There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 479 Chinese New Year
The first day of the first lunar month.

This year's New Year was unusually lively compared to previous years, with even the officials and military officers wearing smiles on their faces.

Not only did the emperor grant them extra leave this year, but they also achieved a great victory in their first Northern Expedition, successively capturing the three provinces of Jiangbei, Shandong, and Henan.

Before the new year, spies from Zhili sent back news that the Qing court in Beijing seemed to be preparing to retreat to Liaodong Pass.

Once the Manchus fled, it was basically a matter of destiny falling to the Han!

Liu Zhixie and Zhang Zhengmo are nothing but grasshoppers in autumn. They can be wiped out by the Han army after the Han dynasty takes Beijing.

The process of celebrating the New Year this year is pretty much the same as in previous years. The emperor first waits in the palace for civil and military officials to come and pay their respects. Then the emperor bestows a New Year's banquet, and the emperor and his officials drink and sing together in the same hall to celebrate the New Year.

After the New Year's banquet, apart from some officials on duty for the New Year, the remaining ministers went home, and Nie Yu also returned to the inner palace to accompany his concubines and children.

Later that evening, he took his concubines and children to pay respects to the retired emperor, and the family had a New Year's Eve dinner together.

This year, the holiday is no longer just one day like in previous years, but has been extended to a three-day holiday.

During the three-day holiday, not only were people in the south celebrating the New Year, but the military garrisons on the northern front also received imperial edicts of condolence and numerous gifts of wine and meat.

The Han army has strict discipline and prohibits drinking alcohol in the army, but an exception is made during the New Year period, during which a small amount of alcohol may be consumed.

After all, soldiers can't go home for the New Year, so they need some relaxation and entertainment to maintain morale.

The three-day holiday passed quickly. Although local governments in various parts of the Han Dynasty had staff on duty, they still couldn't avoid causing a lot of trivial matters.

Leaving aside other places, in Nanjing, the capital of the Han Dynasty, a small fire broke out because some vendors illegally set off firecrackers in public places, which almost spread to the nearby market.

Fortunately, the fire brigade responsible for this market responded quickly, preventing the fire from spreading and only damaging a wooden signboard.

The Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture had anticipated this, and in accordance with the law, fined the offending vendors and then imprisoned them for three days.

After the Han Dynasty moved its capital to Nanjing, it reinstated the position of Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.

Nanjing, after all, is an ancient capital of six dynasties, with an important political status. It was the founding capital of the Ming Dynasty and later its secondary capital. Therefore, the position of Yingtian Prefecture must be restored to strengthen Nanjing's rule over the southern provinces.

The three-day holiday has passed, and while there have been no major incidents in various parts of Dahan, minor incidents have been frequent, mostly small-scale fires caused by merchants and ordinary people not following regulations and setting off fireworks and firecrackers at will.

The local fire brigade and the yamen runners on duty were exhausted, yet they still "repeatedly refused to learn their lesson".

There's nothing we can do, it's Chinese New Year!

Ordinary people work hard all year round, and it's rare for them to have a few days of joy, so they should celebrate properly. The government can offer advice, but it can't really impose severe punishments.

The fines stipulated in the Great Han Code were all based on written laws, which could only make the people feel the pinch, but would never actually harm them.

Even the more serious arrests are more like detentions, at most three to five days, and they can't be tortured or deprived of food.

The result of such leniency was that people continued to set off firecrackers indiscriminately despite being warned. Some shops even paid fines in advance and then went to the streets to set off firecrackers to celebrate, while also trying to attract customers and do business.

The holiday is finally over, and the government is back at work.

The situation improved slightly after the local officials returned from their work. "Your Majesty, many people violated regulations by setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival, causing frequent fires in the area. Local officials all believe that the punishments under the imperial law are too lenient, with violators only fined 10 coins for minor offenses and 30 coins for serious offenses, plus three days of detention."

The first to speak was Dai Yi, the Minister of Justice, because while the determination of laws was handled by the three judicial departments, the formulation and revision of criminal laws were all done by the Ministry of Justice.

Nie Yu was reviewing the memorial handed to him by the other party. It contained the opinions and views of local officials, and many of them believed that the court's punishment was too lenient, which emboldened the people.

Nie Yu closed the memorial and smiled, "If the punishment is too lenient, then it is too lenient! I originally set this precedent not for the purpose of fining and detaining people. Although this precedent is in the Great Han Law, it is not a strict law, but just a rule. It is good enough if it can let the people know that doing so is wrong."

"It's a rare occasion to celebrate the New Year, who wouldn't want to have some fun? If any problems arise, the responsibility for those problems can be investigated and judged by the law. As for the troubles in local administration, that was indeed my oversight. There were too few officials on duty, and since they were on duty during the New Year, they were bound to be somewhat negligent."

After a moment's thought, Nie Yu said, "Issue my decree that officials on duty during festivals may apply for compensatory leave after the New Year, and that they shall receive triple pay."

With just a few changes, it's basically imitating the practice of working overtime during the Chinese New Year in later generations.

They'll give you compensatory leave and overtime pay. If you're still feeling unwell and unwilling to work, then you might as well quit being an official and go home to do whatever you need to do.

This is also why, although the Han Dynasty has just finished the Northern Expedition and its finances are still somewhat tight, production and connections in Shandong, Henan, and even parts of Shanxi will gradually recover.

The economies of both North and South Korea will gradually recover to pre-war levels over the next few years. Furthermore, the recovery will be accelerated by the development of maritime trade and the initial stages of industrialization.

With the economic recovery, the Han Dynasty's treasury had surplus funds.

When a country has money, it can not only support the development of military equipment, but also support the huge administrative costs.

"According to the order!"

Liu Jun and Dai Yi responded in unison, cupping their hands in greeting.

The cabinet was not surprised by the emperor's decision.

Because the cabinet also felt that amending the criminal law was meaningless, and that handling local affairs was the responsibility of local officials.

If the imperial court is constantly making major changes to everything, then what's the point of having local governments?
Moreover, the changes involved criminal laws that directly affect the interests of ordinary people, which alarmed the cabinet.

Although they were all important ministers in the cabinet and the highest power structure of the Han Dynasty, they generally came from very humble backgrounds.

To put it nicely, they are from poor families; to put it bluntly, some of them don't even qualify as poor families, but rather as wealthy farmers who grit their teeth and can afford to study.

Why would local officials propose amending criminal laws?

There may be some genuine desire to resolve the issue, but the cabinet is not foolish. Looking beyond the surface, they sense that powerful landowners and wealthy families may be exerting influence behind the scenes.

Just like the previous village covenant issue, it was also a case of large landowners trying to compete with the imperial court for the right to speak at the grassroots level.

Gu Jing suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing, this matter... is somewhat sensitive."

"Sensitive? What is it?" Nie Yu asked casually after reviewing the memorial he had just received.

Gu Jing replied, "It concerns the issue of the Zheng family's ancestral worship in Nan'an, Fujian, which exceeded the prescribed rituals..."

(End of this chapter)