Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 588 In officialdom, one is not in control of one's own destiny?
These words were like pouring a bucket of cold water into boiling oil, causing an uproar throughout the courtroom!

The onlookers could hardly believe their ears, and an uproar erupted.

They initially thought it was just a scheme by a wicked woman, but little did they know that the government was actually directing the operation!
This was actually a huge top-down scam!

Even Xu Miaojin was so surprised that her mouth gaped open, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.

Only Zhu Yunwen remained calm.

All of this was exactly what he had anticipated.

Tan Zhu's confession was merely the final incision made in this ugly festering sore, providing the final proof.
"You...you're spouting nonsense! Stop talking such rubbish!" Zhao Wenyuan's already bloodless face was now as white as a sheet of paper.

He pointed at Tan Zhu and let out a desperate roar, then turned to Zhu Yunwen and vehemently denied it: "Your Majesty! This is a false accusation! Absolutely not!"

Zhu Yunwen gave him a deep look, his tone flat and emotionless: "Are you also going to deceive the emperor?"

This simple sentence struck Zhao Wenyuan's heart like an invisible hammer.

All the words he wanted to use to defend himself were instantly choked back down.

Zhu Yunwen's calm gaze, however, was like a merciless sword, piercing through all of his psychological defenses.

A warm current surged uncontrollably from the base of his thighs, the strong, foul odor silently proclaiming the complete collapse of a county magistrate's dignity.

He was so scared that he peed.

Zhu Yunwen ignored the magistrate, who was now practically a cripple, and turned to Tan Zhu, saying, "Continue."

……

Tan Zhu had long since given up all resistance and numbly confessed:
"Because I deliberately cried for help that night, falsely claiming that Xi Yunlang was near the Chu family, the Chu family did not suspect that I was lying."

"Later, Chu Xue died, and the Chu family reported the case to the government. The government then sent people to arrest Xi Yunlang."

"Soon, the county judge convicted him of murder and sentenced him to death."

"With things progressing so smoothly, I am naturally overjoyed and relieved."

"Unexpectedly, Xi Zhaoxue persisted in her harassment, running around filing complaints to seek justice for her brother."

"Later, the case went through two trials."

"The clerk in the courtroom then began to teach the women how to give their accounts, how to cover up their lies, and how to secure Xi Yunlang's guilt."

“The woman did not offer any bribes, but they said that the case had been reported to the imperial court and that no matter how many times it was retried, there was no way to overturn the verdict.”

"Otherwise, everyone involved will be held accountable."

"Therefore, even if you know that you made a mistake at the beginning, you can only continue to make the same mistake."

"They assured that whoever came to interrogate her would be taken care of, so the woman didn't need to worry and could just do as they instructed."

After Tan Zhu finished speaking, Zhu Yunwen quietly turned his gaze to Shen Mo, who was already prostrate on the ground, and said, "Inspector Shen, do you have anything else to say?"

Shen Mo slowly raised his head, looking into those deep and calm imperial eyes. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Under the emperor's discerning eyes, any lie appears pale and laughable.

He knew full well that concealing the truth would only bring about even more terrible consequences.

Zhu Yuntong's expression remained calm, but his heart was already churning with anger. He asked, word by word, "Shen Mo, this case is actually extremely simple. It's impossible that you couldn't have noticed the clues and uncovered the truth of the case."

"Tell me, who exactly did you accept such a huge bribe to dare to distort the truth and disregard human life like this!"

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!" Shen Mo kowtowed heavily, his voice hoarse and bitter. "But please, Your Majesty, understand that I have not accepted a single tael of silver as a bribe from anyone."

Xu Miaojin, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but interject, "Since you did not accept any bribes, why did you, as the provincial judge, pervert the law, condone the real culprit, and wrongfully harm the innocent?"

“In officialdom, one is not in control of one’s own destiny!” Shen Mo let out a long sigh, his face full of bitter smile. “Your Majesty, I have indeed seen through the clues of this case long ago, and I also know that Tan Zhu is the real culprit and Xi Yunlang is innocent.”

"But I am powerless to change the judgment, nor do I dare to change it."

Faced with the Emperor's questioning, he had no intention of confronting him or making excuses.

It must be said that Zhu Yunwen created a very successful image for himself.

Whether in the eyes of ordinary people or many officials, the current emperor is like a god.

This is, of course, a result of public opinion and propaganda.

On the other hand, it was also because Zhu Yunwen did indeed do too many unbelievable things, which brought about earth-shattering changes to the Ming Dynasty.

These things can hardly be explained by common sense.

In the eyes of many people, only a god descending to earth could know so much and do so many things that people in the past would not even dare to imagine.

Therefore, people believed that he was a god, and even many officials believed it.

With the gods before him, Shen Mo dared not lie again after his initial panicked attempt to cover it up.

Because deep down he believed that he could not possibly hide anything from the Ming emperor, who was a god descended to earth.

"Initially, this case was simply due to the negligence of the county yamen's legal office. They mistakenly believed the report from the Chu family and Tan Zhu's statement, hastily arrested Xi Yunlang, and tortured him into confessing his crimes."

"By the time the county yamen's legal office discovers that something is wrong and that Xi Yunlang may have been wronged, it will be too late."

"The case has been reported up the chain of command in accordance with the prescribed procedures."

"Since His Majesty implemented the new policies, the court has strengthened vertical management."

“Once a case is reported and filed with the higher authorities, it’s not so easy to change it later.”

"After all, if you want to change the case file, you have to report it level by level."

"But once it's reported, it's like admitting to the higher authorities that you've made a mistake, which is a dereliction of duty and will be severely punished."

"As a result, the county yamen's law enforcement office was caught in a dilemma."

"Moreover, this case occurred at a crucial moment when the higher authorities were evaluating the county magistrate's legal department. Whether he would be promoted or dismissed was just a matter of a moment."

"The head of the county yamen's legal office and the magistrate of Shan County are related by marriage."

"After the two of them discussed it, Magistrate Zhao Wenyuan, for the sake of his children's future and political achievements, not only did not help Xi Yunlang clear his name, but also covered it up with an even bigger cloth."

"Continue to sentence Xi Yunlang to death, and supplement the original case details to make it more reasonable."

"I thought that the Xi family's orphan and widow would not dare to confront the government, but who knew that Xi Zhaoxue was an extremely fierce person who took the petition all the way to the government office."

"The officials in the government's legal department immediately noticed something amiss and ordered the case to be sent back for retrial."

"At this point, Zhao Wenyuan panicked completely, because he himself was already deeply involved, and if the case were overturned, he would also be implicated."

"So he used his connections in official circles to bribe officials at all levels and forcibly suppress the matter."

"It was at this time that they began to instigate Tan Zhu to give false testimony."

"Who would have thought that Xi Zhaoxue would remain unyielding and would actually write a letter to the Censorate to file a complaint."

"With the approval of the Censorate, the case was transferred to my Provincial Surveillance Commission."

"Your Majesty is wise. As you said, this case is full of loopholes, and any criminal official with even a little experience can see through it."

"But in officialdom, relationships are intricate and complex. By the time the case reached my hands, it was no longer just a murder case; it involved dozens of officials from the county and prefectural governments." "These people, in turn, had teachers, classmates, fellow students, relatives by marriage... forming an invisible web."

"This network has dragged countless people from all levels of Shandong's officialdom into it."

"If I want to exonerate Xi Yunlang alone, I must tear this whole net apart."

"What we'll offend is the entire Shandong officialdom!"

He paused, his voice growing lower and lower, filled with helplessness and sorrow: "Later, Xi Zhaoxue stopped the emperor to lodge a complaint, and when the emperor issued his decree, we were terrified out of our wits."

"But His Majesty did not send an imperial envoy to investigate the case. Instead, he sent it back for retrial, which gave us a glimmer of hope."

"What's done is done."

"There are too many people on the ship, and no one can get away."

"If Xi Yunlang's case is overturned, then all previous judgments will be considered unjust."

"Under the imperial court's accountability measures, countless people will fall from grace and lose their official positions."

"If Xi Yunlang's death sentence is confirmed, then his death alone can save the positions and futures of hundreds of officials in Shandong."

As Shen Mo finished speaking, he raised his head, his eyes now filled with utter despair.

"The death of Xi Yunlang alone saved a hundred Shandong officials."

"This question is not difficult to answer."

"Although I am the provincial judge, I am but one link in this vast net."

"When you're in the corrupting influence of officialdom, how can you just do whatever you want?"

After much deliberation and weighing the pros and cons, we have no choice but to...

He took a deep breath and continued, "We have no choice but to sacrifice Xi Yunlang."

“He was just an ordinary citizen, and his life was of little importance.”

"How could his life possibly compare to the official positions and future prospects of hundreds of officials in Shandong's political arena?"

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Zhu Yunwen roared, "What a fine sacrifice of Xi Yunlang!"

"You sacrificed more than just him!"

"What you sacrificed was the law of the Ming Dynasty, the dignity of the court, the conscience of the people, and the hopes of millions of ordinary citizens!"

"Do you think you can absolve yourself of responsibility with just the eight words 'When you're in officialdom, you're not in control of your own destiny'?"

"You're afraid of offending your fellow officials, but why aren't you afraid of offending the people of Shandong province, or even me?"

"Officials who do not serve the people but instead collude with corrupt officials and mingle with them."

"You say you haven't embezzled a single penny, but in my eyes, you have harmed the people even more than those corrupt officials."

Zhu Yunwen ordered, "Men, arrest Shen Mo, Zhao Wenyuan, and all the officials who were tried today and imprison them immediately to await further instructions."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Xu Miaojin and the guards of Tian Shu Division quickly followed.

Soon, news that His Majesty had personally visited the county government office to adjudicate the wrongful case spread throughout the streets and alleys of Shanxian County.

The people praised it highly and cheered.

Skynet is restored, sparse but not leaking.

Justice was ultimately served.

But when Zhu Yunwen returned to the post station, his mood was very heavy.

His purpose in going undercover to clear a commoner's name and establish an image that justice still exists in the world was certainly not his ultimate goal.

The Ming Dynasty is so vast. If the emperor has to personally save every citizen from their grievances, how many people can he actually save?

He cannot be in two places at once, and cannot manage the affairs of the world.

If the emperor were to save them all, it would be a miracle if only one out of ten thousand wronged souls could be saved.

What's the point of all this?
His most important purpose in going on unannounced visits was to go deep into the grassroots, understand the hardships of the people, and learn about the real situation at the bottom, so as to better serve the country's policy-making.

To personally handle a wrongful case is to seek justice for one person.

A single government decree can affect millions of people.

A new system could potentially solve the problem at its root.

However, this kind of thing has always been an age-old problem.

He was able to introduce science and carry out reforms in the Ming Dynasty because he knew the answers for future generations.

However, the issue of official corruption and who is responsible for it directly touches upon the human soul, and no matter how advanced science and technology become, it has nothing to do with this.

“Brother Tong, you guessed it perfectly. This was originally a very simple case, but because a mistake was made at the beginning, an innocent person was wronged. Later, in order to cover it up, the case was erroneous again and again, implicating most of the officials in Shandong's legal and criminal systems.”

Xu Miaojin sighed softly behind him and comforted him, "This is not your fault. Such things have always been difficult to prevent throughout history."

"Brother Tong was able to uncover this, redress grievances for the people, uphold justice, and clean up the corrupt practices in officialdom. We should be happy."

Zhu Yunwen shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "With the officialdom so corrupt, how can I, as the emperor, possibly be happy?"

Xu Miaojin said, "When His Majesty was in Henan, he had already formulated new policies and issued an edict to establish the Anti-Corruption Bureau."

"However, it is still early in the process. The establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the selection of personnel will take time."

"I believe that once all the policies are implemented, many of the unhealthy practices in officialdom will be reversed."

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "I have no doubt about that."

"However, there are three most important lessons from Xi Yunlang's case. First, the channels for ordinary people to file complaints with higher authorities are still not smooth enough."

"The imperial court found it difficult to effectively supervise officials by relying on the people's reports."

"Even ordinary people find it difficult to appeal their own grievances."

"This is something I have already considered in my previous policies. I have added the Independent Commission Against Corruption, set up circuit courts, and strengthened the existing system of letters and complaints. With these three measures combined, we should be able to change the current situation."

"Secondly, there is collusion and mutual protection among officials in the bureaucracy. This can be greatly alleviated by introducing mobile investigators from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and circuit courts in various regions, although it cannot cure the symptoms."

"The third point is the issue of accountability for officials."

Zhu Yunwen analyzed: "It is inevitable for all people to make mistakes, and the same is true for officials governing local areas and handling cases."

“In the past, the laws of the Ming Dynasty imposed severe punishments on wrongdoings. Even the smallest mistake would be severely punished, which was a good thing.”

"However, due to the serious lack of prior institutional constraints, a good thing turned into a bad thing."

……

(End of this chapter)