Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 316: The Use of Laws, Arrangements by the Kings [Request for Subscription]

"On New Year's Eve, Your Majesty lifted the curfew, so I took my family on a parade to enjoy the lanterns. Unexpectedly, when we reached the bamboo bridge on Taiping Street, we encountered Hanlin editor Fang Xiaoru arguing with a patrolman. Upon asking, I learned that Hanlin Fang's daughter had gone missing..."

Although Liu Kuan knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had probably learned about this through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he still told the whole story of Fang Xiaoru's daughter's disappearance and how he found her.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew about this, most of the others did not and listened very carefully.

Because I had just watched a movie about a lost child and a video about human trafficking, and now I learned that someone dared to traffic people near the imperial city on New Year's Eve, I suddenly felt that the human traffickers were very close to me.

Several concubines, the eldest princess, and the second princess subconsciously hugged the young children around them tighter, as if they were afraid that a human trafficker would suddenly appear and kidnap the children.

Empress Ma and Zhu Biao frowned, obviously not expecting such a thing to happen on New Year's Eve.

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, Zhu Ying, who was a bit irritable, immediately shouted, "Father, this group of human traffickers is really audacious. They dared to kidnap children right in front of the Imperial City. How could they take the royal family seriously?"

"I believe this human trafficker must be executed by slow slicing to serve as a warning to others!"

Zhu Di thought about that night when he later paraded his children through the streets, but he was surrounded by many servants and guards, so he was not afraid that the children would get lost. If he was an ordinary person without servants or guards, wouldn't the children also be abducted?

Thinking of this, Zhu Di also said with murderous intent: "Father, although the police and the Six Gates arrested this group of human traffickers, they only abducted seven children."

"But if the police and the Six Gates hadn't been alerted, I'm afraid they would have kidnapped even more children, causing countless families to suffer the pain of losing their children."

"These human traffickers have lost all humanity and disregard imperial authority. I, your son, also suggest that they be executed by slow slicing!"

"Fourth brother is right, the human traffickers should be tortured to death!" King Qi Zhu Yu expressed his agreement.

King Zhu Zhen of Chu also said: "All human traffickers should be killed!"

"···"

For a time, all the princes and even grandchildren of the Zhu family shouted and killed the human traffickers.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained calm in the face of this scene. After the crowd's voices died down, he looked at Zhu Biao and asked, "Biao'er, what do you think?"

Zhu Biao said, "According to the latest revision of the Ming Dynasty Law, if a human trafficker causes harm or even death to the person they abducted, they shall be executed by slow slicing."

"If no serious harm is caused, the offender will be exiled abroad or sentenced to three to ten years in prison."

"The evil of human traffickers has been fully demonstrated by the film and video my brother-in-law just showed. I, your son, also hate human traffickers. However, I believe that we cannot subject all human traffickers to the same torture or death penalty. We must still treat them differently."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ying couldn't help but ask, "Brother, are you confused, or are you just too kind? After watching the movies and videos shown by my third brother-in-law, you still want to spare the lives of those human traffickers?"

Zhu Di was also puzzled and opened his mouth to say something, but after observing the expressions of Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Kuan, he swallowed his words.

Zhu Xiongying, a twelve-year-old boy, also didn't understand Zhu Biao's idea and couldn't help but ask, "Father, if we don't severely punish the human traffickers, how can we deter them?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiongying. Your father must have a reason for saying so."

Zhu Biao was relieved to see that Zhu Yuanzhang understood him. He said, "I think the reason why my father divided the punishment for human trafficking into two categories when he first ordered the Ming Dynasty Code to be formulated was not to say that traffickers who abducted people but did not directly cause the deaths or injuries of the abducted should not be put to death, but to protect the abducted people."

"If all human traffickers are executed or tortured to death without distinction, future traffickers will undoubtedly treat their victims with no mercy and may even resort to extreme cruelty."

"Think about it, if he's already on this path and is caught by the government, he'll be executed or tortured to death. So what evil can he not do?"

"On the other hand, if we treat them in two different ways, most traffickers, after abducting people, will still think about saving their lives if they are caught in the future, so they will not easily harm the abducted people."

"This not only buys time for the authorities to solve the case, but also prevents the trafficked victims from suffering irreparable harm by the time they are rescued."

After listening to Zhu Biao's story, Zhu Ying, Zhu Di and other princes who had previously shouted that they wanted to kill all the human traffickers frowned and began to think deeply.

Liu Kuan felt both helpless and emotional - he felt that Zhu Biao's ability to understand the profound principles behind this was enough to demonstrate his intelligence.

In fact, Liu Kuan only figured this out in the past two days.

At first, he also wanted to kill all the human traffickers, and even torture them to death, so as to deter potential human traffickers.

But later, after careful consideration of the Ming Code and later laws, I felt that since they treated different cases differently, there must be a reason for this - and protecting the victims of trafficking was the main reason.

A one-size-fits-all approach of executing all human traffickers is certainly refreshing and can also have a certain deterrent effect.

However, there is no guarantee that there will be no more human traffickers in the future. Once human traffickers appear again, they will be extremely cruel and inhumane, as the only option left after being caught is to torture them to death!
The law should not only punish and deter criminals, but also reduce crime and protect victims.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty laws and later laws all punished human traffickers according to the circumstances.

"Biao'er is right." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled approvingly. "As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I preside over a country with a population of tens of millions. When making laws, I cannot simply base them on my own preferences. I must consider many aspects and be as comprehensive as possible."

"Otherwise, given my personality, I would definitely torture all the human traffickers to death!"

After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "But human traffickers are indeed despicable. Even if they don't harm the trafficked people, exiling them overseas for only three to ten years is too easy for them." "Liu Kuan, how do you think we should increase the punishment for these people?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Kuan about this matter. Firstly, he really wanted to hear Liu Kuan's opinion, and secondly, it showed his favor for Liu Kuan.

Liu Kuan said, "I think we should send them to the government mines to do hard labor for at least twenty years. And their sentences cannot be reduced, and they will not be pardoned even if they are granted amnesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Okay, after the eighth day of the first lunar month, you will write a memorial and submit it to the cabinet. We will have them amend the relevant laws."

"As for the group of human traffickers arrested on New Year's Eve, they have defied imperial authority, a crime of the highest order. They will all be sentenced to fifty years of hard labor in the mines!"

Fifty years?
Liu Kuan almost couldn't help shaking his head and laughing when he heard this.

When he said that the punishment was twenty years of hard labor, he had no intention of giving those human traffickers a chance to live - he said that they were sentenced to hard labor in the mines, but in fact they were miners recognized by the Ming Dynasty law. It was a blessing for such people to survive ten or eight years in the mines, and it was basically impossible for them to survive more than twenty years.

As for surviving in the mine for more than fifty years?

That's even more impossible.

After discussing how to deal with human traffickers, Zhu Yuanzhang called Zhu Biao and other older princes, as well as Zhu Xiongying and Liu Kuan, to the side hall to discuss matters.

After everyone was seated, Zhu Yuanzhang announced, "The most important event for our Ming Dynasty in the first half of this year is to conquer the Northern Yuan Dynasty!"

"Currently, the four major cities of Xi'an, Taiyuan, Beiping, and Liaoyang have all stockpiled sufficient food, fodder, and military equipment. Once the weather warms up in the spring and the Northern Expedition forces arrive at their designated locations, we can launch a four-pronged northern expedition."

"This time, our Great Ming will not only destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but also force all tribes on the grasslands to submit to the Great Ming. Those who refuse to submit to the Great Ming will either have their tribes exterminated or be forced to migrate westward. In short, the entire Great Grassland will be brought under the rule of the Great Ming!"

Upon hearing this, Prince Jin Zhu Ying was the most excited among all the princes.

Since leaving the capital and returning to Taiyuan, he has been preparing for this Northern Expedition, and now he finally has the opportunity to use his skills.

He immediately stood up, clasped his fists, and said, "Father, I, your son, will serve as the vanguard of the Taiyuan-based Northern Expedition!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "This Northern Expedition concerns the future plans of the Ming Dynasty. We must not make any mistakes. You have little experience in leading troops. How can you serve as a vanguard general?"

Hearing this, Zhu Ying was extremely disappointed and thought to himself: Could it be that the emperor deliberately doesn't want to give me a chance to make merit? Does he not want me to be a vassal overseas?
Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "However, you will be a lieutenant general of the Taiyuan army. In addition to commanding a 3,000-man guard, you will also command 2,000 garrison troops. How much merit you can achieve will depend on your performance on the battlefield."

It's not bad to be a lieutenant general, and with 5,000 soldiers at hand, there is a lot of room for improvement.

Zhu Ying was instantly delighted and immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Father!"

Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "Fourth Brother, you will lead a thousand guards and two thousand garrison troops to serve in the army in Peking."

"Second Brother, Tenth Brother, each of you will lead a thousand guards and serve in the troops along the way to Xi'an."

"Sixth and Seventh Brothers, each of you will lead a thousand guards and a thousand garrison troops to serve in the Liaoyang army."

Upon hearing the voice, Zhu Di and the other five stood up one after another, clasped their fists and accepted the order.

Only Zhu Chong was a little surprised. He was stunned for a moment before he stood up and asked, "Father, did you just call my name?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, "Why, just because you're young doesn't your hearing work well? Do you want us to say it again?"

Hearing this, Zhu Chong realized something and was initially excited, but then he suppressed his excitement and said, "Father, I am still a commoner, where did I get the guards?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "You have performed well in the past few years, especially in the past two years. You have made great progress. I have discussed with your mother, and after the opening of the government offices on the eighth day of the first lunar month, we will issue an imperial decree to restore your princely title."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chong could no longer contain himself and went straight to the center of the hall, knelt down and kowtowed, crying with joy, "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace, father!"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly at first, then regained his composure and said, "Don't be so hasty to thank me. I haven't finished what I'm saying yet. This is your last chance to restore your title of prince."

"If you do anything cruel, absurd, or disgraceful to the Ming imperial family again, I will never forgive you, and I won't give you a second chance! Remember that?"

Zhu Chong's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said, "Your son will remember this!"

"Get up! When you return to Xi'an, you must perform well in the army and make as many contributions as possible."

"Yes!"

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang briefly talked about the plan for the Northern Expedition this year, and then turned to other matters.

"In addition to the Northern Expedition, this year our Ming Dynasty will continue various reforms internally, and externally we will continue to explore Southeast Asia and North America, using military and civilian settlements to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land..."

　Second update.

　　(I'm really drunk. The last chapter was deleted and modified by the great author Hexie. If you see any incoherent or unreasonable sentences, please fill in the blanks yourself. I have no choice.)
　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)