Chapter 49: The Great Song Jury
Zhao Ji threw the problem to Wang Bian, who knew that it was easy to say a conclusion, but it was difficult to change a thing. He looked at Zhao Ji www.biquge.info and suddenly smiled: "The saint, under the whole world, is not the king's land, the shore of the land, and the king's minister." Since ancient times, the law has come out of the king, and you can abolish the law with one word and legislate with one word. In successive dynasties, the edicts, regulations, decrees, and releases issued by the emperor were regarded as the most important forms of law, and written laws were often subordinated to edicts. Now, instead of issuing an edict, you ask me, do you have great ambitions and want to formally establish a set of standards to implement, so that hundreds of officials have laws to follow and laws to follow? ”
There was silence in the hall, and what the king said was too sharp. He told the facts, and at the same time subverted the relationship between imperial power and law. But there is no one to refute what is said, and once anyone opposes it, it is against the great ambition of the saints. As soon as this big tall hat was put on by Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji was immediately set up in the air.
Wang Jian saw that Zhao Ji was stunned, and then said: "Ministers, think about it, if a case cannot be finally convicted when the facts of the case are clear, and you have to come up to the court to ask the saint for advice, then what is the use of keeping him in the departments of trial and punishment, Dali, and criminal department?" Isn't it just that the saint sits in the court every day to judge the case for everyone? ”
Seeing that the officials of the various ministries did not speak, Han Qi said: "Lord Wang, with what you say, it seems that my Great Song Dynasty cannot be followed. In the fourth year of Song Taizu Jianlong, he compiled the "Song Jianzheng Detailed Punishment System", which was the first published and printed code in history since ancient times. All ministries and departments are now also implementing this law, and the Ayun issue is just a case, not to mention that there was no talk of surrender before. Not to mention those who have asked to be exempted from the death penalty because they surrendered. ”
Wang said: "Han Xiang is right, since I will test you when it comes to this, how was this "Song Jian's Grand and Detailed Criminal System" formulated? ”
Seeing that no one answered, Wang said: "The provisions of "Song Jian's Grand Detailed Punishment System" are only a copy of "Tang Law and Discussion", and the changes are: adding the "Folding Stick Law"; A collection of 209 articles of criminal norms from the late Tang Dynasty to the early Song Dynasty for 150 years is appended to the legal text. ”
"King Zhennan is so knowledgeable!" "Yes, this prince knows so much!" There were several voices of praise in the court.
"Not to mention whether the regulations of the late Tang Dynasty and early Song Dynasty followed the old system, but there is a saying, called advancing with the dynasty, I don't know if everyone has heard of it? During the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, theocratic and patriarchal ideas were used to rule; During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, he advocated the rule of etiquette, the rule of virtue, and the rule of man; Qin enforced the rule of law and unified the six kingdoms by force. The implementation of the rule of law, strict punishment and strict law, burning books and pit Confucianism, if the ministers were born in Qin, with your knowledge, you must have been dug and buried......"
When the king said this, his tone was very relaxed, and the ministers were also attracted by his speech, and together with the infection of his rich expression and tone, the court immediately burst into laughter.
Seeing that the atmosphere had relaxed, the king said, "Therefore, everything must be in line with the court. Now my Da Song is still holding the old classics to judge things, obviously a little out of the beat. In the case of voluntary surrender, although it is a new term, it can be added to the law as a criterion for leniency. And attempted murder can also be written. Judgments can be made according to the results of motives and the attitude of confession of guilt, and according to the law. If there are similar cases in the future, these can be used as a basis. Holy Lord, what do you think of what I said? ”
Zhao Ji smiled and said: "It's good, it's good, the official family can order Dali Temple to formulate and amend various laws, how about you supervise this matter, King Zhennan?" ”
Wang Bi shook his head, he didn't want to take on this job, formulating the code was a huge project: "Holy Lord, I recommended Sima Hanlin to do this, I think he is completely competent." ”
Zhao Ji understood that Brother Wang didn't want to let things tie him up. He turned his head to Sima Guang and said, "Sima Hanlin, the official family has ordered you to cooperate with Dali Temple to complete this matter." ”
Sima Guang never imagined that the king would nominate himself and be able to recompile the royal code, which was a great responsibility and honor. He was speechless for a long time. But when he looked at Wang Anshi, he thought that although this matter was good, if it was not handled properly, he would definitely be impeached by Wang Anshi, a stubborn old man. Everything else is easy to say, but the Ayun case is still unresolved and inconclusive. Thinking of this, he said: "Thank you, but how should this Ayun case be adjudicated? ”
Wang said: "Sima Hanlin has made a lot of progress!" ”
Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, he was originally a person who had a lot of ideas, and he had always supported the severe punishment of Ah Yun, but when Wang said this just now, he also hesitated, so he asked such a question. Zhao Ji hadn't spoken yet, and the king came to say this, I really don't know if he was praising or depreciating.
Zhao Ji didn't know how to adjudicate, and when he heard what the king said, he immediately said: "King Zhennan, tell me where Sima Hanlin has made progress?" ”
Wang said: "At the beginning, Sima Hanlin asked for an edict, but it was difficult for him and his father to distinguish the results, and they did not give in to each other, so let the Holy Lord decide whether it was right or wrong." This time, Sima Hanlin asked for the decree, knowing that this matter was related to the law, and he was very cautious and very, but this time he was consulting the opinions of the saint and everyone, and it seemed that Sima Hanlin was brainstorming with his heart. Sima Hanlin, am I right? ”
Sima Guang thought to himself, can this kid next to the king be able to read minds? The slightest hesitation was caught by him, and he couldn't refute the question. He nodded and said convincingly: "Yes, that's exactly what I thought, and I asked the king of Zhennan for more advice." ”
Zhao Ji laughed when he heard this: "It's so good, it's rare for the officials to work together so harmoniously, King Zhennan, tell me quickly, how to improve the law through the Ayun case." ”
Wang said: "Holy Lord, it is easy to convict in this case, but it is the most difficult to convince people. If a village woman wounding a person can cause trouble to the imperial court, presumably many officials involved in the case, from the state government to the criminal department, are involved in the sentencing of the case, so there must be a final result, and as long as any party is impartial, it will not be impeached because of the wrong position in the case. This is the sentence that convinces everyone! ”
The ministers in the main hall nodded their heads, and what the king said was exactly what they thought in their hearts, and many officials have been impeached in the past, and sometimes it is caused by different views on one thing. In the end, no one listens to the other, or it is impossible to change their views at all. Because each party will do its best to maintain opinions, it is natural to maintain not only opinions, but also a series of connections and positions of power. This point was explained by the king in public, and everyone's worries disappeared.
Sima Guang went from obscurity in the Renzong period, to fighting alone in the Yingzong period, until Song Shenzong ascended the throne, and he finally found the so-called like-minded people, that is, people who opposed the New Deal together. Because Song Shenzong's use of Wang Anshi may block the upward passage of these people, and even if Wang Anshi's change is really as short-lived as Qingli's new policy, then standing with Wang Anshi will definitely be implicated. But hearing Wang's words, Sima Guang began to admire Wang's side from his heart.
Zhao Ji clapped his hands and said, "Okay! The official family issued a decree that no matter what the punishment result of the Ayun case is, as long as it is fair and just, no official will need to be impeached because of different views on the case! ”
Sima Guang said to the king: "If this is the case, then the prince has a fair and just law?" ”
An idea has been formed in Wang Bin's mind, maybe this idea was not there yesterday, but just now he broke off his speech, and slowly smoothed his own thinking more completely.
"Sima Hanlin asked well! Law enforcement should naturally be fair and just! However, if the law is too heavy, there will be resentment, and if it is too light, there is no meaning in punishment. Therefore, moderation, fairness, and justice are the most suitable for my Great Song Dynasty, so that we can keep pace with the dynasty! The first step in doing this is to be public, so I have a proposal......"
He looked around the faces of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and saw that Li Shenzheng was listening carefully, and the Kaifeng Mansion was not involved in this matter now. Wang said: "Holy Lord, I propose to transfer this case to Kaifeng Mansion, and Kaifeng Mansion will set up a public court to hear it. At the same time, in addition to participating in the hearing of the various divisions and departments of the case, he also asked the Holy Majesty to order the establishment of a jury to participate in the resolution of the case. ”
Zhao Ji looked at Wang in confusion: "Brother Wang, what does this jury say?" ”
Wang said: "Saint, this jury is not an official of the imperial court, but a person of learning who is selected from the people, such as the gentry, such as the tribute students who have passed the county and township examinations, the family members of the officials, and the officials who have resigned and retired from the imperial court. The emperor can issue an imperial list, and the number of people in this group is set at 100 people, and every time there is a public trial, 21 people will be selected by lot. Taking the Ayun case as an example, since everyone believes that hurting people is a fact, what needs to be defended by Ayun is whether or not to deal with it lightly. Then the party that proposed a lighter party was used as Ayun's defense, and when the trial was held, each side sent a representative. Whichever side receives the most votes from the jury will determine the final verdict of the Ayun case. ”
Fu Bi asked, "Is this different from the voting of the officials above the main hall?" ”
Wang said: "Of course it is different, the position occupied by the officials above the hall may not be on the Ayun case itself, this is the first point; The second point is that the law is ultimately applied to the people, and the saints see us people every day in the court, and it is difficult to know the affairs of the people and the thoughts of the people. The people on the jury are all in the opposition, including young people who have just debuted, middle-aged and elderly gentry who are knowledgeable, retired officials who have resigned from the government but are concerned about the imperial court, and even more women who are literate and thoughtful in their families. Their judgments tend to be more objective; This third benefit, presumably after the case is decided, Yushitai will never impeach the jury! ”
After he finished speaking, the ministers in the main hall all laughed again, and several of the imperial historians of the Imperial Historical Observatory, Lu Zhi and the others also smiled awkwardly. The duty of the Imperial Historical Observatory is to impeach people, and if the king says so, it really seems that the Imperial Historical Observatory has to find something if it is fine.
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