One thousand three hundred seventy-three chapters break and then stand 1
"Your Majesty..." Zhao Yu, the court lieutenant, led seven or eight censors holding books to Liu Che, and bowed in front of Liu Che: "I respectfully send my regards to Your Majesty..."
"Good morning!" Liu Che smiled slightly and said to the people around him: "Give me a seat for the court lieutenant and all the ministers!"
Therefore, Zhao Yu and his censors who were holding books were immediately invited to sit on both sides, and the eunuchs brought tea, snacks and even fine wine.
"I invite the Tingwei and all the ministers to come here today. I want to ask the Tingwei and the ministers to explain to me the difference between 'office notices' and 'non-office notices', as well as various laws since the founding of the country. The changes and stories..." Liu Che said with a smile: "Can you please tell Wei Ting to tell me the 'office announcement' first?"
"Your Majesty: I foolishly thought that the public servant should report to the public office!" Zhao Yu immediately stood up and worshiped: "For example, when Xiao Xiangguo first established the "Nine Chapters of the Law", it said: If a thief kills or injures someone else or steals from someone else, the public office will report him!" "
Liu Che naturally knew the context of this matter very well.
In fact, as an emperor, it was difficult for him to think clearly.
Because law has always been the most powerful weapon for interest groups to fight against each other.
Under normal circumstances, it is the law that determines the country's system and governance methods.
But now, Confucianism, Legalism, and the Huang-Lao School are launching an invisible war around Han Law.
But as an emperor, sometimes you need to pretend to be stupid. For example, at this time, Liu Che pretended that he had never heard of the dispute.
Therefore, Liu Che said with a smile: "I see... Then, please tell me the changes and stories of the 'office announcements' and 'non-office announcements' in the Han Code..."
"Nuo!" Zhao Yu and all the censors holding books bowed one after another.
"Your Majesty, Chen Man has been commissioned to explain to your Majesty the changes in laws and regulations over the past dynasties..." A middle-aged official with an unsmiling look paid his respects.
"This is Wang Yuanzi, the left prisoner of the former imperial court..." Ji An introduced softly.
Liu Che nodded, "Wang Yuan, he knew that he was a veteran of the Three Dynasties. He had served as an aide to Wang Ling, Marquis of Anguo, and Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping. Later, he was recommended by Zhang Cang and served as Zhang Shizhi's assistant. His business ability was very good. He is a typical official of Taizong Dynasty.
Before the late emperor ascended the throne, this veteran minister had already entered the official service.
His three sons all served as officials in the Han family's court system.
Even the eldest son Wang Zheng once participated in the trial and liquidation of rebellious noble officials in the Kingdom of Wu. He accumulated merit and was moved to the post of governor of Kuaiji County.
As for the person in front of him, Liu Che had also heard about it.
It is said that he is also a lecturer of Taixue, and is quite famous among the students of Taixue - at least, he is one of the few young people who can sit down and talk with Hu Wusheng and Dong Zhongshu without stage fright.
In the hall, Wang Man had already picked up a bamboo slip and started explaining.
Today, when the Han Dynasty has fully begun to promote the use of white paper, the bamboo slips that can appear here are naturally antiques and witnesses of history. Some bamboo slips are even precious materials written by famous figures.
For example, Xiao He's Nine Chapters on Laws, Shusun Tong's "Bang Zhang", Liu Bang's memorials and laws personally commented by Empress Lu.
At this moment, Wang Man was holding such a bamboo slip in his hand.
He opened them one by one, and then read: "In the early days, Prime Minister Xiao established the Nine-Chapter Code of Laws, and his "Laws of Admonition" said: If a thief kills, injures, or steals another person, the office will report it."
"A son steals his parents, and his parents kill and injure his children without permission. They are slaves and slaves, and they will not be reported to the government!"
"……………………"
Wang Man read more than a dozen laws in a row. These were the laws of the early Han Dynasty and the Qin laws copied by Liu Bang and Xiao He. Basically, at that time, there might be differences between the Han laws and the Qin laws, but at most they were just Chinese translations.
.
It's just like the copy-paste party of later generations. At most, the names of the protagonist and supporting characters are changed.
In essence, the root of Han law is Qin law, which is derived from Li Kui's Dharma Scripture.
The laws at that time were really simple and crude.
The big net compiled by Legalists covers almost everything.
Liu's true originality had to wait until Shusun Tongxian's eighteenth chapter of "Bang Zhang" during the reign of Emperor Hui.
But this "Bang Zhang" is not a law. Strictly speaking, it is just a code of etiquette.
Moreover, because of the embarrassing status of Confucianism in the world, Shusun Tong did not dare to have any requirements or regulations for the royal family and princes.
Therefore, this "Bangzhang" only stipulates the etiquette among scholar-bureaucrats and nobles and the etiquette for these people to worship the emperor.
Any more and it will be gone.
Otherwise, Sima Guang of later generations would not have beaten his chest and rolled on the floor lamenting: "I cherish my husband, my uncle and grandson are born as a child! I just stole the chaff of etiquette in order to conform to the world, humor the customs, and gain favor, so I used the etiquette of the previous king."
Isn’t it painful to be in ruins and unable to recover until now?
Therefore, Wang Man directly skipped the "Bang Zhang" and said: "Queen Lu is different. Her laws are strict, so her official denunciations are increasing day by day, and family crimes are gradually becoming public crimes..."
"As Empress Lu ordered: If a wife is strong and her husband beats her, it is not a weapon, so no crime!"
"He also ordered: If a wife beats her husband, she will become a concubine!"
"..."
Liu Che smiled slightly in his heart when he heard this. Everyone said that all people in the world perished due to weakness, but the Han Dynasty only perished due to strength.
How did the Han Empire do it? Even if the world fell apart, the princes of a small town could chase them to the north and defeat the world?
The answer lies in the law.
It is hidden within the rules and regulations of Chinese law.
One of the biggest features of the Han Code is that it affirms the authority of the male as the master of the family under the feudal monarchy.
For example, each of these laws is to maintain the authority of the male master.
If a husband beats his wife, as long as he doesn't use a weapon, the beating will be in vain. If the wife dares to resist, I'm sorry, but I will be a concubine.
Nai is a kind of punishment, humiliating, which means that you have to shave off your hair. What is a concubine? A concubine in a family is the same as a slave.
The meaning of this law is that if the Hedong lion dares to beat his husband, he will be deposed as a concubine. In other words, I'm sorry, you are no longer the main concubine.
But the problem is - since the Han laws have begun to stipulate the status and obligations of husband and wife, then the status and rights of the female master will definitely be protected.
Therefore, the "Household Code" of the Han Dynasty allows women to be the head of the household, and also allows women to enjoy the right to inherit property and the right to divorce their husbands when they break the law or make mistakes, and they can take away their own property, dowry, and even their children and slaves.
This was unimaginable in the feudal era.
The reason for these laws is that in the early Han Dynasty, the world's population was declining, and not even one household registration out of ten existed.
In order to encourage production and life, and to restore the social economy, the rulers had to make compromises.
Women are allowed to shoulder the burden of the family as the head of the family.
Today, although women cannot hold up half of the sky, they are still an indispensable main labor force in society.
When the male master is around, men farm and women weave, and the husband sings and the wife follows. Once the male master is unfortunate, the women can also stir up and support the whole family.
Just like last year's Battle of Gaoque and this year's Battle of Yanji, basically all the young men in the north participated in the war.
The farm work and housework at home are basically handled by women.
Although women have less physical strength and endurance than men.
However, the women of the Han family are good at weeding, fertilizing, housekeeping, and taking care of the elderly.
Some hard-working women are even as good as men.
In the entire Han Dynasty, the labor force that women could contribute accounted for almost one-third of the family.
What does this mean?
This means that with the same population and national strength, the population of the Han Dynasty can explode one-third more than other dynasties.
If compared with the Song and Ming Dynasties, the Han family's current population of more than 60 million is probably already a strength that only 100 million people can explode.
But now the Han Dynasty does not have a civil servants and landlords group that can dominate the world, nor does it have all kinds of party disputes that hold things back and engage in internal strife.
Therefore, in fact, Liu Che's empire now has exceeded the power of Song and Ming Dynasty if calculated purely in terms of national strength.
At least, Emperor Chongzhen did not have as many troops at his command as Liu Che, and the total money in his pocket was not as much as Liu Che could leak from one finger.
Of course, the Han Dynasty had so many complete laws regarding internal disputes and resolutions within the family, thanks to Empress Lu.
Empress Lu came to the court as a heroine. In order to maintain her status and convince the people of the world, she protected and maintained women's political and family status in law.
In essence, the private family is the same as the Liu family in the palace.
When the male master is around, although the wife is a vassal, she is also an important member and another element of the family.
When the male master dies, his wife becomes the master as a matter of course.
All members of the family must obey and be filial to her.
Otherwise, it will be unfilial, unfilial, and lose your head!
Therefore, even though Empress Lu died and the Lu family was purged, the laws formulated by Empress Lu regarding internal disputes and civil litigation among common people are still in existence.
In the eyes of the current Han Dynasty, especially in the eyes of Liu Che, high-quality female labor force is an indispensable and important support for China's future industrialization.
On the other hand, it is precisely because of women’s power that cannot be underestimated in social production and economy that supports their status in society and the family.
Take Liu Che’s mother-in-law Guantao as an example.
Although this princess of the empire is domineering and has a strong desire for power, her abilities and skills are probably not as good as those of ordinary men.
To be honest, the princesses of the old Liu family are domineering just because they are stronger than their husbands.
Like Princess Lu Yuan, without her, Xuanping Hou Zhang Ao would have died long ago.
For example, Guantao's husband was married to Chen Wu in Tangyi. If Chen Wu had not married Guantao, he would have been completely wiped out in the various reshuffles of the princes' power.
How can I continue to be so cool?
Therefore, they deserve to be a little angry.
If they were General Wei Qing, why would they need to accept anger?
In essence, the only gentle and virtuous Princess Pingyang in the old Liu family is gentle and virtuous only because her husband is the general, Pinghou Weiqing.
It can be deduced from this that in the future, if industrialization comes, a large number of women work in the textile industry, and the priorities of the family economy are reversed, I am afraid that the equal status of men and women and the rights movement will also come.
What is different from the West is that by that time, the princesses and princesses of the empire will probably be the main force.
Thinking about it this way, Liu Che found it quite interesting.
However, Liu Che did not want to interfere with matters such as gender equality today.
He listened to Wang Man's account one by one, quoting the words of prime ministers or court officials from past dynasties to confirm the story and background of the changes in the scope of application of official and non-official announcements in the Han Dynasty.
In his mind, the changes in Han laws from Liu Bang to the present are like the rise and fall line of the stock market, with ups and downs.
Sometimes, the scope of application of the law even extends deep into the family.
For example, during the reign of Empress Lu, the law stipulated that if someone rebelled, the whole family would be destroyed. However, if the rebel's family members reported him before the rebellion or assisted the government in catching the prisoner after the rebellion, they could be exempted from liability, and the accusers could even be allowed to include
The wife and concubines left with their legal property. (The provisions of the two-year law).
This provision applies to all criminal acts, including theft, homicide, fraud and other illegal activities.
But when Taizong arrived, the relevant legal regulations were suddenly relaxed.
The old-school politicians who are in power adhere to the concept of "governing by doing nothing". Basically, as long as the people do not break the law, or even if they break the law, as long as they do not make a big deal out of the matter, they are too lazy to take care of it.
At the local level, various Confucian sects also began to advocate the practice of "hiding relatives from each other."
If Liu Che had not intervened, in another twenty or thirty years, when they were full-fledged, they would have been able to amend the law and smash all the shackles around their necks.
By that time, the clan power and local virtuous people, under the influence of capital, may be in dire straits.
Therefore, when Wang Man finished speaking, Liu Che frowned at first, and then said: "I heard that Han Feizi said: A husband is a direct minister, a father is a violent son, a father is a filial son, and a king is a traitor... Although I
I think it’s biased, but it’s not unreasonable…”
As soon as these words came out, the faces of Tingwei Zhao Yu and the censors who held the book almost turned into flowers with laughter.
For Legalists, of course they also advocate loyalty and filial piety.
In fact, all schools of thought have the same attitude towards loyalty, filial piety, etiquette and kindness.
But the problem is - when loyalty and filial piety cannot have both, how to choose?
Legalism advocates that if loyalty and filial piety cannot be fulfilled, then loyalty should be followed.
Confucianism believes that loyalty and filial piety must be able to have both. If not, then be a filial son first.
Of course, there is an ethical issue here - loyalty and filial piety cannot be both balanced, and those who choose to be filial sons will become rebellious officials and traitors?
Mencius gave his own explanation for this: When someone asked him about the family tragedy of Emperor Shun, Mencius replied: Shun abandoned the world as he abandoned me. He fled away and lived by the seaside, living alone all his life.
Be happy and forget about the world.
The meaning is: If loyalty and filial piety cannot be both fulfilled, Shun, who chose to be a filial son, gave up the world, ran to the seaside, lived alone all his life, and happily forgot about the world.
haha……
Therefore, the choices made by Confucian scholars in later Song and Ming dynasties in the face of foreign enemies can be explained.
A conscientious person should die in danger to repay the king.
Those who have integrity go to the mountains and live in seclusion without paying attention to worldly affairs.
He has no conscience and no sense of moral integrity. He knelt down to greet the Qing soldiers as they entered the customs...
But there are very few people who are willing to fight for the world.
And this was something Liu Che couldn't tolerate.
The most important thing is that this attitude upheld by Confucianism has clearly created obstacles for Liu Che's descendants to rule the world in the future. (To be continued.)
