I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 150 Let’s discuss it

The posthumous title and temple title of Emperor Xian went smoothly due to Liu Bian's direct participation.

However, on the issue of amnesty for the world, because Liu Bian did not take a position immediately, there was another dispute in the court, and it became more and more intense.

In the feudal era, strict rule of law was difficult to implement, but this does not mean that the scholar-bureaucrats did not respect the concept of law. Most of the true Confucianists had a pragmatic side.

Amnesty's practice of extremely undermining the rule of law seems to have gradually become a tradition, but in fact there has always been a lack of opponents.

The earliest ones include Kuang Heng during the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty and Wu Han during the reign of Emperor Guangwu. More recently, for example, Liu Bian’s teacher Zheng Xuan. In their political views, they all believe that amnesty is not conducive to governance.

And they were by no means the only ones who held this view. When the Confucian scholars realized that the leadership effect brought by their self-cultivation and family harmony was not as good as imagined, the idea of ​​strengthening the criminal law came out.

During the reign of Emperor Huan, the sorcerer Zhang Cheng "calculated" that the imperial court was going to grant a general amnesty to the world, so he asked his son to kill his enemies. However, he was met with a general amnesty, and the crime of murder should have been exempted.

But fortunately, Zhang Cheng's son met Li Ying and was executed by Li Ying despite the amnesty edict.

Xun Yu's cousin Xun Yue was the prince's cangling, and he had six hundred shi, so he was just qualified to appear in the court.

The Xun family of Yingchuan is a descendant of Xunzi. When Xun Yu proposed the four troubles and five policies to Liu Bian, he compared morality and law.

Xun Yue knew the prince's attitude on the issue of amnesty and agreed with him, so he first raised objections.

"The national amnesty was originally intended to give people a chance to reform, but now it has become a tool for criminals to escape punishment. Pardoning them year after year is of no benefit to governance."

Ordinary people would never dare to violate the law, and they would usually only exist as victims.

Like Kong Rong, Bian Rang, who became the imperial censor after the expansion of the censorship, retorted: "Pardoning the world is an act of benevolence. When the new king succeeds to the throne, he should extend his kindness widely. How can he neglect it? The sage said, 'The truth of the road' "Government is governed by punishment, and the people are spared without shame; morality is governed by virtue, and etiquette is used to regulate people, and there is shame and integrity.' If you only know strict laws and don't know leniency, how can you be a virtuous government?"

For celebrities like Kong Rong Bian Rang, the greatest advantage of being a censor is that he is not afraid of powerful people and dares to criticize others, but his shortcomings are...

For Liu Bian, the world is amnesty. Those corrupt officials arrested this year who were not guilty of death must be on the list of pardons. If they are pardoned and continue to dominate after returning, then what will happen to him and Guan Yu this year? Isn’t life all in vain?

Will the people who were oppressed by corrupt officials appreciate the kindness of the new king when they see these people come back after a few months?

However, Liu Bian did not immediately refute the concession. He knew that a serious court meeting should give ministers more opportunities to express their opinions and attitudes, and he only had to act as the final referee.

As for taking the initiative to make decisions, as long as the chancellor is there, are you afraid that you won't be able to make a decision?

Liu Bian sat in this position for the first time and watched the courtiers arguing with each other.

Is this the emperor's perspective?

After the concession, courtiers began to express their views one after another. The views of supporters and opponents of amnesty gradually fell into pragmatic views on the impact of amnesty on governance, and pragmatic views on the debate between morality and criminal law.

Overall, the two sides had some back and forth.

After all, those who are interested can't help but suspect from the beginning - Xun Yue is an official of the East Palace and the first to oppose the amnesty of the world. Who would believe it if he said that it had nothing to do with the new king?

But on the other hand, if the new king doesn't offer amnesty to the world even after he ascends the throne, then it is even more impossible to expect other things to offer amnesty to the world.

Liu Bian instinctively doubted that it was the head of Guizhou who could really benefit from the amnesty.

How dare you commit a crime in Guizhou?

At this special moment, Zheng Xuan, as Liu Bian's teacher, was not absent and was in the court at this moment. When it comes to debating classics in modern times, Zheng Xuan dares to claim to be second, and no one can claim to be first. This was an achievement based on actual facts. Back then, he and He Xiu staged a dispute between ancient and modern schools in Taixue, which had far-reaching influence and ended with his victory.

However, Zheng Xuan did not want to get too involved in government affairs after all. Liu Bian did not communicate with him about the matter in advance. He had not seen Lu Zhi express his attitude, so he did not say a word, but was prepared for the end.

The quarrel in the court suddenly gave Liu Bian an idea.

He announced before Lu Zhi left the stage: "The ministers have different opinions. There are still major issues undecided today. This matter can be discussed later!"

Let the courtiers continue to quarrel and wait until he officially ascends the throne after observing his filial piety before making a decision.

During his time of observing filial piety, he found more things to do for his ministers.

Although He Miao, Lu Zhi and others did not know why the new monarch's attitude changed slightly, they still expressed their support. As ministers assisting the new monarch, they must maintain the authority of the new monarch.

"Since the amnesty for the world is a virtuous policy for the people of the world, we might as well ask the people what they think. At the Yushitai, Han Qing..." Liu Bian said, looking at Guan Yu, "Together with Guan Qing, Go and ask the people in Luoyang Village and the countryside."

Since the courtiers have all become loyal ministers when it comes to the issue of posthumous titles, let’s take a look at the background of the courtiers when it comes to the issue of amnesty!

In the meantime, let’s discuss!

After losing the grace of amnesty to the world, Liu Bian, as the new king, always wanted to show his kindness to the people of the world.

Liu Bian's corresponding choice was: "The imperial edict is to order all the people in the country to know it, and they will be exempted from paying tribute for three years."

The oral fortune comes from boys and girls aged seven to fourteen. Twenty coins a year are provided to the young master for the use of the royal family.

The oral tax is much less than the calculated tax levied on adults, and the income in recent years has remained around 100 million yuan. Thanks to Emperor Xian's accumulation and the successive house raids in Henan and Hanoi, Liu Bian could still afford to pay for it.

Moreover, the implementation of this policy can be used openly to prepare for his subsequent rectification of officialdom and continue to raid homes.

But Liu Bian thought that if Emperor Xian knew that he did this, he would still feel distressed!

For the courtiers, what reason do they have to object if the new emperor wants to cut their income?

After that, the court meeting decided to change the Yuan Dynasty to Guangxi next year and confer the title of King Chenliu on the emperor's younger brother Xie.

Taichang Yuan Wei reported: "I heard about the election in the old code, appointed the three government officials, and paid them to the ministers. Nowadays, when the country pays homage to the ministers and officials of the prefecture and state, there is no such thing as gift money in the old days. Please abolish the gift money in Xiyuan, and I will pay your respects." To hear.”

As soon as Yuan Wei played this song, all the officials followed suit.

It fully demonstrated to Liu Bian what the power of scholar-bureaucrats is.

However, since it is necessary to rectify the administration of officials, it is reasonable to ban Xiyuan Qian.

It's just that what Liu Bian didn't think was urgent, from the perspective of the ministers, it was a top priority.

Liu Bian readily agreed.

For him, money from ransacking homes is more useful when he is short of money. For those who spent money to buy official positions, it seemed that the court was in the wrong when they ransacked their homes.

The only thing Liu Bian was worried about was that Empress Dowager Dong would not be able to accept the loss of two money-making places in one day.

(End of this chapter)