Chapter 1557: Lenient Punishments, Simplified Governance

Eastern Palace, Hongde Hall.

"Your Highness." Murong Defeng stepped lightly into the hall, stood at his familiar position, and bowed in salute.

Liu Yang sat behind the desk, intently reviewing memorials. He looked up, saw it was Murong Defeng, and raised a hand in a gesture: "Rixin, sit!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Murong Defeng did not sit down.

Noticing the official document in his hand, Liu Yang asked directly: "What urgent matter brings you here?"

Murong Defeng presented it and reported: "This is the first autumn execution list of this year. Please review it, Your Highness!"

Hearing this, Liu Yang immediately became serious. He flipped through it carefully while asking: "Have all the procedures of the Three Judicial Offices been completed? Did the Ministry of Justice or Dali raise any objections? Have you noticed any problems?"

Generally speaking, memorials that could reach the Eastern Palace or the Hall of State Affairs had already gone through the proper procedures according to court regulations. Liu Yang's reaction was merely instinctive caution.

After all, human lives were at stake. One could also put it another way: labor was at stake. Even to this day, the entire Great Han Empire still lacked population. There were too many places needing people to fill them, and too many arduous, bitter tasks requiring labor. And for the court, the cheapest and most serviceable source of labor was unquestionably criminals who had broken the law.

Therefore, over the past twenty-odd years, apart from the early days of the founding, when near-white-terror harsh laws had been enforced to purge public security, eliminate bandits, and restrain the populace—resulting in more executions—the number of death sentences in the Great Han had decreased year by year thereafter.

In the early-to-middle Qianyou period, the number of people sentenced to death for crimes each year could reach seven or eight hundred. Now, in a single year, it did not even reach one hundred.

Moreover, the great power of execution across all regions had been genuinely consolidated into the central government. All death-row criminals from every circuit and prefecture had to have their case files reported to the Ministry of Justice and Dali. After review, they were submitted to the Emperor, who would then give his vermilion approval, and the executions were centralized in the capital.

Thus, to this day, the autumn and winter executions each year could be called a splendid sight in the capital. Spectators often gathered like walls, for what is rarely seen is much wondered at.

One detail many people overlooked was that over all these years, the number of officials and functionaries executed by the court had already surpassed that of common citizens. This, it must be said, was a major hallmark of Emperor Liu's era.

Fewer executions was a fact, but this did not mean the Great Han's penalties had become lenient, because too many criminals who escaped the death penalty were sentenced to exile or hard labor.

The court had established dozens of convict labor camps throughout the realm, especially along the borders, ceaselessly carrying out various infrastructure projects for the Great Han. Those with tattooed faces and branded bodies, those punished and put to labor, numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Such was the current state of punishment in the Great Han.

There was no help for it. From Emperor Liu's principle of never granting a general amnesty, one could see the court's attitude toward convicts—there was not a trace of leniency. And Emperor Liu harbored a deep, almost pathological abhorrence for those who broke the law and committed crimes.

The reason people repeatedly submitted memorials asking Emperor Liu to show grace and release convicts to return home was by no means merely out of pedantic benevolence. It was indeed a matter of humanity. Too many people had seen that the Great Han was too harsh toward convicts—harsh to a degree that was shocking.

Without question, the most dangerous "profession" in the Great Han was that of the convict. Every year, reports of convict deaths came in from all regions—some from accidents, some from overwork, some by suicide, and some killed while attempting escape. Compiled at the central government, they formed numbers that were staggering to behold. Those guilty of heinous crimes were one thing, but among those hundreds of thousands of convicts, it was impossible to guarantee there were no innocents.

By now, even the "Ten Abominations" in the fixed conception of Great Han officials and commoners alike were no longer the standard for "no amnesty," because there was simply no such thing as "amnesty or no amnesty" at all. All punishments were merely determined according to the Great Han's Criminal Code.

After so many years of development, everyone—including the most lowly common folk—knew that convict labor camps were no place for human beings. They were places where people were used like livestock.

Entering a convict labor camp was not a question of whether you would lose a layer of skin, but whether you could keep your life. Of course, over all these years, there were always the fortunate ones who managed to endure until their sentences expired and were released.

But these were always the minority. Basically, those sentenced to labor of three years or more found it very difficult to survive the heavy, dangerous term of punishment.

And from this minority, the conditions in the convict labor camps spread by word of mouth. This had nearly formed a subconscious in people's minds: the convict labor camp was a demon's den, a purgatory.

In the past, it had happened more than once that even the most ferocious and brutal men, upon being sentenced to labor, would wet themselves in terror, and some even chose suicide directly. For some people, decapitation was preferable. Especially those convicts whose crimes were so grave that they would never be released.

After so many years of evolution and refinement, the Great Han's penal system could basically be broadly divided into four categories. The death penalty needed no elaboration—those who approached the Ten Abominations were directly sentenced to death. The second was exile, mainly targeting corrupt officials and those who committed lesser offenses. The third was the labor punishment of the Great Han's new era, which was also the source of convicts. As for the punishments of flogging and caning, they were probably the penalties that all lawbreakers prayed for...

Not beheading, not amputating feet, but replacing them with hard labor—this was not the court's invention; it was learned from the tyrannical Qin. And the court clearly profited considerably from it, for cheap labor without any restrictions was truly hard to come by. Some officials even held the extreme notion of reducing all the realm's commoners to convicts. If that were the case...

Of course, entering labor punishment did not necessarily mean a death sentence. After all, labor punishment came in many varieties. The most cruel were, naturally, those sentenced to quarrying mountains, mining, building roads, and constructing bridges. There were also relatively lighter ones, such as being assigned to border garrison farming, or being made government slaves assigned to official fields to farm, and so on.

But it was always only relative. Once you entered labor punishment, you could forget about "light." Merely surviving to the end of your term without being worked to death was already a stroke of luck. However, the world never lacked those who clung to life, and not everyone was fearless in the face of death. No matter how bitter labor punishment was, as long as there was a chance to live, most people were willing to endure in degradation. Otherwise, the Great Han's convict labor camps would have long since ceased to operate.

This was the true portrait of the Great Han's "lenient punishments and simplified governance" as described by many officials who talked nonsense with their eyes wide open. After all, the number of people (commoners) killed was indeed very small—truly the fewest in any dynasty. But in this world full of suffering, there were truly too many things more cruel and more painful than death, than decapitation...

However, this penal system was not without its benefits. At the very least, the crime rate among the Great Han's populace was growing lower and lower, and it was not as if committing some trivial, trifling offense would get you convicted and sentenced.

Moreover, among those over one hundred thousand convicts, not all were criminals who had broken the law. There were also many soldiers, officials, and tribal peoples who had refused to submit during the Great Han's unification.

For example, the Uyghurs. During the recovery of Hexi, besides those who had been slaughtered by Wang Yansheng and Guo Jin until blood flowed like rivers, in the subsequent pacification and security operations, large numbers of Ganzhou Uyghurs were reduced to convicts.

The same situation applied to the barbarian tribes of Yunqian, the savage tribes of Lingnan, and large numbers of Annam natives...

At this moment in Hongde Hall, facing Liu Yang's confirming question, Murong Defeng replied: "I have examined it carefully. There should be no problems. The facts are all present, the evidence is sufficient, and the death sentences are according to law. It is only that this time the number is somewhat larger than usual!"

"Indeed! Just this first batch alone has over thirty people?" Liu Yang had clearly grasped the key point: "Who are they?"

Murong Defeng said: "Besides a few guilty of the Ten Abominations, a portion are corrupt officials from the famine relief efforts in Jiangnan, and bandits who harmed the people.

Additionally, there is the case of Fan Yichao of Shanzhou, who twenty years ago killed twelve members of his fellow villager Chang Guzhen's family over a private grudge. Chang Guzhen, being young, escaped. Last year, this man grew up, broke into Fan Yichao's residence, seized him, and delivered him to Chang'an. The case was accepted by Wang You, the Administration Commissioner of Guannei.

Governor Wang investigated it. Not only did he sentence Fan Yichao to death, but he also uncovered some officials who had originally accepted bribes to shield Fan Yichao. After trial and judgment, they were all sentenced to death together, thus implicating a number of people."

"Another old case from years past!" Hearing this, Liu Yang could not help but sigh, while a look of hatred appeared on his face: "To wipe out an entire family and still enjoy twenty years of peace—one can imagine the injustice involved. If not for this Chang Guzhen seizing the culprit and delivering him to the authorities, who knows when this grievance would ever have been avenged! Hateful, truly hateful!"

"I will review it once more, then send it to Chongzheng Hall!" Liu Yang looked up and said to Murong Defeng.

"Yes!"

Facts proved that Emperor Liu had not completely delegated his power. For instance, the final authority over death sentences still remained in Emperor Liu's hands. Without his vermilion approval, no death sentence could be carried out. Even the Crown Prince Liu Yang only had the power to review.

"That Chang Guzhen is quite remarkable. Having suffered the massacre of his family, he did not take justice into his own hands out of private vengeance, but delivered the culprit to the authorities to clear his grievance!" Liu Yang thought of another point and said: "Judging from how he broke into the residence and seized the criminal, he seems to possess considerable strength and courage. With his abilities, it would not have been impossible for him to take revenge by killing Fan Yichao's entire family!"

"Your Highness is wise. Indeed so!" Murong Defeng was briefly startled, then quickly recovered and made an approving expression: "Seen this way, this Chang Guzhen is truly exceptional!"

"His circumstances are pitiable, and his conduct is commendable. As such, this Chang Guzhen can be recommended for military service, to give him a future!" Liu Yang thought for a moment and said.