As the discussion deepened, everyone agreed more and more with what Fu Bi said, that this legal system indeed contains a new idea.
What is thought? It is the ability to explain the relationship between all things.
As far as taxation is concerned, the Legalists rely on power, using the king's rewards and punishments to urge the people to seek benefits and avoid harm; the Confucians added benevolence and righteousness to power, using moral governance to educate the people, and the rules of the legal system add personal rights and interests.
The first two are based on the perspective of the monarch and the country, but the latter is more about highlighting the individual.
In comparison, the law of the legal system is obviously more complicated.
Because maintaining only one group is much easier than maintaining two groups, and the key is that these two groups are inextricably linked.
Everyone understood, but became even more confused.
Cai Bian asked: "Teacher, you said that the laws and regulations in the Song Dynasty's Criminal Code belong to the laws of the Legalists, so they make the people afraid. If we follow the laws of the legal system, how should we revise the regulations?"
Everyone looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
Yes.
...
...
You make a lot of sense.
But what about feasibility?
Since ancient times, all laws and regulations have been designed to maintain the monarch's rule. If one wants to highlight personal interests, the laws and regulations must be amended. This is unprecedented.
Fu Bi had thought of this contradiction before. The Song Dynasty Criminal Code literally means ruling by punishment, which is definitely inconsistent with the law of the legal system.
How to change this?
"I don't know either."
Zhang Fei spread his hands, but then he added: "I might as well try to introduce the law of the rule of law and see what happens."
He came to the wooden board and wrote the three characters "Song Xingtong" on it. "We have just debated. What interests does Song Xingtong protect?"
Everyone answered in unison: "The country and the monarch."
Zhang Fei asked again: "What about the law of the legal system?"
"Personal legitimate rights and interests." Everyone stood up and answered again.
This highly participatory teaching method fascinates some students. In Zhang Fei's class, it is never the teacher talking and the students listening, but the teacher and students exploring together.
It’s a full sense of participation.
Zhang Fei also wrote "Law of the legal system" and "Legal rights and interests of individuals" on the side, and compared them with his hand: "Does the law of the legal system not protect the interests of the country and the monarch?"
“......!”
The students suddenly fell silent.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "Your silence is hurting me! Do you want to defend me or not? Answer me quickly."
"Maintenance...maintenance."
"Of course we maintain it!"
Zhang Fei said anxiously: "Do we need to think about this? To safeguard the interests of the people of the Song Dynasty is to safeguard the interests of the country and the monarch. The two are subordinate to each other. What are you thinking?"
The students looked embarrassed and apologetic.
After the debate just now, the legal system has become a pure means of protecting personal interests in their minds.
But their silence is really deadly!
The government is right behind us!
Zhang Fei asked again: "Under the rule of law, which comes first, the interests of the country or the monarch, or the interests of the individual?"
"Personal...personal interests."
"It's over!"
Zhang Fei rubbed his forehead and said, "Are you listening? The law of the rule of law comes from a consensus on defending the legitimate rights and interests of individuals. In simple terms, it is to defend the legitimate rights and interests of individuals on the basis of consensus.
If there is no consensus, only individual rights, then you can smash, loot and burn as long as you are happy and willing. This is often the case when a country is destroyed. "
This sentence was repeated over and over again hundreds of times, but the students still seemed to have not fully understood it, and not a single answer was correct.
It sounds simple, but when put into practice, it becomes extremely profound.
Zhang Fei added: "If the personal legitimate rights of this sentence are erased, then what is it?"
"The law of the Legalists."
"yes!"
Zhang Fei said: "But the law of the Legalists can still enable Qin to unify the six kingdoms. If you erase the consensus, the monarch and the country will be gone. Who do you think should be put first? Of course, the monarch and national interests should be put first. You people!"
He shook his head helplessly, and then said: “After confirming this, let’s see how these regulations should be amended based on the law of the rule of law?
Let's take the law of theft as an example. If a thief breaks into your house and steals a coin, is this an infringement on the interests of the monarch or the individual's interests?
Ye Zuqia said: "This should be considered as an infringement of personal interests."
Zhang Fei said: "So it has nothing to do with the interests of the country and the monarch?"
Ye Zuqia added: "It also infringes upon the interests of the country and the monarch."
"Be decisive. Is there any need to think about this? This must infringe on the interests of the country and the monarch."
Zhang Fei said: "If it has nothing to do with the interests of the country and the monarch, that is to say, as long as the thief went to your house and just looked around and left when he found nothing he wanted, and he neither took your money nor hurt you, then it is not considered illegal?
Burglary not only threatens your property, but may also threaten your life. Regardless of whether the person has stolen anything or not, if we do nothing about it, the country may be doomed.
But at the same time, is it also an infringement on personal rights? "
Everyone nodded.
Zhang Fei said: "That is to say, both are taken into consideration. This thief has violated both the interests of the state and the monarch, and also violated the rights and interests of individuals. According to the law of the system, how should the sentence be determined?"
Cai Bian said: "You have to bear the punishment and compensate for your personal losses."
"It should be so." Zhang Fei nodded, and then said: "Let's go back to the classic case in the Han Dynasty. The landowner wanted to use a cow as compensation, but what did people think of this at that time?"
Shangguan Jun replied: "People think that trampling crops is a serious crime. They have already been punished and should not be asked to pay compensation."
"Does it make sense?" Zhang Fei asked.
Shangguan Jun said nothing.
"Of course it makes sense. If trampling crops is a capital crime, you killed me and asked me to pay compensation. This is really too much."
Zhang Fei said: "If you have read similar cases, you will find that although there has been no compensation regulations since ancient times, there is a very important idea. Do you know it?"
Everyone looked at each other.
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Look, you are all just reading books. If it is not written in the books, you don't know it."
Is there? Zhao Xu recalled it, but he had no clue, so he looked around and asked, "Do you know?"
Xu Zun replied: "It is to pay without punishment, and to punish without paying."
"Yes, it is compensation without punishment, punishment without compensation."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Go back and take a closer look. In many cases, if compensation is paid, there is no need for punishment, and if punishment is paid, there is no need for compensation. But based on the law of the legal system, since we have to take into account the interests of the country and the monarch, we have to be punished, but at the same time we have to take into account personal interests and compensate for personal losses. Is this too much?"
Everyone nodded.
Zhang Fei asked again: "What should we do?"
Shangguan Jun said: "Yes... the sentence can be reduced."
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Why not reduce the compensation? We have just made it very clear that the interests of the monarchy and the country must come first."
"Well...."
Shangguan Jun was stunned immediately.
The other students were also very confused.
It seems that the compensation cannot be reduced.
Zhang Fei said: "If there is only punishment but no compensation, what is the protection?"
"The interests of the state and the monarch."
“What if there is only compensation but no punishment?”
"Personal interest."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "The state asked him to compensate the victims for their losses. Doesn't this include national interests?"
"Includes."
"Of course it is included!"
Zhang Fei said: "When the state compensates the victims for their losses, it is of course also safeguarding the national interest. Therefore, the penalty must be reduced, not the compensation. Because reducing compensation will result in the loss of personal interests, and the national interest includes personal interests, so the national interest will also be lost. However, if some penalties are reduced, the national interest will not be lost, and may even be increased, because the victims will be grateful and recognized.
Then the question arises again, if the thief breaks into the house and finds that the owner is more pitiful than himself, so he gives up, but is caught again when he leaves. In this case, he did not steal anything, and the owner did not suffer any loss, so there is no compensation to be paid, and he will only face punishment. Based on what we said before, should the punishment be increased?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Why?"
Shangguan Jun said, "Because it doesn't make sense. He didn't steal anything, and he didn't hurt anyone."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "The law of the legal system emphasizes legitimate rights and interests. What is legitimate is fairness and justice. This principle cannot be violated.
Let's go back to the case in the Han Dynasty. Trampling crops is a serious crime. Food is the primary need of the people, so protecting crops is protecting the interests of the country. In this case, the farmer's cows accidentally trampled on the crops. Did this infringe on the interests of the country and the monarch? "
Cai Bian said: "It depends on what the law stipulates."
Zhang Fei asked: "How do you think the regulations should be set?"
Cai Bian said: "It depends on whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally. If it was unintentional, he should be given a light sentence."
Zhang Fei suddenly flipped through the notebook, "The Qin Dynasty stipulated that if someone steals someone else's mulberry leaves and the value of the mulberry leaves is less than one penny, he or she will be fined and sentenced to thirty days of labor service. That is to say, if you steal someone else's mulberry leaves, even if they are not worth a penny, you will still have to serve labor service for one month.
If someone deliberately picked a mulberry leaf and was sentenced to one month of corvée, this would certainly be correct according to the law of the Legalists, but would it be right according to the law of the legal system?
Everyone shook their heads again.
Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"
But no one could answer.
Zhang Fei said: "When you have no idea, think about the concept of legal system."
Everyone thought about it, but still had no clue.
Fu Bi suddenly replied: "Personal rights."
Zhang Fei asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Fu?"
Fu Bi smiled first, then replied: "Thieves also have their own legitimate rights and interests."
"That's what I think."
Zhang Fei nodded, “To defend the legitimate rights and interests of an individual, there is no clear distinction between whether the person is the perpetrator or the victim. In other words, both sides of the legal system are equal, and the perpetrator also has personal rights and interests.
I didn't break into the house. I just picked a leaf from the tree. Although I did it on purpose, how much harm would this cause to the country? But the country sentenced me to one month of corvée labor. Does this count as the state infringing on my personal legitimate rights and interests?
If it were me, I would definitely think that you are just looking for an excuse to make me work for the country for free. If the punishment is set like this, there will inevitably be tyranny. Wang Daxueshi does not need to reform the corvée law. He only needs to narrow the Bianhe Street a little bit, put a few acres of land on the side, and arrest people every day for service. It's all free and there is a law to follow. "
Sima Guang and Lu Gong nodded repeatedly as they looked at each other, and a feeling of sudden enlightenment arose spontaneously.
Their thinking is still the traditional ruling thinking. Whether it is severe punishment or lenient punishment, it is actually aimed at ruling.
I never thought about reasoning from the perspective of personal interests.
But the law of the rule of law gives an answer: severe punishment will definitely lead to tyranny, and it will go straight to the end.
Zhang Fei added: "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it; those who are righteous have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous have few supporters. This fully demonstrates that the interests of the state and the monarch are closely related to personal interests.
We have said before that the method of the Legalists is to take the simplest means, and the method of the legal system is relatively difficult. Because you must first distinguish between personal interests and the interests of the state and the monarch, and at the same time, in many overlapping parts, such as stealing a mulberry leaf, which is also theft, where does it fall. You have to think clearly, is it in the interests of the state, personal interests, or both. "
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