Chapter 1372 - 1299: Rewards and Recognition
Zhao Hanzhang of course didn’t just discuss achievements with Fu Tinghan but also consulted Ji Yuan and Ming Yu.
She asked Ji Yuan, "Sir, what do you think about conferring Marquis titles to Ming Yu, Zeng Yue, and others?"
She asked Ming Yu, "Sir, how many of the meritorious should be granted the title of Duke?"
She also asked Zhao Ming’s opinion, thus the list was revised repeatedly during the process. The court was not idle, as Zhao Hanzhang retained Tuoba Yilu, bestowed him a residence, and then sent Tuoba Liuxiu with an imperial edict back to Dai Country.
Beigong Chun had already received the three-thousand-household Ji Dan, and Wei Xiong was found by Huang An. Zhao Hanzhang wanted to meet these two individuals and then decide the candidate for the position of Chancellor of Dai Country.
Prior to this, Dai Country was temporarily under Tuoba Liuxiu’s authority as the governor.
The court was also preparing the conferments for the Empress Dowager and Fu Tinghan, while Zhao Hanzhang issued an edict to posthumously honor her grandfather Zhao Changyu as the Great Ancestor and her father Zhao Zhi as an Ancestor.
She posthumously honored her uncle Zhao Zhongyu as Prince Jing and elevated his grandson Zhao Yi to Duke Jingguo.
She conferred Fu Tinghan as King Zhao, Zhao Song as Ru Nan King, Zhao Yong as Prince Qin, Princess Hongnong as Princess Zhen Guo, Prince Consort Fu Xuan as Duke of Northern Land, and posthumously honored Fu Zhi as King Jingyuan.
These were easily determined, and once this batch was conferred, Zhao Hanzhang began extensively discussing achievements and rewards.
She granted Ji Yuan as Duke Song, because he hailed from Sui County in Liang State, Yu State, and during the Zhou Dynasty, Liang State was part of Song State, and also changed Liang State to Liang County;
Beigong Chun was conferred as Duke of England, naturally due to his courage and steadfastness, and was also elevated as Great General, in charge of military affairs in Northern Land.
Zhao Ming was elevated to Duke Cai and made Minister of Revenue, which was a joint recommendation of Ji Yuan and Ming Yu; he belongs to the royal family, so his rank should be higher.
Ming Yu was elevated to Duke Wei, Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat; Zu Ti became Duke Xiping, besides serving as Jizhou Governor, he also took on the role of Minister of War; Zhao Ju became Duke Xiping, serving as Governor of Yan State.
Zeng Yue was ennobled as Duke Yongyi, promoted to head of the Imperial Guards, and Yuan Li became Duke Zhongxin, elevated to chief of the Investigation Department; Chen Huiniang was conferred as Marquis Xuande, appointed as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Dean of the Imperial College; Fan Ying was conferred as Duke Xuanping, elevated to Assistant Minister of the Secretariat.
Qiu Wu as Duke Zhongyong, promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry; Ji Ping became Marquis Changxin, promoted to General Xuanwei and Left Camp Protector;
Zhao Cheng was conferred as Duke Xinyi, elevated to Minister of Rites and National Academy Sacrificial Officer; Shi Le was conferred as Marquis Xuanwu and General Mingwei...
In addition to them, Wang Dao was conferred as Duke Xuanwen, Wang Yifeng as Marquis Pingxi, and individuals like Liu Kun, Mi Ce, Chang Ning, Zhao Kuan, Sun Linghui, Li Tianhe, Xie Shi, Zhao Xin, and Hu Jin were all elevated to Marquis.
Once the Ministry of Rites officials finished reading out the conferred imperial edicts, Zhao Hanzhang stated: "With the founding of the nation, due to the significant contributions made by women, children, and commoners in its establishment, the nation must reward them. Though the Zhou Dynasty is ancient, after Eastern Zhou, the Zhou Royal Family waned, and after the Spring and Autumn, 500 years of turmoil ensued, Qin perished after two generations, Han was divided into West and East, lasting only 409 years. Both Zhou Dynasty and Han Dynasty fell due to the suffering of their people."
"Like Zhou and Han, not to mention previous dynasties, the people have endured hardships for many years, so for a dynasty to endure, it must cherish its people. Mencius said that the people are the most precious, the state comes next, and the king is the least. Therefore, a ruler must be elected by the people to be a true leader, inherently striving for the people’s welfare." Zhao Hanzhang said, "Thus, the current laws need to change, instructing Ji Yuan, Ming Yu, Zhao Ming, Zhao Cheng, He Xun, Zu Ti, Chen Huiniang, and Fan Ying to jointly manage the reform of laws and finalize the new legal codes for Hua Country."
The law is fundamental to a nation, and ever since the Qin Dynasty established it, China has consistently combined rule by man and rule by law, with rule by law playing a significant role.
After the Qin Dynasty was overthrown, the Han Dynasty inherited most of the Qin code, only amending some clauses, and subsequent generations revised and adapted the laws to serve the ruling class.
One could say, law is the most effective weapon for sustaining a society’s orderly progress. Zhao Hanzhang wishes for this country to adapt to her vision, thus the first change must be the legal codes.
Unfortunately, the Qin bamboo slips have been lost due to years of war and some unspeakable reasons, so finding a complete Qin code is currently impossible.
Yet, in the bamboo slips collected in the Imperial Palace, many old copies of the Qin code and legal templates from the early Han Dynasty can still be found.
When Liu Bang first became emperor, Lv Zhi was the inaugural empress, the whole country witnessed the shared governance between emperor and empress for the first time, hence everything progressed through exploration.
Lv Zhi directly participated in politics, proposing several female-biased legislations, but sadly, after her death, these laws were erased.
However, it doesn’t matter, Zhao Hanzhang has unearthed them again.
Wei Jin is not distant from Han Dynasty; some legal texts cannot be publicly disseminated, but the Imperial Palace archives contain them.
Besides Han slips, there are also Qin slips.
Zhao Hanzhang deliberately met with Liu Kun and Wang Yifeng, borrowing many bamboo slips from Han and Qin Dynasties from their families.
Additionally, with the various legal provisions she recalled, the legislative team began their work.
Of course, although important, this work is considered part-time; each person is responsible for specific types, writing legal texts individually before meeting to discuss every two days. Otherwise, everyone has their regular duties to perform.
Moreover, besides them, court officials and scholars nationwide with insights into the law can submit proposals to the Legislative Department or Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang ordered the construction of a large mailbox made of wood, with only a posting slot at the gates of the Luoyang Imperial City. It was sealed completely otherwise.
It was opened with a key every five days to examine the submitted letters.
This mailbox was solely for legislative matters. Initially, few people submitted letters, and sometimes after five days, opening the mailbox revealed it to be empty.
Today was another mailbox opening day. Zhao Hanzhang routinely strolled to the palace gate to clear her mind, seeing that the mailbox opener didn’t retrieve anything, she walked away disappointed.
Passing by the side hall of the legislative department, she heard intense discussions inside and walked in.
Ming Yu angrily declared, "Vice Minister Fan, although Your Majesty mentioned referencing Qin bamboo slips extensively, she didn’t say to copy them directly, what kind of cruel law of ’husband as a boar, it’s not a crime to kill him’ should persist? Are you aiming to make Hua Country like the brutal Qin?"
"What brutal Qin, I’m not only proposing this law, there’s another part too—’wife committing adultery, it’s not a crime to kill her’, husband’s and wife’s adultery punishable equally, what’s wrong with that?"
"Husband as a boar, it’s not a crime to kill him" means, if a man has an affair outside, his wife can kill him without penalty; similarly, if a wife has an affair outside, her husband can kill her without penalty.
Ming Yu’s face turned dark, stating, "This law does not suffice, a legal provision shouldn’t merely be gender-equal. Adultery isn’t worthy of death..."
"But previous dynasty laws stated that if a man killed his wife due to adultery, he wouldn’t be penalized, yet if a wife killed her husband regardless of reasons, it was a grave unforgivable crime, this isn’t fair."
Ming Yu: "We can amend this clause but not adopt the Qin code. Fan Ying, next time you want to propose a law change, just state your intent directly, don’t indirectly probe." He’s afraid he’ll be killed by anger.
Fan Ying boldly replied, "Subordinate indeed wants to implement this law, as it seems excellent."
Ming Yu: ...
Zu Ti lightly coughed and interjected, "How about changing it to exile for three to ten years, applicable equally to both genders?"
Fan Ying furrowed his brow, "How is the crime of adultery assessed then?"
Zu Ti proposed, "For adulterers, whether husband or wife, once discovered, imprison for three years, those involved in adultery for over a year, less than three years."