Because of the case of Cai Jing and Li Bangyan killed Cai Jing and Li Bangyan in Jiangning Mansion, Wu Zilong was forced to take the blame and resign as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites. This move is tantamount to announcing to the world that Wu Zilong is the main perpetrator of the eradication of the scourge of the Great Song Dynasty and Cai Jing and Li Bangyan. Although some people applauded his absence, more people sighed and even were indignant, some people wrote to the court to ask the court not to let Zhongliang chill, and some people widely exposed the post to avenge Wu Zilong's grievances.

Since Wu Zilong took charge of the Ministry of Rites, he has deliberately promoted the backwardness of the Society, and has selected materials for the country, and his protégés are all over the court. But he was very strict with himself, and although he was in the market day and night, he never received a penny of gifts, and the surplus he earned was also used to support the poor and poor. Among the backward talents of the Society, there are many people who are grateful for Wu Zilong's favor. Therefore, although he was forced to resign, most of the scholars and ordinary people did not think that he had done anything wrong. On the day of farewell, in addition to Chen Dong and other Qingliu important ministers, officials from Ezhou and nearby prefectures and counties, and thousands of scholars who had not yet entered the government consciously went to Wuchangmen Wharf to see them off. The people along the coast, the spectators were blocked, and Wu Zilong cheered loudly, as if it was not a farewell, but a welcome to the new official.

At the invitation of his friends and protégés, Wu Zilong will go to Hangzhou to write a book and speak. Wukang County is the place where Wu Zilong lived for a long time, and he bought a farmhouse courtyard by the West Lake to live in seclusion. At that time, Cai Jing was in power, and Wu Zilong was only the commander of Wukang County. The righteous Hu Keji stabbed to death Cai Jun, the prefect of Hangzhou, and Hu Keji was sentenced to Ling Chi by the imperial court. After Wu Song stole Hu Kehe's remains, Wu Zilong openly buried Hu Kehe on the shore of the West Lake, and the tombstone was praised as "the righteous man of the Great Song Dynasty". Although tens of thousands of people in the southeast prefecture and county wrote a letter of support, Wu Zilong was demoted and lost for the first time, and he has been proud of it ever since.

After the official ship left Ezhou, it went down the river all the way, and every time it was anchored, the local clear stream was warmly invited. For such entertainment, Wu Zilong all pushed it away, but the news spread, many people came to the dock to visit him, for these people who came to visit, Wu Zilong did not refuse, no matter what the reputation of the other party, what the wealth is, he will treat each other with courtesy, but the eunuch bag is thin, and the scholars who come to visit only have coarse tea and light rice, and the boat's side dishes are entertained. However, everyone is proud of the sight of the Book of Rites.

Wu Zilong was jealous and hateful in his early years, and after serving as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, he felt even more bitterly that the good and bad officials were uneven, and everyone intersected with interests, and encroached on each other with interests. The officials of the imperial court are not right, so that the filthy officials are rampant, and the upward and downward effects are accumulated, the people's hearts are lost, and the world is declining. The Ministry of Rites dismissed a corrupt official, and a person who had no bad deeds in the past sat in the official position, but soon fell into the turbid atmosphere of officialdom. This situation cannot be reversed by killing one or two great traitors. Therefore, Wu Zilong believes that in order to reverse the decline of the last days, it is necessary to use both heavy canons and edification of people's hearts. He felt that the "Song Dynasty Criminal System" of this dynasty was too lenient and could no longer play the role of supporting the hearts of the people of the world, but as a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, he had neither the time and energy, nor was it good to interfere in the matter of criminal names. Now although he has lost his official position, he is relaxed, and he is determined to compile a new criminal law called "Song Rite Law" called "guide them with courtesy, and punish them together". He talked about this matter in his letters with many of his fellow disciples and disciples.

After living in seclusion in Hangzhou, Wu Zilong closed the door to greet guests, discussed etiquette with several people, and wrote books. However, when Zhu Sen came to visit, Wu Zilong couldn't help but see him. Zhu Sen is not only the veteran of the Li Society, but also Zhao Ke's uncle. He lectured and educated people in Zhulin Academy, and his reputation was no less than that of Chen Zhao, Cao Wu and others. After Chen Dong took power, science flourished, Cao Liangshi, Wu Zilong and others were all in high power, and there were conflicts between them, but Zhu Sen was detached from the government and politics, and his friendship with everyone remained unchanged. But when the Li Society had to change "Zhao Qi" to the Son of Heaven, as Zhao Ke's uncle, Zhu Sen did not say a word to blame. This measure alone made Wu Zilong have to admire.

On the outskirts of Hangzhou, a bamboo forest covers a courtyard of blue bricks and mud tiles, which is the place where Wu Zilong lived.

The study is filled with the fragrance of ink, the table is piled up with neatly written manuscripts, the left side of the desk is the criminal laws of the past dynasties including the "Shangshu" scriptures, and the right side is the Confucian scriptures such as Zhou Li, I Ching, and the Analects.

"The humble house is simple," Wu Zilong was very polite, and said with a smile, "Does Brother Zhu have any insight into the study of this criminal name?" ”

"The study of criminal names is not what a foolish brother is good at." Zhu Sen is not polite. also wants to save the world, he focuses on controlling human desires and conforming to the science of heavenly principles, which resonates with Zhao Xingde, but in terms of criminal names, he does not dabble much. Wu Zilong worked hard to compile the "Song Rite Law", and when idlers could not see him, those who saw him would inevitably talk about this brilliant masterpiece that had not yet been completed. At Wu Zilong's insistent request, Zhu Sen pondered: "Although Brother Wu's purpose of helping people's hearts is good, Brother Wu wants to abolish the 'Eight Discussions' method, but he is afraid that there will be great resistance in the court. Those who are greedy for ink and accept bribes worth 1,000 yuan will be sentenced to 1,000 li, and those who are greedy for more than 3,000 yuan will be hanged. Is it too harsh? In this way, the officials of our court are afraid that there will be few who will not be hanged. Zhu Sen secretly thought, "Song Rite Law" is so strict, when Wu Zilong hears about that matter, I don't know what he will say?

"Greedy ink and bribery, you must not tolerate adultery!" Wu Zilong shook his head and said, "Brother Zhu, you were born in a wealthy family, and a mere 1,000 wen is enough to worry about, but you don't know anything, but for the people of Shengdou, one or twenty wen can often force out people's lives." The hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit, and officials who take bribes must also give benefits to others. Greed for ink and bribery must be multiplied, or even dozens of times, pressed on the people. The magistrates did not dare to offend the gentry and the rich, and often had to take it from the people, and the taxes of the imperial court were already too heavy, so how could the people bear the extortion of turbidity? Compared with the suffering of the people due to bribery, the punishment of dismissal and exile is too light! Wu Zilong took a sip of tea and sighed again, "As for the 'eight discussions', discussing relatives, discussing reasons, discussing nobles, discussing guests, etc., although it is an ancient system, it is enough to promote evil today. Who is Cai Jing? The old minister of the three dynasties, so it is difficult for the court to kill him, but it is clear every day! It's all day by day! The prince broke the law and cannot be guilty of the same crime as the common people! The theory of 'eight discussions' makes the law only restrain the roosters and dogs, and tolerates the real great evil! The loss of the legal net can be passed by the giant whale that swallowed the boat, so that my Great Song Gang Ji has no existence, and it is the fault of appeasement and adultery that has fallen into this field! He said that he was excited, and slapped his palm on the ground, shaking the cups and plates on the table.

Zhu Sen frowned, feeling that this statement was alarmist, but he asked Wu Zilong for this trip, and he did not directly refute him, but only muttered: "Let these two articles go first, the 'men and women elope, the difference between marriage and marriage is more than forty years old, and the widow is mourned for less than three years and then marries, the same as all the adulterers, those who have husbands and adulterers are beheaded and abandon the city, and those who have no husbands have fifty male rods and thirty women. This law was unheard of in the previous dynasties. Men and women are happy, can the law manage other people's family affairs? ”

Wu Zilong said: "These situations are either not in accordance with the etiquette law, or they are forced to take them. That's why ...... so," he himself felt a little reluctant, and deliberately explained, "The so-called rites are punished, and in addition to the ritual law, the bento should be a punishment." The laws and regulations of the previous dynasty were sloppy, and there were many gaps in the etiquette and punishment, so the world was declining, and those who obeyed the etiquette and law were not allowed to be allowed in the world. Only by indoctrination alone can no longer correct the world's style, and now only by overkilling, 'leading them with courtesy, and punishing them together', and formulating a real law of 'going out of courtesy and punishing', can we make the traitor have no gaps to take advantage of, and let the world know that the etiquette of my Great Song Dynasty is not child's play. ”

"The buying and selling of slaves and maids has not been prohibited in previous dynasties?"

"Although the previous dynasties have not banned it, but the initiator has no aftermath?"

Zhu Sen nodded and sighed: "Then 'as long as there is circumstantial evidence, the contract can be concluded without a deed', isn't it that people can't joke, everyone has to be careful when they speak." ”

"The gentleman trembles, as if he is on the edge of the abyss, like walking on thin ice," Wu Zilong said: "How can you easily speak falsely, besides, if the witnesses are false, they will also be punished by sitting back." Although he began to humbly ask for advice, Zhu Sen questioned it a few more times, and he was also unhappy in his heart.

Zhu Sen secretly said, "Such a harsh law will not be able to pass through the world." But he knew Wu Zilong's personality very well, and he didn't try to persuade him, but mentioned another incident that happened in Shuzhou not long ago. There were a few shameless people who did something to force the good to become prostitutes, and the bitter lord went to the government to complain, and the government was afraid of the traitor's backer, so he only took a few scapegoats, and saw that the sufferer was not convinced, but put the bitter lord in a yoke to show the public. One of Zhu Sen's disciples happened to learn about this and wrote to him to tell him that the government and the state school were all facing traitors, and the bitter master was helpless, and he was afraid that he would be forced to kill people if he dragged on like this. Although Zhu Sen had the intention to punish evil, because of his status as a national relative, he was afraid of attracting discussion, so he asked Wu Zilong to intervene.

"Traitor!" Sure enough, before Zhu Sen finished speaking, Wu Zilong took the case and said angrily, "If such traitors are not severely punished, how different are we from Cai Jing and Li Bangyan?" ”

He stood with his hands in his hands, his face was a little terrible because of extreme anger: "The most hateful thing is that these people can actually cover the sky with one hand, so that the people on one side do not know the etiquette of my Great Song Dynasty!" Corrupt customs, and make the world worse. In my opinion, the one who wears the flail to show the public should be the governor of Shuzhou and Xuezheng! He turned around twice and stopped, suppressed his anger, and said to Zhu Sen, "Brother Zhu, don't worry, there will be justice in this matter." Seeing that Zhu Sen's face was still suspicious, Wu Zilong said again: "Chivalry is forbidden by martial arts, after the Liao army retreated north, the Criminal Department has always wanted to control the people's firearms, but this matter is so easy, Wen Xunzhi has asked me, if he doesn't care about this matter, I don't care about his affairs." If the evil is not eradicated, it is good for everyone to break the ban! ”

"In this way, I will represent the people," Zhu Sen nodded, bowed and saluted: "Thank you, Brother Wu, Gaoyi." ”