Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 204 Restructuring of the Metropolitan Procuratorate (5000 for recommendation tickets)

Next is the confession of Fan Yongzheng, the owner of Fanji Bank.

His confession also corroborated the confessions made by Fan Fu, the treasurer of Fan Ji Bank, and they all matched up.What is even more surprising is that the time and what to say are all very clear.It was also because the factory guard had grasped such specific details that it shocked Fan Fu, Fan Yongzheng and the others, including other slaves, and forced them to confess.

All the civil and military officials present, including Cao Huachun, the admiral of the East Factory, came out and read out the confessions in their hands one by one in public.

Thus, a thread was connected in series, and through Fan Fu, the censor Liu Meicai was drawn out; through Liu Meicai, two other censors, Yang Zhiqi and Liao Guolin, were drawn out; Yang Sichang.

Now that the confession has been read, it is already obvious that these people cannot escape guilt.

Although these things are indeed shocking, most civil and military officials are still a little bit unconvinced when it comes to treason.

Except for the censor Liu Meicai, the crimes of the others are more of corruption and party struggle, which is more accurate.

If this kind of thing is classified as a case of treason, many people are worried that after the Chongzhen Dynasty took the lead, will they be charged with treason at any time in the future?

Therefore, I saw Zhong Yi, the censor of Zuodu, play to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I wonder if Yang Sichang has pleaded guilty?"

Yang Sichang's confession has not yet been read out.And his confession is naturally the most important concern of all civil and military officials, and it is the top priority.Therefore, many officials followed suit and expressed their concern.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen just nodded lightly, and said to Cao Huachun, "Read it!"

"Slave obeys the decree!" After Cao Huachun bowed to receive the decree, he began to read Yang Sichang's confession.

In his confession, he confessed to trying to bring down Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun Chuanting was also the one he wanted to get rid of.These things, when, including the original words are all there, Yang Sichang can't do it if he doesn't want to plead guilty.

It was also from his confession that Xuanda governor Chen Xinjia was involved.

However, even after hearing these confessions, the ministers still didn't take it seriously, because this kind of thing should not be too common in the court.Let’s just say that Chongzhen’s dynasty is well, so many chief assistants and six ministers were withdrawn and killed, isn’t this kind of party struggle behind that person?

There are also other dynasties.And they can believe that this kind of thing has happened before, it exists now, and even in the future, it will definitely exist again.

It is a good thing that the emperor can distinguish between loyal and traitorous people and not be influenced by traitorous ministers.For the officials who framed the case, it doesn't matter if they are convicted or even put to death. Who makes him unlucky? The party struggle has failed!
But if the emperor wants to characterize such things as treason, this is a felony crime of ransacking the family and exterminating the clan, and how many people can afford such consequences.At least for now, these civil and military officials all believe that the emperor's punishment is too heavy.The word conspiracy is too capricious.They have opinions on this kind of thing!
Emperor Chongzhen was on the throne, when Cao Huachun or Li Ruolian were reading the confession, he was scanning every courtier below, and naturally noticed the change in their expressions.In this regard, it was all expected, and I didn't care about it.

Cao Huachun continued to read, and at this time, he also read about corruption such as how much money Yang Sichang accepted, and then naturally brought out other officials who gave bribes.Among the officials who read out the small numbers, they didn't read the small numbers, and generally the numbers were relatively large and the circumstances were serious.And these people have obviously been arrested.These things are like melons on the vine, following the vines, and finding out a lot of corrupt officials.

After reading this part of the confession, Cao Huachun turned to read the confessions of other officials who were arrested. Of course, he couldn't escape the most serious matter of buying and selling officials in the officialdom. , has been revealed again.

When Cao Huachun read this, his mouth was dry.So, Emperor Chongzhen interjected and said: "The reason why I punished Tian Weijia severely and punished him for a crime of deceiving the emperor was not only because he deceived me, but also because he corrupted the court and used the official position of the court as a tool for him to make money. Buying and selling Official position. Gentlemen, please don’t tell me that today’s scholars can buy an official with money and serve the country and the people, right? If there is such a noble person, you should recommend them to me, and I will definitely use them!”

At this point, his tone suddenly became stern, and he shouted loudly: "How corrupt has the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty become today? Judging from the corruption situation under my control now, is it true that the geese have plucked their feathers?"

Facing the emperor's wrath, the civil and military officials at the bottom did not know why, but they breathed a sigh of relief.

The emperor admitted it now. In the final analysis, it is still corruption. You said it yourself, and you will use this to make things up later. If this is the case, the crime of treason cannot be abused after all, right?
Corruption is corruption, treason is treason, they must not be confused!
When Emperor Chongzhen got angry, he actually stood up from his throne, with an angry look on his face, like a fierce tiger that seemed to choose people to devour. He continued to shout and asked: "Today's officials, no matter where they are or in the court, whether they are civil servants, Or military generals, only those with some power in their hands can cheat the court to pay taxes out of thin air, right? You said it yourself, how many people actually paid taxes according to the number of tax-free acres? They all colluded, falsely reported tax-free acres, and paid all the taxes. Is it possible to classify it as tax-exempt to avoid paying taxes?”

The Ming Dynasty never said that as long as one becomes an official, all land property taxes will be exempted. There is no such thing.All are limited by grade.However, in most cases, this limit is a decoration.Especially at the end of Ming Dynasty, this situation was even more serious.

This is a stubborn disease that involves all officials and cannot be cured.However, it is still necessary to take it out and beat it.

Facing the emperor's wrath, no one below spoke.

"Is there any such thing as exploitation and embezzlement? Let's just talk about the military salary. After the imperial court allocates it, how many people will stretch out their hands and deduct it. When the military salary reaches the hands of the soldiers, there will be eleven? There is also disaster relief money. When you go to the local area, how many are actually used for disaster relief? Tell me, is there such a thing, is there a lot?"

All officials are well aware of this, and no one objects.

"Also, is there any such thing as collusion and embezzlement? How much of the money appropriated by the court for the court's purchases fell into the pockets of court officials and local businessmen colluding with each other? Is there such a thing? ,too much?"

There was still silence, but some officials looked at each other in private, with surprise in their eyes, as if surprised that the emperor knew so many things?
"Arbitrarily self-willed officials regard the imperial court's taxes as private property, and place baskets at the gate of the yamen. They love to pay the taxes but don't pay them. They use the imperial court's taxes to win the official reputation of loving the people. Are there such officials? Are there many? "

This kind of thing was more common in places in the Ming Dynasty, and it was concentrated in the Jiangnan area.From the governor to the local government, there are such things.The example given by Emperor Chongzhen is one of the special cases, and it has reached the point of unscrupulousness.Although other officials were not so obvious, they did similar things.That is to use the interests of the court as a bargaining chip in exchange for one's own reputation.

"How much money and money have the officials who cleverly made excuses plundered from the people? As far as I know, more than half of the money handed over by the people is this kind of money. The people eventually abandoned their fields and fled, and even took risks. Many of them were enslaved by such officials. Are there many such officials who ask endlessly for what they are forced to do?"

"Also, when things happen, if there are good things, relatives and close friends will favor them. If there is no benefit, or if you need to spend energy to solve the problem, you just push the buck and make things difficult. Are there any officials like this, are there many?"

"..."

Listening to Emperor Chongzhen citing detailed examples of corruption, the civil and military officials at the bottom could only wait in silence, surprised at the same time, thinking in his heart, who knows which official gave the emperor a secret performance.Otherwise, how would the emperor know all kinds of local things when he was in the capital?

Thinking of this moment, many people turned their attention to Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant standing in the front.Obviously, they felt that, nine out of ten, it was Xue Manzi who stabbed these matters again.

But at this time, many people are a little relieved about it.It's better to catch corruption than to catch treason, isn't it!
After Emperor Chongzhen summarized a bunch of examples of corruption, he sternly asked: "Do you think this official corruption must be cured? If this kind of corruption is allowed to continue, can the Ming Dynasty be protected?"

Hearing this, many people suddenly came to their senses. Could it be that the emperor thought that corruption would ruin the Ming Dynasty, so he charged him with treason?The emperor actually said this?Doesn't that mean that if anyone is corrupted and convicted of treason, wouldn't that be the end of it?
As a result, many people wanted to correct the emperor's statement.

But at this moment, Xue Guoguan took the first step and played to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" ordered by the Taizu and revised by the previous emperors has regulations on corruption of officials. I think that if Corruption should be punished according to the law. There are too many corrupt people, and the atmosphere in the officialdom is corrupt, so the law should be strictly enforced. Anyone who violates the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" will be punished, and one person will be punished. Officials should be able to improve it!"

Hearing this, many people couldn't help but look at Xue Guoguan with admiration.The sun today came out from the west.The emperor's henchmen also objected to the emperor's arbitrary accusation of crimes, and he must be convicted according to the "Law of the Ming Dynasty"!Rare, rare!
But looking back, I think so.You, Xue Guoguan, are also a minister. If one day you offend the emperor and are charged with treason, won't it also bring disaster to the nine clans?

Thinking of this, many officials came out one after another, all echoing Xue Guoguan's words.It probably means one thing, to ensure that laws must be followed, law enforcement must be strictly enforced, and violations must be prosecuted.As for the random accusation, especially the crime of treason, then don't.

Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be persuaded. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said: "Your opinions are reasonable. But now the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which is the supervisor of hundreds of officials, is a hard-hit area of ​​corruption. I want to rebuild the Metropolitan Procuratorate and strictly supervise mechanism to prevent official corruption, is this possible?"

The remaining officials cannot be guaranteed to be free from corruption, but the severity of their corruption is still much lighter than that of those who were arrested.At this time, when they heard the emperor's words, they couldn't help but have doubts in their minds: Rebuild the Metropolitan Procuratorate?Serious monitoring mechanism?
For a while, they didn't know what the emperor wanted to do?But the corruption of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is indeed an indisputable fact. As long as there is no talk of treason, everything else can be discussed.

So, some courtiers asked, what kind of law is the reconstruction of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and what kind of serious law is the strict supervision mechanism?

Regarding this, Emperor Chongzhen had been waiting for a long time, and immediately said to them: "I want to expand the Metropolitan Procuratorate, not only in the capital and Yingtianfu, but also in other provinces, at least at the prefectural level. The local Metropolitan Procuratorate Its duty is to supervise local officials, enforce the law, and clean up the local officialdom. It’s not just a temporary patrol to inspect the local area!”

This is to increase the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which is naturally not happy for the officials under supervision.But at this time, the corruption of local officials has just been cited. If anyone opposes it, wouldn't it feel like there is no 300 taels of silver here.

So, for a while, no official said anything about it, and responded with silence.

However, the Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is here, if he doesn't make a sound, he will be scolded to death by the Censor Yanguan in the future.Besides, he was also willing to increase the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so he immediately went out and said: "Your Majesty's method is very clever, and my ministers seconded it!"

Only a few remaining Metropolitan Procuratorates followed suit.Although the momentum is small.But after all, some people agreed one after another.Emperor Chongzhen nodded at this, looked at the other officials and said, "What do you think? Or is there a better method of supervision to teach me?"

Hearing this, the civil and military officials didn't say anything, but Cao Huachun, the admiral of the East Factory, came forward and said: "Your Majesty, it is also possible for the factory guards to monitor the place."

Compared with the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the factory guard has much more power.Law enforcement is also much more violent. As long as civilian officials are optional, it is naturally impossible to choose factory guards to supervise.

Therefore, after hearing Cao Huachun's words, other civil officials had to come out and agree with the measure of establishing the local metropolitan procuratorate.

"Okay, since that's the case, then this matter is settled. Later, Zhong Qing will come up with a charter." Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zuodu Censor and ordered him.

When Zhong Yan heard this, he quickly received the decree and said: "My minister obeys the decree!"

It's really unpredictable. In the blink of an eye, the censor who stayed behind must be promoted, and the power will be much greater.

But at this moment, Xue Guoguan, the first assistant, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, when the Metropolitan Procuratorate was delegated to a certain place, I thought that there should be no more rumors about it. If the place is far away, it is too late to go up to the heavens to hear it. Your Majesty's ruling will also It’s not very convenient; second, if it’s just a rumour, if there is no evidence, it will have a great impact on the local area, and it will be detrimental to the stability of the local area!”

Upon hearing this, the civil servants were surprised again.This Xue Manzi can speak today!

As a result, many officials immediately came out and echoed Xue Guoguan's point of view.Even if Zhong Yan suggested that the right to gossip was determined by the Taizu, he was rejected by others.This is not true, you have restructured the procuratorate, and you still want to use the same old style, no way!

Seeing the courtiers arguing, Emperor Chongzhen immediately made a decision: "The right to play rumors is indeed not in line with the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty in the future, so let's cancel it. However, I will send more people to the Metropolitan Procuratorate so that the local Metropolitan Procuratorate has the ability to investigate. Yes. In addition, people are allowed to report with their real names. Okay?"

When Zhong Yan heard this, you are cheating on us and we all have the authority to inspect the court. Yes, the emperor has compensation now. He did not wait for the ministers to say anything, and said first: "Your Majesty has learned clearly. I think it is feasible, and we should be able to clean up the local officialdom!"

When many officials heard this, they asked the people to sue the officials?How can this be?

In the past, of course, it was possible for the people to sue the officials, but they could only be sued by the higher-level officials. Generally speaking, such matters were easy to handle.But now they are complaining to the yamen in charge of the officials. That is a professional, and people make a living from it. Isn't that just to investigate the problem?

Naturally, many people are not happy about this kind of thing.Therefore, Xue Guoguan started to grab the show again, and played a step ahead: "Your Majesty, who can control the power of the local capital procuratorate? If we do anything recklessly, it will have a great impact on the local officialdom. What should we do?"

When he said this, he once again attracted the support of other officials.It is not appropriate to question the Metropolitan Procuratorate one by one, and some even call the people to sue the officials.

Regarding this, Emperor Chongzhen said with a serious face: "In the time of the Taizu, people could sue the officials. This is the ancestral system, and I think it is okay! As for the excessive power of the local capital procuratorate, it is not a big deal. It is not a big deal. Do you have my factory guards? In the future, I will send them to the localities to investigate people's situation. If the local procuratorate abuses its power, I will know."

"In addition, the local Metropolitan Procuratorate only has the power of supervision. Trials below the seventh rank are jointly heard by three departments at the provincial level, and the Provincial Metropolitan Procuratorate is the jury. When necessary, factory guards will also be present to observe. As for those above the seventh rank, they are escorted When you arrive in Beijing, the three judicial departments of the capital will review the case. This can also prevent the local procuratorate from having too much power."

Having said that, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly raised his voice and said, "From now on, all corruption of officials will be handled in this way, can you?"

These officials were still thinking about the series of things the emperor said before, but when they heard this, they were all taken aback.What does the emperor mean, that the corrupt officials who have been arrested now will be dealt with in the same way?Don't follow the conspiracy?That is to say, the emperor will not indiscriminately label him as treason, so everyone can rest assured?
When they were thinking this way, it was Xue Guoguan who came out and said: "Your Majesty, will the corrupt officials who have been arrested now also follow this law?"

Hearing that Xue Guoguan asked the question in their hearts, all of them were very concerned immediately, watching Emperor Chongzhen to see how he would answer?

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen nodded and agreed with Xue Guoguan's proposal, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.Therefore, the ministers had no objections, so the matter was settled.

Emperor Chongzhen's face became a little more relaxed, and he said to everyone below: "Okay, the corruption matter has been concluded, Cao Qing, Li Qing?"

"Your servant is here!" Cao Huachun immediately bowed and waited for the order.

"The last general is here!" Li Ruolian also ordered at the same time.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and said: "Those corrupt officials will all be transferred to the Ministry of Punishment, and the files will be handed over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Qing will send people to listen."

"According to the order!"

After hearing this, the civil and military officials thought that this was the end of the matter, that everyone was happy with the result, and that the court should be able to disperse, but they heard Emperor Chongzhen suddenly shouted in a cold voice: "Now, let's talk about the treason case again!"

"..." Hearing this, all the officials couldn't help being dumbfounded: Your majesty, you are unreasonable!

Didn't I just say that it's not counted as treason, why come again?

Lin Yuji, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, immediately went out and played to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, didn't we just conclude that corruption was transferred from the Metropolitan Procuratorate to the Tribunal of the Three Jurisdictions?"

"That's right!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "But what is related to Shanxi merchants is the case of treason. Just wait and listen!"

Hearing this, the civil and military officials at the bottom were a little relieved, after all, it was only related to Shanxi merchants.But this is not appropriate, no matter what, Yang Sichang and others should not be plotting rebellion, right?

Just looking at it like this, it seems that the emperor still has evidence that has not been released.And the emperor's appearance seems to be very confident.

Thinking about what the emperor said just now, he was very organized and didn't feel like he was messing around.So, they were all a little curious and wanted to see what evidence the emperor had to prove that they were the culprits of the treason!
　The recommendation ticket is counted from the book opening, be kind!

　　This is a big update of more than 5000 words, and there will be no more tonight. Today is Mother's Day, everyone go to work!Well, I'm busy too!

　　


(End of this chapter)