Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 552 The Difficulty of Reform: Centralizing and Delegating Power!

"Local governments at all levels only have the power to issue documents requesting coordination, but have no right to interfere in judicial trials."

At this point, Zhu Yunwen emphasized, "Local officials are even less allowed to demand that judicial institutions try and judge cases according to their own wishes."

"Of course, local officials still retain functions such as patrol inspectors and constables, who can quickly apprehend criminals who commit crimes."

"But once the criminals are arrested and brought to justice, the subsequent trial and conviction must be handled by a specialized agency under the Ministry of Justice."

"No local government at any level is allowed to convict anyone without authorization, not even the powerful provincial judicial commissioner!"

"The innocent civilians who were killed this time serve as the most profound warning."

A hint of regret flashed in Zhu Yunwen's eyes: "We must never again grant local officials the power to make judgments without trial."

“Once they hold such power of life and death in their hands, it is hard to guarantee that they will not act recklessly and create countless wrongful convictions.”

"Therefore, completely severing this power chain is the safest and wisest approach."

He then changed the subject, saying, "Local officials must have a certain degree of authority to govern their localities."

Therefore, if there are indeed "troublemakers" causing trouble, local officials can still take necessary measures, such as arresting and detaining them first.

“If it is later found that there is no wrongdoing when the person is arrested, he or she may be released without charge.”

"However, once someone is killed, there is no turning back."

"After all, the dead cannot be brought back to life."

Zhu Yuntong's voice was filled with respect for life, and he added, "On the other hand, the dead cannot speak out to seek justice."

“If people are murdered, they lose the opportunity to seek justice forever.”

“Living people are completely different.”

"If local officials dare to arbitrarily arrest innocent people, those who have been unjustly detained can still report the misdeeds of local officials to higher levels after regaining their freedom."

"This will undoubtedly serve as a powerful deterrent to local officials."

"As long as they cannot easily convict and sentence people, they will not dare to act recklessly and arbitrarily arrest innocent people."

“By completely separating the institutions with judicial power, we can minimize the interference of local officials in the trial and judgment of cases, thereby ensuring the fairness and impartiality of the judiciary.”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Xu Miaojin, as if seeking her opinion.

These plans were ones he had been pondering in his mind for many days.

In Zhu Yunwen's view, there shouldn't be any major flaws.

But as the saying goes, "Even the wisest person can make a mistake."

Humans are not gods after all, and there will always be things they cannot think of.

However, different people will consider different points and thus fill in the gaps.

Xu Miaojin frowned and said, "But local officials can also let people die in prison without knowing why."

"They can even torture prisoners, torturing them to death, and then casually report it as a death from illness."

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, a hint of historical weight flashing in his deep eyes.

He knew this.

In the past, these were common and covert methods used by local officials to deal with those they regarded as "troublemakers".

Torture and forced confessions, and the disregard for human life, were commonplace in lower-level government offices.

"Beating with a board," "wearing shackles," and all sorts of heinous "punishments" were their methods of inflicting cruel torture.

The shackles, weighing dozens of kilograms, were put on the prisoners and then left to bask in the scorching sun, depriving them of food and water.

Often within three to five days, out of a hundred tortured people, ninety-nine would die.

But this kind of death will not be reported.

If one cannot withstand torture, one dies in vain; this is the usual practice.

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, any serious crime punishable by beheading required strict review by the Ministry of Justice and, nominally, imperial approval from the emperor before execution.

Similar to temporarily delegating judicial power during disasters, this is merely a special case handled under special circumstances.

Such actions are absolutely unacceptable under normal circumstances.

Although the emperor's imperial edict was often just a formality, a perfunctory exercise, it was a crucial step.

Because no one can predict whether the emperor might suddenly have a whim to randomly check the files of a particular criminal and trace their origins.

This series of cumbersome procedures also prevented local officials from acting recklessly and arbitrarily killing innocent people.

Deeply influenced by the Confucian idea of ​​"benevolent governance," the imperial court has always touted itself as governing the world with "benevolence," emphasizing that human life is of paramount importance and cannot be taken lightly.

But this often remains merely a superficial exercise.

In practice, however, the situation is quite different.

Each province might only report three to five people to the imperial court each year who need to be executed.

However, in any county government office, the number of people who "died of illness" or "died from torture" in prison far exceeds this figure, and countless innocent souls are among them.

Zhu Yunwen was aware of these drawbacks long ago, and the series of reforms he had previously implemented had already significantly reduced the number of people who "died unjustly" as a result.

However, he also knew that if the local government were completely stripped of its judicial authority at this moment, it would inevitably trigger a huge backlash and resistance.

"We must intensify our efforts to investigate and prosecute those who die in prison from illness or other unnatural causes, especially those who die as a result of torture."

Zhu Yunwen's tone suddenly turned cold and resolute: "Once any illegal activities are verified, they will be severely punished without exception. We will never tolerate evil!"

"Promote this point vigorously in the Da Ming Daily, so that all the people will know about it."

"At the same time, the severe punishment measures will be announced to the world, and a number of officials who dare to disobey orders will be executed as a warning to the world."

"Let all the people of the world understand that any official who dares to violate this ironclad rule is courting death!"

"Local officials will henceforth only have the power to arrest criminals."

"After the arrest, the prisoner's information must be submitted immediately, explaining in detail the reasons and basis for the arrest, and formally requesting approval from the judicial departments at all levels, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Law, and the Department of Justice."

"If the Ministry of Justice, after review, deems an arrest improper or the evidence insufficient, the person detained must be released immediately and shall not be detained arbitrarily."

"In addition, prior approval from the Ministry of Justice is required if it is necessary to impose punishment on prisoners."

Zhu Yunwen then went on to elaborate on a series of specific implementation rules.

He did not choose to completely prohibit the use of punishment by the government.

Local officials bear the heavy burden of solving cases, and the imperial court must also exert this pressure on them; otherwise, local government offices may become negligent and inactive. Conversely, under the pressure from above to solve cases, it is undoubtedly unreasonable to expect local government offices to completely eliminate all methods of torture.

Later generations relied on ubiquitous surveillance cameras to regulate law enforcement behavior, but once out of the camera's sight, many things became unpredictable.

The Ming Dynasty at that time simply did not possess such advanced technological conditions, making it technically difficult to completely prohibit the use of punishments.

Rather than blocking all pathways, only to find them ineffective in practice, it's better to leave a loophole.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen's strategy was to allow the use of punishments only after strict approval by the Ministry of Justice.

Any act of using private punishment without approval will be severely punished.

There is a key point here.

The pressure to solve the case mainly falls on the government offices and their constables and runners.

The legal departments, including the law division and the legal office, are only responsible for hearing and adjudicating cases; they do not have the responsibility of solving cases.

Whether a case can be solved has absolutely nothing to do with their performance evaluation.

However, when it comes to the arbitrary use of criminal penalties, which are approved and executed by the Ministry of Justice, the consequences must be borne jointly by all parties involved.

For this reason, the Ministry of Justice will be cautious when handling cases and will never easily approve the use of criminal penalties.

More importantly, if local officials dared to use torture privately, the Ministry of Justice and other legal departments would not only not cover it up, but would step forward to expose and testify against the illegal acts of the local government, thereby proving their own innocence.

This will undoubtedly exert a very strong constraint on local governments.

With the addition of regular inspections and trials by circuit courts, the chances of wrongful convictions will be greatly reduced to negligible levels.

Of course, whether it was the circuit courts or a series of legal institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice Office, although they were independent of local government offices, they were not independent of the imperial court.

As long as the imperial court needs it, it can still impose additional punishments or grant leniency outside the law.

The core objective was to centralize important judicial power from local authorities to the central government.

Law is an indispensable tool for the ruling class to maintain its rule.

Therefore, in certain specific situations, we should not rigidly adhere to legal provisions, but make necessary adjustments according to actual political needs in order to maintain their due flexibility.

For example, a pardon can be issued as needed by the current situation.

Alternatively, for certain heinous crimes with far-reaching consequences, particularly severe punishments may be imposed.

However, the control over this "flexibility" must be firmly in the hands of the imperial court, and must never be used arbitrarily by local officials.

After listening to Zhu Yunwen's detailed explanation, Xu Miaojin's eyes shone with sincere admiration, and she exclaimed, "Brother Yunwen is wise beyond compare, no one throughout history can match him!"

"Once these policies are implemented, they will surely benefit the people and millions of ordinary citizens."

"The corruption and abuse of power by officials will be effectively curbed, and the people will benefit immensely and enjoy lasting well-being."

She gazed at Zhu Yunwen, her tone sincere and respectful: "Your Majesty governs the country skillfully, and I deeply admire you!"

Xu Miaojin's tone changed slightly, and she said with a playful smile, "It was I who was presumptuous. The harem must not interfere in politics. This is an ironclad rule of this dynasty."

"Your Majesty should not have discussed these strategies for governing the country with me."

Zhu Yunwen smiled, but a hint of weariness flashed across his eyes as he said softly, "It's alright."

"I'm just telling you this so you can see if there's anything I haven't thought out."

He sighed softly.

"Although the many ministers of the court are all highly talented and insightful, in reality, they each have their own calculations."

"They may not be truly willing to implement good policies."

"And they may not be willing to correct or improve those obvious malpractices."

"The weight of national policy is heavier than a thousand pounds!"

"There are too many conflicting interests involved, and too many aspects need to be taken into account."

"Their considerations are very complex."

"If we exclude these high-ranking and powerful ministers, other court officials may not have the vision and insight to identify the hidden drawbacks and the many difficulties in the process of implementing policies."

He gave a wry smile, revealing the helplessness in his heart: "Many times, I can only ponder and make decisions alone."

"To bear the weight of the world on one's shoulders is no easy task!"

As the days passed since he ascended the throne, Zhu Yunwen experienced more and more deeply the feeling of being "a lonely ruler".

When he was the crown prince, he had a very close relationship with his ministers such as Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yao Guangxiao, and there was no distance between them.

Once he sits on the throne of supreme authority, a natural sense of distance arises, separating him from his former confidants.

In many instances, he longed to delegate the formulation of national policies to the administrative offices as much as possible, allowing professional officials to weigh the pros and cons and formulate regulations.

But the results often forced him to intervene personally.

Because Zhu Yunwen would always find that this kind of delegation of power was not feasible.

Ministers of State are constrained by various practical factors when formulating national policies.

This includes personal selfishness, deep considerations of balancing the political situation and the interests of all parties, concerns about the potential negative consequences of change, and fear of bearing the corresponding consequences and responsibilities.

These complex factors intertwine to make any seemingly simple decision exceptionally complicated.

All those in power are conservatives!
This is not an extreme statement, but an irrefutable truth.

Even when it is known that a policy is riddled with drawbacks and urgently needs revision, those in power usually do not take the initiative to change it immediately.

Even setting aside the potential hidden benefits that the old policies might bring to themselves, they still lack the motivation to reform.

After all, sticking to the old ways and continuing to use existing policies carries almost no risk.

No matter what dire consequences the old policies ultimately lead to, no one needs to take responsibility for them; everything can be attributed to the old system of the previous dynasty.

However, introducing entirely new policies means that policymakers must take full responsibility for the potential consequences.

From this perspective, ministers who wield significant power in formulating national policies will naturally do everything in their power to avoid risks and protect themselves.

They prefer to remain inactive or make minor, insignificant repairs to the existing framework rather than risk fundamental changes.

True reforms, the implementation of new systems and policies, are often only proposed and actively advocated by a very small number of people who have just been promoted, are full of ambition and eager to realize their aspirations.

However, these passionate reformers, lacking experience, may not all be able to devise truly comprehensive and practical policy solutions.

……

(End of this chapter)