"All right."
Fan Zhongyan was at a loss for words.
Zhao Jun continued, "First, use these people as soldiers and reclaim the border to prepare for the war against Western Xia and Liao. Once we can resolve internal and external troubles, we can expand overseas and send them to Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and even Australia and Japan."
"oh?"
Everyone was puzzled. Zhao Zhen said, "Isn't it about the rule of law? Like in later times, where the main punishment is imprisonment, why is he exiled overseas?"
“Because I’m short of money now.”
Zhao Jun sighed and said, "The rule of law presupposes wealth. Without it, there's no point in talking about the rule of law. Exile them overseas, let them cultivate fertile fields and mines, and bring back grain and minerals from abroad to atone for their sins. Only when the Song Dynasty becomes truly powerful can we maintain legal order."
At the end of his speech, Zhao Jun let out another long sigh.
In ancient times, talking about the spirit of the rule of law was actually an outrageous thing, because although this era seemed civilized, it was actually still barbaric.
The emperor and officials held the power of life and death. Killing ordinary people was as easy as crushing an ant.
Even local tyrants and low-level officials in the government dared to trample on the law at will and oppress the common people, becoming a huge mountain hanging over their heads.
Moreover, even if Zhao Jun brought the rule of law, social development could not keep up.
First of all, building a prison requires a huge financial expenditure, and you also have to take care of the prisoners' food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Then we have to popularize the law and carry out legal education work.
Then, after the prison is built, someone has to guard it, which is another expense.
The Song Dynasty had a population of over 100 million, so there were definitely 200,000 to 300,000 criminals. In an era without sewing machines, labor reform meant nothing more than growing vegetables and digging the ground.
The expenses of managing prisoners and providing them with food, clothing, housing and transportation cannot be fully recovered by relying on farming.
So it is not easy to do anything well.
Killing people can solve the problem once and for all, but no matter what, severe punishments in troubled times can only be temporary.
After all, it's just a petty theft, you can't just chop it off.
Therefore, it was extremely difficult for Zhao Jun to govern the country according to law like later generations did.
But there are some things you have to do.
It’s like if we want to develop overseas, develop industry, and develop the country, even if it’s difficult to do, we have to move in this direction.
No matter how difficult it is, we must keep moving forward.
At least setting a correct goal will provide you with a clear path for the future!
This is also the significance of Zhao Jun's desire to establish the Ministry of Justice.
(End of this chapter)
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