Chapter 572 A Great Progress

Yuan Xian’an stood outside the duty room of Nanhua Gate in Xiyuan, feeling both surprised and happy.

Dali Temple Chief Justice Guo Qian was talking to someone nearby.

Yuan Xian’an, one of the three great historians of the Imperial Academy, was demoted to an eighth-rank minor official in Liaodong after the Zuo Shunmen begging incident.

Later, Liaoxi was in urgent need of manpower when repairing a castle in the Hetao area of ​​the Xiliaohe River, so he was transferred there to serve under Guo Qian, the governor of Liaoxi.

He worked diligently and conscientiously, which earned him the appreciation of Guo Qian, who, after asking about his background and sighing in admiration, valued him even more.

Tumen Khan was beheaded, the Chahar tribe was destroyed, the left wing of Mongolia surrendered, Liaoxi and Liaodong were merged into Liaoning, Guo Qian was transferred back to the capital and took over as the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and later served as the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple. By the way, Yuan Xian’an was also transferred back to the capital and appointed as the Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture.

Zhao Zhenji took over the Censorate and later became the Chief Censor and one of the advisors. He had been cooperating with Zhu Yijun’s reform of the state system and official system and carrying out judicial reforms in the Censorate.

However, under his leadership, the reform of the Censorate was gradual and silent, without causing much stir.

The Censorate was divided into two courts: the Supervisory Court on the left and the Dali Temple on the right.

The Chief Censor was the head of the Censorate, and there was a Left Censor-in-Chief who was the first deputy of the Chief Censor.

Zhao Zhenji was also one of the advisors, and often had to work in the Advisory Bureau next to the Xiyuan Silijian. The Left Censor-in-Chief was his first deputy, and was actually in charge of the affairs of the Censorate.

The current Left Censor-in-Chief is Huang Guangsheng, the former Minister of Justice, who was recommended by Zhao Zhenji.

Huang Guangsheng was from Quanzhou, Fujian, a fellow townsman of Yu Dayou and Li Zhi. He became a Jinshi in the eighth year of Jiajing, and served as Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief, Governor of Sichuan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and Inspector-General of the three provinces of Sichuan, Chu, and Guizhou. He was later promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Minister of the Ministry of Punishments in Nanjing respectively.

He was good at managing civil affairs and also led troops to fight wars and quell rebellions.

He is an all-round talent who is good at handling finances and clarifying criminal cases.

According to later historical books, he was a rare Ming Dynasty minister who could be called a politician, military strategist, jurist, hydraulic engineer and historian.

There were two full-time Right Censors-in-Chief: Zou Yinglong was in charge of the Left Court Supervisory Council, and Guo Qian was also the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple. As for other Right Censors-in-Chief who were in temporary positions, such as Hai Rui and Huo Ji, they were just honorary titles and would not go to the court to conduct affairs.

The Left Court Supervisory Office only had the Central Supervisory Office, which evolved from the Six Departments of the Imperial Censorate. The thirteen supervisory censors in charge of local supervision were directly assigned to the local censors.

The Right Court Dali Temple, also known as the Dali Court, is the highest court responsible for reviewing death sentences, making final decisions on various appeals, and hearing designated major cases.

Each provincial Censorate had a Censor-in-Chief, with his deputies being the left and right deputy censors. The left deputy censor was in charge of the provincial supervisory office; the right deputy censor was in charge of courts at all levels – the Shen Courts, and was responsible for the trial and judgment of cases throughout the province.

The Ming Dynasty’s Interrogation and Appeal Division went a step further on the basis of the previous Song Dynasty.

The Jusi, which is responsible for interrogation and investigation of facts, is a police department under the Governor’s Office. It is one of the adjudicators who examines cases based on facts and prosecutes cases. It is a prosecutor directly under the Ministry of Justice.

The second court that finally heard and judged the case according to the law was the Shenyuan Court, which was under the jurisdiction of the Censorate.

In understandable terms, it means that the local police department investigates and handles cases, and after catching the criminals, they hand over the evidence to the prosecutors and judges.

The prosecutor will review whether the police department handled the case in accordance with the law, then deliberate on what law to apply to the criminal, and then request a public prosecution with the Shenfa Office on appropriate charges.

Yuan Xian’an was the Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture. His deputies included the Silipanguan, who was responsible for the trial of cases in Shuntian Prefecture, and the Qianshiyushi, who was responsible for local supervision of Shuntian Prefecture.

Of course, Yuan Xian’an was also the chief judge of Shuntian Prefecture and concurrently the Censor-in-Chief. The trial documents of the Shuntian Prefecture’s Shen Court and the impeachment reports of the Censor-in-Chief of the Supervisory Bureau all needed his review and signature before they could become official documents.

Yuan Xian’an adjusted his black gauze hat with dignity and dusted off his scarlet official robe with peacock patches.

In terms of rank, Yuan Xian’an, the Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture, was on the same level as the provincial censors, and his official rank was the third-rank Dazhong Dafu.

How many people have jumped from the eighth rank to the third rank in just a few years since the founding of the country?
Yuan Xian’an was certainly very pleased with himself, but he also knew that he was lucky to be assigned to Liaodong and to benefit from the war in the south of the desert.

Rewarding for military merit is no joke.

Chifeng and Tongliao cities were built under the supervision of Yuan Xian’an.

He still remembers those busy days in western Liaoning, sleeping in the open and working day and night. His waist, shoulders and knees ached, and his face was so dark that even his wife and children could not recognize him. It was during that time that he suffered.

With such rich military merit as a foundation, and the support of his benefactor Yiquan Gong (Guo Qian), he was promoted quickly.

Mr. Yiquan was a Jinshi in the 17th year of Jiajing, and his examination teacher was Mr. Dazhou (Zhao Zhenji).

Lord Yiquan and Lord Dazhou are of similar age, and are both teachers and friends, and are reliable allies.

Becoming an “old official” of Lord Yiquan was equivalent to becoming a disciple of Lord Dazhou.

Inherited from one generation to another, the inheritance is orderly.

Yuan Xian’an couldn’t believe it when he thought about the “adventures” he had experienced in the past two years.

After a trip to Liaodong, he quickly became a young talent from a marginal figure.

I also remembered the letters from my good friends Zhou Bingzhou and Li Zhibin.

Zhou Bingzhou thrived under the command of Yin Zhengmao, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Yin Zhengmao was a classmate and friend of Prime Minister Taiyue Gong.

When the Minister of State and Chief Military Envoy Ruzhen was on a mission to comfort the South China Sea, he also highly regarded this person and believed that he had a bright future.

Under his command, Zhou Bingzhou raised and transported food and fodder, and participated in the rebellion suppression wars in Anlong, Shanglin Tusi in Guangxi and Luobang in Guangdong. Now he has been promoted to the prefect of Guangzhou, a fourth-rank official.

Li Zhibin became Xu Zhenming’s deputy in the northwest.

Xu Zhenming was specially dispatched to the northwest by the emperor’s decree. His “Northwest Governance Policy” was highly praised by the whole court.

He also became good friends with Mei Guozhen.

Everyone knows that Mei Guozhen, Ye Mengxiong, and Song Yingchang are young talents who are being trained by the emperor and may become future prime ministers.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xian’an couldn’t help but sigh in his heart, it would be better to go to the local area to gain experience, there is a future in that!
Especially the experience in the border areas is equivalent to years of hard work in the capital.

Everyone knows the emperor’s temper, so all the bigwigs and factions will send the talents they like to the border areas for training. Although the life there is difficult, it is indeed easy to make a name for yourself.

Just as I was daydreaming, Guo Qian came over.

“All right.”

Yuan Xian’an stood up immediately, “Mr. Guo.”

“Let’s go. Zhao Zhongcheng is free now. He called us in to discuss matters.”

“Yes.”

Guo Qian walked in front and Yuan Xian’an walked behind, entering the Nanhua Gate.

Entering Nanhua Gate is the front yard of the screen wall. Going left, there is another door inside, where the Fengchensi and Yongweiying are guarding. From there, you can go straight to Ziguang Pavilion and Taiji Hall, where the emperor meets the emperor.

Yuan Xian’an looked at the two officials who were queuing up to check their badges with envy. When will I be qualified to see the emperor?

He followed Guo Qian to the right, and not far away, he saw a yard with a sign hanging on each side of the door.

The sign on the left reads “Advisory Bureau”.

The sign on the right reads: “This is a very important place for national affairs. Entering and making noise is strictly prohibited.”

Too plain and simple.

When you walk into the yard, the first thing you see is a corridor on the left wing, with a row of houses inside, all of which are duty rooms, now called offices.

It was very quiet, with people coming in and out from time to time.

On the pillar at the front of the corridor, there is a sign that reads “Secretariat of the Advisory Bureau.”

A clerk came forward, crossed his hands and said, “Secretary Hu Zongmei greets Right Magistrate Guo.”

Hu Zongmei?
Yuan Xian’an knows him.

He was previously a staff officer in the General Staff under General Qi, and was ordered to inspect the construction of cities in the Hetao area of ​​the Xiliao River. He had many dealings with Yuan Xian’an, who was in charge of the construction of Chifeng and Tongliao cities.

It is said that he later followed the expedition against the Mongolian Tumed tribe and made military achievements. Unexpectedly, he was transferred to the Secretariat of the Advisory Bureau as a secretary.

The Secretary Lang was a close confidant of the ministers, in charge of confidential matters. Just like the previous Hanlin Academy Shujishi, they were all future Shangshu and Zhengqing.

I heard that he is the cousin of Duke Ruzhen. It is true that it is easy to become an official if you have someone in the court.

Guo Qian asked politely, “Is the Minister free now?”

“Mr. Zhao is waiting for you two. Please come in.”

Led by Hu Zongmei, Guo Qian and Yuan Xian’an entered the third room on the left side of the main wing of the courtyard.

Inside was a suite with a front hall and a back room. After waiting in the front hall for a few seconds, Guo Qian and Yuan Xian’an walked into the inner room.

Zhao Zhenji sat at the top, and at the lower left sat the Minister of Justice Wang Chonggu.

“Mr. Yiquan is here. Is this Yuan Xian’an, the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture?”

“Your humble servant Yuan Xian’an, the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, pays respect to Zhao Zhongcheng and Wang Shangshu.”

Guo Qian said from the side: “The name of Yuan Tongpan is Quan Yi.”

“Mr. Yiquan, Quanyi, please take a seat.” Zhao Zhenji said politely, pointing to the seat at the lower right.

The servant brought hot tea, and Hu Zongmei sat down with his two secretaries, taking notes.

“Lord Yiquan, Quanyi, before you came, I discussed the case with Lord Jianchuan. Now that you are here, let’s all discuss it together. Lord Jianchuan, tell me about the preparations of your Ministry of Justice.”

“Okay!” Wang Chonggu replied, “This case is being investigated by the Jinyiwei Zhenfusi Jingji Bureau, and the Beijing Police Department is just running errands and is listed as one of the investigating units.

The Ministry of Justice is preparing to send a skilled prosecutor from the Central Procuratorate to prosecute this case.”

As a famous and capable official promoted by Zhu Yijun, how could Wang Chonggu not reform the Ministry of Justice after he became the Minister of Justice?

Everyone is working hard to carry out reforms, but I, the Ministry of Justice, am not making any changes. Doesn’t that make me seem like I’m doing nothing?
Wang Chonggu first changed the patrol system under his jurisdiction into a police administration department.

The two capitals of each province are called the Police Department, and the prefectures and counties are called the Police Bureaus, which are under dual leadership. The business is under the jurisdiction of the superior police department and the Ministry of Justice, and the daily management is under the jurisdiction of the local governor and the county government.

The Chief Clerk of the Police Department and the Director of the Police Bureau are nominated by the Provincial Governor, the Prefect and the County Magistrate, and are officially appointed after consultation and agreement with the higher-level police departments.

Officials with experience in governing know that the semi-militarized police department is a powerful department for maintaining social order. The prestige of local governments at all levels depends on it, and they will definitely not let it go.

But the Ministry of Justice will not easily give up this big piece of fat meat.

After much wrangling, because Wang Chonggu had a long career, many achievements and was very powerful in the cabinet, the Ministry of Justice obtained the power to supervise the business of the police department.

This is equivalent to the daily expenses of the police department being passed on to local governments and included in the annual fiscal budget, but the higher-level police departments and the Ministry of Justice have an important say in whether the work is done well or not.

Wang Chonggu then carried out reforms on the procuratorial and judicial departments.

The procuratorial and judicial departments are directly under the Ministry of Justice and are based on a resident system.

Just like the inspectors and salt inspectors of the Censorate before, they were sent directly to higher levels.

However, Wang Chonggu divided it into two parts. One was to set up a local procuratorate and judicial office, and then each of the twenty-two provinces set up a procuratorate and judicial office, and the prefectures and counties set up procuratorate and judicial bureaus.

Second, a central procuratorate and judicial office was established. One of its responsibilities was to audit the cases of local procuratorates and judicial departments. At the same time, it monitored the procuratorates and judicial departments in 22 provinces and the capital. It would send personnel to conduct inspections from time to time, randomly select case files, or handle complaints from the public through various channels.

The second responsibility is to directly handle major cases and then file prosecutions with the corresponding courts.

In addition, traditional business is divided among the General Office, the Personnel Bureau, the Regulations Bureau, the Prison Administration Bureau and the Supervision Bureau.

Needless to say, the General Office is responsible for daily affairs.

The Personnel Bureau is responsible for personnel, namely the examination, appointment, dismissal, transfer, demotion and training of officials within the Ministry of Justice.

The Regulations Bureau is responsible for the research of laws related to the Ministry of Justice. For example, if a “Criminal Law” or “Model Law” formulated by the Law Courts has problems in actual implementation, it will promptly report to the Law Courts and request timely amendments.

Later, the responsibility of popularizing legal knowledge was added, and it worked hand in hand with the Taichang Temple to promote legal knowledge and popularize legal awareness.

The General Administration of Prisons is responsible for directly managing prisons under the Ministry of Justice, and monitors prisons under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Prison Bureaus.

The Police Investigation Bureau is the Ming Dynasty version of the FBI, handling major cases and coordinating the investigations of police departments in various provinces.

As for the Jinyiwei Zhenfusi, you can think of it as the Ming Dynasty version of the KGB’s direct investigation bureau.

The Central Procuratorate and Judiciary Office also has an unspoken responsibility, which is to handle cases transferred by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhao Zhenji spoke up: “What Lord Jianchuan said is wrong. This case was handled entirely by the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division. Your Police Department was just standing guard on the periphery, not even running errands.”

Wang Chonggu laughed and said, “Zhongcheng is trying to rip my skin off.”

Zhao Zhenji smiled and continued, “But it is a great progress that the Central Procuratorate and the Court took over this case.”

Wang Chonggu and Guo Qian nodded at the same time.

Yuan Xian’an was dumbfounded.

What a big progress?

Why didn’t anyone tell me?

(End of this chapter)