Shi Bufan and Liu Renliang walked into the palace together, and when they walked together to the Liangyi Hall of Li Shimin's harem, that is, the place where the emperor had a private court, Li Shimin saw that Shi Bufan actually followed.

"How can I meet you in anything?" Li Shimin also complained.

Shi Bufan took the initiative to say: "Emperor, since the emperor moved me to Wannian County to serve as a county magistrate, I have been conscientious and have died with all my might. When I returned to the county office today, I saw that Liu Renliang, the county lieutenant of Chencang, was escorted back by the emperor and ordered Qianniuwei, and I came to advise the emperor on my behalf! ”

"Do you know what happened to him?" Li Shimin asked.

"I know, I killed the five-rank Zhichong Duwei Lu Ning!" Shi Bufan replied.

"Then you're still here? A nine-rank county lieutenant actually dared to kill a five-rank military attache without authorization, this is really very bold, is there any court law in his eyes? Li Shimin asked unceremoniously.

Then, Li Shimin took the initiative to ask: "You are Liu Renliang, the lieutenant of Chencang County?" If I remember correctly, you were recommended by Ren Gui to join the army at that time, first to join the army in Xizhou, and later transferred to the lieutenant of Chencang County. ”

"Yes!" Liu Renliang said.

Li Shimin then asked: "Very good, you are a county lieutenant, why did you want to kill my Zhichong?" ”

Liu Renliang replied: "Lu Ning has done many illegal things in our Chencang County, which has made the people of Chencang County uneasy. And I summoned him to the court, and instead of showing any remorse in the court, he insulted me. So I beat him to death! ”

"Presumptuous, that is, a few insults, dare to kill a five-grade military attache casually, what a big boldness!" Li Shimin said angrily.

In this era when the hierarchy of feudal society is extremely serious, it is indeed inappropriate for a nine-rank official to dare to kill a fifth-grade official casually. Especially in the early days of the Tang Dynasty, it was more inclined to martial arts, the Tang Dynasty was not the Ming and Qing dynasties, and a seven-grade civil official dared to shout five and six in front of the second-grade military generals. This early Tang Dynasty coincided, and the status of military generals was higher. What's more, a fifth-grade military attaché is many ranks higher than the nine-rank county lieutenant, but Liu Renliang actually dares to kill him casually, isn't this destroying the feudal hierarchy?

Liu Renliang's case is not only a legal issue, but also a matter of maintaining the hierarchy of feudal society. This may be the reason why history attaches great importance to it, and this kind of casual transcendence of hierarchy is very sensitive. Liu Renliang did this, in fact, he seriously touched the feudal social hierarchy, which made Li Shimin very dissatisfied. Maintaining feudal society is also patriarchal and hierarchical, and if this hierarchy can be broken casually, then it will be difficult for feudal society to maintain.

A level is a tree, and you can climb up at the bottom, but before you climb to that level, you can't just break through things that surpass your level. Otherwise, they will be punished in various ways, which is an important means to maintain feudal society.

Liu Renliang has no remorse, as if it doesn't matter at all.

But Li Shimin was even more angry, and said: "Put this Liu Renliang in Dali Temple Prison and wait for ......."

"Your Majesty, wait a minute, don't worry!" Shi Bufan hurriedly corrected and said.

Shi Bufan feels as if he doesn't play cards according to the script, according to the script, shouldn't Li Shimin "appreciate" Liu Renliang very much? Why doesn't the script seem to be right, what the hell is going on here? However, Shi Bufan didn't have time to speculate, because things had already exceeded his expectations, and he knew if it was the butterfly effect he had brought about, or the script in history was not so simple, and there might have been some twists and turns in the middle.

But Shi Bufan is not the kind of person who pins his fate on others, since the script and his memory are not right, whether he follows the original history or not, he must find a way to save himself. Because he took the initiative to get involved in this matter at that time, if Liu Renliang had a problem at this time, he would inevitably be involved at that time, which was not appropriate. Only if you work your own, you are also "saving yourself".

"Shi Bufan, what do you say? This Liu Renliang actually dared to kill me without authorization, of course I have to ask for the guilt! Li Shimin said politely.

Shi Bufan's eyes rolled, and he immediately had an idea, and said: "Your Majesty, this Lu Ning was not killed by Liu Renliang, but by you, the emperor!" Therefore, this can't be blamed on Liu Renliang, the county lieutenant! ”

"What?"

The people present, even Liu Renliang, all felt serious, Shi Bufan would actually say that? Liu Renliang personally ordered that Lu Ning to be beaten to death, but now Shi Bufan opened his eyes and said that Li Shimin killed him by lying nonsense, isn't this deliberately dead? Even Liu Renliang thought that Shi Bufan's words were unreliable, but he didn't dare to speak.

"Shi Bufan, what do you mean by this? Don't give me a sophistry this time, if you don't tell me a reason, I will punish you together! Li Shimin said politely.

Shi Bufan replied calmly; "Your Majesty, who do you say my laws of the Tang Dynasty were formulated?"

"Of course I'm it?" Li Shimin answered as he should.

Li Shimin's very natural answer was that he would make the law, which was the so-called legislative power in ancient times. The reason why the emperor in ancient times was said to be the most powerful was because he held both legislative and judicial powers. His control of the legislative, executive, and judicial powers means that he can change the rules of the game at will. If the rules of the game do not suit his interests, he can change the law and then play according to the new rules of the game.

However, he also grasped the executive power, so it can be said that he was both a referee and an athlete, so he won no matter what. Therefore, Li Shimin directly opened his mouth and said that he was the one who formulated the law, that is, because the legislative power was in his hands.

"Your Majesty, isn't this law just to help you rule my Tang Dynasty? This law is to help the emperor to rule my Datang, and it is the rule you set up for the people of Datang, so it is naturally one of the edicts, and even more authoritative than edicts and orders, right? Shi Bufan asked.

Li Shimin thought about it, and finally nodded, this law should indeed be more authoritative than daily edicts. The law is long-term, and it is something that maintains his rule in the Tang Dynasty, and the law is also a tool used by the ruling class to maintain its rule. Of course, if this law is of little use to their rule, it can be changed at will, which is why the emperor can hold the legislative power. Even the law is more important than ordinary orders, and this law is something that maintains the bottom line of rule, and Li Shimin must of course recognize that the law is more important than ordinary edicts.

"Well, Your Majesty, since the law was made by the Emperor himself, and you acknowledge that the law is more authoritative than the edict. And I, the people of the Tang Dynasty, know that in the face of the emperor's edict, we must respect it, otherwise it is disobeying the order and must be severely punished. This law is a canonical edict issued by the emperor, and it is also a type of edict, but it is not so obvious. The Emperor, you have the power of this legislation in your mouth. The law is established by your final decision, even if the penal department only has a suggestion, not the power to make a final decision. Since the law was established by the king himself, the law is also a kind of royal edict, even the highest level of edict. Since you have to obey ordinary edicts, and you can't disobey them, and those who violate them are severely punished, isn't it a matter of disobeying the law? If you disobey the law, that is, disobey the emperor's edict, there is no problem with this, right? Shi Bufan said.

"That's right, but he's a county lieutenant,......" Li Shimin still wanted to use the hierarchy system, but Shi Bufan hurriedly interrupted.

Shi Bufan knows that in any debate, sometimes you have to plan the other party's thinking, and sometimes you have to use the tactic of interruption when necessary to confuse the other party's thinking. This is a tactical use, a shameless means of debate, a behavioral tactic in sophistry. Once the other person's thinking is confused, then you will have a chance.

"Your Majesty, since the law is your edict, even the highest edict, then the enforcer is also your herald. If the emperor asks the palace attendants to convey the messenger who makes the book or reads the edict, then don't all the people in the world and the civil and military officials also have to respect and obey it? Although the identity of the herald may be relatively low, but he represents the emperor you, if you insult the envoy, you are insulting the emperor? The previous minister went to discuss with the Turks on behalf of my Tang Dynasty, why didn't the Turks dare to attack me? That's because the minister represents my Datang, and if you insult me, you are insulting Datang, which is the reason why they don't dare to attack me. ”

"Therefore, the civil and military officials did not dare to despise you, the emperor, and naturally did not dare to insult the messenger of the order. The enforcer is the one who is responsible for carrying out the 'edicts' that the Emperor has ordered you to make, and that should be respected. If you insult the law enforcers, you are insulting the laws that you have formulated the emperor, and you are insulting the emperor's edict? What is the difference between insulting the emperor and insulting the emperor? ”

Li Shimin felt as if he had been bypassed it, and Shi Bufan deliberately said that this law was an "order" issued by the emperor, which was not wrong from the perspective of ancient legislative thought, because the law was a tool of the emperor's rule, and the law was formulated by the emperor "with a constitution in his mouth", so it is not an exaggeration to say that the law is an edict, and it is even more advanced than ordinary edicts. If you insult the messenger who delivered the edict, you are insulting the emperor, of course. However, Shi Bufan secretly changed the concept and said that this enforcer was the person who conveyed the edict to the emperor, and should enjoy the same status and treatment as the envoy sent by the emperor to convey the edict.

"Hmph, I don't believe you dare to deny it! If you dare to deny it, then you are denying that the law is the emperor's order, and denying that the law is the emperor's order, you are also denying that the emperor has legislative power. I don't believe it, you dare to deny the ideology that the emperor has legislative power. Once you dare to deny that the emperor has legislative power, there will be huge loopholes in your ruling ideology on the throne and even in the future of the Tang Dynasty, will you dare to do so? As long as you still want to admit that the legislative power is in the hands of the emperor, then you don't dare to deny my words, you don't dare to deny my words, and you can't punish Liu Renliang. Shi Bufan said.

Li Shimin finally felt that his brain was a little frustrated, and finally he simply didn't want to, and said helplessly: "Hahahaha, Shi Bufan, Shi Bufan, I know that you are also sophistry this time." But I couldn't say anything. If you want to talk about sophistry, no one in my Datang can surpass you. ”

"Okay, I'm convinced, you have to intercede for Liu Renliang, you have to give me a reasonable reason, otherwise I won't be able to explain!"

Shi Bufan continued: "Your Majesty, in fact, this matter can also turn bad things into good things. The emperor can use this as a reason that Liu Renliang is not only not at fault, but has merit. In the future, the Emperor may declare that the enforcer is equivalent to the messenger of the Emperor's heralds. Of course, this enforcer must also be executed in accordance with the laws established by the emperor, and cannot be arbitrarily punished with additional punishments. ”

"This can strengthen the dignity of the public court, otherwise all kinds of royal relatives and nobles will dare to do illegal things casually. The ministers heard that many family members of relatives and nobles, relying on the status of relatives and nobles in their own families, often dared to be arrogant in the court. However, as a law enforcement official, he does not dare to punish him, isn't this conniving at the violation of the law? Conniving at the law is shaking the foundation of our Tang rule. If the emperor recognizes the same status as the enforcer and the messenger, and insulting the enforcer is equivalent to insulting the messenger who conveys the edict, which is equivalent to insulting the emperor, then it can be said that this gives the enforcer a protection. This will not only help law enforcers to enforce the law as impartially as possible, but also maintain the peace of our Datang. ”

"Otherwise, in the public court, they dare to openly insult the law enforcers, so where is the majesty of the law? And the law is one of the 'edicts' set up by the emperor, and it is the most fundamental and bottom-line rule of my Tang Dynasty rule. If even law enforcers can be insulted casually, then there may not be a problem today, and there will be no problem tomorrow, but there will definitely be a problem the day after tomorrow. Law enforcers can't enforce the law effectively, so what's the use of your law, Your Majesty? ”

Therefore, in the public court, the minister thought that the law enforcer should be given the identity of the messenger, so as to avoid wanton insults by others. This is the root of strengthening my Tang law, and in the future, no one can have any privileges in the public court. From the crown prince to the common people, anyone facing the law enforcers, no matter what the status of the law enforcers, but as long as they have no privileges in front of the law enforcers, this is the most important means to maintain the authority of the emperor. If even the law enforcers are wantonly insulted, then how can the rule of my Tang Dynasty be stable? ”

Li Shimin thought about it, and finally nodded helplessly. Li Shimin also really knows that many relatives and nobles in Chang'an are wantonly violating law and discipline. There are many such things in Wuhouwei. Chang'an Wuhou Wei can catch some guys who claim to be my dad XXX almost every day, but those Wu Houwei people are lowly and don't dare to mess around. And when the time comes, Li Shimin will have to come forward if he doesn't leave, which is definitely not appropriate.

Giving the status of a messenger to the enforcer is also equivalent to strengthening the power of the enforcer and helping to maintain the bottom line of the rule. (To be continued.) )