Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 349: 'Family Laws' National Laws!
"Family rules, national rules"

Zhu Biao muttered a few words, but there was still some confusion in his eyes.

He was a little confused at first.

Xia Zhibai had a complicated look on his face, because he didn't know whether the precedent he had set was good or bad, because it was a further step towards centralization.

Xia Zhibai said softly, "Your Highness may not have understood yet, so I will explain it to you in more detail. Throughout history, the imperial court has relied on laws to restrain its officials, but in society, laws are often only enforced symbolically. The more local the place, the more they like to use 'family law'."

"Loyalty is particularly important in the world. It is also a point that emperors of ancient and modern times value, and it is also what many ministers strive for. Therefore, talents like Zhuge Liang are praised by so many people. From another perspective, when you are an official of the Ming Dynasty, you must swear to be loyal to China, the country, the people, and even the emperor. Isn't this adding a shackle to these officials with ulterior motives or ill intentions?"

"Because they took the oath themselves."

“But they also violated it.”

"This way."

"Even if these people betray us in the future, they will definitely be criticized by future generations, and it will be almost impossible for them to clear their names forever."

"That's one of them."

"Secondly, just like family rules, they are generally more severe than national laws. Therefore, when dealing with officials who violate the law, it is naturally more severe to use 'family rules and disciplines'. Therefore, the Great Edict clearly defines the scope of its use."

“It will only be useful for the officers who join and will not lead to abuse.”

"Third, the world has always been full of ideas. If we form our own dominant ideology internally, we can unify the thoughts of the upper and lower classes, just like the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism that Your Majesty advocates. This can be applied to officials, and the people will be less affected. The people spend their whole lives just trying to have enough to eat, and they don't have the energy to mess around with these things. If you want to mess around, mess with the officials."

"If you want to be an official, you have to face these 'tests'."

"At the same time, since there are no factions in the court, and there are all kinds of strange things, let's first set up a big faction at the top to include all officials. This can also strengthen the selection and control of officials. When appointing officials, there will be two sets of inspection systems, one is the inspection of the Ministry of Personnel, and the other is the inspection of the 'clan law'."

“Also, I want to make one thing clear.”

"Even if the emperor controls everything, he must clearly define who will lead the Ming army and who actually controls the military and political power. All power must be concentrated in the court. In this way, even if someone seizes the military power, it will be difficult for them to command the army."

"To some extent, it adds another layer of insurance to the world's military power."

"Under such circumstances, even if the prime minister, general, etc. are reinstated, their rights will be greatly restricted."

"Strengthen the constraints on officials and delegate some power at the same time."

"Let officials focus on governing the country."

"."

Xia Zhibai patiently explained the benefits of establishing the "Official Faction", and his words had such a huge impact on Zhu Biao that it was simply an eye-opener, making Zhu Biao feel as if his eyes had suddenly been opened.

in short.

Power can be delegated to officials.

But they had to swear an oath that they would be loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the emperor. This was a "conspiracy" to force these people to be tied to the Ming Dynasty's chariot and make it impossible for them to get off the chariot easily, otherwise they would be ruined.

Many of the Ming Dynasty’s restrictive systems will be further strengthened.

The original Five Military Commissions are now subject to the discipline of the "Great Edict", further weakening their actual power to mobilize the army. The army can only be mobilized when the emperor speaks. The Five Military Commissions are only used for daily training and other military activities.

For example, the Dali Temple and the Honglu Temple also had clear basis for handling cases.

There is much more than these.

Now, just thinking about it, Zhu Biao couldn't help but feel shocked and horrified, because the imperial court itself was a mixed bag, and Xia Zhibai intended to add bricks and tiles to it, carry out further upper-level construction, forcibly consolidate ideas, and further concentrate power upwards.

Li Jinglong was stunned.

He didn't understand what it meant at first, but after listening to Xia Zhibai's explanation, he was shocked.

Even felt a little creepy.

However, he did not think that if there were so many advantages, there would definitely be disadvantages. But these were just the ones he could think of at the moment. The idea of ​​adding more to the Ming system still surprised Li Jinglong.

Xia Zhibai said: "If it is really implemented, the constraints on officials will not only be national laws, but also 'family rules and regulations'."

"The national law may be very light because it is for the whole world, but the local people do not understand the law. If the law is heavy, they may repeat the mistakes of the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, it is beneficial to the world to be lenient. However, officials are different. They are all educated and literate, so they should abide by themselves. It is natural to hold them to higher standards."

"And this is the price of being an official!"

"If you don't want to be bound by rules, don't even think about being an official in the Ming Dynasty."

"If you want to be an official, you must abide by the rules."

"Officials are subject to two levels of constraints: the law of the country and the law of the state. For ordinary people, only the law of the state applies."

"Once the legal issue is resolved, many things in the world will be much easier. Whether it is the reform of the military, the reform of the six ministries, or anything else, we can first make internal adjustments and decisions, and it will not easily affect the grassroots, nor will it cause unrest in the world, nor will it affect the local people."

"But there are pros and cons, of course."

"In the future, the discipline supervision of the Ming Dynasty and the assessment of officials need to be more stringent."

"Otherwise, once discipline is broken, trust will be lost between the upper and lower levels."

"When the Ming Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, there will be no way to save it, because it is rotten from top to bottom, and higher requirements will be placed on the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

Xia Zhibai didn't say much about this.

What he said now was beyond Zhu Biao and Li Jinglong's current understanding. Even if he instilled other things into them, they would not be able to listen at all. It was necessary to give Zhu Biao some time to buffer so that he could better understand what he said.

(End of this chapter)