The Ming Dynasty started with caution

The next day, early in the morning.

A group of censors were waiting in the Huagai Hall. They wanted to sue Yan Chengjin. Which deputy censor made them recite the Ming Dynasty Law?

"Go and report to His Majesty quickly. We want to see the emperor!"

"Change the chief censor, or I will change this official!"

The censors held up the plaques and cried out for injustice.

Xiao Jing hurriedly walked into the Huagai Hall and said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, Yan Chengjin asked the censors to recite the Great Ming Law, and the censors are miserable..."

When the officials took office, they had already read the Great Ming Code and needed to be assessed.

Now, they are asked to read and recite the Great Ming Law.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned: "Why didn't they report yesterday when they went to court?"

"Yesterday they just recited the Great Ming Law. Today, Yan Chengjin still has to take an exam."

Knowing the Ming Law is the job of the censors. How can they be afraid of the exam?

Emperor Hongzhi laughed out loud. Yan Chengjin was afraid that I would not give him a promotion, so he rectified the Censorate?

"The Censorate supervises all officials, but no one supervises the Censorate. I think it's time to rectify it. Let the censors go back. I'll go to supervise the exam later."

Hmm?

Xiao Jing was dumbfounded. The censors came to you for help...

He walked out of the hall with a strange look on his face and cleared his throat: "Please go back. Your Majesty will go to supervise the exam later. You'd better go back quickly."

"This..."

The censors cursed in their hearts and wanted to impeach the emperor in a letter.

But your majesty has been in a bad mood these days because of the yellow book, so they dare not act recklessly.

Yan Chengjin came to the duty room of the Censorate and saw that there was no one. He looked at Zheng Qian next to him: "Is it a day off today?"

"Sir, the censors went to the Huagai Hall to file a complaint." Zheng Qian was in a dilemma.

"It's good for your majesty to know, so that I don't have to send you to report."

Rectifying the Censorate is what Emperor Hongzhi hopes to see.

If the censors all become old and salty, under Wu Kuan's lax control, the censors will wait for the next shift when they are on duty.

The Censorate is the procuratorate of later generations.

If it loses its ability to supervise, the Ming officialdom will be corrupt and decayed.

During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the ministers did not dare to embezzle and slack off.

It was because of his strict laws that even if they did not work, they would be skinned and fed, not to mention other things.

At this moment, five censors were seen running into the duty room outside the duty room as if they were being chased.

Hu Zhang, Luo Ju, Shi Xun and others were censors with great reputation in the court. They were dissatisfied with being controlled by Yan Chengjin.

But at this moment, they begged: "Master Yan, please send out the test papers quickly, quickly!"

Yan Chengjin was a little confused, and saw Emperor Hongzhi walking slowly with a stern face.

"I heard that you want to examine the law?"

"I have studied the laws of the Ming Dynasty for a long time and found that there are many loopholes in the laws and regulations that need to be supplemented."

Hu Zhang and others on the side suddenly changed their faces and almost fainted.

The Emperor Gao established the ancestral system, and future generations are not allowed to change the law.

You actually want to modify the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Aren't you afraid that the Emperor Gao will split the grave and come out to ask for your life?

Before Emperor Hongzhi answered, Hu Zhang stood up and shouted: "The Emperor Gao has ordered that the laws of the Ming Dynasty should be followed by future generations. If the ministers discuss changes, they will be guilty of changing the ancestors and messing up the system, Yan Chengjin! Do you want to die!"

Four imperial censors joined in, saying that it would be better for His Majesty to remove Yan Chengjin.

Emperor Hongzhi thought that Yan Chengjin was just examining the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, this boy's original intention was to change the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

He nodded and said, "Emperor Gao instructed that all my descendants should obey my orders and not be clever and disrupt my established laws. Not a single word can be changed. Yan Qingjia, do you know?"

The Great Ming Law is not unchangeable.

Later Wanli changed 55 words.

But from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, only these 55 words were changed.

If it was in the morning court, facing the cabinet and officials, Yan Chengjin would not dare to say so.

But in the Censorate, there are only Your Majesty and the Censor, which is an opportunity.

"I think there are still many things that can be improved in the Ming Law."

"For example?" Emperor Hongzhi said lightly.

Emperor Gao changed the law many times before it was promulgated, so how could you talk nonsense.

"For example, if a woman is violated, the offender will be strangled, but there is no law to protect men." Yan Chengjin reported.

The corners of Emperor Hongzhi's mouth twitched fiercely: "Who would violate a man?!"

Your Majesty, I'm afraid you haven't heard of Aqiang's story?

The corner of the mouth of the imperial censor Hu Zhang twitched: "Men are strong and powerful, why do they need the protection of the law? And as your majesty said, who would violate men?!"

Yan Chengjin's face was serious: "This is just one that needs to be added. There are also household laws, military laws and criminal laws, which all need to be revised. If your majesty wants to hear, I can explain them one by one."

After the promulgation of the Ming Dynasty Law, Zhu Yuanzhang revised it six times, wanting to leave a law that would be used forever.

But even the most perfect law has loopholes.

For example, Article 6 of the Household Law states that the nobles and the humbles are not allowed to intermarry.

It means that the humbles are not allowed to marry women from wealthy families.

This means that there is no possibility for the losers to counterattack,

and there is no such good thing as Auntie, I don't want to struggle anymore.

Restricting the freedom of marriage also greatly restricts the population of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the Imperial College recruited the children of gentry, landlords and merchants, and paid horses and food, so that they could enter the Imperial College as regular students.

And various quotas such as Xiangsheng and Zansheng.

This caused the Imperial College to become a breeding ground for maggots.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty's treasury was empty and what was needed was money and grain. It was understandable to take such measures to fill the treasury.

But now it is different. What the Ming Dynasty needs is talent!

Changing the enrollment system is the most important thing that needs to be changed in the Ming Dynasty law.

But the Ming Dynasty law is feared by His Majesty, so how can it be changed?

Yan Chengjin thought about it carefully and said, "Changing the Ming Dynasty law has a great relationship with the prosperous times. There are many differences between the laws of the Tang Dynasty and the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty is based on virtue and punishment. There are still many lenient aspects in the criminal law, while the shortcomings of the laws of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be unreasonable.

In this way, how can there be a prosperous age?"

"Yan Chengjin, don't talk nonsense. Tomorrow, the Censorate will be smashed by the censors of the Hanyuan!" Hu Zhang said nervously.

You are getting bolder and bolder. What a bunch of nonsense!

The Emperor Gao has already issued an order. Whoever changes it will be a serious crime.

No matter how good you are at writing impeachment, you can't change the laws of the Ming Dynasty!

Emperor Hongzhi was shaken, and his thick eyebrows knitted together: "Although I want a prosperous era, I dare not easily change the ancestral system. Besides, what does the Great Ming Law have to do with a prosperous era? Don't mention it again!"

Speak, he left with Xiao Jing angrily.

Yan Chengjin was a little embarrassed.

This time is very different from the previous changes to the ancestral system.

Zhu Yuanzhang issued a clear order to prohibit that not a single word can be changed.

If he really wants to change it, I'm afraid even the six ministries in Nanjing will jump up, ride into Beijing at night, and point at his nose and scold him.

Laws are established above and customs are formed below.

If the bad places are changed and loopholes are corrected, the world will be more peaceful and the people will be safe.

Ministry of Justice, duty room.

"Sir, the news from the Censorate is that Yan Chengjin wants to change the Great Ming Law."

Wang Quzhi, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, hurriedly reported.

The duty room is not big, and the other four officials looked over together, shocked for a long time without blinking.

Wang Shouren looked calm on his face, but he admired him in his heart.

Brother Gao is truly a god.

When he was on duty at the Ministry of Justice, he also saw many shortcomings of the law.

But he didn't know how to advise His Majesty. Brother Gao must have prepared more than three strategies this time, right?

Compared with Brother Gao, he was a million miles behind.

While Wang Shouren was secretly sighing, Wang Quzhi said again: "Their censors also disagree with this matter, and they are fighting among themselves. Your Majesty left without saying a word."

Xiong Xi thought hard, there was no law in the Ming Dynasty law that could be amended.

Which one do you want to amend?