Gao Rou (174 - 263), the character Wenhui, was a native of Chen Liuyu (yǔ present-day south of Qixian County, Henan).

During the Cao Wei period, Gao Rou started as a small official, and in the fourth year of Cao Pi's reign as emperor, he was appointed as a court lieutenant, and served for 23 years, becoming the highest official in charge of justice in Cao Wei, creating a historical record of court captain's tenure, which can be described as the longest tenured "chief justice" in ancient China.

The idea of compassion for the people and prudent punishment runs through Gao Rou's law enforcement and case handling, especially his "legal aid" for low-level soldiers and soldiers' relatives, which has left a strong mark in history.

It is recorded in the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shu, and Gao Rou" that in 213 AD, Gao Rou served as the "Li Cao Peng" in charge of judicial trial affairs under Cao Cao, and began his career as a full-time judge. Soon after taking office, Gao Rou encountered a "soldier escape case".

During Cao Cao's period, the military law was extremely harsh, and in order to prevent soldiers from fleeing, it was stipulated that the relatives of all soldiers and soldiers of the army should live in a centralized manner, and a special household registration should be listed to facilitate management. If the sergeant escapes, his family will become a "hostage" and will be involved in the whole family according to the law.

Song Jin and others, who played military music, fled in Hefei, and his wife and children were tortured and censored, but Cao Cao still felt that the law was not strict, and he was worried that he would not be able to stop the soldiers from fleeing, and that the punishment would be increased.

Song Jin's mother, wife, and two younger brothers all served in the government, and the official in charge of this matter wanted to kill them all in order to make an example of them.

Gao Rou played for them to argue:

"It's hateful for a soldier to flee from the army, but I have heard privately that some of the soldiers who escaped often regret it. What I mean by this is that their wives and children should be forgiven, and in doing so, first, it will show that the fleeing man is not faithful; Second, it can make the fleeing soldiers feel concerned about returning.

"If according to the old law, he has already cut off his desire to return, and if the punishment is increased, I am afraid that the soldiers who are now in the army will flee when they see one of them, and they are afraid that they will also be killed, so as not to be killed. Such an increase in punishment will not only not be effective in preventing soldiers from fleeing, but will also increase the risk of increasing the number of defectors. ”

Gao Rou demanded that the heavy sentence be reduced, and used the Huairou policy to touch the soldiers' hearts of return.

Gao Rou's thoughtful pros and cons analysis moved Cao Cao, and his suggestion was adopted, and Cao Cao pardoned Song Jin's mother and younger brother, and many innocent families of deserters benefited from the change in the law and survived.

…… ……

After Gao Rou was appointed as a court lieutenant during the Cao Pi period, she still insisted on handling specific cases, correcting mistakes and eliminating deviations, and avenging the people's grievances. One of the most typical is the rehabilitation of a "soldier escape case".

The time is in the period of Emperor Cao Rong of Wei Ming.

One year, a soldier named Dou Li suddenly disappeared in the guard camp near Luoyang, and the commander of the barracks received the report and did not look for or investigate, but directly put Dou Li into the "list of fugitive soldiers", and punished his family, wanting to confiscate his wife Ying and children as official slaves.

The news reached the ears of Dou Li's wife Ying, with her understanding of her husband, she did not believe that her husband would run away, so she petitioned everywhere to complain and complain, but she ran into a wall again and again, and there was no way to shout grievances. It's stupid enough to think about it.

There was no way to appeal, Ying thought of Gao Rou, the upright and discerning Tingwei, for the safety of the whole family, she crossed the level and desperately begged to see Gao Rou.

Gao Rou accepted the case, and after listening to Ying's appeal, she asked the case in detail with Yan Yuese, "How do you know that your husband will not run away?" ”

Ying tearfully complained, "My husband is a responsible person, he is never afraid of the sword and blood on the battlefield, and he will never run away." In addition, my husband has a loving heart, and when he is young, he acts uniquely and differently, he supports a lonely old lady as his mother, serves the elderly with dignity and filial piety, and loves his children, and is not the kind of person who is frivolous and flashy, and does not care about the wife and children of the family. I believe that there should be another hidden reason for his disappearance, please find out the truth and make decisions for us. ”

Gao Rou used both eyes and ears, pondered in her heart, saw her true feelings, and what she said made sense, so she asked again, "Does your husband have any enemies, or do you have any holidays with others?" ”

Ying replied without hesitation, "My husband is a kind man and has no grudges against others. ”

Gao Rou asked from a different angle, "What does your husband have with outsiders in terms of money and goods?" ”

Ying thought for a while, and suddenly said, "By the way, I once lent money to Jiao Ziwen, a sergeant in the same battalion, and my husband asked him for it many times, but he refused to return it. ”

Gao Rou had an eyebrow in her heart, and said to Ying, "You go back first, and then make a decision after I investigate clearly." ”

Gao Rou immediately ordered his subordinates to go to the barracks to inquire about Jiao Ziwen, and learned that Jiao Ziwen was cunning and rude, and was being detained in prison for violating military discipline by injuring people after drinking a few days ago.

Gao Rou immediately ordered Jiao Ziwen to be removed from prison and interrogated in person.

Gao Rou started from his drunken and hurtful questioning, chattering a lot, and when he relaxed his vigilance, he suddenly asked, "Have you ever borrowed money from others?" ”

Jiao Ziwen suddenly became nervous, and replied in a panic, "I am lonely and poor, and I dare not borrow money from others." ”

Gao Rou observed the words and saw that his heart was already weak, so he went straight to the point, "You borrowed Dou Li's money in the past, why didn't you confess?" ”

As soon as Jiao Ziwen heard this, his expression changed greatly, and his psychological defense line collapsed, and he didn't know what to say.

Gao Rou shouted angrily, "You have already killed Dou Li, I have the evidence in hand, confess as soon as possible, and then the crime can be reduced, otherwise Hugh blames the ruthlessness of military law!" ”

Jiao Ziwen suddenly lost his soul, and quickly kowtowed and confessed to the fact that he was unable to repay the money after borrowing it, and he had a bad heart, killed Dou Li and hid the body.

Dou Li was exempted from wrongdoing, his death was revealed, and Jiao Ziwen received the punishment he deserved.

…… ……

The case was reported to Emperor Wei Ming, who not only sincerely appreciated Gao Rou's discernment, but also felt sad about the phenomenon of the government yamen prevaricating and superficiality, so he personally issued an edict to rehabilitate Ying's family and restore her civilian rights.

As an official in the feudal era, Gao Rou was able to look downward in law enforcement and case handling, and cast her attention on the low-level soldiers and relatives, which is really commendable and worthy of "praise".

For Dou Li's wife, Ying, the persistent woman who "petitioned" for her husband to skip the level and finally caught her husband's murderer should also be "liked"! Think about it, what era it was.