Chapter 33: The Pillar of Hongwu, Thoroughly Hooked and Reeled In
Page (1/3)
It was not only Song Shanshi who had realized this; everyone else had also recognized the importance of winning over the court officials.
At present, they were practically wild with desire for a chance to enter the cabinet. Naturally, they failed to realize that Zhu Yuntong was deliberately allowing them to form factions and pursue private interests.
Of course, even if they had realized it, they would never have said so aloud. They might even have worked all the harder to advance the scheme.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive, they had not dared to form factions openly. Now that someone had given them his support, would they not seize the opportunity to draw officials who shared their political views to their side?
To fail to do so would truly mean there was something wrong with their heads.
“Haha!”
Zhu Yuntong laughed, his gaze sweeping over everyone once more. “Before we discuss the specific procedure for the election, there is one more matter I wish to address. Gentlemen, why not listen patiently until I have finished?”
Uh...
The assembled officials were so frustrated that some of them could not help rolling their eyes inwardly.
They finally understood. The new emperor before them was nothing like a boy of fifteen or sixteen. He was an old hand at political manipulation.
Time and again, he would bait their desires to the very limit, only revealing what he truly intended to do at the moment when they were most eager to hear the result.
And at precisely such moments, they would never oppose what Zhu Yuntong really wanted. To achieve their own aims, they would choose to agree without conditions.
“Heh heh! There is no need to look at me like that. It is not actually anything major.”
Facing their strange expressions, Zhu Yuntong could not help giving an awkward laugh before beginning to explain.
“To be honest, I only thought of this just now, so the idea is not yet fully developed. I would appreciate your opinions.”
“Your Highness, please stop whetting our appetites. If there is something to say, just say it!” Ren Taiheng’s heart truly could not take much more, and his voice carried a plaintive note.
Several elderly gentlemen also hurriedly nodded. If this continued, they feared they might suffer a sudden heart attack and go below to serve the Hongwu Emperor before they even had the chance to enter the cabinet.
“Hahaha! Lord Ren, do not be anxious. I shall explain at once.”
Zhu Yuntong gave a hearty laugh, then spoke slowly. “This is what I think: since we are going to reform the system, we should correct all the flaws left behind by Grandfather in one stroke. Otherwise, by the time we discover them and attempt to amend them later, it will be too late.”
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
“Particularly when it comes to Grandfather’s punishments for corrupt officials. I feel they are simply too harsh. What do you gentlemen think?”
Once again, he cast a sweetly tempting bait before them.
As expected, everyone nodded in agreement almost without hesitation. Not one of them dared say outright that Zhu Yuanzhang’s punishments were not merely harsh, but downright brutal.
Yet their eyes were filled with anticipation. They hoped to hear something different from Zhu Yuntong—at the very least, that officials would no longer be skinned and stuffed with straw merely for embezzling sixty ounces of silver. That punishment was simply too cruel.
“This is what I have in mind. From now on, the Censorate shall be renamed the Supervisory院—”
“The Censorate’s former authority to submit memorials based on hearsay shall be abolished, while it shall be granted the authority to supervise all officials.”
“However, supervising officials cannot mean fabricating accusations out of thin air. I shall announce throughout the realm that anyone may report wrongdoing to the Supervisory院. The Supervisory院 will then investigate the matter. If the accusation is verified, it may arrest and interrogate the suspect, and once the evidence is conclusive, report the case directly to me.”
“In addition, the Ministry of Justice must also be reformed. The Five-City Military Command shall be incorporated into it, creating four departments: the Military Command, the Judicial Commission, the Investigation Commission, and the Trial Commission. From now on, local governments shall receive military officers directly dispatched by the Ministry of Justice to replace their existing constables, or they may recruit the existing constables locally to fill those positions.”
“The Military Command shall be responsible for ordinary public order and arrests. The Judicial Commission shall handle interrogations, autopsies, and similar matters. The Investigation Commission shall be responsible for verifying cases, while the Trial Commission shall determine sentences...”
“From now on, local officials shall possess supervisory authority only; they shall no longer have the right to directly hear cases or impose sentences. The wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice throughout the dynasties have shown us that the time has come to separate judicial power from administrative power.”
“Accordingly, the most important criterion for assessing local governors in the future shall be the economic development of their jurisdictions. The Supervisory院 shall also possess the authority to oversee this matter.”
...
When Zhu Yuntong finished speaking and lifted his teacup, the people below once again broke into an uproar.
Although they understood every individual word, it was difficult for them to grasp, in such a short time, the technical terms that had poured from Zhu Yuntong’s mouth.
What was judicial power? And what was administrative power?
They had never even heard of such things. How could they possibly understand them in so brief a time?
Yet one thing was clear to them: if Zhu Yuntong’s proposals were truly implemented, the number of wrongful convictions throughout the realm would certainly be greatly reduced.
Arrests, interrogations, and trials—in effect, the powers that had once been concentrated entirely in the hands of each local governor would be divided among several offices.
Under such a separation of powers, anyone wishing to offer a bribe would have to pay twice as much, or even more, otherwise he could never achieve the same result as before.
Moreover, this arrangement would severely restrict the authority held by local governors. If the constant supervision of the Supervisory院 were added to the equation, it would become nothing short of a nightmare for them.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
“Your Highness, there is one matter I still do not understand.”
Just as the assembled officials’ gazes toward Zhu Yuntong began to change, Kai Ji, Minister of Justice, suddenly rose to his feet.
“Go ahead.” Zhu Yuntong set down his teacup and raised his chin.
The reforms of the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice were not ideas he had conceived on a whim. Zhu Yuntong had already planned them long ago.
Originally, he had intended to introduce them gradually, step by step. The reason he had brought them up now was that he had seen how the officials, hooked like fish, were practically starving for more.
He naturally would not let such a fine opportunity pass.
Kai Ji organized his thoughts, then said slowly, “I can more or less understand what Your Highness means by judicial power and administrative power. But there is one thing I do not understand. Why divide the Ministry of Justice into the Military Command, the Judicial Commission, the Trial Commission, and the Investigation Commission?
“What advantage would that bring?”
“It is very simple!” Zhu Yuntong’s face broke into a broad smile as he explained. “There is only one reason for doing this: to divide authority and separate judicial power as thoroughly as possible. In this way, we can prevent a single official from holding too much power in his hands...”
Zhu Yuntong had no way of clearly explaining the benefits of separating judicial power to them. He could only choose words they were capable of understanding.
Even so, it was enough to leave everyone utterly stunned.
In the brief span of less than an hour, the various extraordinary ideas they had heard from Zhu Yuntong had already surpassed everything they had experienced throughout their entire lives.
“Your Highness, I believe we should first test the proposal on a limited scale. Once its effectiveness has been established, we can extend it throughout the realm.”
After a long period of digesting the proposal, Su Boheng was the first to rise and express his support.
The others could find no reason to oppose it. Besides, they were eager to put these matters behind them and have Zhu Yuntong explain the specific method for electing the cabinet.
As for everything else, to be perfectly honest, they simply had no inclination to think too deeply about it at present.
...
Page (3/3)