My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 269 Two memorials submitted together
The Kong family of Qufu was the easy target that Su Ze chose.

The reason is simple: it's the direction of least resistance.

Unlike other issues that involve a wide range of problems, the problem of the Kong family in Qufu is actually just a typical case of lawless and powerful families.

The evidence against the contemporary Duke Yansheng, Kong Shangxian, is plentiful. The court doesn't need to put in any effort to find fault; Kong Shangxian will reveal his crimes on his own.

The solution to deal with the Kong family was simple: strictly follow the law, re-determine the Kong family's land holdings, and restrict their illegal activities in Qufu.

However, to achieve all this, there is still a crucial issue: the magistrate of Qufu County.

The position of magistrate of Qufu County had been held by the Confucius family of Qufu for generations.

The current magistrate of Qufu County, Kong Chenghou, is from a collateral branch of the Kong family. He was able to become the magistrate of Qufu County because of the recommendation of the contemporary Duke Yansheng, Kong Shangxian.

The Kong family had served as magistrates of Qufu County for generations, which could be considered a tacit political agreement.

Tacit understanding is different from rules. Although it is easier to break than rigid rules, this unspoken understanding has the same effect as a vow.

For the emperor, breaking this political tacit understanding also required a catalyst.

Breaking political consensus casually will make everyone uneasy and trigger opposition from the entire system.

The last person to do this was the Zhengde Emperor, who claimed that his product "dissolves instantly in water."

In order to save on the cost of prestige points, Su Ze needed to create an opportunity for the emperor to break the tacit understanding after submitting his memorial.

Therefore, before formally submitting the petition, Su Ze needed to create such an opportunity.
-
Ministry of Punishment.

"Junior Minister of Justice".

Perhaps due to the psychological trauma of his time as the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was reluctant to see Su Ze, but he was also well aware of the consequences of not seeing Su Ze.

After much internal struggle, Li Yiyuan finally decided to meet with Su Ze.

Despite Su Ze's impeccable manners, Li Yiyuan remained wary. In fact, the more respectful Su Ze was, the more uneasy he felt.

"Why did Hanlin Su take time out of his busy schedule to come to the Ministry of Justice? Wasn't the first edition of 'Police Cases' already sent to the Military Academy?"

Li Yiyuan truly lived up to his reputation as a skilled editor. Under his supervision, the textbook "Police Cases," designed to guide patrol officers in solving cases, was completed in just a few months and delivered to Su Ze's desk.

Unfortunately, despite the earnest pleas of Li Yiyuan, the Junior Minister of Justice, the Chief of the Zhejiang Division of the Ministry of Justice, who played a crucial role in compiling this book, was forced to resign and return to his hometown due to the "flaws" in the trial of Hu Zongxian's case.

During the process of exonerating Hu Zongxian, Li Yiyuan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, also benefited by promoting a group of his own people to fill the vacant positions.

Su Ze also remarked that Li Yiyuan was a seasoned politician.

When compiling the Civil Code of the Ming Dynasty, Li Yiyuan had a keen eye for talent and recruited many low- to mid-level officials in the Ministry of Justice who were not given the opportunity to contribute their talents into his compilation team.

When the compilation of the Civil Code of the Ming Dynasty was completed, everyone was rewarded. Although many people were not immediately promoted, they gained the qualifications for advancement.

More importantly, through the process of compiling the book, they became one of Li Yiyuan's men, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

In this way, Li Yiyuan selected a group of capable "insiders" from the Ministry of Justice by compiling books.

The compilation of the book also provided these officials with enough qualifications for promotion.

What happened next was obvious.

For example, when the position of Chief Compiler of Zhejiang was vacant, Li Yiyuan immediately filled it with "his own people," and those who had worked with Li Yiyuan on compiling books were all promoted.

Of course, Li Yiyuan's ability to play so smoothly was also related to the fact that Mao Kai, the Minister of Justice, did not take charge of the affairs.

Mao Kai, the Minister of Justice, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fourteenth year of the Jiajing reign. Now over seventy years old, he may retire and return to his hometown at any time.

This combination of an old minister and a young vice minister is a common personnel arrangement for "passing the baton." Once Mao Kaizhen retires, Li Yiyuan may be promoted to the position at any time.

Li Yiyuan started talking about "The Cases of the Police Patrol", and Su Ze followed suit, saying:

"Thanks to the book by the Junior Minister of Justice, the police training class finally has lessons to teach."

Su Ze was indeed very satisfied with "The Patrol Case".

As requested by Su Ze, this book is not a long list of legal provisions, but rather a collection of typical cases selected from the Ministry of Justice, which serve as the basis for establishing the case-handling procedures for the police force.

This is similar to the later concept of "using cases to explain the law".

The Ministry of Justice also specifically selected some sensational and well-known cases as examples to stimulate the police officers' interest in learning.

The results were naturally excellent. Many of the police officers who participated in the training course were originally illiterate, so it was really too difficult for them to start learning directly from the "Great Ming Code".

"Police Cases" is much simpler, and the cases in the book are all real-life cases. As long as you memorize these cases, you can meet the needs of the Beijing police force.

Therefore, Su Ze came here this time to sincerely thank Li Yiyuan.

After hearing Su Ze's flattering words, Li Yiyuan's mood improved considerably.

After exchanging pleasantries, Su Ze finally got down to business.

After listening to Su Ze's request, Li Yiyuan frowned and said:

"The wrongful conviction in Qufu?"

Su Ze nodded slightly, and Li Yiyuan quickly understood Su Ze's intention: was he going to take action against the Kong family in Qufu?
That's right. After the accounting records were published, the silver dollars that the Kong family had embezzled from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were once again hotly debated in the capital. Sure enough, Su Ze made his move at this time.

Moreover, Su Ze's goal was the magistrate of Qufu, an important position responsible for the livelihood and public security of Qufu.

Li Yiyuan understood Su Ze's meaning, and he was naturally happy to do Su Ze this favor.

The Ministry of Justice of the Ming Dynasty possessed files on all major cases, and all important local cases were submitted to the Ministry of Justice for record-keeping.

Kong Chenghou had been serving as the magistrate of Qufu for ten years, and the archives of the Shandong Division of the Ministry of Justice contained numerous case files from the Qufu County government.

In ten years of official service, has he not handled a single case poorly?
As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Li Yiyuan was very confident that he could find the cases in which Kong Chenghou had made mistakes in the archives of the past ten years.

After discussing what Su Ze could get, it was Li Yiyuan's turn to make his offer.

He said in tacit agreement:

"Su Hanlin, have you heard about the power struggle between the Shuntian Prefecture and the Civil Affairs Bureau?"

Su Ze was stunned for a moment, then he immediately realized that Li Yiyuan had made his offer.

Since Su Ze reorganized the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Zhenfu Division and established the Civil Affairs Division under it to specifically handle civil cases, the environment in the capital has indeed improved a lot.

The Civil Division deals mainly with economic cases, which do not involve arrests or torture. Therefore, businessmen and ordinary people are happy to litigate in the Civil Division for cases involving money.

Of course, there are injustices that happen, but as I said before, at least the family won't be ruined by the lawsuit.

However, this reform naturally affected the interests of Shuntian Prefecture.

For clerks, adjudicating cases is the source of their power. If no one litigates, where will they get their benefits?

Public security and serious criminal cases have always been hot potatoes.

These cases are difficult to handle and carry great responsibility; even if a wrongful conviction is overturned, the perpetrator will still be implicated and investigated.

If you encounter some unsolved cases, you have to solve them within a limited time. Not only is it mentally and physically exhausting, but you also get reprimanded by your superiors.

Civil cases are much better; you can take the case from both the plaintiff and the defendant.

Unwilling to sit idly by and wait for their fate, the clerks of Shuntian Prefecture came up with a new idea. They also took up legal weapons.

Separating criminal and civil matters sounds easy, but in reality, it is a very complex matter.

For example, in cases like fraud, are they considered criminal or civil cases?

If fraud is considered a civil case, then what about robbery?
Even legal scholars could debate this issue for three days without reaching a conclusion.

For example, what should be done if a case involves both civil and criminal aspects?

Shuntian Prefecture began to "steal" cases from the Zhenfu Division and the Civil Affairs Division, which led to chaos in the capital's judicial system.

After Li Yiyuan finished explaining his problem, Su Ze thought for a moment and said:
"Minister of Justice, how about this: set up a special department under the Ministry of Justice to investigate whether disputed cases should be handled by the Civil Affairs Department or the Shuntian Prefecture?"

"If we encounter any major or important cases, how about the Ministry of Justice taking the lead, together with the Civil Affairs Department and the Shuntian Prefecture, to conduct a joint trial?"

Li Yiyuan nodded in satisfaction; clearly, this was what he wanted.

New power means a new position. Li Yiyuan has more leverage and the means to intervene in the judicial system of the capital region, becoming an arbitration body above the Civil Affairs Department and Shuntian Prefecture.

This clearly greatly strengthened the power of the Ministry of Justice.

This so-called "arbitration" is not simply a matter of taking sides.

This means that the Ministry of Justice now has the means to intervene in civil and criminal cases in the Gyeonggi region.

However, this is also what Su Ze wants. After the separation of criminal and civil matters, such an arbitration body is indeed needed to adjudicate disputes.

To put it bluntly, what Li Yiyuan, as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, needed was to expand the power of the Ministry of Justice and give his subordinates more positions and power, so that his subordinates would naturally push him to move up.

Both Yang Sizhong and Li Yiyuan saw the opportunities in this era of change.

As more governance issues arise with the development of the times, more power vacuums will inevitably emerge.

Originally there was no commercial tax, but now that there is a department to collect commercial taxes, it naturally has the power to collect them.

Originally there was no distinction between criminal and civil cases, but now there is, and the Zhenfu Division's Civil Case Division has become an office that is going head-to-head with the Shuntian Prefecture's legal office.

In this power reshuffle, some of the six ministries and nine ministerial offices will inevitably rise to prominence, such as the Office of General Affairs and Postal Service gaining a new position.

Inevitably, some government offices will decline as a result, falling from their original positions and becoming idle offices used to place elderly people.

Clearly, Li Yiyuan, the future Minister of Justice, believed that the Ministry of Justice needed to rise to a higher position.

Su Ze left the Ministry of Justice satisfied. He had gained the Ministry's support, and all he had to do was write another memorial, which would allow him to use up the last simulation opportunity of the month.
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On the last day of July, news of the Ministry of Justice's renewed investigation of the Li Mao case in Qufu was published in several tabloids in the capital.

The facts of this case are actually not complicated.

Li Mao was a local bully in Qufu. Somehow, he got on the good side of Kong Chenghou, the magistrate of Qufu, and committed all sorts of evil deeds in Qufu.

Then there's the issue of bullying men and women. The victim, Li Quan, is also a relative of Li Mao. After his sister-in-law was taken by Li Mao, his brother was killed when he argued with Li Mao.

The aggrieved party, Li Quan, sued Li Mao, but Li Mao colluded with his sister-in-law to falsely accuse Li Quan of being a bandit.

Kong Chenghou, the magistrate of Qufu County, had also been bribed by Li Mao and instead imprisoned Li Quan.

This incident also sparked resistance in Qufu.

The Li brothers were very well-known in the area. More than a hundred tenant farmers hired a lawyer and signed a petition in blood to file a complaint with the governor's office.

The case was passed around like a hot potato, eventually reaching the Ministry of Justice, but ultimately it became a dusty file in the archives.

To date, Li Quan has been in prison for nine years.

However, the Ministry of Justice can reopen investigations into wrongful convictions much faster.

Nine years ago, shortly after Kong Chenghou took office as the magistrate of Qufu, the verdict in this case was also hasty, with many loopholes in the documents alone.

For example, in this case of colluding with bandits, the document didn't even specify who the bandits were. It's obvious that the crime was fabricated and the case was hastily closed.

Furthermore, the blood oath signed by local tenant farmers also recorded the murder of Li Quan's brother, but there was no case file for this murder.

Just then, Su Ze made his move.

Memorial Requesting an Imperial Edict to Strictly Reform the Deep-Rooted Malpractices of the Holy Descendants in order to Reveal Supreme Virtue

——[Simulation Start]——

Your memorial, entitled "On the Deepening Abuses Among the Descendants of the Sage, Requesting an Imperial Edict for Strict Reform to Demonstrate Supreme Virtue," was submitted to the Cabinet, and the Grand Secretaries all voted in favor of it.

You request that the position of Qufu magistrate, which is monopolized by the Kong family, be stripped of its power, and that the current Qufu magistrate, Kong Chenghou, be investigated for his crimes.

Because of the accounts recorded and public opinion in the capital, the emperor was willing to take action against the Confucius family in Qufu, but he was also concerned about the consequences and hesitated to make a decision.

The emperor accepted your memorial, but only agreed to investigate Kong Chenghou's crimes. However, he did not remove any member of the Kong family from the position of magistrate of Qufu.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 2250.]

[To fully approve your memorial, you need to pay 300 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

As expected, there was little resistance; only 300 points of prestige were needed. Su Ze decisively chose "Yes".

[Prestige points have been deducted. Remaining prestige points: 1950. Please complete the petition in real life.]

Immediately afterwards, Su Ze submitted another memorial.

"Memorial to the Ministry of Justice on the Division of Civil and Criminal Cases"

"I believe that the penal system is the life-giving authority of the people, and if the powers and responsibilities are not clear, then the legal system will be blocked and stagnant."

"Recently, due to the power struggle between the Civil Affairs Department of the capital and the Shuntian Prefecture, criminal and civil matters have become confused and indistinguishable. They either blame each other for their cunning or engage in lawsuits over property."

“Officials manipulated the law, leaving the common people bewildered. This led to chaos in the courts and disorder in the imperial decrees.”

"I request that a special office be established within the Ministry of Justice to investigate cases involving disputes between criminal and civil authorities. In cases where ownership is unclear, this office shall determine the ownership in accordance with the law."

"The system of joint trial and collaboration stipulates that if a serious case involves both criminal and civil cases, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice shall personally lead the investigation, together with the Civil Affairs Department and the Shuntian Prefecture. The officials of the three departments shall sign and close the case to prevent bias."

In order to fulfill his promise to Li Yiyuan, Su Ze still slipped the memorial into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Court".

——[Simulation Start]——

Your memorial, entitled "A Petition to the Ministry of Justice to Review Civil and Criminal Cases," was submitted to the Cabinet, and the Grand Secretaries all voted in favor of it.

The emperor has approved your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige Points: 1950]

This simulation will not consume any simulation attempts this month.

The next step is to see how the system performs and gets the memorial from the Confucius family approved.

(End of this chapter)