Chapter 166 Showdown
Liu Sanwu frowned before taking it and taking a look at it.
Because the official affairs of the Ming Dynasty were mostly written in classical Chinese, although due to legal conditions requiring precision, they preferred to speak in the vernacular. But vernacular is not this kind of vernacular. Not so vulgar.
In Liu Sanwu's opinion, this kind of writing and sentence making is simply a joke.
Because He Xi directly overthrew the Ming Law structurally, starting with the Constitution. Article 1 stated that the power of the Ming Emperor was supreme.
He Xi has thought about this item for a long time. In fact, He Xi wants to add a sentence to this item, that is, the Ming Emperor shall exercise his power in accordance with the law.
Only when the personal will of the Ming Emperor was elevated to legal provisions could it be considered legal, otherwise it would be illegal.
In fact, this is reflected in the ancient administrative system. For example, if it does not go through Luantai Feng Pavilion, why is it an imperial edict? That is to say, the emperor's edict must go through a certain procedure before it can become an imperial edict and have legal authority. If it does not go through this procedure, it is an edict. Whether it can be effective depends on the emperor's prestige.
But this is actually very vague.
He Xi wanted to formulate a series of regulations so that the emperor's orders could be effective only if they passed the procedures and rose to the level of legal provisions. Otherwise, they would be invalid.
But He Xi knew very well that this was a way to limit the emperor's power, and Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely not agree to it.
He Xi thought about it and just did it.
Liu Sanwu was very strange about this article. Because this article is not like a law.
The laws of the Ming Dynasty are laws, one by one. What mistake was made and what kind of punishment should be paid. There are some notes explaining the legal principles and why it was formulated in this way. But this law. What is the use and who can be punished?
From Liu Sanwu's point of view, it was a bit puzzling.
However, he is not a layman after all, and he is also a little shocked in his heart, because he feels that He Xi formulated the law. If nothing else, the format is very breakthrough. It is like an article that promotes the program from the beginning. , wrote down the most important article of the Ming Dynasty Law.
With this article in place, the crimes of being disrespectful, deceiving the emperor, and slandering the emperor have their origin.
But Liu Sanwu couldn't believe it when he saw the following item. The second item was that everyone under the emperor was equal. Every adult man had independent property rights, personal freedom and other rights.
Because He Xi did not use classical Chinese, but used vernacular.
It was also because Liu Sanwu didn't quite understand He Xi's way of writing, so he read it several times, but he still couldn't understand it in his heart, and he didn't dare to understand it. He said, "Master He, I don't quite understand your way of writing. "
He Xi said: "Actually, it's nothing. I read the Ming Code. Although there are many articles, they are very trivial. Overall, it makes people confused. Many similar crimes fall in different chapters, and it is not easy to learn. . So I thought about it and divided the Ming Dynasty Law into chapters. The first paragraph is the general chapter. The basics of all legal provisions are included in the general chapter. Everything that is mentioned in the general chapter will be discussed in the following chapter. Two chapters, to explain, such as this first sentence, the second chapter is to explain the emperor's power, the succession of the throne, and other issues, including how to punish and sentencing crimes related to the royal family, etc. Of course, I did not do it If you pass the sentence name, the sentencing here will be left blank for now. It will be added in the future."
Liu Sanwu immediately read the second chapter.
It is indeed what He Xi said, especially regarding the succession of the throne, here we also use the succession of father to son, brother to brother, and the emperor's own discretion when there are no close relatives in the clan, etc.
Liu Sanwu looked at this and felt relieved.
Because He Xi didn't do any tricks here. The succession to the throne was stipulated entirely in accordance with the orthodoxy advocated by Confucianism.
Without him, the Confucian throne succession law is actually very complete. On this point, He Xi couldn't think of anything better. Secondly, Zhu Yuanzhang and the prince actually agreed with this law.
It was impossible for He Xi to defeat these two people.
Naturally it was settled.
It’s just Liu Sanwu who read the second sentence and then the third chapter.
In Liu Sanwu's opinion, Chapter 3, because it is a household law, seems not to be so.
The household law stipulates the age of adulthood, which is sixteen years old. After the age of 16, one becomes an adult under government management and has a series of rights, including separating the family and leading a separate life.
This alone made Liu Sanwu frown. Secretly said: "This is the law of Qin."
Because, in the Confucian system, family separation is never encouraged, but the Qin Dynasty encouraged family separation the most. The starting points of the two are completely different. Confucianism advocates the principle of kinship. In a large family, the court can directly communicate with the family head, which reduces administrative costs.
The Qin Dynasty had the most stringent management. The reason why it advocated family separation was to use it for immigration, crackdown on local tyrants, increase taxes and labor, etc.
After all, when a person becomes a man, he has to serve the government and pay taxes to the government. This is to increase the government's income. However, if the local power is powerful and there are fewer people, there is no need to be powerful. As for immigration.
A 16-year-old young man, with at most a wife of the same age group, is the easiest group of people to migrate. The court only needs to send the two people to the resettlement location, saving a lot of costs. And if this young man lives in the same household as his parents, it is impossible for him to migrate. The resistance encountered will be considerable.
Of course, there are detailed explanations here, parents can only leave one child, provide for them until the end of their lives, etc. Distribution of family property and principles of property distribution. From being divided equally among all the people, it became exclusive to the elderly. Of course, the will of the elderly should be respected.
Seeing this, Liu Sanwu frowned even more, glanced at He Xi, and said to himself: "The world is troubled."
Every family has a scripture that is difficult to recite, and it is difficult for upright officials to deal with household affairs.
Is it really difficult to sort out household matters, who makes sense and who doesn’t?
No, there are countless things in the world that are more complicated than getting along with family members that can be handled well, but things within the family cannot be handled well. That's because, first of all, within a family, there is more emotion than reason. It is not difficult to see clearly, but it is rare to judge. No matter what kind of trouble the parents and children have, if you give a severe sentence, such as beheading, the plaintiff will come to plead. Even if the sentence is light, it will not have the effect of prohibiting it.
There is not much difference between family affairs before and after the lawsuit.
Secondly, Confucianism is fundamentally about etiquette and law, and the relationship between monarch, minister, father and son, and this aspect cannot be shaken. Many times, maintaining decency within the family can cover up many conflicts within the family. Not just for your own family, but also for other people’s families.
Family scandals should not be made public.
We should carefully consider this family scandal, what kind of things are family scandals, and who cares about this family scandal the most? In fact, they are those who receive family benefits.
Confucianism has always attached great importance to litigation, and this is also the case in many designs. For example, why should all the family property be equally divided among the sons? Because this is the most unexplainable and fairest way, but is it really fair? Or is the love that parents have for me really the same?
Obviously not.
In the design of various systems, Confucianism hopes that these matters will be digested internally and left to the clan to handle. It is etiquette, not law, that deals with these matters. But now, in He Xi's Ming Dynasty laws, there is no place for etiquette and law, and He Xi's regulations stipulate that children, in particular, have independent property rights.
This seriously undermined the foundation of the clan and even the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
Feminist freedom is based on the fact that women have the same economic foundation as men. same question. When children have independent property rights, it means that children have the right to say no to their parents.
In addition, the inheritance distribution has been changed from equal distribution to multiple models.
Liu Sanwu can predict that if it is really implemented, the number of lawsuits in local government offices will be dozens of times or even more than before. As for the future, it is foreseeable that the world will deteriorate and people's hearts will not be the same.
Liu Sanwu couldn't stand it anymore. Said: "Master He, this is a bit inappropriate. It is filial piety not to separate the families when parents are together. If the court stipulates this, doesn't it encourage people all over the world to be unfilial descendants?"
"How can the imperial court educate the world like this? This is absolutely unacceptable."
He Xi said: "Sir, if you have anything to say, please say it carefully. I will listen." He Xi originally wanted to say directly that this was His Majesty's wish. He went to see His Majesty if he had anything to do, but He Xi thought of Su Boheng.
