Since the next update changes China quite a lot, I figure this is a good time to bring up this historically notable document.
Zhu Yuanzhang's reign (regnal name Hongwu) was the only time in Chinese history when everyone had, in theory, the right to arrest corrupt officials.
His 大诰 which roughly translates to "Great Declaration" or "Great Announcement" was a collection of legal cases, mass-produced for public consumption. How did he ensure most people would keep a copy in their home even if they were illiterate (Ming literacy was over 10%, vastly higher than Qing)? If you had a copy at home, then if you were convicted of a crime your punishment would be dropped one level (i.e. from execution to 3000-li exile) and if you didn't have a copy and were convicted of a crime, your punishment would be increased one level. So almost everyone who could afford it (and this was most households in the Hongwu reign). Later, two additional volumes were published and disseminated at, IIRC, government expense.
Now, Zhu Yuanzhang also made a ton of restrictions to try to bring some semblance of order to a massively disrupted society, but his harshness toward corrupt officials (the social group that starved his entire family) was legendary. For example, embezzling more than 60 taels of silver was punishable by flaying and stuffing with straw for public display. To combat corruption, the Great Declaration granted its holders the right to arrest corrupt officials and bring them to the capital for trial before the Emperor. Officials along the way were to aid the procession, and it was a clan-level (out to Three Relations IIRC) capital crime to hinder such a procession on its way into the capital.
There were actual cases of such citizens' arrests made and Zhu Yuanzhang handling them. Though the Great Declaration was quickly hushed up after his time by the literati classes, public consciousness never quite forgot when Emperor Hongwu would uphold justice for the peasantry.
In my opinion, EU4 could apply it like this:
EDIT: The version below is "Trying to not be absurdly OP if you have all the DLC i.e. Monuments to improve Shizu loyalty" so they might look awful as a result, but I seem to remember there also being a decision to remove Clergy estate altogether, hence why I thought this would be reasonable.
EDIT 3: Monthly Mandate + 0.1 at least, because that's how popular it was among the common people. Also +1 Prosperity per month for every state, because of cracking down on corruption.
Upon passage, this reform costs a lot of money scaling with province count (to publish and distribute the books) craters Clergy (Shizu, the traditional literati) loyalty equilibrium (I'd say change by -20 to -30 would about do it if you have Leviathans i.e. can march over to India and improve Clergy equilibrium with a monument) and lowers Shangbang (Merchant) loyalty equilibrium, vastly increase the loyalty equilibrium of any Peasant estate, put a small negative modifier on corruption (-0.1 per year), reduce unrest (probably -3 nationwide) and reduce stability/war exhaustion/war tax mana costs permanently.
Large Shizu rebels will rise upon passing the reform (unless you have the decision below active in which case the rebel stacks are smaller) and it would cost at least 3 stability (2 if you have the decision below active), in addition to a Mandate hit when reforming.
A government decision named "Increase Officials' Wages to Dissuade Corruption" can ameliorate some of the uproar. Ming officials were horrendously underpaid which caused a lot of ordinary folks, not particularly greedy, to embezzle... because folks who didn't embezzle like Hai Rui ended up too poor to afford their own funerals!
This government decision would produce something like "-200 ADM, -2 years' Income, +1 Stability, +200% State/Territory Maintenance for rest of game, -0.2 Corruption per year, +5% Taxes, +10% Production for rest of game." Because corrupt officials were a huge barrier to merchantile activity, not just mooching off of tax revenue!
If it's a mission instead, then it would work mostly similarly, but require the decision above to have been taken first, 0 corruption, 100 meritocracy, and one courthouse per fully owned state/territory before you can claim its rewards of higher peasant loyalty, reduced global unrest, lowering corruption, and reduced mana costs for stab/war exhaustion/war tax.
EDIT 2:
Another important decision in Ming history is abolition of co-burials, where childless concubines (including concubines of wealthy merchants and other civilians, not just imperial concubines) would be interred as burial goods. This was a nasty habit learnt from the Yuan savages, having been abolished in China since the Rites of Zhou, as can be evidenced by Mencius's furious "Those who first made burial dolls, have their lineages been extinguished yet?" i.e. "Scum who would inevitably lead us back to the savagery of human sacrifices deserve to be extinguished". Now there were other superstitious shit in backward villages, but co-burial wasn't openly in fashion again in major Chinese dynasties until the Yuan.
The abolition of co-burial during his second reign is what learnt "Yingzong" AKA Zhu Qizhen his positive "shrine name" i.e. post-mortem label. It's considered by historians to be about the only positive deed Zhu Qizhen ever did in his life.
In the early Ming remarriage was also not uncommon compared to later when Shizu influence grew too high. In past eras, such as the Qin, Han and Tang, women who had already given birth at least once were very popular for marriage (such as the mother of Han Wudi, who signed up for selection and became an imperial concubine after divorcing her first husband who she'd had a daughter with) as they had a much lower risk of death in childbirth than first-timers.
In EU4 terms this makes for a Decision chain:
"Abolish Co-Burials": Spend some DIP and some Estate loyalty (the estates are represented by the rich who like to signal wealth by conscpicuous consumption, including of human resources, makes for a temporary hit, not equilibrium), gain +5% Manpower Regen, +5% Taxes, +5% Production for rest of game.
"Emulate Qin-Han-Tang Glories: Encourage Remarriage": Costs some Shizu Loyalty (whiny conservatives), gain +10% Manpower Regen, +5% Manpower, -10 Manpower Development Cost, for rest of game. Requires "Abolish Co-burials"
Zhu Yuanzhang's reign (regnal name Hongwu) was the only time in Chinese history when everyone had, in theory, the right to arrest corrupt officials.
His 大诰 which roughly translates to "Great Declaration" or "Great Announcement" was a collection of legal cases, mass-produced for public consumption. How did he ensure most people would keep a copy in their home even if they were illiterate (Ming literacy was over 10%, vastly higher than Qing)? If you had a copy at home, then if you were convicted of a crime your punishment would be dropped one level (i.e. from execution to 3000-li exile) and if you didn't have a copy and were convicted of a crime, your punishment would be increased one level. So almost everyone who could afford it (and this was most households in the Hongwu reign). Later, two additional volumes were published and disseminated at, IIRC, government expense.
Now, Zhu Yuanzhang also made a ton of restrictions to try to bring some semblance of order to a massively disrupted society, but his harshness toward corrupt officials (the social group that starved his entire family) was legendary. For example, embezzling more than 60 taels of silver was punishable by flaying and stuffing with straw for public display. To combat corruption, the Great Declaration granted its holders the right to arrest corrupt officials and bring them to the capital for trial before the Emperor. Officials along the way were to aid the procession, and it was a clan-level (out to Three Relations IIRC) capital crime to hinder such a procession on its way into the capital.
There were actual cases of such citizens' arrests made and Zhu Yuanzhang handling them. Though the Great Declaration was quickly hushed up after his time by the literati classes, public consciousness never quite forgot when Emperor Hongwu would uphold justice for the peasantry.
In my opinion, EU4 could apply it like this:
EDIT: The version below is "Trying to not be absurdly OP if you have all the DLC i.e. Monuments to improve Shizu loyalty" so they might look awful as a result, but I seem to remember there also being a decision to remove Clergy estate altogether, hence why I thought this would be reasonable.
EDIT 3: Monthly Mandate + 0.1 at least, because that's how popular it was among the common people. Also +1 Prosperity per month for every state, because of cracking down on corruption.
Upon passage, this reform costs a lot of money scaling with province count (to publish and distribute the books) craters Clergy (Shizu, the traditional literati) loyalty equilibrium (I'd say change by -20 to -30 would about do it if you have Leviathans i.e. can march over to India and improve Clergy equilibrium with a monument) and lowers Shangbang (Merchant) loyalty equilibrium, vastly increase the loyalty equilibrium of any Peasant estate, put a small negative modifier on corruption (-0.1 per year), reduce unrest (probably -3 nationwide) and reduce stability/war exhaustion/war tax mana costs permanently.
Large Shizu rebels will rise upon passing the reform (unless you have the decision below active in which case the rebel stacks are smaller) and it would cost at least 3 stability (2 if you have the decision below active), in addition to a Mandate hit when reforming.
A government decision named "Increase Officials' Wages to Dissuade Corruption" can ameliorate some of the uproar. Ming officials were horrendously underpaid which caused a lot of ordinary folks, not particularly greedy, to embezzle... because folks who didn't embezzle like Hai Rui ended up too poor to afford their own funerals!
This government decision would produce something like "-200 ADM, -2 years' Income, +1 Stability, +200% State/Territory Maintenance for rest of game, -0.2 Corruption per year, +5% Taxes, +10% Production for rest of game." Because corrupt officials were a huge barrier to merchantile activity, not just mooching off of tax revenue!
If it's a mission instead, then it would work mostly similarly, but require the decision above to have been taken first, 0 corruption, 100 meritocracy, and one courthouse per fully owned state/territory before you can claim its rewards of higher peasant loyalty, reduced global unrest, lowering corruption, and reduced mana costs for stab/war exhaustion/war tax.
EDIT 2:
Another important decision in Ming history is abolition of co-burials, where childless concubines (including concubines of wealthy merchants and other civilians, not just imperial concubines) would be interred as burial goods. This was a nasty habit learnt from the Yuan savages, having been abolished in China since the Rites of Zhou, as can be evidenced by Mencius's furious "Those who first made burial dolls, have their lineages been extinguished yet?" i.e. "Scum who would inevitably lead us back to the savagery of human sacrifices deserve to be extinguished". Now there were other superstitious shit in backward villages, but co-burial wasn't openly in fashion again in major Chinese dynasties until the Yuan.
The abolition of co-burial during his second reign is what learnt "Yingzong" AKA Zhu Qizhen his positive "shrine name" i.e. post-mortem label. It's considered by historians to be about the only positive deed Zhu Qizhen ever did in his life.
In the early Ming remarriage was also not uncommon compared to later when Shizu influence grew too high. In past eras, such as the Qin, Han and Tang, women who had already given birth at least once were very popular for marriage (such as the mother of Han Wudi, who signed up for selection and became an imperial concubine after divorcing her first husband who she'd had a daughter with) as they had a much lower risk of death in childbirth than first-timers.
In EU4 terms this makes for a Decision chain:
"Abolish Co-Burials": Spend some DIP and some Estate loyalty (the estates are represented by the rich who like to signal wealth by conscpicuous consumption, including of human resources, makes for a temporary hit, not equilibrium), gain +5% Manpower Regen, +5% Taxes, +5% Production for rest of game.
"Emulate Qin-Han-Tang Glories: Encourage Remarriage": Costs some Shizu Loyalty (whiny conservatives), gain +10% Manpower Regen, +5% Manpower, -10 Manpower Development Cost, for rest of game. Requires "Abolish Co-burials"
Last edited:
- 1
- 1
