Chapter 315 The Purpose of Discipline (I)
At the committee meeting, the expressions of the people who stayed in Linzi were not so good. After listening to Huo Chong's usual talk about capital, everyone at least pretended to listen carefully. For example, Yang Wangfu said nothing, because the county magistrate in the county where the incident happened was the person recommended by Yang Wangfu.
As an old subordinate, Yang Wangfu thought Song Qingkun was a very good brother, brave, loyal, and righteous.
Huo Chong's story did not change. He had heard about capital before. Yang Wangfu was thinking about how to deal with Song Qingkun's situation. If possible, he hoped that Song Qingkun would be fine. Yang Wangfu just couldn't figure out how to achieve his goal effectively.
"…Have you understood that normal people expect to have the power to dominate, and that the power to dominate is linked to capital in society?"
After Huo Chong asked, most people agreed. But some people still seemed to not understand, such as Zeng Jing, the land reform officer.
Zeng Jing seemed to be trying to understand Huo Chong's words seriously. He frowned and said, "My Lord, I don't quite understand. Although you don't agree with Zhu Xi, and you don't agree with the so-called keeping the principles of heaven and eliminating human desires, what is the relationship between what you said?"
"If you want someone to do something, you have to pay them. Because everyone has to survive, and if you want to survive, you can't be completely self-sufficient. Once you want to increase productivity, you have to trade. Do you understand what I mean?"
Zeng Jing listened and thought about it, then nodded somewhat unsurely.
"Let's put it more simply. If there were no metal farm tools, plowing the land with human power and wooden farm tools would consume a lot of physical energy and make the body more tired. Plowing the land with oxen and metal farm tools not only consumes less physical energy, but is also faster and better than plowing the land with human power and wooden tools alone. Right?"
"Yes." Zeng Jing nodded very readily this time.
"But you have to be able to raise cattle to be fat and strong, and train them to be obedient and capable. You also have to know how to mine iron, smelt iron, and forge iron. Not to mention that a family alone probably doesn't have the ability to do this. If you are in an area without iron mines, you can't do it even if you have this ability. At least there is no one in this world who can create something out of nothing. Do you understand what I mean?"
Zeng Jing thought about it and nodded readily in agreement.
"Then a deal is needed. In relationships between humans, everyone instinctively wants to be in a dominant position. Even if there is no ill will, you still want to raise your hand and have everyone agree with you. At least in your family, you instinctively want to have the final say, right?"
Zeng Jing continued to nod, "Yeah. So it is true."
"So, in order to produce products to trade with others, you have to have the means of production. At least you have to have the means of production for a certain period of time. This is the basis for the survival of self-employed farmers who own their own land and tenants."
"Yes." Zeng Jing continued to nod. However, before Huo Chong could continue, Zeng Jing suddenly understood, "Then it is indeed a reasonable idea to control the means of production and not be controlled by others. My lord, this is indeed human nature."
"It is a normal human reaction to have the expectation of being in control. As cognitive abilities improve, we eventually understand that we need to master the means of production. This requires learning, experience, and cognition. That is why there are two stages. Instinct and cognition are two different things. Although from the perspective of internal drive, it is a question of dominance. But at the level, it is different between innate and acquired."
Zeng Jing first expressed his agreement with Huo Chong's point of view, but then said: "So, isn't Zhu Xi advocating the preservation of heavenly principles and the elimination of human desires? 'Human desires' refer to selfish desires, lust, greed, etc. These desires must be eliminated! Human desires are heavenly principles, and desires must have a limit!"
Huo Chong didn't expect Zeng Jing to be a bit arrogant recently, using what he learned to explain the things in the base area. And his explanation seemed to be very orderly.
Fortunately, with Gao Pang's example, Huo Chong had accumulated a lot of experience in dealing with this group of people. He asked directly: "Old Zeng, do you think that Zhu Xi's explanation is reasonable and everything else he said is correct?"
"This... is both right and wrong." Zeng Jing showed a certain degree of humility.
"Zhu Xi's system serves the exploiters. In the final analysis, exploitation is still justified. More importantly, the internal logic of Zhu Xi's system is not to ask these people not to exploit, but to serve the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. To put it bluntly, it still strengthens the power and status of the exploiters. Does his system want to liberate the people?"
"Well... I haven't read much, so it's hard for me to say." Zeng Jing cleverly avoided the sharp question.
Huo Chong didn't want to deal with Zeng Jing too seriously, at least not yet. Seeing Zeng Jing retreat, Huo Chong turned back to the current issue, "I think this matter should be handled according to the law. Regarding justice, we must have laws. Although the drafting of laws is still lagging behind, we can't use the lack of our own criminal law as an excuse. This matter, first of all, we must follow the basic provisions that the murderer should be put to death."
Everyone's face changed. Killing people really didn't mean much to most people in the committee. Two hundred thousand Qing troops were annihilated. Manchu officials, local gentry, and their lackeys, added up to hundreds of thousands of people. In the armed conflict, these people were killed in large numbers.
In terms of sheer numbers, this incident was far smaller than those wars. If it was just a simple war, these guys would have been screaming with excitement.
Seeing that everyone was serious, Huo Chong continued, "As for those who didn't kill anyone, they also have to bear responsibility. Some of this responsibility is legal responsibility, and some is disciplinary responsibility."
No one spoke. Huo Chong was very dissatisfied with this and simply kept silent. He looked at each committee member carefully.
The guys all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Huo Chong's gaze. Only Qian Qing and Lei Hu looked back at Huo Chong.
There was a long silence, giving Huo Chong plenty of time to observe the expressions of these guys. Huo Chong was a little disappointed, and Qian Qing asked, "Sir, how should these responsibilities be calculated? Can we also use the Qing Dynasty law?"
Huo Chong didn't know what Qian Qing was trying to say. The Qing Dynasty Code was a law that had to be used temporarily, but Huo Chong didn't want to use it forever. The Chinese court would definitely have its own set of laws.
Just as he was considering whether to discuss this with Qian Qing, Yang Wangfu asked, "Sir, does this also require the use of the regulations in the Qing Dynasty Law?"
When Huo Chong heard this, he couldn't control his emotions for a moment, so he kept silent for the time being.
For people in New China, hearing about the Qing Dynasty makes them feel guilty. The Qing Dynasty was wrong, and this is their instinctive feeling.
Even though he knew it was not reasonable to generalize, Huo Chong did not want to correct it. In any case, Huo Chong had no desire to find gold in the shit. The Qing Dynasty was a process from garbage to more garbage from beginning to end. There was really nothing good to pick out.
So Yang Wangfu's words did make Huo Chong very unhappy. But Huo Chong still didn't want to criticize Yang Wangfu. After all, from the perspective of tools, there were some things in the Qing Dynasty law that could be used temporarily.
Moreover, the research and application of the Qing Dynasty laws in the base area was the responsibility of the Literature and History Institute, whose members included Mr. Ding and Luo Xiucai, Huo Chong's current father-in-law.
Huo Chong originally thought that everyone in the Manchu ruling class would fight the Chinese court to the end regardless of life and death, but the reality turned out to be different. Even if most of the Manchu upper class were against the Chinese court, at least a small number of them were unwilling to die for the Qing Dynasty.
A group of people led by Mr. Ding and Mr. Luo handed over their land and obeyed the orders. Huo Chong did not humiliate them, but established a museum of literature and history to give them the opportunity to work within the system.
The job of the Museum of Literature and History is to search for ancient books and give some results for the proposed topics. For example, the research on the Qing Dynasty Code actually produced some results for them.
The Great Qing Code was compiled after the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, that is, in the first year of Shunzhi, by "translating the Ming laws in detail and taking into account the national system" to start the formulation of the code. After the efforts of Shunzhi, Kangxi and Yongzheng, the code gradually matured. The most systematic and representative written code of the Qing Dynasty was completed. From then on until the legal system reform in the late Qing Dynasty, the text of the Qing Dynasty's laws and regulations did not change, and the adjustment of the Qing Dynasty's legal system was mainly carried out in the form of adding and modifying the text of the code.
When the Qing rulers first entered the Fortress of the Qing Dynasty, they extended the legal system applicable outside the Fortress of the Qing Dynasty to the Fortress of the Qing Dynasty in order to maintain social stability in the occupied areas. In June of the first year of the Shunzhi reign (1644), the regent, Prince Heshuo Rui, Dorgon, issued an edict stipulating that "all government offices should follow the old system of whipping criminals and not use canes."
This legal system used to rule a small corner of Manchuria had a very simple criminal system. Shunzhi himself said: "I believe that when Taizu and Taizong founded the East, the people were honest and the laws were simple. Apart from the death penalty, the only punishment was flogging."
Such a crude legal system was obviously not suitable for the social needs of ruling the newly occupied Central Plains region, which was dominated by the Han nationality.
Shortly after the old law was implemented, its drawbacks became apparent. "Stupid people don't know what to abide by, and treacherous people have no scruples." In response to this situation, Shuntian Circuit Inspector Liu Yindong wrote in June when selecting officials: "I have heard that the emperor advocates education and does not abolish the five punishments. Whipping is not enough to intimidate the people. Clear punishment is the way to decree the law. It is advisable to quickly formulate laws and regulations and announce them to the whole country and abroad so that people dare not violate them, and the chaos will be eliminated." After the letter was submitted, Prince Heshuo Rui Dorgon, who was in charge of the internal and external affairs of the Qing Dynasty at the time, quickly responded: "From now on, if officials commit corruption, they will be executed immediately after investigation. Whipping seems too lenient. From now on, the punishment will be in accordance with the Ming Law, and the sentence will be no punishment."
At this point, the legal system of the Qing Dynasty gradually shifted from using the old laws outside the Great Wall to temporarily using the Ming Law.
From the perspective of time, Huo Chong is also facing such a stage, so Huo Chong has to admit that if Yang Wangfu's problem is his legal consideration, it is very timely and meaningful.
However, Huo Chong did not think that Yang Wangfu had such a high level of understanding of the level of his second disciple.
After calming down, Huo Chong said, "This time, the situation has become so serious that several county magistrates, represented by Song Qingkun, said that they did not mean it that way. It was the people below who made the mistake. We cannot know what they really think, so we cannot directly punish them severely because there is no legal basis. But speaking of discipline, they told the news to their relatives in the village and to their relatives. Does it count as a leak?"
Yang Wangfu was shocked and immediately kept silent.
Huo Chong looked at the others, and everyone was also quite shocked. Huo Chong continued, "Those guys who killed people said that they wanted to stand up for the county magistrates because the working group had humiliated the county magistrates and made them lose their chances of promotion. Do you think they were telling the truth?"
"Of course not!" Qian Qing spoke. The cold voice echoed in the room, sounding even more murderous.
But in such murderous atmosphere, the committee members seemed to be injected with energy, and they all started to criticize the village bully, "What the eldest sister said is right, these people are just looking for someone to take the blame."
"Yeah! They just want to drag someone down with them. How hateful!"
"Song Qingkun is one of our people, why would he let his subordinates kill our own people!"
…
Everyone's attitude was very clear. If the intention was to kill Song Qingkun or the people from the village below, everyone would of course protect Song Qingkun and others, and let the guy who did the killing die.
Huo Chong was somewhat helpless and slapped the table. After everyone quieted down, Huo Chong continued, "If Song Qingkun had been able to abide by the rules and not say what he shouldn't have said, would things have gotten to this point? So from a disciplinary point of view, we can't assume that Song Qingkun and his people have no responsibility! They must be punished! Also, if you think that Song Qingkun and his people can get away with it, I advise you not to think too much. They have the responsibility they deserve. There will definitely be a record in the archives. If we say that this matter can just be let go, it's impossible!"
"...Sir, do you want to kill Song Qingkun?" Yang Wangfu asked the core question.
"If it is found that they were the ones who ordered it, they are accomplices. Conspiracy to murder is aggravated! If they did not order it, they can be spared." Huo Chong answered the question, feeling very unhappy. But he had to say it. After he finished speaking, Huo Chong continued, "What I want to talk about now is something else. That is the follow-up. If there is such a thing again, I think some of them should be killed. Because knowing the law and breaking it is aggravated. Do you have any opinions?"
No one said anything, so no one supported it.
Huo Chong was under tremendous pressure, but he continued, "Because Song Qingkun and his team probably wouldn't consider killing people, but later on, people from the working group were killed like this, and those county magistrates knew that this would happen, and it led to people being killed. You said they didn't do it to kill people, or that they didn't deliberately condone killing. I don't believe it! I really can't believe it! Song Qingkun and his team have no discipline. This time, let's make the discipline clear. What does it mean to not say what you shouldn't say, and not talk about what you shouldn't say! Remember it clearly! This is the discipline. The discipline of keeping secrets..."
The meeting ended in a low mood. As soon as Yang Wangfu came out, he was called by Qian Qing. Facing his cousin, Yang Wangfu still had some instinctive awe.
Qian Qing took Yang Wangfu to her office and asked, "I beat you up before, you haven't forgotten it, right?"
"...I haven't forgotten." Yang Wangfu replied in a frustrated tone. Speaking of being beaten, although Yang Wangfu wanted to get back at Qian Qing, he couldn't do it. Not only was Qian Qing's strength not good, but Qian Qing's aura made it impossible for Yang Wangfu to resist overwhelmingly.
Qian Qing shouted unhappily, "You just don't have a pure heart. The master has been tolerant enough. Don't think of yourself as someone like Song Qingkun. They are not good people!"
Yang Wangfu tried his best to maintain his mood, "I think... they are not bad ."
"I knew you were going to say that. Come, watch me." Qian Qing said as he took out a piece of paper and began to write on it. After writing for a while, he asked Yang Wangfu, who was standing opposite him, to stand behind him so that he could read what he wrote.
Yang Wangfu resisted at first, but as he watched, his expression changed.
After Qian Qing finished writing, he asked Yang Wangfu to sit next to him and explained each item one by one. During the explanation, he made additional comments on the questions raised by Yang Wangfu and wrote them down on paper.
After finishing everything, Yang Wangfu looked incredulous. Qian Qing did not scold him again, but said: "Just ask those bastards according to what I gave you. By the way, memorize it first! Don't ask me with the paper."
"Are they...really like this?" Yang Wangfu was very puzzled.
Two days later, Yang Wangfu appeared in front of Song Qingkun. Song Qingkun was already tearful when he talked about how he was cheated by someone. The people under him cheated him badly. After Song Qingkun finished speaking, Yang Wangfu tried to speak in a gentle tone: "What benefits do they have that make you treat them so well? Tell me the truth, so that I can speak for you, Mr. Xiang."
Hearing that he still had a chance, Song Qingkun quickly said, "Captain, those people are no good, but at least they work hard. They pay enough when taxes are collected. You also know how troublesome it is to collect taxes. Every time when paying public grain, all kinds of problems will occur. At least they pay enough every time."
When Yang Wangfu heard this, his heart skipped a beat. But he tried to ask gently, "Then don't you know that they are actually collecting rent?"
"Well……"
"Tell me the truth, tell me the truth. It's no use telling me lies. Those people were arrested and interrogated. They said a lot."
Song Qingkun's face was full of anger, and he asked quickly: "What did they say?"
Yang Wangfu almost said something casually, but discipline made him stop talking.
After thinking about it, Yang Wangfu looked at the people around him again. He felt strange.
The people around him were investigating the case, and in a sense they were also supervising Yang Wangfu. However, from what Huo Chong said, these people could also prove Yang Wangfu's innocence at a critical moment. After all, Yang Wangfu knew that he couldn't do such things as collusion.
So Yang Wangfu sighed: "They said you knew, you knew everything. They also said it was all your instructions!"
"Bullshit!" Song Qingkun was furious and started to curse. This curse lasted for a long time. Yang Wangfu felt colder and colder in his heart. The curse of the guy opposite him expressed something different. At least, Song Qingkun was annoyed and scared.
If you look at it this way, Qian Qing is right. If Huo Chong is really serious, he can kill people. Because Song Qingkun may not know this.
