"Therefore, the Imperial City Department is empowered to arrest and investigate. Stricter criminal laws will be enforced to prevent crimes before they occur. From now on, officials in all prefectures who are guilty and surrender themselves will be given lenient punishments. However, those who resist will be punished as if they were guilty of a serious crime. Corruption and corruption will not be pardoned, and this will serve as a precedent for their crimes. Minor punishments include stripping off all official titles, dismissal from office, and exile. Serious punishments include imprisonment, confiscation of property, and execution!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole audience was in an uproar.
Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and the other three ministers made three comments, and their faces changed suddenly.
After three generations of emperors, namely Taizong, Zhenzong and the current dynasty, the literati finally persuaded the emperor to stop killing them.
Moreover, no matter how serious the crimes committed by corrupt officials are, the most severe punishment they can receive is dismissal from office and exile. In fact, they are basically not dismissed from office, but demoted and then promoted after a while.
Now it's fine.
The efforts of three generations of scholars and officials were directly thwarted in one day, and the country returned to the time of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, when scholars and officials could be killed at will.
Not to mention the corrupt officials, even the honest officials find it a little unacceptable.
After all, even if one is honest, there is no guarantee that there will be some personal connections with family members, students and former officials, and it is common to engage in some secret transactions.
Corruption and abuse of power do not simply refer to those who are greedy for money, but also to those who abuse their power and abuse their power.
However, there were actually few people in the Song Dynasty who embezzled public funds. Most of them abused their power to oppress the people and show off their power. After becoming an official, they instructed their relatives to do business and then attacked their competitors to ensure that officials had a monopoly on business and obtained legal profits.
Strictly speaking, the two Ma brothers only accepted Ma Yi's money. Giving money between relatives was really nothing in the Song Dynasty. Su Shi even gave away his pregnant concubine, let alone giving money.
The real reason why the two Mas came down was that they abused their power for personal gain and used their official authority to seize other people's property and valuable calligraphy and paintings.
Therefore, there will definitely be very few people who go to jail for embezzling public funds in the Song Dynasty, but if the government investigates those who abuse their power for personal gain and pervert the law, a large number of people will be implicated, and even the Lu family may be implicated.
So Zhao Zhen's words immediately caused an uproar.
One after another, the imperial censors stepped forward and said, "Officials who are short of salaries will suffer from hunger and cold. The previous emperor, out of sympathy for officials whose salaries were insufficient to support their families, issued this decree to uphold the dignity of the literati. Furthermore, after this decree, corruption among officials has declined significantly. This is the best policy, and it must not be changed."
"The Song Dynasty was founded on loyalty and honesty, and all crimes were punished leniently. The late emperor once said, 'Those who commit serious corruption or harm others will be promoted to military officers in various provinces. The rest will be appointed as judges, officials in the capital, staff positions, clerks, and lieutenants, and will be promoted according to their ranks.' This was not a pampering of officials, but rather a result of the late emperor's benevolence."
"Our Great Song has its own courts, such as the Taiyuan, the Dianyuan, the Chayuan, and the Jianyuan, which monitor all officials. Corruption is rare among officials, both high and low. How can Your Majesty insist on giving power away and allowing these scoundrels to manage the court? This is not a country at all!"
"Taizu left a stele, sharing the world with the scholars and officials. The government recruits scholars from the people, and the scholars themselves support the people. How can you be so harsh? Your Majesty must not listen to the words of villains and destroy the gentleman's style!"
Many censors jointly submitted a petition, and even other officials spoke frankly in response.
If the power was given to the Imperial City Administration, it could be said to be strengthening the imperial power. But now, without pardoning corrupt officials, it was like a sword hanging over the heads of all scholars and officials, making them tremble with fear and trepidation.
How can they then act recklessly and do whatever they want?
However, Zhao Zhen just looked down with an expressionless face. Now he had been persuaded by Zhao Jun. Even if he felt reluctant and did not want to go against the intentions of the officials, compared with the Song Dynasty, the latter was naturally more important.
He waved his hand, and Wang Shouzhong and Yan Wenying took out a large pile of documents from the side. Then there was one pile, two piles, three piles. Piles of documents piled on the ground like a small mountain.
Cao Xiu dragged out a table from the side, and someone brought him a chair, on which he placed the four treasures of the study: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. He sat there, leisurely, grinding ink while watching everyone with a smile, as if he were watching a good show.
The eunuchs did all these things silently, leaving all the officials confused and wondering what they were trying to do.
Zhao Zhen waited for everyone to finish speaking, for Cao Xiu to prepare paper and pen, and for the documents to pile up on the ground. After a few more minutes, when no one spoke again, he said, "These are the evidence that the Imperial City Bureau has confiscated from the many criminal officials in Kaifeng Prefecture. You can take a look at them."
Everyone looked at each other, but no one went to take the documents. Only Fu Bi stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial City Bureau has made these incriminating evidence public these days."
"Um."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "It seems you all know what Kaifeng Prefecture has done. This dignified Kaifeng Prefecture, under the Emperor's feet, mistreats the people with brutality and cruelty. Ma Yuan and Ma Zhongfu, one the Censor and the other the Judge of the Three Departments, accepted bribes and backed Ma Yi and others from Kaifeng Prefecture, as well as Han Zong!"
He slammed the table and shouted, "Look at the crimes these people have committed. They've supported evil folk societies like Wuyou Cave and Guifanlou, causing countless people to be separated from their wives and children, and their families to be destroyed. Kaifeng Prefecture harbors filth and has oppressed tens of thousands of people over the years! Is this what you mean by oppressing? Aren't these tens of thousands of people my subjects, the subjects of the Great Song Dynasty?"
Han Yi's face turned pale in an instant. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have failed to educate my son properly. Please forgive me!"
"These people are guilty of unforgivable crimes. Where is Fan Xiwen?"
"I am here."
Fan Zhongyan stepped out.
Zhao Zhen said, "I order you to conduct a joint investigation with the Imperial City Administration. Make sure to clean up all the corrupt officials and criminals in Bianliang."
"yes."
Fan Zhongyan went back with a blank expression.
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