Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 555 The Law Requires Responsibility from the Masses! A Land of Fear!
Upon hearing the news, Zhu Yunwen simply came out to meet the disaster victims.

Afterwards, he invited some disaster victims into the tent, offered them seats, and inquired gently about their family circumstances, land, and the many difficulties they had faced after the disaster.

He asked extremely detailed questions, from the market price of a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice to the use of a wen (a unit of currency), to daily life, and so on. This consultation with the people took a lot of time, and before they knew it, the sun had set.

Zhu Yunwen issued an imperial decree that the emperor should stay here for another day.

The next morning, the disaster relief scene had been completely transformed.

Yesterday's thin soup, which was so clear you could see the bottom, has now been replaced by a thick porridge with bubbling rice grains and steaming hot air, exuding a long-lost rich aroma of grains.

The snow-white steamed buns were piled up like a mountain, and the large vat next to them was filled with refreshing and crisp pickled vegetables.

The disaster victims still lined up, each receiving a large steamed bun, a full bowl of thick porridge, and a generous spoonful of pickled vegetables at a time.

Unlike yesterday, there are no longer restrictions on food supplies. As long as you are not full, you can start again from the beginning and take a second, a third, and so on until you are full.

Moreover, the government increased manpower several times over and opened more windows to distribute food. As a result, although people could queue a second or third time without restriction, the originally long queues were significantly shortened.

At the same time, the thunderous news that Zheng Hongjian, the governor of Henan, Zhao Qingzhi, the imperial inspector, and dozens of high-ranking officials from various departments had all been imprisoned had been transmitted throughout the province by telegram and announced to the world.

Following this were several decrees that were powerful enough to shake up the Ming Dynasty's officialdom.

An anti-corruption agency was established to investigate official misconduct.

The power of adjudication was taken over from local governments, and circuit courts were established.

Strict management of engineering construction, etc.

In addition, an imperial edict drafted by the emperor himself was issued to all directions. Its wording was severe, its language was forceful, and the chilling killing intent between the lines was unprecedented!

This overwhelming force instantly awakened the terrifying memories deep within the hearts of countless officials across the land of the massacres during the Hongwu reign, where countless heads rolled.

Those officials who had previously relied on the current emperor's benevolence and believed he wouldn't commit mass killings like the previous emperor had, are now suddenly realizing the truth.

The emperor before us is, after all, a descendant of the Zhu family. Once he sets his mind on killing, his iron-fisted methods will be no less ruthless.

The fact that almost all the officials of the Office of Transmission were slaughtered when he was the crown prince and overseeing the country is clear evidence of this.

Thinking of this, many officials with a history of corruption and misconduct felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, breaking out in a cold sweat.

His Majesty is truly enraged this time.

In the days to come, you must be careful with your words and actions, and keep a low profile as an official, lest you bring trouble upon yourself.

This is especially true for officials in Henan Province.

After Zheng Hongjian and Zhao Qingzhi were dismissed and investigated, Zhu Yunwen immediately issued an edict ordering Yang Rong, the Minister of State Affairs who had been summoned to Kaifeng to investigate the case, to concurrently assume the duties of Governor of Henan and Inspector.

At the same time, he strictly ordered all officials in Henan Province who had previously engaged in corrupt or illegal activities to surrender themselves to the authorities within a specified period in order to receive lenient treatment.

To avoid a serious personnel shortage in Henan's officialdom due to the arrest and imprisonment of a large number of officials, which would affect the operation of government affairs, the imperial court specially transferred a group of officials from neighboring regions such as Southern Zhili, Huguang, and Shandong to temporarily assume relevant duties in order to alleviate the urgent situation.

At the same time, the Ministry of Personnel in the capital was also instructed to expedite the selection and dispatch of suitable officials to their posts.

Zhu Yunwen further proclaimed to all levels of government offices, officials, and even all yamen runners throughout Henan Province that during this special period, officials who performed outstandingly and fulfilled their duties could be promoted without regard to precedent, and yamen runners could also receive such favors and be promoted in rank.

In order to set an example, the imperial court specially sought out several "outstanding" role models, publicly commended and promoted them, and publicized them widely to serve as an incentive.

The news, once it spread, instantly ignited the enthusiasm of countless low-level officials and yamen runners.

Zhu Yunwen was originally worried about the vacancy of officials, fearing that the newly transferred officials would not be familiar with the local government affairs and specific situation in Henan, which would lead to slow progress in disaster relief and ineffective handling of the disaster.

This was precisely his main concern in not taking action against Zheng Hongjian and Zhao Qingzhi earlier.

However, when Zhu Yunwen actually took decisive action, he was surprised to find that the terrible situation he had anticipated did not occur.

After a large number of corrupt officials were arrested, the remaining officials were all terrified and dared not do anything dishonest or embezzle disaster relief funds.

Everyone was putting in their best effort and throwing themselves into the flood relief work.

Furthermore, the immense temptation of promotion further fueled their enthusiasm and drive.

As a result, the disaster relief work was not delayed, but was carried out more efficiently and effectively than before.

Experience has shown that the greatest role of many officials within the system is often not to promote it, but to hinder its proper functioning.

They always think of themselves as an indispensable key, and that the whole system will stop if they are missing.

Ironically, reality reveals that the system operates more efficiently and smoothly without these redundant or even harmful officials.

After a brief two-day rest at the disaster relief site, Zhu Yunwen set off for the Yellow River dike to inspect the specific situation there and formulate a plan for the reconstruction of the Yellow River dike.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yang Rong, the Minister of State Affairs who had arrived in Kaifeng by imperial decree, also quickly launched an investigation.

He strictly followed Zhu Yunwen's edict and carried out a large-scale and comprehensive rectification of the officialdom in Henan.

The downfall of Zheng Hongjian and Zhao Qingzhi left corrupt officials in Henan completely without their support.

Under Yang Rong's skillful and decisive iron-fisted methods, those once arrogant and domineering officials are now like stray dogs, voluntarily confessing and vying to expose each other's crimes, just hoping to gain a glimmer of hope.

Within just a few days, the truth behind the mysterious death of Li Jichuan, the former prefect of Guide Prefecture, came to light.

Shockingly, the mastermind behind this murder was none other than Chen Xiaoming, the then-provincial inspector.

To prevent Li Jichuan from implicating many officials, including himself, while in prison, Chen Xiaoming went so far as to order prison guards to kill him.

In addition, the Henan Provincial Administration Commissioner and his officials also provided Chen Xiaoming with a huge sum of money, instigating him to use his power to commit violence.

What's even more appalling is that their dirty deeds were actually tacitly approved and condoned by Governor Zheng Hongjian and Inspector Zhao Qingzhi.

As Yang Rong deepened his investigation, the level of corruption in Henan's officialdom became shocking.

Many officials in government departments, from top to bottom, were found to be involved in collective corruption, and all officials were "taken down in one fell swoop".

This phenomenon is not an isolated case in Henan. Many government departments have officials of all ranks colluding with each other to engage in collective corruption.

In the past, although there were many corrupt officials, most of them knew how to avoid being noticed and acted secretly in private.

However, in Henan, at least within official circles, many acts of embezzlement and bribery have become de facto public, to the point of being blatant.

Many government offices operate like street vendors, openly pricing their "services" and soliciting bribes. In the area of ​​engineering construction contracting, an even more appalling set of corrupt practices has emerged.

Contractors had to pay 70% of the project cost to the supervising officials in order to secure the project.

Even worse, low-level positions such as runners and clerks in government offices were also bought and sold as commodities.

To get a job, one had to offer huge sums of money to those officials who held power.

This sum of money was so great that even a constable could not earn it back even if he received a hundred years' salary.

This undoubtedly means that those who obtain their positions through illegal means will, once in office, intensify their exploitation of the people, engage in corruption and bribery, plunder the people's hard-earned money, and embezzle all of the government's public funds.

Only in this way can they recoup the money they spend on purchasing jobs.

In such a morbid bureaucratic environment, those officials who are truly honest and unwilling to compromise their integrity are instead marginalized and suppressed.

Their integrity and perseverance became stumbling blocks in their careers.

Even Yang Rong, who held the high position of Minister of State Affairs and was appointed to manage the affairs of Henan, found the corruption case, which involved a wide range of people, extremely difficult to handle.

Fortunately, the widespread use of the telegraph made communication convenient, allowing him to frequently send requests to the emperor.

Zhu Yunwen's reply: "The saying 'the law does not punish the masses' must never be applied to officials!"

Officials are always a minority, not the so-called "majority".

Behind every corrupt official lies a huge sum of money from the imperial court, and hundreds or thousands of innocent people whose numbers far exceed those of the officials.

If we turn a blind eye to the cases simply because there are many officials involved, and treat them lightly, then the ones who will truly suffer are the ordinary people, whose numbers far exceed those of the officials.

They are the true "masses".

Therefore, no matter how many people are involved, even if the entire Henan officialdom is completely purged, the investigation must be carried out to the end, and no corrupt official will be let off the hook.

The emperor's decree completely dispelled all of Yang Rong's concerns.

With no more constraints, he could act decisively and boldly.

In this unprecedented crackdown, the number of officials in Henan who were ultimately dismissed, investigated, arrested, and imprisoned reached as high as a thousand.

After a rigorous trial, hundreds of people were ultimately sentenced to beheading and confiscation of their property.

This iron-fisted crackdown sent shockwaves through the entire Henan officialdom, resulting in a devastating loss of life and bloodshed, an unprecedented level of shock.

To maximize the deterrent effect, Zhu Yunwen also issued an edict: the list of newly arrested and sentenced officials and their crimes should be publicized to the entire Henan region every day, so that all officials would know the fate of those who embezzle and break the law.

Every other day, the relevant information would be uploaded to the government affairs office and then quickly disseminated to government offices throughout the country via the telegraph network.

At the same time, the Daming Daily and other major newspapers went into overdrive, reporting on the matter extensively, pushing the momentum of this rectification campaign to a climax.

This is itself an extremely effective anti-corruption strategy.

The continuous "bombardment" of massive amounts of information can create a powerful "psychological deterrent" against corrupt officials.

This invisible pressure makes them constantly uneasy, fearing that they will be the next to fall from grace, thus pulling back from the brink of crime and stopping any potential corrupt activities.

Starting with the case of mass embezzlement in Henan's officialdom, a nationwide anti-corruption storm was thus launched.

……

Just as the storm of reforming officialdom was raging in the Ming Dynasty, at the same time, in the vast overseas territories, expeditions and trading fleets formed by Ming nobles and gentry were rapidly expanding their spheres of influence to all parts of the world.

The main responsibility of the Ming Dynasty navy was to crack down on illegal activities overseas and provide a solid backing for merchants traveling to the seas.

True overseas expansion, however, relied primarily on private expeditions.

In their pursuit of endless wealth, they were far more aggressive than the authorities, and their enthusiasm for exploration reached an unprecedented peak.

In a harbor somewhere in Oceania, a giant sailboat with an intricate structure slowly docks.

On the ship, a noble son of a high-ranking official from the Ming Dynasty was the first to disembark, leading the crew onto this unfamiliar land.

He, who was once pampered and had fair and tender skin like a young girl, has become dark-skinned and weathered after nearly a year at sea, enduring the elements.

In the nearly one year he has been at sea, the hardships he has endured far exceed the sum of the past twenty years.

However, despite his physical exhaustion, a resolute light still shone in the eyes of this nobleman's son.

“Young master, this area is all primeval desert, what treasures could we possibly find?” A steward-like attendant beside the nobleman couldn’t help but complain.

After they landed, all they could see was an endless desert and barren red rocky mountains, a desolate sight.

"What do you know?" the nobleman's son retorted sharply. "His Majesty said that Oceania contains extremely rich iron and coal mines!"

"His Majesty has not been here in person, how could he know?"

The attendant's voice was low, yet it still reached the ears of the noble sons clearly.

"Since His Majesty says it exists, then it must exist!" The noble son suddenly raised his voice and retorted decisively, "His Majesty is such a wise and powerful man, how could he be wrong? You all search carefully for me, and perhaps we will find it!"

"What kind of treasure could there be in this godforsaken place?" someone muttered under their breath.

"Young master, this place is truly eerie!" a guide from the expedition suddenly exclaimed. "Look, even the compass is pointing off-center!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately gathered around.

They first looked up at the high-hanging sun, then looked down to carefully compare the direction the compass was pointing. In an instant, everyone's expression became extremely solemn.

Using the sun to determine east, west, south, and north is clearly different from what a compass indicates.

This is a brand-new compass newly developed by the Ming Dynasty's manufacturing bureau. It is renowned for its extremely high sensitivity and accuracy and has never made a mistake.

The fact that problems have arisen in this desolate place is naturally frightening.

……

(End of this chapter)