ye Mingsheng gradually regained his composure!
Killing Wang Chong and his entire family would be no difficult task for me; it would just be a matter of talking!
However, as an emperor and a mature ruler, Ye Mingsheng could not act solely for his own pleasure. He had to consider the consequences of his actions, take a comprehensive view, and make a final decision!

A crucial aspect of Ye Mingsheng's reforms was the reform of criminal law. The core of these reforms was to abolish harsh punishments, such as dismemberment, tearing apart by five horses, cutting off noses, and gouging out eyes, replacing these cruel tortures with forced labor. This was the core principle of the reforms!

However, this reform was opposed by most of the court officials. They believed that Ye Mingsheng's reform was to make the punishment for crimes lighter, which was not enough to deter those with bad intentions. On the contrary, the lack of punishment might encourage some people to break the law!

In short, these people believe that abolishing torture is wrong; only by retaining these tortures can the people be deterred from breaking the law and have sufficient respect for the government and the imperial court.

Although these reasons seem righteous on the surface, Ye Mingsheng knows very well what these people are thinking!

The Great Qian Dynasty originated from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, despite Ye Mingsheng's continuous efforts to promote reforms and try to bring a glimmer of new life to the Great Qian, some unspoken political rules inherited from the Great Zhou still persist...

One of the most important unspoken rules in politics is that doctors are exempt from punishment!

The principle of "no punishment for high-ranking officials" means that even if a government official commits a crime, he or she cannot be subjected to torture. This is not unique to the Zhou Dynasty, but a political tradition that has been passed down through the dynasties of the Central Plains. It was just that the Zhou Dynasty carried it forward and developed it further.

The laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty once clearly stipulated that during the interrogation of current Party members before conviction, all shackles must be removed, and under normal circumstances, torture is not allowed during the interrogation.

Even if convicted, the government provides them with significant protection. Unless it's a serious crime like treason or collusion with the enemy, being demoted to a commoner is the most severe punishment. In fact, during the late summer months, government officials are even allowed to pay silver to redeem themselves. As long as they pay the silver, they're fine. They can stay in prison for a few days and come out unharmed.

In addition, since ancient times, in the dynasties of the Central Plains, there has been a tradition of mutual protection among officials. If an official commits a crime, as long as he or she does not have a grudge against the official in charge of the trial or have a conflict of interest, they will often let each other off the hook!
After all, we are all beneficiaries, all members of the ruling group, and everyone has a network of relationships, friends, and acquaintances. Having more friends means having more options, while having more enemies means having more obstacles. Who knows when someone might need someone else's help!

I'll let you off the hook today, maybe one day you'll let me off the hook too. Let's all be on good terms. There's no need to ruin our relationship and lose face over a bunch of cattle and horses, making things awkward for each other!

So the reason these Communist Party members oppose abolishing torture is quite simple: except in special circumstances, these forms of torture are not used on them; they are intended for ordinary people…
Although Ye Mingsheng is the emperor, the ruler of all under heaven!

However, Ye Mingsheng also needs to rely on these GLs to govern the world. Due to the limitations of transportation, many places are far from the emperor's reach. County magistrates, prefects, and provincial governors are, in a sense, local emperors. Their power is almost unrestricted and unimpeded!
Torture was one of the most effective tools they used to control and educate the people!

Therefore, for these people, Ye Mingsheng's current reforms and abolition of torture are restricting their power, so everyone is unwilling and feels that the abolition of torture will damage their power!
Therefore, the abolition of torture did not progress smoothly in various places. Many places were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. The court said what it would do, but I did what I would do. Anyway, we are so far apart, you wouldn't know what I was doing!

Despite these hardships, Ye Mingsheng continued to strive for reform in order to free the Great Qian Dynasty from the shackles of feudalism!
Against this backdrop, Ye Mingsheng's decision to take drastic measures against Wang Chong and kill his entire family would undoubtedly be a betrayal of his own propaganda advocating the abolition of torture, and would easily become a target of criticism!

Those who already oppose reforms will have even more reason to oppose them!

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng could not use methods such as tearing Wang Chong apart by five horses or cutting him into a thousand pieces to deal with him, let alone kill Wang Chong's entire family!

Although Ye Mingsheng felt somewhat helpless, he had already secretly made up his mind on how to deal with Wang Chong.

Just then, there was a knock on Ye Mingsheng's door, and the voice of the guard Zhao Xi came from outside.

"Sir, the person you requested has been found..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng put down the ledger in his hand and gave the instructions:
"come in!"

"Yes!"

With Ye Mingsheng's permission, Zhao Xi also led a young man carrying a toolbox into the room.

"Sir, this is the barber you are looking for!"

"Hello sir, my name is Fan Xia, and I'm the barber here!"

After speaking to the man named Fan Xia, he looked at Ye Mingsheng's buzz cut with a somewhat surprised expression.

Ye Mingsheng seemed oblivious to Fan Xia's surprise. He nodded slightly, then sat down in a chair and said:
"Give me a haircut!"

After arriving in Da Zhou, hair was something Ye Mingsheng found hard to accept. He had always had a buzz cut, but in Da Zhou, because people believed that one's body and hair were gifts from one's parents, growing hair was the mainstream practice. A buzz cut or a crew cut was considered a form of punishment, which made Ye Mingsheng very uncomfortable!
Although he was not used to it at first, Ye Mingsheng insisted on growing his hair out so as not to be seen as an oddball.

However, once Ye Mingsheng had gained power and dominated the region, no longer needing to consider others' opinions, he returned to his buzz cut. Today, Ye Mingsheng felt his hair had grown a bit long, and given the hot and humid weather, and his sensitivity to heat, he decided to get a haircut to cool himself down.

The young man named Fan Xia seemed quite surprised, especially by Ye Mingsheng's buzz cut. However, he didn't ask any questions. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng was ready for his haircut, he put down his toolbox and began to cut Ye Mingsheng's hair. "Sir, what kind of hairstyle would you like?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng replied without hesitation:
"Cut off all four sides, then cut the middle short, leaving only a little bit of hair!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, the barber hesitated for a moment and asked:
"Sir, are you sure you want this?"

"Just cut it when I tell you to!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's unquestionable tone, Fan Xia began cutting Ye Mingsheng's hair.
As a barber, Fan Xia was quite skilled at his job. In just over the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he finished cutting Ye Mingsheng's hair according to his request and said:
"Sir, is this alright?"

Ye Mingsheng looked in the mirror and said:

"It's still a bit too long in the middle! Leave half an inch!"

Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Fan Xia couldn't help but say:

"Sir, if you leave only half an inch, you'll be no different from a monk!"

"It's so hot today, half an inch is enough!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xia stopped talking and started cutting according to Ye Mingsheng's request.

After finishing the haircut, Ye Mingsheng was very satisfied and instructed Zhao Xi, the guard beside him:

"reward!"

Upon receiving the order, Zhao Xi casually tossed a silver coin to Fan Xia.

Fan Xia took the silver coin, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the exquisitely designed coin in his hand. Then, as if realizing something, he cautiously asked Ye Mingsheng:

"Sir, you must be an important figure from Yijing, right?"

Faced with Fan Xia's question, Ye Mingsheng, who was enjoying the cool sensation of washing his hair, didn't pay much attention and casually replied:

"How to say?"

"I can tell you have an extraordinary presence, a commanding stride, and an air of nobility in every gesture. You're clearly no ordinary person, so I dare to guess you're from Yijing..."

"Stop! I'll give you a chance to say it again!"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng wasn't impressed by his flattery, Fan Xia said somewhat awkwardly:
"It's been widely known in Zhuo County these past few days that a big shot from Yijing has come here, and I've heard that the haircut you've given me is called a buzz cut!"

"I heard that this kind of buzz cut is quite popular in Yijing. It's said that His Majesty has this kind of haircut. It's easy to manage and not as troublesome as growing hair!"

"However, we value the fact that our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents, so nobody here cuts their hair like that!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly upon hearing this, and then asked again:
"What else have you heard?"

"I also heard that because His Majesty cut his hair into this buzz cut, some people in the court used this to attack His Majesty, saying that it was unfilial of him to cut his hair like this!"

"However, the Empress Dowager stepped forward and said that whether a child is filial to his parents should not be bound by such etiquette. His Majesty is busy with official duties, and it would be too troublesome to manage his hair every day if he grew it long. It would be better to cut his hair short, which would be cleaner and easier to manage, so that His Majesty can concentrate on handling official duties. The greatest filial piety of His Majesty is to ensure the prosperity and peace of the Great Qian Dynasty!"

Hearing Fan Xia mention this, Ye Mingsheng was quite surprised, and then asked in astonishment:

"You all knew all this?"

"Of course I know! There are newspapers now! It's all over the newspapers..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng realized that Zhuoxian was not the poor and remote place he had imagined.

What Fan Xia just said is a true story, but the facts are somewhat different from what he said.

In fact, when Ye Mingsheng first got a buzz cut, his mother, Ye Cui, didn't like it. It wasn't that she thought Ye Mingsheng was unfilial. Rather, in her traditional view, only prisoners had such a hairstyle because they had been subjected to the punishment of shaving their heads.

However, Ye Mingsheng felt that having long hair was too hot and that it was too troublesome to manage every day. If he cut his hair short, he could wash his face at the same time, which would be very simple and convenient. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng was very insistent on this idea.

In this era of relatively conservative lifestyles, Ye Mingsheng's insistence was seen by some Confucian scholars and moralists as a sign of filial impiety, and they attacked him repeatedly.

At the time, Ye Mingsheng's idea was rather simple and crude: he wanted to send people to arrest and torture all of these people.

However, An Miaoyi dissuaded Ye Mingsheng, telling him that doing so would solidify his reputation as unfilial. In an era that values ​​filial piety, if Ye Mingsheng were associated with the word "unfilial," it would have a significant negative impact on his image, thereby affecting the image of the Fengwu Army at that time!
To resolve this matter, An Miaoyi repeatedly tried to persuade Ye Cuishi, appealing to her emotions and reasoning with her. Finally, she managed to gain Ye Cuishi's understanding and persuade her to speak to those people, saying that Ye Mingsheng was very filial, but filial piety should not be bound by those rules and regulations. Growing hair was too troublesome to manage every day, so it was better to cut it short for a clean and easy-to-manage look. This would allow His Majesty to concentrate on handling state affairs, and that the greatest filial piety of His Majesty was to ensure the peace and prosperity of the Great Qian Dynasty.

With Ye Cui's endorsement, Ye Mingsheng successfully weathered that image crisis...