In the morning, the sun rises.
It's the end of October, the beginning of winter. Although it hasn't snowed yet, the weather is getting colder.
The sun shines palely on the earth, unable to dispel the coldness, like frost.
Amidst the howling cold wind, even the heaven and earth seemed to be filled with a solemn murderous intent.
The early court ended under Zhao Jun's scolding, and many officials returned home in disgrace.
The Supreme Court ordered that the entrance exam law must be strictly implemented and implemented, and those who obstruct it will be severely punished.
For a time, the riot that lasted for more than three months, starting from the new law that identified many officials at the end of July, is finally over.
Chongzheng Hall is located in the northeast corner of the center of the solemn Song Dynasty Palace, northeast of Chuigong Hall and north of Zichen Hall.
After descending from Chui Gong Palace, walk to the east corridor into Zi Chen Hall, then pass through the back pavilion of Zi Chen Hall through Zi Chen Gate, and walk less than fifty steps eastward to the outside of Chongzheng Hall.
Lu Yijian and Sheng Du walked into the hall with their heads downcast and their faces ashen as death.
When Zhao Jun came back, their last chance to rescue their son and son-in-law was gone, and they were likely to be punished, which made them full of disappointment.
There was silence in the hall at this moment, no one spoke.
The atmosphere in the air seemed to be condensed to the extreme, so much so that even the neutralists Jiang Tang, Li Di and others felt on pins and needles.
Zhao Jun's eyes were cold and stern, and he seemed to be still angry, but he didn't say a word.
Seeing that the atmosphere had become tense, Zhao Zhen broke the silence after only two minutes of silence in the room and whispered: "Dasun, how about"
"boom!"
Zhao Jun slapped the coffee table next to him, glared at Lu Yijian and the others and said, "You are going crazy! Jingkang Shai is still waiting for you in the future, and the construction of the Yellow River has not started yet. Do you think you are sitting in this position? Do you think you are so powerful that you can ignore the interests of the country and do whatever you want?"
"Yes, we are going crazy!"
Lu Yijian's eyes were red, and the old man seemed to have a tight strength, which was released at this moment, and he roared: "It's not your son who is in trouble, of course you don't care, the flesh is not cut on you, you don't feel any pain!"
"What? Is the crime justified? Who is responsible for your son's lack of education? When he went around showing off his power in your name, I don't believe you didn't hear it!"
Zhao Jun said angrily: "I really find that you people become more and more shameless as you get older, ignore the law, ignore morality, and blatantly cover up your heirs who have committed crimes. Have your sage books been read into the belly of a dog? What's right and wrong? Can’t tell the difference? Huh?”
"Hanlong, this is my only son!"
Shengdu is already in tears!
"Your son just committed a crime, but he's not dead. Why are you howling?"
Zhao Jun was so angry that he itched his teeth and said, "Without your son, where are your grandchildren? There are more than three great-grandchildren, right?"
Sheng Du had three sons, the eldest was Sheng Shanfu, the second was Sheng Shenfu, and the third was Sheng Chongfu.
The eldest son died young at the age of eight and had no offspring. The third son, Sheng Chongfu, also died of illness a few years ago, but he had a son, Sheng Bangyan.
Now he has only one son, Sheng Shenfu, who is fifty years old. He also has a son, Sheng Zhongnan, who is almost thirty years old and has given birth to three great-grandsons to Sheng Du.
So although Sheng Du does only have one son now, he is not the only son.
But when Sheng Du thought about his fifty-year-old son going to jail, he felt really sad. He said sadly: "He is already fifty, but he still has to go to jail or even be exiled. How can I not be sad?" .”
"Grandson."
Zhao Zhen couldn't bear to say: "Sheng Shenfu only committed a small crime of collecting banned books, but it's not that much."
"When did I say I wanted him to be jailed and exiled?"
Zhao Jun was puzzled.
Collecting banned books was actually quite serious in the Song Dynasty. Depending on the circumstances, there were punishments such as cane, imprisonment, and exile.
Although there is no death penalty, being beaten with a stick, jailed and exiled is too much.
Therefore, both Lu Yijian and Sheng Du thought that their son was going to be exiled.
But to be honest, at least in the eyes of future generations like Zhao Jun, it was not a big deal.
The main reason is that the banned books in the Song Dynasty were not actually banned books. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, only astronomy, magic, religion, military books and unofficially printed scriptures were banned books.
For example, in the second year of Baoyuan, Si Tianjian was ordered to draw up a catalog of books that should be banned in fourteen categories.
"Except for the "Sun Tzu", the "Tian Wen", "Liu Li", "Five Elements" and "Tong Dian", all other books are banned."
Will these things be considered banned books in future generations?
It’s too late to promote it.
Literary inquisition was implemented in ancient times to serve the ruling class and not allow the people to be exposed to new ideas, thereby engaging in a policy of obscuring the people.
In Zhao Jun's eyes, if he wants to carry out education and ideological reform and dissemination in the future, the literary inquisition is exactly the evil. It is all feudal dross, and of course he will not support it.
The dissemination of short films is still prohibited by the state. If it were strictly enforced, countless people who had shared the works of many teachers from the island country with their friends would be arrested, and there would be no room in prisons across the country.
Therefore, Zhao Jun patiently explained: "It is not advisable to ban books and create literary inquisition. Thoughts should be guided correctly, rather than just strictly prohibiting them. People's hearts are like this. The more forbidden they are, the more curious they become. In the end, they cannot suppress it, but it has the opposite effect. So I never thought reading banned books was a big deal."
Zhao Jun looked at Li Di and said: "Mr. Xiuxiu, this article should be changed in the future. Unless the circumstances are particularly serious, such as rampant piracy and punishable by crime, ordinary banned books should not be so strict. The law should be strict. It needs to be looser.”
Li Di is the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment and a member of the Constitutional Yuan, and is in charge of judicial revision. The "Song Xingtong" is currently undergoing major revisions in all aspects. Hearing Zhao Jun's words, he quickly responded: "Yes."
"this"
Lu Yijian and Sheng Du opened their eyes wide. They thought their son was going to die, but they didn't know that this was not a big deal at all.
"As for Lu Gongchuo, his problem is the most serious."
Zhao Jun looked around at the crowd and said solemnly: "The other three collected a banned book and were fined. It's not a big deal. Lu Gongchuo is so bold. In the name of Lu Yijian, he goes around giving people promotions and greed for power. Anyone who sells his or her official position to get a title should be dealt with severely."
Lu Yijian's newly raised hopes cooled down a bit, and he looked at Zhao Jun blankly and said: "Hanlong, for the sake of my thin face, please open up a wide margin."
"Gong Xiu, how should Lu Gongchuo be sentenced?"
Zhao Jun ignored him and asked Li Di.
Li Di first glanced at Lu Yijian, then cupped his hands and said: "In the "Song Xingtong", those who come to the supervisor to accept money and violate the law will be given a hundred sticks for one foot, one for each, and fifteen for twisting."
Lu Yijian felt like her heart was being pinched.
But the next moment, Li Di said: "It's just that this case is complicated, maybe we should discuss it."
"Where's the complexity?"
Zhao Jun was puzzled.
"After investigation, it was found that Lu Gongchuo did not help people get promoted for the sake of money. His family already had money, so he did not care about money. He mainly wanted to help relatives, friends, and classmates in the same year for personal gain. The degree of bribery was not high. Just accepting some gifts,"
Li Di said: "Secondly, Lu Gongchuo resigned from the History Museum a few years ago. He did not serve as the chief of each supervisory department, and he had no actual power to mobilize officials. He only relied on his relationship as Lu Yijian's eldest son to hand over the responsibility to the court. An official is promoted for others, but he himself has not actually abused his power, so it is difficult to convict him for accepting money and violating the law."
Lu Gongchuo was previously a compiler in the History Museum, and later Lu Yijian took charge of the task of editing the history of the country. In order to avoid suspicion, Lu Gongchuo resigned from the History Museum and was a editor. Historically, he did not become an official again until Lu Yijian's death.
In other words, Lu Gongchuo currently does not actually have an official position.
And the way he helped people get promoted was by greeting his father's disciples and former officials, asking for intercession, and intervening in the court's promotion process. Therefore, if Lu Gongchuo's crime is really studied, it seems that it is not a violation of the law for receiving money.
Just like if a businessman has a good relationship with an official and a broker entrusts a favor to help another official get promoted, it would be difficult to say that the businessman is corrupt and bending the law.
However, in later generations, this crime was determined, and it was called the crime of taking advantage of influence to accept bribes.
If the amount is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also be fined.
If the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined.
If the amount is particularly huge or there are other particularly serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years and shall also be fined or have property confiscated.
In this case, Lu Gongchuo basically fell into this situation.
"Then how should we be judged?"
Zhao Jun frowned.
Li Di thought for a moment and said, "I should be punished with dereliction of duty and serve one year in prison."
"Is it such a light thing to sell an official position and win a title?"
Zhao Jun scratched his head and said: "To be honest, the death penalty is indeed a bit harsh. I personally think that as long as it does not cause serious consequences, the death penalty is not serious. But it is a bit outrageous to only serve one year in prison for buying and selling an official position."
"If Zhiyuan thinks it's not possible, then just add a few more years."
Li Di smiled.
"We will discuss this matter again, and we will discuss his specific punishment when the time comes. Anyway, we can't give him a lenient sentence."
Zhao Jun waved his hand and said, "But Lu Yijian allowed his son to buy and sell official positions and regarded the power of the country as a child's play. How should he be punished?"
Lu Yijian's heart suddenly rose again.
Li Di said: "According to the investigation of this case, Lu Yijian did not know about this matter. It was all Lu Gongchuo's doing. It can only be regarded as a failure to teach his son."
"Then I'll fine you one year's salary."
Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "Lu Gongchuo is lucky that he is not a current official, but everyone should take this as a warning and take care of their heirs and don't cause trouble for themselves."
"good."
Zhao Zhen clapped his hands and laughed and said: "Lü Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, and Zhang Yuxi will be fined. Lu Gongchuo's punishment will be discussed later, so let's do it."
Even if this matter is finalized, the officials involved are definitely not just Lu Gongchuo and others. However, if the officials who were greeted by Lu Gongchuo are held accountable, there are other officials who colluded with Feng Shiyuan, or who hid banned books, or bought and sold other prohibited items. To investigate strictly.
Lu Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, Zhang Yuxi, and several other senior officials involved in the case were relatively good, but they only collected banned books. This matter was not a big deal in Zhao Jun's eyes, so he was dealt with lightly.
However, others such as Cheng Lin, Li Zhang, Lu Gongchuo and others have other illegal activities, and naturally they should be dealt with severely.
Those with minor crimes should be dealt with lightly, while those with serious crimes should be punished severely.
This is also Zhao Jun’s sentencing standard.
Just because there are Lu Yijian and Sheng Du's sons in there, we won't open up the rules.
What Zhao Jun didn't expect was that since Lu Gongchuo was not a public official, he could not be regarded as corrupt and perverting the law, so he could only be given a lighter punishment.
This was unexpected.
However, a year in prison for selling an official position is really too light. We can only discuss the specific sentencing with Li Di afterwards.
This is also in line with Zhao Jun’s insistence on legal fairness!
Hearing his words, Sheng Du couldn't believe it. His son was actually just given a salary?
Not even dismissal?
Although Lu Yijian was sad that his eldest son still had to go to jail, it was good to save his second son.
He first glanced at Li Di unexpectedly, then stood up, bowed his hands to Zhao Zhen and saluted seriously: "Thank you, Your Majesty for your kindness!"
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
Shengdu also quickly stood up and saluted.
"Okay, no need to thank me, just thank Hanlong."
Zhao Zhen shook his head.
If it had been before, he would have acted as if nothing was wrong.
Historically, when Zheng Jian captured people like Lu Gongchuo, didn't he release them quickly?
Moreover, these people later became high-ranking officials, and none of them had any trouble.
But now that Zhao Jun is here, everything must be handled according to law.
It's just that Zhao Jun personally believes that the punishment of exile for reading banned books is too severe. The sentencing standards are fair, so that he can be treated lightly.
As for Lu Gongchuo, he must be strict.
One yard owned by a yard.
It's not a big deal to read some banned books like Wen Tian's history. Selling one's official position and taking advantage of one's influence to accept bribes will certainly not be tolerated lightly.
Therefore, Lu Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, and Zhang Yuxi are fine. I really have to thank Zhao Jun for easing the previously more stringent crime of collecting banned books, otherwise these three would be in trouble.
"Okay, I'm so tired from running all this way that my legs are almost worn out. Just because of your bad work, I didn't even get a good night's sleep on the road."
Zhao Jun stood up and said in a deep voice: "I have to go back and catch up on my sleep first. You can do whatever you need to do. Lu Yijian and Sheng Du, I can only remind you that the development of a country is a rolling wheel of history. Don't always want to use yourself." Use your body to block it, but your old bones can’t block it. I’ll just say this, so be it.”
As he said this, he cupped his hands to Zhao Zhen and said, "Brother, I really can't bear it any longer. This mess is really a headache. Every one of them makes me worry. These old guys are too decadent. They should have been replaced a long time ago. Ask the young man to come up, I’ll go back first.”
It's really embarrassing to say this in front of everyone.
But it’s no wonder that Zhao Jun said something ugly. The future development of the Song Dynasty was clearly told to them, but they still wanted to obstruct it because of their own interests. They had no determination to serve the country and the people at all. How could they do it purely for their own selfish desires? Not making people angry?
And there were no outsiders here, so Zhao Jun didn't bother to pretend to be pretentious with this group of people, and just said this in a tone that was one-third threatening, one-third humiliating, and one-third mocking.
After all, he was expressing his dissatisfaction, and it was also a warning to these people that if they did this again in the future, they should get out of the Constitutional Yuan.
"Okay, Da Sun, you go first."
Zhao Zhen said hurriedly.
"I send you to the magistrate's court."
Li Di got up and followed Zhao Jun out.
The two people walked to the corridor outside the door and headed towards the palace road.
After walking dozens of meters away from Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Jun turned around and asked Li Di: "Old Li, I didn't expect that you wouldn't kill Lu Yijian?"
Li Di smiled bitterly and said, "I think so, but the law already stipulates this."
"Do you think I believe it?"
Zhao Jun smiled and continued: "The right to interpret the law is in your hands. Since the law does not include such abuse of influence, it is not you who has the final say on how to judge?"
"Indeed, if I want to give Lu Gongchuo a harsh sentence, it's not impossible, but I feel that at least the officials and the magistrate are not willing to go to this step."
Li Di smiled and said: "So I can only find the one with the least guilt."
"You know how to read people's hearts."
Zhao Jun also laughed.
He raised his head and looked into the distance, but there was only melancholy in his eyes.
Lu Yijian and Lu could not be called friends, nor could they be called enemies. At best, they had political disagreements.
It would not be a big deal if he wanted to protect Lu Yijian.
Otherwise, Lu Gongchuo, who was responsible for more serious crimes, would not be sentenced harshly.
But in the final analysis, it is still for the sake of the peace of the Constitutional Yuan.
Unless the officials kill Yijian with tears, it would be bad for everyone if they really break up with Lu Yijian.
more importantly.
Zhao Jun has no relatives in this world.
The few people closest to him were Zhao Zhen and the earliest eight people, Lu Yijian, Yan Shu, Wang Zeng, Cai Qi, Song Shou, Wang Sui, Fan Zhongyan, and Sheng Du.
Now that Wang Sui is dead, one of these eight people is gone, and the others are not expected to survive for a few years. In the future, fewer and fewer people will know his details.
Why bother killing Lu Yijian and Sheng Du?
Therefore, for the sake of legal fairness, banning felony books is one aspect.
On the other hand, I really don’t want to get to that point.
Fortunately, Lu Gongchuo was not a public official, and he did not intend to accept bribes. He was just using his influence to say hello, rather than accepting bribes and bending the law as an official. Otherwise, he would really have no choice but to chop Lu Gongchuo in order to set the record straight.
(End of chapter)
