Chastity Layman

The Minister of Dali Temple and Sun Fujia, who participated in political affairs, also knelt on the ground, took off the imperial crown, removed the official seal, and resigned.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely solemn for a moment.

Li Shimin repeatedly said that he was only deceived by the traitor Quan Wanji, but Sun Fujia and Ma Zhou both used the emperor's golden mouth to keep their words, so they resolutely resigned.

Li Shimin went to help the two of them himself, but they just refused to let the emperor step down.

When encountering such stubborn people, there were only two of them, and Li Shimin was at fault again, so he had no choice but to follow them for a while.

The two thanked the emperor, then got up and left directly.

Now that the emperor has accepted their resignation, they are no longer prime ministers, and they are no longer the imperial censors and ministers of Dali Temple, so they are not qualified to stay here.

Li Shimin just watched the two bow and exit the hall all the way, feeling lost in his heart.

a long time.

The emperor sighed, "Is Zhang Yungu still alive?"

"He is temporarily detained in Zuojinwu Prison, and he is going to be convicted and seized from office for a year and a half." Prince Chengqian replied.

Li Shimin was a little uninterested, and waved his hand, "I have already figured out this case, Quan Wanji deceived me, and Li Haode is just a lunatic, and the lunatic's crazy words are not evil words, let alone treason, just a stick of twenty." .”

"As for Zhang Yungu, the trial of the case is fine, and it is not considered a crime of negligence. As for leaking secrets, he will not be held accountable. Not only will I not spare him, but I will also reward him with a special decree to move Zhang Yungu, the chancellor of Dali Temple, to be his disciple. I hope that he will continue to uphold his integrity in the fifth rank of the province, and he will be given the founding baron of Huanshui County, a hundred pieces of silk, a royal horse, and a doctor from the fifth rank!"

The prime ministers all secretly sighed that Zhang Yungu was really lucky. After a trip to the ghost gate, he was rescued by the prince and Ma Zhou, and he was promoted to a noble.

Now he is under the door guard of Doctor Chaosan and given to Huan Shuinan in Shizhong. The green robe is replaced by the scarlet robe, and a whitebait bag is given.

The emperor ordered people to go to the Jinwu Guard Prison to read the imperial decree immediately, and summoned him to the palace.

"I still remember that there was a very famous case in the previous dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, there was an ordinary theft case in a certain place. They got up and tortured them severely. Under severe punishment, more than 2,000 people were forced to admit that they were thieves. When the case was reported to the court, Emperor Sui Yang waved his hand and ordered them to be executed on the same day. die.

Dali Temple Chancellor Zhang Yuanji felt that the matter was suspicious, looked through the files and conducted in-depth investigations, and found that there were only nine suspects, four of whom were known to Zhang Yuanji's colleagues, and he could guarantee that they were not thieves. After careful interrogation, he found that there were only five real thieves. People, but the emperor has issued a decision order, and under the might of the dragon, none of the judiciary dared to disobey, and just watched more than two thousand innocent people being killed. "

"In the first year of Zhenguan, there was a rebellion in Qingzhou. The county officials arrested the rebel classmates. They would rather arrest a thousand people by mistake than let one person go. The prisons were full for a while. After I heard the report, I was very shocked. I couldn't believe that there were so many people who rebelled. Shi Cui Renshi, the censor, went to review the case.

After Cui Renshi arrived in Qingzhou, he did not use severe punishments. Instead, he first removed the suspects' locks, bathed them, changed their clothes, prepared meals, and finally interrogated them in detail. All acquitted.

There is no doubt that the Ministry of Punishment sent people to re-examine.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, in the two cases, one or two thousand people were arrested at the local level. Why was it that only five people stole in the last case, but two thousand people were killed on the same day? Why did my Tang Dynasty kill only nine people in the end and release more than a thousand?

"I think that Yang Guang should bear the main responsibility for this matter, but Yang Guang cannot be entirely blamed. It must be that Emperor Yang is innocent, and his ministers are not dedicated."

"If judicial officials can be upright and straightforward, then the matter will not be out of control. The emperor will kill innocent people indiscriminately, and the ministers will flatter them. If the emperor and ministers are like this, how can they be undefeated?"

"I am gratified that although there are treacherous villains like Quan Wanji and Li Renfa, there are also true loyal and admonishing ministers like Ma Zhou, Sun Fujia, Zhang Yungu, and Cui Renshi, and there are also wise and stable supervisors like the crown prince. Responsible prime ministers!"

"I recalled the killing of Lu Zushang at the beginning of his succession. It was the second year of Zhenguan. I wanted to transfer Lu Zushang, who was the governor of Yingzhou at that time, to be the governor of Jiaozhou. Lu Zushang promised well in the court, but he regretted it when he returned home. go.

I was dissatisfied with this when I first succeeded to the throne, so I sent Du Xiang to deliver an edict to persuade him, and promised to transfer him back in three years. However, Lu Zushang said that Jiaozhou malaria injection line needs to drink frequently, but he can't drink. So can't go.

Later, I summoned him in person, but he refused again and again. I was young and vigorous, and furious, so I beheaded Lu Zushang in the court.

After many years, thinking about it now, I was a little too impatient back then, and Lu Zushang died in vain because the knife was too fast, leaving no time for thinking and repenting when I was furious.

Afterwards, I also criticized Fang Xiang Du and other officials, thinking that they were also dereliction of duty and did not advise in time.

I was so angry at that time that I ordered to deal with it, but the officials didn't say a word, and the supervisor didn't repeat it, so I executed him at will. Is it reasonable?

Li Shimin talked vernacularly there for most of the day.

Finally come to a conclusion.

Dao Kuai killed Lu Zushang last time, and Dao Kuai almost killed Zhang Yungu this time, so the problem lies in the execution procedure of the death penalty, in order to avoid such mistakes from happening again.

"From today onwards, if there is a capital crime, even if it is ordered to be executed, it will still be executed three times!"

Even if the emperor personally ordered the execution, the law enforcement department would have to ask for instructions three times before finally getting the final approval.

Originally, Jingzhao Mansion was not restricted by the level-by-level trial and could directly execute the sentence. Now it is necessary to implement the triple repetition procedure. Jingzhao Mansion is still free from the level-by-level restraint, but the Jingzhao Mansion still has to implement the triple repetition procedure.

"Strictly following the law is the key to criminalization, and judging the case according to the law is the goal. As for the emperor, although he holds the highest judicial power, he must be restrained to avoid unjust cases."

Changsun Wuji immediately followed up and brought up a loophole, "Your Majesty is merciful, but we must also guard against the speed of some superiors playing too fast. If they ask for instructions three times in a row, the effect of correcting and convicting will not be achieved at all. I think that from now on, There are five replays for executions in the various divisions in Beijing. Three replays are required for executions in local prefectures and counties. The speed of the replays should not be too fast, and must be performed every other day. The five replays are repeated twice the day before the execution and three times on the same day .Three repetitions are repeated once the day before the execution, and twice on the same day."

"Only committing a heinous crime can be repeated once and executed."

Li Shimin was very satisfied with this omission, and Changsun Wuji could always keep up with his rhythm, "One more thing, on the day of the execution of the prisoner, you should not eat wine or meat while you are still eating, and you should not have fun in the inner Jiaofang and Taichang."

"If there are divisions who enforce the law, they must use the law as the criterion. Those who make mistakes in the judgment will be punished at the same time. If there are divisions who decide without waiting for a review, they will lose two thousand miles."

Li Shimin repeatedly emphasized that the trial must follow the legal standards for sentencing, and the same punishment should be given to both too light and too severe punishments, instead of saying that heavy punishments should be imposed and heavy punishments should not be punished, which may lead judges to use severe punishments.

And those who dare to execute the dead without going through five replays and three replays will be directly exiled for two thousand miles.

Even if the emperor approves the execution of the sentence, he must wait for the edict to reach three days before executing it, otherwise he will still be punished with exile for two thousand miles.

"What suggestion does the prince have?" The emperor took the initiative to ask Chengqian.

Cheng Qian thought to himself that luckily he had made preparations before coming here and got the teacher's advice, so he replied according to Qin Lang's previous advice, "I suggest that important cases should be judged by the third division."

"oh?"

"In the event of a major case, it will be heard jointly by the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Minister of Dali Temple, and the Doctor Yushi. It can also be called the joint trial of the three divisions. In the Han Dynasty, the three judicial organs, namely Tingwei, Yushi Zhongcheng, and Sili Xiaowei, were called the Sanfasi. I Tang also But so!"

Li Shimin was very satisfied with this suggestion, "What the crown prince said is very true, but the chief officials of the third division have heavy affairs. I think that in Fanju prison, the ministers of the Ministry of punishment, the servants of Zhishu and Yushi, and the Shaoqing of Dali temple are the envoys of the third divisions. Trial."

The emperor was very satisfied with the prince's suggestion. Although he made some adjustments in the end, he was still impressed by the prince's good words.

The emperor once again reiterated the judicial system of the Tang Dynasty, with Dali Temple as the highest judicial organ in the central government to hear crimes committed by officials in the central government and cases of imprisonment in the capital, as well as suspected death penalty cases transferred from the local government.

The Ministry of Punishment is the central judicial administrative organ responsible for reviewing cases of exile in Dali Temple and imprisonment in the state and county. The death penalty case was sent back to Dali Temple for retrial.

Yushitai, as the highest supervisory organ of the central government, is responsible for supervising the judicial activities of Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment. It also participates in the trial of some major and difficult cases, and can accept administrative litigation cases.

As for the Jingzhao Mansion, which belongs to the local administrative and judicial organs, it has the power to hunt down, detain, adjudicate and execute the area under its jurisdiction. Its judicial status is equivalent to that of Dali Temple, and it is also subject to the review of the Ministry of Punishment and the supervision of Yushitai.

The emperor was very satisfied with Chengqian's performance, and decreed to give the crown prince a thousand taels of gold, and gave the crown prince the Wangchun Palace on the slope of Changle in the suburbs of Beijing to Chengqian, and also gave Chengqian ten thousand volumes of books. The Bachelor of Wenge served the prince.

The emperor even loved Wu Jiwu, and ordered to reward the officials of the Eastern Palace with money and silk in recognition of their contribution to assisting the crown prince.

"I ordered Liu Dewei to be the Minister of Dali Temple, and Han Zhongliang to be the imperial doctor."

Han Zhongliang was the Minister of Dali Temple in the Wude Dynasty. He later served as Minister of Civil Affairs, Minister of Criminal Affairs, and then Governor of Qinzhou. Ma Zhou and Sun Fujia resigned, and Li Shimin could only temporarily choose others.

Liu Dewei, Duke of Pengcheng County, was born as a military general. He was originally a general of Guanlong. His mother was a famous Xianbei family, and was born in the Yuan family of Henan. Liu Dewei married his wife, the Zheng family of Xingyang. Returning to the Tang Dynasty together, Li Yuante gave him the patriarch of the clan Pingshou County as his successor, and his fighting skills were average, far inferior to his son Liu Shenli, who became famous in the battle of Longyou. He assisted Li Yuanji in guarding Bingzhou back then. The army was defeated and captured, and then escaped with great difficulty, but in the end, because of telling the truth about the enemy, he made a meritorious service.

Afterwards, he turned to a civilian position and served as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple and the minister of the Ministry of Punishment. This time Li Shimin promoted him to be the minister of Dali Temple, which is considered appropriate.

However, Liu Dewei and Han Zhongliang did not join the rank of participating in political affairs, so they were not included in the political affairs hall, and their status was far worse than that of Ma Zhou and Sun Fujia.

After this incident, although Ma and Sun resigned to go to the prime minister, everyone in the palace knew very well that the two of them would probably come back in a short time, and they would probably be reused even more.