When the former emperor executed Bao Xun, the Censor-in-Chief Gao Rou claimed that Bao Xun should serve five years of hard labor according to law.
And the three officials of the Censorate, including the Censor-in-Chief, believed that Bao Xun should be fined 200 cash.
This practice of private protection directly caused Cao Pi to become enraged and find a way to immediately execute Bao Xun. The three officials of the Censorate, also referred to by Cao Pi as 'ten mice in the same hole, one net is caught', were also executed.
The Censor-in-Chief who defended Bao Xun is still in the imperial prison, and Sima Ji's expression instantly showed extreme fear.
Sima Ji tremblingly said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the Censor-in-Chief will follow the law and ask questions before sentencing a criminal, rather than executing them directly."
"All right," Cao Rui nodded at Sima Zhi: "Mr. Sima, although you did something wrong in this matter, the fault of this incident does not lie with you."
"Not seeing the Yellow Door incident, you have done good without fault, and I also have an understanding of this matter," Cao Rui waved his hand: "You may go back now."
Sima Zhi had an expression of disbelief: "Your Majesty is allowing me......?"
"Go back to your office of the Prefect of Henan Province and continue on duty," Cao Rui laughed: "Do you want me to send you off?"
"I dare not," Sima Zhi bowed and then slowly retired.
Even before leaving, he dared not look at Sima Yi and Dong Zhao.
Sima Zhi's visit to the palace this time was like navigating a boat in turbulent waters, and his heart was constantly close to his throat.
He now couldn't afford to dwell on his resentment towards his cousin for arranging this mess.
As Sima Zhi walked out of the southern gate of the Northern Palace, he looked back into the palace with a deep longing. Indeed, it was like being a pet to a tiger, he really didn't know how his cousin and uncle were able to survive in the palace.
After Sima Zhi left, Cao Rui smiled and said: "I did not punish Sima Zhi. Is there any surprise among you?"
"Just now, the Minister of Works said Sima Zhi did not report in time, the Minister of Guards said he was innocent, and the Commandant of the Xun said he had killed arbitrarily. I think none of them hit the nail on the head."
"Dong Gong," Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao: "You are the oldest among you, and I remember that you were the only one who advanced according to traditional official career paths among the four of you."
"Answering Your Majesty," Dong Zhao nodded and said, "I was selected as an official by the county and entered the three secretaries of the capital as a public official. In the sixth year of Zhongping, I was appointed as a storekeeper of Hushao County in Ju Xie."
"In the sixth year of Zhongping, the Han Lingdi was still alive, and Yuan Shao had not yet occupied Hebei," Cao Rui nodded: "What was the situation in Hebei at that time?"
Dong Zhao sighed and shook his head before saying, "Huantao County is the county seat of Ju Xie County, and Ju Xie County is also the place where the Yellow Turbans were based. Zhang Ang was a native of Ju Xie."
"After I became the storekeeper of Hushao County, both the county and the county were in ruins. Bandits and robbers were rampant, which was really unbearable."
Cao Rui nodded: "What about the Minister of Works? How was it in Wen County at that time?"
Sima Yi answered: "Dong Gong mentioned the sixth year of Zhongping. At that time, I was only ten years old. Wen County is located in the Henan region, although it was slightly less affected by war than the other places in the region, there were still continuous bandits and frequent upheavals."
"That's it," Cao Rui said: "During the Han Dynasty, scholars, eunuchs, and relatives were constantly fighting in the court. The official system was chaotic, and the world was unstable. One local governor killed hundreds of people and wiped out several families, which could hardly be considered a major incident."
"After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there were widespread military troubles and bandits that were hard to control. How could a local governor maintain peace in his region without decisive action and executions?"
As the emperor spoke slowly, the thoughts of the four present were not the same.
Cao Zhen recalled his early years of military campaigns. Dong Zhao remembered the poor people and lawless bandits he saw when he first served in Hebei.
While Sima Yi and Wei Zhen were trying to divine the emperor's intentions.
"In turmoil, such behavior is inevitable and should be commended," Cao Rui sighed: "But now it's the Taiping years, the Great Wei has been established for seven years, how can we still ignore laws and only rely on authority as in the past?"
"The Prefect of Henan, Sima Zhi, killing a suspect in prison is just a case of him still acting according to the common sense of governing in the past. It really can't be called his fault, and I cannot punish without giving him a lesson."
"Looking at Sima Yi and Wei Zhen, Cao Rui asked, 'Minister of Works, Commandant Wei, I want the officials in all provinces, circuits, and counties to act according to laws and regulations. How should we standardize this?'"
Sima Yi then realized that the emperor had a hidden habit.
Compared to directly penalizing the parties involved, the emperor seemed to always consider whether there were defects in the system rather than immediately finding trouble with the ministers.
'Can't you educate before punishing?'
It seems that Sima Zhi was in a gray area of punishment this time, and he was indeed treated with indulgence by the emperor.
Sima Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that before standardizing how officials should act according to laws and regulations, we should first revise the laws and decrees."
"I also believe that the current laws and regulations are too complicated and long, even for learned scholars to fully understand them. Therefore, they often have to rely on their intuition to make judgments," Wei Zhen agreed as well: "There are often conflicts and inconsistencies between different clauses. Under such circumstances, how can they serve as a basis?"
Cao Rui frowned: "Revise the laws? Do we need to call the Censor-in-Chief Gao Rou to ask some questions?"
Sima Yi replied, "The position of the Censor-in-Chief is simply to enforce the laws, which has no relation to revising the laws."
"Then who else is knowledgeable in criminal law?" Cao Rui asked somewhat hesitantly.
Sima Yi bowed slightly: "Although I'm not specialized in criminal law, I still have a general understanding of the source and flow of changes in the laws and regulations."
"All right, all right," Cao Rui smiled and nodded, looking at Sima Yi and saying, "Minister of Works, tell me what the current situation of the Han Dynasty's laws that we are using in the Great Wei is like? If we are to change it, how should we go about doing so?"
Sima Yi slowly said: "Answering Your Majesty, after Emperor Han Gaozu pacified the realm, the Prime Minister Xiao He established the 'Nine Chapters of the Han Laws'. The uncle Sun Tong added another eighteen articles, Zhuang Tang added another twenty-seven articles of 'Excessive Palace Laws', and Zhao Yu added six articles of 'Morning Laws'."
"For hundreds of years, various scholars have annotated the laws and regulations. By the time of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, the number of laws that could be referred to was countless, far exceeding several million characters."
Cao Rui listened to Sima Yi's explanation while shaking his head silently in his heart.
Several million characters? In a time when bamboo slips were the main means of carrying text, who could read that much? Unless someone was a god.
"So, we need to simplify the laws and regulations? Keep only one set of laws that can be used as a reference?" Cao Rui interrupted.
"That's exactly what Your Majesty has said," Sima Yi nodded and said: "Since the establishment of the State of Wei, the laws we have relied on are mostly from Zeng Xuan's annotations. Wei Ji and Wei Boyu have always been in charge of ceremonial system. This matter, Your Majesty can ask Wei Ji to do."
Wei Ji from Hedong, who had an old friendship with Sima Yi's father, Sima Fang. Moreover, what many people do not know is that the private friendship between Wei Ji and Sima Yi was also very good.
"Wei Ji?" Cao Rui frowned: "He is that old, can he still do things?"
Sima Yi glanced sideways at Dong Zhao, who sat in his chair calmly, and then said: "Wei Ji is only one year older than Minister of Guards Dong Gong. Letting Wei Ji be in charge is not asking him to do it himself, so there should be no problem."
Cao Rui nodded lightly without committing to an answer, then turned his gaze to the other three.
"What do you think, General?" Cao Rui asked.
The matter of laws and regulations was not directly related to military affairs. However, since the emperor asked, Cao Zhen still squeezed out an idea.
"Your Majesty, why not revise the military laws and regulations as well?" Cao Zhen suggested.
Military laws? Cao Rui thought for a moment, and it would be alright to revise them, as it could also summarize military theories.
"Who should revise the military laws?" Cao Rui asked.
"Your Majesty, why not have Xin Pi, Xin Zaozhi, lead the revision of the military laws," Cao Zhen replied: "During Emperor Wu's revision of 'Military Orders', 'Infantry Combat Orders', and 'Naval Combat Orders', Xin Pi was assisting Emperor Wu in the background."
"I think if it comes to revising military laws, there is no one more suitable than Xin Zaozhi."
Xin Zaozhi? Cao Rui squinted his eyes and recalled the bits and pieces of interactions with Xin Pi, and he felt it was not a bad choice.
"Let's use Xin Zaozhi to revise the military laws," Cao Rui answered: "Since General Cao recommended him, you can go and discuss it with Xin Zaozhi later."
"Understood the order," Cao Zhen bowed.
Across the table, Sima Yi watched as Cao Zhen recommended Xin Pi, and his mind began to calculate again.
Xin Pi, though also from Yingchuan, was not associated with the high-status families of Zhong, Xun, and Chen in Yingchuan.
In the twenty-second year of Jian'an, when Emperor Wu ordered Cao Hong to command forces to defend Xianbi Pass, he appointed Xin Pi and Cao Xiu as military staff for Cao Hong, helping to manage military affairs.
In the third year of Huangchu, when the late emperor ordered Cao Zhen to lead western troops to attack Jiangling, Xin Pi was then serving as the General of Assistant Commanders in Cao Zhen's army.
Xin Pi's political inclinations are far from typical for a scholar-official; rather, he has close relationships with Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, and Cao Hong.
With the importance of Cao Zhen as the Generalissimo, he recommended Xin Pi in front of the emperor, and because they were familiar with each other, the emperor accepted his proposal readily.
How come I don't have such good friends around the emperor?
There's only Jiang Ji who might be a possibility, but he's now in Yangzhou, which is a place where martial prowess is needed, and perhaps it's also more important.
Liu Ye?
I should probably be closer to Liu Ye in the future.
Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Dong?"
Dong Zhao spoke more directly: "I think this matter cannot be rushed. The revision of laws and regulations has significant impact, and it will benefit future decades or even centuries. Being careful is always the right approach."
"I suggest holding a discussion among all ministers to gather broad opinions before proceeding."
"What about Master Wei?" Cao Rui asked Wei Zhen.
Wei Zhen answered, "I also share the same view as Mr. Dong."
Cao Rui nodded and looked at Sima Yi: "What do you think, Minister of Works?"
Sima Yi felt a bit frustrated in his heart, it seems today's selection was not to be decided: "I also agree. If we take our time, things can be made right. Revising the laws and regulations indeed requires a gradual approach."
"Then we'll talk about it again during the next imperial audience with the ministers!" Cao Rui made up his mind and continued with the topic from before.
"All of you are the heart and bone of the empire. I will speak directly to you, my ministers."
Cao Rui said, "Today's case of the 'Wujian God' profane worship is essentially about four things: profane worship, communication between the palace and outside, the empress ordering officials from outside the palace, and Sima Zhi's arbitrary execution."
"On the matter of profane worship, I have already asked Chen Jiao to draft an edict for the provinces and territories to promote regular worship and eliminate profane worship."
"Communication between the palace and the outside, the emperor will personally discuss this matter with Cao Hong tomorrow."
"As for the imperial palace giving orders, I have executed that eunuch, hoping to serve as a warning."
"As for Sima Zhi's abuse of suspects, I will also be lenient with him and make a commitment to modify the laws and regulations."
Cao Rui looked around at the crowd: "The power of administration, even a slight use in the imperial audience, affects not just millions but tens of millions of people."
"I urge all of you to be cautious and cautious!"
Four people respectively bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we will remember your teachings."
(Chapter complete)
