After learning Heifu's identity, Yan Zheng no longer treated him as an ordinary civil servant, but became warm to him. He asked Zhuren to welcome the brothers into the study and gave them each a mat. Then, with the help of his slaves, he , stood up and looked at the bookshelves on three walls, squinting.
After a while, he placed six bamboo scrolls covered with cloth on the short table, stroking his beard and said:
"Although there are many laws in Qin, as the chief of the pavilion, his main responsibility is to maintain road safety and arrest thieves, so he must be familiar with the "Thieves Law", "Thieves Law", "Catching Law", "Prison Law", "Miscellaneous Law" and "Gu Law" Six chapters, these are the six volumes."
Following his words, Heifu picked them up one by one and looked at them. They were indeed these six laws.
Yan Zheng's speaking speed became slower: "In these six chapters, the king's government must not rush thieves, so its laws begin with "Robbers" and "Thieves". Thieves must be impeached, so he wrote "Prisoners", "Prisoners" and "Thieves". "Catch" two chapters. He is cunning, crosses the city, plays games, borrows fakes, is dishonest, is lewd and extravagant, and exceeds the regulations, which is regarded as one chapter of "Miscellaneous Laws", and the additions and subtractions are added to "Gu Lu"."
After explaining it, Heifu probably understood that these six laws were the basis of Qin's laws, covering all common crimes and their punishment methods. They were also things that the pavilion chief must memorize.
"Zhang Yan is really familiar with laws and regulations..."
Heifu complimented Yan Zheng and asked, "I wonder if these six laws are the latest ones?"
Yan Zheng stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It's natural. They were all newly copied in the first month (October) of last year."
It turns out that in the Qin State, laws do not remain unchanged for hundreds of years. Shang Yang made it clear back then: If there is no one way to govern the country, there is no need to follow the ancient rules to facilitate the country! Therefore, Qin Law will make up for the gains and losses every few years.
But in this case, the problem arises again. The law is often easier, but there is no modern means of communication, so we can only rely on manual transmission and copying of the regulations. However, the terms of these regulations are very concise. Sometimes, if you copy a wrong word, the meaning will be completely different. Again. Or, wouldn't it be bad if the laws and regulations have changed, but the people below don't know it, and are still using the old laws, causing conflicts?
In order to avoid this situation, from the beginning of Shang Yang's reform, special "judges" were set up to keep and check the law, and provide legal advice. There were three judges in Xianyang, one each for the court, the imperial censor's office, and the prime minister's office. Counties and counties There is also one person for each. Xi has been a county judge for a period of time. Of course, the qualifications of Yan Zheng in front of him are older.
The laws and regulations that are changed in Xianyang every year must be stored in the "forbidden room". The door is usually locked and no one is allowed to enter or exit. All laws and regulations are sealed. If anyone enters without authorization or deletes a word, he will be punished with death.
The Forbidden Room is only opened once a year in October. At that time, the Yushifu will summon judges from all over the country to check the legal provisions and return to the local area with new and changed laws to convey the spirit of the central government to governments at all levels...
Although Yan Zheng is old and retired, he can still get the latest laws and regulations every year because he was also a teacher in the school, and his students will inform him of the latest situation.
These Qin officials have practiced law all their lives, and in the end, law has become a part of their lives. Even after they retired, people from the countryside would often come to consult them. This is why Yan Zheng has a high reputation in the local area.
Speaking of this, Yan Zhen seemed to have remembered something again. He was too lazy to get up and directed Heifu to the bookshelf and took down the two bamboo slips placed at the top.
Heifu took it in his hand and looked at it. It said "Chuanshi" and "Xingshu" on it. What does this have to do with the pavilion chief?
Yan Zheng explained: "As the head of a pavilion, you not only have to catch thieves, but there are always guest houses and post offices in the pavilion, so you must learn the "Law of Chuanshi" and "Law of Running Script".
The so-called "Law of Food Delivery" refers to the legal provisions for providing meals to guest houses based on the official status and title in the past. Heifu once stayed in a guest house, so he understands.
As for the "Xingshu Code", it mainly refers to the regulations of the Qin State on the transmission of documents.
You know, Qin's postal system is already quite powerful. In addition to government documents that must be delivered on time, ordinary soldiers thousands of miles away can actually send their letters to their homes accurately! Clothes and money can also be sent to their homes accurately.
The goods were handed over to the postmen of the Qin State and sent to the front line along the same route. This was more than 200 BC. It is really scary to think about it.
The Huyang Pavilion where Hei Fu was going happened to be a large pavilion with guest houses and a post office. Maybe the chief official would also take the exam for him.
"It's Zhang Yan who has thought carefully about me..."
Heifu quickly bowed to Yan Zheng, and then said from his mouth that he was tireless in teaching, highly respected, and spring breeze. Hearing this, Yan Zheng was very happy. He suddenly felt that there was a reason why this young man was recruited to be the director of the pavilion at the age of 18.
Yes, the compliments tickled him.
He waved his hands cheerfully and said: "You said you can read and write, and you are so good at it. Please copy these eight volumes of laws and regulations with me, and then take them back and recite them proficiently. If you have any questions, feel free to ask for them.
Come and ask me in Banli."
"If I can pass the test and become the chief of the pavilion, I will never forget Zhang Yan. I will definitely tell everyone in the county that Mr. Yan in Banli is my mentor..." After saying that, Hei Fu went to Yan Zhengxing.
He was given a big gift, and Yan Zheng also responded with a smile.
The relationship between teachers and students in Qin was far less important than that of later generations, but they were all sensible people. Since everyone had their own needs and could all benefit from this matter, why not do it?
…
After Heifu presented the bundle to Xiu and paid homage to his master, Yan Zheng became a little tired. He yawned and said he wanted to take a nap, and asked Shuren to take Brother Heifu to a guest room next door.
After seeing the master chatting and laughing with Hei Fu, the man actually recognized the student and immediately changed his attitude towards them. Not only did he smile all the time, but he also took the initiative to find pens, ink and sharpeners for Hei Fu, and even asked Hei Fu
, do you need bamboo slips?
"How does this make..." Hei Fu declined: "I have prepared the bamboo slips myself, how dare I taint the good bamboo slips of Yan Zhang's family."
The man then stepped back and left the door ajar.
At this time, the whole process was silent and shocked, and then he held his stomach and laughed out loud: "Brother Zhong, look at that arrogant face, he is really a villain!"
"Have you remembered?" Heifu took out the wooden tablets that his sister-in-law helped him cut from the bamboo basket he brought with him, and spread them out on the table.
"Remember what?" Jing looked confused.
"Remember this person's arrogance and respectfulness, remember the change in Yan Zhang's attitude towards me, and then think about it, why is this?" Heifu threw the question out of his mind and picked up the brush beside him.
Some people say that the writing brush was invented by Meng Tian, but it turns out that this is just a rumor. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius had already "penned the brush and sharpened it". By this era, the writing brush was more commonly used.
As for ink, there was no ink in this era that could be dissolved by dipping it in water. Instead, it was a natural mineral with considerable hardness. It needed to be crushed with a grinding stone on an inkstone made of clam shells, tiles or stones, and then
Add some water before you can write.
Heifu asked Jing Jing to come over and help him grind the ink, and then on the wooden tablet that was neither rough nor completely smooth, he began to copy "The Law of Thieves" one stroke at a time... Each volume actually only has two or three.
The ten bamboo slips are concise and concise, with not many words, but the writing speed is really not fast. Sometimes it becomes even slower when it comes to words that cannot be written. If you copy the wrong words, you have to use a knife to scrape them off.
, at this speed, he could finish copying at most four volumes until the sun sets today.
When his brother was excerpting the laws and regulations, Jing Jing was studying the ink and tilting his head, thinking about his brother's question just now. Before he could think about it for a while, a low voice came from outside.
"I just want to see who Aweng's new disciple is."
Next, the door that was ajar suddenly opened a crack...
A girl with a bun stuck her head in and looked at the two people in the room curiously. She saw that although she could not be said to be very beautiful, she had fair skin, clean hair, and neat teeth. She was wearing a two-color skirt.
It is very different from the village girl in Jingchai’s sarong that I see in daily life.
Heifu was immersed in copying the boring slips without paying attention, but he raised his head in shock and looked at the girl, dumbfounded...
