I studied in modern times

Chapter 873 The Emperor’s Judgment
Renxu (13) in July of the second year of Yuanyou.

Zhang Fangping, the military governor of Zhangde Army, and Feng Jing, the military governor of Baoning Army, went to the palace to pay homage to the Empress Dowager and presented her with a gift for Kuncheng Festival - sample books of the seventh and eighth volumes of the newly compiled and published "Yuanyou Dictionary".

The Empress Dowager was overjoyed when she heard this, and immediately issued an imperial decree, awarding Zhang Fangping and Feng Jing an additional fief of 1,000 households and an actual fief of 400 households for their contributions in writing books.

At the same time, they were allowed to allow each of them to have one son serve as an official.

On the same day, Du Chun, the Minister of the Supreme Court and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, reported the case files of various clerks in the prefecture that had been concluded.

In recent days, as the Kuncheng Festival is approaching, the Dali Temple and the Censorate have accelerated the efficiency of case trials.

Obviously, this was also for the purpose of offering a gift - before the Emperor's Holy Day or the Empress Dowager's Holy Day, there were requests from Yukong.

Otherwise, if a bunch of people were locked up in the Dali Temple during the Emperor's or the Empress Dowager's festival, how would people in the world view this?
Therefore, before the Kuncheng Festival, it is customary to close the case as soon as possible.

This year is no exception.

In fact, the Empress Dowager had not held court in the main hall since the Zhang Dunli case.

Therefore, the political priority of this matter is actually higher than in the past!

Therefore, without anyone notifying them, the Dali Temple, the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice, led by Zeng Bu, automatically and consciously began the quick trial.

One case after another was concluded at a high speed and then reported to the capital. The officials in the capital simply reviewed them briefly and signed their approval. Then, the relevant files were sent to Zhao Xu and the two palaces through the Tongjian Division.

When these files were sent to the palace, Zhao Xu was walking with Empress Dowager Xiang in the imperial garden behind Baoci Palace.

When Empress Dowager Xiang saw the files that were sent to her, she looked at Zhao Xu who happened to be beside her.

A thought emerged in her mind.

"Sixth brother..." she said softly, "Would you like to review these files with me?"

Sixth brother, you have now proven yourself in employing people, commanding troops, governing the country, and managing the economics.

But he still has something that he has not proven to the world.

That's justice!
Since ancient times, the emperor has been the supreme ruler who holds all power.

And justice is of paramount importance!

As a queen who was educated in a scholar-official family, Empress Dowager Xiang may have lacked the ability to handle government affairs and had little understanding of the contemporary Song Dynasty society.

However, she was very sensitive to matters concerning authority.

She knew very well that since ancient times, emperors had always made decisions on criminal cases personally.

This is because the emperor is the one who governs the country on behalf of God.

And those who govern the country on behalf of God must personally judge cases!

Therefore, Empress Dowager Xiang met Zhao Xu's eyes and explained: "When I was in the boudoir, I heard people say that heaven and earth gave birth to all things, so heaven and earth are the parents of all people..."

"And the ruler is the eldest son of heaven and earth!"

"Therefore, Sixth Brother, you should take the welfare of the people as your responsibility, and you should take the punishment seriously!"

Zhao Xu pursed his lips. He knew that this was the view of the Hengqu School.

According to Hengqu, Heaven and Earth are the mother of all things, and the emperor is the eldest son of Heaven and Earth, so he is naturally above all things and possesses all power.

Looks comfortable, doesn’t it?

But wait, there's more to come...

Hengqu's theory holds that ministers are stewards/gatekeepers who assist the emperor, the primogeniture of heaven and earth.

All people are children of heaven and earth, and therefore are brothers and sisters and should love one another.

The key point is that according to Hengqu's theory, since all people are sons of heaven and earth, the emperor is only the eldest son/heir of heaven and earth.

Therefore, the emperor has the obligation and responsibility to love and care for all people on behalf of heaven and earth.

Because in theory, the emperor and his subjects are also brothers and sisters!
This is to practice the clan law and moral principles in reverse, to understand the clan law as the law of the country, and to turn the country into a family.

But Hengqu is not the most radical.

The most radical theory was the one advocated by Wang Anshi in the eighth year of Xining.

The emperor follows the way of heaven, and the ministers follow the way of man.

The way of heaven is inaction, the way of man is action.

Therefore, the emperor should rule the country with ease and leave the affairs of governing the country to his ministers!
The radicals within the new school even went a step further and put forward the so-called sage theory.

According to their theory, it would be best if the emperor was a saint.

But what if the emperor is not a saint?
Then, he might not be able to control this world.

Therefore, a minister with the virtues and abilities of a sage should be appointed to govern the country.

At this time, the only thing the emperor needed to do was to shut himself in and give birth to princes as much as possible, hoping to produce a sage royal heir to inherit the country and benefit the world.

Therefore, Wang Anshi’s second dismissal from office came so quickly and violently.

Therefore, the Wutai Incident in the second year of Yuanfeng broke out so violently and quickly.

Almost all of Wang Anshi's loyal followers were purged from the Song Dynasty court.

This is why, in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Zhao Xu's father made the arrangement before he became seriously ill - to recall Sima Guang and Lu Gongzhu back to the court instead of recalling Wang Anshi.

Zhao Xu's father, the emperor, had a very clear idea - if Sima Guang and Lu Gongzhu returned to the court, they might abolish all the new laws.

But the ruling foundation of the Zhao Song Dynasty can be guaranteed.

But Wang Anshi has to return to the court...

Maybe, in a few years, the radicals of the New Party will make it so that power will never return to Emperor Zhao’s hands again!

Are you a saint?
If not, please go back and have children. You don't need to worry about things like governing the country.

And Wang Anshi obviously knew all this.

Therefore, after he retired to Jiangning, he never asked about state affairs.

It was not until Zhao Xu ascended the throne that he slowly became active again under Zhao Xu's constant hints.

Thinking about these things, the corners of Zhao Xu's mouth curled up slightly.

All along, what he has been doing silently is to be a qualified saint and emperor in the eyes of the New Party.

At the same time, he also became a "benevolent and wise ruler" in the eyes of the old party.

The main point is not to take the initiative, not to refuse, and not to admit.

This scumbag strategy is very useful in today's situation.

"What mother taught me is..." Zhao Xu met the queen mother's eyes and said softly: "Today, I will review the files with mother!"

The mother and son then returned to the inner bedroom of Baoci Palace, sat on the cushion, and ordered someone to present the relevant files sent by the capital.

Empress Dowager Xiang first selected some, then took out a file and handed it to Zhao Xu: "Sixth brother, please take a look at this file and the verdict of the Dali Temple..."

Zhao Xu nodded, took it, and then read it carefully.

This file contains the trial results and verdict of the case in which Qin He, a clerk in Chenliu County, beat to death the kind-hearted Li Sanyong.

According to the interrogation, Qin He's beating and killing of Li Sanyong was "indeed instigated by the treacherous minister Chenliu County Yasi Deli" and "intended to undermine the court's policies and slander the emperor's virtue."

Therefore, according to the law, Qin He was sentenced to be beheaded and thrown into the public for crimes such as murder, slandering the emperor and his father, and cursing his loyalty, and all his property was confiscated.

The dozen or so clerks who followed Qin He and participated in the beating and murder of Li Sanyong were also severely punished by the Dali Temple.

However, the files of the Dali Temple also admitted that these people "mostly did not know the evil of the corrupt officials and the sinister nature of the corrupt officials."

But they ended up being traitors!
Therefore, the lightest punishment is exile to Shamen Island, and one cannot return even if pardoned!

Others were sentenced to death, ranging from beheading to hanging.

Seeing this, Zhao Xu pursed his lips, pointed at the sentences on the file, and said softly: "Mother, I think that the Dali Temple's sentences on these accomplices seem too heavy..."

"They are 'mostly ignorant of the evil of the thieves' and even less aware of the evil of the thief Deli. I think we should be lenient with them..."

One of the most important political wisdoms Zhao Xu learned while studying abroad in modern times is that a ruler should allow himself to live and let others live as well.

If the emperor does not allow others to live, then others may not let the emperor live either.

Such things are everywhere in history.

The Queen Mother smiled and nodded: "Sixth brother is a wise ruler, so you should extend your kindness to the people!"

As she spoke, she called a eunuch and ordered him to bring a red brush.

"Sixth brother, please write the letter of amnesty on this file!"

"Yeah!" Zhao Xu nodded.

He then picked up the red pen and reduced the sentences of all the accomplices sentenced by the Dali Temple.

Those who were sentenced to exile on Shamen Island were changed to exile a thousand miles away.

Hanging was changed to exile, and beheading was changed to hanging.

After thinking for a while, he picked up the pen again, circled the sentence for Qin He, and changed lingchi to beheading.

After all, killing is not the right thing to do.

Lingchi is too cruel!
However, the file is not over yet, because later on, there is also the verdict of the Dali Temple on the lawsuit filed by the victim Li Sanyong's younger brother and sister against Chenliu County.

This verdict ordered the officials to retain 1,500 strings of cash and 210 acres of land from the confiscated property of Qin He as compensation to Li Sanyong's two younger brothers and one unmarried sister.

And ordered the three siblings to share the compensation equally.

There is no problem with the verdict, which is in line with the current social and criminal laws of the Song Dynasty.

The only problem is...

Inhumane!
Because, according to the files, Li Sanyong's unmarried sister was not yet fifteen years old.

However, she was able to receive 500 strings of cash in compensation and 70 mu of land.

what is this?
The child is holding gold in a busy city!
This test is too severe for human nature.

In modern times, Zhao Xu has read a lot of local historical materials from the Song Dynasty. Among these materials, the most common thing he saw was that after the death of their parents, the young sons and daughters left behind basically could not survive!

Sudden illness, acute disease, drowning, falling...

This is the most common ending for these poor people.

But, did they really suffer from sudden illness, acute disease, drowning, or falling?

Therefore, Zhao Xu circled the verdict and wrote next to it: I have heard that the rites say that sons and daughters-in-law should not have private property. I have also read in the Criminal Code that the laws of households and marriages say that all land and houses that should be divided should be divided equally among brothers! This is indeed a good way to settle disputes!
Li is the younger sister of the good Li Sanyong. Although she is a woman, she has never been married. She should be considered a member of the same clan and the land and houses can be divided equally according to the law.

But she will eventually get married!
I follow the laws of nature and human nature and use rites, teachings and patriarchal laws.

Today's judgment:

First: Since Li has not yet married, she should share Li Sanyong’s property equally with her brothers.

Second: When Li gets married, the money and property she gets should be returned to her clan.

Third: According to the law, a married woman should get half of the family property as her dowry.

Fourth: If Li met with misfortune and died before getting married, then all her property would be confiscated by the government!
(End of this chapter)