Chapter 55: It’s Time for Westerly Wind and Slanting Rain (1)
"No! This is too cruel! It is inconsistent with the teachings of the sages who are kind and kind!" Feng Ji shouted loudly, with an indignant look on his face. Following his words, several temporary court judges standing on his side also started shouting loudly.
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At this moment, they seemed to be possessed by the sages of all ages, showing compassion for heaven and earth. They regarded the lives of all things in the world as extremely precious treasures and vowed to take more care of them.
Those thousands of rebel soldiers who were captured during the Dunyu Mountain Rebellion became lost lambs in their eyes. They wanted to use boundless love to influence them, and then achieve the moral education taught by the sages.
Chang Anmin, Liu Kai and others looked down upon these people. In their eyes, these people were completely hypocritical and disgusting.
This scene took place in the temporary court located in Zanhuang County Government Office.
After the Dunyu Mountain Rebellion was settled, Menxia Province, in accordance with the instructions of the officials, formed a temporary court with the Privy Council and the Hebei Judicial Court to deal with the captured rebels and the places where the Judicial Investigation Bureau discovered and arrested the Hebei Security Police Internal Guard Detachment.
The family goes on trial.
Twenty-one hundred rebels were killed and 6,700 were captured. There were 119 local aristocratic family leaders and 557 accomplices, who needed to be tried and given the results.
Including their families, more than 20,000 people are waiting for the outcome of the temporary court.
The temporary court was led by Chang Anmin, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, who thought that all the temporary courts were judges.
Feng Ji, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Guo Lingxian, the governor of Hebei County and the capital judge of the Hebei County Judicial Court, and Liu Kai, the military chief of the Privy Council and Military Envoy, served as deputy, acting as the deputy capital judge of the temporary court.
Two Dali Temple prime ministers are also judges of Dali Temple, three deputy prime ministers of Dali Temple are also judges of Hebei County Judges' Court, the chief and deputy military envoys of the Privy Council are also judges of the Military Court of Justice, and two judges of the Military Court of the Privy Council are the judges of the temporary court.
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The right deputy censor of the Provincial Procuratorate, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council and the censor of the military prosecutor's office, the deputy envoy of Hebei County and the censor of the prosecutor's office, together with a group of prosecutors and censors of the military, formed
Prosecutor.
Today, the public prosecutor submitted a collective indictment, requesting the temporary court to sentence 1,426 criminals, headed by Li Wanyi, to death for committing treason, murder, adultery and other serious crimes.
Also required to be sentenced to death are fifteen local aristocratic families, including the Li family of Zanhuang County, the Zhang family of Qingchi, the Lin family of Wuqiang, and the Xu family of Shulu, who abetted, instigated and assisted criminals in the rebellion. The total number of principal culprits was one
One hundred and nineteen people, 357 accomplices.
As soon as the indictment was submitted, Feng Ji and other judges exploded.
They had no objection to the verdict of guilty and had no way to object.
The Taihang Mountain Front Army deployed their troops, the Judicial Investigation Bureau and the Hebei Police Department worked together to sort out the evidence clearly and form an unmistakable chain of evidence.
Feng Ji and others had objections to the sentencing and felt that the punishment was too harsh. They should follow previous practice and give these criminals a lighter sentence to give them a chance to repent.
"Is it too heavy? Where is it too heavy?" Chang Anmin asked politely, "The crime of treason has been unforgivable from ancient times to the present. Why do you want to be lenient?"
His question left Feng Ji and others speechless.
"The crime of treason is indeed unpardonable, and we have no objection to the punishment for the principal offender. However, the secondary offender should be a little more lenient and leave a way for him to survive, which is also in line with the virtue of God's good life. Then he can be moralized with the principles of sages and sages to promote his correction.
Xin, it can be regarded as a good story. Tolerant and virtuous, considerate of the officials and the people, this is the ancestor..."
Feng Ji was about to talk about the ancestral method when he suddenly remembered that after several major debates in the past two years, the so-called ancestral method has become a vehicle for transporting night fragrance, which is a bit smelly on the street.
So I changed a word: "It is the country's fundamental law advocated by the sages and emperors of the past dynasties."
"Mr. Feng!" Guo Lingxian said unceremoniously, "Does your kindness and compassion for the officials and the people target all the people of the Song Dynasty, or only some people?"
Feng Ji stroked his beard and replied: "Of course it is all the people of the Song Dynasty."
"In this case, forgive these thieves and give them a chance to start a new life. Those people who were killed by them and the women who were raped by them, who will give them a chance? The law is not an interpretation of the scriptures. Putting down the butcher knife can establish the foundation.
Become a Buddha. The law is to severely punish these people based on the consequences of their illegal crimes. If they want to change their ways, they must also be qualified to change their ways!"
Guo Lingxian's words made Fengji's face turn black. He stood up suddenly and said sternly: "There is a saying in the Han Dynasty, 'It is based on the great ancestor, and his prosperity is also five, and the fourth is tolerant, bright and benevolent'. Master Kong is here
There is a saying in "The Analects of Confucius", 'Love everyone broadly and be kind to everyone.' Benevolence and forgiveness should be the foundation of governing a country!"
"Confused!" Chang Anmin stood up and reprimanded unceremoniously, "How did you become the young minister of Dali Temple! Kindness and forgiveness are the category of morality. Of course we must be kind to the good people who abide by the law.
Virtue of forgiveness. Now we are talking about the law! What is the law?”
"The law is the last line of defense for morality. It uses violent means to severely punish behavior that violates the bottom line of morality, so as to prevent evil deeds from happening again and protect kind people. The evidence of these people's crimes is conclusive, and you agree with it.
To talk about forgiveness and benevolence to a group of criminals? What is the basic position of the judge in adhering to the evidence and in accordance with the law?"
Feng Ji raised his neck and said loudly: "This is not a good law, it is a bad law, and it is tyranny! I don't mind being a judge!"
"Okay, you can write a resignation letter and I will approve it right away!" Chang Anmin replied bluntly. He is the magistrate of the temporary court and has the right to approve it.
"I uphold my true intention and serve the people, and I am worthy of heaven and earth!" Feng Ji shouted.
"Mr. Feng, I think your mind is a little biased," Guo Lingxian said bluntly.
"What did you say?" Feng Ji scolded.
"Isn't it? You are bullying the weak and shying away from the strong. Those evil people who dare to commit crimes and violate laws, you will be merciful. Those good people who abide by the law, but you sit back and do nothing. If you do not eliminate evil and do not defend good, if this continues, who will
Are you still willing to abide by the good and the law? Let’s forget about being evildoers. Anyway, we have the teaching of kindness and forgiveness.”
Feng Ji blushed and argued louder.
In fact, he didn't have a good impression of those thieves who conspired to commit rebellion. But among those who were to be severely punished were wealthy families. Most of these people were heirs of poetry and calligraphy, and were of the scholarly lineage, so of course they had to be treated differently.
It is only after two years of great debate that "the people are the foundation of the country" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Scholars from aristocratic families can be treated favorably, but ordinary people should be severely punished. This is "politically incorrect" and can easily be criticized.
What if Fengji would put all the people together and treat them as "people", then raise the banner of "benevolence and forgiveness" and give them all a way to live.
Of course Chang Anmin, Guo Lingxian and others also saw what Feng Ji was thinking, and they responded unceremoniously to each other.
Watching the two sides start to quarrel, Zhang Shuye, as a bystander and supervisor of the temporary court, remained silent.
He knew that the whole matter was not just as simple as severely punishing the main culprits of the rebellion. It also involved a national dispute between "ruling the country by virtue" and "ruling the country by law."
"Ruling the country by virtue" was gradually formed into the foundation of the country after Confucianism established its advantages during the early Han Dynasty. Ruling the country with filial piety, generosity and kindness, etc. are all its manifestations.
Now the officials have added "ruling the country by virtue" with "another law". Virtue promotes good and law punishes evil. The laws formulated are based on the current moral principles to "keep the final bottom line of morality"
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This point, after two years of great debate, has been recognized by more and more people.
Some radicals have even swapped the positions of two sentences - "Rule the country with law and ensure peace with morality." This completely reverses the priority of law and morality.
These people are called "rule of law" people.
The emergence of this trend of thought, in addition to the guidance of officials, can also be seen as a reflection by the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty on the past dynasties, which according to Confucian classics, governed the country with virtue but failed to achieve great governance.
This reflection comes from the fierce struggle between reform and conservatism in the Song Dynasty in the past few decades.
People from both the old and new schools are trying their best to study the history of past dynasties, study Confucian classics, and discuss their application in reality, in order to find strong defense evidence for their side.
The sparks that collided in this fierce struggle eventually evolved into Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism, Lu Jiuyuan's Xinxue, and Yongjia's Gongxue in the Southern Song Dynasty. Only now, they were guided by Zhao Si and embarked on a completely different path.
But for the "Government by Virtue School" like Fengji, who adhere to Confucian classicism, the "Rule by Law School" is heresy, subversion, and treason.
They seized every opportunity to give the "rule of law" faction a hard blow.
This time, the temporary court in the Dun Yushan rebellion case is a confrontation. But at present, the "rule of law" faction has the advantage.
After two days of debate, the temporary court issued a ruling that 1,426 main culprits from the rebellion, 119 main culprits from local aristocratic families involved in the case, and 357 accomplices were all to be executed.
The remaining rebel accomplices were sentenced to five to twenty years of hard labor, and their families were exiled to Lingnan.
Most of the accomplices from local aristocratic families involved in the case were sentenced to ten to twenty years of hard labor, and their families were exiled to Qiongya Island.
The ruling still needs to be reviewed by Dali Temple and submitted to the official for review. The official can grant a pardon or reduce the punishment, or give tacit approval without denying it.
Feng Ji and others also hoped that the officials would grant pardons and reduce punishments if the favor came from above. Unexpectedly, the approval would come down soon. The officials only pardoned more than 10,000 family members of the rebel accomplices and resettled them in selected places.
Follow the instructions.
You are a genius, remember in one second: Red Oasis: This chapter has been completed!
