The Great Song envoy passed through Youzhou and continued southward, leaving the Liao State shortly thereafter and entering the border of Xiongzhou. This is the northern defense bridgehead of the Great Song Dynasty, and the necessary place for the Song and Liao envoys to pass through.

After losing the Yanshan barrier, in order to prevent the Khitan iron cavalry from going south, the Song Dynasty paid a greater price and hardship. In desperation, they had no choice but to artificially create barriers, and the Xiongzhou area along the Song-Liao border, on the basis of natural river waters, excavated and built ponds. Artificially created a defense line of hundreds of miles, and used the Tangbo swamp to stop the Liao cavalry.

If you defend the cavalry with infantry or have no danger to defend, you can only use this method. It was quite difficult, and the price to pay was too great, and as soon as there was a stir, the border garrison would sit on the side, and the effect would inevitably be reduced.

Even so, God did not give face and did not pity the hard-working defenders of the Song Dynasty at all. For many years, the Yellow River broke several times and diverted its course to the north, becoming the boundary river between the Song and Liao countries. The Yellow River brought a large amount of sediment, which caused the Song army to dig up the pond and silt, making the already fragile and difficult defense line even worse.

It can be seen that how great was the influence of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun on the Song Dynasty? The necessary surnames and urgent surnames for the recovery of Yanyun have also continued to increase.

The thought in Lin Zhao's heart became stronger and stronger, maybe it was time to do something......

All the way south, the flood has receded, but the impact of the disaster has not passed. Many people remain displaced, homeless and living in extreme hardship. Especially after the arrival of the severe winter cold, it is even more pitiful. Although the imperial court has dispatched materials for disaster relief, it is inevitable that there will be negligence in all aspects of everything for a while.

Seeing all kinds of tragic situations along the way, it is even more embarrassing. The problems of river control and disaster relief, enriching the country and strengthening the army are also becoming more serious. Fortunately, Song Shenzong seems to have realized these problems and intends to support Wang Anshi to reform and change the law and become a great and promising king.

To be honest, Lin Zhao has some understanding of the cultural and military history of the Song Dynasty. However, little is known about Wang Anshi's reforms, and the only knowledge may be limited to middle school history textbooks.

The content of the changes seems to be good, but if they can be implemented seriously, will they really play a role in enriching the country and strengthening the army?

It's a pity that in the original history, it ended in failure, as for the reason, is it really just because it violated the interests of others and was resisted? So why did a group of people of insight such as Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi oppose it? Maybe there is something wrong with Wang Anshi's side as well......

It's a pity that I didn't know much about this in my previous life, and my eyes were black at this time, and I could only wait for the change to start and explore it in person.

Lin Zhao also understood a truth, the traverser is also limited.

If you are not a history professional, you can understand everything so carefully. In the general historical trend, there is an advantage in some creation and invention. But in terms of court and legal reform, it is still a little worse, and sometimes even inferior to some far-sighted and shrewd ancients.

It turns out that the aura of the traverser is not omnipotent, Lin Zhao's subconscious sense of superiority is slightly frustrated, it seems that he has to learn modestly...... At least in the matter of Wang Anshi's change, he is not a far-sighted person, but more of an explorer......

However, at this moment, Lin Zhao has some expectations for the change, and his ability to embark on a career is also because of the help of the Wang family's father and son, and he should be reciprocated.

Lin Zhao thought to himself, why don't you follow Wang Xianggong for a while? Let's see if we can help improve and promote the implementation of the change. What's more, at least in the next few years, Anshi, the prince of the prime minister, is a man of the year in the Great Song Dynasty, and he is in power. Following him for the time being will also be of great benefit to the development of his career, hehe......

From Xiongzhou to the south, there was the Great Song Army escorted all the way, through Zhending Mansion, through Lanzhou, and finally returned to Bianjing in mid-November.

After more than three months of hard work, heavy pressure, and life and death dangers, I was already quite tired. Therefore, seeing Chenzhoumen and returning to Bianjing, where there is a lot of farewell, the spontaneous familiarity and relaxation make them extremely enjoyable.

Although I really want to go back to Jiangnanju directly, I will enjoy the wine and food, rest and enjoyment. But the duty is in the body, and you must first give an account to the imperial court. The recital and "Quotations" of the envoy's report were sent back as soon as they were in Xiongzhou, and the officials and ministers must have understood it.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the emperor would also meet with the envoys again to express his condolences and rewards, and ask for some details. However, after Lin Zhao and the others entered the city, the news was sent to the palace and the two mansions, but the reply made them a little surprised and disappointed.

The officials and the ministers of the two governments are deliberating, and they will not meet for the time being, and they will be called separately.

What's going on?

Zeng Gong's face showed a confused look, Zhang Zongyi was sullen, and he felt that the heroes were being left out, only Lin Zhao was happy. That's right, my brother went back to rest first, I haven't seen my cousin and Miss Meng for a long time, I wonder if they're okay? I'll go back and surprise them later......

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In the Zichen Hall of the Imperial Palace, after receiving the news that the mission had returned to Beijing, Emperor Zhao really wanted to meet him immediately. He had already read the envoy's report, and knew that this time he had caught up with the Liao rebellion, and the experience was unusual, and he wanted to inquire carefully to satisfy his curiosity.

But at the moment, there is no way to leave, and many officials such as the ministers of the two prefectures, the Hanlin Bachelor, the Yushitai, the Dali Temple, and the Criminal Department are debating fiercely and arguing fiercely......

Zhao Ji was really bored to listen to it, because the topic of the debate was really a bit special......

The ministers were not arguing about statecraft, major decrees, but about a case, a very ordinary local criminal case.

If an ordinary case can be brought to the emperor and make the ministers quarrel, can this case still be ordinary? But the case itself is really not complicated......

In August of the first year of Xining, there was a woman named Ayun in Dengzhou, whose parents died, and was married to a man named Wei Ada by the head of the family. Wei Ah Da was ugly and handsome, and Ah Yun was very unhappy, so he took advantage of the fact that he was sleeping alone in the field house at night and brought a knife to kill him.

Because of Ah Yun's small strength, more than ten knives failed to hack him to death, and only one of his fingers was cut off. After the incident, the government could not catch the murderer, so they suspected that Ah Yun had done it, arrested her for interrogation, and when she was about to use torture, Ah Yun confessed in full.

It shows that it is only a case of wounding, but there is an element of attempted murder. The clarity of the legal provisions of the Song Dynasty and the special relationship between the two parties in the case of ancient ritual law made the case even more complicated.

The "Song Criminal Code" clearly stipulates that the murder of one's husband is a heinous crime of rebellion and a heinous capital crime. At the same time, when the engagement and the case occurred, it was the period of filial piety of Ayun's mother, which belonged to unfilial piety, which was undoubtedly a very serious crime in ancient times when loyalty and filial piety were emphasized.

If these two charges are convicted, Ayun will definitely die. But Xu Zun, the governor of Dengzhou, is a benevolent person, and he can't bear the tragic death of a weak woman in Ayun. It is believed that Ah Yun and Wei Ah Da are only engaged and have not married, so there is no such thing as murdering their husband. At the same time, it was determined that Ah Yun voluntarily confessed the facts of the crime, and there were circumstances of voluntary surrender, and the capital crime could be exempted

After the case was reported, the trial court and Dali Temple sentenced Ah Yun to death on charges of violating the law for marriage and murdering her husband. However, Xu Zunshang believes that when the official arraigns the defendant, if the defendant can voluntarily confess the facts of the crime, he should be punished as voluntary surrender and reduced by two degrees. After the case was reviewed by the Criminal Department, the emperor was asked to adjudicate. In the end, Emperor Zhao issued an edict to exempt Ah Yun from the death penalty.

The matter is nothing at this point, but the criminal department does not accept it and refuses to carry it out. At this time, Xu Zun, the governor of Dengzhou, was transferred to Dali Temple, so he insisted on his opinion, believing that Ayun should not be sentenced heavily. The superintendent of the Imperial Historian immediately wrote a letter to impeach Xu Zun for the unfairness of the judgment, and the case was again submitted to the Holy Court.

Emperor Zhao Ji was very helpless, so he had to hand over the case to the Hanlin Scholar for discussion, so Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were involved, and an ordinary case became a long-lasting court debate.

According to the "Song Criminal Code", when murdering a person, "there is an injury to the person, and there is no case of voluntary surrender". Sima Guang used this article as the legal basis to interpret the "cause" in the article "A person who surrenders himself for committing homicide or injury shall be exempted from the crime for which he was committed" as a causal relationship between several crimes, that is, if he commits a crime of theft, robbery, or selling a person while killing or injuring a person, he shall be subject to voluntary surrender and be exempted from the above-mentioned crimes. Obviously, the "crime of murder of wounded" is not included here. Therefore, it was determined that Ah Yun should still be sentenced to death!

Coincidentally, in July of the first year of Xining, the emperor issued an edict: "If the murder has been injured, according to the question, surrender yourself, and reduce the murder from the second class." This is in conflict with the provisions of the Song Penal Code. Xu Zun, Wang Anshi, and others believe that the circumstances mentioned in the edict should be taken into account in sentencing in order to handle the case fairly. The sentence according to the law is obviously too heavy for Ah Yun's prison and should be given a lenient sentence.

The two sides have their own opinions, and they have been arguing for months, and they have continued to ferment, and the involvement has become more and more extensive. No one would have thought that a little woman would cause an uproar in the Great Song Dynasty......