There was an official in the Ming Dynasty who embezzled 60 taels. Later, before he was killed, he shouted: "Acting for the Ming Dynasty is not corruption." Later, Zhu Yuanzhang spared him the death penalty after learning the truth of the matter.

As we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was a civilian emperor. He was born in poverty and lived a life of not having enough to eat when he was young. His family's ancestors were all poor farmers. , he once worked as a beggar, a cowherd boy, and even a monk. It was precisely because of his childhood experiences that Zhu Yuanzhang particularly hated corrupt officials. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, and he established strict regulations regarding corruption. If someone is found to be embezzling, their home may be confiscated, or their life may be at risk. The standard for corruption is 60 taels. If the amount does not exceed 60 taels, the person will be sentenced to confiscation and exile. If the amount exceeds 60 taels, the person will be sentenced to death.

Sixty taels may not seem like much, but according to the prices at that time, it was nearly a year's income for a ninth-grade official, so in total, it was a lot of money. Zhu Yuanzhang's methods of punishing corrupt officials were very ruthless, so no official dared to cross this red line. But a man named Ma Luorong touched this red line. At that time, someone reported him for corruption. Later, after Zhu Yuanzhang checked, he found that he had embezzled exactly 60 taels. Since he had crossed the red line, he would definitely be punished, so Zhu Yuanzhang sentenced him to be beheaded in public. However, during the execution, the official kept shouting that he was wronged and kept saying that "acting for the Ming Dynasty is not greedy."

After Zhu Yuanzhang knew about it at that time, he sent someone to investigate the truth. Only then did I discover that this official held several positions at the same time, but he only received one salary. In other words, his monthly salary was about six taels of silver, but he had adopted many orphans, and this amount of money was not worth it. There was not enough to support these children, so he secretly left some money from the finance department. Zhu Yuanzhang finally knew the truth, so he pardoned the official's death penalty.