Chapter 578 0573 [People Are the Foundation of the Country, Officials and People Share the Same Crime]
Neiyanfu Palace.
Zhu Guoxiang was taking care of the precious flowers and trees left by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. He cleaned up a circle and washed his hands, and asked: "What is Xingtong? There was "Tang Code" in the Tang Dynasty and "Da Ming Code" in the Ming Dynasty. Why was there only one "Song Dynasty Code" in the Song Dynasty? "Xingtong"?
Ju Ming was lying on the rocking chair drinking tea and explained: "Xingtong is the compilation and interpretation of criminal laws. Because of the special political environment at that time, Zhao Kuangyin was very anxious to formulate the law, and it only took half a year. So he directly copied the Tang law and only changed it. There are some words that need to be avoided. The compiler of "Song Xingtong" came from the Later Zhou Dynasty and had just compiled a "Dazhou Xingtong", so most of the "Song Xingtong" was copied. That means you’re copying yourself.”
Zhu Guoxiang roughly understood: "That is to say, compared to the "Tang Code", the overall legal framework of the Song Dynasty has not changed, but the specific case sentencing and legal interpretation have been changed?"
"You can say that." Zhu Ming nodded.
"What about Zhu Yuanzhang's "Da Ming Law"?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.
Ju Ming simply answered: "The Ming Code is more systematic, holistic, unified, and normative. It emphasizes procedural justice, judicial fairness, and official integrity. The laws of the Tang and Song Dynasties have more room for maneuverability, and they are more important for The restraint of officials is not enough. This is determined by Zhu Yuanzhang’s character and philosophy of governing the country.”
"That's okay. Procedural justice is very important." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.
Ju Ming said: "The focus now is how big a step we should take, and whether a big step will be too forward. For example, should the eight-member system be retained, and if so, how much should be retained?"
"What is the eight-discussion system?" Zhu Guoxiang knew nothing about ancient laws.
Ju Ming explained: "There are eight types of prisoners, such as relatives of the emperor, special talents, people with high moral prestige, and people who have made great achievements. For these prisoners, officials can try but cannot execute them. They must be reported to the central court, and the central government will The ministers will discuss the matter and the verdict will be submitted to the emperor for decision."
"This is really hard to decide." Zhu Guoxiang muttered.
The father and son still retain modern thinking, but at the same time they integrate into ancient society, which creates a sense of fragmentation in their understanding of many things.
After careful consideration, Zhu Guoxiang said: "The eight-discussion system can be partially retained, but it must be strictly defined. For example, it is impossible to objectively judge a person with high moral standing, whether he is a human or a ghost. There are also relatives of the emperor and the country. It cannot be said that they are related to each other. . Furthermore, it is the result of the verdict discussed by the ministers. If it involves the death penalty, the conditions of mercy of the Eight Councils System are at best less than the crime of exile, and the murderer must not violate it!"
"In other words, the prince must pay with his life if he kills someone?" Zhu Ming asked.
"That's right," Zhu Guoxiang said, "Even if there is a pardon, it can only be granted by the emperor. Important ministers have no right to avoid death during consultation!"
The father and son began to discuss in detail, and finally reduced the scope of the eight-discussion system that had existed since the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the three-discussion system, and strictly stipulated the scope and content of its implementation.
First of all, they are royal relatives, only blood relatives within the emperor's fifth server. The Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Queen's relatives were removed from the eight meetings!
Discuss the past (the old royal family and those who have been favored for a long time), cancelled!
Yi Xian (a wise man with high virtue and high prestige), cancelled!
The guests (mainly referring to the former royal family and the Kong family) are cancelled!
Yiqin (those who have done hard work for the country), cancel!
Talking about talents (those with great talents who can stabilize the country) are cancelled!
Those with great achievements and powerful people (first-grade nobles and third-grade officials or above) will be retained.
Some things must be preserved -
For example, a person who has made great contributions to the country's expansion of territory has too many interests involved. Once the judicial department is given the power to make judgments, it may lead to very serious consequences, and even become a tool for political struggle. Decisions must be made by the emperor and the central government.
Another example is first-grade nobles and third-grade officials and above. These are all high-ranking officials. They must be discussed collectively by the central government and then handed over to the emperor for judgment, otherwise it will cause political turmoil. (There are also more detailed regulations on official crimes. Strict regulations must be made on which level of department can judge which official. Many relatives of the emperor also have official status, and they are included in the regulations on official crimes.)
Eight discussions turned into three, which is a historic leap forward!
In fact, Zhu Guoxiang and Ju Ming's cancellation of criminal proceedings against relatives of the Queen Mother and Empress seems to have made the law more fair, but it may have the opposite effect in practice.
For example, if the queen's cousin commits a crime, officials in the past could report it to the emperor and important ministers for handling. In the future, the sentencing officials will have the power to make decisions and will not need to report the case. Instead, they will be too frightened to sentence, or even help those involved in the case to escape guilt.
Sometimes a more just law may be unfair when applied in practice.
This version of the "Da Ming Law" will definitely be revised in the future and adjusted according to actual usage.
Only when both father and son are dead can the "Da Ming Code" be unchangeable, and future monarchs and ministers will use supplementary regulations to fill the loopholes.
It has been like this in all dynasties. Taizu and Taizong established the ancestral laws, and subsequent emperors made various supplementary regulations. No law is static.
After finalizing this, Ju Ming added: "There is also the atonement, which is also constantly shrinking. The Song Dynasty was stricter than the Tang Dynasty, and the late Northern Song Dynasty was also stricter than the early Northern Song Dynasty. I think there is still a need to shrink the law. Zhu Yuanzhang's "The Ming Dynasty" "Law" can be used as a reference, but it is only a reference."
Zhu Guoxiang said: "The atonement regulations can be cancelled."
Zhu Ming smiled and said, "Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty Code, the atonement clause for minor crimes is more like a disguised fine and community labor reform. For example, for whipping and caning, the rich pay money to atone, the poor pay labor to atone, and helping the government to carry coal and move bricks can all be used to atone for the crime."
"This is OK, in fact, it is a fine for minor crimes." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.
"But I don't agree with paying ransom for serious crimes," Zhu Ming explained his thoughts, "I think that for imprisonment of less than one year, a fine can be paid to atone for the crime, but for imprisonment of more than one year, you must go to jail! As for exile and death penalty, you can't pay money to avoid punishment!"
These are groundbreaking things, which can only be discussed by the father and son, and cannot be handed over to the ministers to formulate.
Because the copper fines and atonement regulations of all dynasties are too lenient for the powerful and the rich.
At the beginning, Zhu Ming angered Song Huizong and was not afraid of being imprisoned, just relying on the atonement clause. He did not commit the ten heinous crimes, and he was an official. No matter how serious the crime was, Song Huizong could pay a fine to avoid death or exile.
Zhu Ming added: "We also need to formulate laws for officials. In particular, the definition of the identity of officials. Are officials considered civilians? Are they subject to the criminal law restrictions on civilians?"
"Yes, they are civilians!" Zhu Guoxiang nodded.
When officials violate the criminal law, should they be punished with the same crime as the common people?
Modern people certainly think they should be punished with the same crime, but this was not necessarily the case in ancient society.
Zhu Yuanzhang set the precedent of "officials and civilians being punished with the same crime" by killing his son-in-law.
Zhu Ming said: "The "Great Ming Law" we formulated should give a clear definition, that is, when officials violate the law, officials and civilians are the same criminal subjects."
"It should be so." Zhu Guoxiang said seriously.
The father and son discussed for two days, explained the groundbreaking things clearly, and then Zhu Ming wrote the general outline.
The "General Outline" is more like a brief constitution, expounding the Great Ming legal system and national attributes, discussing the relationship between the emperor, officials and civilians, and setting the tone of "people are the foundation of the country", and then discussing the significance of compiling the "Great Ming Law".
Zhu Ming called the cabinet members and the Minister of Justice, showed them the "General Outline", and elaborated on the groundbreaking things.
Everyone was silent, as if digesting the new ideas.
In fact, Zhu Guoxiang had already demonstrated a lot of things when he governed Sichuan, and Zhang Gen and others felt it.
But when it was written into legal provisions, they were somewhat shocked.
Under the laws of the Ming Dynasty, civil officials who did not commit the ten heinous crimes would be sentenced to death, and even exile could not pay the fine to make up for the crime.
This is too harsh, officials can't make a living!
Liu Yu, the Minister of Justice, could not help but say, "Your Highness, once this law is promulgated, I, as the Minister of Justice, will probably be criticized by thousands of people."
Zhu Ming smiled and said, "I have read the Song Dynasty Criminal Code and also checked the regulations of the early Song Dynasty. In the early Song Dynasty, corruption and abuse of power were the most severe crimes committed by officials. After only a few decades, corruption and abuse of power became commonplace, and even the emperor was too lazy to punish corrupt officials. It was not that the laws of the Ming Dynasty were too harsh, but that the Song Dynasty was too lenient to officials, even to the point of laissez-faire."
Since the prince has set the tone, the ministers can't say anything more.
After reading the outline, Zhai Ruwen praised, "Such an outline is very clear and logical, and it can be a good law for all ages."
For ancient times, it was unrealistic and unnecessary to formulate special classification laws.
Therefore, Zhu Ming borrowed the form of Zhu Yuanzhang's "Ming Dynasty Law" and classified the laws in the name of six departments.
Official law, that is, official clauses, make laws for corruption, dereliction of duty, fraud, favoritism and other behaviors. Selection of officials, promotion and demotion, rewards and punishments, these rules are also included.
Household law, mainly civil law content, including taxation, marriage, disputes, property, business, publishing, etc.
Etiquette law, wedding and funeral rules, social ethics, and even imperial examinations, etc.
Military law, in fact, is military-related laws, and more detailed military laws are not included.
Criminal law, that is, criminal law.
Engineering law, official engineering-related rules.
This way of classifying laws impressed the ministers in front of them. Just looking at the outline, it has a clear order.
Zhu Ming said: "The compilation of the "Great Ming Law" is the president of Your Majesty, I am the vice president, and all cabinet ministers are responsible for compilation. It is specifically handed over to the Ministry of Justice, but all departments need to work together. Submit the manuscript once a month, I will review it first, and then submit it to Your Majesty for review. Strive to complete the compilation within eight months, and revise it after three years of trial, and then check for omissions and fill in the gaps."
"Yes!" The ministers bowed.
Zhu Ming was extremely cautious about this legal book, because it may affect China for hundreds of years in the future, and it will continue to have a lasting influence even if the dynasty changes.
The people are the foundation of the country, and officials and people are guilty of the same crime. These eight words are clearly written in the book.
Regardless of whether it can be done in practice, it should at least become a social consensus. Once someone violates it, he may get away with it, but everyone should know that it is wrong.
Right or wrong, this is very important!
After leaving the more detailed legal content to professionals to formulate, Zhu Ming finally had time to meet with the Goryeo envoys.