Chapter five hundred and ninety eight: no forever friends
Regarding the issue of Qingzhang's army's land settlement, it has come to an end for the time being.
Although everyone knew in their hearts that selecting ministers to travel to various places was only the first step. The real difficulty of Qingzhang's military camp was far beyond what they could imagine while sitting in the palace.
When we truly implement it, we will encounter various pressures and resistances from all parties, which are truly thorny issues.
But, in the final analysis, that is the Ministry of War's problem and has nothing to do with them.
Turning their eyes back to Yu Qian's memorial, the elders all unanimously looked at Jin Lian aside.
Clearing the land is only the first step in reorganizing the military settlement. Looking at the current situation, in addition to the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which has the power of supervision, will also be involved in the entire process.
There is nothing wrong with this, but what is surprising is that according to Yu Qian's charter, after clearing the land, the next home court will be owned by the Ministry of Punishment!
"The content of the clearing of land, including the number of military fields, civilian fields, and official fields in each border town and their ownership. For those who conceal or privately hide the fields, the civilian fields will be registered and recorded, and taxes will be paid as usual."
"Any registered military or official land that has been occupied privately, abandoned without cultivation, or that has been misappropriated by soldiers to cultivate private land, once it is found out, will be removed from office on the spot regardless of official position and escorted back to the capital. The Ministry of Punishment will preside over it, in conjunction with the Ministry of War.
Trial by the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
As Yu Qian spoke unhurriedly, Mr. Jin suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention, which made Jin Shangshu, who had been a transparent person in the court for a long time, quite uncomfortable.
Unlike Chen Yi, Mr. Jin only knew that the Ministry of Punishment was also involved in this matter when he went to the Wuying Hall and obtained this memorial.
You must know that although it is said that the Ministry of Punishment is in charge of the administration of punishments and names in the world, this is for ordinary people. Once you have a reputation or a lawsuit, it will not be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment.
When an official commits a crime, there is a legal basis for rectification and impeachment. Under normal circumstances, the Ministry of Punishment does not need to participate. If the Ministry of Punishment needs to intervene, it is basically a major case that requires a joint trial by the three agencies.
Therefore, when Jin Shangshu came this time, he was also confused. It was not until he just got the memorial that he discovered that there was actually a role for the Ministry of Punishment in this round of military settlements!
Want to reject it?
Feeling the eyes from all directions, Jin Shangshu only hesitated for a moment before making a decision and said.
"I would like to ask the minister, among the people who were tried just now, are they not just civil servants or military officials, or are they just civil servants?"
Jin Lian was asking this question about Yu Qian, but his eyes fell on the imperial steps.
Because this is not something that Yu Qian, the Minister of War, can decide...
"Regardless of whether they are civil or military, anyone who is impeached by the imperial censor will be removed from office. The Ministry of Punishment will jointly work with the Ministry of War. After trial by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, they will be considered guilty and then punished!"
On the throne, the emperor lowered his voice, causing a low discussion in the palace.
This is unprecedented!
You know, just as Jin Shangshu always thought that he was good at making soy sauce, the other ministers present did not expect that the emperor would ask the Ministry of Punishment to try the ministers involved in the military camp this time.
Or to put it more directly, the bosses have never thought about it, and there is still a trial?
Again, the matter of punishment and prison is for ordinary people. Once you gain fame and status, and become a bureaucrat or gentry, it will not be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment.
To be more precise, it is actually not under the control of any government agency.
Because official positions are granted by the emperor, only the emperor has the power to remove or deal with officials who have been sued.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, when officials commit crimes, they are rectified and impeached by the Kedao and presented to the emperor, who then directly imposes punishments.
In other words, in this process, the officials of the Department of Science and Technology assumed the role of collecting evidence in the early stage to prove the crime, and the emperor assumed the responsibility of sentencing. The division of labor was clear, and there was no room for the Ministry of Punishment to intervene.
But now, the emperor's intention is obviously to add another procedure to this procedure.
That is, after the imperial censor impeached the officials, they were removed from office and sent to the Ministry of Punishment for trial. After the trial by the Ministry of Punishment was completed, they were presented to the emperor, who would then impose the punishment.
I have to say, this is really confusing.
You know, for the court, this only made the procedures more complicated, but the actual situation did not change.
Even if the Ministry of Punishment was involved, it still had no power to impose punishments. At best, it could only review the case again and assist the emperor in making judgments based on the censor's corrections.
In essence, it is still the magistrate who investigates the case and the emperor who decides the punishment, so why do this?
Seeing the ministers below discussing for a while, Zhu Qiyu gently tapped the case twice, opened his mouth to ask questions, and said.
"My lords, do you think there is anything wrong with this move?"
Of course it's inappropriate. Your Majesty, you just scolded the Ministry of Civil Affairs for sitting back and watching redundant officials. Now, you are deliberately complicating the trial process. What kind of trouble is this!
However, although I had doubts in my heart and didn't want to bother with it, I didn't act like a show-off.
After all, this matter has no conflict with the interests of most people present.
In fact, for the Ministry of Punishment, this is a good thing. It can even be said to be a leap forward. If it can be implemented, it means that the Ministry of Punishment will also have the right to judge officials.
This is a change from scratch. Anyone who opposes it is undoubtedly an enemy of the Ministry of Punishment.
Although the Ministry of Punishment does not have a strong presence, no one wants to provoke such a powerful department for no reason.
Of course, the bigger reason why they don't speak is that someone will definitely speak.
Because since the Ministry of Punishment has taken away part of the power, it means that someone must have lost part of the power.
The power of the entire imperial court is given by the emperor, so what the Ministry of Punishment infringes is definitely not the decision-making power. So, what this move infringes on is naturally...
"Your Majesty, I have the audacity to think that this is inappropriate."
Sure enough, the next moment, Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, stood up, raised his hands and said.
"Your Majesty, the matter of military settlements is extremely complicated. Yu Shaobao has just said that this matter cannot be delayed and should be dealt with quickly. The land and land must be cleared and the hidden areas must be cleared. It will take a long time. If the Ministry of Punishment is added to the matter, it will be re-examined.
, there are bound to be many twists and turns. The Ministry of Punishment is in charge of criminal matters all over the world, and its daily affairs are already very busy. If it cannot be handled in time, it may be delayed for a long time."
"Furthermore, the military camp involves civil and military officials, distinguished ministers, and even clan members. If they are all dismissed, there may be suspicion of unrest. Therefore, I believe that after the imperial envoys investigate, they will be reported to the Ming court and compiled by the Ministry of War.
Go to the imperial court and make a decision based on the situation."
You must know that in the previous system, the Ministry of Punishment was responsible for ordinary criminal cases. As for officials who committed crimes, they were rectified and impeached by the Ministry of Justice.
This actually makes Ke Dao somewhat more important than other official positions in a certain sense.
But now that such a procedure has been added, although there is no direct conflict with Ke Dao, if you think about it carefully, you will know that the plate is so big. How can it be possible that one more person will not be divided and take away the power?
Apart from anything else, once the censor impeaches the case, and during the trial process, the Ministry of Punishment believes that the case should not be impeached, then whose opinion will it listen to?
In the end, it was all trouble.
Therefore, from the perspective of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, they are definitely not willing to go through such an extra procedure.
When it comes to their own interests, the bosses have always been very decisive. Even if they are in front of the emperor, they must still fight for what they should fight for.
Facing Chen Yi's advice, Zhu Qiyu didn't have any special reaction. He just turned to Jin Lian and asked.
"Jin Shangshu, what does the Ministry of Punishment think of the reasons just mentioned by the General Constitution?"