In the early morning, the sun rises.
At the end of October, in early winter, although it had not snowed, the weather was getting colder.
The sunlight shone palely on the earth, but it could not dispel the coldness, like frost.
Amid the howling cold wind, even the heaven and earth seemed to be filled with a solemn murderous intent.
The morning court ended with Zhao Jun's harsh rebuke, and many officials returned home in disappointment.
The Supreme People's Court ordered that the performance evaluation law must be strictly implemented and enforced, and anyone who obstructs it will be severely punished.
For a time, the riots that had lasted for more than three months, starting from the end of July when many officials were investigated under the new law, have finally come to an end.
Chongzheng Hall is located in the northeast corner of the solemn and dignified center of the Great Song Dynasty Palace, northeast of Chuigong Hall and north of Zichen Hall.
After paying court at the Chuigong Hall, walk along the east corridor into the Zichen Hall, then pass through the rear pavilion of the Zichen Hall and through the Zichen Gate. Walk east for less than fifty steps and you will reach the outside of the Chongzheng Hall.
Lu Yijian and Sheng Du walked into the hall with dejected looks and deathly pale faces.
With Zhao Jun's return, their last chance to rescue their son and son-in-law was gone, and they were likely to be punished, which made them feel very lost.
At this moment, there was silence in the hall and no one spoke.
The atmosphere in the air seemed to be extremely tense, so much so that even neutral people like Jiang Tang and Li Di felt like they were sitting on pins and needles.
Zhao Jun's eyes were cold and stern, and he seemed to be still angry, and he didn't say a word.
Zhao Zhen saw the atmosphere become tense. After only two minutes of silence in the room, he broke the silence and whispered, "Grandson, how about..."
"Bang!"
Zhao Jun slammed the coffee table beside him, glaring at Lü Yijian and the others, "You're crazy! The Jingkang Shame awaits you in the future, and the Yellow River hasn't even been repaired yet. Do you think that just because you're in this position, you're so powerful that you can ignore the interests of the country and act recklessly?"
"Yes, we are going crazy!"
Lu Yijian's eyes were red, and the old man seemed to have a taut energy that burst out at this moment. He roared, "If it's not your son who's in trouble, then of course you don't care. The flesh wasn't cut on you, so you don't feel the pain!"
"What? Is committing a crime justified? Whose responsibility is it that your son wasn't properly educated? I don't believe you didn't hear about him showing off in your name!"
Zhao Jun raged, "I truly find you all becoming more shameless as you age. You disregard the law and morality, openly shielding your criminal offspring. Have you lost all your knowledge of the sages' books? You can't even tell right from wrong anymore? Huh?"
"Hanlong, this is my only son!"
Shengdu was already in tears!
"Your son just committed a crime, he's not dead, why are you howling?"
Zhao Jun was so angry that his teeth itched and said, "Without a son, what about your grandchildren? You must have more than three great-grandchildren!"
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 at the age of eight and had no offspring. 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 has another son, Sheng Zhongnan, who is almost thirty years old and has given Sheng Du three great-grandchildren.
So even though Shengdu only has one son now, it doesn’t mean he will never have an offspring.
But when Sheng Du thought about his son, who was fifty years old and was about to go to prison, he was really heartbroken. He said sadly: "He is already fifty years old, and he still has to go to prison or even exile. How can I not be sad?"
"Grandson."
Zhao Zhen couldn't bear it and said, "Sheng Shenfu only committed the minor crime of collecting banned books. It shouldn't be this serious."
"When did I say I wanted him imprisoned and exiled?"
Zhao Jun was puzzled.
Collecting banned books was actually quite serious in the Song Dynasty, and the punishments included caning, imprisonment, exile, etc., depending on the circumstances.
Although there is no death penalty, being beaten with sticks, imprisoned and exiled is unbearable.
So Lu Yijian and Sheng Du both thought that their son was going to be exiled.
But to be honest, at least in the eyes of Zhao Jun, a later generation, 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 books on astronomy, numerology, religion, military affairs and unofficial printed scriptures were banned books.
For example, in the second year of Baoyuan, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was ordered to compile a catalog of banned books in fourteen categories.
"Except for the Sun Tzu, the astronomy, calendar, and five elements in the historical histories of various dynasties, and the military strategies of various schools cited in the Tongdian, all other books are banned."
Would these be considered banned books in later generations?
It’s too late to promote it.
In ancient times, literary inquisition was implemented to serve the ruling class, not allowing the people to be exposed to new ideas, thus implementing a policy of keeping the people ignorant.
In Zhao Jun's eyes, if he wanted to carry out education and ideological reform in the future, literary inquisition would be precisely the evil, a feudal dregs, and he would certainly not support it.
The distribution of small films is still strictly prohibited by the state. If it is really strictly enforced, countless people who have shared the works of many teachers in the island country with their friends will be arrested, and there will be too many people in the prisons across the country to accommodate them.
Therefore, Zhao Jun patiently explained, "Banning books and inciting literary inquisition is undesirable. Thoughts should be guided correctly, not just strictly prohibited. People's minds are like this. The more they are forbidden, the more curious they become. In the end, suppression becomes impossible and has the opposite effect. That's why I never thought reading banned books was a big deal."
Zhao Jun looked at Li Di and said, "Mr. Fugu, please revise this rule from now on. Unless the circumstances are extremely serious, such as rampant piracy that warrants criminal punishment, banning ordinary books shouldn't be so strict. The law should be strict when it should be, and lenient when it should be."
Li Di was the Minister of Justice and the Vice-President of the Political System Council, in charge of judicial revisions. The current "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" was undergoing extensive revisions in all aspects. Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, he quickly responded, "Yes."
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