Chapter 842: The Separation of Law Enforcement and Adjudication

"What are you thinking? There is no way I can compare to them. Everything they did was pioneering, monumental work; for the entire human race, it was the greatest contribution possible. And what have I done? What I've done is merely beneficial to Huaxia; for other human tribes, it can be said I have contributed nothing at all. Even the good things I've created, I have to hide so others won't learn them. Compared to Fuxi and the others, I am more like, more like a hen protecting its own nest. There is no comparing me to them." Baifeng saw himself very clearly. He knew his own selfishness, and compared to the common ancestors of the human race—forget it, better not to compare.

Upon hearing this, Yulong very consciously stopped bringing it up. After all, once he heard his father put it that way, what had felt like a very impressive achievement now felt inglorious. You want to be as respected as Fuxi and Shennong? Fine, then give away all the good things in Huaxia, let every tribe enjoy them—how to farm, excellent grain seeds, all kinds of techniques—give it all to other tribes. Then your status would at least be on the same level as Shennong.

However, Baifeng would not do that, and Yulong would not do that either. Once the things were given away, the reputation would be there, and the status would be there, but Huaxia might cease to exist.

Baifeng took a sip of hot tea: "What's the matter that you've suddenly come running over? It can't be just to chat with me, right?"

Only then did Yulong hurriedly state all his questions: "Father, I've discovered something now, which is that our Ministry of Revenue seems to have too broad a scope. We have to do everything. Although it has been subdivided further down, by the time it reaches me, it appears far too chaotic and disorganized."

"I feel that this kind of problem also exists in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture is fine; it mainly deals with farming, hunting, herding, and fishing. Their work is basically related, and they can manage it."

"The Ministry of Works is just as troublesome as our Ministry of Revenue. Ministry of Works, Ministry of Works—what exactly is this 'work'? Engineering, or the Workers? They manage building houses, they manage smelting and forging, they manage cement, glass, and even weaving. So when it comes to construction, can they still manage it? Besides building houses, do they really understand anything else?"

Baifeng looked at Yulong, feeling somewhat gratified. But for him to come looking for him so anxiously right now, he must have encountered something troublesome at this very moment; otherwise, he would have talked to him slowly in the evening, or brought it up during the morning meeting.

Yulong had very few shortcomings now, and one of them was that his temperament was a bit impatient. However, Baifeng would not force him to change, because he himself was an impatient person; otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged for a Planned Economy and the castration of livestock just because the pork at lunch didn't taste good.

Baifeng still asked: "Alright, have you run into some trouble again? I have already thought about this problem of yours, but for the time being, with all sorts of troublesome matters, it is not suitable for major changes, otherwise work will be difficult to carry out. It would be better to adjust it when Winter arrives and there is a lull. That way, once Spring begins, work can proceed smoothly."

"Sigh, it's just the problem with those Laborers in Xiao Town. They arrived so suddenly that it caught me off guard. The management is chaotic, and the system is a bit unsmooth; I didn't know how to arrange it. I just coordinated it, but by the time the messengers returned, it was a bit late. The impact shouldn't be too great, so it can be considered barely resolved. I should have let them return earlier," Yulong said truthfully.

Baifeng nodded: "Hmm, alright, as long as it's arranged. Then tell me, what are your ideas for reforming these departments? You didn't come to see me without having thought of anything, did you?"

Yulong immediately replied: "That wouldn't happen. I have thought about it. I've had ideas in this regard before. For the Ministry of Revenue, I think the management of household registration and land management could be directly separated out. The Ministry of Revenue would no longer manage these two."

"The Ministry of Revenue would only manage income and expenditure, external trade, and our internal trade. We could subdivide it; this way, the functions of the Ministry of Revenue would be more specialized, and the work speed would be faster."

"Moreover, the management of household registration and land is now basically separate. Although the office is under the Ministry of Revenue, I find it very difficult to manage these matters. There is no difficulty in the specific policy operations; when they are handed to me, they are just data."

"What's more, our current household registration system is very complete and hasn't encountered any problems. Separating them out could save the Ministry of Revenue a lot of unnecessary trouble. The department handling household registration wouldn't have so many entanglements, after all, they don't need much leadership."

Baifeng nodded in appreciation: "Hmm, what you said is very good. Then, in your opinion, should this department managing household registration be directly formed into a separate department, or should it be placed under another department to manage?"

Yulong already had an answer: "It would be better to have it separate. I currently feel that no other department's work overlaps with theirs. It would be better to have it independent, just like the Ministry of Health, only doing its own work, being more specialized."

Baifeng then voiced his own thoughts: "No, I think it should be added to the Ministry of Justice. What do you think?"

"The Ministry of Justice?" Yulong was a bit puzzled, but after thinking carefully about the work of the Ministry of Justice, he immediately understood why: "Yes, the Ministry of Justice needs to verify the deceased, but they can only issue a certificate for us at the Ministry of Revenue to cancel the household registration. This matter should have been managed by the Ministry of Justice; it could directly save one procedure in the middle, and it would also save time for ordinary people."

"Furthermore, when the Ministry of Justice handles cases, they have to access household registration. Whatever they need, they have to come to the Ministry of Revenue to check, and in the end, the criminal records also have to be written by the Ministry of Revenue. Handing it over to the Ministry of Justice would indeed be simpler."

But Changle immediately sensed the problem: "But the Ministry of Justice is for law enforcement and also for adjudication. Now that they are also managing household registration, wouldn't that mean they could arbitrarily convict and sentence someone, and we in other departments wouldn't even know? It's fine if they ensure fairness themselves, but what if an official goes bad? For Huaxia, that would be a big problem."

At this, Baifeng smiled even more happily. That Yulong had even considered this showed that he was already a qualified successor. Yulong's thinking was now comprehensive enough.

Baifeng knew the way to solve the problem, but decided to guide Yulong to say it himself: "But handing household registration management to the Ministry of Justice is the most reasonable and convenient way. If it were you, how would you solve the problems that might arise from doing this?"

Yulong thought for a moment and said firmly: "There is only one way: separate law enforcement from adjudication. Legislation is already separated; if we separate adjudication as well, I think it should be like legislation—everyone legislates together, everyone adjudicates together, and only leave the power of law enforcement to the Ministry of Justice."