Chapter 2173: Shizong Arc 41: The Law of the Empire

There is no policy that works once and for all. On this point, the longer Liu Wenji immersed himself in the life of an emperor, the deeper his feeling became. In legal construction, at least in terms of legal provisions, through the continuous refinement of the two reigns of Shizu and Taizong, it had already reached a point of being comprehensive, detailed, even to the extent of appearing cumbersome—its complexity and triviality could be called the greatest of any dynasty in history.

Yet, it was against this very backdrop that, since Liu Wenji fully grasped the reins of court power, his amendments to the empire's legal codes had almost never ceased. Things are in constant motion; over twenty or thirty years, many new things had emerged, bringing new contradictions and new problems, and many old provisions had become outdated. All of these required appropriate deletions, revisions, and supplements. For instance, in the "human trafficking" incident of the sixth year of Jianlong, after the storm had passed, the court added more than seventy provisions surrounding immigration policy and the crackdown on kidnapping crimes...

Amending the legal system was by no means an easy task. In deletions and revisions, one could easily run into the problem of "ancestral institutions and clan laws." Among the empire's powerful and noble families, regardless of their intentions, there was never a shortage of people who raised high the ancestral laws and wrestled with the emperor.

Although in the end, it was often Liu Wenji who emerged victorious, that experience, that flavor, was by no means pleasant. At the same time, merely amending legal provisions was already extremely complicated; to then implement them in execution and supervision, the links that needed to be opened and the obstacles that needed to be resolved were enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Take the state of Anxi for example. When Prince Wei Liu Min was on the throne, he had promulgated a "Great Code." However, that code, in terms of its content and details, was incomparably simpler and cruder than the empire's legal provisions.

Even so, by the time Liu Min died, he had only barely managed to establish a set of execution and supervision systems on the basis of the "Great Code," and its legal system was still at a very preliminary stage and level.

Of course, this was also related to the "garrison system" that was the foundation of Anxi's statehood. Under the jurisdiction of the armies and garrisons, many matters in the dynasty's code were in fact not applicable, nor could the legal system effectively restrain those feudal lords of various sizes.

Liu Wenze could be considered a capable sovereign. Looking at his entire reign, apart from the Great Han-Iran War fought against the state of Ghazna, the vast majority of his energy was spent on internal consolidation and centralization of power.

And this process was also extremely difficult. In the end, the Anxi "Great Code" that he perfected only applied universally to the dynasty's centrally administered regions and cities. In the territories of the feudal lords, although it was nominally implemented, they often took its benefits while concealing its flaws. Even in urban areas, riots against the law and against taxes caused by enforcement emerged one after another without end.

If Anxi was like this, then how much more so the Great Han Empire, which was far larger in scale and far more complex in content? To be fair, Liu Wenji's throne may have come about somewhat by coincidence, but his reign as emperor was by no means easy or relaxed. In terms of political complexity, one could even say it far surpassed the eras of Shizu and Taizong. If he had simply lain back, he could never have brought an empire to its zenith.

However, in the process of advancing amendments to the empire's legal system in a painstaking, thread-by-thread manner, although many difficulties and challenges were encountered, this stage was also the moment when the empire's legal system shone most brilliantly—even more so than in the Taizong era—because Liu Wenji needed all the more to establish his authority and consolidate his rule through "law."

At the same time, a large number of legal talents, or rather bureaucrats proficient in jurisprudence, sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain within the empire's system. The number of people selected each session through the Mingfa examination was increasing. From the capital region to the local administrative schools, the legal subjects were given priority, and even some elementary and primary schools with the means incorporated the "Great Han Criminal Code" into their teaching content.

The so-called "Legal Confucians" also became all the rage in the Han Empire during this period. When the superior has a preference, coupled with the pull of profit, in the Great Han where officialdom was paramount, it was enough to form a trend, especially within an environment of continuous policy.

While perfecting the legal system, Liu Wenji was in fact also clear in his heart that the so-called established laws of the empire—a thousand provisions, ten thousand statutes—were in reality quite hollow. Many rules and regulations, ever since their establishment, had remained in a state of gathering dust. Apart from being clearly recorded in the empire's "Criminal Code," they had little practical significance.

As for the governance of the empire's powerful and noble families, many situations were still handled based on moral concepts, experience, and the conventions long established between Chinese officials and commoners since ancient times. Compared to the complex laws of the Great Han, it was almost an entirely different system.

Liu Wenji, who had been tempered in the prefectures and among the common people, felt this deeply. But he remained unwavering in building the legal system on the foundations laid by Shizu and Taizong. On the one hand, it was naturally to accomplish his personal career and achievements; on the other, to strengthen power through strong laws; and yet another, under the guiding thought of centralized authority, to promote more advanced, effective, and powerful governance and management of the state.

The significance of some provisions lies not in their effectiveness as they remain on paper, but in their value for use when needed—serving as legal basis to support political actions. For the ruling class, especially the supreme ruler, that is a tremendous value.

Of course, drawing bottom lines is also a very important factor. Human nature is inherently evil; relying on morality alone cannot govern a state well, and some people are very difficult to restrain with moral standards. From top to bottom, stronger constraints are needed.

Even if this constraint cannot cope with all the situations under the empire's rules. Take "human trafficking" for example—if the court did not block and suppress it, one day, citizens who should enjoy the glory and pride of the empire would be completely sold off like pigs, without any scruples or bottom line.

To those who live off profits, morality is worthless and the law is meant to be trampled. Therefore, even though the court issued explicit prohibitions and adopted unprecedented severity in attitude and means of crackdown, "immigrant trafficking" still did not stop—it merely went underground from a semi-open, semi-official state.

This is the authority of the empire's center, the function of legal provisions, and their positive significance. And all the open and covert violations of regulations and laws, all the crimes and misdeeds, are for the most part not problems of the system—the problem lies in people. After all, provisions are dead, but people are alive.

Take Liu Wenji's reform of the salt administration for example. Given the importance of salt affairs and the profits they yielded, since the Shizu era, a very complete salt law had already been established, with relevant regulations covering almost every link from production, transportation, to sale.

But the operation of the salt administration obviously could not completely follow the salt law. From officials to commoners, from salt inspectors to salt merchants, from salt laborers to salt farmers, along that entire vast and complex chain of interests, there were far too many restless hands and feet. Profit stirs people's hearts—how could such a road of wealth that practically flowed with gold possibly be clean?

Therefore, in the reform of the salt administration, Liu Wenji's focus was not on the salt laws and salt system, but on the people—on those profit-eating groups who violated the law, committed crimes, infringed upon national finances and taxation, and abused the empire's subjects.

In this regard, he was also perfectly justified. He could raise high the cudgel of Shizu's laws and strike hard at those lawless nobles, corrupt officials, and treacherous merchants who feasted on the salt trade. After all, the Great Han's salt law was formulated by Shizu with divine insight and reference, combined with the national conditions—even if by the Jianlong era it had deep-seated problems, it still ensured the overall stability of salt affairs, at least allowing most people to have salt to eat, even if it was a bit expensive.

The reform of the salt administration originated with Fan Zhongyan. Back when Liu Wenji made his southern inspection tour, after hearing the reports, he decided to build the Huai East dikes and rebuild the sea embankments, appointing Fan Zhongyan as Army Supervisor at the time.

And who was Lord Fan? He spent three years of effort, rushing about the Huai East coastal projects, rebuilding the sea embankments, and restoring to the officials and people of Huai East a stretch of calm seas and clear rivers. Throughout this process, Fan Zhongyan never stopped. Taking advantage of his supervisory position, he thoroughly investigated and understood the ills of the Huai East salt administration.

Half of the empire's salt affairs came from Huai East, and the ills of Huai East were enough to represent the whole empire. In the seventh year of Jianlong, Fan Zhongyan returned to court to report on his duties, further earning Liu Wenji's appreciation, and was promoted to Administrator of the Ministry of Works.

Fan Zhongyan then presented to Liu Wenji, in complete and detailed form, the specifics of the salt administration he had investigated in Huai East, expounding on its ills from five aspects: salt prices, salt officials, salt transport, salt merchants, and salt farmers. In summary, it really came down to two points: corruption and exploitation. Based on these findings, Fan Zhongyan also proposed to Liu Wenji the "Ten Articles on Salt Affairs," hoping that Liu Wenji would make up his mind resolutely, take bold action, reform the salt administration, and plead for the people.

Liu Wenji praised this greatly, commending Fan Zhongyan's loyal sincerity. In fact, Liu Wenji had long harbored the intention to rectify the salt administration. The Imperial City Office and the Wude Office were not mere decorations. Although they could not compare with Fan Zhongyan in investigation and understanding, Liu Wenji knew how to use his brain—from those myriad details, he could naturally discern the ills.

Thus, seeing the talent, insight, and sense of responsibility Fan Zhongyan displayed, along with that spirit of not yielding to the powerful and the violent, in the eighth year of Jianlong he promoted him to Deputy Commissioner of Salt and Iron, specifically tasked with rectifying the salt administration—in reality, a comprehensive overhaul combining anti-corruption and administrative governance.

From the eighth year of Jianlong to the eighteenth year, one-third of the empire's salt administration officials fell from power, and more than two thousand people—including implicated nobles, salt officials, salt merchants, and their minions—were sentenced to death. With such an unprecedented crackdown, how could the empire's salt administration remain unclean?

Obviously, suppression and rectification alone were not enough. Liu Wenji had the Ministry of Personnel transfer over a hundred officials well-versed in salt law to serve in the salt and iron system, while simultaneously strengthening the supervisory powers of the Finance Commission and the Censorate.

Of course, compromise was still unavoidable. For example, Liu Wenji brought in more profit-eaters. It was impossible to completely eliminate the phenomenon of opening mouths and reaching out hands, but by breaking up the existing interest blocs, at least the empire's salt administration could be guaranteed to present a healthy state in the short term.

The results of the salt administration reform were also remarkable. By the eighteenth year of Jianlong, after five consecutive price reductions, the empire's salt price finally returned to the level of the Yongxi era. Salt farmers and salt workers had better days, small salt merchants became more active, the empire's salt production increased, and salt tax revenues also rose significantly.

At the same time, the trend of private salt trading actually rose against the current... There was also a background here. The profit-eaters who had suffered heavy losses under the court's salt administration rectification, while lying low within the system, could not help but turn their gaze outward.

Thus, sea salt from the South Seas region, especially from the state of Wu, was introduced into the empire through "trade," smuggling, and other means, beginning to spread and develop along the coastal areas...

Compared to the heavy-handed, vigorous strikes in the salt administration, the reform of the land problem was like lukewarm water, moistening things silently. Of course, the difficult and fierce struggles all took place in the shadows of the empire's brilliance.

In matters of land, especially land taxes, Liu Wenji dared not lightly propose changes, let alone recklessly alter things. But watching land tax revenues decrease year after year, he had no choice but to take some action.

The reason for the decrease in land tax was also simple: the registered land was decreasing year by year. As for where the "disappeared land" went and how it disappeared, it went without saying.

Therefore, over the course of about a decade, Liu Wenji put considerable effort into land registers and land taxes. The Wude Office was fully mobilized, and envoys were continuously dispatched to inspect, keeping a particular eye on the great landowners.

After a round of investigation and rectification, the trend of decreasing registered farmland was finally barely reversed. But by the eighteenth year of Jianlong, it had only returned to the level of the Duangong period... And the further down one went, the greater the resistance, and the harder it was to investigate.

Not to mention that the nobles, bureaucrats, and landowners who formed the empire's main ruling class—a considerable portion of the "disappeared land" ultimately ended up with the imperial household. Some records could even be found in the Imperial Household Department...