Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 754 Public Trial (1)

a few days later.

Household Department.

"Hurry up! Hand over these files as soon as possible, don't waste time!"

"Hey, where are you going? Come and help me!"

"This subordinate has a lot of things to do!"

"Come here when I tell you to. Why are you talking nonsense? Hurry up!"

As the central financial center of the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Revenue has been busier than in previous years since the New Year holiday ended. Various tasks have been assigned, making the officials and servants of the subordinate departments, offices, bureaus, warehouses, and storehouses very busy.

The worst thing is that if you want to take sick leave, you have to go to the Imperial Hospital to get a receipt, otherwise you have to report to the yamen to work!

The current situation in the Ministry of Revenue can be simply summarized in one sentence. If you still want to work in the Ministry of Revenue, just do your job well. As for other things, don't think about it, don't ask, and don't look at it. If anyone has other ideas, he should leave the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible!

This is really tiring for some people.

The key point is that although the current Ministry of Revenue is busier than before, some changes have prevented many officials from complaining.

When on duty in the yamen, the variety of meals provided increased, and they were delicious, no worse than those in the reputable restaurants in the capital. It provided tea and pastries every day to all the departments, offices, bureaus and warehouses under its jurisdiction.

And the most important point is that the Ministry of Revenue quietly began to implement a new regulation, namely the Maintenance Silver. This new regulation was first piloted in the inner court and the Shaofu officials, and finally in the third year of the Tianqi reign, it was officially piloted in the outer court officials.

If we want to truly rectify the administration of officials and prevent officials, clerks, and servants from being corrupt, we must shut everyone's mouth. Those who previously thought of asking for more because their salaries were too low due to reality, then we will increase their salaries and provide corresponding maintenance silver according to their rank. If they are still corrupt, they will have no excuse.

The fundamental purpose of raising the salary standards for officials, clerks, and servants is not to reduce corruption, but to stabilize the overall order and prevent more groups from developing corrupt ideas later.

In the process of such implementation, we continue to crack down on corruption, lazy governance, and inefficient governance... Having these batches of people being arrested can have a certain deterrent effect.

Have the right not to use it?

Having power but not being greedy?

Have the right not to occupy it?

What’s the use of power then?
I am afraid that many people have this idea in their minds to a greater or lesser extent. The key is how to prevent this idea from turning into action!
"I don't think this is a good thing."

Compared with the busy officials of the Ministry of Revenue, the atmosphere in the Shangshu Office of the Ministry of Revenue seemed very depressing. Li Zongyan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, frowned and looked at Bi Ziyan who was sitting in the main seat.

"Grand Minister, I know you have seen the thorough investigation of commercial taxes in Northern Zhili, and many corrupt officials and bribery officials have been arrested, but there are rules for investigating cases."

"Yes, in the past, when rectifying the garrisons, eliminating bandits, and cracking down on price gouging, the imperial court held public trials in the localities to expose the various evil deeds of the arrested people to the public."

"But Grand Tutor, please don't forget that the current investigation of the commercial tax in Northern Zhili was initiated by our Ministry of Revenue. The specific investigation of the case must be initiated by the Commercial Tax Police Corps. This itself has caused a lot of controversy in the court. After all, the investigation of cases is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate."

"Now you are going to use the Ministry of Revenue to bring all those arrested for collecting commercial taxes from Northern Zhili to Daming Gate for public trial in batches, allowing all groups in Beijing to participate. How big of a commotion will this cause?"

"I have thought of this." Bi Ziyan's eyes were firm. Facing Li Zongyan's gaze, he said calmly, "I am afraid that once this happens, there will be an uproar in the court, and many people may even impeach me beyond their authority."

"Da Si Tu, if you knew this would happen, why did you do this?"

Nan Juyi, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, frowned and spoke anxiously, "The Ministry of Revenue has already arrested many corrupt officials during the thorough investigation of commercial taxes in Northern Zhili, and during the specific interrogation, we also found others. Right now, the thorough investigation of commercial taxes has increased the burden on the Ministry of Revenue."

"Under such a complicated situation, if we want to properly conduct a thorough investigation of commercial taxes and investigate all other issues that have been found, we cannot be influenced by the outside world."

"But if you do this now, it will not only stir up the situation between the court and the public, but also increase many uncontrollable risks. The most important point is that so many corrupt officials will be put on trial, and everyone in Beijing will know about it. What a huge blow this will bring to the majesty of the court!"

Maintaining a sense of mystery is not only beneficial to the imperial power, but also to the officials.

In fact, among the many officials set up by the Ming Dynasty, whether they are officials at the central level or officials at the local level, many of them do not have direct contact with the grassroots groups.

They will only come forward to contact you under specific circumstances.

On weekdays, it is mostly assistant officials or even clerks who come into contact with them. In the eyes of ordinary people, they are the highest officials. As for higher officials, how can ordinary people ever come into contact with them?

"That's settled."

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Bi Ziyan, who was always modest, was unusually assertive. "Tomorrow, the arrested people in Tongzhou will be brought to Daming Gate for public trial. To ensure the smooth conduct of the public trial, I will personally go to Daming Gate to preside over the trial. From now on, I will personally decide who will be in charge of the public trial."

This……

Li Zongyan and Nan Juyi's faces changed slightly after hearing this.

They didn't understand why their own Grand Tutor would do this. The key point was that holding a public trial at the Daming Gate would have a huge impact.

If we are not careful, the Ministry of Revenue will become the target of public criticism.

Bi Ziyan had thought about the concerns of Li Zongyan and Nan Juyi. If possible, he did not want to use this method.

But two days ago, a note was sent from the Qianqing Palace.

The emperor specifically asked him to hold a public trial in Beijing.

The public trials conducted in the past were mostly related to local areas and were never conducted at the central level. The key point is that those public trials did not involve many politics.

However, this public trial not only involved the central government for the first time, but more importantly, it also involved court politics.

Zhu Youxiao wanted to use this method to once again emphasize his determination to rectify the administration of officials. At the same time, he also wanted to let people all over the world know the majesty of the court through this kind of public trial!
If in future reforms, only the imperial power is consolidated and the majesty is restored, but the dignity of the court is not revered by the people below, a strong split will be formed.

Once this problem is not solved, the Ming Dynasty will easily go to extremes, which is not what Zhu Youxiao wants. A sound and perfect political system is what Zhu Youxiao wants.

As for whether the public trial will shake the confidence of the people at the bottom in the imperial court, as they were unaware that there were so many corrupt officials. How to solve this problem depends on the wisdom of those who are willing to work. After all, majesty is not gained by deceiving or suppressing others, but by doing things down to earth! !

(End of this chapter)