Finally, there was last year's military corruption scandal, in which he wiped out nearly half of the hundreds of military families and nobles. Then came the military purge, in which thousands of mid- and lower-ranking officers, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers implicated in the scandal, were either executed, exiled, or imprisoned.
It can be said that Zhao Jun killed 30,000 to 40,000 people and exiled or imprisoned more than 100,000 people in his campaigns to eliminate organized crime, combat corruption, and clean up the army. It can be said that he killed many more enemies than Fan Zhongyan did on the battlefield.
So why isn't the influence that great?
Because everything Zhao Jun did was reasonable and legal and within the normal framework.
All dynasties have cracked down on corruption. Zhao Kuangyin even executed thousands of corrupt officials, exiled their families, and killed tens of thousands of people. However, no one in later generations has brought this up.
So, unless there are political motives, like the Four Great Cases of the early Ming Dynasty, or unusual cases that attract public attention, isn't ordinary crackdowns on organized crime and corruption something that wise rulers throughout history have often done? Why make such a big deal about it?
Therefore, to sum up, what Zhao Jun arrested was legal and compliant, and he was able to do this with the support of the main civil service group represented by Zhao Zhen and the Constitutional Council.
There is nothing to criticize about those who write history books like this.
If Zhao Jun had ulterior motives and committed murder for political purposes, it would probably have been recorded in historical records.
"I'm not that crazy yet."
Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "But if we follow the restrictions you gave, wouldn't the only solution be killing people?"
"Why? Tell me."
Fan Zhongyan asked hurriedly.
"Let me ask you, is it the law of the Song Dynasty that personal freedom cannot be restricted, human trafficking is prohibited, and slavery is completely abolished?"
Zhao Jun asked back.
"yes."
Fan Zhongyan nodded.
There is no doubt that the Tang Dynasty recognized slavery.
The Tang Law Commentary emphasized that slaves were of low status and had the same legal status as livestock, and intermarriage between the noble and the common was prohibited.
But in the Song Dynasty, starting from the first year of the Jingyou reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, an imperial decree was issued to completely abolish slavery. Even the names of slaves changed. Slaves were previously called "nu" and "bi", but later they were changed to "manpower" and "nushi".
At that time, it was stipulated that the system of nobles and inferiors should be abolished. Merchants, tenant farmers, slaves and other traditional low-class people were all registered as citizens. The contract was no longer a contract of selling oneself, but an employment contract. All employees were free people and had the right to resign at any time.
In the Tang Dynasty, a master could punish a slave at will without consequence. Beating a slave to death without cause would result in a year of punitive labor and a payment. If there was a reason, there would be no punishment at all.
This resulted in a large number of lynchings of slaves being killed by masters because the cost of crime was too low.
In the early Song Dynasty, innocent slaves were killed and exiled three thousand miles away.
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, the punishment was further increased to the point where even if someone privately killed a guilty man or maid, the offender would be sentenced to death by the government.
By the Southern Song Dynasty, anyone who killed a man or a female servant without authorization would be sentenced to death, regardless of whether the other party was guilty or not.
certainly.
Except for officials and dignitaries.
Chen Zhizhong killed a maid and was only dismissed from his position as prime minister.
During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Song, the official Liu Zhu scratched his servant's face with a knife and was only dismissed from office.
However, the powerful and wealthy only enjoyed the exemption from the death penalty. Once discovered, they would often be dismissed from office. This shows that the Song Dynasty basically eliminated slavery for a short period of time.
It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that this thing was restored. Finally, after the founding of our country, Tibet was recovered and serfdom was abolished, which finally eradicated the deep-rooted stubborn disease that had plagued China for thousands of years.
It is undeniable that there were legal regulations in the Song Dynasty, but the common people at the bottom did not understand the law, and were restricted by the landlords with contracts, so their living environment was still no different from that of slaves before the Tang Dynasty.
Zhao Jun said, "Since I can't enact new laws to deal with the issue of land annexation, then I should be fine if I strictly abide by the existing laws."
"How do you obey the law?"
Fan Zhongyan asked.
"Starting this year, bring all the landlords' tenants here. Either build canals and official farmland and relocate the tenants there, or build roads, dams, and reservoirs so that no one is left on the landlords' farmland."
Zhao Jun laughed and said, "The landlords want to use contracts to restrict their tenants. Sorry, the Song Dynasty does not allow restrictions on personal freedom. If such a phenomenon exists, it is the government's fault. I have to use a knife to force the officials below, and those officials will have to fight the landlords with knives. This is legal, right?"
"It's legal, you're so cruel."
Fan Zhongyan had nothing to say. This was indeed within the legal scope. The court had money and hired people to work. Moreover, the law stipulated that everyone was a free citizen, contracts could be terminated, and personal freedom could not be restricted. So the government could indeed withdraw people to engage in infrastructure construction.
"Another thing is to reduce the burden on the people. I believe that starting this year, since the government has conscripted people to work, it should be corvee labor. Serving corvee labor is to serve the country and should not interfere with people's lives."
Zhao Jun stroked his chin and said, "So the government has stipulated that during the period of corvée service, any debt owed can stop paying interest. This should be reasonable, right?"
"Then this will harm the interests of the landlords. Are they capable?"
Fan Zhongyan raised objections.
"Then, anyone willing to participate in government infrastructure construction will have their debt repaid by the government. However, they must hand over their contract to the government. This will be considered as the government conscripting the people. From then on, they will become tenants of the government, and the rent will be much lower than that of the landlords."
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