In any case, even these grassroots petty officials had become commodities for trade; it was crystal clear that anything could be arranged through connections or by paying enough money.
Zhu Ci slammed the memorial down during the grand court assembly, the Emperor's roar echoing through Wuying Hall: "Fine! So these are my pillar ministers, the backbone of the Great Ming! Do any of you actually hold me in any respect?!"
The people below knelt down in a chaotic rush. At this moment, no one thought the Emperor was making a fuss over nothing; instead, everyone was inwardly resenting the officials below for their audacity.
The official positions involved here were no longer just petty officials, but were actually the third-highest-ranking officials in the county.
Although these are grassroots officials, they are all appointed by the Prefect. However, even a Prefect's appointment must first be reported to the provincial level and only becomes official after receiving approval; it is not as simple as appointing whoever you want.
The fact that these official positions are being bought and sold means that at least the Provincial Administration Commission level is compromised, these are high-ranking regional officials.
It was no wonder the Emperor was angry.
After shouting for a while, Zhu Ci felt some discomfort in his throat. Since he couldn't cough in front of the officials, he could only endure it and slowly sit back down, saying, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Selling official posts is a crime that cannot be pardoned. Once discovered, they shall all be executed!"
After finishing his words, Zhu Ci stood up, flicked his sleeves, walked away.
This time, no one went to plead for mercy.
It was indeed a bit harsh, but grassroots officials are the foundation of the Great Ming; now that these foundations are being eroded, no one can be happy.
They work hard and diligently in the imperial court, hoping only that the Great Ming can experience a resurgence, yet the people below them work desperately to pull them back.
Where in these people's hearts could there be any concern for the country or for home?
Even Huang Chunyao said with a cold face, "Colleagues, go back and conduct self-examinations; strive to finish the investigations before the end of the year."
Zhu Yujian said calmly, "In times of chaos, strict laws are required. If we do not cleanse these corrupt practices this time, I fear all your hard work will go to waste."
After speaking, he followed behind Zhu Ci and left as well.
Oh, everyone held their breath as Zhu Ci walked past, fearing that he might say something else.
Even the Crown Prince Chongzhen, who was once described as poised and elegant, didn't know what had happened to him; his tongue was becoming increasingly venomous.
He spoke without any mercy, yet everyone was simply unable to do anything about him.
Since he is neither corrupt nor power-hungry, is also favored by the Emperor, he is just like Grand Secretary Fu, with absolutely no flaws for anyone to exploit.
So over time, everyone grew accustomed to it; let them be sharp-tongued; it was best to just pretend they hadn't heard.
As it turned out, unexpectedly, His Highness the Prince of Ning said nothing at all today; he merely gave a cold snort and left.
The ministers looked at one another in confusion.
Sigh, what a mess this is.
As soon as Zhu Ci returned to the study, he began coughing uncontrollably, startling Jiang Xueyan, Wu Xia, a crowd of eunuchs, who all rushed around him in a panic.
Zhu Ci waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."
He couldn't exactly say that he had shouted so forcefully that he had nearly lost his voice, could he?
He had already become very calm after sitting down.
Angry as he was, he hadn't reached the point of flying into a rage.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it; otherwise, why would he immediately have Zhu Yujian go to the Censorate to be responsible for this matter?
He had already become vigilant when Fu first mentioned it to him.
Unlike Fu, he knew all too well the actual situation at the grassroots level.
If the higher-ups have all taken notice, it means that even if it isn't completely rotten, it has been thoroughly infested by parasites.
Zhu Ci sipped his silver ear and lotus seed soup leisurely while contemplating how to handle the matter next.
Corruption is impossible to suppress; one can only increase the costs.
Once someone commits embezzlement, the entire clan is held collectively responsible; their descendants will be barred from holding any official position, not even as petty officials. I wonder if this will provide them with some level of deterrence.
Of course, there will certainly be people who oppose it, even Fu is expected to oppose it.
"Hmm? What are you saying?" Zhu Ci looked at Fu with some surprise.
Fu looked at his round eyes and couldn't help but squeeze his fingers.
Lately, every time he saw Zhu Ci, he couldn't help but want to get handsy, he had to silently recite sutras every day to restrain himself.
It might be because winter has arrived; whenever the Little Emperor goes out, his clothes always seem to have some fur on them.
Well, those fur fabrics were also sent up by him; he had originally only intended to keep the Little Emperor warm, but he hadn't expected the results to be so good.
Of course, it could also be his own problem.
Fu Qingsheng said with divided attention, "Why is Your Majesty so surprised?"
I thought you would find this too radical.
If His Majesty thinks it is too radical, why does he still do it?
Zhu Ci said nothing, so Fu answered for him, "Because Your Majesty feels that without doing this, it will already be very difficult to curb this trend."
Fu paused before saying, "With years of continuous warfare, many people now only care about the present."
Thinking about the future is something only those with stable lives can do. If life is turbulent and uncertain, who would bother thinking about the future?
Moreover, corruption itself is a result of their thinking about the future, it's just that their future does not include this country.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: It doesn't matter, I can ensure they have no future. Evil kitty pulls out the Book of Life and Death. jpg
The next update will be tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 175
Zhu Ci looked outside and said, "It's going to be a bloodbath again."
He felt that he could already guess how future generations would evaluate him.
But, who cares.
If he acted this way, his legacy might be a mixture of merit and fault in later generations. However, if he failed to act and instead lost his beautiful territory just like Chuangwang, he would be nothing more than a figure to be pitied.
He would rather be cursed as a tyrant than be a fallen monarch to be pitied.
Fu asked, "What should be done if we find that general officers are also involved?"
Zhu Ci said casually, "Just do what needs to be done."
It was a joke; the Great Ming was no longer that short on people. Zhu Yujian and Zhu Yihai could support an entire complete set of government institutions; regardless of whether they were makeshift, it meant that they had at least a few capable people under their command.
If it doesn't work, he can just replace them; if that really doesn't work, he can even lead a personal expedition.
Moreover, despite these generals being out on expeditions, Zhu Ci's contact with them might be even more frequent than with certain officials in the imperial court.
People like Liu Zhaoji, Shi Kefa, Li Zicheng all possessed the right to submit secret memorials, Zhu Ci had both openly and secretly warned them.
Most importantly, the families of these people actually held no official positions.
No matter who it is, bribery is always done to achieve a certain goal. What could be gained by sending gifts to the families of these generals?
ly they can't use backdoors to get to the front lines?
However, Zhu Ci still said warily, "Be careful that they don't make false accusations. First, go and investigate the families of all the generals currently on expedition to make sure everything is clear, so as not to give others an opportunity to take advantage."
Fu cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, everyone from the rank of Junior Officer and above has been fully investigated. It is true that some people are using the guise of being relatives to encroach upon fertile land."
Before he could even finish speaking, the investigation was already complete; Fu was indeed reliable.
Zhu Ci nodded in satisfaction and said, "If the person truly was unaware, then only those who borrowed authority to intimidate others shall be punished. If their families tacitly approved, they shall also be punished, but their lives need not be taken; simply record it in their files according to the law."
When dealing with ordinary people, such punishments were quite tricky.
Officials are punished severely because they know the law and break it, but for ordinary people, being able to read is already quite good; even a Junior Officer might not know many characters.
Therefore, commoners like Zhu Ci are usually shown some leniency, but it is limited.
Recording it in the archives meant that this family had committed crimes, their descendants within five generations would never be able to hold official positions again; even a petty official would not employ them.
This punishment was clearly much more agonizing than a mere fine.
Especially since Fu knew very well that their Emperor was also constructing an entire education system, meaning the opportunities for commoners to study and enter officialdom would increase significantly; the difficult days for these people were yet to come.
Since the anti-corruption campaign began, the entire imperial court has been filled with undercurrents. On the surface, everyone continues to handle affairs honestly, but in reality, everyone is worried.
The Minister of Works served as a cautionary tale; any of his family members who were involved were sent to prison.
Even if the Emperor specifically abolished the two rules regarding castration for men and entering the Jiaofangsi for women, the imprisonment still makes it unbearable for everyone.
The most important issue is that direct descendants are barred from participating in the imperial examinations, which essentially cuts off their path entirely.
Don't say that being a collateral branch of the family is fine, or that contributing to the family is merely for the sake of one's own descendants.
How many people could be so noble as to watch other members of their clan rise to high positions while their own descendants fall into the dust?
"I heard that quite a few people have already fallen out with their families." Zhu Ci held a white piece in his hand and pondered for a long time before setting it down.
Zhu Ci said while calculating, "Really? That is truly an unexpected joy."
He had always felt that powerful clan influence was not a good thing for the country.
Setting aside everything else, the fact that clans have their own rules and treat the laws of the state as if they don't exist is enough.
The law is practically non-existent for these clans; they never give the government any opportunity to investigate.
If the law lacks deterrence, the power used to control the grassroots of the entire country will be invisibly weakened.
Moreover, sometimes these clans control not just their own families, but even the places where they reside are under their control.
Those in high positions cannot hear the voices of the common people; the entire imperial court is like a castle in the air, when it will collapse depends entirely on the will of Heaven.
Zhu Ci had always been thinking about how to dismantle these clans.
Of course, it is also unrealistic to eliminate them entirely, but as long as the control and scope of these clans can be reduced, the foundations of the Great Ming will be more stable.
It was just that he had never had any particularly good solutions all along.
After racking his brains for a long time to figure out what the big shots of the future would do, the result was.. there was no result.
He used to be just an ordinary commoner; the things he does now that exceed his era are all things he remembered from studying history and current affairs back when he was a student.
After graduating, he no longer paid much attention to current affairs and politics, he had forgotten almost everything he had studied before.