Chapter 160 Either Don't Do It or Do It Absolutely
"Puff puff puff..."
The executioner raised his knife and dropped it, and the heads rolled to the ground, blood gushing out.
The more than twenty officials who had gone to court happily in the morning were all dead souls at this moment.
As soon as Empress Ma died, Lao Zhu broke his promise. However, Lao Zhu did not kill indiscriminately. Except for Guo Huan, the first criminal to kill the Nine Tribes, the families of other criminals were not implicated.
However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped. The family members of these criminals are either exiled to the army or serve as corvees, which is not good.
But, at least my life was saved.
Liu Hua's fate was good and his body was left intact, but Guo Huan suffered a terrible fate. He was shaved more than a thousand times before he died.
At the same time, the criminals who were previously detained in the prison were all pulled onto the execution platform, and Caishikou became lively again.
The executioner chopped from morning to night, until the blade of his sword was sharpened, his scalp was numb, his hands and feet were weak.
And this is just the beginning...
Li Qing got busy, killing people, arresting people, ransacking homes...he never had a moment to spare.
Mao Xiang and the others were still in Bashu, and Li Qing was the only one in the capital, and the Ministry of Punishment was also involved, so Zhu Yuanzhang could use him as hard as he could.
There are not many Jinyi Guards. Counting the one recruited by Li Qing, there are 13,000 people.
There are many things to be responsible for, such as monitoring chieftains, spying on Beiyuan intelligence, patrolling borders, and inspecting all officials in the world... Evenly divided, it is not rich.
A few days later, Queen Ma was buried.
Zhu Biao, Zhu Xi, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di...the eight older princes supported the spirit. Along the way, hundreds of civil and military officials, wearing sackcloth and filial piety, fell behind and cried loudly.
This time, they cried even more sadly.
…
After attending the funeral, Li Qing once again devoted himself to the work of ransacking the house.
The stolen money confiscated by Guo Huan alone was as high as 4.5 million shi when converted into taxes.
In addition, more than 20 officials, including the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Rites, each copied out stolen money ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.
Just searching the homes of these officials took a full month of work.
It is worth mentioning that Wang Wenlu, who went crazy in the household department and was involved in the incident, did not escape the disaster. He was beheaded by Lao Zhu with a piece of paper.
Winter has come, and the house raids have come to an end. The next step is to conduct a thorough investigation of Guo Huan's case.
Li Qing thought for a while and decided to ask Lao Zhu what he meant first.
After all, the areas involved were too wide, so he couldn't make his own decision as to how strict the measures would be.
Royal study room.
Li Qing explained his intention, and Zhu Yuanzhang fell into deep thought.
Finally, a limit was drawn: anyone who embezzled more than fifty taels would be beheaded!
"Officials involved will be executed on the spot except those who are doing practical things." Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly, "Officials who are doing practical things will not be beheaded for the time being. They will handle official duties during the day and be escorted to prison at night."
Zhu Biao frowned and retorted: "Father, if you do this, those officials who have committed capital crimes will be in fear all day long, how can they still do their jobs well?"
"If you can't do it, just chop them!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Is it possible to let them go?"
"That's not the case." Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said, "I think we can give them an incentive policy. For example, if they have outstanding political achievements during the period of Dai Zui, they can avoid death. When subsequent officials take office, they can be removed from their official positions."
"childish!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said displeasedly, "In this case, there will inevitably be many officials who will do whatever it takes to achieve political results, and in the end it will be the people who suffer!"
"Moreover, once a corrupt official escapes death, it will be difficult to act as a deterrent." Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "We just want these officials to know the consequences of corruption!"
"Father..."
"Needless to say." Zhu Yuanzhang said decisively, "If the person is below the standard of fifty taels, we can not kill him, but instead sentence him to prison.
Biao'er, this is the limit of what we can tolerate."
Zhu Biao sighed deeply and said bitterly: "Father, have you forgotten your mother's instructions?"
"I haven't forgotten it!" Zhu Yuanzhang said helplessly, "But you have also seen it, Biao'er. It's not that we have to kill people, but that they are seeking death themselves. We can't just watch them harm the people and remain indifferent, right?"
Zhu Biao opened his mouth, speechless.
After a long while, he sighed softly, "Father, the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty... have increased a little. Compared to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, their salaries are indeed a little less."
“No matter how much you give them, it’s not enough!”
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Besides, the salary we gave them is enough, and they still can't spend it all."
"..." Zhu Biao: (￢_￢)
"What's that look in your eyes?"
"Father, I can't bear to count the expenses, including oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, food and clothing, children's education... all the expenses are added up, and the salary of the officials is indeed a little insufficient."
"Isn't that enough?" Zhu Yuanzhang glared, "Okay, then we'll fight with you."
The emperor and the prince were about to fight, so Li Qing naturally couldn't miss such a good show. He looked at his nose and heart with his eyes open, while secretly he pricked up his ears and ate the melon with concentration.
The affirmative debater spoke first:
"Biao'er, let me ask you, how much is the annual salary of a seventh-grade official in our Ming Dynasty?"
"90 stones."
"90 shi, one meal per person is 82 meters, is this enough?"
"That's enough."
"Eight taels per meal, one and a half kilograms per day, 3.5 shi per year is enough. The salary we offer is enough for a seventh-rank official to support more than 20 people."
Zhu Yuanzhang hummed, "This is calculated based on the appetite of a mature man. In fact, the elderly and children cannot eat so much, and they don't have so many people to feed them."
After a set of combination punches, the opposing debater Zhu Biao was a little unable to resist.
Li Qing also nodded secretly after hearing this. It was indeed a lot for him to make such a calculation.
After a while, the opposition debater Zhu Biao calmed down and began to counterattack.
"Father, don't they eat vegetables?"
"It's enough for food."
"Don't you eat meat?" Zhu Biao asked, "As a dignified official of the imperial court, eating meat is not too much, right?"
"Ang, it's not too much. It's enough to improve every now and then." Zhu Yuanzhang's momentum was slightly weaker.
Zhu Biao continued, "Wife, children, young and old, you can't make a lot of clothes in a year, right?"
"not much."
"When it comes to festivals and birthdays, it's necessary to have some splendor, right?"
"Ang, I want it."
"Officials need to ride in sedan chairs, so it's not too much to have two bearers, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang began to show his "fatigue". Facing Zhu Biao's offensive, his momentum became weaker and weaker.
Why does this account keep getting bigger and bigger?
When Zhu Biao saw that the heat was almost there, he launched his ultimate move:
“The annual salary of 90 dan is true, but can officials get it all?
Forty percent of it was converted into other things by the imperial father... ahem, by the court, such as silk cloth, cotton cloth, and even some odds and ends. When converted into food, it is not worth that much at all!"
"Ah? This..."
Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned red, and he was so embarrassed by his son's rebuke that he couldn't get off the stage. He became angry and said:
"Even if they are really short of money, it is not the reason for their corruption. We give them official positions so that they can benefit the people, not just big fish and meat!"
"That's what Father said."
Zhu Biao also realized that the retort was a little harsh, and he quickly brushed his hair, "Officials are corrupt and must be punished. There is nothing wrong with my father."
After a pause, he said, "Father, the purpose of punishing corruption is nothing more than to ensure a clean and honest administration. However, the low salary of officials is also one of the causes of corruption. I suggest that it be increased appropriately."
Zhu Yuanzhang fell into silence.
Seeing that he was silent, Zhu Biao said again, "Father, there are so many corrupt officials. Do they all want to be corrupt officials after they take office?"
Not necessarily!
In Erchen's view, except for some who are greedy by nature, most officials still want to do well, but some are forced by life, so..."
He sighed, "When corruption becomes common, even those who want to clean up the palace have to be greedy, otherwise they will be tolerated."
"Father, there is a saying in official circles that you should have heard."
"What words?"
"Be like the light!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was startled and nodded slowly, "Okay, then the salary will be increased. The salary below the third rank will increase by 20%, and the salary below the fifth rank will increase by 30%."
"Father is wise." Zhu Biao said happily.
Li Qing also flattered him a few times, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Okay, you brought this up, Biao'er, so you can draft the decree!"
"Father...this, isn't this bad?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. This position will be yours sooner or later, so go ahead and get it!"
"I obey the order." Zhu Biao nodded, got up and went to the imperial study.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the chair for a while and suddenly looked at Li Qing, "What do you think of the prince?"
"Ah?" Li Qing quickly looked panicked, "How dare I comment?"
"We'll let you say it."
"His Royal Highness the Prince is wise, kind, and wise."
"Yes, he is kind and wise." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and then shook his head slightly, "It would be better if he was less kind."