Remembering that at that time, Zhaoping solemnly put down the melon in his hand, stared at Xiao He, and said solemnly,

"I have also been in the court for a few years, and I have been named a marquis of Laoshizi, I know how to grow melons, and I have also seen people's hearts.

One day, if you want the current master to raise his noble hand and fulfill your leadership to lead the yellow dog out of Caimen, I'm afraid it won't be easy. ”

At that time, Xiao He didn't think so, and he thought that his intelligence and strategy were not lost, so he didn't care about the advice of the Marquis of Tanglin, who had experienced the great collapse.

When he and Liu Ji and Lu Pheasant met in Weiwei, they had a very close personal relationship, and they were confident that even if they really got to that point, they would have a perfect way to protect themselves.

But right now, he was kneeling in Luoyang Nangong and his knees hurt, and he was a little annoyed by his trust.

After sitting in a precarious position for a long time, Liu Ji couldn't help it after all, stretched his waist, and suddenly remembered something, rubbing his eyebrows and saying,

"By the way, the throne of the Yan Kingdom in the north can't always be empty.

You go back and discuss it, see who is suitable to be the new Yan King, and report it.

Yan and Xiongnu are adjacent to each other, and they have to find a stable person like Wu Chen, the king of Changsha, to ensure the peace of the frontier. ”

***

After the court meeting, Xiao He was ordered to come to the forbidden middle school, only to find that the porch was crowded with curious young officials, and Lu Pheasant took the prince and sat on the couch peacefully.

The weather was getting colder, Liu Ji was tired and afraid of the cold, so he lit the fire cage early, and the hall was warm.

There was another small case in front of the bed, which was like a hill, and it was full of documents from the people of Chang'an County accusing Xiao He of forcibly buying people's land on credit.

The emperor changed his majestic demeanor in the court just now, sat crookedly on the edge of the couch, leaned on the white jade table on the couch with his elbows, and his legs hung down from the edge of the couch, looking comfortable.

Liu Ying saw that his father's posture was very relaxed, and he was eager to follow suit, but he was slapped on the leg by Lu Pheasant.

"Sitting in the mountains, you can't climb the hall of elegance.

Your father and Xiao Xiangguo are old friends, so they are a little out of shape, if you dare to sit like this in front of others, pay attention to the master and scold you. ”

The master in Lu Pheasant's mouth refers to his uncle and grandson, although he is flexible by nature, but since he began to teach the prince and other princes to read, he has regarded it as a lifelong career and is meticulous in everything.

Liu Ji glanced at the queen with slanted eyes, and then remembered the indomitable bitter gourd face of Shusun Tong, and couldn't help but put his leg in slightly, and pointed to a scroll of papers, and said to Xiao He with a smile,

"Look at it, the people of Chang'an County have sued the emperor to Luoyang."

Xiao He responded, tremblingly opened the slips one by one, and looked at them carefully.

***

Liu Ji sometimes picked a few big immortal dates to eat from the carved copper case, and sometimes teased Liu Ying to say a few jokes, let Xiao He look at it slowly, and did not urge him.

Lu Pheasant had already read those documents, and at this moment, looking at a good face with outstanding governing talents, he was pinched by the emperor like kneading dough, and he couldn't help but think:

In those files, although Xiao He's family arrogantly bought a large amount of fertile land and drove away the people, among the countless evil forms, they did not hurt a single person or animal.

Implicit in this is a subtle and secret compassion, and it is also the proper meaning of a capable official with a heart for the world.

She remembered that when Xiao He first entered Guanzhong, in the year of the great famine, Mi Hu had a lot of money, but he was still able to act impartially, protect the people's livelihood, and operate a stable rear base for the Han army.

It is really embarrassing for a person who has done his best to be cautious even when he tries to defile himself, lest he harm innocent lives.

Thinking of this, Lu Pheasant glanced at Liu Ji, who had a relaxed and happy expression, with his wisdom, Xiao He's deliberate self-defiling methods should be like a fire.

Xiao He knew that Liu Ji was suspicious of him, so he had to protect himself by defiling himself, deliberately selling a flaw, and no longer coveting the false name of "virtuous appearance".

And Liu Ji knew that Xiao He knew that he was suspicious of him, and he also knew that he protected himself by defiling himself, but in Liu Ji's opinion, it seemed that this way of controlling him could make him sleep peacefully every night.

It's really people with their own ambitions, the self-made master of Xiongchai, who can't trust anyone, loves relatives but is not as skilled as others, if it is like her last life, the dynasty has been in power for decades, it is simply miserable, Lu Pheasant is in a complicated mood.

***

Liu Ji waited for a while, he was really bored, he lay on his back on the couch for a while, sat up straight again, drank a sip of hot tea with Qi Wei, and asked Liu Ying casually like chatting,

"Ying'er, you have also read the documents of the people's lawsuits.

Tell me, Xiao Xiangguo forcibly bought people's land on credit, according to the law, how to deal with it? ”

Liu Ying glanced straight at Xiao Xiangguo, who she respected very much, and then looked at Lu Pheasant, who was smiling.

Every day before the court, the queen mother would mention to him, saying that Xiao Xiangguo was a pillar of the society, and he had made indelible contributions to the country and his family, and he would definitely leave his name in history in the future, and he must not be humiliated.

So, he quickly typed a draft in his mind, and said to Liu Ji with a straight look,

"Xiao He, as a Xiangguo, once made the "Nine Chapters of Law", but now he knows the law and violates the law, and the poisonous sting (shì) is imposed on the people, and the people are forced to give credit to the people, and he has obtained tens of millions of dollars.

According to the law, the market should be abandoned—"

"Poof—"

Liu Ji couldn't hold back, and a sip of tea was sprayed on the thick silk brocade woven with colorful flowers, and a large piece of it was wet.

The palace people hurriedly rushed forward to wipe it, and Liu Ying was frightened by his reaction, her face turned pale, and she was silenced at a loss.

***

The death penalty in the Han Dynasty can be divided into two types: explicit killing and hidden killing.

Concealment can be understood as a secret execution, leaving dignity for the deceased, while concealment is the execution of a criminal in a downtown area in the city or near Guo, usually at an intersection where roads intersect in all directions.

In order to show that the prisoner deserved to be killed, gongs and drums were often beaten to attract the people of the city before the execution, and then the jū (jū) was read in public.

After the prisoners were beheaded or hanged in the downtown area, their bodies were thrown in the city for three days or more than ten days to warn the world.

Therefore, abandonment is a more humiliating punishment than ordinary capital crimes, and it is aimed at the double annihilation of the body and reputation of the most heinous person.

As soon as the prince said this, even though Xiao He had seen a thousand big scenes, he was so frightened that he dropped Jian Mu to the ground, his eyes widened, and he looked at the prince in horror, and his mind quickly flashed his past with the prince-

I haven't offended this little Hades, could it be that someone else taught him?

But who could it be? Is it Liu Ji himself, or Lu Pheasant?

Or is it Uncle Sun Tong, or Zhang Liang, or Cao Shen?

Or some other secretly formed enemy, trying to fake a real trick and kill him with one blow?

The cloudy and sunny changes on his face, his mind was erratic, and he was all in the eye of Lu Pheasant.

Lu Pheasant knew Liu Ying's character very well, he was weak and weak, but he was a benevolent and loyal young man, so he gently encouraged,

"Ying'er, it's okay, you finish what you want to say."

"Yes."

Receiving her mother's encouragement, Liu Ying took a breath and continued,

"But Xiao Xiangguo has worked hard for my big man, and his sons see it in their eyes every day and feel grateful in their hearts.

"Zhou Li" ...... "Zhou Li" are based on eight Libang laws, with criminal punishments, the third of which is the discussion of the virtuous, the fourth is the discussion of energy, the fifth is the discussion of merit, and the sixth is the discussion of nobles.

Erchen thinks that Xiao He has the merit of social excellence, and he is both virtuous, capable and meritorious, so it is not suitable to be dealt with by ordinary laws. ”

Originated in the Zhou Dynasty, it is the predecessor of the "Eight Discussions" in the Tang Dynasty, which is in turn the eight items of Discussion of Relatives, Discussion of Reason, Discussion of Virtue, Discussion of Ability, Discussion of Merit, Discussion of Noble, Discussion of Diligence and Discussion of Guests.

In short, when the above eight categories of people commit capital crimes, they need to be handed over to the emperor's special affairs, and they can usually receive leniency from extrajudicial circumstances.

In contrast to the Eight Pits, it is heinous, that is, no matter how much it is forgiven, it cannot exempt the capital crime of rebellion and rebellion.

Obviously, what Xiao He committed was not the ten evils, and it was still negotiable.

Liu Ji didn't expect that in just a few months, the prince would be able to speak out of the precedent of Zhou Li's prison sentence, and he was a little surprised in his heart, but he still asked quietly,

"So, according to what you think, will Xiangguo change from abandoning the market to being innocent?"

"It's not,"

Liu Ying said slowly,

"In order to stabilize the hearts of the people in the world, the emperor reduced forced labor, exempted from taxes, and rested with the people, which is the foundation of the country.

Xiao Xiangguo's crime, although he can not die, still needs to be punished and shown to the world, so as to show that my dynasty is strict in law and advises farmers to teach agriculture.

As for the punishment, the son's ministers neglected to supervise the country, and they were willing to accept the punishment of 髡 (kūn) on behalf of the prime minister and apologize to the people. ”