So, something unfortunate happened.

This is destined to be a tragedy.

The case of empty seal documents was circulated in the hands of officials for several years. However, one day in the ninth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was looking for something to do all day long, suddenly discovered it.

When this loophole was discovered, his lungs were about to explode.

He felt that he was being shaken a little.

Let’s shake my own guys, they are these officials who have always looked down on me and are always against me.

From beginning to end, I was a complete sucker, no difference from a fool.

This is simply outrageous.

In a rage, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was extremely unfair, began to order people to investigate the matter strictly.

The historical books do not say who specifically asked Zhu Yuanzhang to investigate the case. I only know that this person comes from the Censorate, but I personally think that there will inevitably be an institution missing here.

An absolutely terrible spy agency.

Its name is: Jinyiwei.

In fact, if I ask me to say that this matter is not necessary, because everyone knows this matter, including the officials who investigate, they also understand the reason.

Many of these officials even involved in this investigation.

They all understand the internal and external reasons.

The rules you, Boss Zhu, have a big problem in themselves, and we officials have no way to do this!

However, this explanation has no effect on Zhu Yuanzhang, who has completely exploded.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, this is no different from nonsense.

He ordered a thorough investigation of all the officials involved in the case.

The boss has already spoken, what else can he say?

Check it out!

When the boss is furious, it is better to shut up your mouth obediently, otherwise you will definitely become the first target to be cut.

For this stubborn donkey, it would be better to provoke him less at this time.

As a result, the first economic case broke out since the early Ming Dynasty.

This is: the empty seal case!

Under Zhu Yuanzhang's strict order, the results of the thorough investigation were soon released.

The first winners were the officials in charge of government at all levels, who were the first participants, including the Chief Secretary (commonly known as the Fantai, equivalent to our current governor), and officials at all levels in other prefectures, prefectures and counties.

The second are the officials of the Ministry of Revenue who sit in the center and hold the power of audit, and they are the second participants.

For these direct participants, Zhu Yuanzhang issued them the punishment result that the main sealer (the governor, mayor, district mayor, county magistrate) was executed, and the deputy and below officials were beaten 100 military sticks and then sent to the army to be exiled.

The highest-level Minister of Revenue and all other officials involved in the Ministry of Revenue will be executed.

After dealing with these officials, Zhu Yuanzhang did not stop.

Instead, he turned his attention to another group of people.

Although these people did not directly participate in the Air Seal Case, their responsibilities destined their final destiny.

These people are censors (equivalent to our current Discipline Inspection Commission).

Before the empty seal case broke out, their duties as censors were to supervise and impeachment, but from the outbreak of the case to Zhu Yuanzhang's order to strictly investigate, they did not take any action to stop it. One-sidedly, they had lost their responsibility for supervision.

Zhu Yuanzhang also showed no mercy to these guys who were eating and not doing serious business.

It hated these bastards who were eating and not doing serious business.

The punishment given by Zhu Yuanzhang to this group of people was: all the censors, no one would be left, and all would be executed.

According to the Criminal Law Record, with the outbreak of the empty seal case, tens of thousands of officials were killed (ten thousand dead). As the punishment was implemented, all prefectures and counties from the central government to local governments were cleaned from top to bottom.

I have to admire Zhu Yuanzhang's courage and courage.

Zhu Yuanzhang showed his almost cruel side in punishing officials for dereliction of duty.

But behind the cruelty, there are also many facts of injustice.

The most typical figure among them should be Fang Keqin (the prefect of Shandong, whose son is even more awesome than him. Even if he is loyal to Emperor Jianwen, he would rather die than obey Zhu Di, the Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty, and was later executed by the ten clans!).

When the air seal case broke out, the unlucky Fang Keqin worked in Jining, Shandong, and his official position was the prefect of Jining, Shandong.

This gentleman can be said to be a genuine and good official. During his reign, Ji Jinyan, the prefectures and counties in Shandong Province. He worked in Shandong for three years. During his three years, all his salary was used to support friends and students. He had only one piece of clothing that he had for three or four years and had no money to replace it with a new one. Under his honest office, the wall of his house collapsed, but he could only use thatch to cover it because he had no money.

Even such a good official was executed on the spot because of the appearance of the empty seal case.

Although this conscientious prefect was not ruined in the end, he could not end up in a good way.

It's really a bit sad.

Let’s return to the question mentioned in the previous chapter: the exact time when the empty seal case broke out.

The main reason why I personally prefer the view of 1376 is that it is more sensitive to time.

Because this time was just eight years after Zhu Yuanzhang founded the founding of the country.

There is a saying in ancient times: Itchy for seven years and pain for eight years.

Although this saying mainly targets couples, I think this argument is also valid for a newly established country.

For officials in eight years, they can fully master the official routines and the rules of the routines are already familiar with them. They can use them freely wherever they can embezzle and abuse their power.

They were familiar with each other, but for Zhu Yuanzhang, who formulated this rule, he began to feel uneasy.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, he only believed in one person.

That's himself.

He believed no one except himself.

I personally think that Zhu Yuanzhang is a very cautious person.

Zhu Yuanzhang never trusted his subordinates with the power, and these people were just tools he had to use.

He could not trust these people and hated them.

No matter how kind and moral they show on the surface, they don’t know how vulgar and dirty they are behind their backs.

The reason why these officials with power work for themselves is entirely to seek personal gain.

The greater the power they have, the greater the threat to the people.

For these people, Zhu Yuanzhang could use them as tools of use and could also abandon them unconditionally.

The way to abandon them is to kill all the old people from beginning to end.

Then change a new group of people and come again. After these new groups are familiar with each other, they will re-imitate the previous game routines.

And so on.

And eight years are just right for officials, neither too long nor short.

The rules are already familiar, and the methods of committing crimes have begun to appear.

Choose this time and kill all the officials from top to bottom, and then select a group of people to go on the field immediately.

It not only relieves the threat to its own regime, but also eliminates the risk of exploitation of the people.

The best of both worlds.

I am still the boss, and the rules are the same.

I'll play with him again after a few more years.

In a few years, play again.

This saves time and effort, and saves a lot of unnecessary trouble.

This may be the idea that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to launch the empty seal case.

It can be said that the empty seal case was just a gimmick for Zhu Yuanzhang to clean up the officialdom, and it was just an excuse for him to slaughter the officialdom. He wanted to use this excuse to achieve his purpose of cleaning up these old officials from top to bottom.

If there had been no empty seal case at that time, according to Zhu Yuanzhang's character, he would have found another excuse to slaughter the officialdom.

Although this method is too cruel, it has nothing to do with Zhu Yuanzhang.

The tyrant and cruel official are just a dishonor, and he doesn't care about an unnecessary reputation.

Compared with these false names, what he really hates is these officials who hold heavy power. If they remain in power for a long time, the risk of corruption and bribery will increase several times, and the threat to the people will increase several times.

The only way to eliminate this threat is to kill them and change them to newbies.

For novices, familiarizing themselves with routines and rules requires them to be busy for several years.

These old ministers know how to embezzle, but the newbies don't know yet. Even if they do, they don't have much courage.

After a few years, these novices become old birds, and everything can be done step by step. At that time, the old games can be played again, and you will reach the stage of layoffs.

The only way to get laid off is to be killed.

Because only dead people can minimize the risk.
Chapter completed!