Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 766 0761 [Suicide out of fear of crime]

Tokyo.

The Cai Jing mansion outside Liangmen is really too big.

The prince ordered it to be divided into four, and walls were built to separate the lanes between the four houses. The four new houses still looked impressive.

The important ministers of the cabinet lived near the Shangshu Provincial Yamen in the former Song Dynasty.

The four new houses separated from Cai Jing's residence were given to four officials four years ago. One of them was assigned to Shi Ruchang, and it was on the side facing the river.

The Shi family in Guizhou is not a prominent family, but it is definitely not a country tycoon. Their ancestors also produced Jinshi, but they have gradually declined in the past two or three generations.

When Zhu Ming was assigned to Guizhou, Shi Ruchang was invited by his friends to attend the lecture.

Shi Ruchang was suddenly enlightened by the Eight Eyes theory, and his blood boiled with excitement.

This Guangxi scholar who was less than twenty years old followed Ju Ming all the way north. Although the rebellion shocked him, after the Zhu family captured Hanzhong, Shi Ruchang quickly followed Chen Dong and pledged allegiance.

Shi Ruchang himself couldn't tell when exactly his mentality changed.

He gradually fell in love with this kind of life. It was no longer just about money and collecting books. It was also about being fawned over, flattered, flattered, and awed by others... This was what Shi Ruchang wanted most!
He was only in his twenties, and he was rising rapidly and with high spirits.

Although most officials knew that the laws of the new dynasty were very strict, as long as they were not punished, they still held the official mentality of the former Song Dynasty - that is not called greed, it is just a matter of getting some money, and it is not a big deal.

Why can others live a life of luxury while I have to be frugal and poor?
We followed the prince and raised an army, risking beheading to rebel and save the people from water and fire. Now that we have rebuilt the world and made great contributions to the country, isn’t it time to live a happy life?
He likes to read and collect books.

Even though he was given a portion of Cai Jing's old residence after being recalled to the capital, and his salary could support the servant's expenses, and there were rewards for meritorious service in handling cases, Shi Ruchang still found it difficult to be satisfied.

When the emperor ordered the three judges to hold a joint trial, Shi Ruchang knew that he was doomed.

Shi Ruchang knew very well how ridiculous this concept was. He had personally sent away more than thirty corrupt officials!
Ying Shan, who planned to drag everyone to death, also knew the power of it because Ying Shan was also an official of the Inspectorate.

Shi Ruchang took his wife's hands and said with tears: "I have owed you too much. I hope we will meet again in the next life. Looking back on the past few years, it seems like a great spring and autumn dream, and I am confused for some reason. The deeper I sink, the deeper I fall. It's hard to extricate yourself, and you're even addicted to it... Don't ask too much about the case of extermination. You are just the daughter of a criminal official, and your three children are underage. Maybe the official family can remember the old relationship and let you, women and children live. "

He called his wife, Deng, and said, "Take the eldest son, the second eldest son, and the youngest daughter with you, carry this box to Donghua Gate, and kneel down to see the official and the prince. If the guards don't let you in, you will keep kneeling. Outside Donghua Gate."

Someone sent him a precious ancient book and only asked him to be accommodating in small cases. Shi Ruchang hesitated for a long time, but finally accepted it. Anyway, it was just a small case, which would not harm the country or the people.

A few days ago, the confession materials had been written, but Shi Ruchang still took chances.

Occasionally, Shi Ruchang would wake up in the middle of the night and feel panicked.

He investigated many major corruption cases and saw what luxury is.

Ignoring the opposition of his family, he insisted on following Ju Ming. The innocent young man had died long ago, and now only an official official remains.

One wrong step and you fall into the abyss.

Until today, Xu, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, claimed to be ill, and Shi Ruchang finally became despairing.

He couldn't sleep all night, and during the day he had to pretend as if nothing had happened.

After a month of such panic, Shi Ruchang finally made up his mind. Every day when he went to work at the Inspectorate, he would look through old cases and carefully write down all the cases he had covered up in a small book, noting in particular which officials had violated the law.

He was extremely capable of doing things and stood out among many Long scholars and became one of Ju Ming's most respected young officials.

Basically, he is being trained as a future cabinet minister. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be released as a civil official in another two years.

"Ms. sir, what happened?" Deng asked in horror.

Deng was already crying.

Shi Ruchang said: "Even if you can survive, you will definitely have to ransack your home. If you have difficulty in life in the future, you can go to Mr. Chen to borrow money. He will not stand idle when others avoid him. Go ahead and don't delay any longer!"

Her life was at stake. Although Deng was grieved and frightened, she still sobbed quietly and complied.

After his wife and children left home, Shi Ruchang took out a packet of poison and carefully shook it into the wine flask.

He slowly shook the flask, poured it into the cup with a wry smile, and read in his mouth: "Study things, gain knowledge, be sincere, be honest, cultivate one's character, regulate the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. It was because of these eight eyes that I followed the prince all the way north. .Looking back now, I don’t remember even one of the eight eyes. Why bother, why bother!"

Picking up the flask and glass, Shi Ruchang walked to the window and waited for the last bright moon to rise in his life.

Facing the moon by the window, I drank the poisonous wine.

……

"Official!"

The eunuch suddenly shouted outside. If the eunuch dared to interrupt in this situation, something big must have happened.

Zhu Guoxiang said in a deep voice: "Come in."

The eunuch quickly came to Zhu Guoxiang's side and murmured a few words in a low voice.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Bring people in."

A quarter of an hour later, Shi Ruchang's wife and children were brought to Zhu Guoxiang holding a small wooden box.

Zhu Guoxiang opened the box. In addition to the organized criminal information, there were also two letters written to the emperor and the prince respectively.

The content of the letter was very simple. He sincerely admitted his mistakes and repented, and hoped that the court would let the orphans and widowers of the Shi family go because of their past friendship.

Although women and children generally do not delve into it, this is the biggest case since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and Shi Ruchang is afraid of attracting the wrath of Thunder.

Zhu Ming read the suicide note written to himself and then went through the criminal information left by Shi Ruchang.

After casually reading more than ten pages, Ju Ming's face became increasingly gloomy. He handed it to Chen Dong and said, "Follow the list and check it to the end!"

Chen Dong opened it and took a closer look, and soon his hands were shaking.

About 20% of the censors in the Inspectorate have been corrupted.

20% of the imperial censors were corrupted, and those were only related to Shi Ruchang. The real situation must far exceed this figure.

Chen Dong took off his official hat, knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and request to resign as the censor of Zuodu. It is inconvenient for me to receive any more assignments until these cases are investigated."

Zhu Guoxiang said to his son: "You decide for yourself about your people."

Ju Ming asked Chen Dong to stand up and warned: "You can rest at home for a month and think about how to rectify the Inspectorate. From now on, the system of the Inspectorate will be more perfect to prevent censors from colluding with each other to break the law."

Chen Dong said: "The power of the censor in the New Dynasty is too great compared to that of the previous Song Dynasty. The power of the censor should be further reduced."

Zhu Ming shook his head: "The censor has such great authority, and cases can still occur in local areas. If the power of the censor is weakened, wouldn't those local officials rebel?"

Chen Dong remained silent.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The former Song Dynasty was too lenient to civil servants. The concepts and customs have been established for a long time, and it is difficult to change them in a short period of time. Instead, they felt that the laws of the new dynasty were too strict."

Ju Ming didn't answer.

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "Take the imperial examination fraud as an example. The children of officials from aristocratic families in the former Song Dynasty could go to their elders who were officials in other places, and then they could take the special examination with the transfer envoy. And the transfer envoy in charge of the examination would follow these The elders of the officials' children are familiar with each other, and it is child's play for them to pass the examination. In the Ministry of Rites examination in the former Song Dynasty, the courtyard was not even locked during the preparation and invigilation. The examiner could leave freely if he found an excuse, and he could easily leak the examination questions."

"The fraud in the Henan rural examination this time is very serious in the eyes of you and me. It is also a major crime of beheading in the "Da Ming Law". But in the eyes of those officials who colluded with the fraud, it is not a big deal, because they may have done it before. And you won’t be severely punished!”

"Ah!"

Ju Ming slapped the armrest of the chair, stood up and said: "So we must kill a group of people brutally to let them know that the "Da Ming Law" is not a piece of waste paper!"

"Bangdang..."

Xu Fuyan, who could hardly hold on anymore, fainted from fright and overturned the chair under his buttocks.

Wu Mao reminded anxiously: "Your Highness, if the "Da Ming Code" is strictly implemented, after all these cases are tried, I am afraid that there will be two to three hundred high-grade officials who will be beheaded, and there will be beheaded non-grade officials, officials, There are even more officers, gentry, and merchants. There are also relatives who have been beheaded, had their homes confiscated, and been exiled. It is very possible... it is very likely that there are tens of thousands of people!"

Ju Ming asked: "Don't you dare to get involved? Then I'll replace it with an official from Dali Temple!"

Wu Mao said quickly: "This is not what I meant, but I am asking for mercy as appropriate. Those who have embezzled relatively small amounts may be given a lighter sentence."

Zhu Ming said: "Based on the date of promulgation of the Ming Code. Old cases committed before the promulgation of the Ming Code will not be prosecuted except for capital crimes. New cases committed after the promulgation of the Ming Code will be sentenced as they should be. No mercy!"

This is already very merciful. Now it is based on household registration and is only applicable to major crimes.

Moreover, the women and children of those who were joined together could be spared, and the rest were mainly confiscated and exiled. It was rare for them to lose their heads inexplicably.

As for the Yi tribe, they were only sentenced for treason and treason. Privately making money was equivalent to treason.

Taking 10,000 people as an example, if 500 or 600 people were beheaded, as long as they were not sentenced to one of the "Yi Tribes", then the remaining 9,000 people would basically end up being exiled. It also comes with a series of penalties, including confiscation of family property, and banning officials for three generations from descendants.

Of course, it is possible that more than a few hundred people were beheaded.

As new cases continue to be involved, thousands of people may be sentenced to death, and the number of exiles may reach 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, or even 70,000 or 80,000!
Wu Mao now wants to go home and ask his son if he has committed any crime.

He is not afraid of ordinary cases and only punishes the parties concerned. I'm afraid that if I encounter a serious crime, the punishment will be a household registration booklet!

(End of this chapter)