Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4757 The law does not punish the public
[Happy May Day, fellow book lovers]

"Farms of various families?" Ma Zhou said calmly, "Jingzhao Prefecture did confiscate a lot of farmland today, but these farmlands were taken from the account books of various temples and Taoist temples. The temples and Taoist temples can't explain the origins of these farmlands, and there is no clear evidence in the contract documents of Wannian County to prove who owns these farmlands. How can you bring this case to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office without any evidence?"

The sons of royal families and nobles looked at each other in bewilderment.

There is definitely no evidence. These are all fields that cannot be seen in public. How can there be any evidence? However, these fields do belong to different families. They are usually placed in temples, Taoist temples, or county offices. Who would dare to "take possession of" the fields of these families?

But if you really want to force them to produce evidence, they really can't do it.

They dare not take it even if they can, otherwise it will be like the lands annexed by the aristocratic families in Guandong, Shandong, Jiangnan and other places. They either have to hand it over to the national treasury or "redeem" it with huge amounts of money. But if that's the case, what's the point of them coming here to make trouble today?
"Prefect Ma is wrong. These fields were not purchased by us, but inherited by our ancestors. Back then, our ancestors followed Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong in their conquests. Some of the fields were given to us as rewards, while others were seized. Although there are no detailed contracts due to the war, there are naturally countless people who can come forward to testify if necessary. Jingzhao Prefecture can't even deny this, right?"

As the temporary leader, Li Jingshu naturally had to stand up and act as the "chief debater" at this time, but the reason was a bit far-fetched and not rigorous enough.

The Tang Dynasty was established for only thirty years. Although there were constant turmoil and war in its early years, the detailed records of the lands granted to various parts of Guanzhong when the "equal-field system" was first implemented were clearly traceable. As long as the Jingzhao Prefecture carefully checked, it would be clear who had granted these lands. Since the "equal-field system" had been implemented, these lands belonged to the farmers to whom they were granted. How could there be any talk of "reward" or "seizure"?
However, Li Jingshu was just looking for a reason. Whether this reason was accurate or legitimate was not important. The key point was the "ancestors of each family". There were dozens of royal families and nobles gathered in the Jingzhao government office. Once the dissatisfaction of these families was aroused, it would be tantamount to shaking the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. Can you, Ma Zhou, take on such a responsibility?

"That's right. If it weren't for our fathers, grandfathers and brothers who fought bloody battles on the battlefield, how could you, Ma Zhou, a humble family, have the qualifications to be in the government?"

"The things that the elders of the family exchanged their lives for were taken away by a thief like you with just one sentence. Is there still law?"

Everyone echoed and cheered.

Ma Zhou was unmoved: "Land is the foundation of a country. It is absolutely not allowed to be occupied or annexed by any despicable means. Otherwise, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. If this continues, the country will no longer be a country. As long as you can explain the origin of the land under your name, Jingzhao Prefecture can immediately provide legal and compliant procedures. Otherwise, if you cannot, the property that is of unknown origin and has been occupied or annexed must be confiscated and fined. This is the law of the country. Who dares to violate it?"

If we were to say who in the world is least afraid of "national laws", they would naturally be the royal family and nobles before us. If a civil official breaks the law, he would be immediately dismissed from office, demoted, or even his entire family would be exiled, but most of the time, when royal family and nobles break the law, they are only fined or reprimanded, and the worst punishment is demotion.

After all, compared to civil servants, these royal family members and nobles are the most "patriotic" people because of their interests at stake.

As long as it is not a serious crime among the "Ten Evils", these people do not take the law of the country seriously at all...

"Ridiculous! Without the bloody battles of our fathers, grandfathers and brothers, how could we have a country? Without a country, how could we have national laws? Now you are using national laws to exploit and squeeze our meritorious families. This is simply outrageous to both humans and gods, and everyone has the right to kill them!"

"What the hell is the law! I only obey the imperial edict. If there is an imperial edict to confiscate our land, we have nothing to say. If the king orders the subject to die, the subject must die. But if there is no imperial edict, no one can touch my land!"

"Everyone, what's the point of saying more? This guy is just a corrupt official. He used our property to pave the way for him to curry favor with the emperor and get promoted. He is so shameless! Let's take him to Chengtian Gate and knock on the gate, and let His Majesty make the decision for us!"

Such a sentence suddenly came out from the crowd, and immediately aroused everyone's emotions. Everyone felt that this statement made sense. As royal family members and nobles, only the emperor could decide their life and death, honor and disgrace. How could the Jingzhao Prefecture have such power?

"That's right. Only His Majesty can punish us. Jingzhao Prefecture is nothing. Ma Zhou is nothing. Follow me and take down this cruel official!"

They were a group of young men who were usually lawless and fond of fighting. They were originally a little afraid of a government office like Jingzhao Prefecture, but now they rushed into the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture and blocked Jingzhao Yin at the entrance of the lobby but were unable to do anything to them, so their courage swelled instantly.

If he could capture Jingzhao Yin on the spot, he would be able to brag about it for the rest of his life, right?
A group of royal family and noble children blushed with excitement, and rushed towards Ma Zhou who was standing at the main hall door, shouting loudly.

The officials standing in front of Ma Zhou saw that things were not going well, so they pushed Ma Zhou into the main hall and blocked the door tightly to resist the attack, shouting: "Are you capable of attacking Jingzhao Prefecture and humiliating a second-rank official?"

"Retreat immediately, or you will bear the consequences!"

However, how could these officials be a match for the young and strong sons of the royal family? They were beaten to a mess and looked very embarrassed. But in order to protect Ma Zhou, they could only block the door tightly and dare not move away.

The scene was chaotic.

Someone suddenly shouted, "The contracts we left at the county government office have all been moved to Jingzhao Prefecture. If we burn them, who will know where our fields are and how many fields we have? Come with me, let's search room by room and find those contracts and burn them!"

A group of people woke up from their dreams. Instead of confronting Jingzhao Prefecture head-on, why not solve the problem at its root? As long as the documents and contracts were burned, the land would naturally cease to exist in name, but the temples and Taoist temples that accepted their donations would definitely not have the courage to deny their debts and embezzle their land.

If we go back and sign a new document with the temple or Taoist temple, won’t those fields be returned to us?
"Brother, you are wise. Come with me and let's search this room!"

"I'll search this one!"

"Here, here, break the door open!"

More than a hundred people dispersed in an instant, rushing to various duty rooms, government offices, and official residences, knocking on doors and breaking windows to rush in. Some officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture who tried to stop them were kicked to the ground, and the entire Jingzhao Prefecture government office was in chaos.

Li Jingshu had been confused since someone suggested rushing into the main hall to capture Ma Zhou. The reason why he dared to act as a "leader" and lead everyone to rush into Jingzhao Prefecture was because Ma Zhou had indeed gone too far. Even in front of His Majesty, he would protect the royal family and nobles. But if the second-rank Jingzhao Yin was captured, the matter would be completely different. Even for the sake of the court's face, His Majesty would certainly punish them severely.

As a result, after a short while, someone actually suggested finding those documents and contracts and burning them...

Li Jingshu's hair stood on end, and she felt numbness in her hands and feet, blacking in front of her eyes, and difficulty breathing.

Finished!

His eyes were wide open, and he looked around to find the person who had given him advice, but there was chaos everywhere with people shouting and horses neighing, so how could he find anyone?
In a hurry, he shouted loudly: "Stop, stop! This is Jingzhao Prefecture. Do you want to die if you dare to set fire?"

Before he could finish his words, someone suddenly pushed him from behind and threw him to the ground. He heard a loud shout in his ear: "Don't be afraid, there is a saying that goes 'the law does not punish the masses'. Your Majesty, can you really kill all of us? As long as we survive and can keep those fields, it will be worth it!"

Some people who had been standing by to watch and were hesitant were relieved after hearing this. All those present were direct descendants of royal family and noble families. Although there were not many direct descendants, they were all core figures of each family. Since everyone had committed a crime together, His Majesty would always have some concerns and could only give lenient punishments.

The law does not blame the public!
Join the search for documents and contracts now...

"found it!"

"it's here!"

"Can you confirm?"

"Yes, that's it. There are so many!"

"Fire stick, who brought the fire stick?"

"What do you need a lighter when there are candles everywhere, you idiot?"

"Get out of the way, I'll light the fire!"

Soon, flames rose from a house on the west side of the main hall. Soon, thick smoke rolled out from the doors and windows. A group of playboys cheered and clapped their hands in high spirits as if they had won a battle on the battlefield. They were so excited that they could not express it in words.

This is much more fun than bullying men and women!
Suddenly, a dull and orderly sound came from the street, and the blue brick ground underfoot also shook slightly.

Someone at the door shouted, "Oh no! The Right Golden Guard is here!"

Li Jingshu finally recovered from his confused and shocked state and shouted, "Everyone stay here, advance and retreat together, don't give others the opportunity to defeat us one by one!"

The reason why they dared to cause trouble in Jingzhao Prefecture was because they relied on the principle of "the law does not hold everyone responsible". Although there are doubts as to whether the arson in Jingzhao Prefecture can be counted as "no responsibility", as long as everyone works together, the Right Jinwu Guards will not dare to do anything to them.

You can't just shoot him with arrows, right?
As long as we can keep the situation stable, we will still be qualified to negotiate.

But once they scatter and are defeated one by one, they will inevitably blame each other and the alliance will collapse.

However, before he could finish his words, he was pushed again. He stumbled and fell to the ground, and heard someone shouting, "Don't listen to him, he wants to kill us all! Arson in Jingzhao Prefecture is a serious crime. If you are caught, you will definitely die. If so many of us run away in separate places, someone will definitely be able to escape. Let's leave life and death to fate. Run!"

More than a hundred people were like frightened birds. They scattered in panic after hearing the sound, avoiding the main gate and fleeing frantically in all directions.

In the chaos, Li Jingshu was like a headless fly, not knowing what was going on and not paying attention to his feet. He fell to the ground, covering his face and curling up, being trampled by countless feet. Suddenly, a foot stepped on his ribs so hard that he could even hear the sound of broken ribs. Then an indescribable pain came from his heart. He screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

However, in the chaos, a group of young playboys fled for their lives and no one cared about each other. Some of them climbed up the west wall in the hope of escaping with the help of the Yong'an Canal outside the wall. However, as soon as they climbed onto the top of the wall, they saw a long dragon of torches on the embankment of the Yong'an Canal outside the wall, illuminating the area as bright as day, leaving them with no way to escape.

(End of this chapter)