Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 101: Skinned and Strawed, Lingchi Death, Immediate Execution! (Part )
The next day.

Zhu Youtang changed into court clothes and went to Fengtian Gate to attend court.

Ever since the last poisoning of the previous emperor, Zhu Youtang changed the original three-day court session to a ten-day court session.

This move made all the officials celebrate. As they rarely saw Zhu Youtang, all the civil and military officials in the capital felt that they could live a few more days.

When Zhu Youtang arrived at Fengtian Gate, the young eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department immediately sang the ceremony.

"The emperor has arrived!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon throne, looking down at all the officials in the court, his tone cold and without any emotion.

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After all the civil and military officials in the court stood up, Zhu Youtang did not announce that the civil servants had anything to report, but directly named the chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Pu.

"Lord Xu, tell me what the cabinet has been busy with recently."

Xu Pu was caught off guard by the sudden call of the name.

But his many years of experience as an official made him calm down quickly. He stepped out with his tablet in hand and saluted Zhu Youtang respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the cabinet believes that the current Ming Dynasty Code has been in effect for a long time, and there are more and more regulations. Many of the regulations and judgments are out of touch with reality."

“Therefore, we petition to revise the Great Ming Code to replace the Great Ming Code.”

For the time being, only Zhu Youtang, several cabinet elders, and several ministers of the six ministries knew that the cabinet wanted to amend the constitution.

All the civil and military officials in the court were still unaware of this explosive news.

Xu Pu originally planned to wait until the Cabinet and the Hanlin Academy completed the revision of the "Da Ming Hui Dian" before announcing it to the world.

But when Zhu Youtang suddenly made this statement in the court, Xu Pu knew that Zhu Youtang was going to formally announce the constitutional amendment to all civil and military officials.

So Xu Pu took the opportunity to tell this matter.

As expected, this move immediately shocked the court, and many officials whispered to each other, discussing the matter.

Having said this, Xu Pu no longer hid anything and simply continued speaking.

"Your Majesty, the revision of laws will take a lot of time, so before the new laws are officially compiled, I request that a "Regulations on Criminal Interrogation" be issued as a temporary transitional bill."

"The cabinet now has a provisional draft, which will be available for Your Majesty's review soon."

"good!"

Zhu Youtang smiled and nodded.

Suddenly, the eyes of all the civil and military officials in the court turned towards Xu Pu with fiery intent.

"Prime Minister Xu is... He is risking his life to plead for us!"

"Prime Minister Xu wants to emulate the Four Gentlemen of Jianwen and benefit officials all over the world!"

"It is a great honor for us to have Lord Xu as our Prime Minister! Prime Minister Xu is truly a man of great talent!"

"Lord Xu is highly respected and has a loyal mind. He will be praised for his ability, importance, and loyalty through the ages!"

"..."

The so-called Four Gentlemen of Jianwen were the four civil servants who fully supported Zhu Yunwen when he became emperor. They were Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and Lian Zining.

Zhu Yunwen's enthronement edict was written by Fang Xiaoru.

It was also the idea of ​​these civil servants to abolish the "Imperial Edict".

All the officials in the court quickly understood what was meant after hearing these few words.

They were grateful to Xu Pu from the bottom of their hearts. At this moment, the image of Xu Pu in their minds was comparable to that of Yu Qian!
Zhu Youtang glanced at Wang Zhi beside him, and Wang Zhi immediately understood, stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report."

"Accurate."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Wang Yuan, the Earl of Rui'an, Wang Qing, the Earl of Chongshan, and Wang Jun, the Right Military Governor's Office, have occupied 300,000 mu of farmland."

"Zhang Hai, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, took bribes and used money to get things done. The amount of silver involved in the case was several thousand taels."

"They have all been imprisoned and are awaiting trial by His Majesty."

"Bring me up!"

"Yes!"

Wang Zhi waved his hand, and several guards from the Western Factory came up, escorting two officials.

No one dared to wonder why four people were arrested but only two were brought to the court.

Although these two men looked miserable, they had no obvious wounds on their bodies. They were considered to be the prisoners who had a relatively good life after being imprisoned in the Western Factory Prison.

The two men knelt in front of Zhu Youtang, trembling all over. They knew they were doomed to die and could not even utter the words to beg for mercy.

Wang Zhi unfolded the secret letter and read out the complete charges against Wang Yuan and Zhang Hai.

"Wang Yuan, Earl of Rui'an, occupied more than 300,000 mu of farmland, killed and injured 76 farmers in Jinghai, abducted 16 women, and accepted bribes privately..."

"Zhang Hai, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, accepted bribes of 13,000 taels of silver, five concubines, and 13 houses. He also bribed officials of the imperial court, saying that money would get the better of him..."

The Western Factory listed many charges against the two people, but compared with the officials that Zhu Youtang had dealt with before, these were still relatively light.

But Zhu Youtang still listened patiently to the charges listed by the Western Factory.

Finally, Zhu Youtang looked at all the officials in the court with an indifferent tone.

"Listen, everyone. One is the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, and the other is the Earl of Rui'an."

"They dared to commit these heinous crimes right under my nose."

"How many such officials are there in places I can't see? How many such nobles are there?"

"Since I ascended the throne, I have dealt with a number of corrupt officials and royal relatives."

"I believe that the death of these officials and nobles will deter future officials."

"Completely put an end to corruption, bribery, and oppression of the people!"

"But I still underestimated the courage of you officials!"

"Since I ascended the throne, I have killed people over and over again, but I still cannot stop this corruption and abuse of power."

"Corruption and abuse of power continue despite repeated prohibitions!"

"I deeply feel that the habit of corruption has been deeply engraved in the bones of Ming officials."

"If we don't make up our minds to remove the poison, we can't save the Ming Dynasty, which is already terminally ill!"

"After much thought, I feel that the laws in the Great Ming Code are too lenient and cannot serve as an effective deterrent."

"So I had the idea of ​​amending the constitution, and I am pleased that Lord Xu's ideas coincide with mine, and he deserves a reward."

"But how to amend the law has made me think hard." "Fortunately, I have now found a solution."

Zhu Youtang took out the "Imperial Edict" and looked at the Minister of Justice Peng Shao.

"Peng Shao, come up and read out this law."

Peng Shao's heart tightened and he quickly stepped out to salute.

"The minister obeys the order."

Peng Shao climbed the stairs and came in front of Zhu Youtang.

When he saw that Zhu Youtang was holding the "Imperial Edict" in his hand, his face changed immediately.

However, when he discovered that this yellowed copy of "Imperial Edict" was signed by Emperor Tian Chengyun, he was so shocked that he took two steps back and knelt down to pay his respects.

"Your humble servant Peng Shao bows to the Emperor Taizu Gao's imperial edict!"

what? !

When all the civil and military officials in the court heard Peng Shao shouting out the name of Emperor Taizu Gao, their heartbeats skipped a beat with fear, as if they were falling off a cliff.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was in power, he killed officials so cruelly!

He was so cruel that even after more than a hundred years, the officials of the Ming Dynasty would turn pale and their legs would go weak when they heard the name of Zhu Yuanzhang.

And what Peng Shao meant was that the book in Zhu Youtang's hand was written by Zhu Yuanzhang himself?
The next moment, all the civil and military officials in the court knelt down and saluted, shouting: "Your humble servants, kowtow to the imperial pen of Emperor Taizu Gao!"

Only after performing the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows did the officials in the court dare to stand up.

Peng Shao stepped forward and respectfully took the "Imperial Edict" from Zhu Youtang's hands.

"The Imperial Edict..."

Peng Shao's voice trembled a little. When he said these four words, the faces of all the civil and military officials in the court turned pale as paper in an instant, and their whole bodies went cold, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!

"Those who seize government property and sell it to the rich and give it to the poor will have their entire family executed!"

"Those who take bribes, sell official positions and titles shall be skinned and stuffed with straw!"

"Those who occupy the people's land and ask for money will be executed by slow slicing!"

Peng Shao felt as if his mouth weighed a thousand pounds at this moment. He broke out in a sweat every time he finished each sentence.

Officials in the court found it even more difficult.

Their heart rates began to speed up, and all the blood in their bodies seemed to be rushing to their brains.

It made them feel dizzy and their eyes blurred.

"Those who steal and sell grain from the warehouse will have their faces tattooed and their tendons and knees cut off!"

"Those who collect food and goods, conceal them for themselves, or falsely purchase them but actually receive them, shall be beheaded and their property confiscated!"

"Boom!"

In the court, an official fainted because he could not stand the tremendous pressure.

The other officials were not much better. Some were shaking constantly, some were trying hard to hold their urine, and some were secretly wiping their sweat.

By the time Peng Shao finished reading the entire "Imperial Edict", his official uniform had been soaked with sweat.

Zhu Youtang then made the final decision: "From now on, the Imperial Edict will be restarted."

"The punishment chapter of the Ming Dynasty Code, which was later revised, also directly used the punishment rules in the Imperial Edict."

"Liu Jian!"

"The minister is here."

Zhu Youtang ordered: "You are the Minister of Rites. This copy of the Imperial Edict must be reprinted in the books of all government offices in all regions of the Ming Dynasty and distributed to all the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"Education officials from all over the country went to the homes of illiterate Ming people to explain the contents."

"Also tell them that if they possess the Imperial Edict, their crimes below the level of exile can be reduced by one level!"

"On the contrary, the crime will be even more serious!"

"At the same time, I hereby inform all officials to perform their duties conscientiously and not to challenge my patience."

"When Emperor Taizu Gao founded the country, officials were extremely scarce and more than 100,000 officials could be killed."

"Since I ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty has been nurturing scholars for more than 120 years. There is no reason for me to kill fewer people than Emperor Taizu!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Liu Jian wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed to accept the order.

"Peng Shao!"

Zhu Youtang looked at the Minister of Justice Peng Shao again, and Peng Shao hurriedly bowed and waited for his orders.

"The minister is here."

"For the case of Earl Rui'an occupying the people's land, Earl Rui'an Wang Yuan was executed by slow slicing, and his entire clan was exterminated!"

"Zhang Hai, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, will have his property confiscated and his official title confiscated. He will also be skinned and stuffed with straw!"

"The body was hung at the gate of Shuntian Prefecture Government Office for public display for a month!"

"Execution immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Peng Xiao took a deep breath. It had been a long time since the punishment of skinning and stuffing with straw was used.

Do the executioners in the Ministry of Justice know this skill?

Lingchi, which was originally only used for top-level crimes such as treason, was also used on Wang Yuan, who was charged with occupying civilian land and oppressing the people, after the reboot of "The Imperial Edict".

Upon hearing about such severe punishment, Zhang Hai and Wang Yuan, who had originally been prepared to die calmly, now collapsed emotionally.

"No, Your Majesty! Please give me some quick death!"

"Your Majesty, please spare me. Please just kill me!"

"Your Majesty! Please, for the sake of Queen Mother Wang, let me be quick!"

"..."

Zhu Youtang glanced at his ministers, slapped the dragon table, and stood up.

"Retreat!"

Zhu Youtang had achieved his purpose of attending court today. He stood up without hesitation and left Fengtian Gate.

On the way back to the harem, Wang Zhi followed him and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you deal with Liu Zong?"

"Battle and killing."

"It's Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)