Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

Chapter 694
The officials of the Ministry of Punishment opened the door, and Li Jin, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, led the officials of the Ministry of Punishment to stand in front of the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment to welcome the Zhongshu Sheren sent by King Yue.

Compared with the panic of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, the officials of the Ministry of Punishment are much calmer.

The accounts of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry are numerous, and they are all financial affairs, so it is inevitable that there will be mistakes.

Moreover, although accounting work is complicated, as long as you know how to do arithmetic, you can always find out the problem.

I heard that Longyou's business is prosperous, so there are naturally many people who know how to manage money, and it is only natural that the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry suffered.

But our criminal department is different!
The art of criminal names is not a simple knowledge. It is beyond the reach of ordinary people just by discussing with Tang Law and Tang Law.

Moreover, there are still a large number of precedents in the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Although Datang does not regard precedents as legal provisions, it will also refer to these previous cases when discussing cases.

The law itself is also the closest to the national ideology, and the legal analysis part of it is a field that only great Confucianists can enter.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the law has always been one of the most important fundamental laws of the country. Although the law of criminal names is only a branch of the law, it is not something that ordinary people can study, let alone those who study the law from generations of families like the Ministry of Punishment. He has been an old official for many years.

Therefore, the criminal department is the least panicked among the six departments, and the other departments can find problems!There will never be any problems with our Ministry of Criminal Justice!
No matter how many talents you have under King Yue's command, can you still have talents who are proficient in the art of criminal names?
Even if it is used, can the criminal officials in these prefectures and counties debate the law with our Ministry of Criminal Justice?
Therefore, the mentality of the Ministry of Punishment is probably confident. Regarding the audit of King Yue, the officials of the Ministry of Punishment moved all the judgments from the past few years out of the warehouse and piled them in the courtyards on both sides of the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment.

Player Zhou Hao walked into the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and saw the files piled up like hills on both sides, he sneered, this is a blow to himself.

But Zhou Hao didn't care, he first read the Yue King's decree to the Ministry of Punishments, and then accompanied by Li Jin, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, went to the side hall behind the court.

As soon as he sat down, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, a noble official of the second rank, couldn't help pouring out his bitterness.

"Finally, I'm looking forward to everyone!"

Zhou Hao looked at Li Jin in surprise. The other members of Zhongshu She entered the six departments, and they were disgusted by everyone. Why does your Shangshu seem to be looking forward to the rebel army?

Zhou Hao has done his homework. Li Jin, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, is also Li Tang's clan.

Li Jin is only in his 40s now, but he looks like he is in his fifties or sixties.

Li Jin said with a bitter face:
"Don't be ridiculous, everyone, this old man from the Ministry of Punishment won't be able to stay for a day!"

Then Li Jin began to pour out his bitterness, talking about his experience of being bullied by the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

"Your Majesty, no, after your Majesty returned to Chang'an, he appointed me as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. The emperor is so kind, I dare not slack off for a day. After taking office, I was even more sleepy and sleepy all day long, devoting myself to official business."

"Damn those bureaucrats, since the first day I took office, I have been asking for instructions all day long with the old cases in the local area. These cases are all old cases that previous ministers could not solve, and each one is extremely complicated and difficult to handle. pole!"

"I have been sitting in the lobby of the Ministry of Criminal Justice for a year, and every day is like sitting on pins and needles! I work day and night, but it seems like nothing is done!"

Zhou Hao saw that the second-rank official was about to burst into tears, so he knew that this was an honest man, and he was really tortured by his subordinates!
In the Tang Dynasty, Dali Temple, the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and Yushitai were collectively called the Three Judicial Departments. The function of the Criminal Department was similar to that of the Supreme Law. If Dali Temple could not resolve a case, it would be sent to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for review.

Cases with long-standing arrears from various places, or cases that have been appealed repeatedly, will also be brought together to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for trial.

There is also an important case entrusted by the emperor. For example, if the prince is sent to Chang'an this time, it will be tried by the three courts.

Li Jin originally wanted to make a difference in the Ministry of Criminal Justice, but he was tortured by the veteran officials of the Ministry of Criminal Justice with the most difficult cases all day long, so he had no time to manage other affairs of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

But when he came to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, he hadn't solved a single case yet!
This made Li Jin have no prestige in the Ministry of Punishment, and he couldn't do anything.

After Li Jin finished speaking, Zhou Hao quickly comforted him and said:

"Li Shangshu, don't worry, we will report your situation to His Highness."

Only then did Li Jin wipe away his tears, and then he took out his resignation letter and said:

"The minister is incompetent. I will report my old age to His Highness. I also ask Zhou Sheren to forward it to His Highness."

Zhou Hao quickly said:

"Li Shangshu is only over [-] years old, how can he be called old?"

But seeing Li Jin's completely white beard and hair, Zhou Hao swallowed other comforting words and said quickly:

"Shangshu is an important minister. If you want to resign, you should submit a letter to the court. How can I forward it to you!"

After saying this, Zhou Hao immediately led the other players out of the side hall.

The Ministry of Punishment should have a Shangshu, a servant, and then Langzhong, Yuanwailang, and the principal.

But from Zhou Hao's point of view, all these officials were downcast, just like Li Jin, the Shangshu, they were all devastated.

And those who don't wear official robes, these Lingshi and Shulingshi of the Ministry of Punishment, all of them have red faces, wide bodies and fat bodies.

Ling Shi and Shu Ling Shi are officials with swords and pens, and many of them have been officials in the Judiciary for generations.

These people did not study imperial examinations, but learned criminal names from an early age. On the contrary, they were more difficult to deal with than officials from the Ministry of Punishment.

Whether it was the Wu Zhou Dynasty that changed Tang to Zhou, or An Lushan invaded Chang'an, these knife and pen officials were still this group of people, and it can be said that they were the knife and pen officials beaten by the officials of Liushui.

The head of the knife and pen official is called Zhang Shutong, and his position is the official history of the Ministry of punishment. He has been in the Ministry of punishment for 30 years, and his family has intermarried with other knife and pen official families. He has served as an official of the Ministry of punishment for several times.

Zhou Hao and a group of Zhongshu Sheren were not afraid at all. Zhou Hao put a table in the main hall of the Ministry of Punishment, and then ordered the knife and pen officials to bring up the case files.

Zhang Shutong delivered the thick stack of files to Zhou Hao's desk first.

Many knife and pen officials lowered their heads and smiled. This is an old tradition of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. These cases are all old cases and are quite difficult to handle.

Zhou Hao glanced at ten lines, and quickly read the file. Zhang Shutong saw Zhou Hao read so quickly, and thought he was just pretending.

Zhang Shutong couldn't help sneering, this case is not complicated, what is complicated is how to judge this type of case.

This was a case of an adulterer who cheated on her, and the adulterer poisoned her husband in order to elope with the adulterer.

The facts of the case are clear, and the evidence of the adulterer who committed the poison is conclusive, but the adulterer in this case did not know, and how the adulterer should be sentenced is difficult to judge.

Given the size of the Tang Dynasty, many cases of this kind have happened before. In the early Tang Dynasty, if the adulterer did not know about such cases, it would be the judgment according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty. Changliu three thousand.

But in the Wu Zhou Dynasty, the court advocated chastity, and it became the same crime as adulterers and adulterers.

During the reign of Emperor Li Longji, the social atmosphere became looser again, and it became the judgment of the early Tang Dynasty again.

This case was judged by the county government to be the same crime as the adulterer and the adulterer. The family of the adulterer appealed to the state, and the state changed it to be executed by the adulterer.

Now the family of the deceased disagreed again, and appealed to Chang'an again, and the case has remained unresolved.

The case was made before the Anshi Rebellion, and the adulterers and adulterers are still in prison.

After Zhou Hao finished reading the case, he picked up the brush and prepared to write down the judgment.

At this moment, Zhang Shutong hurriedly stepped forward and said:

"Zhou Sheren! This case is complicated and cannot be judged lightly!"

Zhou Hao did not stop writing, and asked after finishing the verdict:
"This case is clear, what's so difficult?"

Zhang Shutong immediately said:
"If this is based on the judgment of the third year of Kaiyuan, this case should..."

Before Zhang Shutong finished speaking, Zhou Hao threw the brush in his hand onto his head, and ink flowed from his head. Zhang Shutong looked at Zhou Hao in horror.

Zhou Hao pointed to Zhang Shutong and said:
"When I judge the case in the Tang Dynasty, don't I judge it according to the "Tang Laws and Discussions"?"

Zhang Shutong immediately said:
"The old cases of the Criminal Ministry can also be based on it."

Zhou Hao immediately sneered and said:

"My Tang Dynasty has always judged cases according to the law. Was it the emperor who said that cases should be judged according to precedents?"

"You and other bureaucrats in charge of the Ministry of Punishment used the precedents of old cases to confuse the officials of the Ministry of Punishment. Simple cases were often involved for several years, and even some parties died in prison without making a verdict."

"Tang law has a record, and the law can be followed. Why do we need to find any precedents?"

As a believer in the civil law system, what Zhou Hao hates the most is the precedent principles of the maritime law system.

Although this European and American judicial system looks fair, in fact, due to the complexity of the judicial process, it is all handled by elite judges and lawyers.

In actual implementation, because of the large number of precedents, rich people who can afford elite lawyers are more likely to be acquitted by citing out-of-the-way precedents.

Nowadays, the Ministry of Criminal Justice always uses sentencing precedents to interfere with the normal judgment of cases. In Zhou Hao's view, it is these sharp-edged officials who confuse the public and complicate simple issues for their own benefit.

Zhou Hao finished writing the verdict of the dossier, and then said to the other players:
"All cases are written in accordance with the "Laws of the Tang Dynasty". If there are doubts in the case files that are unclear, they should be circled and sent back to the Judiciary for retrial."

"There are doubts in the case, and if there seems to be grievances, report them to me."

"Let's get to work, everyone!"

The king of Yue ordered more than ten people from Zhou Hao, a scholar in Zhongshu, to enter the criminal department. There were 130 cases accumulated in three days, 58 cases were concluded, and [-] cases were sent back to Dali Temple and various prefectures and counties.

Another 42 cases of altered testimony, incomplete files, and erroneous criminal evidence were found. After being handed over to Dali Temple for investigation, it was discovered that Zhang Shutong and other officials, together with the family members of the criminals, tampered with files and violated the law for personal gain.

The Six Departments were astonished, the former Longyou Governor's Mansion stayed behind and Shang Bo, the envoy, brought a group of Chinese scholars into the Ministry of Rites.

(End of this chapter)