The Zhou family spent a lot of money and worked hard, and finally found out from the municipal offices of the two capitals the crime on which Zhou Dinghai was arrested - passing off his beloved Jiang Yu as a slave and selling human beings.
In "Tang Lu Shu Yi", there is a law that clearly states: Those who sell people as slaves will be hanged; those who sell them as slaves will be exiled for three thousand miles; those who sell them as wives, concubines and descendants will be detained for three years.
The vernacular explanation is that if a beloved person is sold into slavery by means of deception, robbery, coercion, etc., then the principal culprit who sold the beloved person should be sentenced to hanging.
But Zhou Jun felt strange. In his memory, his father Zhou Dinghai was a very well-behaved slave who would never do anything illegal. How could a good man have the courage to work as a slave and sell people?
Zhou Jun asked his mother Luo Sanniang if she knew about Jiang Yu's slave trade, but the latter was basically not involved in Zhou Dinghai's business, so naturally she knew nothing about it.
At this time, Zhou Jun's eldest brother, Zhou Ze, the eldest son of the Zhou family, heard that his father was arrested, asked for leave from the private school, and ran back.
Zhou Ze is three years older than Zhou Jun. He acts steadily and has a decent style, but he has a stubborn personality and does not know how to adapt.
Zhou Ze stepped into the gate and as soon as he asked what was going on, he shouted: "Father is determined not to betray his beloved. We can go to Jingzhao Mansion to redress his grievances!"
As soon as he said this, Zhou Jun shook his head and smiled bitterly.
The details of the case are not clear at the moment, so you go to the government to seek justice?
What's more, Chang'an City is bounded by Zhuque Street, with Wannian County to the east and Chang'an County to the west. Zhou Dinghai is currently being held in the county jail of Wannian County. If he goes directly to Jingzhao Mansion to cause trouble, not only will he
It will not help solve the case, and it will only increase the resentment of the government. If the trouble is serious, you may even suffer some physical pain.
Zhou Jun asked Luo Sanniang: "When my father was working as a servant, were there any written documents or private files on the orders he handled?"
Luo Sanniang nodded and said, "Yes, they are all placed in the locker in the study."
Zhou Jun said hello and walked towards the study.
Luo Sanniang and Zhou Ze didn't know what the boy wanted to do, so they followed him.
Zhou Jun came to the study, looked at the rows of lockers on the inner wall, and asked Luo Sanniang, who came after him, "Where are the keys?"
Luo Sanniang shook her head and said: "The bunch of keys are tied around Dalang's waist and will never leave them."
Zhou Jun took a long breath, looked around, and found a bronze paperweight in the shape of Pixiu. It looked quite heavy. He picked it up and wanted to smash it on the lock.
Seeing this, Zhou Ze quickly advised: "This is my father's private property. How can I do something wrong as a son of man?"
Zhou Jun thought to himself: How long has it been? Dad is going to be hanged soon, and this stupid brother is still thinking about moral matters?
So, regardless of others, Zhou Jun slammed the paperweight onto the lock.
After smashing for a while, I finally broke the locks and opened the cabinet door.
In the cabinet, there are neat drawers arranged horizontally and vertically. Each drawer is numbered and classified according to the counting method of heavenly stems and earthly branches.
Zhou Jun found the nearest number, opened the drawer, and found a private deed named "Jiang Yu".
When he opened the private deed, he saw that it was filled with traditional Chinese characters in block letters, coupled with Tang-style writing, which made Zhou Jun feel a little dizzy.
Fortunately, Zhou Ze was here, and through his reading and explanation, Zhou Jun finally understood what the content of the business that made Zhou Dinghai guilty of selling was.
There was a beloved man named Jiang Yu, who was originally a candidate for admission to the Imperial Medical Office of Taichang Temple. Due to his family's financial difficulties and high debts, he had no choice but to recommend himself as a slave.
As for Jiang Yu's buyer, according to the description in the private slave purchase contract, he was an official from a family named Xu in Shengyefang.
The Xu family took a fancy to Jiang Yu's status as a student, and the latter voluntarily signed a death deed (a deed of sale, not an employment contract), so the transaction price was very high, a total of 30 pieces.
What is the concept of 30 strings?
Japonica rice is used as the equivalent reference.
In China today, the market price of japonica rice is about 2.5 yuan per pound.
During the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, japonica rice sold for 10 cents per dou.
One bucket is about 5.9 kilograms, so the purchasing power of ordinary money is almost equivalent to 2,950 yuan.
30 strings is 88,500 yuan, which is close to 90,000 yuan.
With this amount of money, if the death deed is used as the basis, four mature male slaves can be purchased.
As for Zhou Dinghai, he became the slave and guarantor of this transaction. He contacted Jiang Yu and the buyer at the same time, helping both parties complete all the processes of the entire transaction.
In the drawer of the locker, in addition to this private deed, there was also a self-recommendation letter written by Jiang Yu himself.
In the self-recommendation letter, Jiang Yu explained in detail why he wanted to sell himself, the price of selling himself, related responsibilities, and never regrets, etc.
Moreover, there is Jiang Yu's signature and fingerprint on the document.
Zhou Ze was immediately happy when he saw Jiang Yu's letter of recommendation.
He said loudly to Luo Sanniang and Zhou Jun: "If you recommend yourself as a slave, how can a good man sell you? With this document as proof, my father's grievances can be washed away!"
Zhou Jun took Jiang Yu's self-recommendation letter and read it several times. He had some doubts. Is it really that simple?
According to the process of slave tooth trading in the Tang Dynasty, every slave trade that Nuya Lang brokered involved seven parties: the buyer, the seller, the slave standard, the guarantor, the acquaintance and the two capitals.
City Department.
Buyers and sellers are easy to understand, so I won’t go into details.
This slave label refers to the slaves who are used as trading items.
The guarantor is the party responsible for providing guarantee for the transaction. It is usually a good person with a clean family background and no criminal record. Of course, Nuyalang or Lishilang (the intermediary) can also play this role.
The Zhijianren is the co-witness of this transaction. This role is somewhat similar to the guarantor, but the responsibility is much smaller. Generally, it is a semi-official role such as a square official, a mayor, or a street guest.
As for the final two capital and city offices, they were somewhat similar to the official role of today's trading center.
A complete transaction process is roughly as follows:
1. The buyer, seller, and guarantor first enter into a private contract, clearly stating the name, gender, age, disease and other information of the slave or slave being traded, as well as the transaction price, transaction date, return and exchange conditions, etc.
This private contract is somewhat similar to an agreement of intent in modern business.
Second, after the private contract is signed, the guarantor (or intermediary) takes the contract and goes to the municipal offices in Beijing and Beijing to apply for the official deed. This official deed is naturally the official standard in modern business.
contract.
Third, the municipal offices in Beijing and Beijing will check the details of the private deed, collect relevant materials, compile and file them, and finally process the official deed.
Fourth, based on the official deed, the city secretaries under the municipal offices of the two capitals will issue market coupons for slave transactions. These market coupons are similar to modern official certificates of completion.
Fifth, Nu Yalang will hand over the official deed and market certificate to the buyer, the buyer will hand over the money to the seller, and the seller will hand over the slave label to the seller and pay Nu Yalang's intermediary fee.
At this point, a complete slave trade in the Tang Dynasty came to an end.
As for Jiang Yu's order, since he recommended himself as a slave, the seller and slave label are both himself.
Although one participant is missing, all documents are in place and the procedures are completed.
Whether it was a private contract or a self-recommendation letter, everything was clearly written in black and white, and the signatures and fingerprints were clearly visible. Zhou Dinghai's crime of betraying his beloved could not be established at all.
However, since the government arrested Zhou Dinghai, it means that there must be something hidden in this case.
Zhou Jun was confused, so what exactly is the problem?