si-mexico Chapter 897 Three Fires
Chapter 897 Three Fires
"I will grant you the status, wealth, and fame you deserve, and let you and your family enjoy glory, but on the premise that..."
Li Che paused, his tone becoming stern: "You and your relatives must not violate the laws that I and the people of the world abide by!"
"Therefore, the first priority of establishing a new dynasty is to amend the law!"
His gaze turned to an old man with white hair and beard in the ranks of civil officials, Wen Zaiyin, who had just been conferred the title of Chongwen Earl.
"Wen Qing." Li Che looked at Wen Zaiyin and said solemnly, "This matter will be handled by you."
"I order you to select scholars from the imperial capital who are knowledgeable and well-versed in law to jointly revise the laws of Daqing!"
Wen Zaiyin calmly accepted the order: "I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust!"
"Don't rush to agree."
Li Che waved his hand.
"You must carefully review the old laws of Daqing for me, eliminating those that are outdated and oppressive to the people, and adding more necessary laws to protect people's livelihood and maintain fairness."
Li Che also emphasized: "Every time a revision is completed, it must be submitted to me. I will personally review and approve it before I can continue to revise the next one."
The law is too important, and Li Che is not confident in relying solely on others.
Even in later generations, there are still many unreasonable and outdated laws that need to be gradually revised in practice.
This is not something that can be accomplished in three to five years. It is something that needs to be done continuously, and the law must be updated and iterated with the development of society.
Wen Zai Yin said seriously, "I understand."
Li Che nodded slowly, signaling Wen Zaiyin to return, and then continued:
"The new laws will not be promulgated throughout the country immediately. I will give officials and people enough time to understand and adapt."
"However, this law must be changed, and in the future of Daqing, no one will be above the law!"
"Royal relatives are not allowed, meritorious nobles are not allowed, even I... cannot do it!"
The last sentence was so shocking that it made many officials look at it in surprise.
Even the imperial power voluntarily submitted to the law? This was unheard of since ancient times!
Since ancient times, rule by man has been more important than rule by law. How can the mighty imperial power be crushed?
One official, unable to contain his inner shock, stepped out of line, bowed, and asked, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty attaches so much importance to the law that you even place the imperial power under the law. Could it be..."
"Your Majesty, are you going to follow the Legalist philosophy of 'using the law as a guide and officials as teachers' and implement strict laws and harsh punishments?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall pricked up their ears.
This is also the question in their minds. After all, the reputation of the Legalists is not very good.
The ancient Legalists are not the same as the law we understand it, and the stories of Legalist representatives such as Shang Yang and Li Si are often beautified.
The "Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Slips" unearthed by archaeologists revealed a detail: a village head was punished to guard the border for two years because he failed to report foreign population in time, while a woman from a neighboring village reported her husband for theft and was rewarded with a thousand coins.
Although Legalist thought has its merits, it also reveals a kind of domestication of the people. Under this system, everyone is like firewood and will be thrown into the furnace of the state machine at any time.
A system that squeezes human nature to the extreme can forge an indestructible war machine, but it will also explode when the fuel runs out.
However, Li Che slowly shook his head.
"Respect?" He uttered the word softly. "I don't think this is respect. What I want is 'ruling people with Confucianism and governing the country with law.'"
"Confucianism, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, are used to educate the people and standardize morality. The foundation of stabilizing people's hearts is the soul of the empire."
"Laws are the standards, rules, and criteria used to determine right and wrong and uphold justice. They are the tools for governing a country and the backbone of an empire."
"The soul must be upright, and the frame must be strong; the two complement each other and are indispensable. I will unite the people with Confucian benevolent governance, and I will govern the country with fair and strict laws."
"This is the Daqing law I want!"
These words were like opening a new door before everyone's eyes.
It is neither pure Confucianism nor pure Legalism, but a combination and sublimation of the two.
At this moment, everyone finally got a glimpse of the vast imperial blueprint in the young emperor's mind.
Of course, not all officials agree with Li Che's statement.
They feel that even if the laws are not strict, they are not as good as the rule of man.
After all, people have intentions, but the law is ruthless.
Successive dynasties have used Confucianism and rule by man to rule this land for thousands of years. How can they change it just like that?
Of course, Li Che would not take their feelings into consideration.
No matter how great the obstacles are, we must take the path of governing the country according to law, and it is not something that a few old scholars can oppose.
Seeing that the tone for amending the law had been set, Li Che did not stop.
He cleared his throat and spoke again, proposing the second major reform of the new dynasty.
"This second decree." Li Che glanced down and slowly sat back on the dragon chair. "It concerns the governance of the prefectures and counties throughout the country."
"I have observed the old system of the previous dynasty. The administrative divisions are chaotic, with states, prefectures, counties, and districts overlapping and crisscrossing, creating a multiplicity of levels."
"Not only is the transmission of government orders slow, but it also easily leads to unclear responsibilities among local officials, mutual buck-passing, and even the formation of separatist tendencies."
His fingers tapped lightly on the armrests of the dragon throne, making a soft sound that seemed to be knocking on everyone's heart.
"Such bad policies cannot continue."
"I have decided to implement the 'province system' throughout Daqing and unify the administrative hierarchy."
"This system has been tried out in Fengguo for many years with remarkable results. I'm sure you, my dear ministers, have heard of it."
These words did not cause much commotion in the hall, and many officials even breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the administrative region reform is quite large, it mainly involves the adjustment of the official system and the redivision of maps.
It does not directly affect the core interests of officials, nor will it immediately disturb the grassroots people.
Compared to the earth-shattering "amendment" just now, this matter seems much milder.
Moreover, they all had some understanding of the efficiency of Fengguo's provincial system and knew that this was the general trend.
Therefore, most of the ministers bowed their heads in agreement and had no objections.
Seeing this, Li Che nodded slightly, knowing that there would be little resistance to this matter.
Then, his expression became gloomy again, even with a hint of chill.
Everyone knows that the highlight is about to come.
A new official has three things to do when he takes office, let alone the emperor?
Now that Li Che has officially taken over the imperial capital, there will be some trouble. It is definitely not something that can be stopped by two decrees.
"The last decree is a cliché, but it is also the most serious issue and concerns the foundation of the country."
“Taxes!”
These two words seemed to have magical power, making almost all the officials in the hall feel nervous.
Taxation is the lifeblood of the empire and also the most sensitive area that affects the nerves of all parties.
Li Che did not immediately elaborate on the new policy. Instead, he looked into the distance and slowly told a story from the past:
"I still remember that back in the north, the aristocratic families headed by the Wang family colluded with officials and instigated bandits to rebel against the State of Yan with ulterior motives."
"I and the Prince of Yan were ordered to investigate and eventually apprehend the ringleaders in Ji County."
Having said that, Li Che looked at Li Lin beside him, who also nodded, obviously still remembering that experience vividly.
"The matter had been settled. When the Prince of Yan and I were escorting the prisoners to leave Ji County, hundreds of ragged civilians suddenly blocked my way."
"They were crying bitterly and looked extremely pitiful. Guess what they were asking me for?"
The officials held their breath, vaguely guessing something.
"They came to plead for the captured nobles!" Li Che's voice was filled with suppressed anger. "They knelt on the ground, crying to me, 'Your Majesty, please be merciful and release Master Wang and the others!'"
"I asked them why. Do you know how they answered?"
Li Che recalled the people's distressed tone at the time: "They said, 'We couldn't survive on our land because of the high taxes we had to pay. It was only out of kindness that Mr. Wang and his men bought our land and made us tenants, so we could survive! Mr. Wang and his men are good people, kind people!'"
After hearing this part of the story, many ministers' expressions became extremely unnatural, and some even lowered their heads subconsciously.
"Hahaha." Li Che sneered, "How ridiculous! How pathetic!"
"They didn't realize until then that the taxes that forced them to sell their land and make it impossible for them to survive were not the official taxes from the court at all!"
"It's the Lord Wang and the kind people they claim to be grateful to who have colluded with the local corrupt officials to impose heavy taxes on them under false pretenses!"
The ministers were silent, and many of them had cold sweats on their backs.
How could they not understand why the people said so? The methods used by the aristocratic families in various places were similar. They were all cannibalizing people, but they still demanded that people be grateful to them.
"They were sold, yet they're still counting money for others, still grateful for their 'lifesaving grace'!" Li Che's voice was as cold as ice. "This is the evil of taxation in our dynasty today. This is the evil of collusion between officials and powerful people!"
He slapped the imperial desk with his hand, his voice shaking the palace: "Today, I will put my words here!"
"I don't care if you have thousands or tens of thousands of acres of land registered under your names! I also don't care if you have ever done, or allowed your relatives to do, such bone-sucking activities in the past!"
Li Che spoke each word with a murderous intent:
"As long as I am the emperor, this kind of arbitrary taxation and exploitation of the people will never happen again!"
"This is my bottom line, and it's also Daqing's bottom line!"
"Anyone who dares to cross this line and stretches out their claws where they shouldn't..."
Li Che snorted coldly and didn't say anything else, but the bloody smell contained in his unfinished words had already made everyone in the hall feel terrified.
What will happen if you extend your claws? Do I need to explain in detail?
If it were the late emperor, he would probably just chop off the outstretched claws.
And if it were the Majesty in front of him, he would most likely grab the claw and chop off the owner of the claw, and deal with his entire family at the same time!