The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 542 How to Punish Corrupt Officials
How to punish corrupt officials is a problem.

It seems that emperors of all dynasties have never solved this problem.

In other words, emperors of all dynasties have failed to handle this problem properly.

If it were handled properly, corrupt officials would not be rampant at the end of every dynasty.

Or, to put it the other way around, rampant corruption is the cause of a dynasty's end or even its decline.

The rich are feasting and drinking, while the streets are filled with frozen corpses. Corrupt officials are rampant. A dynasty begins to decline and eventually perish.

This is like a vicious cycle, and countless dynasties have perished because of it.

It can be said that how to punish corrupt officials is the key to influencing the rise and fall of a dynasty.

So, how to punish corrupt officials?

Noon is approaching and the sun is at its highest point.

In the Qianqing Palace, in the imperial study, Wanli was still sitting there holding little Zhu Changxun, motionless, with no intention of getting up to eat.

There was a copy of the Ming Dynasty Code in front of him, and he had already turned to the page about punishing corrupt officials.

Those who violate the law and commit crimes shall be caned with seventy sticks for less than one string of coins, caned with one hundred sticks for more than forty strings of coins and exiled to the military, beheaded for more than forty strings of coins, and strangled for more than eighty strings of coins.

Yuan Keli said it word for word.

Punishing corrupt officials in this way is simply a joke.

It had been a long time since the Ming Dynasty punished corrupt officials in this way.

Because this is illegal, dirty and out of place.

How much is one yuan?
It all depends on what you use to calculate it.

If calculated using copper coins, one guan is equivalent to one thousand wen, which is equivalent to about one tael of silver.

This is already a joke. Which corrupt official would only take one or two taels of silver?
If we calculate it based on the Ming Dynasty treasure notes, it would be an even bigger joke.

The depreciation rate of the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes was extremely fast. During the Hongwu Dynasty, one string of treasure notes was only worth more than one hundred coins.

Even the Yongle Dynasty's forced promotion of Baochao could not stop the depreciation of Baochao, and the Battle of Tumu Fort even caused the value of Baochao to collapse completely.

According to the Ming Shilu, in the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign of Emperor Yingzong, "one string of banknotes was worth two copper coins." During the Chenghua reign of Emperor Xianzong, "one string of banknotes was not worth even one copper coin"!
According to the Great Ming Code, if one were to abuse the law and embezzle one cent, he would be beaten with seventy sticks, and if he were to embezzle forty cents, he would be beheaded.

Isn't this a joke?
It is probably because of this reason that the law of perverting the law has not been carried out since the Chenghua period of Emperor Xianzong.

This is really like a joke. Even if we calculate based on the exchange rate that was rigidly stipulated when the Ming Baochao was first issued, one string of Baochao is only worth one thousand copper coins or one tael of silver.

Perhaps, Emperor Hongwu established this harsh law to prevent officials from being corrupt.

The "cool" here is cruel and has a derogatory meaning.

The reason why cruel laws are called cruel laws is that there are times when they cannot be enforced because they are too cruel.

This illegal act is so dirty and it is so cool that it cannot be carried out in the end.

What are the consequences of failing to enforce the law?
Corrupt officials are completely unconstrained!
This cool and dirty thing is like a joke.

The problem is, this joke involves human lives.

Under normal circumstances, no official would really beat another official with seventy lashes just because he embezzled a penny, and no official would really behead another official just because he embezzled forty cents.

This kind of joke is not allowed. If you dare to make this kind of joke to others, others will also make this kind of joke to you, and then no one will be able to escape.

Who dares to make such a joke?

Therefore, the law becomes a dead letter, no one enforces it, and corrupt officials are left without restraint.

This is a disguised way of encouraging corrupt officials to run rampant.

So what if Yan Song embezzled at least several million taels?

He was just dismissed from office and stripped of his official title.

So what if hundreds of thousands of acres of land were discovered in Xu Jie’s family?
Hai Rui found out but didn't do anything to Xu Jie.

Obviously, this kind of illegal behavior is no longer appropriate.

I don’t know what the emperors after Yongle of the Ming Dynasty were thinking. They didn’t even know to change the laws that were obviously out of date.

They don't even think about the consequences of failing to implement it.

The consequence is that the court is full of corrupt officials, and the percentage is rising rapidly from 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, to 90%.

All the income of the Ming Dynasty court will not be enough for corrupt officials to embezzle, and it will be doomed!

He was sitting there frowning in thought when Li Xuancheng suddenly poked his head in and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress invites you to dinner."

This is because Queen Wang was afraid that little Zhu Changxun would be hungry.

Upon hearing this, Wanli lowered his head and said to the little guy in his arms, "Xun'er, why don't you go and have dinner first."

Little Zhu Changxun actually covered his stomach and shook his head, saying, "I won't go. I will accompany my father."

This little guy.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then pointed to the small table below where Li Xuancheng used to write his imperial edicts and said, "Uncle, have someone pick out some dishes that Xun'er likes and bring them over. Let him eat here."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancheng quickly turned around and walked away.

Little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, what have you been thinking about for so long?"

I am thinking about how to punish corrupt officials.

Wanli patiently explained, "As you can see, the laws of the Ming Dynasty are no longer relevant. No one enforces them now. If they can no longer be enforced, corrupt officials will be unchecked. This is definitely not acceptable. Corrupt officials will surely run rampant throughout the court."

Therefore, when laws and regulations become inappropriate, we must change them so that they can be enforced. Otherwise, there will be problems.

You must pay attention to this point. In a prosperous era, governance depends on laws and regulations. Any laws and regulations that are out of date must be changed once they are discovered.

My father is just wondering how to correct this corrupt law and punish corrupt officials."

Oh, so you are thinking about how to amend the laws.

Little Zhu Changxun nodded slowly and asked, "Father, have you decided how to change it?"

This is not that simple.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Father needs to think about it carefully."

At this time, Li Xuancheng had already entered with a group of eunuchs, and the small table was soon filled with food.

He took a small bowl and took a little bit of each dish to taste carefully, then nodded and said, "Your Majesty, it's done."

Wanli nodded slightly, then picked up little Zhu Changxun, handed him over, and said, "Eat your meal with your uncle first."

Seeing this, Li Xuancheng hurriedly picked up little Zhu Changxun and sat down cross-legged at the small table.

Wanli picked up the pen and slowly wrote on the paper.

The most inappropriate thing about the abuse of power is that the officials are not convicted based on their actual income, but on the huge amount of money they earn.

It is really difficult to set the punishment standard. If it is too low, it means there is no change and it is still impossible to enforce. If it is too high, it is a disguised encouragement of corruption.

He thought about it for a long time and decided that the standard of punishment should be determined according to the official's salary.

Anyone who embezzles more than one month's salary will be punished with 70 strokes of the cane; if it is from one to twelve months, 100 strokes of the cane; if it is more than one year, 100 strokes of the cane, confiscation of property, exile and banishment; if it is from one to ten years, 100 strokes of the cane, confiscation of property and the whole family will be punished with exile and banishment; if it is more than ten years, confiscation of property, execution and the whole family will be punished with exile and banishment.

This punishment is kind of cool, but not so cool that it can't be enforced.

If we follow the standard of a seventh-rank county magistrate, then if one embezzles 7.5 taels, he will be caned 70 times; if he embezzles between 7.5 and 90 taels, he will be caned 100 times; if he embezzles 90 taels, he will be caned 100 times, his property will be confiscated and he will be exiled; if he embezzles between 90 and 900 taels, he will be caned 100 times, his property will be confiscated and he and his whole family will be exiled; if he embezzles more than 900 taels, his property will be confiscated and he and his whole family will be executed and he will be exiled.

He finished writing carefully and it was already past noon.

By this time, little Zhu Changxun had already finished eating.

He hurriedly ate some of the little guy's food, and then ordered someone to call over the chief minister Shen Li and the grand secretary Li Tingji.

These two people were on duty in the palace's guard room, and they arrived quite quickly.

After a while, they walked in quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli took up the list of officials Li Dai had confessed to and said solemnly, "Take a look at this, this is the list of corrupt officials Li Dai, the Viceroy of the Ministry of Revenue and the Governor of the Granaries, had confessed to.

This is what he can remember at the moment. There are many things he can't remember for the time being. He is recalling them in the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

When Shen Li took it and looked at it, he couldn't help but be shocked.

This list is just like an imperial edict, with at least five or six hundred officials listed on it!
He glanced through it quickly before handing it to Li Tingji.

Wanli saw that Li Tingji had also hurriedly read it, and then he said solemnly: "The "Great Ming Code" is obviously out of date.

For so many years, no one has to break the law and corrupt officials can be dealt with however they want. How can this be acceptable?

Legal principles are nothing more than human feelings. If there are no enforceable legal standards, people will talk about human feelings. Once people talk about human feelings, it is a disguised encouragement of corruption.

You have also seen that corrupt officials now account for 70 to 80 percent of the government officials.

If this continues, the Ming Dynasty will sooner or later perish at the hands of these corrupt officials!"

Your Majesty is blaming us for not mentioning this!

Upon hearing this, Shen Li bowed his head in shame and said, "I am guilty. I am uneducated, incompetent and unvirtuous. I am not worthy of being the Prime Minister."

Li Tingji also quickly followed suit, bowing and saying, "I am guilty. I am of low caliber and do not understand the laws. I am not worthy of being a Grand Secretary."

What are you doing?
I'm not blaming you.

Wanli shook his head slightly, picked up the written law on punishing corrupt officials and said, "I am not going to punish you. If there is a problem, we will solve it. I have changed the corrupt law. You can see how the change is."

Shen Li quickly bowed and took it with both hands.

He took a closer look and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "Your Majesty is wise, this method is feasible."

Li Tingji took it and looked at it, and he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Your Majesty is wise, this method is very good."

Stop just flattering me.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then said solemnly: "I still say the same thing, if there is a problem, we must solve it.

Please carefully check the "Great Ming Code" and report any inappropriate content.

Also, please attach the draft of how to make the changes more appropriate. Zhang will be in charge of this matter. Zhonghua, please give us your suggestions when you have time."

Upon hearing this, Shen Li and Li Tingji hurriedly bowed and said, "Your humble servants understand."

Wanli thought for a moment and then instructed, "Also, Li Qing will begin interrogating the officials on this list one by one tomorrow.

By then, the Ministry of Revenue and local officials will definitely deal with a lot of them. You should quickly discuss with Meng Jing and prepare replacement officials.

You should select the officials who will take over this time, and don't go through the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Office."

His Majesty's intention is to let them promote the imperial party in large numbers!

Upon hearing this, Shen Li and Li Tingji bowed and said, "We obey your order."

(End of this chapter)