Huangming

Chapter 54 The rise of eunuchs, conviction and confiscation of property

September 20th of the first year of the Taichang reign.

The weather is clear and sunny.

Ciqing Palace.

Inside Duanbentang, however, the atmosphere was somewhat somber.

Wang Tiqian, who had just returned from the Ministry of Justice, knelt on the ground, carefully controlling his breathing so as not to offend the Ming Emperor who was reviewing several cases submitted by the Ministry of Justice.

The Censorate launched a frenzied impeachment campaign, like a violent storm.

However, the Ministry of Justice's conviction was as swift as a gentle breeze.

Thunder, little rain.

Seeing that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was engrossed in reading these memorials, Wang Tiqian hurriedly said, "The Ministry of Justice has been following the procedures and there is nothing wrong with it. It's just that when the Embroidered Uniform Guard went to investigate, someone informed them in advance, so they didn't find any substantial evidence. Even if there was corruption, the amount was very small and did not meet the standard for confiscating property."

"hehe."

Zhu Youxiao sneered and said, "It seems that all the officials in my Great Ming Dynasty are honest and upright. Even those few who were convicted were not guilty of accepting bribes or accepting bribes after the fact, but of being convicted of embezzlement. The highest standard of conviction is only one hundred strokes of the cane and three years of penal servitude."

They didn't even need to raid their house.

The crime of officials accepting money and accepting money after the fact refers to the crime of bribery.

It can be divided into unjust and legitimate.

If the law is violated, all those responsible for the embezzlement will be punished according to the law.

Those below the level of "one" shall be punished with seventy strokes of the cane.

Those holding one to five strings of cash shall be punished with eighty strokes of the cane.

Ten strings of cash, ninety strokes of the cane.

Forty-five strings of cash, one hundred strokes of the cane, and exile for two thousand li.

Fifty strings of cash, one hundred strokes of the cane, and exile for two thousand five hundred li.

Fifty-five strings of cash, one hundred strokes of the cane, and exile for three thousand li.

Eighty strings of cash, strangled.

Accepting bribes of 80 strings of cash under false pretenses is punishable by death.

If the law is not violated, half of the embezzled funds will be used to punish the perpetrator.

The most severe punishment was one hundred strokes of the cane and exile for three thousand li.

The crime of accepting bribes for non-official purposes refers to accepting bribes, such as gifts during holidays or gifts of ice and charcoal.

The standards for conviction are: less than one string of cash, twenty strokes of the cane; more than one string of cash up to ten strings of cash, thirty strokes of the cane... up to five hundred strings of cash, the punishment is limited to one hundred strokes of the cane and three years of penal servitude.

If the convictions continue like this, then the impeachment memorials submitted by the Censorate will seem like a joke.

"Your Majesty, perhaps the deadline is too short. What if we extend it?"

Wei Chao comforted him from the side.

"Extending the deadline might mean even a minor offense would be dismissed."

Zhu Youxiao shook his head, his tone growing increasingly cold.

"Summon Zhang Weixian, Wei Zhongxian, and Luo Sigong for questioning!"

Zhu Youxiao had previously considered giving these people a chance.

If he quickly confesses his crimes, turns himself in for embezzlement, and returns the embezzled property, then the emperor might be able to give him a lighter punishment.

There are steps too.

This corruption is systemic, involving almost all officials. The law does not punish the majority; those who commit minor offenses should simply refrain from doing so from today onward.

However.
Despite the dire state of the nation, these people are well-fed and bloated, yet they refuse to part with a single penny.

Do these idiots think that their emperor is made of mud?
How can the Ming Dynasty be governed well while dealing with these insects?

Zhu Youxiao had no choice but to resort to drastic measures!

Wei Zhongxian, move out!

Soon, the three arrived at Duanben Hall.

Zhang Weixian kept his head down and tried his best to minimize his presence.

Wei Zhongxian was beaming with pride and satisfaction.

As the head of the Eastern Depot, and with three thousand additional positions in his hands, he truly enjoyed the privileges of the Grand Eunuch of the Eastern Depot. His subordinates all flattered him and spoke very nicely. Even among the Six Ministries, some people took the initiative to come and serve him.

Each and every one of them is a talented individual.

The feeling of having the power to decide someone's fate with a single word, of being in control and superior to others, can be truly addictive.

Luo Sigong lagged slightly behind the three, his face expressionless, but his eyes clearly awaited the emperor's command, ready to serve as the king's vanguard at any moment.

Zhu Youxiao dismissed the palace servants and ordered Wei Chao to deliver the Ministry of Justice's list of convictions to the three men.

"The Censorate has submitted thirty-three impeachment memorials, and the Ministry of Justice has finalized ten in the past few days. Go and take a look." Zhang Weixian opened the book of convictions, and Luo Sigong and Wei Zhongxian immediately gathered around to read it.

The three dared not keep the emperor waiting, and after reading quickly, they understood the contents of the book.

Wei Zhongxian looked at the names of the officials from the Six Ministries, and then at their crimes, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Your Majesty, the people from the Ministry of Justice are being perfunctory; they are deceiving the Emperor!"

Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Duke Zhang Weixian of Yingguo and asked, "What does the Duke think?"

Zhang Weixian took a deep breath and said, "The Ministry of Justice's conviction was biased, but the procedure was correct."

Program.

My Great Ming Dynasty has lasted for more than 250 years. Even the most perfect system and the best procedures have been completely infiltrated by these people.

Let alone a mere Ministry of Justice sentencing them, even if the late emperor were to die suddenly from taking the red pill, these people would still be officials, and they would still take bribes and demand favors as usual.

The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was rotten to the core.

"Wei Zhongxian, what did you find out about the people I asked you to investigate?"

A thorough investigation into corruption and a return to power were plans Zhu Youxiao had long ago made.

The current development of events has not exceeded Zhu Youxiao's expectations.

"Your Majesty, all twenty-one individuals have been identified."

Wei Zhongxian knew his opportunity had come, so he immediately took out a booklet from his inner pocket and bent down to hand it to the emperor.

Zhu Youxiao carefully examined the contents.

Good guy.

The case submitted by the Ministry of Justice was like a completely different case from the one submitted by the Ministry of Justice.

Take Zhou Chaorui's case for example. When the Ministry of Justice deliberated on the crime, they argued that his family members had accepted the bribes on his behalf, which would have led to his conviction for embezzlement. However, this argument was consistently ignored.

Furthermore, Zhou Chaorui surrendered himself and returned the stolen goods. According to the "Regulations on Criminal Interrogation," "If an official accepts money and surrenders himself and returns it all to the official in charge, his crime shall be reduced by two degrees, and he shall be exempted from prosecution and dismissed from his post."

Corruption is a long-standing offense, and the punishment is usually the lightest, only twenty strokes of the cane. The punishment is further reduced by two degrees, and the offender is exempted from further punishment and removed from the official list. This means that no punishment is even necessary.

of course
At this point, some people may have questions.

Our Ming Dynasty severely punishes corruption. Anyone found guilty of corruption, regardless of the circumstances or the amount involved, is dismissed from office. How come Zhou Chaorui got away with it?
The problem is simple: times have changed.

During the Hongwu reign, the "Great Ming Code" and the "Great Proclamation" were enacted in parallel. The laws were harsh, and officials who accepted bribes of 1 string of cash were sentenced to death, dismissed from office, and had their property confiscated. Cases such as the Empty Seal Case and the Guo Huan Case implicated tens of thousands of people.

Starting from the Yongle period, severe punishments were no longer used.

With the introduction of the Criminal Law Regulations during the Hongzhi period, the legal system became more lenient.

After the Wanli Emperor's reign, the bureaucratic system became corrupt, and the system of dismissal for bribery was rendered ineffective. For example, although Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng implemented strict reforms, his confidants were still protected for accepting bribes.

Although there are laws, their actual implementation deviates significantly from the law, creating the paradox that "the net of law is tight, but the powerful and wealthy can escape."

In Wei Zhongxian's investigation, Zhou Chaorui was also found guilty of embezzlement, but the amount involved was not consistently less than three thousand taels.

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, even if Zhou Chaorui surrendered himself and returned the stolen goods, he would still be dismissed from his post and sentenced to three years in prison.

After all, for crimes punishable by more than forty strokes of the cane, the law of dismissal from office in the Criminal Procedure Ordinance becomes invalid.

The list provided by Wei Zhongxian also included information on individuals who had embezzled tens of thousands of taels of silver, which, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, was punishable by beheading and confiscation of property.

Zhu Youxiao did a simple calculation and found that the total amount of embezzled funds these officials had to return was tens of thousands of taels.

"Is there any evidence for these charges?"

Zhu Youxiao knew what kind of person Wei Zhongxian was.

Fabricating charges is what he excels at.

But Zhu Youxiao didn't want to give anyone grounds for criticism, nor did he want to wrongly accuse a minister.

Wei Zhongxian immediately nodded emphatically.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, there are witnesses and evidence. As for the three thousand taels of embezzled money by Zhou Chaorui, it was offered by a merchant from Shandong. The witness has been arrested, and he has confessed to the details. The same applies to the others. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you can ask the Duke of Yingguo and Commander Luo."

Zhang Weixian nodded and said, "I can vouch for Eunuch Wei on this point."

Luo Sigong chimed in, "There is no falsehood in this matter. Innocent is innocent, and guilty is guilty."

Zhu Youxiao nodded.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao already knew whether he was guilty or not.

After all, the Wei Dynasty had been following up on this matter.

But knowing or not asking is another matter entirely.

"Since the evidence is conclusive, order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest these officials whose crimes are undeniable and proceed with the arrest immediately! Also, tell the people from the Ministry of Justice not to investigate; let the Censorate investigate their dereliction of duty!"

If the tiger doesn't show off its power, do you think I'm a sick cat?

This chronic problem of the Ming Dynasty is something Zhu Youxiao is determined to tackle!
(End of this chapter)