See: Hu case and case.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the bureaucracy basically followed the Yuan Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang carried out reforms. The first is to abolish the provincial system. 1376, Zhu Yuanzhang announced the cancellation of the bank's book-saving province, and set up a department to undertake propaganda, command, and sentencing, which were respectively responsible for the bank's book-saving province. The three departments are separated and restrained to prevent local power from being too heavy.

The key to the reform of central institutions is to abolish the prime minister system. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhongshu Province was responsible for handling world affairs and had the highest status. Its chief executive is a high-ranking prime minister. The prime minister is prone to conflict with the emperor, and Hu is the most important in the Ming Dynasty.

Hu and his close friends and relatives spread all over the ruling and opposition parties, forming a power group that threatened the imperial power. Hu Dui is increasingly arrogant and politically slack. So, in 1380, Zhu Yuanzhang executed Hu and related officials on charges of bending the law and arrogating hegemony, and announced the abolition of Zhongshu Province, and there would be no more prime ministers in the future.

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang killed aquamarine again. 1392 One day at the end of the year, the Royal Guards took part in the sapphire rebellion, and Zhu Yuanzhang immediately had it taken down and handed it over to the official department for interrogation. When the official Zhan Hui ordered Aquamarine to recruit comrades, Aquamarine shouted, "Zhan Hui is my comrade-in-arms!" The voice did not fall, and the warriors won Zhan Hui. The judges were dumbfounded and stopped retrial. Three days later, Zhu Yuanzhang killed aquamarine, and then, it was another large-scale cleaning and involvement. In the two cases of Hu and Lan, * * * killed 40,000 people.

Combating corrupt officials

See: Guo Huan case, air printing case, and Taipa.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born in poverty and was blackmailed by corrupt officials in the Yuan Dynasty since he was a child. His parents and eldest brother died of cruel exploitation and plague, and he was forced to become a monk from an early age. So after he joined the uprising, he vowed that once he became emperor, he would kill all the corrupt officials in the world first.

Later, when he became king, he did not break his word. Sure enough, he launched a vigorous "anti-corrupt official" campaign throughout the country, targeting corrupt officials at all levels from the central government to the local government. His method is very special:

First of all, Zhu Yuanzhang killed officials who embezzled more than 62 taels of silver. When he found that Yu Wengui had hidden more than ten letters to curry favor with others and ask for help, he immediately sent people to investigate the central ministries and local governments. The results show that corruption is extremely serious from top to bottom. He was furious and immediately ordered the world: "Fengtian cherishes the lives of the people, and all officials who take bribes of more than 62% will be executed and will never lend." He also said: as long as it is corruption, no matter who is involved, it will never be soft, and it will be investigated to the end.

Secondly, Zhu Yuanzhang dared to "Gao Qian" from his side. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhongshu Province was subordinate to six departments, which retained a large number of old officials of the Yuan Dynasty and some heroes of the rebel army. They have nothing to hide, taking bribes and bending the law. Zhu Yuanzhang boldly punished these officials.

In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, officials of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development colluded with local governments, sealed blank statements in advance and filled in false expenditures to enrich themselves and embezzle property. After Zhu Yuanzhang discovered it, he immediately executed all the officials in charge of the local government; The deputy director drove the troops out of the border with a stick of 100. Three years later, it was found that Guo Huan, Assistant Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (equivalent to today's vice minister), doctors (directors) and Yuan Wailang (deputy directors) from various ministries formed a corruption gang with local officials who paid taxes to the central government, and adopted the means of overcharge and underpayment, embezzling treasury materials and equivalent grain up to 24 million stone. He put all these corrupt officials to death, and all the people involved in the case at the provincial, state and county levels were spared. For a time, tens of thousands of corrupt officials were dismissed, and more people were treated differently. In the twenty-five years of Hongwu, Zhao Mian, a senior minister of the household department, and his wife took bribes of hundreds of thousands of silver inside and outside. As a result, both husband and wife became ghosts under the knife.

In the sixteenth year of Hongwu, the minister of punishments accepted a bribe of twenty-two thousand pieces of silver from a death row family and used another death row as a scapegoat. He also extorted money from other prisoners' families, which led to the tragedy that all 20 people in a family committed suicide. In the 19th year of Hongwu, Langzhong and Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Punishment took bribes and lied about their deaths, and released two death row prisoners privately. All these corrupt officials were beheaded by Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, many officials of the Ministry of Industry falsely reported the days of craftsmen's labor, overpaid ICBC, and deducted craftsmen's money for private use when distributing it. During a surprise inspection, Zhu Yuanzhang investigated and dealt with the cases of corruption and bribery of assistant ministers Han Duo and Li Zhen, and pulled out the engineering department specially sent by the central government to supervise the Ministry of Industry. [

In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Wang Zhi, assistant minister of the Ministry of War, took conscription as a way to make money and accepted a bribe of 232,000 yuan from hereditary military households who evaded military service. Zhu yuan

Official costume of Ming dynasty

Zhang also sent him to the guillotine.

In the 19th year of Hongwu, Zhang Xiang, assistant minister of rites, and Qin Xin, foreign minister, embezzled the silver coins that the emperor gave to the princess for her wedding, and Zhu Yuanzhang caught them red-handed. In order to supervise the behavior of officials at all levels, Zhu Yuanzhang set up a post of suggestion and six subjects in Duchayuan. However, these regulatory authorities are also corrupt. In the 19th year of Hongwu, Liu Zhiren, the censor of Douchayuan, was ordered to go to Huai 'an to handle a case. After he arrived, he deliberately dragged the case without trial, ate the plaintiff and the defendant, extorted a lot of money from two families and seduced a good family. He was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang also found out 6 1 cases of corruption and bribery in six departments and dealt with them one by one. [2][20]

Third, Zhu Yuanzhang invented the cruel criminal law of "peeling and patting grass" to deal with corrupt officials. One day, when Zhu Yuanzhang was looking through a batch of files on the execution of corrupt officials, it suddenly occurred to him that the beheading of corrupt officials hated by the people was too cheap for them. Why not use torture such as picking tendons, breaking fingers, breaking hands and cutting knees? He also created the criminal law of "peeling grass", dragged those corrupt officials to the "skin temple" set up in each prefecture and county, then filled the skin with straw and lime and put it next to the court table where corrupt officials were executed, so as to warn subsequent officials not to repeat the same mistakes, otherwise this "smelly skin system" would be his end. This shocking move shocked a group of officials and greatly restrained their behavior.

Fourth, Zhu Yuanzhang will never tolerate the cadres he trained. In order to cultivate and promote the new forces, Zhu Yuanzhang specially set up a talent-training imperial academy to provide promotion opportunities for young scholars who have not entered the official position. He has great affection for these new Jinshi and Guo Jian students, and often teaches them to be loyal to the public and not to move for selfish interests. However, in the nineteenth year of Hongwu, he sent a large number of scholars and supervisors to the grassroots to investigate floods. As a result, 1, 4 1 people accepted banquets, paper money and local products. Zhu Yuanzhang sighed sadly when he killed them.

Fifth, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the anti-corruption program-Da Gao. Da Gao, a book compiled in recent two years, records some corruption cases that he personally tried and judged. The book also expounds his attitude, handling methods and disposal methods towards corrupt officials. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the book to be widely publicized throughout the country; He also asked people to copy excerpts and stick them in conspicuous places on the roadside and in pavilions, so that officials could be self-disciplined and the people could deal with corrupt officials after learning.

Sixth: Allow people to petition. There was also a unique system in the Ming Dynasty, which allowed people to hand over illegal officials. If officials in the Ming Dynasty collected taxes, collected grain and apportioned officials to cheat, the people could report to their superiors or hand them in directly. For the people in the feudal era, the traditional practice of "only state officials are allowed to set fires and the people are not allowed to light lamps" has been completely broken. Petition, in the Ming dynasty, was protected by the court. Moreover, the superior officials who should have received the visit but did not should also be punished according to law.

As the founding king, Zhu Yuanzhang severely punished corrupt officials with cruel laws. Its great determination, strong strength and precise measures have received a powerful deterrent effect. From his accession to the throne to his death, Zhu Yuanzhang's campaign of "killing corrupt officials" has never weakened, but the phenomenon of corrupt officials has never been eradicated. In his later years, he can only lament that "corrupt officials are not enough to kill, killing early and being born late."

centralized rule

See: Jin Yiwei, Inspection Department.

Bachelor of Dian Ge in Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yuanzhang used the secret service to send a large number of secret agents named "checking schools" to all parts of the ruling and opposition parties to spy on them. On one occasion, Song Lian, a bachelor, went to court. Zhu Yuanzhang asked Song Lian if he was drinking at home yesterday and which guests he invited. Song Lian answered them truthfully. Zhu Yuanzhang said with satisfaction: "I didn't lie to you." Qian Zai, a famous Confucian scholar, was recruited to participate in the compilation of Mencius Festival. One day, he left for home and casually recited a poem: "Four drums of winter clothes, too late to appear before the noon gate. Whenever I have pastoral music, I sleep until people are cooked. " As a result, when he went to court the next day, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Qian Zai: "Yesterday's poem was well written, but I didn't expect it to be too late. How about changing it to' worry'? " Hearing this, Qian Zai kowtowed in horror and confessed.

1382, due to the needs of monitoring officials, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the pro-military Duwei mansion in charge of the imperial army into a Royal Guards, and granted powers such as reconnaissance, arrest, trial and punishment of criminals. This is a formal military secret service directly controlled by the emperor. It has its own courts and prisons, commonly known as "imperial prisons", in which all kinds of torture such as peeling, pulling out the intestines and stabbing the heart are used. Zhu Yuanzhang also asked the Royal Guards to execute the scepter in the imperial court. Many ministers died under the scepter, and Xiang Xue, Minister of Industry, was killed alive in this way.

At the local level, in important places in various counties, Zhu Yuanzhang also set up a patrol inspection department, which is responsible for interrogating, catching thieves and questioning traitors. 1370, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the establishment of a department to take scholars. Scholars had to pass three exams to take the imperial examination, but their writing was sporadic and irregular. According to some unofficial history records, Zhu Yuanzhang was born in poverty and became a monk in his early years, so he was very taboo about the words "light" and "baldness". I don't even like "monks", and even the sound with similar pronunciation is equally disgusting. He once joined the Red Scarf Army, so he didn't like being called "thief" or "coach", and even hated "Ze" which sounded like a thief. However, according to modern scholars' research, most of these records are untrue. Zhu Yuanzhang never dared to talk about becoming a monk. Ming Taizu Tombstone and Ming Taizu's poems both talk about Zhu Yuanzhang's becoming a monk as a teenager. Unofficial history said that Zhu Yuanzhang's taboo words such as "light", "baldness", "monk" and "fate" lacked certain credibility.

The above records about the "literary inquisition" can't be found in more formal historical books such as Ming History and Shi Minglu. The textual research of historians such as Wang Chunyu and CHAN Hok-lam is mostly untrue:

As mentioned earlier, Xu Yikui was killed by Zhu Yuanzhang in unofficial history. However, according to the records of Hangzhou Prefecture, Official Records, Hangzhou Prefecture Records, and Ancient and Modern Tombs, Xu Yikui was still alive until the second year of Wen Jian. "Epitaph of Langhu County, Fangguang County, Wenling City" was written by Xu in the first year. Therefore, "Zhu Yuanzhang killed Xu Yikui for writing" is a mistake.

Unofficial history recorded that there was a poem in "Poems on Yingzhi" in which a monk came to reply (seeing the heart), which angered Zhu Yuanzhang and was beheaded. However, through the textual research and recorded under the lamp, we can know that the monk came to reply because he was killed because he exchanged information with Hu during Hu's rebellion, and the informant was monk Zhicong. (The so-called Poem of Ying, which angered Zhu Yuanzhang, was actually included in Ode to Mingya, which was quite appreciated. )

The literary prison mentioned above makes civil servants feel insecure, so they have to design standard wording. In fact, the memorial written by Ru Tai Su, a senior minister of housing, is too long, exceeding/10 000 words. Zhu Yuanzhang set stylistic rules to prevent it from happening again.

The stylistic norms established by Zhang include the rules of "two names are unbiased and outspoken" and "nothing is taboo except the word ferocious", that is, if the emperor's name is two words, you don't have to avoid using either of these two words, and you don't have to avoid homophonic names of the emperor.

Keep government officials honest and hardworking.

Zhu Yuanzhang was one of the most diligent emperors in the history of China, and he was never afraid to increase his workload. From his accession to the throne to his death, he hardly took a day off. The testamentary edict said, "One year after thirty years, I will worry about danger and not be lazy every day." According to historical records, in the 18th year of Hongwu (1385), from September 14th to 21st, within eight days, Zhu Yuanzhang approved the internal and external departments to play * * * 1660 pieces and handled 339/kloc-0 pieces of state affairs, with an average of more than 200 pieces played every day and more than 400 pieces of state affairs. From this end alone, you can imagine how diligent he is.

Zhu Yuanzhang's frugality is also the peak of emperors in past dynasties. When he became an emperor, he ate breakfast every day, "only vegetables and a piece of tofu." There is no golden dragon in the bed he uses, which is "no different from the bed of China family". When he ordered the workers to make cars and sedan chairs for him, copper was used instead of gold. Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered people to reclaim land and grow vegetables in the palace. One day in the first month of the third year of Hongwu (1370), Zhu Yuanzhang took out a sheet and gave it to the ministers. When you look at it, it is all made of small pieces of silk. Zhu Yuanzhang said, "It's better to discard this garment."

See:/subtitle/1690/7140248.htm? fr=aladdin#2_ 1

/view/337 1.htm

/view/4528 19.htm

/view/9573.htm