Bao Zhao was moved.
He suddenly stood up and sat at Su Yang's table.
Seeing this scene, Ye Xixian also shut his mouth and stood aside honestly.
Even though the two of them are walking together, their status and status are completely different.
Ye Xixian is just a supervisory censor of the seventh rank, but Bao Zhao is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and a court official of the first rank!
Now that Bao Zhao took the initiative to express his kindness to Su Yang, Ye Xixian naturally did not dare to hold on to Su Yang.
It's just that Ye Xixian is a little suspicious. What's so special about this street kid in front of him?
Is it because he speaks arrogantly and is an out-and-out ignorant madman?
"I think my little friend is extraordinary, could you please give me some advice?"
Su Yang's face straightened when he heard this, "The old man is serious, the boy is just a rough man, and he dare not take the old man's name to ask for advice."
Bao Zhao was not polite and directly asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Since the emperor came to the throne, he has eased prison sentences, approved the official system, exempted and exempted taxes in the south of the Yangtze River, and emphasized the literati and officials... He has formed a new atmosphere of governing the world with benevolence. The world is showing signs of great governance. Why are you not optimistic about it?"
Su Yang looked at Bao Zhao again and saw that his words and deeds revealed a dignified and upright spirit, and he felt more and more that he was not an ordinary person.
Now that the words had come to this point, Su Yang stopped hiding them.
"The original intention of lenient sentences and prisons is to abolish the severe punishments and laws of the Hongwu Dynasty, to restrain the people of the world without harsh punishments, and to promote virtue to convince people, in order to achieve the purpose of educating the people, lenient sentences and saving prisons."
"The imperial court's intention is good, but everything is too much, sir. Have you ever thought about why Mr. Hong Wu vigorously promotes harsh punishments?"
"To combat corrupt officials!" Bao Zhao, as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was naturally very familiar with the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty, so he subconsciously answered.
When it comes to Taizu's hatred for corrupt officials, it ranks high among all the emperors in the past dynasties.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang launched and led the largest and most severe anti-corruption campaign in history.
He adheres to the concept of "ruling the country with heavy laws" and is known for governing the country with force, and vigorously combats corruption.
During this period, a large number of illegal and corrupt officials were executed, including the founding general Zhu Liangzu and his son-in-law Prince Consort Ouyang Lun. Among them, tens of thousands of officials were even killed in several shocking cases such as the Guo Huan case and the Kongyin case.
This anti-corruption campaign led by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang himself was rare in all dynasties for its long duration, strict measures, ruthless means, cruel punishments and numerous killings.
But it is precisely because of this that although official corruption has been effectively curbed, courtiers and officials are worried and uneasy, and there is even an outrageous phenomenon that literati are unwilling to become officials!
Bao Zhao once read through the files of the Ministry of Justice, and every time he read about the Kongyin case, Guo Huan case and other bloody cases involving thousands of people, he couldn't help but take a breath.
"Hong Wu is known for his fierce governance and vigorous crackdown on corruption. This is understandable."
"But the harsh punishments used are too harsh. If changes are not made, the court will lose the support of the people."
"Lost the hearts of the people?" Su Yang smiled, "Maybe he lost the hearts of the gentry, right?"
"Taizu loves the people as his own children, and cracking down on corrupt officials is for the sake of the people. As soon as the new emperor came to power, he abolished the severe punishment laws enacted by Taizu. Have you ever thought about the consequences?"
What are the consequences?
Bao Zhao was stunned when he heard this and looked at Su Yang blankly.
"Those harsh punishments are just the shackles on the necks of officials and gentry, making them afraid to take bribes and take advantage of the common people!"
"Now that these shackles have been removed, just imagine what these officials and gentry will do? It's like a person who is about to starve to death. A pile of food suddenly appears in front of him. Old gentleman, guess what they will do?"
As soon as these words came out, Bao Zhao's face suddenly darkened.
Although Su Yang's metaphor is very inappropriate, it is not difficult for people to understand what he means.
Without the deterrence of severe punishments, those officials and gentry would definitely let their hands and feet go wild and engage in corruption. And precisely because they were suppressed so hard during the Hongwu period, these people were even very likely to engage in retaliatory corruption and plunder more and more unscrupulously. People's fat and people's anointing!
"What's more, the new emperor also changed the national policy of the great ancestor who valued military affairs over literature, favored literati and officials, and gave them all kinds of preferential treatment in an attempt to win over the gentry. This will only further encourage the arrogance of the officials and gentry!"
"Young man, I have heard a lot of ridiculous things. Officials committed such crimes that many of them died, but they still live. The old gentleman should know the fishiness of this better than this young man!"
The official's crime is so great that even the dead must be alive!
As soon as he said this, Bao Zhao couldn't help but look at Su Yang deeply.
Officials should be executed in accordance with the law, but after the new emperor came to the throne, he implemented lenient governance, so that instead of being executed, these criminal officials were only lightly punished and remained official.
And the price they paid was just to spend some money, find connections, and clear the way.
If things continue like this, the entire Ming Dynasty will probably become smoky and rotten!
As the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Bao Zhao had long been dissatisfied with this. He had presented to the new emperor many times, but every time he failed to do so.
I have to admit, Su Yang’s words really hit the nail on the head!
The new emperor was too kind to the gentry and gentry!
Su Yang opened up his chatterbox and talked happily all at once.
"The new emperor changed the official system and renamed the General Administration Department to Tongzheng Temple, Dali Temple to Dali Department, etc. These reforms are just changes in names. The pursuit of restoration has no practical significance and only adds interference!"
"The new emperor reduced and exempted taxes in Jiangnan, which indeed helped alleviate the conflicts between the Jiangnan and Zhejiang regions and the imperial court. However, if the heavy taxes and taxes in Jiangnan were directly exempted, how could the imperial tax revenue be guaranteed?"
"Jiangnan has heavy taxes, and the tax law must be reformed. Otherwise, tax reductions and exemptions will only be superficial, and it will be difficult to fundamentally solve the problem. As for the 'well field system' that Mr. Xigu (Fang Xiaoru) wants to implement in Jiangnan, that is even more slippery. It’s a big joke in the world!”
When Ye Xixian heard this, he could no longer hold back the anger in his heart.
I heard Su Yang say that it is meaningless to co-author all the new policies implemented by His Majesty the Emperor?
As a little fan of Emperor Jianwen, Ye Xixian now wants to put Su Yang in jail and punish him!
"Oh, a common man dares to discuss state affairs arbitrarily. Do you know better than the Dukes above the court?"
"Huangkou Ruzi, you really don't know what to say!"
Su Yang didn't get angry when he heard the words. The words have been said for this reason. Whether you listen or not is up to you!
Bao Zhao took a deep breath and looked up at Ye Xixian with a slight displeasure. The latter immediately became silent and did not dare to say anything anymore.
Su Yang's words suddenly made him more frightened the more he heard them, and the more he heard them, the more sense they made.
Because the New Deal was implemented so smoothly, everyone from the government to the public supported it!
It turns out that the root problem lies in this!
The so-called Jianwen restructuring is just a mere formality and superficial, and fails to fundamentally solve the problem.
But those officials and scholar-bureaucrats were happy with this, deceiving the superiors and concealing the secrets of corruption, creating the so-called peaceful and prosperous age!
The reason why they do not object is because the restructuring is beneficial to them and makes it easier for them to take corruption and bribery!
On the contrary, those so-called benevolent policies have never been implemented!
Have ordinary people ever received any tangible benefits?
Are such restructuring and new policies really necessary?
For a moment, Bao Zhao was in a state of confusion.
"Old sir!"
"Maybe you don't know yet?"
"The people have begun to give the imperial court a nickname."
Nickname?
What nickname?
Bao Zhao was stunned when he heard this, feeling vaguely uneasy.
Su Yang smiled warmly and uttered four words.
"Scholars govern the country, and scholars govern the court!"
