In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

In the morning, the sun rises.

It's the end of October, the beginning of winter. Although it hasn't snowed yet, the weather is getting colder.

The sun shines palely on the earth, unable to dispel the coldness, like frost.

Amidst the howling cold wind, even the heaven and earth seemed to be filled with a solemn murderous intention.

The early court ended under Zhao Jun's scolding, and many officials returned home in disgrace.

The Supreme Court ordered that the entrance exam law must be strictly implemented and implemented, and those who obstruct it will be severely punished.

For a time, the riot that lasted for more than three months, starting from the new law that identified many officials at the end of July, is finally over.

Chongzheng Hall is located in the northeast corner of the center of the solemn Song Dynasty Palace, northeast of Chuigong Hall and north of Zichen Hall.

After descending from Chui Gong Palace, walk to the east corridor into Zi Chen Hall, then pass through the back pavilion of Zi Chen Hall through Zi Chen Gate, and walk less than fifty steps eastward to the outside of Chongzheng Hall.

Lu Yijian and Sheng Du walked into the hall with their heads downcast and their faces ashen as death.

When Zhao Jun came back, their last chance to rescue their son and son-in-law was gone, and they were likely to be punished, which made them full of disappointment.

There was silence in the hall at this moment, no one spoke.

The atmosphere in the air seemed to be condensed to the extreme, so much so that even the neutralists Jiang Tang, Li Di and others felt on pins and needles.

Zhao Jun's eyes were cold and stern, and he seemed to be still angry, but he didn't say a word.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become tense, Zhao Zhen broke the silence after only two minutes of silence in the room and whispered: "Dasun, how about"

"boom!"

Zhao Jun slapped the coffee table next to him, glared at Lu Yijian and the others and said, "You are going crazy! Jingkang Shai is still waiting for you in the future, and the construction of the Yellow River has not started yet. Do you think you are sitting in this position? Do you think you are so powerful that you can ignore the interests of the country and do whatever you want?"

"Yes, we are going crazy!"

Lu Yijian's eyes were red, and the old man seemed to have a tight strength, which was released at this moment, and he roared: "It's not your son who is in trouble, of course you don't care, the flesh is not cut on you, you don't feel any pain!"

"What? Is the crime justified? Who is responsible for your son's lack of education? When he went around showing off his power in your name, I don't believe you didn't hear it!"

Zhao Jun said angrily: "I really find that you people become more and more shameless as you get older, ignore the law, ignore morality, and blatantly cover up your heirs who have committed crimes. Have your sage books been read into the belly of a dog? What's right and wrong? Can't tell the difference?"

"Hanlong, this is my only son!"

Shengdu is already in tears!

"Your son just committed a crime, but he's not dead. Why are you howling?"

Zhao Jun was so angry that he itched his teeth and said, "Without your son, where are your grandchildren? There are more than three great-grandchildren, right?"

Sheng Du had three sons, the eldest was Sheng Shanfu, the second was Sheng Shenfu, and the third was Sheng Chongfu.

The eldest son died young at the age of eight, leaving no descendants. The third son, Sheng Chongfu, also died of illness a few years ago, but he had a son, Sheng Bangyan.

Now he has only one son, Sheng Shenfu, who is fifty years old. He also has a son, Sheng Zhongnan, who is almost thirty years old and has given birth to three great-grandsons to Sheng Du.

So although Sheng Du does only have one son now, he is not the only son.

But Sheng Du felt really sad when he thought that his son, who was fifty years old, was going to jail. He said sadly: "He is already fifty years old, but he still has to go to jail or even be exiled. How can I not be sad?" ”

"Grandson."

Zhao Zhen couldn't bear to say: "Sheng Shenfu only committed a small crime of collecting banned books, but it's not that much."

"When did I say I wanted him to be jailed and exiled?"

Zhao Jun was puzzled.

Collecting banned books was actually quite serious in the Song Dynasty. Depending on the circumstances, there were punishments such as cane, imprisonment, and exile.

Although there is no death penalty, being beaten with a stick, jailed and exiled is too much.

Therefore, both Lu Yijian and Sheng Du thought that their son was going to be exiled.

But to be honest, at least in the eyes of future generations like Zhao Jun, it was not a big deal.

The main reason is that the banned books in the Song Dynasty were not actually banned books. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, only astronomy, magic, religion, military books and unofficially printed scriptures were banned books.

For example, in the second year of Baoyuan, Si Tianjian was ordered to draw up a catalog of books that should be banned in fourteen categories.

"Except for the "Sun Tzu", the "Tian Wen", the "Liu Li", the "Five Elements", and the military arts of various schools cited in the "Tongdian", all other books are banned."

Will these things be considered banned books in future generations?

It’s too late to promote it.

Literary inquisition was implemented in ancient times to serve the ruling class and not allow the people to be exposed to new ideas, thereby engaging in a policy of obscuring the people.

In Zhao Jun's eyes, if he wants to carry out education and ideological reform and dissemination in the future, the literary inquisition is exactly the evil. It is all feudal dross, and of course he will not support it.

The dissemination of short films is still explicitly prohibited by the state. If it were strictly enforced, countless people who had shared the works of many teachers from the island country with their friends would be arrested, and jails across the country would not be able to accommodate them.

Therefore, Zhao Jun patiently explained: "It is not advisable to ban books and create literary inquisition. Thoughts should be guided correctly, rather than just strictly prohibiting them. People's hearts are like this. The more forbidden they are, the more curious they become. In the end, they cannot suppress it, but it has the opposite effect. So I never thought reading banned books was a big deal.”

Zhao Jun looked at Li Di and said: "Mr. Xiuxiu, this article should be changed in the future. Unless the circumstances are particularly serious, such as rampant piracy and punishable by crime, ordinary banned books should not be so strict. The law should be strict. It should be loose.”

Li Di is the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment and a member of the Constitutional Yuan, and is in charge of judicial revision. The "Song Xingtong" is currently undergoing major revisions in all aspects. Hearing Zhao Jun's words, he quickly responded: "Yes."

"this"

Lu Yijian and Sheng Du opened their eyes wide. They thought their son was going to die, but they didn't know that this was not a big deal at all.

"As for Lu Gongchuo, his problem is the most serious."

Zhao Jun looked around at the crowd and said solemnly: "The other three collected a banned book and were fined with it. It's not a big deal. Lu Gongchuo is so bold. In the name of Lu Yijian, he goes around giving people promotions and greed for power. Those who sell their official positions and get titles should be dealt with severely."

Lu Yijian's newly raised hopes cooled down a bit, and he looked at Zhao Jun blankly and said, "Hanlong, for the sake of my thin face, please open up a little."

"Gong Xiu, how should Lu Gongchuo be sentenced?"

Zhao Jun ignored him and asked Li Di.

Li Di first glanced at Lu Yijian, then cupped his hands and said: "According to the Song Dynasty Xingtong, any prisoner who receives money and violates the law will be punished with a hundred sticks for one foot, one for each, and fifteen for twisting."

Lu Yijian felt like her heart was being pinched.

But the next moment, Li Di said: "It's just that this case is complicated, maybe we should discuss it."

"Where's the complexity?"

Zhao Jun was puzzled.

"After investigation, it was found that Lu Gongchuo did not help people get promoted for the sake of money. His family already had money, so he did not care about money. He mainly wanted to help relatives, friends, and classmates in the same year for personal gain. The degree of bribery was not high. Just accepting some gifts,"

Li Di said: "Secondly, Lu Gongchuo resigned from the History Museum a few years ago. He did not serve as the chief of each supervisory department, and he had no actual power to mobilize officials. He only relied on his relationship as Lu Yijian's eldest son to hand over the responsibility to the court. An official is promoted for others, and he himself has not actually abused his power, so it is difficult to be convicted of violating the law by accepting money. "

Lu Gongchuo was previously a compiler in the History Museum, and later Lu Yijian took charge of the task of editing the history of the country. In order to avoid suspicion, Lu Gongchuo resigned from the History Museum and was a editor. Historically, he did not become an official again until Lu Yijian's death.

In other words, Lu Gongchuo currently does not actually have an official position.

And the way he helped people get promoted was by greeting his father's disciples and former officials, asking for intercessions, and intervening in the court's promotion process. Therefore, if Lu Gongchuo's crime is really studied, it seems that it is not a violation of the law for receiving money.

Just like if a businessman has a good relationship with an official and a broker entrusts a favor to help another official get promoted, it would be difficult to say that the businessman is corrupt and bending the law.

However, in later generations, this crime was determined, and it was called the crime of using influence to accept bribes.

If the amount is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also be fined.

If the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined.

If the amount is particularly huge or there are other particularly serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years and shall also be fined or have property confiscated.

In this case, Lu Gongchuo basically fell into this situation.

"Then how should we be judged?"

Zhao Jun frowned.

Li Di thought for a moment and said, "I should be punished with dereliction of duty and serve one year."

"Is it such a light thing to sell an official position and win a title?"

Zhao Jun scratched his head and said: "To be honest, the death penalty is indeed a bit harsh. I personally think that as long as it does not cause serious consequences, the death penalty is not serious. But it is a bit outrageous to only serve one year in prison for buying and selling an official position."

"If Zhiyuan thinks it's not possible, then just add a few more years."

Li Di smiled.

"We will discuss this matter again, and we will discuss his specific punishment when the time comes. Anyway, it will not be lenient."

Zhao Jun waved his hand and said, "But Lu Yijian allowed his son to buy and sell official positions and regarded the power of the country as a child's play. How should he be punished?"

Lu Yijian's heart suddenly rose again.

Li Di said: "According to the investigation of this case, Lu Yijian did not know about this matter. It was all Lu Gongchuo's doing. He can only be regarded as a failure to teach his son."

"Then I'll fine you one year's salary."

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "In this matter, Lu Gongchuo is lucky that he is not a current official, but everyone should still take this as a warning and take care of their heirs and don't cause trouble for themselves."

"good."

Zhao Zhen clapped his hands and laughed and said: "Lü Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, and Zhang Yuxi will be fined. Lu Gongchuo's punishment will be discussed later, so let's do it."

Even if this matter is finalized, the officials involved are definitely not just Lu Gongchuo and others. However, if the officials who were greeted by Lu Gongchuo are held accountable, there are other officials who colluded with Feng Shiyuan, or who hid banned books, or bought and sold other prohibited items. To investigate strictly.

Lu Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, Zhang Yuxi, and several other senior officials involved in the case were relatively good, but they only collected banned books. This matter was not a big deal in Zhao Jun's eyes, so he was dealt with lightly.

However, others such as Cheng Lin, Li Zhang, Lu Gongchuo and others have other illegal activities, and naturally they should be dealt with severely.

Those with minor crimes should be dealt with lightly, while those with serious crimes should be punished severely.

This is also Zhao Jun’s sentencing standard.

Just because there are Lu Yijian and Sheng Du's sons in there, we won't open up the rules.

What Zhao Jun didn't expect was that because Lu Gongchuo was not a public official, he could not be regarded as corrupt and perverting the law, so he could only be given a lighter punishment.

This was unexpected.

However, a year in prison for selling an official position is really too light. We can only discuss the specific sentencing with Li Di afterwards.

This is also in line with Zhao Jun’s insistence on legal fairness!

Hearing his words, Sheng Du couldn't believe it. His son was actually just a fine?

Not even dismissal?

Although Lü Yijian was sad that his eldest son still had to go to jail, it was good enough to save his second son.

He first glanced at Li Di in surprise, then stood up and bowed to Zhao Zhen earnestly, saying: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Shengdu also stood up and bowed.

"Okay, don't thank me, thank Hanlong instead."

Zhao Zhen shook his head.

If it were before, he would have treated it as if nothing had happened.

In history, Zheng Jian arrested people like Lü Gongchuo, but didn't he release them soon?

And these people later became high officials, and none of them had any problems.

But now that Zhao Jun is here, all of them must be dealt with according to the law.

It's just that Zhao Jun personally thinks that exile for reading banned books is too heavy a punishment, and only by making the sentencing standards fair can he be let off lightly.

As for Lü Gongchuo, he must be dealt with strictly.

One thing for one thing.

Reading banned books like Wentian History is not a big deal, but selling official positions and taking bribes by using influence cannot be forgiven lightly.

So Lü Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, and Zhang Yuxi were fine. They really had to thank Zhao Jun for relaxing the previously more stringent charge of collecting banned books, otherwise the three would have been in trouble.

"Well, I'm exhausted from all the running around. My legs are almost worn out. Because of your shit, I didn't even get a good night's sleep on the road."

Zhao Jun stood up and said in a deep voice: "I have to go back and catch up on my sleep. You should do what you should do. Lü Yijian, Sheng Du, I can only remind you that the development of the country is the rolling wheel of history. Don't always try to stop it with your body. Your old bones can't stop it. I've said everything. That's it."

He bowed to Zhao Zhen and said: "Brother, I really can't bear it. This mess is really a headache. One by one, it makes people worry. These old men are too corrupt. They should have been replaced long ago. Let's replace them with some young people. I'm going back first."

It was really embarrassing to say this in front of everyone.

But it's not Zhao Jun's fault for speaking harshly. The future development of the Song Dynasty was clearly told to them, but they still wanted to obstruct it for their own interests. They had no determination to serve the country and the people. How could they not be angry?

And there were no outsiders here, so Zhao Jun was too lazy to pretend to be nice to this group of people. He said it directly with a tone of one-third threat, one-third humiliation, and one-third ridicule.

After all, he was expressing his dissatisfaction and warning these people that if they did this again in the future, they should get out of the Constitutional Court.

"Well, grandson, you go first."

Zhao Zhen said hurriedly.

"I'll see you off to the court."

Li Di got up and followed Zhao Jun out.

The two walked to the corridor outside the door and headed towards the palace road.

After walking out of Chongzheng Hall for dozens of meters, Zhao Jun turned his head and asked Li Di: "Old Li, I didn't expect you not to punish Lu Yijian to death?"

Li Di smiled bitterly and said: "I did want to, but the law already has such a provision."

"Do you think I believe it?"

Zhao Jun smiled and continued to walk steadily: "The right to interpret the law is in your hands. Since the law does not have such behavior of abusing power by using influence, it is not up to you to decide how to sentence him?"

"Yes, if I want to give Lu Gongchuo a heavy sentence, it is not impossible, but I think at least the government and the court are unwilling to go to this step."

Li Di smiled and said: "So I can only find the lightest one among them."

"You, you can figure out people's hearts."

Zhao Jun also laughed.

Raising his head and looking into the distance, there was only melancholy in his eyes.

He and Lu Yijian are neither friends nor enemies. At most, they have different political views.

It is not that he shielded Lu Yijian.

Otherwise, Lu Gongchuo, who was more guilty, would not be sentenced heavily.

But in the end, it is for the peace of the Constitutional Court.

Unless the government sheds tears and kills Yijian, it will not be good for anyone to really tear his face with Lü Yijian.

More importantly.

Zhao Jun has no relatives in this world.

The people closest to him are Zhao Zhen and the eight people who were the earliest Lü Yijian, Yan Shu, Wang Zeng, Cai Qi, Song Shou, Wang Sui, Fan Zhongyan, and Sheng Du.

Now Wang Sui is dead, one of the eight people is gone, and the rest are estimated to live for a few years, and fewer and fewer people will know his details in the future.

Why should we kill Lü Yijian and Sheng Du?

So for the fairness of the law, abolishing the serious crime of banning books is one aspect.

On the other hand, I really don't want to go to that step.

Fortunately, Lü Gongchuo is not a public official, and he is not for the purpose of accepting bribes. He just uses his influence to make a call, instead of accepting bribes and perverting the law as the chief official. Otherwise, he can only kill Lü Gongchuo to set things right.