Zhu Xiong Ying is already twenty years old, and even if he ascends the throne at this time, he is not exactly young. The situation of a weak ruler and strong ministers seems to be nothing to worry about; there's no need to fear powerful ministers or relatives interfering in politics.

After all, judging from the current situation, all the powerful relatives of the empress who were qualified to interfere in politics are already dead.

Xu Da had long since passed away, and Zhu Xiong Ying's maternal grandfather, Chang Yu Chun, died even earlier. Li Wen Zhong was originally considered qualified to participate in politics, but he has also passed away.

Therefore, these three seemingly most qualified imperial relatives to interfere in politics were all second-generation officials. Neither Xu Yungong, Chang Mao, nor Li Jinglong possessed the necessary political capital. Moreover, they all served under Zhu Xiong Ying.

Li Shanchang, the most meritorious civil official, has had his foundation eroded and is now suffering from a stroke; to put it bluntly, he's waiting to die. As for Prime Minister Hu Weiyong, he's long since been abandoned in the wilderness, with no one even to collect his body. Liu Bowen, the leader of the Zhejiang West literati group, has also passed away long ago; the current court lacks a true 'civilian leader'.

From this perspective, it seems that there is really no fertile ground for powerful ministers to survive in the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Zhu can probably feel more at ease now.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang was a man who lacked a sense of security, and he still worried that some things might exceed his expectations. While relatives of the emperor or civil officials were unlikely to interfere in politics, the situation was now more uncertain for military generals.

Old Zhu considered himself to know the people who had followed him in building the empire quite well.

Tang He was old, but he still held considerable prestige in the army. If Tang He's son-in-law, Prince Lu Zhu Tan, hadn't already passed away, old Zhu would have had even more to consider. At that point, it would be hard to say whether his old friend would have had a peaceful end.

Needless to say, Feng Sheng, the Duke of Song, is indeed currently in Japan, but Feng Sheng has never lacked military achievements. Moreover, his repeated secret meetings with his son-in-law, Prince Zhu Su of Zhou, have made it impossible for Old Zhu not to have some concerns.

Moreover, there were proud and fierce generals like Lan Yu; those people feared Zhu Yuanzhang (the founding emperor) and respected him. But if Zhu Yuanzhang (the young emperor) were to ascend the throne, those people might not be so obedient. Besides, it seems that the Ming Dynasty no longer needs so many founding generals.

Old Zhu was pondering some things, thinking about how to ensure his beloved grandson could smoothly take over certain tasks.

Xu Yungong and Chang Mao are Zhu Xiong Ying's staunch allies, so there's no need to worry about them. Li Jinglong can also be considered one of Zhu Xiong Ying's confidants. However, these men are too young. Fortunately, there is also Duke Ying, Fu Youde, a brave and loyal general who can help Zhu Xiong Ying maintain a stable grip on military power.

Think about it again. In fact, most of the dukes still active in the Ming court and military are connected to Zhu Xiong Ying in some way. As for posthumously conferred dukes like Kang Duo and Hu Dahai, they naturally don't need to be paid much attention to and pose no threat.

It was another new day, and Zhu Xiong Ying went to court as usual. Now he understood the principle that "imperial power does not extend to the countryside."

It was not uncommon for ordinary people in prefectures and counties to escalate lawsuits to the capital over trivial matters such as neighborhood disputes. This greatly displeased the workaholic Emperor Zhu, who had no time to manage such affairs and did not want his descendants to merely become county magistrates or prefects.

Of course, such examples are relatively rare, but it is necessary to take precautions to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Therefore, Emperor Zhu strictly prohibited lawsuits beyond the permitted scope, ordering officials to select elderly, fair-minded, and capable villagers to participate in local litigation. Minor matters were resolved locally. Only more serious cases were permitted to be brought to the government.

The entire court sang praises for Zhu's decision, but no one suspected it was because he wanted to shirk his duties. It was indeed a sign of respect for the elderly and a demonstration of moral education.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the fact that common people have come to the capital to appeal shows that the ‘Great Proclamation’ and the ‘Great Ming Code’ are being implemented throughout the land, and that the law is simple and easy to understand. However, Your Majesty, in times of chaos, harsh punishments are used. Now that a peaceful era has arrived, I humbly request Your Majesty to abolish some of the most severe punishments!”

As soon as Zhu Xiong Ying finished speaking, many people became excited, mainly because both the "Great Proclamation" and the "Great Ming Code" did indeed contain some severe punishments. In particular, the "Great Proclamation" reflected more of Zhu Xiong Ying's personality traits.

Long-abandoned punishments such as cutting off feet, toes, kneecaps, and castration reappeared in the early Ming Dynasty. New punishments, such as cutting off hands, chopping off fingers, and ripping tendons, which were not seen in previous dynasties, also emerged. Sometimes, one person could be subjected to multiple punishments, resulting in the execution of hundreds of people for a single offense.

Simply put, the Great Proclamation was indeed too harsh, even more so than the Great Ming Code.

At this moment, Minister of Personnel Zhan Hui was extremely excited, "I second that proposal!"

Ren Hengtai, who had already assumed the position of Minister of Rites, also stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, the Tang Code stipulates five punishments: flogging, caning, penal servitude, exile, and death, which are the so-called 'proper punishments.' However, the imperial prisons established by the Embroidered Uniform Guard are the most gruesome in their killings and cause the greatest harm..."

Zhu Xiong Ying snapped out of her daze and glared fiercely at the Minister of Rites who was using this as an excuse to make a fuss. Meanwhile, the court officials were also getting excited; they had clearly seized the opportunity to express their own thoughts.

Normally, one wouldn't dare say much, mainly for fear of being punished. But this time is different; it was the Crown Prince who brought it up. Even if His Majesty is displeased, he will likely target the Crown Prince.

Just as the civil officials were getting excited and were still making a fuss about the issue, citing classical texts, they were almost about to tell Zhu Yuanzhang to abolish some of the harsh laws and punishments, and preferably to relax the crackdown on the civil service system during the recent rectification of officialdom, since high-ranking officials are exempt from punishment!

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