Diqin Designer

Chapter 155: General Amnesty, Prisoners in Handan

While the ceremony of enthroning the emperor was taking place in the Xianyang Palace, various changes were taking place in various parts of the country due to the decrees that had been issued previously.

In the largest prison in Handan, Zhao, it was just dawn, but many prisoners had already woken up and could not sleep.

Today is the first day of December. According to what the jailers said some time ago, today is the day when the King of Qin will proclaim himself emperor. He will grant a general amnesty today and re-evaluate their crimes according to the revised Qin law. According to the newly revised Qin law, they will be pardoned as innocent.

In order to let them understand the newly revised Qin Law, the prison guards would come and explain it to them every day, telling them the differences between the current Qin Law and the past Qin Law.

Although they didn't know why the jailers explained it so clearly to them and would have just released them, they still listened obediently in order to be pardoned.

This was incredible to hear. The new Qin Law not only abolished many cruel punishments, but also reduced excessive punishments. Some crimes that should have been punished in the original Qin Law were no longer crimes and did not need to be punished.

What was the original Qin law like?

Even if you stay at home and farm honestly, you will still be charged with various crimes and face various punishments, ranging from fines to forced labor and torture.

Because the purpose of formulating the Qin Law was to intimidate and frighten the people, make them fearful, and make them commit crimes, so that they could be fined, perform labor service, and become slaves to the government.

It can be said that under the original Qin law, it was difficult not to commit a crime. Crime was the norm, and not committing a crime was a problem. Do you really think that the Qin people liked to go to the battlefield with military merit?

Many Qin soldiers were forced to do so. They violated Qin laws and could not afford the high fines, so they had no choice but to go to the battlefield and fight to get their sentences reduced.

The Qin Law and the system of military merit and titles were complementary, and everything was for the purpose of serving the Qin military conquests. Therefore, after the Qin conquered the six kingdoms and unified the world, the system of military merit and titles became ineffective, and the Qin Law was naturally quickly hated by people all over the world, including the Qin people.

After the six kingdoms were destroyed, they could no longer reduce their punishments through military merit after violating Qin laws. They had to either pay heavy fines, be tortured, or perform long periods of corvee labor.

But I can't afford the fines, I don't want to endure the torture, and the corvée labor is too long and too hard, so how can I not feel resentful?

But now in the revised Qin Law, many of the things that prisoners once committed are no longer crimes, so naturally there is no need for punishment. I just don’t know whether what those jailers said is true or false?

With the sound of "dang", many prisoners immediately perked up and looked in one direction, which was the only exit of the prison. Whenever the sound of "dang" was heard, the jailers would come down.

There was a clang of the prison door opening, and light came in from outside. Three jailers, escorted by more than twenty guards, came into the prison.

Glancing at the prisoners who were nervous and anxious, one of the jailers took out a bamboo scroll and read aloud: "The emperor has ordered that those who have committed the following crimes can be pardoned today:"

The jailer read out the laws and crimes that they had heard so many times in the past few days. After that, he got to the point and began to read out the prisoners who were going to be pardoned.

"After checking, the following people can be pardoned in this prison: Wang from Qinghe Township, was imprisoned on October 7th because he failed to report the theft of his neighbor..."

The jailer recited the names of the prisoners one by one. When the prisoners heard their names, they all showed happy expressions. They would be pardoned!
After reading it, the jailer closed the bamboo slips and said to the prisoners with a smile: "You are all pardoned because of the grace of the emperor. I hope you will behave well after you are released and don't want to see you again here. Your family members are waiting outside, so go ahead!" After hearing the jailer's words, the Zhao prisoners all had complicated expressions, and their impressions of the King of Qin became even more complicated...

Qin and the Zhao people had a great feud. In the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi killed 400,000 Zhao soldiers. Although it has been nearly 40 years since then, everyone has heard from their ancestors about the cruelty of that battle. Almost every family was in mourning as their relatives had sacrificed their lives.

Seven years ago, Qin completely destroyed their country, and they were forced to perform labor service under the harsh Qin laws.

At that time, they wished that the King of Qin had been beaten to death in Handan in his early years, but today it was the King of Qin who pardoned them and released them from prison.

The jailer opened the cells holding the prisoners who were to be released, and the prisoners walked out in silence, not knowing whether to hate or thank the King of Qin.

They should hate it, after all, it was the Qin general Bai Qi who killed their elders, it was Qin that conquered their country, and it was Qin laws that put them in jail.

After putting their fingerprints on the bamboo slips, each prisoner received a pardon slip. When they walked out of the prison, many prisoners saw their families waiting outside. These men from Zhao could not help but burst into tears on the spot.

At this time, an old woman with white hair and beard knelt down and kowtowed towards the southwest, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

"old woman!"

A prisoner from Zhao who had just been released quickly supported the old woman and asked, "Why should I thank the King of Qin?"
It was he who made them like this!
But before the Zhao prisoner could help his mother up, another Zhao prisoner knelt down and kowtowed towards the southwest to thank the King of Qin for his grace. Like dominoes, more Zhao prisoners kowtowed.

Seeing this scene, even if the people of Zhao were unwilling to kowtow, under the leadership of their families, they had no choice but to kneel down and kowtow.

The jailer who was leading the prisoners out of the prison saw this and reminded them: "The king is calling himself the emperor today, and you should call him 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Majesty'!"

The people of Zhao outside the prison changed their address, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Although Qin and Zhao had a deep hatred, some people of Zhao were still grateful that the King of Qin was willing to pardon their relatives.

As the Zhao prisoners and their families were rushing home, they explained to their families why they were pardoned, and naturally they mentioned the changes in Qin law. Some smart Zhao prisoners realized that this was the reason why the jailers told them every day about the differences between the current Qin law and the past Qin law.

I have to say that this method was quite clever. It not only demonstrated the benevolence of the King of Qin by pardoning them and made them remember the good things about him, but also allowed them to spread the revised Qin Law. By using their own deeds as examples, other people would remember it more deeply: it turns out that the Qin Law has been changed in these places, and it will no longer be considered a crime in the future!
Handan, as the former capital of the State of Zhao, is more prosperous than ordinary cities. But even so, something is not right. It is still early and there shouldn't be so many people in the city. Moreover, these people seem to be heading towards one place, as if something there is attracting them.

Could it be related to the King of Qin declaring himself emperor today?

Some of the Zhao prisoners who were imprisoned too early and were pardoned today did not know what happened.

Seeing that he was puzzled, the relative who took him out of prison whispered: "The King of Qin proclaimed himself the emperor today, saying that he would celebrate with us and give us gifts. Now he is showing us those 'gifts'!"

(End of this chapter)