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

Chapter 399 Law Amendment
Wei Ning sat in Qilin Hall and fell into deep thought.

Over the years, Weining has done a lot and tried many reforms. He built water conservancy projects in the south of the Yangtze River and vigorously developed commerce, education, and medical industries. These reforms are now being implemented and benefit the people of the Han Dynasty.

But he ignored the chaos of human rule.

Although he also discussed with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty the inevitable drawbacks of corruption and fraud when governing by man, he neglected to bend the law for personal gain.

Today, after seeing the approval of the death penalty case sent by the Ministry of Punishment, he began to think deeply about the dark rule that Han law would bring to social development in the future.

Because of the existence of the 'bi' order, judicial decisions will be plunged into boundless darkness for a long time to come.

The chief judge of the case didn't even need to bother studying the laws of the Han Dynasty. He went directly to the previous files. As long as there was an almost similar case, he could use 'comparison' to pronounce the verdict.

This must be a deviation from the core of governing the country according to law.

The laws of the Han Dynasty were essentially improved compared to the laws of the Qin Dynasty. In the final analysis, the laws of the Qin Dynasty were actually military and political laws, mostly serving the soldiers.

However, after the Han Dynasty became relatively peaceful and stable, the law began to be more focused on serving and regulating the people.

But in any case, the laws of the Han Dynasty still had many shortcomings. Although the Qin Dynasty's continuous sitting law and many inhumane tortures were abolished, they were still unfair in nature.

For example, if you kill people, ordinary people who kill people deserve to die, but those who are powerful and meritorious will be punished by one level.

This is essentially unfair to the people, and the people will still resist the law.

It’s time for this big man’s laws to be revised.

……

Early the next morning, news came from the harem that Wei Zifu could enter and leave the harem freely. It seems that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had done a good job last night.

Weining came to the Qilin Hall with his hands behind his back and found Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty looking refreshed and refreshed at the memorial that Weining approved yesterday.

"Father."

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty saw Wei Ning, he beckoned: "Come here."

Wei Ning happened to have something to say to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After he sat down next to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he said, "Father, last night I read the year-end essay statistics sent by the Ministry of Punishments."

"Ah."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty listened quietly.

Wei Ning said: "Last year, the Ministry of Punishment arrested more than 13,800 death row inmates."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty looked at Wei Ning in confusion and said, "Is there any problem?"

It is natural to pay debts and kill people to pay for their lives. Isn't the original intention of the country's laws to punish these evil people?
"What's wrong? Are you soft-hearted?"

Wei Ning shook his head and said, "That's not true."

"There are too many people, and it will inevitably make me think that there are loopholes in our laws, and there will be extreme sentencing."

"I summoned Wang Zang last night, and I found the root of the problem from his mouth."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty nodded, took a sip of tea and said, "You tell me."

Wei Ning said: "When local officials try judicial cases, they often use 'comparison' as a reference. However, many cases are extremely complex. If you just follow the rules, it will definitely not work."

"Bi" is an important supplement to the laws of the Han Dynasty, and its original intention is good. If there is no legal basis for judgment in the laws of the Han Dynasty, "Bi" will be used as the standard for processing.

As long as the same case or even a similar case can be found, it can be handled according to the handling standards of the previous case.

The Ministry of War of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought there was something wrong with this and asked Wei Ning suspiciously: "What?"

Wei Ning said: "I'm wondering whether there will be heavy sentencing, or whether the judicial officers are not proficient in the law at all and directly look to previous cases for comparison."

"Maybe not, maybe there is, it's naturally not important." "What's important is that this is undoubtedly a big loophole. If the 'bi' continues like this, once the officialdom becomes dark, the judiciary will also become even more dark."

"In the future, judicial officials will not even need to use their brains, nor will they need to be proficient in Han law. They will directly judge punishment based on 'bi'. The court will not even be able to find fault with others."

"If someone else bribes the judicial chief and increases the punishment, the judicial chief will have too much flexibility."

For example, if the penalty stipulated in the law is light and the penalty in Bi's case is heavier, then 'ratio' will be used as the basis for the penalty, and vice versa.

In this case, there is no fairness in the judiciary. It is entirely based on the words of the judicial officer.

The rule of law will only become an empty joke in the end.

When Weining informed Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty of his thoughts, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty gradually frowned.

He thought deeply for a while, then looked up at Wei Ning and said, "What do you think?"

Wei Ning said: "Abolish the provisions of "Lv", "Ling", "Ke", "Bi" and "Shu". A country's laws cannot be too chaotic."

"Re-amend the law, focusing on amending the criminal law and civil law."

“Criminal law deals with criminal offenses, and civil law deals with general civil disputes such as criminal offenses.”

"For so many years since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has encountered countless legal cases. Many cases can be studied and included in the criminal law and civil law."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was silent for a moment and said: "You have determined two directions. What if it is an economic crime that occurs in a commercial dispute?"

Wei Ning looked at Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in surprise. He really didn't expect that he would think so deeply.

To some extent, it also proves that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attached great importance to the commercial development of the Han Dynasty.

Weining said: "Let the Ministry of Household Affairs revise the tax law."

"Tax law?"

Weining said: "Yes, let professionals revise a series of economic crimes that appear in business operations."

"The most fundamental aspect of practicing law must be changed."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked in confusion: "What changed?"

Wei Ning said: "Absolutely fair."

"The law is the basis for governing the country, and many things must be done in accordance with the law."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked: "How to ensure absolute fairness?"

Wei Ning said: "Han laws should protect the law-abiding people and punish those who break the law, with light punishments for minor crimes and heavy punishments for serious crimes. Law enforcement should also be fair, from the princes and nobles to the common people. Those who break the law must be punished without discrimination!"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took a deep breath, looked at Wei Ning blankly, and said, "You want to abolish all privileges?"

In the past, the rich and powerful had to be demoted if they broke the law, but now Wei Ning said that the core of revising the law is to ensure that everyone is treated equally.

This is basically equivalent to overturning the previous inherent social concepts.

If the law is really revised according to Weining's method, wouldn't the higher-ups be in chaos?

"This is a serious matter, and you and I cannot make a rash decision like this."

In the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would promise Weining to do whatever he wanted, and he would always get unexpected surprises.

But this time Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty hesitated. This was to change the foundation of the country. He could not be so arrogant. Just like Shang Yang's reform, it changed the foundation of the Qin Dynasty and touched the interests of too many upper-class people. As a result, Shang Yang's ending was very miserable. .

He knew Weining's determination, but the composition of the Han Dynasty was very complex and huge. If the interests of the powerful were really affected, who would rule the people for them?
If he made a decision rashly, even Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty might not be able to bear the consequences.

(End of this chapter)