jdhmnovel Chapter 396 This corrupt official is threatening me!
Chapter 396 This corrupt official is threatening me!
Not right.
Something is very wrong.
How should I deal with those servants and slaves?
Zhu Chongba, that old scoundrel, plus Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, those two old scoundrels, together they couldn't even be considered half a good person.
Would they be willing to give all these tens of thousands of slaves and servants to me?
Then, Yang Shaofeng turned his attention to Zhu Biao.
"What does Your Highness think should be done with those servants?"
Zhu Biao answered without hesitation: "Naturally, we will conduct an interrogation first, and deal with those who should be dealt with, and release those who should be released."
“No, my father, the Duke of Han, and the Earl of Chengyi are definitely thinking about more than just these tens of thousands of servants, but all the servants of the entire Ming Dynasty.”
"In my opinion, brother-in-law, you should just write a memorial to the throne and abolish the idea of selling oneself into slavery."
"From then on, servants and slaves had only employers and no masters and slaves."
"Servants and slaves are also people."
Upon hearing Zhu Biao's statement, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but purse his lips.
Is this what Zhu Biao wanted to say?
No, this is what that old scoundrel Zhu Chongba wanted to do!
Although the complete version of the "Great Ming Code" has not yet been revised, Emperor Zhu and the Ministry of Justice have already spread the word.
“In wealthy families, those who employ tenants to carry sedan chairs are punished with sixty strokes of the cane, and each is paid sixty coins in back wages for one day of service.”
In other words, anyone who dared to make tenants carry their sedan chairs would be beaten with sixty strokes of the cane, and they would be required to pay the people a daily wage of sixty coins. (Source: Appendix to the Ming Code)
The ultimate goal of this rumor is to first elevate the status of tenant farmers, and then, by leveraging the previous policies of relocating people and allocating 15 mu of land per adult male, transform all tenant farmers into small self-cultivating farmers who own their own land and can pay taxes to them.
Similarly, the tens of thousands of servants and maids involved in the Empty Seal Case were a signal given by Zhu Chongba, that old tyrant, before he planned to crack down on the practice of keeping slaves.
Besides, Zhu Chongba's real idea was probably how to smoothly seize slaves and servants from nobles, officials, gentry, and commoner landlords.
Yang Shaofeng thought he could think of a solution for Lao Deng.
After all, the prince consort was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the servants suffer.
It's definitely not because registering these tens of thousands of slaves and servants as commoners would immediately increase Dengzhou's population by tens of thousands.
Yang Shaofeng smiled and said to Zhu Biao, "Your Highness can write a memorial requesting a ban on keeping slaves, and I am willing to co-sign it. As for these tens of thousands of slaves..."
After a moment's consideration, Yang Shaofeng continued, "I think we can send them to Dengzhou Prefecture to be registered as ordinary citizens. If they are implicated during the interrogation of the officials and gentry involved in the case, we can find them for questioning. What does Your Highness think?"
审？
What a load of crap.
There were tens of thousands of slaves, and even if all the officials in Dengzhou Prefecture worked themselves to death, they still couldn't handle them all.
It would be easier to just bring them to Dengzhou Prefecture as ordinary citizens, and arrest whoever is implicated. That would be much simpler.
Zhu Biao then cupped his hands and said, "As you wish, brother-in-law. I will write a memorial and send all those tens of thousands of slaves to Dengzhou Prefecture, and then register them as commoners."
so perfect.
Write a memorial?
Writing a memorial to the emperor is easy to do.
But what do I, a prince raised deep in the palace, know about the prohibition against keeping servants?
I don't understand, but my brother-in-law wants me to write a memorial, so isn't it reasonable for me to come to him for questions?
After all, with tens of thousands of slaves sent to Dengzhou to live as commoners, how dare you still ask me for benefits?
……
Yang Shaofeng once again put the matter of the border market aside.
It can't be said that he was completely abandoned, after all, Yang Shaofeng wasn't the only prefect in Dengzhou Prefecture.
Yang Shaofeng simply asked Xu Liang, the Assistant Magistrate of Dengzhou Prefecture, and the Chang brothers to help with the various troublesome matters before the opening of the border market.
For example, entertaining Park Deok-hwan and Park Sung-sung.
For example, arranging for merchants from other prefectures and counties to come.
Yang Shaofeng himself once again entered the working mode of the Ming Dynasty's First-Rank Imperial Son-in-Law and Provisional Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and began to interrogate Zhu Jian, who had been implicated earlier.
In fact, Yang Shaofeng was also very curious.
How did Zhu Jian, a mere individual, manage to weave such a massive web as the "Blank Seal Case," especially given that many people knew he was falsely claiming to be a descendant of Zhu Xi?
More importantly, how much ironware did the more than 600 officials involved in the blank seal case sell off over the past few years?
Where did all those ironwares end up?
During the resale process, who was helping him move these items?
After pondering for a moment, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to Zhu Jian, who was kneeling in the main hall, and demanded, "Who are you here? State your name!"
Zhu Jian cautiously glanced at Yang Shaofeng and replied in a trembling voice, "This humble citizen, Zhu Jian, greets Your Honor."
Seeing Zhu Jian's shifty, sneaky look, Yang Shaofeng was even more displeased. He snorted coldly and asked, "Zhu Jian, I ask you, Zhu Shouchun confessed that you were the mastermind behind the Empty Seal Case. Do you plead guilty?"
Zhu Jian glanced at Yang Shaofeng again and replied, "Your Excellency, I confess my guilt."
So that's it? He's already confessed?
Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Zhu Jian, you have a grandson who just turned one year old, and a son who just turned fourteen and two sons who just turned eight, right?"
Zhu Jian was slightly taken aback, then shouted loudly, "Your Excellency, have mercy! Your Excellency, have mercy! They know nothing! It was all done by me alone!"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Don't be nervous. Our Great Ming doesn't practice the practice of punishing nine generations of a family. Even if you are the mastermind behind the Empty Seal Case, it will only involve three generations of your family. Children under seven years old and the elderly over seventy years old are not included in the punishment."
"In other words, children under the age of seven will be released without charge, and the elderly over the age of seventy will also be released without charge. At most, they will be criticized behind their backs, but the government will not cause them any further trouble."
"What truly puts me in a difficult position is your son, who has just turned fourteen and your two sons, who have just turned eight."
"I cannot bear to implicate them."
"But if I release them, I can't find a reason to let them go."
"Thinking about it, it's actually quite a pity. Your son, who just turned fourteen, was about to get engaged. After he got married two years ago, you would have been able to hold a grandson again."
"It seems that you are unlikely to keep your son now, and you will never be able to hold your grandson."
"Alas, you will probably have to wait until your one-year-old grandson grows up before you can enjoy the blood offerings and worship of your descendants."
Yang Shaofeng was genuinely considering Zhu Jian's feelings.
Zhu Jian's heart grew heavier and heavier.
This corrupt official is threatening me!
But my son... my grandson...
Seeing Zhu Jian's increasingly grim expression, Yang Shaofeng sighed again and said, "Zhu Jian, you've taken all the blame, but it's really not a big deal."
"But there are six or seven hundred officials involved in the blank seal case. Do you think their relatives will hate you?"
"What if someone goes and digs up your ancestral graves..."
"Of course, digging up someone's ancestral grave is a serious crime. If someone dares to dig up your ancestral grave, the local government will certainly not sit idly by."
"We're definitely going to arrest them, it's the remains of your ancestors in your family's ancestral graves..."
Zhu Jian finally couldn't hold back anymore.
No, when did the Ming Dynasty have officials like this?
Why don't you just torture me to death?!
Why bother spouting this nonsense to an old man like me?