Chapter 49 The jury of the Song Dynasty

Zhao Yu threw the difficult questions to the king. At this time, the king knew that it was easy to say a conclusion, but it was difficult to change a thing. He looked at Zhao Yu and suddenly smiled: "Your Majesty, under the whole world, is it the king's land, the shore of the earth? Is it the king's minister? Since ancient times, the law has come from the king. Your Majesty, you can say a word to abolish the law and make a word. Law, all dynasties have taken the edict, system, order and release issued by the emperor as the most important legal form of law, and the written law often retreats under the edict. Now instead of issuing an edict, you ask me if there is a grand ambition to the saint, and want to formally establish a set of laws with standard implementation, so that all officials have laws to follow, and democracy has laws to follow.

There was a silence on the hall. The king's words were too sharp. He said the truth. At the same time, he subverted the relationship between imperial power and the law, but no one could refute what he said. Once anyone objected, it was to oppose the great ambition of the emperor. This big hat was put on Zhao Yu, and Zhao Yu was immediately put up in the air.

Wang saw Zhao Yu stunned, and then said, "Cends, think about it, if a case can't be finally convicted when the case is clear, you have to ask the emperor in the court. What's the use of leaving him in the departments of trial, Dali and the Ministry of Criminal Justice? Then the emperor sits in the court every day to judge the case for everyone. Isn't it all right?"

Han Qi saw that the officials of each ministry did not say anything. He said, "Your Majesty, it seems that I can't follow the Song Dynasty. Song Taizu Jianlong compiled "Song's Detailed Criminal System" in four years, which is the first code printed in history since ancient times. All departments are now also executed according to this law. A Yun asked. The question is just a case, not to mention that there was no such thing as surrendering before, let alone asking for exemption from the death penalty because of surrendering.

Wang said, "What Han Xiang said is right. Since I have said this, I will take a test for you. How was this "Song Jian's Detailed Criminal System" formulated?"

Seeing that no one answered, Wang Bian said, "The provisions of "Song Jian's solemnly determine the criminal unification", which is only a copy of "Tang Lv Shu's Discussion". The change lies in the addition of the "folding staff method"; 209 criminal norms collected from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the 150 years of the early Song Dynasty are attached to the law."

"The king of Zhennan is very knowledgeable." Yes, the prince knows a lot. A few voices of praise above the court,

"Let's not talk about whether the regulations at the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Song Dynasty followed the old system, but there is a saying that it is called advancing with the dynasty. I don't know if everyone has heard of it. The Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties ruled with theocratic ideas and patriarchal ideas. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, they advocated the rule of etiquette, the rule of virtue and the rule of people. Qin practiced the rule of law and unified the six countries by force. If the ministers were born in Qin, with your knowledge, they must have been dug up and buried..."

When Wang said this, his tone was very relaxed. The ministers were also attracted by his speech. Together with his rich expression and tone, there was a burst of laughter in the court.

Wang saw that the atmosphere relaxed and then said, "So, everything should keep pace with the dynasty. Now my Song Dynasty still takes the old classics to judge things that obviously can't keep up with the rhythm. Let's turn ourselves in. Although it is a new word, the law can be added as a lenient standard, and the attempted murder can also be written, but Judge according to the result of motivation and the attitude of confession, and according to the law. If there are similar cases in the future, you can refer to these as the basis. Your Hosir, what do you think of what I said?

Zhao Yu smiled and said, "It's good. The official can order Dali Temple to formulate and amend various laws and regulations. How about you, the king of Zhennan, please supervise this matter?"

The king shook his head. He didn't want to take this job. The formulation of the code was a huge project: "Your Majesty, I recommend Sima Hanlin to do this. I think he is fully competent."

Zhao Yu's psychology understood that Brother Wang didn't want to tie him up. He turned his head and said to Sima Guang, "Sima Hanlin, the official ordered you to cooperate with Dali Temple to complete this matter."

Sima Guang never thought that Wang Bian would recommend himself to recompile the royal code, which was a great responsibility and honor. He was so moved that he couldn't speak for a long time, but when he looked at Wang Anshi, he thought that although it was good, if it was not handled properly, he would definitely be impeached by Wang Anshi, a stubborn old man, and everything else Well, the A Yun case is still pending and there is no result. Thinking of this, he said, "Thank you, Mr., but how should the A Yun case be decided?"

Wang said, "Sima Hanlin has made a lot of progress."

Sima Guang was stunned. Originally, he was a person with a good idea. He had always supported the severe punishment of A Yun. As a result, Wang just said so, and he hesitated for a moment, so he asked such a question. Zhao Yu still didn't say anything. Wang said this. I really don't know whether he was praised or derogatory.

Zhao Yu also didn't know how to make a ruling. Hearing Wang's words, he immediately said, "King Zhennan, tell me where Sima Hanlin has made progress."

Wang said, "At the beginning, Sima Hanlin asked for an order, which was difficult for him and his father to distinguish the consequences, so he asked the emperor to decide whether it was right or wrong. This time, Sima Hanlin asked for an order to know that this matter was related to the law, very prudent and democratic. This time, it was to consult the emperor and everyone. It seems that Sima Hanlin But I've brainstormed. Sima Hanlin, am I right?

Sima Guang thought to himself, can't the boy next to the king read his mind? I was caught by him with a little hesitation, and I couldn't refute the question. He nodded and said sincerely, "Yes, that's what I think. Please give me more advice from the king of Zhennan."

Zhao Yu laughed and said, "It's so good. It's rare for the officials to work together so harmoniously. King of Zhennan, please tell me how to improve the law through the Ayun case."

Wang said, "Your Majesty, it is easy to convict this case, but it is the most difficult to convince people. A village woman's injury case can cause trouble in the court. Presumably, many officials from the state government to the Ministry of Criminal Justice involved in this case participate in the judgment of this case. Therefore, there must be a final result, and as long as either party is fair, they will not stand on this case. No, being impeached is the punishment that makes everyone convinced.

The ministers in the hall nodded, and what Wang said was exactly what they thought. Historically, many officials have been impeached, and sometimes it is simply caused by different views on one thing. In the end, no one can listen to each other's words, or it is impossible to change their views, because each party will do its best to maintain their views. What is naturally maintained behind this is not only the views, but also a series of connections and power. This was explained by the king in public, and everyone's concerns disappeared,

Sima Guang from the obscurity of Emperor Renzong period to the single fight in the Yingzong period until Song Shenzong ascended the throne. He finally found the so-called like-minded people, that is, those who oppose the New Deal together, because Song Shenzong's use of Wang Anshi may block the passage of these people's rise, and even if Wang Anshi's reform is really If the Qingli New Deal is so short-lived, then standing with Wang Anshi will definitely be implicated, but when he heard Wang's words, Sima Guang began to admire Wang from the bottom of his heart,

Zhao Yu clapped his hands and said, "Okay, the officials will issue a decree. No matter what the result of the sentence in the Ayun case is, as long as it is fair and just, no official has to be impeached because of the different views of the case."

Sima Guang said to the king, "Since this is the case, the prince has a law of fairness and justice."

An idea has taken shape in Wang's mind. Maybe this idea was not available yesterday, but I just broke my speech and slowly made my thinking more complete.

"Sima Hanlin asked a good question. Law enforcement should naturally be fair and just, but if the law is too heavy, the people will have resentment, and if it is too light, there is no meaning of punishment. Therefore, moderation, fairness and justice are the most suitable for me in the Song Dynasty, so that we can keep pace with the dynasty. To achieve this, we must first make it public. Therefore, I have a proposal..."

He inspected the face of the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty. Seeing that Li Shen was listening carefully, the Kaifeng government was not involved in this matter now. Wang said, "Your Majesty, I propose to transfer this case to Kaifeng Prefecture and set up a public court for trial in Kaifeng Mansion. At the same time, in addition to participating in the hearings of various departments in this case, I also asked the Holy Lord to order the establishment. The jury participated in the resolution of the case.

Zhao Yu looked at Wang puzzledly: "Brother Wang, what does this jury say?"

The king said, "Holy, this jury is not a court official, but a scholarly person from the people, such as gentry, such as the tribute students who have passed the county and township examination, the family members of the officials, and the officials who have resigned from the court. The emperor can issue the imperial list, and the number of people in this group is 100, each In the second public court session, 21 people were drawn by drawing lots. Take the A Yun case as an example. Since everyone believes that hurting people is a fact, what needs to be defended by A Yun is whether to deal with it lightly. Then it is proposed that the light party should be the defender of A Yun. At the time of the public trial, both sides sent a representative, and which side was finally got a jury. With the most votes, the final result of the Ayun case will be finally judged.

Fu Bi asked, "Is this different from the voting of the officials in the hall?"

Wang said, "Of course, it's different. The position occupied by the officials in the hall may not stand in the Ayun case itself. This is the first point. Second, the law is finally used for the people. What the emperor sees in the court every day is us. It is difficult to know the people's affairs and the people's thoughts. These people in the jury are all wild. There are Young people who have just made their debut, there are middle-aged and elderly people with profound gentry, retired officials who have resigned for the people but care about the imperial court, and women who are literate and thoughtful in the family. Their judgments are often more objective. This third advantage is that the case has been decided, and the imperial history station will not be impeached by the jury.

After he finished his words, the ministers in the hall laughed again. Several imperial history of the imperial history platform, Lv Ji and others also smiled awkwardly. The duty of the imperial history platform is to impeach people. Let the king say so, it really seems that the imperial history platform has to find something if it is nothing to do.