Han Shizu

Chapter 2165: Sejong Chapter 41: The Law of the Empire
There is no policy that can be used once and for all. The longer Liu Wenji spent in the emperor's career, the more he felt this. In terms of legal system construction, at least in terms of legal provisions, the continuous improvement of the two dynasties of Shizu and Taizong has reached a very comprehensive, detailed, and even cumbersome level. Its complexity and triviality can be called the most complex in the historical dynasties.

However, it was in this context that Liu Wenji, since he had completely mastered the power of the government, had almost never stopped revising the imperial laws. Things are constantly moving. In the past two or three decades, many new things have emerged, bringing new contradictions and new problems. Many articles are no longer appropriate, and these need to be properly deleted and supplemented. For example, in the "human trafficking" incident in the sixth year of Jianlong, after the turmoil, the court added more than 70 articles around immigration policies and the crackdown on human trafficking crimes.
Amending the legal system is by no means an easy task. In the process of deletion and modification, it is easy to touch upon the issue of "ancestral system and clan law". Among the powerful people in the empire, no matter what their intentions are, there is no shortage of people who uphold the ancestral laws and wrestle with the emperor.

Although Liu Wenji often won in the end, the experience and the feeling were definitely not pleasant. At the same time, just revising the legal provisions is already extremely complicated, and the implementation and supervision of the law require a lot of links and obstacles to overcome, which is enough to make people's scalps numb.

Take the State of Anxi for example. During the reign of King Liu Min of Wei, he promulgated a "Great Code". However, the content and details of that code were many times simpler and cruder than the imperial laws.

That is how it was. By the time Liu Min died, they had barely established a set of execution and supervision systems based on the Great Code, and the legal system was at a very elementary stage and level.

Of course, this is also related to the "camp system" which is the foundation of the Anxi state. Under the jurisdiction of the army and camps, many matters of the dynasty code are not actually applicable, and it is impossible to effectively restrict the feudal lords of all sizes through the legal system.

Liu Wenzhe was considered a capable ruler. Throughout his reign, except for the Han-Iranian War with the Ghaznavid Empire, he devoted most of his energy to internal rectification and centralization.

This process was also extremely difficult. The Anxi "Great Law Code" that was finally perfected was only applicable to the central government-controlled areas and cities of the dynasty. Although it was implemented in the feudal lords' territories, it often took advantage of the benefits and covered up the disadvantages. Even in urban areas, anti-law and anti-tax riots caused by its implementation were endless.

If Anxi was like this, let alone the Han Empire, which was even larger and more complex. To be fair, Liu Wenji's throne may have come by chance, but it was not easy for him to be an emperor. In terms of political complexity, it can even be said that it far exceeded the reigns of Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong. If he just did nothing, he would not be able to bring an empire to its peak.

However, in the process of revising the imperial legal system, many difficulties and challenges were encountered. But this stage was also the moment when the imperial legal system shone most dazzlingly, even more so than in the Taizong era, because Liu Wenji needed to use "law" to establish his own authority and consolidate his rule.

At the same time, a large number of legal talents or bureaucrats proficient in law emerged like mushrooms after a spring rain in the imperial system. The number of candidates passing the Ming Law Examination increased in each session. From the capital to the local civil service schools, all attached great importance to this subject. Even some kindergartens and primary schools with conditions included "The Great Han Criminal Code" in their teaching content.

The so-called "Legalist Confucianism" was also popular in the Han Empire during this period. With the emperor's preference and the trend of profit, it was enough to form a trend among the Han officials in charge, especially in a policy environment with continuity.

While perfecting the legal system, Liu Wenzhi was actually aware that the so-called imperial laws, thousands of laws and regulations, were actually very empty. Many articles and regulations had been covered in dust since their establishment, and apart from being clearly recorded in the Empire's "Criminal Code", they did not have much practical significance.

As far as the imperial dignitaries were concerned, the responses to many situations were still based on moral concepts and experience, as well as the conventions of Chinese officials and civilians since ancient times. This was almost completely different from the complicated laws of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Wenzhi, who came from the prefectures and the people, was deeply touched by this situation, but he remained committed to building the legal system on the basis of Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong. On the one hand, it was of course to achieve his personal career and achievements, on the other hand, it was to strengthen power through strong laws, and on the other hand, it was also under the guidance of the idea of ​​centralization to promote more advanced, effective and powerful rule and management of the country.

The significance of some regulations does not lie in their effectiveness on paper, but in their value of use when needed. As a legal basis to assist political behavior, they are of great value to the ruling class, especially the supreme ruler.

Of course, setting the bottom line is also a very important factor. Human nature is evil, and the country cannot be governed well by morality alone. Some people are also difficult to restrain by moral standards. Stronger constraints are needed from top to bottom.

Even this constraint cannot cope with many situations under the rules of the empire. Take the "population trade" for example. If the court does not stop it, one day, citizens who should have enjoyed the glory and pride of the empire will be sold as piglets without any scruples or limits.

To the rentiers, morality is worthless and the law should be trampled upon. Therefore, even though the imperial court issued an explicit ban and adopted an unprecedentedly severe attitude and crackdown measures, the "immigrant trade" still did not stop, but only moved underground from a semi-open and semi-official state.

This is the authority of the empire's central government, the role of the law, and its positive significance. Most of the overt and covert violations of the law and crimes are not problems of the system, but of people. After all, the rules are dead, but people are alive.

Take Liu Wenji's reform of the salt administration for example. Given the importance of salt affairs and the huge profits from salt, a very comprehensive salt law has been formulated since the time of Emperor Taizu, with relevant regulations for almost every link from production, transportation to sales.

However, the operation of the salt business obviously cannot be completely in accordance with the provisions of the Salt Law. From the government to the private sector, from the salt supervisor to the salt merchants, from the salt workers to the salt farmers, there are too many unrestrained hands and feet in the entire huge and complex chain of interests. Interests move people's hearts, and how can such a road of wealth that is almost flowing with gold be clean?

Therefore, when it comes to the reform of the salt administration, Liu Wenji's focus was not on the salt laws and systems, but on people, those rent-seeking groups who committed crimes, infringed on national finances and taxes, and abused the people of the empire.

In this regard, he was justified, and he could also hold high the stick of the law of Emperor Taizu and hit those illegal nobles, corrupt officials and profiteers who made a lot of money from the salt road. After all, the Han Salt Law was formulated by Emperor Taizu after learning from the national conditions. Even though it had serious problems by the Jianlong era, it still ensured the stability of the salt order as a whole, at least allowing most people to have salt to eat, even if it was a little expensive.

The reform of the salt administration was also caused by Fan Zhongyan. When Liu Wen visited Jinan, he listened to the report and decided to repair the Huaidong dike and rebuild the sea dike. Fan Zhongyan was the chief supervisor at that time.

And who was Fan Gong? He spent three years working on the Huaidong coastal project, rebuilding the sea dam, and restoring peace and tranquility to the officials and people of Huaidong. During this process, Fan Zhongyan did not stop, and took advantage of his position as a supervisor to get a clear understanding of the malpractices of the Huaidong salt administration.

Half of the salt business in the world comes from Huaidong, and the problems in Huaidong are representative of the world. In the seventh year of Jianlong, Fan Zhongyan returned to the court to report on his work, and was further appreciated by Liu Wenji and promoted to the head of the Ministry of Works.

Fan Zhongyan reported the details of the salt affairs he had investigated in Huaidong to Liu Wenji in detail, explaining the problems in five aspects: salt prices, salt officials, salt transportation, salt merchants, and salt farmers. In summary, there were actually two points: corruption and exploitation. Based on these situations, Fan Zhongyan proposed the "Ten Articles on Salt Affairs" to Liu Wenji, hoping that Liu Wenji would make up his mind and make drastic changes to the salt administration and plead for the people.

Liu Wenji praised Fan Zhongyan's loyalty. In fact, Liu Wenji had long wanted to rectify the salt business. The Imperial City and Wude Departments were not for show. Although he was not as good as Fan Zhongyan in investigation and understanding, Liu Wenji was good at using his brain and could see the problems from the complicated details.

Therefore, in view of the talent, insight and responsibility displayed by Fan Zhongyan, as well as his spirit of not being tempted by the powerful and the violent, he was promoted to Deputy Envoy of Salt and Iron in the eighth year of Jianlong, specializing in the rectification of salt affairs, which was actually also a comprehensive rectification of corruption and affairs.

From the eighth to the eighteenth year of Jianlong, one-third of the imperial salt officials fell, and more than two thousand dignitaries, salt officials, salt merchants and their minions were sentenced to death. With such an unprecedented crackdown, how could the imperial salt affairs not be cleaned up?

Simply suppressing and rectifying was obviously not enough. Liu Wenji ordered the Ministry of Personnel to transfer hundreds of officials who were proficient in salt laws to serve in the salt and iron system. At the same time, he increased the supervisory powers of the Finance Department and the Censorate.

Of course, there is still a side of compromise that is inevitable. For example, Liu Wenji introduced more rentiers. It is impossible to completely eliminate the phenomenon of opening one's mouth and stretching one's hands. By breaking up the existing interest groups, at least the imperial salt administration can be guaranteed to be in a healthy state in the short term.

The results of the salt administration reform were also remarkable. By the 93th year of Jianlong's reign, the price of salt in the empire had fallen five times and finally reached the level of the Yongxi era ( wen for a dou of salt). The lives of salt farmers and salt workers became better, small salt merchants became more active, the empire's salt production increased (much of which benefited from the severe crackdown on the theft and sale of official salt), and the salt tax also increased significantly.

At the same time, the trend of private salt trading has risen against the trend. There is also a background here. The rentiers who suffered heavy losses under the court's salt administration rectification, while lying dormant within the system, inevitably turned their attention to the outside.

As a result, sea salt from the Nanyang region, especially from the Wu Kingdom, was introduced into the empire through "trade" and smuggling, and began to spread and develop in coastal areas.
Compared with the vigorous and vigorous attack on the salt administration, the reform of the land issue was like lukewarm water, which moistened things silently. Of course, the difficult and fierce struggle took place under the shadow of the empire's glory.

In terms of land, especially land tax, Liu Wenji dared not talk about changes lightly, let alone make changes arbitrarily. However, seeing that land tax was decreasing year by year, he had to do something.

The reason for the reduction in land tax is also very simple. The registered land is decreasing year by year. As for where the "disappearing land" went and how it disappeared, it goes without saying.

Therefore, over the past ten years, Liu Wenji has put a lot of effort into land registration and land tax. The Wude Division was fully mobilized and envoys were continuously sent out to inspect, especially targeting the big landowners.

After an investigation and rectification, the trend of decreasing farmland was finally reversed. However, by the 18th year of Jianlong, it had only returned to the level of the Duangong period. Moreover, the further down the line, the greater the resistance, and the more difficult the investigation.

It does not mention the nobles, bureaucrats and landlords who were the main ruling class of the empire. A large part of the "disappeared land" even ended up with the royal family, and some records can be found in the Shaofu.
(End of this chapter)