Chapter 1266: Argument (4)
Considering Mu Yangling’s family was a favorite of the imperial censors, sometimes, she really hated this group of imperial censors. However, it was undeniable that although they were nitpicking sometimes, they were very good at moderating the social climate.
Even if Qi Haoran wanted to spend more money to buy a precious dagger, he would have to secretly do it for fear that the imperial censors would criticize him for being extravagant, let alone other noble officials.
The nobles of Great Qi were much more honest than those of Great Zhou. At the very least, Mu Yangling had never heard of any noble who dared to kidnap people on the streets or seize other people’s shops.
Officials in the imperial court were also stricter with their descendants, fearing that their official positions would be implicated because of their descendants’ misdeeds.
But that’s still far from enough. What use is it if it’s just based on hearsay reports?
Mu Yangling hoped that the imperial censors would have more supervisory and investigative powers. That way, they would be able to focus more on their work, not whether the Mu family was extravagant enough to buy another precious dagger or a rare horse.
Mu Yangling said, "Removing the restrictions on civilians suing officials won’t change much on its own. As many of you have pointed out, the public has limited access to government affairs—sometimes they’re being exploited and don’t even realize it. That’s why local oversight offices should also be established. Censors should be appointed as local officials, just like county magistrates and prefects, and subject to performance reviews every three years. In addition to supervising officials’ conduct, they must also take up wrongful conviction cases reported from below. For instance, when a county magistrate sentences someone to death, the verdict has to be reviewed by the Ministry of Justice before it can be carried out. But if the accused files an appeal, the law states that the case should be reviewed by the prefect. However, in most places, once the prefect receives the Ministry’s paperwork, they simply return the case to the original magistrate for retrial, rarely taking the time to handle it themselves."
Mu Yangling didn’t know about this before. It was only when Little Bear mentioned it that she knew that there was something fishy going on in the local regions.