From the perspective of later generations, the Great Ming Law was a rather awful and severe legal system, featuring various punishments such as extermination of the entire clan, collective punishment, Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts), hanging, beheading, waist chop, and dismemberment by five horses.
For instance, offenders who committed the crime of "Caisheng Zhege" (采生折割 - mutilating living beings) were to be executed by Lingchi, while their true relatives would be either beheaded or hanged, and collateral relatives would be exiled or sent to labor camps. Essentially, one person's crime could lead to the misfortune of nine degrees of kinship and three generations.
Other offenses, such as trafficking in "Fushougao" (福寿膏 - opium) or situations similar to the Liu family, who were depicted as loyal and righteous, were not much better.
Most other legal statutes rarely involved such extreme punishments as the eradication of entire families or clans. Even rebellion only implicated three degrees of kinship, far less exaggerated than nine.
As for minor offenses like brawling, it was even lighter. If the rights and wrongs could be determined, the party at fault would receive a whipping. If not, both parties would simply be punished equally. If international friends were involved, the international friends would usually be the ones to get beaten.
However, once the emperor and the court decided on strict and severe punishment, minor offenses could become death sentences. Punishments that would have only entailed a few days of imprisonment could now start at three years, those that would have led to a few years in prison might result in beheading, and those that would have only warranted beheading might lead to waist chop or Lingchi.
What made matters worse was the involvement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard (锦衣卫) and the Eastern Depot (东厂). Chaos was rampant in the provinces, yet the reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot rarely mentioned it. As the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Ke Zhiming, and the Director of the Eastern Depot, Zhang Dequan, were naturally scolded, they, in turn, vented their anger onto the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot.
As the saying goes, a higher rank suffocates a lower one. With superiors like Ke Zhiming and Zhang Dequan, who were heads of intelligence agencies, constantly pressuring them, the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers and Eastern Depot agents who were reprimanded naturally became like mad dogs, scouring for information everywhere.
"What? You're related to some official? What bad luck! Your relative will soon suffer the same fate as you!"
Thus, as the yamen runners of local governments cooperated with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to apprehend people everywhere, the overall environment in the Great Ming underwent an immediate transformation. Those with excessive audacity were swiftly cleared out.
However, clearing out these audacious individuals did not mean the Great Ming would enjoy peace and prosperity.
Or rather, clearing out a few audacious individuals in the local areas was nothing. The real headache was the officials of the Great Ming.
Because no matter how strict the Great Ming Law was, its execution ultimately depended on the local officials. Where there were people, there was the martial world; where there were people, there was corruption. It was useless for Emperor Zhu to be ruthless towards corruption; this was unavoidable.
Fortunately, the Great Ming never lacked people who wanted to become officials. In a sense, officials themselves became like leeks for Emperor Zhu and the national treasury, ready to be harvested when needed.
Beyond that, what troubled Emperor Zhu the most was the upcoming "Little Broken Pot" conference.
The "Little Broken Pot" had five great benefactors, with the Great Ming being in a league of its own, France and the Silly Eagle being the second tier, and the Sand Goose and England being the third tier. The Great Ming was plotting to extract blood from the entire "Little Broken Ball" (小破球 - a derogatory term for Earth). France was planning to pick up scraps behind the Great Ming, while the Silly Eagle was not only trying to gain more benefits but also plotting how to suppress England and the Sand Goose. England and the Sand Goose, on the other hand, were constantly thinking about how to replace France and the Silly Eagle.
Of course, how the four great benefactors outside the Great Ming schemed against each other was not important to the Great Ming. What mattered was the situation with the Sand Goose – Paul I was inexplicably gravely ill, the entire Sand Goose was in Alexander's hands, and now they were engaged in a fierce war with the Ottomans. All of this seemed rather peculiar.
Or rather, what bothered Emperor Zhu was how to handle the conflict between the Ottomans and the Sand Goose at the upcoming "Little Broken Pot" conference.
Favor the Sand Goose? No, because the Great Ming needed Ottoman oil, and the Great Ming had concessions in the Ottoman Empire. Favoring the Sand Goose would affect the Great Ming's interests.
Favor the Ottomans? Also no, because the Sand Goose was, after all, one of the "Little Broken Pot's" five great benefactors, and some respect had to be given. Especially after King George III's sudden outburst against France, the image of the other four great benefactors of the "Little Broken Pot," excluding the Great Ming, had been greatly tarnished. If the Great Ming were to further chastise the Sand Goose, it might give other countries the illusion that the "Little Broken Pot" was just so-so, and as long as they didn't provoke the Great Ming, no one would take the "Little Broken Pot" seriously in the future.
Emperor Zhu might not care about the reputation of the other four great benefactors, but he had to care about the reputation and interests of the "Little Broken Pot's" four great benefactors, as the Great Ming still had to draw blood from the "Little Broken Pot."
As for the remaining small countries, they were merely pieces on the mahjong table.
However, before Emperor Zhu could figure out how to deal with the Sand Goose and the Ottoman mess, Ke Zhiming arrived in Ningyang from the capital with the latest intelligence, reporting in detail to Emperor Zhu about the Sand Goose's affairs: "Paul I deliberately exposed a weakness, allowing Alexander's rebellion to succeed. Now Alexander is planning to murder his father."
Upon receiving this news, Emperor Zhu was shocked.
Paul I deliberately exposed a weakness to Alexander, and Alexander, that idiot, unhesitatingly wanted to murder his father after his rebellion succeeded. These father and son were quite capable, weren't they?
What shocked Emperor Zhu even more was Alexander's audacity.
Ke Zhiming continued his report expressionlessly: "Alexander once boasted that our Great Ming was a paper tiger, that the Great Ming's military, civilians, and officials were at odds with Your Majesty, and that he would tax the passage between the Ming and Europe."
Emperor Zhu could swear by the chastity of Bumu Butai that he hadn't heard such refreshingly outlandish boasting in a long time!
Tapping the table lightly with his finger, Emperor Zhu suddenly asked with a smile, "What else? What else has that idiot Alexander done? What's the reaction from the Ottoman side?"
Ke Zhiming bowed and replied, "Besides that, Alexander has been trying to personally lead the front lines, but the Sand Goose's nobles and court officials have been preventing Alexander, citing the unstable domestic situation in the Sand Goose and that it is not advisable for Alexander to leave the Sand Goose's capital."
"As for the Ottoman side, they are reorganizing their armies and preparing for war, intending to confront the Sand Goose's army head-on. Before I came, I consulted with Grand Commandant Liu from the Five Armies Commander's Office. The Grand Commandant said this battle is not favorable for the Sand Goose, and the Ottomans have a higher chance of winning. Additionally, the Ottoman leader, Mahmud II, has sent an envoy to the Great Ming, intending to request Your Majesty to mediate the dispute at the 'Little Broken Pot' conference."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "Mahmud is not entirely foolish."
Liu Heming's prediction was correct; the current situation was indeed unfavorable for the Sand Goose.
Under normal circumstances, the Ottoman Empire's strength was naturally far inferior to the Sand Goose's, especially after the rebellion of Mustafa IV and Mahmud II's suppression war, the Ottoman Empire's strength had plummeted.
Although the Sand Goose had been stabbed in the back by the Habsburg alliance, and even Moske (莫思磕 - likely a reference to Moscow) was almost burned, the Sand Goose's total troop strength and military equipment had not been significantly affected; they still possessed their capabilities.
The problem lay with Paul I.
Although Paul I had some cunning, even intending to use Alexander's rebellion as a pretext to test the Great Ming's bottom line, he completely ignored the impact of his feigned defeat and capture on the Sand Goose. Nobles and officers loyal to Alexander naturally wanted power, while nobles and officers loyal to Paul I were unwilling to relinquish their power. There would inevitably be a struggle between the two.
The consequences of such struggles could be seen by referencing the impact of Mustafa IV's rebellion and Mahmud II's suppression war on the Ottoman Empire.
Or, to put it more bluntly: Alexander's strategy of leading the army against the Ottomans was not inherently wrong. However, the Sand Goose's army was now filled with factions, and the officers and nobles from both camps had their own ideas. Forget about sincere cooperation; it would be good if they didn't hinder each other!
This can be compared to the army under the "Bald Principal" (光头校长 - likely a reference to Chiang Kai-shek) back then. It was said that a group of useless people ruined the tactics devised by a group of geniuses, but in reality, the various units lacked unity, and each held the thought of "you go die, I'll take the credit."
Under such circumstances, even the most ingenious tactics could not save them!
The Ottoman side, on the other hand, had no such concerns as the Sand Goose.
After the rebellion of Mustafa IV, although many reformist nobles loyal to Selim III were purged, it also successfully brought out the conservative nobles. After Mahmud II's suppression war, the traditional nobles of the Ottoman Empire were swept away.
In other words, Mahmud II's forces were purer and could work together effectively.
One was an army riddled with internal strife, and the other was an army that worked with unified effort. Between the two, it was evident that the Ottoman Empire held a greater advantage.
More importantly, Mahmud this time did not exhibit the Ottoman's traditional tendency for foolishness. Instead, he thought of inviting the Great Ming to mediate, which was the optimal solution to the Ottoman and Sand Goose problem. Since the Great Ming was invited to mediate, the Ottoman Empire would adopt a very humble posture, possibly even placing themselves in the position of a vassal state of the Great Ming.
In this way, if the Great Ming did not help the Ottoman Empire solve the threat from the Sand Goose, how would the other countries of the "Little Broken Pot" view it? Who would be willing to recognize the Great Ming as their "father" in the future?
Thinking of this, Zhu Jinsong shook his head with a smile and casually instructed Zhang Dequan, "Return to the capital. I would like to see how the Ottoman envoy and the Sand Goose envoy clash."
...
The "Little Broken Pot" conference this session was quite spectacular.
First, the rotating spokesperson of the "Little Broken Pot's" League of Nations, the representative of the Habsburg family, produced an hourglass, stating that it was a fine hourglass produced by the Great Ming's Ministry of Revenue (少府) and that it could ensure the time was exactly five minutes. He also demanded that everyone limit their speaking time to within five minutes.
Then, the Sand Goose envoy, Koshevoi, impudently pointed out, "You can turn your marvelous hourglass as you please, but I will arrange my speaking time according to my needs."
Koshevoi's words amused the envoys from other countries of the "Little Broken Pot," and the air was filled with a joyous atmosphere, except for the representative of the Habsburg family, Maximilian, whose face turned red.
However, to everyone's surprise, Shen Hao, the Great Ming's envoy to the "Little Broken Pot," chuckled and said, "I believe that appropriately shortening the speaking time can save valuable time. I ask the Sand Goose representative to mind his words."
This time, it was Koshevoi's turn to turn red.
Following that, Shen Hao continued, "What I am about to discuss is quite simple, and it concerns the dispute between the Sand Goose and the Ottomans."
Koshevoi coldly snorted and said, "I don't think there's anything to discuss. The conflict between the Sand Goose and the Ottomans has lasted for hundreds of years and cannot be resolved by simply sitting down and talking."
Faisal Abdul, the Ottoman representative sent by Mahmud II, coldly snorted and said, "Lasted for hundreds of years? May I ask Mr. Koshevoi, has your Sand Goose's history lasted for hundreds of years?"
"Furthermore, I must remind you that before you initiated the war, the Ottoman Empire and your Sand Goose had maintained nearly ten years of peace!"
"Now you have instigated war again, and you must bear all the consequences!"
Koshevoi shrugged with a sly smile and said, "So what? Also, I want to remind you that this war was entirely initiated by your Ottomans. I suspect you used weapons prohibited by the 'Little Broken Pot' in the war, yet you refused the search!"
Hearing the reason Koshevoi stated, Shen Hao couldn't help but smile.
Koshevoi continued, "Also, your arms trade with the English East India Company also violates the 'Little Broken Pot's' arms trade agreements, and you still refuse to be searched."
The smile on Shen Hao's face grew even wider. Just yesterday, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming had complained about Alexander being too foolish, and the very reasons Koshevoi was bringing up were precisely what the Emperor had complained about!
Shaking his head slightly, Shen Hao stopped Faisal Abdul, who was about to argue, and looked at Koshevoi, saying, "Don't bring up these trivial reasons. If you continue to use such reasons, then I can also tell you that the Ottoman Empire has already accepted the Great Ming's investigation and does not need you to raise it separately."
Koshevoi was immediately stunned.
Although this meeting was a small one, attended only by the envoys of the "Little Broken Pot's" five great benefactors and the rotating member countries of the League of Nations, Shen Hao saying it so bluntly was still too disrespectful to the Sand Goose, wasn't it?
Also, Shen Hao had been targeting him the entire time. What did this targeting represent?