Transmigrating to the Chongzhen era, I started by confiscating the Donglin Party.

Chapter 37 Anti-Corruption Storm: Establishing Rules

On the 25th day of the first month of the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, in Huai'an.

The whitewashed walls of the Grand Canal Governor's Office were mottled from the rain, and the gold plaque with the words "Grand Canal Governor's Office" on the lintel had faded, with the edges curling up to reveal the blackened wood underneath.

This government office was in charge of the vital waterway that ran 5,400 miles from north to south, but now it looked more like a dilapidated temple that had been neglected for years.

At 3:45 AM, before dawn, a large group of people were already kneeling on the bluestone paving stones in front of the yamen.

The front row consisted of more than fifty officials dressed in blue robes, ranging from sixth-rank clerks to lower-ranking clerks.

In the back row were the leaders of the canal transport gang, wearing silk robes and with rough, rugged faces, numbering thirty or forty; further back were some soldiers dressed as squad leaders and platoon leaders, who were officers of the canal transport garrison.

Everyone knelt on the cold stone slab, heads bowed, not daring to breathe.

Because there was a person standing on the steps of the government office—Li Ruolian.

He wasn't wearing his flying fish robe today, but rather a dark blue cotton robe with a black cloak over it, and the embroidered spring knife that he never parted with hung at his waist.

Rain dripped down the hem of the cloak, splashing tiny droplets on the stone steps.

More importantly, his current identity is not only that of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but also that of the Imperial Inspector of the Grand Canal, who is on an imperial tour and has full authority to investigate and rectify the Grand Canal administration.

"Is everyone here?"

Li Ruolian spoke, her voice not loud, but clear in the quiet morning light.

Yang Yipeng, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, an old official over sixty years old with white hair and beard, stepped forward tremblingly: "Reporting to...Reporting to Lord Li, fifty-three officials of the seventh rank and above from the Canal Transport Office, thirty-seven leaders from the various canal transport gangs, and twenty-one officers of the garrison and above have all arrived."

Li Ruolian nodded. He took out a scroll from his robes and slowly unrolled it.

"I was ordered to inspect the grain transport administration. I've been in Huai'an for three days and have investigated three matters." His gaze swept over the kneeling crowd. "First, last year's autumn grain transport to the north had a rated loss of one percent, but the actual reported loss was five percent. The extra forty percent, equivalent to 160,000 taels of silver—where did the money go?"

Some people in the crowd trembled. Sixteen thousand taels—this amount was double the original estimate of eighty thousand taels, and many people's faces turned deathly pale instantly.

"Secondly, according to regulations, each cargo ship was charged two qian (approximately 6.75 grams) for passing through the locks. However, according to the boatmen, the actual amount collected ranged from five qian to one liang (approximately 35 grams). Where did the extra money go?"

The rain intensified, pattering loudly on the bluestone slabs.

"Third," Li Ruolian paused, her voice growing colder, "last winter, 127 canal workers froze to death on the road. According to the law, each should receive a compensation of five taels of silver. But to this day, the families of 83 people still haven't received the money—where did that 415 taels of silver go?"

These three questions are like three knives, hanging over everyone's head.

Yang Yipeng's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't utter a single word.

Li Ruolian stopped looking at him. He turned around and nodded to the guards behind him.

Four Imperial Guards carried a stone tablet up the steps. The tablet was made of bluestone, freshly carved, and still smelled of stone dust. Inscriptions were carved on it, each character the size of a fist, deeply chiseled into the stone and coated with cinnabar.

"This is the 'Ten New Regulations for the Grand Canal Transport'," Li Ruolian pointed to the stone tablet. "From today onwards, the Huai'an Grand Canal Transport Office shall operate in accordance with these regulations."

He read it out, word by word:

"I. Fixed freight rate: The freight rate for each shi of grain from Huai'an to Tongzhou is three qian and eight fen. This price includes all expenses along the way, and no additional fees may be charged."

"II. Loss Rate: Loss for water transport shall not exceed one percent, and loss for land transport shall not exceed two percent. Any excess loss shall be compensated by the escorting officer."

"Third, the lock fee is fixed: two qian of silver per boat passing through the lock. For every qian overcharged, the offender shall be punished with fifty strokes of the cane; for every liang overcharged, the offender shall be dismissed from office and exiled to the army."

……

"8. Direct payment of wages: The wages of canal workers and boatmen shall be recorded by the transport office and paid directly to the individuals on the fifth day of each month, without passing through the hands of the foreman or foreman."

"Nine, Provisions for Compensation: Those who are injured or killed shall receive a compensation of five taels of silver, which shall be personally delivered to their homes by the transport official. Anyone who embezzles or misappropriates such funds shall be executed."

"10. Generous Rewards for Whistleblowers: Anyone who reports officials or gang leaders for extortion or embezzlement will be rewarded with ten times the amount of money demanded, and the offender will be dismissed from office and exiled to the army."

After all ten points were read, the entire room fell silent.

There was only the sound of rain, the sound of pattering rain.

After a long while, a foreman from the grain transport gang couldn't help but look up: "Lord Li, this... this wage payment, what about us foremen..."

"Headmaster?" Li Ruolian looked at him. "In the new regulations for canal transport, there is no position called 'Headmaster.' If you want to continue working in canal transport, you can apply to the transport office. If you pass the examination, you can become a 'Canal Transport Assistant'—with a monthly salary of five taels and in charge of ten boats. If you don't want that, find your own way."

The man turned pale and collapsed to the ground.

"Governor Yang," Li Ruolian turned to Yang Yipeng.

"Your...your humble servant is here."

"This stele," Li Ruolian patted the bluestone stele, "stands in front of your yamen. On the first day of every month, you must read these ten articles in front of all the canal workers and boatmen. If you miss a single word, I will strip you of your official hat; if you make a single mistake, I will chop off your head."

Yang Yipeng knelt down with a thud, banging his head on the ground: "Your humble servant... obeys!"

"And another thing," Li Ruolian took out another booklet from her bosom, "this is the deficit account of last year's grain transport, totaling 230,000 taels."

"I'll give you three months to get it back. If you can't—" He leaned down and whispered in Yang Yipeng's ear, "you'll have to fill it in yourself. If you can't, I'll send you to the imperial prison and let you taste the torture instruments."

His Majesty's secret decree authorizes: corrupt officials below the fifth rank may be executed on the spot—Governor Yang, you are a third-rank official, not yet qualified for this. However, the instruments of torture in the imperial prison are not differentiated by rank.

Yang Yipeng trembled and collapsed to the ground.

On the afternoon of the same day, in the "shack area" where canal workers lived in western Huai'an.

The houses here can hardly be called houses; they are shacks made of rotten planks and reed mats, crammed together one after another on the muddy open space by the canal. Sewage flows everywhere, and the stench is unbearable.

Li Ruolian, dressed in plain clothes and accompanied only by two bodyguards, walked through a narrow alley. An old canal worker recognized him and was so frightened that he tried to kneel down, but Li Ruolian helped him up.

"Sir, how many people are in your family?"

"Five...five people." The old canal worker stammered, "My youngest son and eldest son work on the boat, my wife and daughter-in-law stay home mending, and there's also an eight-year-old grandson."

"How much is your monthly salary?"

"Calculated per trip, one trip from Huai'an to Xuzhou, you get... five hundred cash."

Li Ruolian did the math. It was 400 li from Huai'an to Xuzhou, a round trip that would take ten days. If he made three trips a month, he would earn 1,500 cash—equivalent to one tael and five mace of silver. For a family of five, that would only be three mace of silver per person per month.

"Is there enough to eat?"

The old canal worker lowered his head and remained silent.

Li Ruolian took out two pieces of silver from her bosom, about one tael each, and stuffed them into his hand: "Go buy some rice. Starting next month, your wages will increase—at least three taels a month."

The old canal worker stared blankly at the silver in his hand, then at Li Ruolian, and suddenly burst into tears: "Sir... are you telling the truth?"

"Really." Li Ruolian patted his shoulder. "Article 8 of the new regulations states that wages will be paid directly. From now on, when you receive your wages, go directly to the transport department and leave your fingerprints. If anyone dares to withhold any, you can go to the yamen gate and bang on that drum—it's a newly installed drum called the 'Injustice Drum'."

The old canal worker knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly.

Li Ruolian didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

As he walked out of the shack area, he looked back. Those low, dilapidated shacks, those sallow, emaciated faces, those cloudy eyes that held a glimmer of hope.

This was the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. These people, who made a living in the mud and water, supported the transportation of four million shi of grain from Jiangnan to Beijing every year.

But what did the imperial court give them?