The incense activity of the Buddha Bathing Festival is actually quite well organized, about 25 women handed over the red beans to the military attache who guarded them, and Wu Huai was also one of the candidates for the red beans.

Wu Huai was actually a little surprised that he was able to obtain red beans, after all, the scar on his face had already made him lose a lot of points. What's more, he also looked at the woman who was escorted by him that day, and her character and appearance were all the best choice, and he didn't think that such a woman would have any intersection with his life.

Although he expressed his attitude in front of Chongzhen, saying that he did not want to marry a wife and have children before avenging the hatred of the country and his family, he still behaved like a young man after obtaining red beans, suffering from gains and losses.

In the large conference room of Wuyingdian, Chongzhen, who listened to the report of the General Staff on the military exercise plan, looked at Wu Huai, who was distracted from time to time, and could only shake his head.

"The exercise proceeded according to this plan, but I had only one request, not to tell the infantry battalions involved in the exercise that there was a plan for a cavalry attack on the march.

What I wanted to know was how these troops would react to a surprise attack on the march after a year of training.

I also wanted to know if the marching regulations prepared by the General Staff could cope with a half-way assault by the enemy cavalry. I hope that everyone will remember that the purpose of the exercise is to find out the weaknesses of the army and improve them, so as to improve the combat ability and survivability of the Ming army, not to make Shangguan happy.

As for the task of directing the cavalry to conduct a surprise attack to intercept the marching troops ...

"Your Majesty, the minister requests to command the 1st Cavalry Division to play the role of the assault enemy cavalry." Wu Huai suddenly came back to his senses and took the initiative to ask the emperor for this task.

Zhu Youzhen glanced at him, then nodded and said, "Okay, there are many veterans who have been on the battlefield in the First Cavalry Division, and I believe that you can complete this task well."

The commander-in-chief of the exercise was General Chief Sun, and Staff Officer Mao was responsible for managing the implementation of the entire exercise. Do anyone else have any opinions? ”

After Sun Chengzong's eyes swept over the people who participated in today's meeting, he replied to Chongzhen: "The minister thinks that the exercise plan is no longer a problem. Whether or not the exercise is scheduled to begin in earnest three days later, the seven units are divided into three marching routes, and at the request of the enemy's advance troops, they will go to Zunhua and Shanhaiguan, and each unit will set off at an interval of three hours. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded in agreement: "Just follow this plan." ”

Just after a meeting with the personnel of the General Staff Headquarters, Zhu Youzhen had not yet left the conference room when he heard from Wang Chengen that Yuan Keli, the secretary of the Criminal Department, was waiting outside the palace to ask to see him.

Zhu Youzhen paused slightly, then stopped and instructed Wang Chengen: "Then please ask Mr. Yuan to go to the office next door, and this morning's interview will end here." The less important ones will be arranged until the morning after tomorrow, and the important ones will be arranged in the afternoon. ”

Wang Chengen replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, the minister will send the others back." In fact, most of them don't have anything important to do, but some officials are transferred to other places in Beijing, and according to the custom, they meet His Majesty and listen to the hadiths. ”

When Yuan Keli walked in, Zhu Youzhen found that he did not come empty-handed today, and the chamberlain who led the way beside him was also holding a thick stack of manuscripts for him.

After beckoning Yuan Keli to sit down, Zhu Youzhen looked at the manuscript sent to him, and couldn't help but look up at Yuan Keli and asked, "What are these?" ”

Yuan Keli took the hot towel handed over by the attendant on the side and wiped his face and hands, before he replied to Chongzhen: "These are the precedents compiled and summarized by the cadres of the Criminal Department organized by the minister last year, and various civil cases were tried and summarized.

The law of our Ming Dynasty was decreed by Emperor Taizu Gao, and it was only after three large-scale revisions in the seventh, twenty-second and thirtieth years of Hongwu that the system was completed. The law of the Ming Dynasty is very different from the law of the previous generation, and it is divided into six laws, including officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers, and the title of "Famous Laws" at the beginning of the article, which is combined into 30 volumes, with 460 articles.

Taizu once stipulated that the legal department should only discuss crimes in accordance with the "Law" and the "Great Message". The law cannot be changed lightly, and the descendants abide by it, and the ministers have a slight discussion to change it, that is, they will sit on the crime of changing the ancestral system. It is based on more than 200 years, inherited from generation to generation, and no one dares to change lightly.

However, today, the "Great Message" has survived and is not used, and the 460 Great Ming Laws are mainly aimed at the problems that arise between the court and the people, or the punishment of officials in various ministries. There is little discussion on how to conduct mediation and trial when problems arise between the people and between the people.

From today's point of view, the law of the Ming Dynasty can no longer solve the various social problems that have arisen in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, during the time of the Yongle Emperor, the provisions of the Great Ming Law could no longer take into account the use of the world.

However, because the law cannot be easily changed, the successive rulers have issued various regulations, and the laws have been set up and the cases have been created, and as a result, there are many regulations today, and the officials who are not specialized in studying the laws of the Ming Dynasty have no way to start.

Therefore, local traitors can deceive their superiors and subordinates, substitute rules for laws, and arbitrarily punish light and heavy punishments, so that the people are at a loss and greatly damage the prestige of the court's laws.

It was Yichen who organized the compilation of this civil case precedent and eliminated those regulations that were not of proper importance, so that when civil disputes arose in the local area, the local officials could cite the appropriate precedents to adjudicate the case, so as to prevent the local traitors from manipulating the judiciary and engaging in favoritism. ”

Zhu Youzhen did not speak immediately after listening, but lowered his head and looked at the manuscript seriously. This manuscript contains 221 typical civil cases, totaling more than 800 pages.

The case is roughly divided into five parts, kinship, family relationship, inheritance, debt relationship, and transfer of ownership. Although Chongzhen had only read two or three cases, he could already see that Yuan Keli had put a lot of effort into this manuscript.

Of course, as an outstanding feudal scholar, Yuan Keli still can't jump out of the class he belongs to. The precedents in this manuscript have always been based on the feudal hierarchy that upholds the superiority and inferiority.

Although this collection of laws has a strong feudal connotation, it is undoubtedly a big step forward compared to the previous chaotic and undisclosed laws. At the very least, in civil disputes, local officials have finally found a basis for imposing penalties, and they no longer have to rely on the officials to decide cases.

Zhu Youzhen looked at it for half an hour before putting down the manuscript in his hand. He looked up at Yuan Keli and smiled and said, "Mr. Yuan's hard work I have to read carefully, although I can't reply yet." However, I thought that this manuscript could be named "General Principles of Civil Affairs" as a basis for judicial officials to deal with civil disputes.

In this way, the criminal law is based on the "Daming Law", the civil law is based on the "General Principles of Civil Law", and the commercial law is based on the "Commercial Act", and the legal provisions of the Ming judicial system can be formally divided into three parts. In the future, consideration may be given to setting up three specialized tribunals to adjudicate cases separately. This will not only strengthen the professional capacity of judges, but also reduce the opportunities for officials to engage in favoritism.

However, Mr. Yuan came to me today, probably not just for this manuscript, right? ”

Yuan Keli was silent for a while before he spoke: "The old minister does have a reluctant request, and he also asks His Majesty for permission. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at him in surprise, and thought for a while before saying, "Yuan Shangshu, please say, as long as it is not something that hinders the law of the country, I will consider it." ”

Yuan Keli couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart, but he didn't hesitate to say: "The old minister asks Your Majesty to suspend and track down the mastermind behind the manipulation of the people's rebellion in Henan and the confrontation with the imperial court's policy of requisitioning grain. ”

Zhu Youzhen's face suddenly looked a little unsightly, he spent so much effort to investigate the case in Henan, but he risked the erosion of Henan to make this bet. Now the situation in Henan has just improved, and the northern part of Henan has been completely under the control of the imperial court, leaving only the central and southern regions, and there are still gentry who are stubbornly resisting.

He was planning to completely clean up the Henan gentry in one go, how could he give up at this time. As if sensing Chongzhen's unhappiness, Yuan Keli had to continue: "Li Kuilong, Xu Xianchun, Han Yiliang and others are unjustly imprisoned in Henan, and the gentry in Henan counties don't care about good or bad, only about obedience.

From November last year to March this year, nearly 100 gentry families have been ordered to move to Taiwan. There were also dozens of gentry who were arrested and imprisoned for disobeying the relocation order. The gentry of Henan are now in danger, and the ministers think that His Majesty should stop their atrocities.

Otherwise, I am afraid that Shaanxi will not be chaotic, and my Henan will be chaotic first. Your Majesty must not be deceived by villains, in vain to make the relatives painful, and the enemies are happy. ”

Zhu Youzhen replied disapprovingly: "Is Yuan Shangshu too sensational, the students of Yenching University went down to investigate a few years ago, but they reported that the gentry in Henan are many inferior and few are good." Skillfully robbing the neighboring land property, and illegal deeds rampant in the township abound. ”

Yuan Keli was silent for a long time, and finally said expressionlessly: "Your Majesty rules the world with scholars, not for the people." If the local gentry were defeated, who would collect taxes and grain for the imperial court? ”

Zhu Youzhen frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but quickly held back. He looked at Yuan Keli's gaze for a long time, and watched the old minister lower his head before holding back his temper and saying.

"If I rule the world with scholars, then why are they not willing to provide for their army and court?

When the treasury was empty, the officials of the court would only say one thing to me, that is, please send me money, as if a cash cow had been planted in the treasury, and I could continue to pour out money.

Westerners have a proverb that no rights, no taxes. To say, this sentence is the same in reverse, no taxes, no rights.

If I can't collect taxes in Henan, I won't be able to collect grain. Henan is in chaos, does it have anything to do with me? ”

Hearing Chongzhen say his heart, Yuan Keli suddenly put down a stone in his heart, he looked up at Chongzhen and said without hesitation: "As long as Your Majesty suspends the investigation of the case and stops moving the large Henan gentry to overseas, then the old minister is willing to contact the Henan gentry and obey the overall situation of the imperial court." ”

Yuan Keli's words suddenly blocked Chongzhen speechless. Yuan Keli was also quite helpless, and had to have a showdown with the emperor.

In fact, the Henan gentry are not afraid of investigating the case or something, everyone knows that this is just Xu Xianchun and others fabricating charges and wanting to crack down on local forces in Henan.

As long as everyone is united, this kind of investigation will eventually come to an end, after all, the law does not hold the public accountable. However, using the investigation case as an excuse to directly relocate the gentry to Jeju Island and Taiwan, these gentry suddenly couldn't hold on.

It was the power of the imperial court to move people to enrich the frontier. Basically, as long as the emperor is stronger and has an army in his hand, he can basically do this. It's just that it will make his reputation among the people not very good.

Jeju Island and Taiwan are both overseas destinations, and if you move away, it will be difficult for you to return to your homeland in the future. Dealing with one or two gentry is just cutting off a few branches of these clans, and even if they are low for a while, there is always a chance to turn over.

However, if you move overseas, you will not only be forced to give up the ancestral tomb, but you may not even have the opportunity to turn over in the future. After all, after these big clans moved away, their land could not be taken away. In the end, it will only cheapen others.

In this round, the imperial court only relocated the gentry and the common people, so there was basically no resistance among the people. Even if these gentry wanted to incite the local people to make trouble, they could not find a reason. At this point, the Henan gentry learned that they were not qualified to sit at the same table as the emperor.

In fact, in the troubled times of the late Ming Dynasty, the gentry of Henan did not have the gentry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. When the peasant army came, they succumbed, and when the Qing army came, they succumbed in the same way.

As long as there are forces that dare to move knives at them, they always kneel faster than expected. On the contrary, it was the Ming court that talked to them well, and they were about to lose their temper.

But now, for Chongzhen, who really dared to wave a knife at them, they immediately relented.