Chapter 506: The Ayun Case

Su You listed: "Your Majesty, the year coin is a long-term discussion, and it should not be re-increased today." ”

"However, what the Ministry of Rites and the Xia Envoy said, now that Xixia is soft, it can be comforting, and it is also the reason to do it."

The minister remembered one thing, when Xixia Yizong came to Weizhou to hunt, he still received the minister. Yizong came and went in a hurry, leaving the sword, the arrow, the wolf, the seal, and the exchange of ministers in the Song realm, and never got it back. ”

"The Emperor Song is a state of etiquette and righteousness, and now he begs His Majesty to return the things of the Xia Lord and his father, in order to comfort the Xia Lord's filial piety, reaffirm the alliance between the two countries, and do not start border affairs."

Zhao Ji was so happy that he secretly cocked his big toe in his boots, this idea was simply amazing!

The Xia envoys are stupid, the relics of the first emperor and the coins of the year, so important? On the bright side, of course, the relics of the first emperor are important!

Filial piety is greater than the sky, damn Su Mingrun used this to gamble on his mouth, he really has nothing to say.

Everyone in the court admired Xiao Su Tanhua's eagerness and wisdom, Su Mingrun, Su Mingrun, more than three grades in the Manchu Dynasty, you are a straight thief!

Zhao Ji's face was expressionless: "Feiqing and others, I don't hear this." I decided not to honor the title and returned the relics of Lord Xia. Summer envoy, are you still satisfied? ”

Xia Envoy had no choice but to cry with a sad face: "Xia Guo's ministers, cry and thank the Heavenly Dynasty for the grace of return." ”

……

The small diplomatic victory could not hide the growing disputes in the court, and Sima Guang and Wang Anshi began to show their differences.

The first thing is that the Northern Song Dynasty had the No. 1 big case of Tianzi - Ayun's murder of her husband.

The reason why it is the first number of Tianzi is because of its influence, which is still hotly discussed until a thousand years later.

In fact, the facts of the case are very simple, Ayun, a peasant girl in Dengzhou, her father died early, and her mother died last year, and her family is poor.

Ah Yun's uncle forcibly married Ah Yun to an old bachelor in the village, Wei Da, despite Mica's mourning, but at this time, "Xu did not marry".

Wei Da is ugly, and Ah Yun "dislikes his son-in-law and is very dissatisfied", but the marriage date has been set, and she can't help it.

So in order to get rid of this marriage, one day, Ah Yun "served his bed", "cut it with a knife", "more than ten wounds, can't be killed", but "cut off one of his fingers".

Because the murderer could not be found, the government soon suspected Ah Yun, "insisted on interrogating him, and wanted to plunder it", "but to tell the truth", so they all confessed truthfully.

In accordance with the rules of the Song Dynasty, the magistrate convicted Ah Yun of the crime of murdering his husband and reported it to the magistrate.

At that time, Xu Zun, the governor of Dengzhou, was an official sent by Dali Temple to the local place for temporary training. "History of the Song Dynasty" records that this person "tired of punishment and prison, strong and sensitive and forgiving".

Xu Zun quickly changed the verdict: when Ah Yun was engaged, "the mother's clothes were not removed", so the engagement was invalid and "judged by mortals". So it's not about murdering your husband, you can avoid death.

The information about the case went to the trial court and Dali Temple, but the trial court and Dali Temple unanimously rejected Xu Zun's verdict and sentenced Ah Yun to "marry in violation of the law and murder her husband" and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Xu Zun was not convinced, and played again, holding that when the official arraigned the defendant, if the defendant could voluntarily confess the facts of the crime, he should be punished as voluntary surrender and reduced by two degrees.

Ah Yun voluntarily confessed to the facts of the crime during his trial, "Yun confessed when asked, and should be questioned as a questioner", and should be punished as a voluntary surrender, "according to the question, begging for death".

Because it is a death penalty case, the case needs to be submitted to the criminal department for review. "The criminal department is like a trial and punishment, Dali", which is still a death penalty. The reason for this is that "Song Criminal Rule?? The relevant provisions of the "Murder" article of the Law of Thieves and Thieves: "Whoever commits murder shall be imprisoned for three years; Wounded, hanged; Those who have been killed, beheaded. ”

Because Ah Yun's behavior is "murder has been injured", he "should be hanged".

However, the decision was in the hands of Zhao Xu, who felt that the girl was quite pitiful, so he allowed her to use money to atone for her crimes, which was actually based on Xu Zun's original verdict, thinking that there were circumstances that could reduce the guilt.

At this time, Xu Zun had returned to Dali Temple and was promoted to Dali Temple.

In response to the verdict of the Criminal Department, Xu Zun pointed out: "The decision of the Criminal Department is not straightforward, and Yun He is exempt from the crime caused", holding that the verdict of the Criminal Department is incorrect, and Ah Yun should be given a lenient sentence.

The reason for this is that if "everything is killed according to the law" regardless of whether it is indiscriminate, it will "block the way for him to turn himself in", which does not conform to the principle of judging cases where "the crime is less suspicious."

At the same time, it is also pointed out that if the sins that should be pardoned according to the circumstances need to be pardoned by the emperor's edict, if there is no edict in the future, don't all these people deserve to die?

This is completely inconsistent with the spirit of the law of the Great Song Dynasty, so the Criminal Department is asked to reconsider.

When the advisors of the Imperial Historical Observatory found out, they immediately impeached Xu Zun for violating the law. "If you don't obey, please discuss the next two systems", and asked the imperial court to send the case to the Hanlin scholars for discussion.

Zhao Ji didn't expect this case to become such a headache, so "I ordered Sima Guang and Wang Anshi, bachelors of Hanlin to discuss it."

After learning about the case, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang came to completely opposite conclusions and could not reach a consensus, so "the two discussed differently, so they went their separate ways." Wang Anshi supported Xu Zun's view, and Sima Guang supported the view of the Criminal Department.

Wang Anshi's verdict was based on the same basis as Xu Zun's, which was regarded as "the murder has been injured, according to the question, surrendered, and the murder is reduced by two degrees."

Sima Guang's basis comes from "Song Criminal Unity": when killing people, "there is an injury to the person, and it is not a case of surrender", so Ah Yun cannot turn himself in.

The two sides argued endlessly, Zhao Ji does not believe in evil, so expand the scope of participants and discuss again!

As a result, opinions are still divided into two factions.

Hanlin scholars Lu Gongshu, Han Wei, Qian Gongfu and others all supported Wang Anshi's opinion.

Yushitai, the Criminal Department supported Sima Guang's opinion.

For a time, "there were many arguments in the court", "repeated arguments were difficult, and they were indecisive for a long time".

This time to solicit opinions, Su You is an official of more than three grades, so he can't run away, and he must make a statement.

Analyzing the current focus of controversy in this case, the main issue is whether Ayun's murder can be applied to voluntary surrender and mitigation.

This also involves another sin of Ah Yun, that is, the crime of the motive for his murder - "breaking the law for marriage".

"Song Criminal Rule?? The Household Marriage Law stipulates: "Those who marry after the death of their parents and husbands shall be imprisoned for three years." ”

Ah Yun was hired with the surname Wei during his mother's funeral, which in itself is illegal, so the marriage should be invalid, that is, there is no legal husband and wife relationship between Ah Yun and Wei, so it should be treated as a "mortal".

The difference here is very significant, because if there is a husband and wife relationship between them, the circumstance of "murder has been injured" constitutes "discord" in the "ten heinous" crimes, and since the "ten heinous" crimes are not forgived by permanent amnesty, the circumstances of voluntary surrender do not apply, and the death penalty is imposed.

As for whether Ah Yun surrendered himself, after discussing it so far, everyone basically thinks that Xu Zun's statement is correct.

In the Song Dynasty, the determination of voluntary surrender was as follows: "Criminals, those who know that they want to sue and ask questions and turn themselves in, and those who have fled, and who have rebelled against the Tao, shall be punished by the second degree." ”

Xu Zun judged that Ah Yun was "admitted when asked, and should be asked." In line with the above-mentioned "case questioning wants to raise and turn himself in", this point is useless.

The remaining one is whether the circumstances of Ah Yun's voluntary surrender are applicable to the mitigation, and whether the "crime caused" is exempted.

If it can, then Xu Zun's insistence is correct, and Ah Yun shouldn't die; If not, then the insistence of the Dali Temple of the Criminal Department is correct, and Ayun should be sentenced to hanging and pardoned by the emperor.

"Song Criminal Rule?? The "Voluntary Surrender of the Crime Committed Before" stipulates that "a person who surrenders himself for committing homicide shall be exempted from the crime for which he committed the crime and shall continue to be subject to the law of homicide." ”

The definition of "crime by cause" is: "If a person commits himself in the act of killing or injuring a person for theft, or manslaughter or injuring a rich man by negligence, the crime of theft is exempted, and the crime of homicide is still punished."

This means that the circumstances in which the crime of cause is exempted only applies to the case of the person who killed or injured the owner of the property during the theft and then surrendered himself, in which case the crime of theft can be exempted, but the crime of homicide must still be prosecuted.

According to Xu Zun and Wang Anshi, the crime of Ah Yun's murder was "marriage in violation of the law", regardless of whether the crime was flawed or not, obviously did not have the above circumstances.

Therefore, the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, and Sima Guang advocated that the "Therefore Homicide Law" should still be handled, holding that there was no legal basis for the Ayun case to voluntarily surrender and reduce the sentence, and in fact there was nothing wrong with it.

And on the basis of acknowledging this circumstance, the emperor believed that Ah Yun had indeed committed the crime of homicide, and then pardoned him.

This is where the differences between Xu Zun, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang and others lie.

Wang Anshi believes that Ah Yun's motive for killing people was because he was forced to hire him with the surname Wei during his mother's funeral, which is two different concepts from the deliberate murder after the theft was discovered, which is in line with the rule of "exempting the crime caused by it".

Sima Guang believes that Ah Yun's premeditated murder is premeditated murder, and that "plotting" and "killing" in the case are closely related to cause and effect, and they are the implementation of the crime after the crime is planned, so it is a real murder.

Objectively speaking, Wang Anshi is suspected of misinterpreting the interpretation of the law of "the crime caused" here and catering to Zhao Ji's will, while Sima Guang's point of view, Su You believes that judging from the regulations of the "Song Criminal Union", is correct, but it is a little unkind.