So after he joined the uprising, he vowed that once he became emperor, he would kill all the corrupt officials in the world first.
Later, when he became king, he did not break his word. Sure enough, he launched a vigorous "anti-corrupt official" campaign throughout the country, targeting corrupt officials at all levels from the central government to the local government.
His method is very special:
First of all, Zhu Yuanzhang killed officials who embezzled more than 62 taels of silver.
When he found that Yu Wengui had hidden more than ten letters to curry favor with others and ask for help, he immediately sent people to investigate the central ministries and local governments.
As a result, the phenomenon of * * * from top to bottom was extremely serious, and he was furious. He immediately ordered the world: "Serve the life of heaven and cherish the lives of the people. All officials who take bribes of more than 62% will be executed and will never lend.
He also said: as long as it is corruption, no matter who is involved, it will never be soft, and it will be investigated to the end.
Secondly, Zhu Yuanzhang dared to "Gao Qian" from his side.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhongshu Province was subordinate to six departments: officials, households, ceremonies, soldiers, punishments and workers.
Due to the retention of a large number of old ministers of the Yuan Dynasty and some heroes of the rebel army.
They have nothing to hide, taking bribes and bending the law.
Zhu Yuanzhang boldly punished these officials.
In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, officials of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development colluded with local governments, sealed blank statements in advance and filled in false expenditures to enrich themselves and embezzle property.
After Zhu Yuanzhang discovered it, he immediately executed all the officials in charge of the local government; The deputy director drove the troops out of the border with a stick of 100.
Three years later, it was found that Guo Huan, Assistant Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (equivalent to today's vice minister), doctors (directors) and Yuan Wailang (deputy directors) from various ministries formed a corruption gang with local officials who paid taxes to the central government, and adopted the means of overcharge and underpayment, embezzling treasury materials and equivalent grain up to 24 million stone.
He put all these corrupt officials to death, and all the people involved in the case at the provincial, state and county levels were spared. For a time, tens of thousands of corrupt officials were dismissed, and more people were treated differently.
In the twenty-five years of Hongwu, Zhao Mian, a senior minister of the household department, and his wife took bribes of hundreds of thousands of silver inside and outside. As a result, both husband and wife became ghosts under the knife.
In the sixteenth year of Hongwu, the minister of punishments accepted a bribe of twenty-two thousand pieces of silver from a death row family and used another death row as a scapegoat.
He also extorted money from other prisoners' families, which led to the tragedy that all 20 people in a family committed suicide.
In the 19th year of Hongwu, Langzhong and Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Punishment took bribes and lied about their deaths, and released two death row prisoners privately.
All these corrupt officials were beheaded by Zhu Yuanzhang.
In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, many officials of the Ministry of Industry falsely reported the days of craftsmen's labor, overpaid ICBC, and deducted craftsmen's money for private use when distributing it.
During a surprise inspection, Zhu Yuanzhang investigated and dealt with the cases of corruption and bribery of assistant ministers Han Duo and Li Zhen, and pulled out the engineering department specially sent by the central government to supervise the Ministry of Industry.
In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Wang Zhi, assistant minister of the Ministry of War, took conscription as a way to make money and accepted a bribe of 232,000 yuan from hereditary military households who evaded military service.
Zhu Yuanzhang also sent him to the guillotine.
In the 19th year of Hongwu, Zhang Xiang, assistant minister of rites, and Qin Xin, foreign minister, embezzled the silver coins that the emperor gave to the princess for her wedding, and Zhu Yuanzhang caught them red-handed.
In order to supervise the behavior of officials at all levels, Zhu Yuanzhang set up a post of suggestion and six subjects in Duchayuan.
However, these regulatory authorities are also corrupt.
In the 19th year of Hongwu, Liu Zhiren, the censor of Douchayuan, was ordered to go to Huai 'an to handle a case.
After he arrived, he deliberately dragged the case without trial, ate the plaintiff and the defendant, extorted a lot of money from the two families, and married a woman.
He was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang also found out 6 1 cases of corruption and bribery in six departments and dealt with them one by one.
Third, Zhu Yuanzhang invented the cruel criminal law of "peeling grass" to deal with corrupt officials.
One day, when Zhu Yuanzhang was looking through a batch of files on the execution of corrupt officials, it suddenly occurred to him that the beheading of corrupt officials hated by the people was too cheap for them. Why not use torture such as picking tendons, breaking fingers, breaking hands and cutting knees?
He also created the criminal law of "stripping the real grass", dragging those corrupt officials to the "skin temple" set up in each prefecture and county, then filling the skin with straw and lime and putting it next to the court table where corrupt officials were executed, so as to warn subsequent officials not to repeat the same mistakes, otherwise, this "smelly skin system" would be his end.
This shocking move shocked a group of officials and greatly restrained their behavior.
Fourth, Zhu Yuanzhang will never tolerate the cadres he trained.
In order to cultivate and promote the new forces, Zhu Yuanzhang specially set up a talent-training imperial academy to provide promotion opportunities for young scholars who have not entered the official position.
He has great affection for these new Jinshi and Guo Jian students, and often teaches them to be loyal to the public and not to move for selfish interests.
However, in the nineteenth year of Hongwu, he sent a large number of scholars and supervisors to the grassroots to investigate floods. As a result, 1, 4 1 people accepted banquets, paper money and local products.
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed sadly when he killed them.
Fifth, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the anti-corruption program-Da Gao.
Da Gao, a book compiled in recent two years, records some corruption cases that he personally tried and judged. The book also expounds his attitude, handling methods and disposal methods towards corrupt officials.
Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the book to be widely publicized throughout the country; He also asked people to copy excerpts and stick them in conspicuous places on the roadside and in pavilions, so that officials could be self-disciplined and the people could deal with corrupt officials after learning.
As the founding king, Zhu Yuanzhang, with his high prestige, severely punished corrupt officials with extremely cruel laws.
Its great determination, strong strength and precise measures have received a powerful deterrent effect.
From his accession to the throne to his death, Zhu Yuanzhang's campaign of "killing corrupt officials" has never weakened, but the phenomenon of corrupt officials has never been eradicated.
In his later years, he could only lament, "Why are so many corrupt officials killed in the morning and reborn at night?"