Hearing the old man say this, Zhu Ying didn't take it as a joke, he really could kill.

Perhaps this year is the happiest year for the ministers in the court. Since the Spring Festival, Zhu Yuanzhang has seemed to be cultivating his mind and temper, and has not killed anyone at will.

The main reason is that the national treasury is now much fuller and there is enough money in the treasury to spend, so although the intensity of the crackdown on corrupt officials has not been weakened, the means are relatively much milder.

In the past, people were usually skinned and stuffed with straw, their entire family was killed, and even the extermination of three entire clans was a common occurrence.

Now the most that can happen is chopping off a head, but this is a very strong signal to officials in the court.

At least you don't have to worry about accidentally making some mistakes that would cut off your incense. You would just have to die alone.

Therefore, this year, the officials of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be living a very happy life. At least they don’t have to leave suicide notes frequently and put their heads in their trouser pockets to attend court in the morning.

"Grandpa, as long as you are around, your grandson will live a comfortable life. I can also spend more time on other things and not be entangled in trivial matters of the court." Zhu Ying said with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered something and said, "Grandson, please don't talk about these trivial matters. I have recently discovered that since some areas have set up public security departments, many reports have become much simpler and clearer."

"Some messy and troublesome matters were not brought to us, and were basically resolved locally."

"I even went to the Ministry of Justice to check some files reported locally. The Public Security Bureau is in charge of this area, which has made things more convenient for many people. They are no longer as nervous as before."

"After all, these retired soldiers are not scholars, and they don't have so many crooked thoughts. They act strictly according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, which can be considered fair."

"The local county magistrate has fewer cases to deal with, so he can focus on government affairs, such as taxes and agricultural affairs. He will naturally understand them after a few more visits."

"Besides, they only care about these few things. If they don't run, they won't have any political achievements, and they won't have the face to report anything to us. We can't just submit a few simple sentences in the memorial."

"I thought earlier that since there was one more government office in the county, the salary expenditure would definitely be much higher, but when I turned around and looked at the taxes, I found that they were nearly two levels higher than in previous years."

"After calculating it this way, after removing the salary from the Public Security Department, it has actually increased, which is quite interesting."

Zhu Ying replied at the right time: "Most of the county magistrates in the past were busy with all the affairs, and some of them were so busy that they were confused and exhausted their energy. Naturally, they had no time to pay more attention to agricultural matters."

"Many cases require tracking, solving cases, investigating, and hunting down. Not only does it take a long time to solve a case, but it also wastes time."

"Now, all these tasks are handled by the Public Security Bureau. The daily patrols are more disciplined, which makes the people feel more at ease. The county magistrate has more free time, so he can focus on farming."

"In this way, the people will be more motivated to work, and the county magistrate will be able to better govern, especially when it comes to corruption. He won't be as cautious and wary as before."

"As time goes by, the taxes have gradually increased. It may seem insignificant, but when you add it all up, it's a lot."

Zhu Ying was not surprised at this result. He had discovered these problems when he was in Yangzhou before.

Because they no longer had military power, both the county magistrate and the prefect were somewhat constrained.

In a sense, the Public Security Bureau and the county government are in opposing positions.

Since the Public Security Bureau was a new department, its staff included former yamen runners and retired soldiers.

In the rules and regulations of the Public Security Bureau, Zhu Ying established a clear reward and punishment system, including requirements and records for the time required to solve a case.

For some ordinary cases, if the case cannot be solved within the specified time, there will be accountability.

Every quarter, all files must be submitted for review.

From the county town, to the provincial capital, and then to the Public Security Bureau in the capital.

As for the relevant responsibilities of the case, Zhu Ying adopted the lifelong responsibility system.

This means that even after the case is over, if there is any mistake and the problem is finally found out, all relevant personnel, including their superiors, may be held accountable and will also be jointly liable.

The cases recorded in these files will be used as corresponding examinations of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and will be described and analyzed as cases.

Among the new categories of imperial examinations to be added next year, there will be a new subject, Ming Dynasty Law, which will correspond to the exclusive judicial examination for the Ministry of Justice.

This means that the recruitment of personnel for the Ministry of Justice will not only cover the Four Books and Five Classics. The examination content of the Four Books and Five Classics will be weakened to a certain extent, and more questions about laws and actual case analysis will be added.

At the same time, it also means that if you pass the examination of the Ministry of Justice, you will be qualified to serve directly as an official in the Ministry of Justice and its subordinate departments.

This is also a process of preparation for the subsequent implementation of the rule of law.

There is a huge difference between governing a country by law and governing a country by people.

Governing the country according to law is the future development direction of the Ming Dynasty.

"We heard that the eldest grandson has arranged for Gao Chi to be in charge of logistics." Zhu Yuanzhang asked casually.

Zhu Ying replied, "Grandpa, my grandson and Brother Chi have known each other before and we have a very pleasant conversation. Brother Chi is very talented and has a very different personality from Uncle Prince Yan. He often has his own unique views on internal affairs."

"In many aspects, especially the idea of ​​putting people first, my grandson's ideas are similar. Chidi is about the same age now, so I want him to give it a try."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was very pleased.

Because the eldest grandson has begun to use his own family members constantly.

Zhu Gaochi's affairs may seem simple, but they also reflect the eldest grandson's broad-mindedness. After all, there was Prince of Yan Zhu Di in between.

To ordinary people, the things between Zhu Di and his eldest grandson might be easily forgotten, but for the royal family, it was completely different.

Especially between the princes and the emperor, there is a natural contradiction.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually knew all this in his heart, but after all, they were his sons and grandsons. When dealing with some matters, he was not as decisive as he was with other matters, and was a little more hesitant.

We also have to consider the thoughts of our sons and maintain the stability of the entire Zhu family.

"Grandson, please make good arrangements for these matters. We are old, and the old ministers in the court are also old. The future of the Ming Dynasty still depends on the young people."

"I have liked Chi'er since he was young. As for the fourth child, he is full of bravery and violence. He doesn't even know what kind of world we live in now. He only cares about fighting and killing. How can he govern the Ming Dynasty well?"

"Earlier, the fourth son wanted to give the position of the crown prince to his second son Gao Xu, saying that he was the most similar to him in terms of martial arts. This was really nonsense."

"During this period of time, we can also take care of the matter of enthroning the fourth prince. Although the fourth prince has gone to Japan, Yihua is still here. When the time comes, we can just write a letter to him regarding the prince."

Zhu Ying nodded. As for Zhu Gaochi becoming the crown prince, it was a matter of rules and regulations. It was a foregone conclusion and naturally would not be determined by the thoughts of Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

The eldest sons of many princes had to be canonized by the emperor to be considered as the real princes and enjoy the inheritance rights of the princes. This was also a means for Zhu Yuanzhang to maintain the centralization of power and to restrain the princes.

As time passed, Zhu Gaochi naturally lived up to Zhu Ying's expectations, and the union of various families soon achieved certain results.

The dragon slayer will eventually become a bad dragon. This problem will arise at the beginning of every dynasty.

Killing too many people is not a good thing either. After all, it is easy to make people feel disheartened, as they all shed blood and made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

In many families with four sons, three of them might fight for the Ming Dynasty and die on the battlefield.

This situation is not an isolated phenomenon in the capital today, but is very common. Many families have even lost their descendants and can only adopt sons from the clan to inherit the family line.

What Zhu Gaochi wanted to do was to make these noble families stand on the united front with the Ming Dynasty.

As the capital becomes more and more prosperous, many people are greedy for wealth and use their power to secretly obtain some financial benefits. It is quite common for them to take the lead in breaking the law.

As the crown prince and heir to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ying was not able to handle some of the more grassroots affairs. The emergence of Zhu Gaochi took over this responsibility very well.

The identity of the emperor's grandson, coupled with Zhu Ying's appointment, made Zhu Gaochi have nothing to fear, and he could naturally act more according to his heart.

At least there will be no situation where any officials bribe them.

As time went by, the Beijing market began to take on a sense of order.

Those who are good at fighting do not necessarily have great achievements. In this case, it is not that there are any big things for Zhu Gaochi to solve, but often some minor troubles that are difficult to handle.

Zhu Gaochi had a gentle temperament and would not go too far when resolving conflicts, which left a lot of room for maneuver.

With the lifting of the maritime ban and the opening of the Maritime Customs, and the fact that Nanjing is close to the Yangtze River and has convenient water transportation, more and more foreign merchants came to the capital with large quantities of goods to trade.

With the increase in overseas ships, especially the docks along the Yangtze River in Nanjing, the level of prosperity has already reached a level similar to that of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.

The situation in which all nations came to pay tribute seems to have reappeared before the world after nearly eight hundred years.

However, as more people poured in, the number of people became more and more complicated, and the number of rats hiding in the gutter increased.

Although the Jinyiwei has a huge intelligence network, its main target is still officials and nobles.

For merchants, it is difficult to monitor effectively due to the extreme liquidity.

…

"Wow, is this the capital? It's so prosperous. There are so many people here."

After a month's journey, Di Yusen and his wife finally arrived in the capital.

But as soon as I arrived, I was shocked by the scene before me.

Dense crowds of people were constantly moving, and workers on the dock were constantly carrying various goods from countless large ships.

I have lived in Shanxi for a long time and have never seen so many foreigners.

People with red hair and yellow hair always make Qin Lixue exclaim in surprise.

Di Yusen pretended to be calm, not wanting to show that he had never seen the world.

However, his eyes were darting around and he was completely overwhelmed by the scene in front of him.

The shock that the capital city brought to him now was no less than that brought to him by Qin Lixue.

"This is just the beginning. Strictly speaking, this place is not even the outer city of the capital. It can only be said to be the suburbs of the capital."

"Do you see the Zhengyang Gate in front of us? Once you enter there, you will reach the outer city of the capital."

"Behind the Zhengyang Gate, there is a road that leads directly to the inner city of the capital. Once you see that scene, you will understand what grandeur means."

The postman driving the carriage turned around and said with a smile.

There was a very strong sense of pride in his tone.

Although he was just a postman in the vicinity of the capital, his family lived in the city, so he was naturally considered a native of the capital.