My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 606 Uh…

But now, things are a bit awkward.

With Liu Rong's general amnesty imminent, those few craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department could indeed be released under this pretext.

But what about Zhou Yang, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Tiao?
This is difficult to do.

If a general amnesty is granted but Zhou Yang is not released, then the amnesty is meaningless.

In this era, granting a general amnesty was both a symbol of the emperor's magnanimity, benevolence, love for the people, and compassion for all living beings, and a political superstition to reduce bloodshed and thus seek good fortune and avoid misfortune.

In many instances, when feudal dynasties encountered troubles caused by force majeure, such as natural disasters, man-made calamities, or unusual celestial phenomena, regardless of the emperor's wishes, his ministers would suggest granting a general amnesty to "accumulate good karma" for the dynasty.

This is clearly superstition, and political superstition dominated by the regime.

Since it's superstition, there's definitely no room for negotiation; it must be carried out to the end.

So, when people burn paper money for their deceased ancestors, how can they count the face value of the paper money and burn it according to the amount?

When offering incense to ancestors, why would you choose the cheapest one?

Same thing.

The Han emperor granted a general amnesty to demonstrate his benevolence to the world and his blessings upon all living beings. He wanted to ask Heaven for a good omen of "not engaging in excessive killing," so he had to be thorough.

A general amnesty means that there can be no exceptions.

Once the edict of general amnesty is issued, all official institutions of the Han dynasty—whether it be the Chang'an Dali prison, the imperial prison, or local counties and Guandong prefectures—will be subject to the amnesty.
All official prisons must have their gates wide open unconditionally, and all prisoners must be released without any conditions.

Back then, not long after Emperor Xiaojing ascended the throne, he appointed Zhang Ou, a member of his Crown Prince's staff, as Minister of Justice.

It just so happens that Zhang Ou is a spineless court official who will delay or postpone the approval of death sentences as much as possible.
Those years were also a turbulent time for the Han dynasty – Emperor Xiaowen passed away, Empress Dowager Bo passed away, and within three short years, there were two general amnesties.

In addition, after the Rebellion of the Seven States was quelled, Emperor Xiaojing granted another general amnesty in order to stabilize the hearts of the people.

In a period of just over three years but less than four years, there were three amnesties, almost one per year.

Such a coincidence, coupled with the lazy and negligent governance of the incompetent Minister of Justice Zhang Ou, led to a very absurd situation that became the norm for those few years.

—In feudal times, death row inmates were rarely executed by beheading.

Unless they committed a serious crime like treason, ordinary death row inmates were usually executed in a concentrated manner after the autumn harvest.

This is also what later generations often hear in film and television works: execution after the autumn harvest.

Call it superstition or a different kind of 'science' from a backward era, but in any case, this historical context allowed death row inmates to live until the following autumn after their conviction.

Then, the interesting part comes.

It's like a notorious thief who was arrested and brought to justice at the end of autumn and winter in the seventh year of Emperor Xiaowen's reign, the year Emperor Xiaowen died.

By the time the trial and conviction were over, spring had arrived, and spring plowing was imminent; killing was considered inauspicious.

Therefore, the government determined that the thief should be executed in the autumn of that year, which was the autumn of the first year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign.

In the spring, Emperor Xiaojing granted a general amnesty after the national mourning period ended, citing the death of the late emperor.

Before this thief could be executed in the autumn, he was unconditionally released due to a general amnesty and his life was spared.

Six months later, this thief, unable to change his ways, was arrested again for a serious crime, such as robbery, murder, and theft.

By the time the trial was completed, it was early in the second year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, still in winter, and he could have been beheaded.

As a result, the death sentence approval process got stuck with the spineless judge Zhang Ou, and it dragged on until spring without any news.

Killing animals in spring is considered unlucky.

There was nothing the government could do but continue submitting reports and urging approval, and tentatively set the date for the execution of the thief in the autumn.

In the autumn, Empress Dowager Bo passed away, and the country was in mourning.

When the emperor dies, a general amnesty is granted after the period of national mourning ends. When the empress dowager or grand empress dowager dies, a general amnesty is granted at the same time as the national mourning period.

Thus, this thief, who was about to be executed and had only a month or so left before his execution, was granted another amnesty.

Having survived a second time was incredibly lucky.

As a result, in the third year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, this traitor was determined to die again and got involved in the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu, and was sentenced to death for treason.

It was the same old story—the process got stuck with Zhang Ou, the Minister of Justice, and before the process was completed, the late emperor granted another amnesty after the rebellion was quelled.

Thus, the Han dynasty left behind a bizarre case of 'sentencing the same person to death three times, yet ultimately failing to execute him.'

The most ridiculous thing is that during those three years, similar incidents were not isolated cases, but rather a series of bizarre events.

During those years, there were no fewer than ten death row inmates who were granted amnesty on all three separate occasions.

As for those who were sentenced to death twice out of three times, but were ultimately pardoned, or who were beheaded on the third occasion, there were hundreds of them.

In the eyes of later generations, this may be a manifestation of the loss of legal dignity, the disgrace of national credibility, and the complete collapse of social order.

In fact, the three consecutive amnesties in those years did not affect the legal system and social order of the Han Dynasty. On the contrary, they visibly consolidated and stabilized the Han Dynasty's country and society.

Because in this era, people not only accepted the simple legal concepts of "a life for a life" and "debts must be repaid," but also the general consensus that "a general amnesty means no guilt."

In the eyes of the people of this era, a person who makes a mistake should pay the price, and a person who commits a crime should be punished.

but!

If a criminal who has been tried by law is fortunate enough to receive a general amnesty, it means that this person was not destined to die, and that even Heaven is willing to spare this person's life.

Since even Heaven is willing to let him off the hook, what else is there to say?
Naturally, if Heaven can spare one person, it can spare two or three.

People will not feel that the law or the government is ineffective; on the contrary, they will feel that fate is a mysterious and unpredictable thing.

As for the lucky person who escaped punishment due to the amnesty, people would not only not curse or despise them, or even keep their distance, but would also think that the person was "blessed by great fortune" and "favored by God".

Even if the other party is truly wicked, people will still wonder: Is there something else going on? Is he being framed?

Otherwise, why would Heaven save him again and again?
Even if we take a step back and assume that this thief is a scoundrel with ample witnesses and physical evidence, whose crimes are so heinous that they would be condemned by both gods and men, people would still think: perhaps in the eyes of God, this is not a sin.

Could it be that we mortals have mistaken something that was originally innocent for something heinous?
Even if they ultimately can't understand it, can't figure it out, and still don't accept that this heinous scoundrel is still alive and well, no one will blame this lucky scoundrel.

Instead, they would angrily curse the heavens, saying things like "the heavens are blind."

Once you understand these points, it becomes clear that in this era, the authority of a general amnesty is equivalent to that of all universal values, such as "a life for a life" and "debts must be repaid," and it can gain widespread recognition from the people.

The most important premise for the people's acceptance of the "general amnesty"—an unconditional and indiscriminate pardon that is unreasonable and unprincipled—is that the general amnesty is unconditional and indiscriminate.

In short, it is fair.

Regardless of the severity of the crime—petty theft can be pardoned, heinous crimes can be pardoned, and even those who rebel or usurp the throne can be pardoned.

Regardless of social status—nobles, high-ranking officials, local tyrants, landlords, and the poor can all be pardoned.

When a heinous criminal is granted amnesty, no one objects, because if they were that heinous criminal, they would also be pardoned if they were granted amnesty.

The saying "It is not scarcity that is a concern, but inequality" perfectly illustrates this point.

Therefore, the matter of granting a general amnesty seems to depend entirely on the emperor's mood—he can grant a general amnesty if he wants to, or not if he doesn't, and he can grant amnesty to whomever he wants or not.

In reality, the feudal emperors' autonomy and freedom in granting a general amnesty were not as great as they appeared on the surface.

When the nation suffers from natural disasters or unusual celestial phenomena, no matter how unwilling the emperor may be, he must accept the advice of his ministers, bathe and fast, and grant a general amnesty.

Anyone who is unwilling is a foolish or even tyrannical ruler who disregards the well-being of the people and the stability of the nation.

Similarly, when the country is at peace and there is no decent pretext, no matter how much the emperor wants to grant a general amnesty, he will not be able to gain widespread approval from the court.

—No matter what, you have to come up with a reason, right?
For example, I was very happy when my son was born, and I was very happy when my daughter was born.
Or perhaps, it's the Empress Dowager's birthday, the Empress's birthday, or something similar; there has to be a respectable reason.

Once a general amnesty is declared, deciding who to pardon and who not to pardon is entirely beyond the emperor's control, and is not something that can be discussed or debated.

—If you're going to grant amnesty, grant it to everyone!

Forget it!
Why are you discriminating against me?
Doesn't this completely undermine the fairness, justice, and even the legitimacy and sanctity of the amnesty?

They were all emperors who possessed the wealth of the entire world, yet they were still concerned about the life and death of a single person. Did they have any magnanimity?
If you can't even accommodate one person, how can you accommodate all the people under heaven, how can you shoulder the responsibility for the millions of people under heaven, as well as the ancestral temples and the state?
That's the crux of the problem.

—It has been six years since Liu Rong ascended the throne.

Except for the first year of Liu Rong's reign, when a general amnesty was granted due to the death of Emperor Xiaojing, the Han dynasty had not granted a general amnesty for five years.

In other ordinary years, if there are no major events such as the death of the emperor or the empress dowager, it is normal not to grant amnesty for eight or ten years.

However, in the five years since Liu Rong ascended the throne, the Han dynasty has never been peaceful.

The consecutive victories in the three foreign wars—the Battle of Chaona, the Battle of Hetao-Mayi, and the Battle of Gaoque—are not worth mentioning.

Whether it's out of gratitude for divine protection and ancestral blessings, or out of gratitude for the support of the people, it's long overdue to provide benefits to the people and celebrate this momentous occasion.

Moreover, in the past few years, in addition to the victories in these three wars, there have been many other things worth celebrating and commemorating.

—Don't forget, the current emperor Liu Rong ascended the throne first, and then held his coming-of-age ceremony and wedding.

The emperor stands before he reaches adulthood; he is the emperor before he becomes an adult. Shouldn't he be granted a general amnesty?
When the emperor gets married and the empress is married, shouldn't the people of the world be granted a general amnesty?
There was also the birth of the eldest prince, the grand birthday celebrations of Empress Dowager Dou and Empress Dowager Li...

If you count on your fingers, in the past five years, apart from the amnesty granted during the national mourning period following the death of Emperor Xiaojing, there have been at least five to seven other opportunities for amnesty, which may or may not have been granted.

Ultimately, however, out of consideration for 'not wanting to repeat the scene of Emperor Xiaojing granting several amnesties in a short period of time in the first three years,' Liu Rong gritted his teeth and rejected every opportunity without exception.

He just kept shaking his head and rejecting it.
Today, it has come to the end of the fifth year of Emperor Rongxin's reign.

The New Year is approaching, important plans are about to be made, and the grand court ceremony is about to begin;
If this is not used as an excuse to grant a general amnesty, then there is a real possibility that some court officials will criticize Liu Rong as "cruel and tyrannical" during the grand court ceremony.

In fact, the reason why feudal emperors granted amnesty to the whole country was regarded as a symbol of benevolence and tolerance was also due to the population problem.

—In feudal times, the birth rate was high, but the death rate was also high.

An infant survival rate—especially the adult survival rate—is considered normal at 30%, very good at 40%, and a full 50% is considered auspicious!
The situation was somewhat better in the Chinese dynasties, but the infant-to-adult rate among the nomadic peoples of the grasslands was shockingly low.

It is widely acknowledged on the grasslands that for every five babies born, only one will typically live to be ten years old.

As for how long one can live after reaching the age of ten—whether one lives to twenty or twenty-five, or to the thirties and dies peacefully in old age—no one can say for sure.

Now, let's talk about the current Xiongnu Chanyu Junchen. He has been Chanyu for fifteen years since he ascended the throne in the third year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's reign (161 BC). He has had at least dozens of children, including twenty or thirty sons.

But of all those who are still alive today, only the young and frail Left Wise King Yu Dan is still alive.

With no other choice, Junchen did not even dare to insist on passing the throne to his own son. Instead, he had to take the thorn in his side, the Right Wise King Yizhixie, as an alternative if Yudan could not come of age smoothly.

In the original history, this was indeed as Gunchen had predicted.

—After the death of Chanyu Junchen, Yizhixie, the Left Guli King, who was in his prime, declared himself Chanyu and led his army to break through the guards of the Left Wise King Yudan, forcing Yudan to surrender to the Han Dynasty.

As a result, after going to Han lands, Yu Dan only lived for a few months before dying in Chang'an, where the climate was warm and resources were plentiful.

In this historical context, the emperor's intermittent amnesty was essentially a way to preserve the population base and the prison system to the greatest extent possible.

—Those who can be imprisoned for crimes cannot be considered absolutely good people, but in feudal times, those who had the strength and the will to commit crimes must have been excellent laborers.

Killing them would be a complete loss.

Pardons—whether they can reform prisoners or allow them to be exploited by the government for their labor if they commit crimes again—are always more profitable.

Uh……

How did I say it again?

Exploitation of surplus value?
Cough, cough...

(End of this chapter)