Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 561 You Ask For Me

Palace gate.

With the support of two young men, an old woman got out of the car tremblingly. The old woman looked ordinary, she was already very old, she was shrunk into a ball, skinny, holding a longevity stick, It proves that she is over 70 years old and has won many honors, such as not having to salute the emperor, oncoming people in the car must get out of the car and wait for her, etc.

She tremblingly walked towards the Hall of Houde. She was guided along the way, and the servants were extremely polite to her. The servants along the road showed great curiosity towards her, and couldn't help but look at her. The two young men who followed her looked a little proud. Even after entering the palace, they didn't have much fear on their faces. They looked around curiously, and even looked at the doctors.

Soon, the old woman walked into the Hall of Houde with the support of the two, and the two young men no longer dared to look up. The old woman struggled to get away from their hands, and then respectfully He saluted in the direction of the emperor, and his whole body was almost stuck to the ground.

Lu Lu turned pale with shock, and hurriedly turned to Liu Chang.

This is an old man holding a longevity stick. Emperor Gao dare not let such a person pay respects. Old man, take the lead in becoming a dutiful son.

But Liu Chang didn't seem to notice Lu Lu beside him, he was still looking at the old woman in front of him.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!!"

"Your Majesty is all right?!"

"I pay homage to Your Majesty again!!"

The old woman paid homage three times in a row, and the younger generation behind her paid homage even more. Liu Chang remained silent and looked at her rather indifferently. Lu Lu couldn't bear it anymore, so he cleared his throat and whispered Reminding: "Your Majesty. If you have a minister to salute, you should answer."

"Oh, I'm all right, what about you, old man, are you all right? Are you still alive?"

Lu Lu's complexion changed drastically, and the two young men behind the old woman were even more furious. They were about to stand up suddenly, but they were quickly stopped by the old woman. The old woman looked terrified and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is safe, thank you for caring about the minister's lax discipline. , causing my grandson to commit such a heinous crime, and put His Majesty in danger, I deserve to die! I deserve to die!!”

This old woman is very famous in the Han Dynasty. She is the Ming female Tinghou Xu Negative who was conferred by Emperor Gao himself. She is from Wen County, Hanoi. It’s just that she was a little old when she met Emperor Gao, otherwise she would most likely become Liu Chang’s "grandmother". She has a great reputation in the Han Dynasty, and many dignitaries begged her to come and look at themselves or their children. Give a review.

On another historical line, she showed Wei Wang Wei Bao's concubine, thinking that this concubine would give birth to the emperor, Wei Bao was very happy, decided to believe in this female fortune teller, and immediately rebelled, wanting to crusade against several ordinary generals around , such as Han Xin, Cao Shen, etc., and then there is no more.

Wei Bao's concubine was also sent to Emperor Gao as a spoil of war. Her name is Bo Ji, and the son she gave birth to is Liu Heng. Poor Wei Bao.

Later, she looked for Zhou Yafu, saying that he would be born in eight years and starved to death in nine years. In the end, Zhou Yafu also died in the same way as she said.

As for why she appeared in front of Liu Chang now, it was because of her grandson, her grandson, that giant bandit from Longxi, Guo Xie, who did all sorts of crimes everywhere, led bandits around and killed more than 300 lives murderer.

Guo Xie always committed crimes when he was very young, but he was able to avoid punishment every time because of his Aunt Tinghou who made friends with countless powerful people.

In history, it was also after Xu Negative's death that Guo Xie changed his character and began to actively create a reputation for himself as "the prodigal son turned back", because there were no one who could keep him.

This is why Liu Chang was very rude to Xu Negative. Her grandson killed hundreds of people. As a protector, Xu Negative could not escape this crime!
Xu Negative is obviously a very smart person. After her grandson was arrested, she already understood that there was no way to save this grandson. In fact, she stopped being a physiognomist after the Wu Sui case, because At that time, His Majesty had already shown his dislike for alchemists and fortune tellers. The last emperor who hated alchemists so much was called Yingzheng. Compared with Yingzheng's treatment of opponents, the current emperor is just exiled, which is already very tolerant.

Xu Negative is a person who experienced the era of murdering alchemists and fortune-tellers. She knows what to do and what not to do.

However, when she was trying her best to keep a low profile, her disappointing grandson still dragged her off the horse.

She knew that it was useless to beg anyone at this time, so she could only lower her stance and pay respects to the emperor with this old and dying image. Usually at home, this person is silk brocade, covered with clothes. All kinds of gold and silver jewelry, holding a mahogany longevity staff, accompanied by hundreds of disciples, mighty and mighty, with countless family lands, and a vast mansion.

She just hoped that the emperor would take pity on her a little bit based on her age, and not involve herself in it. She is so old, the emperor who governs the country with filial piety should not be too rude to herself, right? ?

However, the emperor's first words shattered her fantasy.

This is not a gentleman.
Xu negative hurriedly begged for mercy, his face was extremely sad, and he even shed tears. The two young men behind her were also very strong, sobbing with their heads down, while Liu Chang stood in front of them tall and big, with his head raised, with a bad expression on his face , with a fierce look in his eyes, no matter how you look at this picture, it is a poor old man being bullied by a bullying tyrant.

"If it were my grandson, Your Majesty would not go to Longxi, let alone encounter such danger. This is all my fault. Please order me to be executed, Your Majesty. My crimes can only be washed away with death!! "

These fortune tellers, apart from psychology, their acting skills are also quite good.

The Langzhong on duty around him couldn't bear it now. Lu Lu frowned, walked up to Liu Chang's side, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this man is old and has a very wide network. He often helps the common people , the reputation among the people is very good, if she is forced to death like this, I am afraid it is inappropriate! It will hurt your majesty's reputation."

Liu Chang took it for granted, looked at Lu Lu approvingly, nodded, and said loudly:
"You're right! As expected of my servant, it's wrong to kill her just like that. How can I be worthy of so many people who were killed? It should be punished by the clan!"

"Just do as you say! Come on, kill their entire family!"

Xu Ling was paralyzed, and looked at the emperor weakly. He wanted to say something, but he didn't dare, because the big man has a more cruel punishment than the family punishment. In the end, she just looked at Lu Lu, her eyes were full of grief and indignation .

Lu Lu's mouth grew wide, and he was stunned for a long time.

Seeing the soldiers dragging them away like tigers and wolves, Lu Lu didn't react, but Liu Chang still scolded: "Then Guo Xie committed many crimes in Hanoi, and he killed people before he was fifteen years old. This old demon never questioned the crime until he wiped out a family. Fearing being implicated, he began to run away and commit crimes, digging people's graves, raping their wives and daughters, and killing passing merchants. Protecting her grandson, she should be punished more! She should be killed first, then beheaded, then split, and finally cut in half, and then dragged to Shang Fang to blow her up!"

The corner of Lu Lu's mouth trembled, and he grabbed Liu Chang's hand suddenly, his eyes were full of horror.

"No! Your Majesty!! No!!"

"What do you do, the officials will really die to persuade you!!"

Liu Chang took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart, "I know that I am the king of benevolence and righteousness, and I am not Jie Zhou, how can I be like this?"

"Speaking of which, it's all to blame for that old foolish king, who conferred a title on a liar, what do those soldiers who are fighting desperately think? It means that the old foolish king is gone, otherwise I have to"

Liu Chang complained for a long, long time, and finally looked at Lu Lu who had a troubled face, and asked proudly: "How did I respond just now? Execution by your mouth will not hurt my reputation!"

"That's right. Only one minister was injured. Your majesty is wise."

"Lu, this reputation is all false. Don't worry about it so much. I am doing harm to the people. The reason why the people respect her is because they don't know what her grandson has done. If they find out, they will come Thank you, not hate you!"

It's hard for Lu Lu to say anything, His Majesty has said so, so he can only admit it.

However, dealing with the Xu negative matter was not as easy as Liu Chang thought.

The ministers were running around because of this incident. They were unwilling to have this fortune teller executed like this. There were many reasons, such as what age, not being a direct grandson, and the crime is not lethal. In fact, it was because of this fortune teller. I have too many friends, and they seem to be very worried that the case of this female physiognomist will eventually become a case of martial arts, which will once again become an excuse for His Majesty, involving a large number of dignitaries, and the dignitaries are very concerned about this.

Apart from this reason, more people opposed it purely for the sake of opposition.

The mercantilism that Jia Yi is promoting has aroused the opposition of many ministers in the country. They seize every opportunity, and they also do not miss any opportunity to persuade the emperor. They believe that merchants will perish the big man sooner or later. Only by continuing to follow the road of emphasizing agriculture can they Let the big man last for a long time, and they will use everything in the near future to defeat their enemies. They dare not regard Liu Chang as their own enemy, but the ministers around Liu Chang are good examples.

At the court meeting the next day, the temple was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Feng Chang Lu Jia was the first to get up.

It's not that Lu Jia has anything to do with Xu Ling, he's just out of consideration of etiquette.

"Your Majesty, according to the Book of Rites; eighty or ninety is old age, seven years is mourning, mourning and old age, even if guilty, no punishment will be imposed!"

"Zhou Li said: The law of three thorns in the palm, three friends, and three amnesties is to commend the four people who listen to the prison lawsuit. The old man, the three pardons say that he is stupid, because he does not know the disability of human affairs!"

"With the tyranny of the Qin State, there was also a law that would not punish children under the age of ten, and would not punish the elderly over sixty years old. As long as they did not kill with their own hands, they can all be pardoned!"

"When the Empress Dowager was in power, she issued a two-year decree, which stipulated in the law: public servants, public servants' wives, and those who are over 70 years old, and if they are less than 17 years old, those who are guilty and should be punished will be punished!"

"At the beginning, when Emperor Gao was in power, he mentioned this matter many times. When King Qi Mourning Yi was still alive, an old man over sixty years old in Qi State hired murderers to kill people and should be executed. Later, the officials discussed and thought that his Ji Tai He was big, and he had never killed himself, so he was not punished by beheading, and his beard and hair were shaved off."

"Now you want to execute Xu Negative. Firstly, she complies with the requirement of being over 70 years old in the two-year law. Secondly, she didn't kill the man with her own hands. I think that her capital crime can be pardoned."

Lu Jia is not talking nonsense, but since Zhou, Huaxia has officially had the amnesty decree for three categories of people, including children, the elderly, and the disabled. This is the most advanced and humane legal form in the world. Traditions have been inherited from generation to generation. Even Qin, which is famous for its tyranny, has inherited and perfected this decree. Children cannot be punished, but the parents of children must suffer the same punishment. The elderly cannot be punished, but the elderly His child will suffer for him, and the disabled cannot be punished, but his caregiver will be punished.

The Han Dynasty also inherited it.

When Liu Chang heard Lu Jia's words, he hesitated instead. Speaking of which, this decree is not wrong. Zhang Shizhi always said that the law should not be venting anger, but benevolence, but he remembered the hundreds of lives. , but Liu Chang couldn't let go.

"Since it is the law drawn up by my mother, of course I must abide by it."

When Liu Chang said this, the officials were overjoyed.

Lu Jia was also full of confidence. He even moved out the queen mother, and the only one who could overwhelm the emperor was the queen mother.

Liu Chang then said again; "But, I am going to add another one to this law!"

"Zhang Shizhi!!"

Zhang Shizhi hurriedly got up, looked at the emperor, Liu Chang waved his hand, and said, "Add one more, and say that the crime is extremely bad, and there are also exceptions among the victims who are pardoned!!!"

Lu Jia was shocked, and was about to speak, but Liu Chang looked at him coldly, and asked, "Among the hundreds of people killed by Guo Jie, there were children, old people over seventy, and even disabled people. Or, just because they couldn’t hear his words, bumped into him, and were killed by him, what about those people?! Such a crime, but also to be pardoned?! I don’t agree!!”

"Your Majesty!! This is Guo Xie's evil, what does it have to do with his grandmother?! This is inhumane!"

"I'm a barbarian, I don't know benevolence! Future generations don't like me!"

Liu Chang waved his hand and ignored Lu Jia. Lu Jia's eyes widened, he hesitated to speak, and in the end he just closed his eyes in pain. There was nothing he could do.

But there are still some ministers who are not willing to give up. An official of Yushifu got up, and this person looked a little unconfident. Their family has a very close relationship with Xu negative on weekdays, and they send a lot of money every year to let her be their heir. Gaining fame by reading and commenting. In this era, fame is still very useful. When something happened to Xu Negative, they couldn't sit still.

The man looked at the emperor cautiously, and said, "Your Majesty, I think it's a bit too much to kill the family for being a thief. People in the world may mistakenly think that your majesty is angry with them because of the earthquake. To hurt His Majesty's prestige, it is better for His Majesty to punish the chief culprit and pardon the others, so as to reassure the hearts of the people in the world."

Liu Chang suddenly laughed, "Fame?"

"The earthquake is a natural disaster. I don't blame anyone, but Guo Xie was the only one to pay for the loss of hundreds of lives. It's a bit of a loss."

"The murderer was Guo Xie, and these people did not participate."

"I didn't participate, but when Guo Xie gave gifts to that old demon every year, the old demon was wearing blood-stained jewels. She could enjoy it at that time? When his clansman relied on his reputation to kill people everywhere." Did she ever participate in it? When her children and grandchildren relied on her connections to commit crimes, did they ever think about it? She begged and bribed several times to save her grandson, so she was innocent at that time?!"

Liu Chang was obviously extremely angry.

But the official didn't back down, but continued to say; "Rite is for forgiveness. Now that His Majesty personally avenges those victims, they must be able to forgive them. On the contrary, if you kill an old woman for them, I'm afraid it will make people suffer." Their souls are restless."

"Oh??"

Liu Chang was taken aback for a moment, then laughed again.

"You're right. Come, come, come here."

Lu Lu was shocked, but the official walked to Liu Chang's side with a smile, and Liu Chang put his arm around his shoulders regardless of the etiquette, and asked very seriously: "Now I am also a little hesitant, those victims Now that I’m gone, if I kill so many people for them, if they are uneasy, then wouldn’t I have committed a serious crime?”

"No, His Majesty avenges them, this is Daren, but only kill the chief culprit."

"However, I'm still very curious about what those victims will think, so how about it, you go for me."

"what??"

"You go to these victims instead of me, and you help me to ask them what they think, to see if they are willing to forgive these sinners, if they are willing, you can tell me, if they are not willing, then there is no need Come to bother me."

The official was stunned for a long time, and finally came to his senses, his whole body went limp, and he was so frightened that he slumped down in front of Liu Chang.

"Your Majesty!! The subject is guilty!! Your Majesty!! Forgive me!! Your Majesty!!!"

He looked even more frightened than Xu negative, kowtowing constantly.

However, with a wave of Liu Chang's hand, the soldiers rushed up and took him away. The man was still begging for mercy.

Liu Chang just smiled and said goodbye to him.

"Tell them for me, come to me if you have any dissatisfaction, and I will give them a head!"

(End of this chapter)