After returning to Xianyang Palace, I asked Qiwan to bring over the entire set of "Qin Code". Although I had "Qin Code" in my study before and I read it often, it was still a lot of work to discuss them one by one. of.
Qi Wan started reading from the first one. After reading it, if I had no objections, I would move on to the next one. If I had any objections, I would discuss it with Li Si, Feng Quji, Feng Jie and Meng Yi on the spot.
When you remember: "If you say something inappropriate and slander others, you will be whipped; if you slander officials, you will be abandoned; if you slander the country, you will be punished by the clan."
I signaled Qi Wan to stop, frowned and said, "There is no problem in whipping people for slandering. If you slander an official, you will abandon the market, and if you slander the country, you will kill a clan. Is it too harsh? And this crime is too broad. If someone deliberately What should we do if we harm our tribe?"
Li Si had the most say in criminal law and replied: "Your Majesty, this law should be used together with crimes such as private fighting, treason, witchcraft and so on, and cannot be judged alone."
"Take a private fight that took place in Longxi this spring as an example. A prisoner sued another prisoner for defamation and poisoning. After verification, the defendant prisoner was not only guilty of the crime of private fight, but also guilty of an undesirable crime. The rest of the prisoners were just It is a crime of private fighting."
I suddenly realized that historically that bastard Hu Hai was abusing the punishment by directly convicting Confucian scholars of this crime.
I replied: "In that case, it is better to make it clear to prevent the trial officials from taking it out of context."
Then he read: "The imperial army launched a campaign, but there was no way to go, so I paid Erjia."
I asked Li Si again: "Was this article revised after the last revision of the corvée laws?" Since there were too many things to do, and what I told Li Si was relatively clear, I only took a rough look at the revised corvée laws and did not look at them carefully. Every one.
Li Si replied: "Your Majesty, this code has not been revised since the "Qin Code" was written."
I thought to myself: 'It seems that what the history books said during the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, 'If you fail to meet the deadline, you will be beheaded' is deceptive. Thinking about it, those garrison soldiers often served as corvees and could not be unclear about the corvée laws. They were originally punished with two sets of armor, but they still did not object and rebelled with Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. '
'The first is that the "Qin Code" at this time may have been a dead letter at the implementation level, and the second is that the people's resentment has reached the limit, and they all chose to surrender even though they knew that what Chen and Wu said was false. '
I motioned for Qiwan to continue.
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It took three days to go through all the "Qin Code".
However, what surprised me was that after listening to Li Si's explanation, I found that except for the corvée laws that had been changed before, none of them needed to be modified.
Either it is a code that has been used by feudal dynasties for two thousand years, or it is a code that is most suitable for the current Qin Dynasty.
Moreover, the scenarios involved are relatively comprehensive, and there are detailed regulations on how to conduct statistical reports, statistical procedures, and management systems. In addition to the lack of business, after all, it is not appropriate to vigorously develop business at this time. People can't even fill their stomachs, how can business prosper.
I couldn't help but think deeply. It seems to be true. When later generations talk about the harshness of Qin law, they will give an example of corvee. Corvee is also the biggest problem.
Now that the law of corvee has been changed, judging from the current situation, it is best not to touch the "Law of Qin".
I have the intention to change the military nobility system that has been implemented since Shang Yang's reform to an agricultural nobility system or something like that. At this time, the Qin State no longer has large-scale conquests. If it continues to be implemented, it will inevitably lead to the solidification of classes and the civilians will no longer have a way to rise.
It's just that I have greatly offended the nobles over the land inventory. If I change the military merit system at this time, I'm afraid it will trigger a rebellion.
An ancient saying goes: Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. If people change their normal habits, they will die if they are not sick, and this is especially true for countries. Drastic reforms have always been extremely risky, such as the recent Korean reform and the more distant ones such as Wang Mang's New Deal.
Helpless, I said to Li Si: "I thought too complicatedly. I thought the "Qin Code" was more severe, but I didn't expect... My father really got it right. He was not in his position and did not plan his affairs. How could I have done it before? Understand the rationale.”
Feng Jie responded: "Your Majesty, there is no need to belittle yourself. Some people slander the Qin Dynasty as a harsh government, but in fact, sometimes the head of Guizhou does not understand the "Qin Code" well and violates the laws and regulations."
"For example, it is impossible for people who have lived in the city for a long time not to know about the "punishment and abandonment of ashes in the Tao", and they will not intentionally violate it. But if you are a country person, you may violate it accidentally or out of habit. Therefore, it is not that the "Qin Code" is strict, but that the head of Guizhou does not know it."
I sighed: "That's true." Even with the advanced information in later generations, there are many cases of people breaking the law without knowing it. Sometimes you think what you are doing is reasonable and legal, but you don't know that you are already on the verge of committing a crime.
Thinking of this, I suddenly had an idea.
Yes, many times people commit crimes without knowing it because they don't understand the "Qin Code". The root reason is that it is impossible for officials to hold everyone's ears and explain every law to them.
If the "Qin Code" is distributed on a large scale and scholars in every place are required to regularly teach the law to the people, it will naturally reduce the number of prisoners.
I told everyone my idea, and Meng Yi said: "Your Majesty's idea is good, but the bamboo slips recording the "Qin Code" are as many as a hundred volumes. I'm afraid such heavy bamboo slips will not be popularized."
I smiled and said, "Your worries are not unfounded."
Turning to Lan'er and Xingzhong, he ordered: "Xingzhong, go and ask Gongshu to come in and ask him to bring paper and movable type printing. Lan'er, get some snacks for the adults to have a rest."
The two of them took orders and went out.
Everyone was a little strange. Why were we talking about the law? Why did we ask the generals to come over? And is it too extravagant to use paper to implement the "Qin Code"? What is movable type printing? In the Qin Dynasty, the word "paper" already existed, but it just represented the cloth used for writing.
Facing everyone's questions, I said mysteriously: "You will know when Gongshu comes in."
Half an hour later, Gongshu Jin walked in, bowed and said, "I have met your Majesty, gentlemen."
I responded: "No gifts. Did you bring the paper?"
Gongshu came in and said, "Your Majesty, I brought it here. The first batch of paper was made two days ago and has just been dried."
After saying that, he handed me the pile of paper in his hand.
I took out one, picked up the brush from the table, and wrote two big characters "Da Qin" on the paper.
Then he picked up the paper in his hand and showed it to several people: "Look, how do you write on this paper?"
I motioned for each person to distribute one and take a closer look.
Li Si took a breath of air and said in surprise: "Your Majesty, what is this? Not only can it write, how can it be so frivolous?"
Feng Quji looked at the paper in his hand and guessed: "Looking at the color and texture, could it be peeled off bit by bit from tree bark?"
I laughed and said: "If the bark of the tree is peeled off to this extent, it will be difficult to put together just these complete pieces of paper in a year and a half."
"This paper is a paper I thought of for writing. It is made from sawdust, straw, silk and hemp, etc., and is made through processes such as beating, pounding, copying, and baking. Therefore, it is somewhat wood-colored."
"I won't go into the detailed production method. If you are interested, you can go to the General's Office to learn about it. However, you are not allowed to spread the word or make profits about this thing. I have given full authority to the General's Management."
Then I showed everyone the wonderful use of movable type printing, which attracted several people to praise it.
At the court meeting the next day, I announced the printing of paper and movable type, and used this to spread the "Law of Qin" throughout the world.
Everyone was overjoyed. Dealing with government affairs every day is not only a mental job, but also a physical job because of the small slips weighing several kilograms and the large slips weighing more than ten kilograms.
However, one person among them was particularly enthusiastic.
