Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 462 Family Hero Xiao Bodhisattva
Needless to say, after his rage, Xiao Yan wanted to forgive his brother and daughter.

After all, they are his family members, Xia Xiao Yan. Although they are trying to murder him, they are his family members after all. What else can he do?

Zhu Yi came to Xiao Yan. The Bodhisattva Emperor looked a little haggard because of his daughter's matter. Zhu Yi immediately stepped forward and said:

"I ask Your Majesty to change the era name!"

Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, but soon understood what Zhu Yi meant.

A change of reign title naturally requires a general amnesty. Princess Yongxing's crime can be pardoned through this change of reign title.

As for Xiao Hong, Xiao Yan had no intention of pursuing the matter. After all, he had interrogated the people around Princess Yongxing, and found out that the assassination attempt was made on the initiative of his daughter, Princess Yongxing, and his good brother Xiao Hong did not participate. So there was no need to hold Xiao Hong accountable for treason.

As for the fact that he still has disloyal intentions and resentment towards the court?
Who doesn't want to be an emperor? Who doesn't have some complaints about the court?

In Xiao Yan's opinion, this kind of thing was no big deal.

But Princess Yongxing definitely could not stay in Jiankang City. No matter how magnanimous Xiao Yan was, he did not want to see his daughter again.

Zhu Yi said:

"Wang Sengbian, who guards Baidi City, has received a letter saying that the Liao people want to marry a royal daughter. It would be better to marry Princess Yongxing to them as a marriage alliance."

Now Xiao Yan felt a little reluctant. There was no need to marry his daughter to a Liao person to punish her, right?
Moreover, Princess Yongxing had a bad temper and was vicious. Would she really marry the Liao people?

But Zhu Yi said:
"Your Majesty, you should not be too lenient with this matter. Your Majesty has more than just Princess Yongxing as your daughter!"

Xiao Yan broke out in a cold sweat. Yes, he not only had a daughter, but also so many grown-up sons.

If assassinating the emperor is not punished, one can't imagine what those naughty boys can do.

Xiao Yan finally hardened his heart and decided to punish his daughter no matter what. He said to Zhu Yi:

"Then let Princess Yongxing go to marry."

But Xiao Yan was reluctant to do so, so he told Zhu Yi again:

"Princess Yongxing's dowry should exceed that of any princess married to a foreign country in history. We cannot let the princess suffer any injustice from the Liao people!"

Zhu Yi quickly took the order and assured Xiao Yan, "Your Majesty, rest assured that Princess Yongxing's dowry will be generous and will not bring shame to the royal family."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan was very pleased. He then said to Bian Ji:

"I pity the love of parents in the world. I wonder if Yuyao can understand my sincere thoughts."

Bian Ji knew too well what the Bodhisattva Emperor was thinking. There was only one thing he cared about, and that was his own practice.

He does not kill, not because he is truly compassionate, but because he believes that killing will damage his merits.

Bian Ji immediately followed Xiao Yan and said:

"As long as your majesty has good intentions and does good deeds, good results will naturally come to you, regardless of whether Princess Yongxing can understand your majesty's painstaking efforts or not."

After hearing what Bian Ji said, Xiao Yan felt much better.

After spending these days together, he has come to regard Bian Ji as his merit calculator.

He quickly asked:
"Master, may I ask how much merit can I gain by forgiving Yu Yao?"

Bian Ji counted with his fingers and said:
"Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Your Majesty has forgiven Princess Yongxing and did not implicate Prince Linchuan. These are two lives, which should be counted as the merit of a fourteen-story pagoda."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan's mood improved again.

Zhu Yi flattered him again and said:

"Your Majesty, by marrying Princess Yongxing and letting the Liao army charge, our Daliang army can save tens of thousands of casualties. I don't know how to calculate this merit!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan felt even happier, as if his daughter's attempt to assassinate him had turned out to be a good thing!
Xiao Yan added: "Let the secretaries come up with a new year name. Besides, after experiencing this incident, I have a new understanding of Buddhism. After the new year, I plan to hold another Four-Part Unobstructed Conference and give a lecture at Tongtai Temple!"

Hearing this, Bian Ji's heart trembled.

He instinctively looked at Zhu Yi beside him. The last time Xiao Yan gave a lecture at Tongtai Temple, he almost spent all the money in the imperial treasury.

I thought Xiao Yan would have to wait a few years before preaching again, but I didn't expect that he would go again after a year. How could the finances of the Southern Liang court afford it?

Bian Ji looked at Zhu Yi beside him. He was in charge of the Southern Liang Dynasty and was Xiao Yan's personal purse. Zhu Yi seemed to have magical powers and was always able to satisfy Xiao Yan's various willful demands.

Zhu Yi had clearly been complaining a few days ago that the national treasury was extremely empty, but when faced with Xiao Yan's request to hold the Four Ministries Unobstructed Conference again, Zhu Yi accepted it expressionlessly and did not even complain a bit.

I just don’t know what kind of “magic” Zhu Yi will use to raise the money to hold this ritual.
-
When the Southern Liang Dynasty was discussing changing the era name, Yuan Hao, who was entrenched in Xingyang, was also preparing to change the era name. After Yuan Hao proclaimed himself emperor, he established the name Xiaoji. After conquering Luoyang, he changed the era name to Jianwu. Now that he had retreated from Luoyang to Xingyang, he wondered if the era name "Jianwu" was unlucky.

The decision to use the reign title Jianwu was because Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, had once used this reign title.

However, after Yuan Hao retreated from Luoyang, he listened to the advice of the alchemist, who said that the reign title Jianwu was also used by Emperor Hui of Jin. Yuan Hao naturally knew the fate of Emperor Hui of Jin, so he suddenly felt that this reign title was unlucky.

After the New Year, Yuan Hao decided to change the reign title. He also sent someone to ask Chen Qingzhi in Hulao Pass for his opinion.

Chen Qingzhi was such a well-mannered man, but he couldn't help but burst into cursing after receiving Yuan Hao's imperial edict. "Don't you, Yuan Hao, know the reason for last year's defeat?"

Now all the blame was put on the reign title, as if everything would be fine as long as the reign title was changed. Chen Qingzhi felt that Emperor Yuan Hao was extremely stupid.

Things like changing the reign title always need to be planned. Now Yuan Hao only controls a few counties in Henan. Where would he get the extra money and food to plan the ceremony of changing the reign title?

Chen Qingzhi could only write a letter to persuade Yuan Hao to stay in Xingyang and not to make trouble, but to manage the territories in Henan well. As long as they waited until Erzhu Rong and Su Ze started fighting, they might still have a chance.

Unfortunately, Chen Qingzhi's memorial was of no use. Yuan Hao was determined to change the reign title. Finally, after discussion among his ministers, it was decided to change the reign title to Jing Kang.

Yuan Hao also issued a general amnesty at the beginning of the year.
-
In Yongle City, the first thing discussed in the Government Affairs Hall at the beginning of the year was the "No Pardon Order" submitted by the councilor Feng Shu.

The laws of the Northern Wei Dynasty evolved from a barren tribal stage. Before the Empress Dowager Wenzhao and Emperor Xiaowen, there were basically no legal provisions. The trial and judgment of cases basically depended on the mood of the chief official. There were even many local officials who used military law against civilians.

There is no way, the Northern and Southern Dynasties was such an era.

But after the reforms of Empress Dowager Wenming and Emperor Xiaowen, the laws and regulations of the Northern Wei Dynasty became extremely complicated. Not to mention the officials who were of military origin, even those who came from Confucian backgrounds could not understand them.

After Feng Shu entered Guanzhong, his biggest task was to simplify the legal provisions and compile a practical manual for solving cases for local officials. At least, he would provide a unified legal standard for the areas controlled by Su Ze and provide a basis for local officials to solve cases.

This work has now been promoted almost to the point of being widely used. The results of local case-solving are also one of the important criteria for evaluating officials. Local officials will also study and compile the "Compilation of Criminal Laws". The "Compilation of Criminal Laws" printed by the printing house of the county government has reduced many unjust, false and wrong cases.

This is a milestone in the development of Guanzhong's legal system, and the bigwigs in the Government Affairs Hall are also very satisfied with Feng Shu's achievements.

Before the New Year, Feng Shu had someone deliver a petition to Su Ze in Zhongshan City. Su Ze personally approved it and returned it to the Government Affairs Hall. It became the first major event discussed in the Government Affairs Hall after the New Year.

Feng Shu said:

"Since the chaotic times at the end of the Han Dynasty, the country has been in turmoil, and changing the era name is a common occurrence. There was even an emperor like Emperor Hui of Jin who changed the era name ten times during his seventeen years in office."

Everyone nodded. This was how it was in troubled times. The emperor might change the reign title because he thought it was unlucky, or because of some major political event.

Feng Shu said:

"Every time a new era is established, there will be a general amnesty. When I was in Luoyang City, there were many Luoyang ruffians wandering around. They took the opportunity to cause chaos during the turmoil, and when the new era is established, they were released back on the streets. Su Gong once served as an official of Henan Yin, you should be aware of this."

Su Chao nodded. When Li Daoyuan was the governor of Henan, he had served as Li Daoyuan's assistant. Things like what Feng Shu described did happen from time to time.

These bad people brought disaster to Luoyang, but the government's law enforcement capabilities were limited and there were frequent unrest, so they were allowed to cause harm.

Feng Shu said:

"So I wrote to the Duke of the County and set out ten unpardonable crimes."

"Here are ten serious crimes: one is treason, two is high treason, three is rebellion, four is surrender, five is evil rebellion, six is ​​immorality, seven is disrespect, eight is unfilial, nine is unrighteousness, and ten is civil strife."

Everyone nodded. The crimes listed by Feng Shu were indeed serious crimes that the world hated, and these crimes should not be pardoned.

The Government Affairs Hall quickly reached a consensus and sent the law of "Ten Unforgivable Crimes" to all regions. In the future, these serious crimes would not be pardoned for reasons such as "changing the era name".

After discussing the legal matters, Su Liang talked about the logistics issues of the war on both sides.

"The Duke of the County is doing fine. Last year, he was so powerful on the grassland that the tribes provided him with a large number of livestock. Dingzhou and Youzhou also had some foundation and were almost self-sufficient."

"But Yizhou is more troublesome. Liangzhou's two-year grain reserves are still not enough, and now they have begun to allocate grain from Longxi County."

"The main reason is that the Shu Road is difficult. The loss of transporting grain across the Shu Road by manpower is still too great."

Su Liang looked at Su Chao and said:

"General Hou sent another letter, and he wants another 300,000 hu of military rations."

Upon hearing this number, Su Suan, who was in charge of finance and had just entered the Political Affairs Hall, immediately jumped out to object:

"Last year, Longxi County collected only 300,000 hu of grain! General Hou is so arrogant, asking for so much right away? Why doesn't he just go and rob?"

Everyone was amused by Su Suan's miserly appearance, but the food problem in Yizhou had indeed become a big problem facing everyone.

(End of this chapter)