Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, because he was born poor and could taste the suffering of the people, after becoming a monarch, he attached great importance to the disposal of corrupt officials. The book "The Law of Daming" was written by Zhu Yuanzhang in response to the collection of talents in the world for the control of corruption. One of them explicitly stipulates that embezzling 60 taels of silver will be punishable by death, is this too harsh? After learning how much 60 taels of silver was worth now, he found that the officials who violated this rule had been unjustly killed.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, natural disasters occurred frequently, and the people who were deeply affected by the disasters pinned their hopes on the imperial court. However, the corruption and corruption in the imperial court was very serious, and few of the people were left with the money for disaster relief. Zhu Yuanzhang was born into poverty, since childhood had to rely on others to cultivate land to support himself, after the natural disaster, the relief grain issued by the imperial court was exploited by corrupt officials layer by layer, including his parents and brothers because they could not get timely assistance, starved to death, he was forced to wander everywhere.
Because of his various experiences as a child, Zhu Yuanzhang deeply resented corrupt officials. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang not only encouraged the people to prevent corruption, but also summoned talented people from all over the world to write severe punishment laws and invented many unheard of punishments. One of the most terrible is the peeling of the grass. What are the criteria for sentencing corruption? Is the penalty for embezzlement of more than 60 taels of silver too severe? How much is 60 taels of silver equivalent to today's renminbi?
The units of measurement of different dynasties in ancient times were different, but the exchange between them was basically unchanged. One or two pieces of gold can be exchanged for ten or two pieces of silver, one or two pieces of silver can be exchanged for consistent copper coins, and consistent copper coins are composed of one thousand copper coins. From this exchange method, it can be seen that silver was very valuable in ancient times. The annual expenses of ordinary people's families are about two or two silver, that is to say, 60 silver can be used for ordinary people to live for 30 years.
According to calculations, in the ancient Tang Dynasty period, the value of silver was about three thousand yuan, the Northern Song Dynasty commerce prospered, the purchasing power of silver was slightly lower, the value of silver was between six hundred and one thousand yuan, and in the Ming Dynasty, due to the mining of overseas silver mines, the increase in Sino-foreign trade, the depreciation of silver was more serious, and the value of silver in this period was between six hundred and eight hundred yuan. According to the monthly salary of most people in contemporary times, the monthly salary of three thousand to four thousand in the Ming Dynasty was only seven or eight silver.
From the perspective of the purchasing power of silver, during the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Dynasty, the consistent copper coin, that is, one or two silver, could buy 188.8 kilograms of rice, so 60 taels of silver could buy 11328 kilograms of rice, which was quite large for that time. According to the current supermarket cheap rice, three dollars a pound, one or two silver is about 1100 yuan, then 60 two silver is 66000 yuan, which is equivalent to the money earned by ordinary wage earners in a year.
Perhaps for now, if you lose your life because of those sixty or seventy thousand yuan, it is indeed worthless, but you must also take into account the officials of the imperial court at that time. According to historical records, the annual salary of the officials and the seven pins is about forty-five taels, which is equivalent to the current fifty thousand yuan, and the sixty-two silver has exceeded the sum of their total annual income.
Moreover, this is only the Qipin official's Feng Lu, not to mention those with larger official titles. According to the description of the Dream of the Red Chamber, jia fu handles a banquet, and the cost of crabs alone costs twenty-four taels, which shows how luxurious it is in a rich and noble family. In the case of social stability, 60 taels is unimaginable for ordinary people, not to mention that for the people who have experienced disasters, it is even more a life-saving straw, and the disaster relief funds allocated by the imperial court are not only 60 taels for corrupt officials and corrupt officials, but also the lives of ordinary people.
Later generations have an evaluation of Zhu Yuanzhang as a tyrannical prince, because during his reign, he carried out severe punishment and killed many people. But for ordinary people, it was precisely because of the implementation of these severe punishment laws that the imperial court and local officials were deterred, making their lives more stable and their living standards improved.
As the saying goes: water can carry a boat, but also can overturn a boat. For the king, the people's stable life and social stability are the basis for the continuation of a dynasty. Man's desires are never satisfied, and only contentment can be enjoyed. In doing anything, we must know the principle of doing what we can and stopping, otherwise things will be the opposite.