People in Hongwu, from heavenly master to emperor master

Chapter 211 Revisiting anti-corruption, the limit of the empire's territory
Anti-corruption?

Zhang Yi was stunned for a moment, why did he get involved in this issue?

He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head:

"Corruption is indeed a problem in every dynasty, almost unavoidable! Especially our Ming Dynasty, this corruption is more serious than other dynasties!"

Old Zhu was stunned.

He came to Zhang Yi today, and the corruption issue was just a casual talk, but he didn't expect Zhang Yi to give him such an answer.

But he couldn't refute it, because what Zhang Yineng said so firmly, it probably happened in the future.

A wave of anger rose from his heart, and Zhu Yuanzhang was furious.

What he was angry with was not Zhang Yi in front of him, but his future descendants.

"Corruption can happen in any dynasty, but our Ming Dynasty is especially serious!
The reason for this still lies in the person in the deep palace!
His self-willedness and the self-confidence of the patriarch are the biggest root of corruption in Ming Dynasty officials!

This small problem of the Ministry of Industry is actually not a big deal!
There will be more monsters and ghosts in the future..."

Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a sigh of relief and was almost blocked by Zhang Yi. He didn't expect Zhang Yi to point the problem at himself?

He took a deep breath and said:

"Tell me more!"

Zhang Yi said:
"The kid read a sentence in the heavenly book, but I can share it with my uncle, that sentence is: Don't test human nature, human nature cannot stand the test!

One of the most stupid things in this world is to test human nature, and then blame the problem on human nature, good and evil!
In fact, most people are mortals who follow the trend, and they can't stand the test!

The same is true for those corrupt officials!

The reason why officials become corrupt is firstly because the benefits are touching, and secondly because they think the risk is very small compared to the benefits they get! "

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, he couldn't agree more with Zhang Yi's words.

He doesn't believe in the perfection of people's hearts, and he is naturally wary of officials.

He doesn't believe that officials can stand the test of temptation. Only harsh punishments and severe laws can kill them, making them think about what they should do before they become corrupt.
Could it be that he didn't kill enough, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were full of killing intent.

Zhang Yi continued:
"The matter of risk control is nothing more than letting officials know the consequences of corruption. With the temperament of the palace man, this is definitely possible, and his methods may be even more ruthless!
But why would Daming become the most corrupt official in the future under such slaughter?

In fact, the real problem lies in the first point, the interests...

Last time I used the granary and the dog as a metaphor, uncle, you are not convinced, then I will use the emperor and his sons as a metaphor this time! "

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao couldn't help sitting up straight when they heard the words.

Why did Zhang Yi go to their house just by talking about it casually?

"We said before that because of his birth, our majesty has a great obsession with his family. Let's not go to the emperor in advance, let's talk about how other emperors handle the relationship between the king and the prince?
The prince is the successor of the king, but he is also a threat to the king's authority!
So under normal circumstances, the emperor appoints a prince, but he will also support a prince who can fight against the prince, so that the two sides can fight and fight internally, so as to achieve the purpose of check and balance!

But what would the Emperor Zhu do?
He is different from any emperor in the previous dynasty. After he recognized the status of the eldest son Zhu Biao, he piled all the resources on him!

The other son, from the very beginning, he never thought of the other party!
In a few years, he will also crown all the princes as kings and send them out to become vassals!
But why?In fact, to put it bluntly, he also understands that the throne is too tempting for a prince, but if he shows any hesitation!
It must be a situation where brothers kill each other!
In this matter, although Zhu Yunqi had an accident, overall the emperor did a good job!

He at least maintained the peace between the Zhu family brothers until he closed his eyes!

What does the emperor's actions show? It shows that he also knows that people's hearts cannot be tested!

So he didn't give any princes a chance to test their humanity, and let them out from the very beginning!

Can!
As for the officials, he has been repeatedly testing the hearts of the officials, so it is no wonder that the system does not collapse! "

Zhang Yi walked around from the prince to the official himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not as repulsive to him as he was last time.

他 说:

"After talking about it, it's actually still about officials' salaries, but is it really not enough for an imperial court to get [-] shi for a product, and for an ordinary official to get [-] shi for a year?"

Zhang Yixiao:
"Whether it is enough or not, the emperor has the final say!

But do most officials feel that it is enough?

Five stones of grain for a ninth-rank official is about six or seven hundred catties of grain for a month. Is this enough? It must be enough!
But let's see how much the officials of Ming Dynasty spend their money on?
We don't play hooligans, just the basic living expenses, those that cannot be avoided!
In addition to food and clothing, officials still have three kinds of expenses!
The first is clothing and hats. Our Daming pays attention to etiquette. When and what clothes to wear are all custom-made!
But has uncle ever thought about the price of these clothes?
You don't need only one piece of clothes, but summer, autumn and winter, all have different requirements!
And to go to some special places, you also need specific clothes!

The material of these clothes is not cheap!

And you have to buy it, because if you wear the wrong clothes, you may be punished by the emperor!
Have you calculated the cost? "

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent, Zhang Yi continued:
"Outside of clothes, travel!

You also know the road conditions outside. As far as officials are dressed, they must not be able to walk to work, otherwise the mud on the road will be enough for them to feel better!

If you get punished by the emperor for disheveled clothes, something could happen!

But if you can't walk, what do you need?

You must have a sedan chair, but this thing is not cheap, and you need to have a bearer!
If not, how much do you have to drive the donkey cart? The fodder for the donkey is not money, and the servant is not money? "

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless, and Zhang Yi continued to settle accounts:
"The next step is office work. I believe my uncle also knows that the salary of an official is not just to support the family!

If he wants to handle the government affairs of the imperial court well, he has to support half of the yamen!

Because if he doesn't support these people, he is likely to be punished because he can't finish his tasks!

So just these three are just needed, am I right? "

Lao Zhu was still a little unconvinced, but Zhang Yi blocked his speech directly with words:

"I know you want to say that some people are not like that, but those people are saints!

You can't expect everyone in the world to be a saint!

Even if you can't be Yao and Shun, why do you ask everyone below to be a saint?

Uncle, we are not discussing right or wrong here.

Children only say right and wrong, adults think about how to solve the problem? "

Zhu Yuanzhang was so stunned by Zhang Yi that he couldn't speak for a long time. He had to admit that what Zhang Yi said made sense.

Humanity cannot stand the test!

When the underlying logic of Zhang Yi's words was recognized by him, he could not refute Zhang Yi's theory.

Since people's hearts cannot be tested, it will naturally be the same in the face of interests.

Zhu Yuanzhang is essentially a person who believes that human nature is evil, at least his view of the official class is so.

"If human nature is untrustworthy, no matter how much money you give them, they will still be greedy!"

Zhang Yi laughed, he knew Huang He would say that, and he replied:

"It's true to say that, but everyone's crime cost is different!
Just like in troubled times, everyone changes their sons to eat, but uncle, can you say that the people in the world are bad people?No, it's because people weren't forced to do that!

In fact, profit, greed, everyone has their own price tag!

For example, if the eldest brother goes to the Ministry of Industry, I believe he will not embezzle. Why, because the tens of hundreds of taels of silver are not worth taking risks for him!

But what if the temptation that big brother faces is tens of thousands, how many 10 taels?
Uncle's opinion also underestimates the people of the world!

Although Xiaodao believes that human nature cannot be tested, he also believes that most people still have a bottom line!

For most officials, give them a decent life, and then pass the law to increase their crime costs!

This is what Xiaodao thinks is the right way to solve corruption!
Although corruption cannot be banned, a relatively clean court can be achieved!

And what His Majesty is doing today is to force those disaster victims who are still eating in Yizi not to eat people, but not to solve their hunger problem!
The question is, how many people would choose to eat people if they were not forced to do so? "

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head and did not answer Zhang Yi's question.

Zhu Biao was observing his father, but he knew that the emperor had listened this time.

The last time Zhang Yi talked to him, Lao Zhu still resisted.

"It's against human nature to make people not greedy. It's impossible to ban this matter, only the cost!

Most people's requirements are not high, maybe if you give him a few more stones, there will be five corrupt people in the world who dare not do anything because they pervert the law!

If [-]% of them are not greedy, the remaining [-]% will be supervised!

However, if because of saving a few stones of rice, [-]% of the world is corrupt, people who are regarded as clean and honest will become outliers instead!
Humans are group creatures and they have an instinct to do what the majority do!

If everyone is greedy, those who are still persisting will be assimilated quickly!

So, how to increase the number of good people and reduce the number of corrupt people

This is what I think is the solution to corruption!

Isn't this more meaningful than spending the court's money to support the clan? "

When Zhang Yi mentioned the clan, he couldn't help complaining, and Lao Zhu blushed slightly.

He hasn't let go of the scourge of the clan until now. Now that he has asked today, he wants to ask clearly:
"Then do you think that if you are the emperor, how will the clan's problem be solved?"

Zhang Yi was annoyed and yelled at Lao Zhu:
"What's the problem?

Counting forward to the previous dynasties, which dynasty would have problems because of the clan, didn't the man in the palace just have enough to eat and have nothing to do, and wanted his children and grandchildren to be good friends from generation to generation, so he raised a disaster?
In fact, bloodlines have been out for five generations, and they basically don't know each other!
Fortunately, he still wants to raise children and grandchildren for generations!

This is the type who didn't learn the standard arithmetic well, but still moved himself!
To solve this matter, it is enough to work hard on salary and title.

The title of title decreases every generation, and it doesn't matter after a few generations, that's not very good..."

The corner of Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched, and he also knew that the issue of the clan was not a problem at all in the previous dynasty.

But isn't he reluctant?

The most difficult thing for people to change is prejudice.

Hope to have more children and more blessings, and the children and grandchildren will continue, that is Lao Zhu's obsession.

However, being ridiculed by Zhang Yi, he himself felt a little guilty, Lao Zhu laughed, it seems that this clan law really cannot be implemented!

"If he really can't control it, send his children and grandchildren out!

The world is so big, just like dividing up the world before, it would be good to separate the clan! "

Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed slightly, this can't be sealed randomly!

Starting from the Great Qin Dynasty, the world changed from enfeoffment to prefecture and county system, and it has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in China for thousands of years.

If it is subdivided again, it will be a reversal of history.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression fell into Zhang Yi's eyes, and he probably knew what the other party was thinking?
Zhang Yi smiled and said:

"Uncle, do you know what determines the territory of a dynasty? Especially a feudal dynasty like ours with county system?"

Old Zhu really hadn't thought about this question, and he instantly became very interested:
"you say?"

"It starts from the capital, can the emperor's decree reach the place within a month!

If it can't be reached, there is a high probability that this place cannot be brought under the control of the dynasty, because it is beyond the reach of the whip, and the local people have no heart for the court!

In fact, don't talk about the distance, just within our Huaxia, there is a saying that the royal power does not come down to the county!

So what's the point of you worrying about whether those territories outside are enfeoffed?

Can the imperial court control the place in America?
Not to mention Japan, Siam in Southeast Asia, can the imperial court control it?

No way, set up prefectures and counties reluctantly. If I were the emperor, I would forcefully set up prefectures and counties, so I might as well give them to my descendants!

It's not that the clan's problem can't be solved, so arrange out all the offshoots of the old Zhu's family, and let them be vassals in the vassal state, surrounded by the blood of the old Zhu family,
Doesn't this also indirectly solve the clan problem on the one hand? "

Zhang Yi's opinion coincided with Lao Zhu's original idea, and he nodded frequently.

The limit of the empire's territory is the place where the capital's government orders can go out for a month at most. This conclusion is like enlightenment to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Since the territory has a limit, if you want to affect the territory outside the territory, it will be used by Ming Dynasty.

That can only be like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States, dividing the world.

It is indeed a good move to separate the descendants of the old Zhu family!
If old Zhu were to be named a king with a different surname, it would be more uncomfortable than killing him.

But if it is said that his descendants occupy other good places in the world, he does not reject it in his heart.

Zhang Yi may just say it casually, but Zhu Yuanzhang already has a strategy in his mind!
His expression was full of joy and anger, and that kind of happy look made Zhang Yi laugh.

Uncle Huang was daydreaming, and Zhang Yi expressed his understanding.

Just like him in his previous life, he once thought about spreading the influence of Huaxia. This is a beautiful dream.

It's just that dreams are dreams after all, and they are just chatting casually.

That being the case, why interrupt the fantasy of the old man in front of him?

Or, add another fire to him?
(End of this chapter)