Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 357 The Commoner's Peril and the Court's Important Affairs! Imperial Edict!

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

After Zhu Yunwen issued an edict allowing all subjects to submit letters to the Censorate to report the illegal acts of officials, a wave of accusations swept across the Ming Dynasty, from officials at all levels to ordinary people.

The Censorate received mountains of letters every day.

Among this vast sea of ​​letters, who can clearly remember the specific contents of any one of them?

However, since Yang Shiqi specifically emphasized that this letter was written in blood, it should attract special attention.

Those who have read this will likely still remember it.

At this moment, the officials looked around, their eyes full of inquiry and questioning.

"A plea for help written in blood?"

An imperial censor raised his hand and lightly patted his forehead, saying, "I remember now, I did see such a letter not long ago."

He paused slightly, then slowly said, "According to the letter, some people are using the pretense of seeking wealth overseas as bait to recruit a large number of people."

“After these people were lured overseas, they were imprisoned, and the men were forced to work as laborers, performing heavy physical labor, while the women were subjected to humiliation and became playthings for others.”

“Those thugs not only didn’t pay them a penny, but they also frequently punched and kicked them, beating them wantonly.”

"If anyone dares to resist, they will be subjected to torture, the methods are extremely cruel, and they will even kill the person."

“These villains colluded with the local natives, working together in a vicious cycle.”

"Therefore, the native generals also sent troops to protect these traitors."

"The people of the Ming Dynasty were in a foreign land, isolated and helpless, and had no power to resist. That is why they had no choice but to write a letter in blood, pleading with the court to send troops to rescue them."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shiqi frowned slightly, his gaze sharp as he stared intently at the censor, and questioned, "If that's the case, why didn't you report this matter?"

The censor shook his head with a wry smile and explained helplessly, "Sir, the duty of the Censorate is to supervise all officials. This rescue is not something that our Censorate is responsible for."

"Moreover, this person was deceived overseas. Why would the imperial court mobilize troops to rescue him just for an ordinary citizen?"

"This sounds absolutely absurd."

"Therefore, after reading the letter, I instructed the clerk to record it in accordance with regulations, and then classified it as an erroneous letter."

"If Your Excellency wishes to investigate, the records will certainly be available. As for whether that letter has been destroyed, I am truly unsure."

The number of letters sent to the Censorate every day was simply too great.

If every letter had to be reviewed by the censors themselves, the censors of the Censorate would probably have nothing to do but read letters all day long.

Therefore, Yang Shiqi had already set a rule that all letters received must first be opened by the clerk in the main hall in public.

Two clerks then carefully reviewed the documents, extracted the key information, and recorded it in detail.

At the same time, letters are classified and archived according to their nature.

According to the importance of the whistleblower letters, they are divided into five levels: extremely important, important, general, unimportant, and the lowest level of erroneous letters.

Whether the allegations are true, whether there are any false accusations, or whether there is no evidence to support them will be noted separately.

The term "erroneous letters" refers to the fact that among the letters sent to the Censorate, in addition to the normal letters reporting on officials, there were also many letters that were both laughable and inexplicable.

Some were purely baseless accusations, such as, "I saw the county magistrate visiting Zhang the rich man's house; they must be secretly colluding."

Some were trivial matters, such as, "My pig is lost. I implore the upright and just magistrate of the Censorate to help me find my pig."

Others contained no substance whatsoever, merely stating in the letter, "I suspect that a certain official is corrupt and accepting bribes; the Censorate should immediately send someone to investigate."

Even more extreme, some people bluntly stated, "I wrote the letter just to test whether the Censorate could actually receive it."

In addition, there were some letters that were simply misdirected or miswritten.

Upon opening the package, the contents included declarations of love, business negotiations, and mundane family matters...

More often, they would write to the Censorate requesting its intervention in matters that were not under its jurisdiction.

This is partly because many people believe that the Censorate wields immense power.

The officials were extremely wary of the censors of the Censorate, and the people naturally believed that the Censorate was omnipotent and could handle all kinds of affairs.

On the other hand, it was also because many ordinary people had limited understanding of the imperial system.

The lack of understanding of the specific responsibilities of each department led to the letter being sent to the wrong department.

In short, people in the world are diverse and varied.

Those who wrote to the Censorate came from all corners of the Ming Dynasty, and their numbers were numerous, including many oddballs.

All sorts of strange and unusual letters began to arrive.

Faced with this massive and complex volume of letters, the Censorate had no choice but to begin classifying and processing them.

The handling of letters deemed "erroneous" varies.

Some of them would be transferred to other relevant departments of the imperial court.

Some items will be reviewed again after being archived, and destroyed only after repeated confirmation that they are useless.

That's why the censor responded in that way when Yang Shiqi asked the question.

Upon hearing this, Yang Shiqi's expression changed drastically, and he sternly rebuked, "Human life is at stake. Relatives have written a letter in blood to plead for help. How can you be so indifferent to such an urgent and serious matter, treating it as a child's game?"

“Even if this matter does not fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Censorate, the letter should be promptly transferred to the Ministry of Justice for investigation.”

"Or submit it to the government affairs office and request the court to make a decision."

"How can we so easily categorize such a life-or-death letter into the wrong category?"

"As an imperial censor, you bear the heavy responsibility of supervision, yet you failed to strictly enforce regulations and committed such a serious mistake. This is clearly dereliction of duty!"

"Do you deserve your position as an imperial censor, and the salary His Majesty has given you?"

Upon hearing Yang Shiqi's stern rebuke, the censor was struck dumb, speechless, and unconsciously lowered his head.

Seeing this, the other officials also fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.

The entire Censorate was deathly silent; so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After Yang Shiqi finished his reprimand, his eyes blazed as he scanned the crowd, then said in a deep voice, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and find that blood letter!"

The clerk in charge of managing the archives, upon hearing of the Left Censor-in-Chief's anger, turned pale with fright and, without daring to delay, rushed into the archives room like a gust of wind.

After a tense and anxious search through the mountain of discarded letters, the blood-written letter was finally found.

Yang Shiqi stepped forward quickly, took the blood-written letter, and slowly unfolded it.

In an instant, the shocking bright red writing, like a sharp blade, pierced straight into his eyes.

"Your Excellencies of the Censorate, I, a humble commoner, kowtow and weep blood, begging you to do justice for me and save my unfortunate family!"

"I am just an ordinary citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and my family and I live an honest and law-abiding life."

"Who could have imagined that disaster would strike so suddenly?"

“A few days ago, a group of people used sweet talk to say that there is a lot of money to be made overseas and that it can make your family live a good life.”

"My son was confused for a moment, believed their nonsense, and went with them."

"But who knew that this was such a huge trap!"

“My son went to a wild and desolate place overseas and was imprisoned by those heartless villains and enslaved.”

"According to those who managed to escape, they were not paid any wages, but were forced to do backbreaking work like oxen and horses every day."

"They were starving and cold, and if they did not comply with the wishes of those wicked people, they would be beaten severely."

"His body was covered in wounds, old wounds had not healed and new ones had been added."

"What's even more heartbreaking is that many of my fellow villagers, men, women, and children, were also deceived along with my family, and they all suffered the same torment."

"The villains were utterly depraved, and the various horrific conditions suffered by the imprisoned were truly unbearable to behold. It goes without saying that the women suffered all kinds of humiliation, and countless others even had their hands and feet cut off, and their hearts and lungs ripped out."

"Words cannot describe its tragedy; I fear they would offend the eyes and ears of the adults."

"Hearing this news, my heart was torn apart. I only hated myself for being powerless and unable to save my son immediately."

"Now the imperial court is encouraging us to go to sea to make a living, but if we let these wicked people do whatever they want, who would dare to risk their lives to go?"

"Isn't this pushing people into a fire pit?"

"I was really desperate and had no choice but to ask the adults for help."

"I humbly request the officials of the Censorate to submit this letter of mine to the imperial court."

"Your Majesty, please have mercy and send troops out to sea to rescue those poor people who are trapped overseas."

"So that they can return to the land of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible and reunite with their families."

"This humble subject kowtows to you, my esteemed officials, hoping for a swift response from the imperial court to save my family from this dire situation!"

The letter is written in simple and unadorned language, entirely in plain and easy-to-understand language.

It is not hard to see that the person who wrote the letter must have some basic education. Although not a learned scholar, he had read books for a few years.

This plain and straightforward writing style is frequently seen in the current edition of the Daming Daily.

After all, the *Da Ming Daily* was intended for the general public, striving to make it easy for ordinary people to read and understand. It was precisely because of this that the *Da Ming Daily* achieved such high sales.

The person who wrote the letter also adopted this simple and straightforward style of expression.

However, despite the plain language, the despair and pleading contained between the lines came crashing down like a surging tide.

Furthermore, since the letter was written in blood, even though a long time had passed, when Yang Shiqi unfolded the letter, he could still faintly smell a faint scent of blood, which was shocking.

Yang Shiqi slowly closed his eyes, his face filled with sorrow, and let out a long sigh.

He then carefully folded the letter, gently placed it in his pocket, and turned to leave.

Just then, the censor who had been furious spoke up: "Lord Yang, wait a moment."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shiqi stopped and slowly turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on the man.

The censor raised his hands, bowed slightly, and said, "Our Great Ming Dynasty is vast and populous, and countless cases of all kinds occur every day."

"This letter of appeal written in blood only tells of what happened overseas."

"The imperial court has repeatedly warned that if people go overseas, they will face all kinds of risks and must bear all the consequences themselves."

"These people are now being deceived, imprisoned, and in dire straits, which is entirely their own fault."

"How could the imperial court mobilize a large army and send it overseas to rescue a few commoners?"

"Isn't Lord Yang's concern for this matter perhaps a little excessive?"

At this point, the censor's face darkened, his tone shifted, and he became increasingly serious.

"The letter I just presented to Lord Yang contained slander against the court and defamation of His Majesty. This is the real matter concerning the fate of the Ming Dynasty."

"In recent days, many unruly scholars have sent letters to the Censorate, discussing the Duke of Liang's implementation of land redistribution and tax reform in the Jurchen region."

"They applauded this policy and even demanded that it be implemented within the territory of our Great Ming, thus making irresponsible remarks about the government!"

"In order to achieve their goals, these people did not hesitate to spread rumors and fabricate absurd rumors that the Ming Dynasty was filled with starving people and the people were suffering."

“Maliciously slandering the imperial court and defaming the emperor’s wisdom.”

"Now, under His Majesty's wise rule, our Great Ming Dynasty is thriving, the people live in peace and prosperity, and their incomes have increased significantly. We are moving towards an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity!"

"The expedition against the Jurchens on the grasslands was also a great victory, and the court will soon hold a grand celebration to commemorate it."

"At this glorious and prosperous time, how can we tolerate these traitors spouting nonsense, spreading rumors, and damaging His Majesty's reputation?"

Such unhealthy trends and evil practices must never be encouraged.

"If the court turns a blind eye to this, it will only encourage more people to follow suit."

"At this critical moment, we must make an example of those scholars who wrote the letters and severely punish them to crack down on this unhealthy trend."

"Let them know that court affairs cannot be discussed arbitrarily, the authority of the court cannot be slandered, and His Majesty's reputation cannot be defamed."

The censor became more and more agitated as he spoke, his emotions rising higher and higher, his chest heaving violently.

After taking a deep breath, he continued, "Lord Yang, a subject's sorrow is a subject's shame; a subject's shame is a subject's death!"

"Do you think we can set aside that letter that insulted His Majesty for now and discuss it later?"

"Yet you treasure this insignificant letter of appeal, which the court could not handle, and treat it as a matter of utmost importance."

"Human life is indeed of paramount importance, but those people acted carelessly and were tricked into going overseas. They should bear all the consequences themselves. What does it have to do with our Great Ming Dynasty?"

"How could the imperial court send troops for them?"

"His Majesty's reputation is what we, his subjects, should defend to the death."

"Lord Yang, as a Minister of State Affairs, Left Censor-in-Chief, and a close advisor to His Majesty, do you really not understand the difference between what is more important and what is less important?"

"Or is it that Lord Yang's loyalty to His Majesty has wavered, and he now feels that His Majesty's reputation is insignificant?"

His voice grew louder and louder with each sentence, until finally it echoed like thunder in the main hall of the Censorate.

Inside the main hall of the Censorate, there was an eerie silence, so quiet that you could clearly hear a pin drop.

All eyes turned to the eloquent and persuasive censor.

Many people's eyes revealed a hint of fear and unease.

According to the regulations and rules of the imperial court, Yang Shiqi, as the Left Censor-in-Chief, was in charge of the Censorate, and his official rank and grade far exceeded that of ordinary censors.

However, he was not the direct superior of these censors.

According to regulations, the censors of the Censorate are all independent.

There is no clear superior-subordinate relationship between them.

This was to ensure that when censors submitted memorials, they could be free from interference and obstruction from their superiors.

Although censors may not seem to participate in the actual management of court affairs, the power they wield is far greater than one can imagine.

Among these, the most crucial power was the ability to "report matters based on hearsay."

The term "reporting on hearsay" refers to the practice whereby censors could write down any rumors they heard and submit them to the emperor.

No concrete evidence was needed, nor was it necessary to explain to the emperor and court officials where the information came from or who informed them.

The reason for granting such power to censors was based on the actual situation in officialdom.

Many official matters are often kept extremely secret.

Obtaining concrete evidence of a crime is extremely difficult; often, one can only rely on hearsay.

But many of these rumors are surprisingly accurate.

For example, an official frequents brothels and spends money like water; the son of a high-ranking official acts tyrannically and forcibly takes women as concubines; the son of a powerful and wealthy person rides his horse recklessly through the streets, disturbing the people...

Such things can always be heard in the gossip on the streets.

Moreover, it is highly likely that this is true.

However, if you're asking for evidence, I'm sorry, I can't provide any.

Furthermore, if the imperial court did not mobilize a large number of officials to conduct an in-depth investigation, but merely relied on the Yingtian Prefecture or the Ministry of Justice to conduct a perfunctory investigation, it would most likely have concluded that "no such matter was found, and it is purely absurd and untrue."

This is similar to a situation in a county or city in later generations where rumors circulate that someone is the leader of a criminal gang.

But if ordinary people are asked to produce evidence to prove that he is a gang leader, they can only helplessly spread their hands, as they really can't produce any!
But is this story fake?

No, in the vast majority of cases, the rumored gang leader is indeed the local gang leader.

It couldn't be more real!
The imperial court granted censors the power to "report matters based on hearsay" precisely to prevent such incidents from occurring.

As soon as the censor hears a rumor, he can submit a memorial to the court to report the matter.

In theory, even if the emperor himself inquires about the source of the information, the censor has the right to refuse to answer.

This is a special "power" explicitly granted to censors by the imperial court.

This regulation was designed to check and balance the emperor's trusted ministers.

To prevent them from exerting pressure at the outset of the case, which could prevent the case from being processed normally.

If it involves imperial relatives, even the emperor would have to speak up out of consideration for personal relationships and face.

At this time, the imperial court's regulations could become the emperor's best excuse and "shield"!
However, if the court ignores or fails to investigate after the "rumored report," then so be it.

If a thorough investigation is conducted but yields no results, the censor will still be held responsible.

However, it will not be considered a crime of defamation, and the punishment will be relatively lenient, mostly involving demotion or dismissal.

Because censors possess such special power, the censors of the Censorate cannot have superiors.

Otherwise, the entire Censorate would very likely become a one-man show, completely losing its original purpose and significance in supervising the court officials.

Just now, Yang Shiqi only sternly rebuked the censor who ignored the blood-written plea for help, but did not dismiss or investigate him.

It's because he didn't have the authority to take him down on the spot.

To convict him, the matter must be reported to the emperor for a final decision.

However, although Yang Shiqi was not the censors' direct superior, as the Left Censor-in-Chief, he was the de facto leader of the Censorate.

He also held the position of Minister of State Affairs and was deeply trusted and relied upon by His Majesty.

In the eyes of ordinary censors, Yang Shiqi was awe-inspiring and extremely powerful.

People usually held him in high esteem, and ordinary people would never dare to easily make an enemy of him.

Now, this censor has actually stood up openly and vehemently rebuked Yang Shiqi, naturally attracting everyone's attention.

The atmosphere in the lobby instantly became extremely tense.

Yang Shiqi narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at him coldly like a sharp blade, about to speak in response.

Just then, a clear and melodious voice suddenly rang out from outside the lobby:

"The imperial edict has arrived!"

……

(End of this chapter)