Chapter 4971 Responsibilities
The "Book of Rites" says that "punishment cannot be extended to officials, and courtesy cannot be extended to common people." This is the "peaceful and prosperous age" that scholar-officials have been tirelessly pursuing. In fact, such a situation has never occurred, and it is impossible to occur.
"The punishment cannot be meted out to officials." If a scholar-official commits a crime, can't the punishment be increased?
"Rites are not given to common people." Can the behavior of common people not be governed by etiquette?
Obviously impossible.
Scholar-officials also need punishment for their crimes, but the method and intensity of punishment are different from those of ordinary people. However, in any case, today's Li Sixian, as a "Tongshiren", will be punished with "cutting", which means that the punishment scale for scholar-officials has been broken. .
Although Li Sixian was "cut with a light knife" for the serious crime of treason, as soon as this case is opened, the standard will gradually be lowered in the future.
In a dynasty, the rule of men is greater than the rule of law. It can be said that life and death are in the hands of the king. In many cases, a family can be wiped out with just a word from the king. People in the officialdom have psychological expectations for this kind of risk, but there are many ways to die, and no one is willing to bear the death penalty of "cutting with a light knife".
In fact, the probability of such extremely cruel punishments happening to officials is much higher than that of common people. After all, the most heinous crime that common people can commit is just murder, while the crimes that officials can commit are But there are many...
In other words, isn’t this kind of capital punishment prepared for officials all over the world?
The officials were not too shocked when a mutiny occurred in the Taiji Palace last night. After all, His Majesty has only been on the throne for a few years, and large-scale mutinies have already occurred twice. Everyone is used to it, but "cutting to pieces" The sudden appearance caused panic and divergent discussions among officials in various government offices throughout the imperial city.
The Yushitai is responsible for controlling public opinion, and so many discussions are naturally fed back to the government office. Liu Xiangdao stayed up all night and arrived at the government office early in the morning. When he saw a mountain of various letters and memorials piled on the desk, he immediately started thinking about two of them. big.
How could he not know the harm of "cutting to pieces"?
But what can he do? There was nothing he could do.
But if he does nothing, how will the world view him as a censor?
Are they really "Emperor Eagle Dogs" and "Yes Men"?
For soldiers, "eagle dog" is a complimentary term, which means loyalty to the emperor and patriotism; but for civilian officials, "eagle dog" is a proper derogatory term. Civil servants must have the idea of isolation, resist the imperial power, and ask for orders for the people. If you blindly cater to superiors and flatter others, you will lose the foundation of being a civil servant. Not only will you be ridiculed and slandered by the world, but you will not have a good reputation even in the history books.
But last night, the officials in the Taiji Palace had already expressed their opposition to the "cutting punishment". Now even if he, the imperial censor, writes a letter to remonstrate again, what's the point?
But it’s even worse if you do nothing.
I had no choice but to pack up the things on the table and throw them aside, grind and lay the paper, consider the sentences and write a memorial at the desk. Then I gritted my teeth, made up my mind, and walked out of the Yushitai alone and went straight to Chengtian Gate.
Standing under the Chengtian Gate, Liu Xiangdao looked up at the towering towers for a long time, then looked back at the imperial city with continuous rooftops behind him. After the palace gate opened, he walked through the doorway and stepped into the palace with an expressionless face.
In Wude Hall, there is the Imperial Study Room.
Li Chengqian was at his desk handling government affairs. Although the major mutiny case was handed over to Liu Ji, and the clan that was deeply involved did not require him to spend too much attention, but as the saying goes, one move can affect the whole body, and both the military and the court have consequences. It involves more personnel arrangements, and government affairs are still heavy.
When he saw Liu Xiangdao coming in to pay his respects, he also put down his writing brush, kindly asked Liu Xiangdao to sit down, and asked him to serve tea in the inner room, and asked with a smile: "Ai Qing has just left the palace not long ago, why is she in such a hurry to enter the palace again? But what's the matter? Big thing? ”
Liu Xiangdao did not sit down, but bowed and saluted with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, Li Sixian is about to be beheaded, which has caused an uproar and chaos in the government and the public. As a censor, I not only shoulder the responsibility of supervising all officials, but also guard against public opinion." appoint , there were many discussions among the officials in the court, and they all believed that the king was benevolent and prosperous, so he should be punished lightly, with low taxes and lenient punishments. Such torture should not be rampant in the world, so the ministers came to implore your majesty to withdraw his order. "
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Li Chengqian paused for a moment while drinking water, then put down his tea cup, looked at Liu Xiangdao with cold eyes, and asked: "Does the government and the public know what a serious crime Li Sixian committed?"
"This matter has spread throughout the city and everyone knows it."
Li Chengqian nodded, expressionless, and said slowly: "I am the Son of Heaven, the Supreme Being, and I am responsible for the country and the well-being of all people. Li Sixian has a heart like a snake and a scorpion, and is vicious and vicious. He wants to poison me to achieve his goal of usurping the throne. How should we deal with such thieves? ”
"There is no mercy for such evil, and death is not a pity. The entire family must be killed and the three tribes must be exterminated!"
Liu Xiangdao raised his head with a firm gaze: "But! Even if Li Sixian deserves death, he should not be punished with 'cutting'. Such a punishment is too cruel and harmful to the peace of the world. It will also damage the reputation of His Majesty's benevolence. A mere rebellious person." Thief, how can you tarnish your majesty’s reputation by killing you for doing something trivial?”
In his view, although His Majesty used his own body as a bait to suppress rebellion, his behavior was extremely unwise, but the result was successful after all, and the rebellion in the clan was wiped out, which greatly increased His Majesty's reputation.
It's clearly a great situation, how could it be possible that Li Sixian could be called a "cool" just because of him?
The most reasonable way to deal with it, isn't it to show generosity appropriately?
Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and tried his best to control his expression, and said slowly: "Since the day I ascended the throne, I have always shown kindness and tolerance to others, but what is the result? One or two people feel that I am not worthy of sitting on the throne, and mutinies occur one after another. , slander without end, I've had enough! I didn't hang all the traitors in the clan to death outside the Chengtian Gate. I was already kind and merciful. If I can't even punish Li Sixen severely to satisfy his hatred, what am I? Emperor?”
Liu Xiangdao closed his eyes in pain, knowing that no one could persuade His Majesty.
Because he understood that the reason why His Majesty wanted to cut Li Sixian into pieces was not just because of Li Sixian's rebellion, but because of the outbreak of old grudges.
Changsun Wuji rebelled, and later committed suicide to protect the Changsun family and the Guanlong clan from being implicated; King Jin rebelled, and after the failure, he sincerely regretted and was imprisoned to this day... After two consecutive mutinies, Li Chengqian was frightened and on the verge of collapse, and ended up mutinied. After that, I have to show my magnanimity and kindness to the people of the world, and let them go with a wave of my hand without any further investigation.
The resentment in my heart cannot be relieved.
As a result, his kindness not only failed to gain the admiration and respect of the people of the world, but also made people feel weak, especially when the clan that was supposed to be the cornerstone of imperial power rebelled again...
All negative emotions accumulate and ferment until they fully explode.
But he still exercised some restraint and did not brutally kill the clan members. Instead, he vented all his resentment and hatred on Li Sixian.
As an emperor and the supreme being in the world, he doesn’t even have a channel to vent his anger?
As a human minister, you should not persuade again.
However, as a minister, I have to persuade him.
Liu Xiangdao took off the futou on his head, knelt on the ground, and admonished with tears streaming down his face: "I know your majesty's anger, but I still want to advise your majesty to calm down. Your majesty is the supreme being in the world, not a pawn. You must know how to be patient." , but also to know how to be tolerant. Traffickers and lackeys can enjoy grudges, but Your Majesty cannot, because everyone is looking at Your Majesty, and no one wants the king they serve to be an ordinary person who desires grudges... Your Majesty Since you are sitting on the throne and ruling the world, you should abandon the seven emotions and six desires of secular mortals, put the country first in everything, and only do things that are beneficial to the country, instead of expressing your feelings and doing whatever you want. How is it different from a cowardly king to exercise restraint and act arbitrarily? I have been promoted by your majesty. I cannot bear to see your majesty go astray, so your majesty cannot take back the order. Please remove the minister from his official position, exile and demote him. "
Life is long, difficult, and you will encounter various difficulties. However, everything boils down to the word "choice".
Liu Xiangdao is making a choice.
What he gave up was his holy family, what he gave up was his official position, and what he gave up was everything he had gained during his long career in officialdom.
What we choose is a clear name in the world, what we choose is our aspirations in our hearts, what we choose is our responsibilities and our peace of mind.
So the moment he stepped into Chengtian Gate, he was high-minded, held his head high, and his steps were unprecedentedly stable.
And now that he is asking for his dismissal, he is sincere and has no falsehood.
A gentleman should not do anything, but must do something.
Li Chengqian's face was ashen. His previous elegant and easy-going image was gone. He was furious and furious. He shouted angrily: "Since I came to the throne, I have been working hard and following the rules. I dare not be lazy or negligent. But even so, why can't I gain anything?" Is it because I have a kind heart and a soft face that you support me wholeheartedly? Respect is more fearless. Now I will use this method to let you know that I am not incapable of killing, nor can I not bear to kill. I am just grateful that you still stand by me in times of crisis, so I am open to you! If you don’t know what’s good or bad and have no respect for me, don’t blame me for not respecting my past kindness!”
In anger, he vented out the resentment and anger that had been accumulated in his heart for a long time. Although these words were inappropriate and disrespectful, "cutting" could only be used as a deterrent but was not suitable to be spoken out, but Li Chengqian couldn't control that much.
As a king, he has no prestige. He went through all kinds of hardships to eradicate rebellion. Not only did he not get the respect he deserved, but he also faced opposition from the government and the public because he wanted to execute a traitor with capital punishment...
Am I the leader of a country?
Don't they all say that the king "talks about the constitution of heaven and follows the law when he orders it", but why can anyone refute my holy will when he comes to me?
During the late emperor's reign, his throne was in jeopardy, and he had to endure with his tail between his legs. The late emperor is gone, and he has ascended the throne as emperor, but he still cannot do whatever he wants and get the prestige he deserves...