Following Hua Xin's words, Cao Rui also looked at the three people next to him. After Jiang Ji was appointed as the governor of Yangzhou, Huan Fan took over the post of Central Guard General. No minister is perfect, neither Jiang Ji nor Huan Fan. Huan Fan compiled "Huang Lan" together with Liu Shao and Wang Xiang. It is obvious that Huan Fan's talent and knowledge were inferior to those of Liu Shao and Wang Xiang. But Huan Fan was responsible and was born in Longkang, Qiao County, so he was a fellow villager of the Cao family! The reason why the Central Army is called the Central Army is because of the word "Central". Cao Zhen, Cao Hong, Xiahou Xian and others were all relatives of the Xiahou and Cao clans. Needless to say, Xu Chu and others were also Cao Cao's loyal and loyal ministers. People with lower positions, such as Wen Qin, the fifth battalion commander who supervised the five battalions, were from Qiao County. It was not surprising that Huan Fan, who was also from Qiao County, was appointed as the Central Guard. Even the emperor couldn't do without employing his fellow villagers. Cao Rui had previously used Jiang Ji, mostly to give him an official position and to serve as a consultant in the Southern Expedition. As soon as he returned to the court, he immediately transferred Jiang Ji to a post outside the capital.
Cao Rui smiled and asked, "Huan Qing, do you want to be a Central Guardian or do you want to revise the law?" The emperor asked him so directly that Huan Fan was stunned for a moment. Ask me? I wonder too! It was just that we participated in the compilation of Huang Lan a few years ago, and I was inexplicably recommended by Sima Yi, the Minister of Works. I am doing a good job as the Central Guard! Huan Fan stood up immediately after hearing this, but hesitated for a few seconds before he clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have just been in office for only a month, and I have no intention of being transferred yet." Cao Rui nodded, knowing Huan Fan's intention, and then looked at Liu Shao and Lu Yu. Cao Rui had known about Liu Shao's talent when he was inspecting Chenliu. After Liu Shao entered Luoyang, his first stop was to visit Hua Xin's house, which Cao Rui also knew. In other words, there would be no problem in using Liu Shao to revise the law, so the person to ask now is Lu Yu. Cao Rui looked at Lu Yu and said, "Mr. Lu, are you willing to be responsible for this law revision for the court?" Lu Yu also stood up quickly, cupped his hands and said, "Of course I am willing to share the worries of Your Majesty and the court, but whether I am used or not is not up to me, but the assignment of Your Majesty and the court." Cao Rui said: "That is true. If you were asked to amend the law, what would you do?" Lu Yu cupped his hands and said, "According to my opinion, there are only two things to do in this revision of the law." Only two? Hua Xin, Liu Shao, and Huan Fan all looked over, and Cao Rui also stared at Lu Yu's face. Lu Yu said calmly: "First, I think the complexity of Han laws lies in the accumulation of hundreds of years of practice and in the different opinions of different ministers in different eras." "The first thing to do is to clarify the fundamental principles of law revision. How should law be revised? On what principles should law be revised?" Cao Rui narrowed his eyes slightly. Lu Yu's words actually meant that we should first unify our thoughts and understandings, figure out an overall program, and then proceed to carry out the task of revising the law. "What about the second one?" Hua Xin asked from the side. Lu Yu said: "Secondly, I think that although the text of the laws can be many, the things that the subjects and the people of the world can violate are fixed." "Therefore, I think the second thing to do is that for the same crime, there can only be one interpretation of conviction and punishment, not two."
"I think this is the reason why Your Majesty said 'simplify the complex'!" Cao Rui took a deep breath and couldn't help but shake his head with emotion. In this world, there are people who are truly brilliant and smarter than others. Obviously, Lu Yu is such a person. What Lu Yu just meant was that the emperor and important ministers should first discuss the guiding ideology, and those of us who are responsible for the execution of the work should then formulate a corresponding law for each crime. It's that simple logically. In fact, in Cao Rui's previous consciousness, the revision of laws was essentially a clerical job. The chapters and sentences accumulated over 400 years during the Han Dynasty were simplified and made into a concise version. The correctness and accuracy of the specific items were proofread by the court and prefecture officials according to the current situation, and then it was almost ready for publication. But there is still no clear idea on how to do this writing work. Lu Yu solved the problem with just one sentence. Cao Rui looked at Liu Shao again, wondering how Liu Shao would answer. Cao Rui asked: "Liu Qing, what will you do?" Liu Shao said casually, "Your Majesty, what Governor Lu said just now is all right. I just have a few things to add." Cao Rui nodded: "Try to say it." Liu Shao cupped his hands and said, "For Dali and other prefectures and counties, facing the complicated chapters and sentences, how to find the most suitable items when making judgments is the biggest problem at present." "I think the first thing to do is to put the Ju Lu at the beginning of the article." "In the Han Dynasty's Nine Chapters of Law, the general provisions of the Law are in the sixth chapter, neither at the beginning nor at the end, and cannot play the role of governing the laws." Cao Rui understood that Liu Shao meant to make a general outline and catalogue and put it at the front of the new law. This was probably the experience Liu Shao had accumulated when he was compiling the huge book "Huang Lan". Liu Shao continued: "I think the second thing is to separate the law and the decree. This will make it easier for the court and the prefectures." Cao Rui nodded slightly when he heard this. Liu Shao's general idea just now, if compared with later generations, was to separate the law from the specific regulations for its implementation. Liu Shao paused and cleared his throat slightly. "Your Majesty, I have a third thing to say." Cao Rui raised his eyes and looked at Liu Shao: "Liu Qing, please feel free to speak." Liu Shao cupped his hands and said, "I think the eight arguments in the Zhou Li should be incorporated into the new law." Eight discussions? Cao Rui frowned: "Liu Qing, please tell me in detail." Liu Shao replied, "Your Majesty, it is said in the Quli that punishment shall not be imposed on officials." "According to Zhouli, eight types of people who commit crimes must undergo special review and cannot be directly convicted by the Dali. Moreover, they can be exempted from punishment." "The so-called eight discussions are to discuss relatives, discuss old friends, discuss the virtuous, discuss the capable, discuss meritorious service, discuss the noble, discuss diligence, and discuss guests."
Cao Rui took a deep breath and began to think. In fact, the privileges of the privileged class have always existed since ancient times, but they have been manifested in different forms in each era. For example, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, if an official or noble broke the law, it was very simple: they just had to pay money and they would be exempted from punishment. If we look at it from the perspective of the future, if we can buy safety by breaking the law, then what is the seriousness of the law? Isn't it a joke? But the so-called law is just a tool to maintain the rule. The emperor can confer titles on ministers and promote common people to nobles. This is the greatest privilege. And high officials also have some small privileges. Take Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, for example, who was always fond of criminal justice. When many ministers or generals broke the law, he would pardon them or just punish them based on their past military achievements or hard work. Why don't we care about the law at this time? Nonsense, we still need to keep people to conquer the world. If people's hearts are scattered, how can we lead the team? Liu Shao's previous proposal was just to quote chapters and sentences from Zhou Li as a basis and write them into the provisions of the new law. Cao Rui thought about it and felt that this was feasible, so he looked in the direction of Hua Xin and said, "What do you think of this, Taiwei? Will the Eight Proposals work if they are included in the new law?" Hua Xin did not reply immediately. Instead, he remained silent for a long while before he said cautiously, "Your Majesty, in the past, when faced with such a situation, the emperor would speak up or the ministers would plead for mercy, thus reducing the charges against the guilty officials." "I think this matter has both advantages and disadvantages." Cao Rui continued to ask: "What are the advantages and disadvantages?" Hua Xin said: "Your Majesty, the advantage is that when it is carried out, it is all up to the officials to discuss, rather than all being suppressed by the emperor. This way, there can be more or less discussion. The responsibility comes from the law, not from the emperor, so the criminals will not have too many complaints against the emperor." "What are the disadvantages?" Cao Rui asked. "The downside is that if the powerful officials know about the existence of the Eight Councils, they may deliberately break the law or disregard the law. Anyway, with the Eight Councils around, there is the possibility of reducing the sentence, so they will be more fearless." After listening to what Hua Xin said, Cao Rui nodded slightly. Everything has its pros and cons, and the Eight Discussions are no exception. Cao Rui frowned slightly and said, "I already know about the Eight Discussions mentioned by Liu Qing just now. If the Eight Discussions are included in the new law, I estimate that this will be one of the biggest changes." "There's no rush to add this item. I'll think about it carefully, and you guys should think about it too." Liu Shao cupped his hands and said, "I understand your majesty's meaning." Cao Rui looked at the four people and said, "I have a rough idea about the revision of the new law. Hua Taiwei will be the leader, and Liu Shao and Lu Yu, two two thousand stone officials, will assist. Do you three have any objections?" Hua Xin also stood up from his seat, bowed with Liu Shao and Lu Yu, and said, "I have no objection." Seeing that these three people had stood up, Huan Fan also stood up uncomfortably. But the emperor ignored Huan Fan's action and gestured to summon Zhong Yu over. Cao Rui looked at Zhong Yu and said, "Zhong Yu, go to the West and East Pavilions and ask them carefully. Tell the four ministers about my preliminary arrangements and ask them if they have any opinions." After receiving the imperial edict, Zhong Yu turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by the emperor. Cao Rui said: "Tell them not to worry! Just help me find out the gaps and make up for them." Zhong Yu said he understood. It doesn't take much time to go from the study to the West Pavilion and the East Pavilion and back.
After a while, Zhong Yu came back and reported that Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao, Sima Yi and Wei Zhen all expressed their agreement. Cao Rui said: "Since the ministers have no objections, I will order the Secretariat to draft an edict." "Thank you for your hard work, Grand Commandant!" Cao Rui smiled and looked at Hua Xin, then turned to look at Liu Shao and Lu Yu: "The same goes for Liu Qing and Lu Qing!" Hua Xin, Liu Shao and Lu Yu all expressed their gratitude. Cao Rui also did not forget Huan Fan who was standing beside him: "Huan Qing, just rest assured and serve in the central army! I have great use for you!" Huan Fan also hurriedly bowed. (End of this chapter)