In the dock, Tian Xiao'e was confused, her eyes full of confusion.
Don’t you want to condemn yourself?
Why is his father so unlucky?
Wait, what is the crime that everyone is looking up to condemning his father?
Tian Xiao'e thought hard, but unfortunately, she, an illiterate village woman, sadly couldn't even understand these.
But there was only one thing she understood.
The father who sold her for ten taels of silver, the father who pushed her into the fire pit with one hand, is being punished.
For some reason, when she looked around, Tian Xiao'e suddenly found that she felt a sense of comfort as the sky was high and the sea was vast.
It was just a verdict, but the turmoil it caused was endless.
"Take a seat, take a seat, I have something to say."
An old man rushed out from the onlookers, looking quite angry and frustrated.
When they saw this old man, people's discussions became even louder.
This old man is a famous person in Linqing City, everyone knows him, and he is an old acquaintance of Zuo Mengeng.
Seeing that he wanted to speak regardless of the guards' obstruction, Zuo Mengeng laughed and said, "What is Confucius's wise opinion?"
This old man was Kong Xiangru who initiated the Linqing Hemisphere Experiment.
Although this experiment failed miserably, the old man was remembered by people because of this incident. Moreover, the old man was very honest and could correct his mistakes. From then on, he became very interested in scientific knowledge and even joined Zhang Jinhai's interest class.
But after seeing Zuo Mengeng's verdict here today, Kong Xiangru still couldn't accept it.
"Sit down, the sage has said that if you don't wait for your parents' orders or the matchmaker's words, if you peek into each other's holes or follow each other across the wall, your parents and the people of the country will be despised. Although this field dog has a low moral character, as a parent, he means Marriage is the right thing to do. Doesn't it violate filial piety to judge like this?"
The voices in the crowd suddenly became louder, and it was obvious that a lot of people agreed with it.
Most of them are parents.
The fundamental reason why these people supported Kong Xiangru's words was that they suddenly discovered that once Zuo Menggeng's verdict came into effect, wouldn't it mean that their authority in front of their children would completely disappear in the future.
Children can disobey them because of marriage, but can things turn upside down because of other things in the future?
Zuo Mengeng is sitting here today, obviously his homework is extremely solid.
He chuckled and asked: "Old Master is very knowledgeable. May I ask, what are the five unfilial acts of Yashengyan?"
Hearing that Zuo Mengeng wanted to ask for advice, Kong Xiangru became energetic and immediately started reciting with his head shaking.
"There are five types of people who are unfilial in the world: they are lazy in their limbs and do not care about their parents' support, which is unfilial; they are fond of gambling and drinking, and do not care about their parents' support, which are unfilial; they are fond of money and have private wives, and they do not care about their parents' support, and they are unfilial. The desire of the ears and eyes means killing one's parents, which is the fourth form of unfilial piety; the desire to fight bravely and ruthlessly, endangering one's parents, is the fifth form of unfilial piety."
What he said about "the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers" comes from "Mencius: Teng Wengong Xia", and the article he recited at this time comes from "Mencius: Li Lou Xia".
In this article, Mencius describes five examples of unfilial piety.
Being lazy and not caring about your parents' lives is the first form of unfilial piety; being fond of gambling and drinking without caring about your parents' lives is the second form of unfilial piety; being greedy for money, favoring your wife and children, and not caring about your parents' lives is the third form of unfilial piety; being indulgent in pleasure pursuits makes your parents unhappy. Being humiliated is the fourth form of unfilial piety; being brave and aggressive and causing harm to parents is the fifth form of unfilial piety.
Zuo Mengeng Tuqiong saw this, and suddenly asked: "Confucius, among these five unfilial piety, can the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers be among them?"
"Well……"
Kong Xiangru was dumbfounded, and many knowledgeable people around him were also dumbfounded.
Filial piety is the essence and core of Confucianism, and many people have studied it in depth throughout the ages.
Regarding the important matters of marriage, parents' orders and matchmaker's words, everyone knows it, and it has become the standard of today's world.
As a result of Zuo Menggeng's operation, people suddenly discovered that this standard that everyone recognized was not among the five unfilial piety regulated by the saints.
In other words, it is not unfilial to disobey your parents' orders or the words of your matchmaker.
Kong Xiangru is also somewhat quick-witted.
"Senate, if this is the case, the parents have worked hard to raise their children, but the children only care about their own happiness. If things go on like this, wouldn't it mean that the family is broken and the family relationship is lost?"
He mentioned a practical problem.
If from now on everyone does not abide by the orders of their parents and the words of the matchmaker, wouldn't it mean that parents have lost their authority over their children?
By then, if children do not take their parents seriously, the breakup of the family relationship will not be far away.
The impact of this is very terrifying.
Zuo Mengeng was prepared again, looked at everyone, and raised his voice as much as possible.
"Parents are responsible for raising children, and they have the kindness to raise their children. The kindness of parents is as heavy as Mount Tai and cannot be ignored. Moreover, the important matter of marriage is not the individual behavior of men and women, but the connection between the two families. Therefore, no matter when, marriage In major events, parents are the leaders. Today’s jurisprudence only punishes the unjust act of taking advantage of children to make money regardless of their children’s happiness. At the same time, parents are also asked to think carefully and do not ignore the happiness of their children when handling important matters such as marriage. and feelings.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone couldn't help but smile and cheered.
As a parent, I understand the warning.
Don't ruin your children's lives for your own selfish reasons, regardless of your children's happiness.
As children, I was also encouraged. From now on, you can also bravely express your thoughts about life-long marriage matters.
Even when faced with parents' orders that go against their wishes, they dare to fight.
The reason why Zuo Mengeng's statement was so widely recognized was because no one thought that Tian Gouzi was not at fault for what he did.
Although many people criticized Tian Xiao'e for violating the orders of his parents and the matchmaker's words, Tian Gouzi's use of his daughter in exchange for money was also an act of a beast.
In the past, people were bound by filial piety, and their eyes were first fixed on Tian Xiao'e. Until now, after passing Zuo Mengeng's new judicial interpretation, we have begun to correctly view the right and wrong of cause and effect.
Onlookers were not aware of the role this verdict played in personal liberation.
After Tian Gouzi, Zuo Mengeng set his sights on Tian Youzhuang.
"Tian Youzhuang, the person responsible for the Tian Xiao'e case, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal detention, beating others, restricting others' freedom, insulting, exceeding authority, etc. The rest, Tian Fengnian, Tian Jiacai, Tian Dongsheng, etc., were sentenced to imprisonment ten years."
Tian Youzhuang's knees softened and he lay directly on the stage. Then he came to his senses and burst into tears.
"Take a seat, I am unjustly accused. What crime am I guilty of?"
Zhang Zonghuan was also a little puzzled.
"Chief Judge, rural disputes have always been resolved by the wise village elders. As the leader of the Tian clan, Tian Youzhuang acted quite inappropriately, but that's not the crime, right?"
Zuo Mengeng showed his sharpness.
"Does Tian Youzhuang have an official position? What position does he hold?"
No one can answer, and no answer is needed.
In addition to being the patriarch of the Tian family, Tian Youzhuang is just a commoner.
"Tian Youzhuang has no official status and no authority or responsibility. How can he enforce the law and decide life and death on his behalf?"
There was another sensation at the scene, and this time more people were affected, including Hou Xun, Li Banghua and others.
The difference between them and ordinary people is that they immediately understood Zuo Mengeng's purpose.
Zuo Mengeng's judgment, using Tian Youzhuang as an example, was obviously intended to extend the influence of the regime into the countryside and at the same time destroy the confinement of the feudal family.
Think of what he said frankly before about liberating the labor force and releasing population resources. Apparently, he's already started.
Once this precedent comes into effect, from now on, the gentry clan's control over the private countryside will be completely bankrupt.
The only thing that can fill the power gap is their new regime.
Under the protection of the new political power, more and more people will be freed from the shackles of land and family and transformed into human resources for industry and commerce.
Although the ordinary people watching could not see the profound meaning, they also understood the truth.
From now on, disputes and conflicts in the village and within the family can no longer be decided by the sage patriarch of the village. Otherwise, it is illegal.
Today, Tian Youzhuang was sentenced to twenty years in prison, which means that in the future, there will be no more rural sages who dare to do this. Tian Youzhuang is an example.
Hou Xun, Li Banghua and others still support Zuo Menggeng's approach.
Because of today’s industrial and commercial development, there is indeed a shortage of people everywhere. The only thing that worried them was that Zuo Mengeng's sentence seemed a little more drastic.
Not only was Tian Youzhuang severely punished, but the rest of the Tian clan who participated also did not escape punishment.
"At times like this, it's better to be more ruthless. Only by taking ruthless medicine can you achieve success in one fell swoop to avoid repeated wastages."
But Hou Xun saw clearly and knew that Zuo Mengeng did it on purpose.
Only under such severe punishments and laws can new ideas quickly penetrate into the people and become new rules.
At least with today's example, in the future, if someone in each family behaves recklessly, the rest of the clan will need to carefully consider whether they are willing to take the risk of breaking the law and help.
After Tian Youzhuang, came Zhang Wanhe and the Zhang clan.
"The relevant person, Zhang Wanhe, instigated them to commit murder and violence, injuring and maiming others. He was also guilty of illegal imprisonment, property robbery, and intentional homicide, and was sentenced to death. Zhang Erzhu, Zhang Guangdan, Zhang Qian... and others were sentenced to ten years in prison , in addition to imposing a fine of five taels each and paying compensation to the victims Tian Xiaoe and Ma Tianjiu."
The most severe penalty came, causing Zhang Wanhe to faint on the spot.
Tian Gouzi and Tian Youzhuang in front were severely sentenced, which made him have a premonition that something bad was going to happen. But he never expected that the most terrifying punishment would fall on him.
Zhang Wanhe's son Zhang Qian was frightened and kept shouting.
"Young Master, my father didn't kill anyone, he didn't kill anyone..."
Zuo Mengeng looked over coldly.
"Did Zhang Wanhe give the order to immerse Tian Xiao'e in the pig cage? Isn't this intentional murder?"
Zhang Qian's shouting stopped abruptly. He had no idea that this was how the "intentional homicide" came about.
You can deal with adulterers, isn’t that what they do?
Just when he was about to complain, he suddenly remembered Zuo Mengeng's words before.
Is Zhang Wanhe an official?
Do you have the authority to exercise the law?
Since he didn't, who gave him the courage to decide life and death?
Zhang Qian was dumbfounded.
If I had known today, I would have regretted it!
Regarding the part about Lushun Huanglong, I would like to give a special explanation.
According to the information I found, Jin Shenghuan was originally a member of the Northwest Rebel Army. He later surrendered to Zuo Liangyu and followed Zuo Menggeng to surrender to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Then he rebelled against the Qing due to dissatisfaction and was defeated and killed.
However, when checking Huang Long's information, I found that when the Dongjiang rebels withdrew from Dengzhou to Liaodong, Huang Long led his army to fight.
One of the generals under his command was also named Jin Shenghuan.
I haven't found any information as to whether this is a person.
Therefore, in the book, only Jin Shenghuan was attributed to the Northwest Rebel Army and was removed from the list of generals of the Liaodong Ming Army.
Please forgive me if there is anything wrong.
