One hundred and fifty-seventh chapter, benevolence is unparalleled
Back in the palace, Liu De asked Wang Dao to get what Ning Cheng had written, and then summoned Zhang Tang and Ji An.
Not long after, Wang Dao brought over the draft that Ning Cheng had written over the past ten days.
Liu De took it in his hand and looked at it first.
What has to be said is that merchants, regardless of whether they are ancient or modern, from the East or the West, will inevitably be suppressed and discriminated against as long as they are under the rule of a unified empire.
At that time, Qin Shihuang had just unified the world, and he immediately built the Shilangyatai and wrote the four characters "Shang Nong and eliminate the Mo", and launched an indiscriminate attack on the merchants all over the world.
After the rise of the Han Dynasty, merchants did not have a good look towards them, especially in the ideological circles. None of the scholars looked down upon merchants!
It is said that poor people must be hateful.
The hateful thing about the business class is that they will do anything for profit!
Liu De once read in a book that capitalists were liaising with foreign countries for profit, reselling state-owned assets, shooting striking workers with machine guns, and packaging Hai, Luo, and Yin into medicines that could cure all diseases.
Even if we don’t talk about things in the capitalist world, as far as the current situation of the Han Dynasty is concerned, businessmen, especially big businessmen, have become a cancer in society, a source of national instability, and a flashpoint of contradictions.
They robbed the people cleverly, relied on money to open roads, colluded with officials, committed lawlessness and took human life lightly.
It is recorded in "Historical Records. Biography of Huo Shi" that almost every county in the Han Dynasty had a world-famous big merchant. These big merchants may have different behaviors, but they are of the same nature: they keep private slaves, monopolize industries, and collude with officials.
, buying and selling people, digging mountains and digging mines, and spending extravagantly.
For example, Zhuo Wenjun's father, the Zhuo family, had a thousand slaves in his family!
In this era, the total number of servants and maidservants in Chehou's family, which houses thousands of households, is only a few hundred...
Some big businessmen even have hundreds or even thousands of personal bodyguards. For example, Daojian of Qi State has countless legions and thugs under his command.
These people in the land of fish and meat eat away at people's fields, intensify social conflicts, and intensify land annexation. As a result, all strata of society have less and less patience for these people.
Later, Liu Che attacked the merchants with carts and ships and sues, and the people all over the world applauded, and local officials took the lead. Very few people said good things to these people. Later, when he moved the world's rich and powerful merchants to Maoling, there was not a single voice of resistance.
Therefore, Liu De was convinced that if he attacked businessmen, first of all, there would be no resistance, secondly, he would gain prestige, and most importantly, he would lay the foundation for integrating industry and commerce after he came to power.
You know, it is not a simple matter to develop industry and commerce in the Han family. It is impossible to be like here, where the emperor slaps his head and can do whatever he wants.
If you want to develop and integrate industry and commerce and control it in the hands of the imperial court, it will be difficult to pass the first hurdle of public opinion and scholarly discussion.
However, if it were an emperor who hated merchants, then Shilin would not be too worried or criticize him too much.
This is the reason why Richard Nixon, the most corrupt person in later generations, was able to establish diplomatic relations with China after he came to power - because everyone knew that he was an adulterer, so when he presided over the establishment of diplomatic relations, he must have focused on national interests rather than being pro-communist.
By the same token, Liu De hates businessmen the most, so his integration of industry and commerce will not be interpreted as sacrificing the basics for the sake of the bottom. At most, they will only think that he wants to do something with the help of businessmen...
Liu De flipped through the clauses written by Ning Cheng and saw that they were barely adequate.
Ning Cheng was born as a low-level subordinate, and his family had dealt with local businessmen for generations, so he naturally knew the tricks and tricks played by the businessmen.
Just like Sang Hongyang of the Liu Che Dynasty, he came from a big businessman family, so he could make targeted arrangements based on the current situation and tricks of the businessmen.
However, all of Ning Cheng's articles are full of murderous intent. The entire article only contains suppression and prevention, but no support or forgiveness.
This is not good.
Politically incorrect!
Like the Chinese dynasties of later generations, the Han family also emphasized the importance of avoiding past mistakes and avoiding future ones, and treating illnesses and saving lives.
Moreover, the legislative spirit of the Han Dynasty law emphasized that "it is immoral to punish people without teaching them", which means that they rashly punish crimes with the law without telling the people about the law. This is the incompetence of the local officials.
Liu De's imperial grandfather, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, issued an edict at that time: I will not tolerate the stupidity and ignorance of the poor people, which is worth death.
From then on, when illiterate peasants were caught committing crimes, they were always downgraded to one level, unless it was a crime of unfilial piety, lack of moral integrity, etc. As for rural farmers who complained in their spare time, even if they insulted the emperor, they should not be punished unless they
Want to rebel...
Therefore, the laws of the Han Dynasty were first proclaimed and then implemented. Especially laws regarding city orders and laws involving people's livelihood must be announced on public notices first and allowed to be sung before being implemented.
The most important thing is that since the late emperor, Han law has become more and more cautious about the death penalty.
It is enough to kill someone on the spot, but once legal proceedings are initiated, the death penalty will generally be used with caution unless the crime is serious.
Today, Tingwei Zhang Ou even hates the death penalty. Every time he encounters a prisoner who is sentenced to death, no matter what the crime is, if he must be sentenced to death, he will avoid it and will not sign the death penalty order himself.
.
For example, Ning Cheng killed the businessmen and scared the courtiers to death first!
So Liu De picked up his pen and crossed out all the words "kill" in Ning Cheng's draft, or changed them to fines or whippings.
Then, Liu De wrote a sentence in the draft: The people are born to be prosperous, so they should be given a king to nourish and rule them, and rule them with virtue, not punishment!
At this time, Zhang Tang and Ji An came in hand in hand, knelt down and worshiped: "Chen Tang (An) pays homage to His Highness!"
"Get up!" Liu De just finished writing the words, handed the draft to them, and said: "The two Qings came at the right time! I ordered Ning Cheng to write this draft the day before yesterday, and I read it again.
Although there are merits, the killings are too severe and the punishments are excessive, so it is not acceptable. The two ministers will repair and improve it with me, and then discuss it with the ministers, convene everyone to discuss, make a final draft, and then bring it to me for review.
!”
Zhang Tang and Ji An took the stack of drafts and took a look at them. They immediately saw the sentence written by their Royal Highnesses before the draft: The people are born to be prosperous, and they should be given kings to nourish and rule them, and to rule them with virtue.
rather than execution.
Looking at the deleted parts of the entire manuscript, Ji An immediately paid homage: "Your Highness's magnanimity and kindness are indeed a blessing to the Han family. I would like to pay my respects to all the people in the world!"
He naturally knew that this sentence was mentioned in the late emperor's edict, which showed that His Highness wanted to follow the late emperor's path and become a virtuous emperor.
Zhang Tang looked at the revised manuscript, but he remembered another sentence in the late emperor's edict: I am the only one who can control chaos in the world...
My heart was immediately touched.
What are Legalist ministers like him afraid of? A lackey will cook you, but a good bow will be hidden!
Therefore, Liu De's statement immediately made him feel at ease.
So he also rarely agreed with Ji An's views in philosophy and said: "Your Highness is kind and virtuous, and I will also worship him from all the people in the world!" (To be continued...)
ps: Ahem, here comes the third update. I’ll start the 4th update tomorrow. If nothing else happens, ahem~ I have a relative here recently, and I don’t know if he will come to disturb me. If he doesn’t bother me, I’ll start the 4th update.
, if you come to make a noise, I will update it at least 3 times~ Well, that’s it~
Thank you everyone for your support. Currently, the high order has reached 3,000, and the average order is 2,200+
