Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 350: Severe Punishment for Corruption, High Salary for Integrity [Please Subscribe]

really.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked Liu Kuan, "Has there ever been an emperor like Qianlong in the history of the Ming Dynasty?"

Liu Kuan said, "In the later Ming Dynasty, there was indeed an emperor who was similar to Qianlong in terms of condoning corruption. That emperor was Jiajing."

"Historically, in order to better control the government and make money for his own Taoist alchemy, Emperor Jiajing condoned the corrupt Yan Song for about twenty years."

"Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan, just as the video shows, exploited Jiajing's trust and woven a corrupt ring."

"Of course, both Emperor Jiajing and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, while tolerating corruption, did not allow them to completely control government affairs as shown in the video. Instead, they always retained some so-called "clean officials" to counter the corrupt groups."

"In addition, corrupt officials like Yan Song and Heshen could not only make money for the emperor, but also take the blame for their administrative mistakes."

After hearing this, Zhu Di, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di, who had listened to Liu Kuan's lectures on Ming history, were a little surprised.

Zhu Di was puzzled and asked, "What about Wanli? Isn't he the same kind of incompetent emperor as Jiajing and Qianlong?"

Liu Kuan couldn't help but laugh. "Your Highness, Prince of Yan, although Jiajing and Qianlong indulged in corruption for their own selfish desires and rotted the foundation of the country, they were both emperors with high IQs and some knowledge of the art of ruling."

"Some people in later generations even believed that Jiajing's intelligence and political skills ranked him among the top three among all the Ming emperors."

"Wanli was even more selfish than Jiajing and Qianlong, but in terms of intelligence and political strategy, he was not even one-tenth of Jiajing and Qianlong."

Because there were many other people from the Zhu family listening, Liu Kuan couldn't explain some things too clearly.

But most people understood it - Wanli was not only selfish, but also stupid.

At the same time, princes with delicate minds such as Zhu Su, Zhu Zhen, and Zhu Tan also began to think about it secretly.

"Hearing this, Father, my eldest brother, and even my fourth brother have heard a lot about the history of the Ming Dynasty from Liu Kuan."

"It's okay if Father and Big Brother know, but why does Fourth Brother know and we don't?"

For a moment, princes such as Zhu Su and Zhu Tan looked at Zhu Di with strange eyes.

Zhu Di then realized that he seemed to have asked too many questions.

Zhu Yuanzhang also realized something.

He didn't want others to know about the Jingnan Campaign, so he immediately changed the subject and said, "Whether it was Jiajing, Qianlong, or Wanli, as long as they condoned corruption, it was wrong!"

"You've heard what was said in the video just now. Once corruption is opened, it's like a flood bursting through a dam, and it's impossible to stop it."

"A ruler must not only not tolerate corruption but must also regularly crack down on it. Otherwise, once corrupt officials become the majority in the bureaucracy, it won't be long before they disrupt the government."

"Besides this, a ruler must exercise self-control, not easily reveal his preferences, and certainly not become close to or even condone sycophants."

"If it's true as the video says, that the emperor was bribed by his subjects, then what kind of emperor would he be?!"

At the end of his speech, Zhu Yuanzhang looked quite stern.

Zhu Biao and other princes who were about to go overseas to serve as fiefs, including Zhu Xing, Zhu Di, and Zhu Gui, did listen to it and were thoughtful.

Two minutes later, Zhu Yuanzhang signaled Liu Kuan to continue playing the video.

Seeing this, everyone shifted their attention.

However, when they saw the title of the second video, everyone's faces turned strange.

"How to launch an anti-corruption campaign in ancient times? [Time Travel Guide: Integrity]"

Before the video started, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Liu Kuan, it seems you are very concerned about the hidden field case that was involved in the land survey a few years ago?"

Liu Kuan said, "This matter is being hotly discussed throughout the government and the public, and it's hard for me not to pay attention. However, I have little experience in anti-corruption, so I can only find a few relevant videos for your reference." Zhu Yuanzhang's expression softened, and he smiled and nodded, "You've put in a lot of effort."

Then the second video started.

It’s still the same explanation given by the humorous old lady.

“Friends of old who were often blackmailed knew that corruption is like a maggot on the tarsal bone, difficult to eradicate.”

"And you, as the founding emperor of a feudal dynasty, looking at these madly corrupt rats, can't help but shout wildly: My money!"

As a person from later generations, Liu Kuan knew at the beginning of the video that it was mainly based on examples from the Ming Dynasty.

The opening shot is a compilation of several TV dramas showing Zhu Yuanzhang's gloomy, angry, and murderous expression when he learned about a major corruption case.

As for the phrase "my money", it was naturally presented by Emperor Jiajing in "The Ming Dynasty 1566".

"Faced with widespread corruption, you decided to severely punish the corrupt, wielding the butcher knife to help them achieve enlightenment on the spot. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

"You know, at the beginning of a dynasty, anti-corruption efforts are often particularly needed. The rampant corruption and bribery of the previous dynasty will inevitably have a negative impact on the new dynasty. After all, a new dynasty often uses many officials from the previous dynasty."

"From the perspective of officials who have experienced the previous dynasty, corruption is a very normal thing and does not seem worth mentioning."

"'All government offices under heaven are guilty of corruption,' from high-ranking officials at the imperial court to petty local officials, all are corrupt and 'disregard the constitution.'"

"In this situation, you're afraid that rampant corruption will lead to the people's miserable lives, and your own dynasty will be overthrown by the people who can't make a living, just like the previous dynasty..."

After watching for a while, Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao and others found that the videos were indeed produced by the same old lady. Not only were the commentary styles similar, but even the content structure was similar.

This anti-corruption themed video is also divided into several sections, and each section has a subtitle.

The first section is "Preface", followed by the second section "Punish corruption with severe punishment", and the third section is "Strict supervision".

After reading the first three sections, neither the princes who had little experience in governing, such as Zhu Di and Zhu Tan, nor the old Zhu and Zhu Biao who had a lot of experience in governing the country, felt that there was anything wrong.

Because all dynasties have fought against corruption by "focusing on punishing corruption" and "strictly enforcing supervision", and the Ming Dynasty was no exception.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang hated corruption, he even did more in these two aspects than any previous dynasty.

Before Liu Kuan came to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang would sentence corrupt officials to exile at the very least, and the most severe punishment would be kneecapping, which involved digging out the kneecaps.

If the amount of corruption is slightly larger, it will be the death penalty, and the death penalty is divided into three levels. The lightest death penalty is beheading in public and then skinning the head again. The most serious death penalty is slow slicing!
Just ask corrupt officials if they are afraid.

As for supervision, there were various censors in the Inspectorate in the open, and the Jinyiwei (predecessor) in the secret.

Zhu Yuanzhang originally thought that future generations would also fight corruption from these two aspects, and there would not be anything too new.

But when he saw the fourth section of the video, he couldn't help but frown, revealing a look of surprise and thought.

Only four big words appeared on the video - high salaries to maintain integrity!
"The rampant corruption in ancient China was certainly an inevitable phenomenon caused by the bureaucratic system, but low salaries were also one of the factors that led to official corruption."

"The low salary system has always been the main theme of China's feudal dynasties. Take a seventh-rank county magistrate in the Ming Dynasty as an example. His legal income could only provide him with the living standard of an ordinary citizen."

"But the staff needed to govern a county, such as the legal advisors, accountants, and gatekeepers, all rely on the county magistrate for support. Socializing in official circles also puts financial pressure on officials."

"The magistrate thought to himself: I studied and became an official just to live a good life, but my annual salary is only forty or fifty taels, which is not enough to support my staff, let alone provide a decent life for my family. Is it okay for me to be a little greedy? I must be greedy!"

"In fact, the low salaries of the Ming Dynasty were not the most extreme. During the Northern Wei Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty, officials were not even paid salaries, leaving them to generate their own income, which ultimately led to the 'grasslandization' of the Central Plains."

"Local officials are like bandits, they've adopted social Darwinism without a teacher. To make money, officials don't care about the lives of the people and exploit them as much as possible."

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)