allonlinenovel Chapter 961 Using the laws of the Ming Dynasty to try Hu Yuan's old case.
Chapter 961 Using the laws of the Ming Dynasty to try Hu Yuan's old case.
As Zhu Biao finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but glance at the black sesame dumplings.
The phrase "Guaman Chao" originated from the twelfth volume of "Luozhi Jing" written by Lai Junchen, a cruel official during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian.
“If the matter is not significant, it will not be sensational. If the case does not involve many people, the merit will not be apparent. Those who seek peace above and curry favor below will inevitably suffer injustice, which cannot be avoided.”
The implication is that unless the matter is very serious, it shouldn't cause a stir. And unless a large number of people are involved, merit shouldn't be recognized. Rulers use it to seek stability, and ministers use it to curry favor and gain credit. Injustices are inevitable, but they cannot be avoided.
Of course, the phrase "Guaman Chao" truly became famous after Zhang Tingyu wrote "The Biography of Jing Qing" in the History of Ming during the Jianyi period.
It is said that the fourth prince was in a rebellion. A censor named Jing Qing planned to assassinate the fourth prince during the morning court session. After the plot failed, the fourth prince executed him by dismemberment and hung him on the gate of Chang'an to be stuffed with straw. His bones were smashed inch by inch. Even his "relatives by marriage, students' students, villagers and neighbors" were all executed, and the entire village was reduced to ruins.
Anyway, the fourth prince has a lot of accusations against him, such as the extermination of ten clans and the dismemberment of three thousand palace maids. So, taking on another charge like the Jing Qing Gua Mang Chao is not a big problem.
Faced with the possibility that someone might tamper with teaching materials and begin poisoning the minds of Ming Dynasty scholars from the very beginning of the community schools, Zhu Biao directly chose the approach of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."
Tsk tsk.
The black sesame glutinous rice ball's reputation might not even match that of the fourth brother. At least the fourth brother didn't openly shout the words "Gua Man Chao" (瓜蔓抄), unlike this fool who dared to shout it back then just because of Lao Li and Lao Hu.
Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but glance at Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong again.
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled, then echoed with a ferocious expression, "Your Highness is right."
"If anyone dares to tamper with the textbooks, they will harm generations of scholars in our Great Ming Dynasty, and their evil will be even worse than treason or rebellion."
"As the saying goes, to correct a wrong, one must go to extremes; without going to extremes, there is no way to correct a wrong; and if the matter is not serious enough, it will not be surprising."
“Even if we use melon vines to pick them, it is only natural.”
At this point, Li Shanchang turned his gaze to Yang Shaofeng and said with a smile, "Your Highness, isn't this exactly what the Embroidered Uniform Guard excels at?"
Yang Shaofeng's face immediately darkened.
That damned old scoundrel!
Can the Embroidered Uniform Guard handle such a huge matter as the "Gua Man Chao" incident? Can Xia Yu handle it?
In the end, it's still up to me, the official, to bear the consequences!
The "Gua Man Chao" was said by Hei Zhima Tangyuan, but you want me to take the blame?
Yang Shaofeng gave a cold snort with a forced smile and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is not only good at framing people, but also very good at framing them and extracting confessions through torture."
"Even the toughest man will turn into a noodle when he gets to the Jinyiwei prison."
"Even if it's a bear, the Imperial Guards can make it admit that it's a rabbit."
The only force capable of surpassing the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the Eastern Depot, composed of elite personnel specially drawn from the Embroidered Uniform Guard by the Fourth Prince, used to monitor the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was mentally ranting, Zhu Biao had a sudden thought and looked at Yang Shaofeng, saying, "Brother-in-law, do you think our Ming Dynasty's laws can be used to judge old cases from the Yuan Dynasty?"
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "The Great Ming Code on the Hu Yuan case?"
Zhu Biao nodded and said, "That's right, it's the laws of the Ming Dynasty, to try old cases from the Yuan Dynasty."
"Or rather, I want the Censorate, the Censorate, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Ministry of Justice to come forward and dig up some old cases from the Yuan Dynasty and re-examine them."
"For example, there was a bald monk in a temple who occupied a large amount of land, and the people within a radius of dozens of miles were his tenants."
“These corrupt thieves openly threatened the tenants, saying things like, ‘Those with daughters should plant irrigated land, those with good wives should plant good land, those with bad wives should plant bad land, and those without women should plant bad land.’ As a result, no one wanted to marry the tenants’ daughters, and no one wanted to marry their sons.”
(This part is from General Pi Dingjun's memoir, "Iron Torrent Across a Thousand Miles," which refers to a certain temple on Mount Song.)
"In addition, many gentry have no fewer than ten lives on their hands."
"As far as I know, in Changshu County alone, hundreds of people were forced to their deaths during the reign of Emperor Hu Yuan, more than a hundred families were destroyed, and there are no fewer than a thousand old cases."
"If we were to unearth all these old cases..."
Yang Shaofeng was immediately startled.
A county?
It drove hundreds of people to their deaths, destroyed more than a hundred families, and left no fewer than a thousand unsolved cases.
Is this hell on earth, or a cannibalistic hell?
Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng's face also turned gloomy.
If this is the case in Changshu County, what about Ningyang County?
The gentry of Ningyang County fled completely.
But what about the old cases they created?
No wonder the archives were empty when I took office; the root of the problem was right there.
Master Geng, Scholar Liu, you really died too easily!
Yang Shaofeng's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he was about to express his opinion when Li Shanchang chuckled coldly and said first, "What Your Highness said is just the tip of the iceberg."
"If all the old cases from back then were to be brought up again, I'm afraid all the gentry and nobles in Jiangnan would have to come to Liaodong to mine coal."
“Not just the gentry and nobles.”
Li Shanchang sneered and continued, "In the entire court, how many people have clean hands?"
“Take our Vice Minister of Rites, for example. If he had a clean reputation, he wouldn’t associate with those gentry and gentlemen.”
Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up.
My bottom is clean.
He owned several acres of land and had studied at Hu Yuan's community school. He not only did not seize land from ordinary people by trickery, but he also never did anything like harassing other people's daughters. He could withstand investigation and was not afraid of it.
If His Highness the Crown Prince really dares to launch such a major case, and correct it to the extreme as Li Shanchang said, almost all the gentry and gentlemen in Jiangnan will have to be sent to Liaodong, and I will never lack manpower again.
Hu Weiyong chuckled twice, then cupped his hands to Zhu Biao and Yang Shaofeng and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, although many old cases have been suppressed, the grievances of the people have not been cleared up. The cases that need to be investigated still need to be investigated."
“Especially those old cases involving human lives, they should be thoroughly investigated to restore justice to the people.”
"It will also let the people of the world know that the Ming Dynasty is a court that stands up for the people, not a court like the Yuan Dynasty that only knows how to collect taxes."
Li Shanchang couldn't help but glare at Hu Weiyong.
Those dogs will say and do anything to get workers!
but……
Li Shanchang took a deep breath and bowed to Zhu Biao, saying, "Your Highness, it's about time."
"The reason why these old cases were not investigated in previous years was that the imperial court was short of manpower, and local governments were even more lacking in officials and staff, barely able to maintain normal operations."
"The imperial court is not short of manpower, and local governments are no longer short of officials."
"It's time to work with the copying of the textbook case and give those gentry a good beating."