The Great Han Dynasty: From Feng Lang Juxu to the Eternal Emperor

Chapter 398 Death Penalty on a Scale of Tens of Thousands

Jiang Chong and Gongsun Qing waited for a long time at Wuliang Taoist Temple. The next day passed, and the court still did not find any trouble for them.

The two knew that Zhao Jieyu's incident would most likely end with Zhao Jieyu's death.

Jiang Chong and Gongsun Qing both secretly rejoiced, which further confirmed that Jiang Chong's decision was correct.

What makes him smarter than Zhao Jieyu is that he knows that Weining is now at the top of his game. Instead of actively looking for trouble for him, it is better to wait for Weining to make mistakes on his own initiative.

He could wait for this opportunity, but Zhao Jieyu couldn't wait, so that's why Zhao Jieyu ended up like this.

Since then, Jiang Chong has been dormant.

……

By winter and November of the fifth year of Mogasuri.

This is also the second month after Zhao Jieyu's death.

On this day, Weining entered the palace to look for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

"Father, are you feeling better?"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had recurring colds during this period, which made him even more frightened.

He sighed: "It's the same as usual."

Wei Ning said: "The erythema on your body is due to the change of weather. It is normal to have it. Are the erythema on your body better?"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty really didn't pay attention during this period.

He opened his sleeves, looked up, and was stunned.

"This……"

It seems like it has really disappeared!
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said piously: "The ancestors of the Three Qing Dynasties bless you."

Weining: "..."

"Sanqing can't protect you, but I can."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said sternly: "You brat, don't disrespect the gods!"

Wei Ning said helplessly: "It's not the gods who saved you. Father, haven't you noticed anything different recently?"

"After that lynx left you, did you stop itching?"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought about it for a while, and it seemed that this was really the case, so he asked: "Then the lynx is actually a monster?"

Wei Ning shook his head and said, "No, it's an allergy."

"What is an allergy?" Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty looked at Weining suspiciously.

Wei Ning said: "The hair on animals... well, it is a minor disease anyway, a theory that Chun Boren recently researched."

It was not easy for him to explain, so he simply didn’t explain it to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said with a tigerish face: "Then what's the matter with me being constantly cold?"

Nonsense, if your illness is not treated, you will naturally be cold for a long time.

The weather has been unpredictable lately, and you dress casually, so catching wind and cold is completely normal.

After Weining's explanation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt that this was really the case.

After knowing that his body was fine, he became energetic again and said to Weining: "You continue to read the memorial carefully for me, I will go to sleep first."

He said and walked towards the harem.

It is a lie to say that he is sleeping, but I am afraid that it is true to release Wei Zifu.

Previously, because he felt that his life was not long, he began to speed up the purge of power in the Wei family.

There is no need to act too hastily now, he can remove the power of the Wei family bit by bit.

Then Wei Zifu doesn't need to be under house arrest to be seen by outsiders.

He still has deep feelings for Wei Zifu. Gongsun Ao is still expanding the navy in the southeast. Weining is unable to give guidance to Gongsun Ao on the construction situation during this period, so he plans to read the memorial in the southeast.

However, he did not see Gongsun Ao's memorial, but was attracted by a memorial from the Ministry of Punishment.

After seeing the statistics sent by Wang Zang of the Ministry of Punishments, Weining's expression gradually became serious.

Before the end of the year, the six departments will summarize the summary of each department this year.

For example, the Ministry of Household Affairs will summarize this year’s fiscal revenue, expenditures and balances.

The Ministry of Industry summarized the construction status of major private and imperial projects this year.

The Ministry of Criminal Justice will summarize the status of criminal law cases and death penalty cases this year.

This year alone, more than 13,000 death penalty cases have been criticized across the country.

This number is really huge!

It is worth mentioning that according to the existing "law", "order", "ke", "bi" and "shu" regulations in the Han Dynasty, local judicial officials have the power to approve death sentences.

Only after the Ministry of Punishments criticizes in ink, the process is over, and a criminal can be sentenced to death.

In any case, more than 10,000 death sentences a year in a country are simply too large.

Wei Ning couldn't help but frown, and said to his left and right: "Go and summon Wang Zang, the Minister of Punishment, to come see me."

"Here!"

Not long after, the Minister of Punishment came to Qilin Hall anxiously, clasped his fists and said, "I have seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Zang."

Wei Ning waved his hand and said: "Master Wang, there is no need to be polite, just get up."

He clicked on the memorial in his hand and said, "I just want to ask you, are the death penalty cases criticized by the Ministry of Punishment this year too large?"

"Is it possible that more than 10,000 Han people participated in major crimes such as rebellion, conspiracy, and murder this year?"

It's impossible to think about it.

How can there be so many heinous people among the people?
Taking a step back, the laws of the Han Dynasty have been revised on the basis of the Qin Dynasty, and are more in line with the current social and economic development. Many of the harsh tortures of the Qin Dynasty have been abolished, and the approval of the death penalty has also been much stricter.

But this year, more than 10,000 death row inmates were still approved.

Wang Zang said neither humble nor arrogantly: "Your Highness, these death penalty criminals have laws to follow."

Wei Ning said: "What method?"

"For example, in this case, the domineering daughter Zhang accidentally killed her mother-in-law and was sentenced to death, completely ignoring her previous filial piety to her mother-in-law?"

"Has your Ministry of Punishment implemented strict approval procedures?"

Wang Zang said: "Back to Your Highness, this case was criticized based on 'bi'. In the early Han Dynasty, there was a similar case where the daughter-in-law killed her mother-in-law."

It is worth mentioning that the Han Dynasty's "Decision Bi" developed from the Qin Dynasty's "Ting Xing".

During the Han Dynasty, it was stipulated that anyone who had no correct rules and regulations would be considered a sin.

'Bi' was most commonly used in judicial practice in the Han Dynasty, and Bi was an important supplement to the law. The application of precedents in judicial trials can make up for the shortcomings of laws and regulations.

But this will undoubtedly give the judge who is trying the case more possibilities for behind-the-scenes operations.

If this continues, the judicial system of the Han Dynasty will become darker and darker.

To put it simply, if a wealthy person colludes with a judicial officer, and the judicial officer does not have a clear order to sentence the other party to death, he can compare it with previous cases and approve the death penalty without any hesitation.

If this is the case, wouldn’t the judiciary be in darkness? Will many unjust, false and wrongful convictions and excessive sentencing become commonplace?
Wang Zang's words made Wei Ning fall into deep thought.

Although what Wang Zang said is correct, and the punishment and approval for this matter are reasonable, but what about the future?
The law is the only measure to ensure fairness and justice for the people, so it is necessary to ensure that the judiciary is not subject to any interference and is supported by qualified and perfect laws of the Han Dynasty!

But now Wei Ning discovered that the laws of the Han Dynasty did not seem to be that perfect, and there were still many cases where the penalties were not properly recorded.

Wei Ning frowned, glanced at Wang Zang, and said, "I know, you can go down first."

Wang Zang clasped his fists and said, "I retire."

(End of this chapter)