"Therefore, strict punishments and strict laws are needed to break the treachery." The Book of the Later Han Dynasty·The Biography of Cui Xiang
Weiyang Palace, Shangshu Terrace.
Guo Pu, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, was born in the Feng Yi family. He was nearly sixty years old. He was the oldest Shangshu in Shangshutai. He was familiar with all kinds of anecdotes and was well-versed in people. He had been in the middle of the country for decades. Even if he was a Shangshuling, he had many friends.
Ask for advice. The emperor reformed the central government and initially established the Ministry of Justice. He thought that he had no one in his hands, so he considered that Guo Pu had always been honest and conservative, so he asked him to occupy a position first, so that he could check and balance Huan Dian and others, and wait until everyone under his command had grown up.
Then, adjust slowly.
Since Luo Boyan and other unscrupulous merchants were arrested and imprisoned, there have been many supporters of them. Some people even used the name of drought to ask the emperor to grant amnesty to the world and forgive unjust imprisonment. For this reason, the emperor has been enduring the pressure of various public opinions.
Even Tingwei, who was responsible for interrogating Luo Boyan, had a hard time. On the one hand, Ma Rixi and others wanted him to be lenient; on the other hand, Dong Cheng, Huang Wan and others wanted him to be lenient. However, the emperor was forced by the situation to give up before the rain.
He has yet to express his stance.
Now when the time came, Tingwei Fayan took Tingwei Zheng and Yang Pei into the palace to see Shangshu Guo Pu, intending to settle the case.
The predecessor of the Ministry of Justice was Erqian Shicao, which was in charge of judicial litigation and other matters. After the restructuring, most of its judicial litigation powers were transferred to Tingwei, leaving only the power of final adjudication and review of major cases, and was also responsible for macro-level guidance.
Coordinate and supervise the judicial work of Yushitai, Tingwei and other departments. It can be said that whenever major cases are encountered, the Ministry of Punishment cannot be bypassed. Even if the Ministry of Punishment believes that the punishment of an officer is inappropriate and inconsistent with the spirit of the law, it can directly raise the issue.
Opinion'.
Although Shangshu only had 600 shi, his authority was greater than that of Jiu Qing, who had 2,000 shi. Tingwei Fayan did not dare to neglect, and respectfully held his banquet in the east chamber of Shangshu's platform to pay his respects.
Guo Pu looked particularly friendly. He warmly greeted the two of them and stood up to take their seats. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Isn't the Master's trip here to ask the Speaker to settle the grain merchant case?"
Yang Pei nodded solemnly, "Not only in Chang'an, but also in the entire Jingzhao area, there are many grain merchants who are taking advantage of the situation to make profits and harm Li Shu. This case is related to the hearts of all people. Your Majesty has already said that 'kill one to serve as a warning to hundreds'. I just want to say
When the drought locusts are raging, it is not advisable to move lightly. Now that the drought has eased and the locusts are heading east, we should take this opportunity to cheer up the people."
After hearing this, Guo Pu frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and then said, "I remember that during the reign of Emperor Xiaohe, there was a severe drought in Kyoto. There were unjust prisoners in Luoyang at that time, but Emperor Xiaohe was lucky enough to clean up the injustices and release them calmly in the Luoyang Temple Prison.
, As a result, before I returned to the palace, there was heavy rain. Now the drought has become a disaster, and the harmonious nature has been harmed. It is easy for the rain to fall. If there is another big prison..."
"Your Majesty has not been immoral, the court has not been unjustly grievances, and the prime ministers have not been extravagant and arrogant. However, the country personally takes the sins of the people and suffers the faults of all directions. The sky is raining sweetly. It can be seen that there are no grievances in the temples and prisons." Yang
Pei glanced at Guo Pu, who was still planning to make peace, and interrupted unceremoniously, "Luo Boyan and other merchants are harming the people for their own benefit. They are corrupt and illegal and should be executed according to the law."
Guo Pu's face suddenly turned ugly. He stared at Yang Pei and said, "By what law?"
"We should follow the "Miscellaneous Laws" in Chapter 9. In addition, there is a law that says, 'Jia people are not allowed to wear silk clothes and ride in carriages.' Now they are all dressed in fine clothes and riding in carriages. This is a big violation of the law, and their sins will be increased."
Even though he was facing a powerful minister, Yang Pei still looked at him without showing any weakness.
"Okay, okay." Guo Pu was so angry that he laughed twice. He turned around and said half complaining and half mocking to Fa Yan, who was standing beside him, "I didn't know that Tingwei Mansion had a strong point... I didn't know that Fa Yan
Does it mean the same thing as this Yang Jun?"
"When Yang Kongqu was serving as the governor of Cao Cao in Hedong, he was not afraid of the powerful. Later, he was ordered to punish Fan Xianyu's party. Even his Majesty called him 'just enforcement of the law.'" Fa Yan did not answer this question directly, but expressed his attitude tactfully.
Only then did Guo Pu realize that these two people were trying to force him to submit by singing along. If he continued to avoid it, he would easily be regarded as partial by outsiders. When he thought of Situ Ma Rixi, who was unable to see things due to illness, he couldn't help but feel a little agitated.
Worrying, he also softened his words a bit, avoiding talking about the case for the first time, and trying to build friendship with the other party, "Speaking of which, Yang Jun and I are both from Feng Yi Township."
Yang Pei disliked the posturing in the officialdom the most. He said stiffly, "Thanks for my concern, I am from Wannian County, Zuo Fengyi." After saying that, he did not wait for the other party to continue speaking, and then took out a card from his sleeve.
Folding the white paper, he continued, "Luo Boyan and others, the Tingwei Mansion has drafted the charges and the punishment is here. Please ask the minister for approval."
Guo Pu's face was cold and he did not pick him up for a while. No matter how neutral and conservative he was on weekdays, he would lose his fairness once he encountered something with stakes. This time, although the court only arrested wealthy businessmen from Jingzhao, Zuo Fengyi,
The powerful people in You Fufeng all trembled. In order to ensure that they would not be severely punished in the same way, they had no choice but to prevent the court from setting this precedent. These days, there was a lot of public opinion urging the emperor to pardon unjust imprisonment, and there was probably no encouragement from these people behind it.
As members of the Feng Yijia clan, Guo Pu's family members were also involved a lot. It turned out that relying on Situ Ma Rixi's influence and the inertia of doing this every time there was a drought, he did not take the consequences to heart. Now the emperor is a person who can't tolerate it in his eyes.
Damn it, Guo Pu has really lost the standard of being an official in the past. Just when he was thinking about whether to use his power to put it aside and wait to ask Ma Rixi for advice before making plans, Fa Yan coughed twice and said,
He said, "When I come here, Your Majesty will meet with the Dukes at the Chengming Hall. I wonder if Duke Guo has heard of what he said?"
Guo Pu frowned, raised his hands to a certain place and said, "You don't know the holy teachings?"
Fa Yan held the couch with one hand, changed from sitting to kneeling, then slowly bent his right leg and stood up, which was very difficult. When Yang Pei saw this, he immediately reached over the table to help him. Fa Yan must have been sitting for a long time.
His legs were a little numb. He stood there for a while with Yang Pei's support, reached out and took the document in Yang Pei's hand, leaned down, placed it on the desk in front of Guo Pu, and then pushed it forward.
"'Ask for rain, and you will get rain. Is there no cause for drought?' These are His Majesty's exact words. From what I see, everything has its cause. God's punishment cannot be ignored. If there is injustice in prison, then there must be great consequences in prison.
It’s a thief.”
"If you ask for rain, you will get it. Is there no cause for drought?" Guo Pu repeated in a low voice, and couldn't help but feel lost.
At this time, both Fa Yan and Yang Pei had already walked outside the Jianli Gate. On the way, Yang Pei was still puzzled and said, "The holy will has been decided. If Guo Shangshu still refuses to accept it, His Majesty will make his own decision. Why should Fa Gong go with him?"
Why does he waste so much time?"
"Kong Qu, you are just too strong-willed." Fa Yan sighed softly. As his deputy, Yang Pei's ability to do things and his familiarity with the law are far superior to him. He has always admired this man who dared to break through.
A subordinate. However, there is not only "law" in this world. Besides "law", there are also human feelings, which Yang Pei disdains.
Firstly, Fayan expected that his body was getting weaker and his son Fazheng was still young, so he had to leave a support for him, lest Fazheng would have no one to rely on in the court in the future. Secondly, he couldn't bear to see Yang Pei go through a difficult transition.
So he earnestly taught, "Guo Shangshu dislikes harsh punishments the most. You are so aggressive, which makes people unhappy. It should be noted that in addition to the art of being strong, there is also a tactful meaning."
In any case, the purpose of their trip had been achieved, and Yang Pei was not willing to offend his boss's kindness, so he immediately complied.
As the Minister of Punishment Guo Pu, Tingwei Fayan, and Yushi Zhongcheng Huandian jointly issued a memorial, they unanimously determined that Luo Boyan and others had endangered the country and urgently needed severe punishment, which aroused thousands of waves. For such a verdict, the existing confirmation
The ministers of the palace all expressed their acquiescence. With the emperor's permission, Luo Boyan and others were soon ordered to be taken to the East Market for execution. They hung in the market pavilion for three days. All their property was confiscated. The hundreds of thousands of stones of grain stored in their homes were all used.
Next relief.
As soon as this move came out, the government and the public were really shocked. They still remembered that not long ago, the powerful subordinates Liu Yan and Liu Mao of Yizhou were working as collaborators. After the emperor captured Yizhou, out of lenience, he only allowed them to pay fines to offset their crimes. Although
He fined them a large sum of money and grains, which made many strong men injured, but at least they spared their lives. Now the emperor is killing the wealthy businessmen in Guanzhong who just drove up the price of grain. The difference between them will inevitably make people think that the emperor
To favor one over the other is unfair.
At this time, Tingwei Fayan followed up and said that Luo Boyan learned that he would die without mercy in prison. In order to pray for the emperor's leniency, he specifically confessed another secret that he had guarded "about Luo Boyan and Shi Yu."
Shihou Wen resold grain from Taicang. He mixed old grain with sand and gravel in exchange for new grain from Taicang, and gave Hou Wen 2,000 Jian'an coins for each stone of grain."
Dong Cheng and Wu Shuo looked at each other. Hou Wen had been highly praised by Huan Dian, the imperial censor, and Huan Dian was one of the strong contenders for Shangshu Ling. Since Huan Dian was the imperial master, Dong Cheng and Wu Shuo were plotting against Pei Mao and Chen Jizhi.
Yu, in a desperate attempt to avoid Huan Dian, did not dare to attack Huan Dian. Now Huan Dian, who claimed that "there are no unclean ministers in Yushitai" encountered such a thing, and saw that Shangshu Ling was really hopeless, but he did not know whether it was a coincidence or man-made.
"Tell me." Dong Cheng asked while holding a pen and lightly sketching on the paper, "Is there someone secretly helping me? Otherwise, the timing of this appearance would be too coincidental, and it would happen at a time when public opinion is in turmoil.
At that time, Luo Boyan confessed, but just when the post of Shangshu Ling was pending, something happened in Xantai again."
"In my opinion, it makes Duke Huan feel ashamed that he has no opportunity to be in the middle stage. Resolving your majesty's current worries is the most important thing." Wu Shuo said softly.
Dong Cheng finished reading one memorial and picked up another. He glanced up as usual. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly stopped. He glanced through the memorial quickly and suddenly read it.
He rolled it up again and put it in his sleeve. "I know who it is."
Wu Shuo looked at Dong Cheng in surprise and asked, "I don't know the king?"
Dong Cheng had already stood up and was about to walk out. "It seems that this benefit is not in vain. I have to do my part for him to be reciprocal."
With that said, Dong Cheng hurriedly left Chengming Hall and ordered people to drive directly to Qingliang Hall. He was the emperor's uncle and father-in-law. People on the way made concessions one after another, and soon they arrived at Qingliang Hall.
At this time, the emperor was frowning and looking at Yan's supplementary documents. He said to Xun You and Ma Yu, who were sitting beside him, "Isn't this Hou Wen known to have a clean reputation? He is said to be upright and capable? Who would have thought it was Yushitai?"
Money can be used for personal gain, so it appears to be honest, but once a large amount of money is handled in the hands, the ugly appearance is exposed."
Ma Yu thought carefully for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "But based on Luo Boyan's words, it is difficult to draw a conclusion, and it is impossible to guarantee that he is not biting wantonly. If Tingwei has no solid evidence, I think that just relying on the few stones of Taicang grain in Luo's family,
It’s not easy to say that it was Hou Wen who did it, and it’s hard to punish him rashly and explain it to everyone.”
The emperor frowned and was about to speak when he saw someone from Zhonghuang Gate calling Dong Cheng to see him, so he nodded and let him in.
After the ceremony, Dong Cheng took out a memorandum from his sleeve and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, Dong Fen, the former imperial censor, went to the North Palace Gate to write a memorandum, impeaching Hou Wen for many illegal things, and even Hou Wen was doing something for him.
When a hungry man makes rice porridge, his body is weak, and even after menstruation, there are still some who are not alive."
"Is this true?" the emperor asked softly.
Dong Cheng put away the memorial and handed it to Mu Shun. When Mu Shun placed the memorial on the emperor's desk, he couldn't help but said, "I also remember something. When His Majesty was sitting in the east chamber praying for rain, on the streets of Chang'an
Several people also starved to death." After saying that, he added, "I heard that Hou Wen said that he wanted to save grain, so he specially used small dendrobium to hold the grain, and added more water to cook it..."
"He also submitted a memorial, I remember that." The emperor said suddenly. Because he was worried about insufficient food, he added water appropriately when cooking porridge. This was something he tacitly agreed to. However, this matter was not easy to publicize, and he
He intended to use this to calm people's anger at a critical moment, so he turned a blind eye. At this time, he immediately distanced himself and said, "But I really never expected that this person would use a small dendrobium to grow grain, but record it in the account book as a large dendrobium.
This person's crime cannot be punished for lining his own pockets!"
Dong Cheng struck while the railway was hot: "It is unclear who is employed in the Yushitai, so it is better to resign Yousi and put Hou Wen in jail."
The emperor glanced at Ma Yu and said, "Here comes Mr. Lao Ma."
Ma Yu readily accepted the order, and not long after, the censor Zhongcheng Huandian, who was blamed and ashamed, brought his subordinate censors at all levels to apologize to His Highness Qingliang.
The emperor did not pass on the edict, but asked Ma Yu to stand on the steps and declare: "A embankment of thousands of miles was destroyed by an ant nest. The hundreds of officials in the Yushitai supervisory department should have been extremely pure and upright, but the jade stain has flaws, so I have to sigh. Today
If Hou Wen, the serving censor, violates the law, he will be punished as a court official. All officials in the censor station must take this as a warning and be cautious!"
Hou Wen obviously had no chance of escaping death. Huan Dian felt that he was shameless, but he didn't react much. Ma Yu stood on the steps and watched carefully, and found an elusive emotion in Huan Dian's subtle expression.
It seemed that the other party didn't care about the frustration this incident caused him.
In the palace, the emperor finally left Dong Cheng and Xun You behind, and asked inexplicably, "Who in the court can be worthy of serving as the three princes?"