Chapter 327: Cutting Hair in Place of the Head

At this moment.

Yangxin Hall, Jinghua Imperial Palace.

Xie Tianyao laughed heartily, laughing until he was doubled over, and in the end, he could not help but shed tears.

"A fine Prefect Liu, a fine 'I won't play your game'! I like him!"

"Your Majesty, this Prefect Liu, he truly is... if this, if this continues to develop, how will it end?"

With Grand Eunuch Zhou away, the one responsible for serving Xie Tianyao by his side was naturally the Deputy Grand Eunuch, Eunuch Huang.

Hearing that this Prefect Liu had actually ignored the majesty of the imperial family and rebuked the Third Prince to his face, Eunuch Huang naturally slandered him without restraint—after all, his own lackey, Ying Rong, was about to face execution of his entire clan.

Xie Tianyao gave a cold smile and shook his head: "Grand Eunuch Huang..."

Upon hearing this form of address, Eunuch Huang was instantly terrified out of his wits, trembling as he knelt on the ground, repeatedly calling for the Emperor to forgive his sins, saying that this old slave deserved to die and that this old slave had spoken too much.

Xie Tianyao sighed: "Do you know why I have always found Lao Zhou to be so considerate?"

Eunuch Huang was drenched in cold sweat, not daring to even let out a peep.

"Because he can read my expression!"

Xie Tianyao's gaze was like a knife, making Eunuch Huang feel as if thorns were pricking his back.

"I was laughing just now!"

"Do you understand?"

Xie Tianyao said coldly: "I was laughing just now, laughing very happily! The Longyan Dynasty, having continued for a thousand years, is decrepit and old, just like a pool of stagnant water!"

"You tell me, when has it ever been this lively?"

"You tell me, when has it ever been this happy?"

"When has it ever been this full of vitality!"

Eunuch Huang was already so scared that he was crying.

Xie Tianyao sighed deeply: "If the great building is about to collapse and the imperial family is no more, where is there any talk of majesty?"

"If Longyan is no more, the so-called imperial family is nothing but a joke!"

"This world of mine was guarded for me by the Regional Commanders, not by these princes who are nothing but useless gluttons!"

"A prince, going to the doorstep of a Regional Commander to curse?"

"Who gave him the right?"

"Who gave him the nerve?"

"Was it me?"

"Or was it you all?!"

Finally.

Xie Tianyao almost roared it out.

This caused Empress Zheng, who had just wanted to enter Yangxin Hall to plead for the Zheng Family, to turn deathly pale at the door, her legs nearly giving way, causing her to almost kneel down.

"Empress..."

"Your Majesty..."

Several palace maids managed to support her with great difficulty.

Looking back at Liangzhou.

The Third Prince had been rebuked by Liu Zheng in full view of everyone, and the whole city was in an uproar. It was said that Xie Ling was so angered that day that he vomited blood and was bedridden; however, because the Zheng Family's corruption was a matter of great importance, the two could only stay in the Post House arranged by Liangzhou Prefecture to plot a better strategy.

"Young Master..."

In these past few days, the matter of Prefect Liu angrily rebuking the Third Prince had spread throughout the entire Longyan.

While it brought endless fame to Liu Zheng, in truth, everyone was worried for him.

Not to mention rebuking the Third Prince...

How was the Zheng Family's case to be handled? Grand Eunuch Zhou was begging everyone every day, wanting Liu Zheng to change his mind. Who would have thought that Liu Zheng had only one sentence.

"They must be punished, severely and without leniency!"

This day was the final day of the public trial. Early in the morning, Liu Dahao ran over in a great hurry, sweating profusely: "Son, do you really have to execute the entire clan?"

Others were also trying to persuade him.

Liu Zheng, however, smiled bitterly: "The law is the law; if this case is not punished by execution, how can authority be established?"

In fact.

He also knew that executing an entire clan for the embezzlement of merely seven hundred taels did not align with the values of his later life. In his eyes, the criminal alone bearing responsibility was a necessity, and implicating other innocent people was inherently an inhumane act. Others would also ask, as a transmigrator who was reforming the judiciary, why did Liu Zheng retain the system of collective punishment?

It was very simple.

Everyone has a different position, so the methods they adopt will be different.

At this time, what he needed was supreme ruling power!

Because the system of collective punishment was very well-suited to the current Longyan Dynasty!

The decay of a thousand-year-old dynasty relied on Confucian thought. From the ancestral temples of the imperial family to the clan concepts of those great ancient families, it had continued to this day.

What is a clan?

"Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world"—from this sentence, one can see the status of the family concept in the ideological realm of the Chinese people. To govern the state and bring peace to the world, one must first have a family concept; only by achieving the small family can one have the ambition to achieve the greater society. And the ancient Chinese family concept was actually closely related to the Feudal Absolute Monarchy that had continued in China for thousands of years.

The prosperity and development of a family originated from the continuous burning of incense, and the cohesion of a family determined its rise and fall. The ancient Chinese attached great importance to filial piety and ethics; ancient Chinese politics was actually a very classic family-based politics, taking the family as the foundation, entrusted to the traditional agricultural economy, and the patriarchal system was the bond that maintained social development.

Therefore.

Under such circumstances...

Could one really achieve punishing only the individual to serve as a warning to others?

That would absolutely be a joke.

If you execute one member of a clan, the entire clan will view you as an enemy, wishing they could skin you alive and pull out your tendons. What this easily triggers is even more endless social chaos.

This is also the reason why Liu Zheng still maintains the system of collective punishment.

When it is time to cut the weeds and dig up the roots, one must cut the weeds and dig up the roots!

What he is plotting is the big picture, not a small side dish.

Of course...

Liu Zheng is not a person who does not know how to be flexible.

The several hundred people of the Zheng Family are no small matter. Zheng Fu has operated in the imperial court for so many years; if one really angers her, there will still be a price to pay.

The convenience the Emperor grants us cannot be treated as something to be taken for granted.

Yesterday's angry confrontation with the Third Prince already expressed Liu Zheng's attitude; for this kind of matter, one still needs to give a stick, then give a sweet to eat.

Thus, he smiled slightly: "Father, do not worry, Zheng has his own arrangements."

Liu Dahao wore a look of confusion.

This day.

The commoners had long been waiting at the entrance; almost the entire Liangzhou City, anyone who was free, had come.

They were waiting to see if this judicial system after the reform was truly just a facade, and if this Prefect Liu truly dared to plead for the people!

If he truly dared to ignore the majesty of the imperial family and punish the Zheng Family!

When they saw Liu Dahao, Liu Zheng, Shen Xing, and the rest of the Liangzhou Prefecture team walk out, the whole scene erupted.

Ying Rong felt very insecure at this moment.

Are they really going to execute them?

Are they really not giving face to the Third Prince or the Empress?

Then, isn't he dead for sure this time?

This day.

Closing the case, pronouncing the sentence.

The three judicial systems—the Inspection Department, the Sentencing Department, and the Supervision Department—after three days of tug-of-war, were finally going to pronounce the sentence.

At this time.

The whole audience stood up.

"This Prefect Liu, I must have him torn into ten thousand pieces, torn into ten thousand pieces!"

The Third Prince watched all this from afar, his heart dripping with blood.

The five hundred members of the Zheng Family, wearing prisoner clothes, with disheveled hair, were wailing and cursing incessantly.

The Empress's clan has actually fallen to this point; who could endure it?

Finally.

Amidst the clamor of the crowd.

Liu Zheng slowly stood up, picked up the case file, and his cold voice quickly spread throughout the entire scene.

"Following the evidence and accusations from the Liangzhou Prefecture Inspection Department, and the sentencing according to the law by the Sentencing Department, Zheng Guangming embezzled seven hundred taels of military supplies, the evidence is conclusive, violating Article 73 of the LiangzhouAntiCorruptionLaw, and according to the law, the entire family is to be executed!"

The whole scene buzzed, as if a pot had exploded.

Are they really going to execute them?

The people of the Zheng Family were even more terrified.

Grand Eunuch Zhou almost fainted from fright.

"However..."

Just at this moment.

Liu Zheng said indifferently: "The current Empress, as the mother of the world, is virtuous and bright, a wise empress of her generation, providing Assistance to the Son of Heaven, bringing peace to the four seas, keeping the court stable, and possessing a heart as vast as a valley..."

"She is the virtue of Liangzhou, the starlight of Yongliang..."

Everyone was stunned by this series of "sweet words."

Wasn't it said that they would be severely punished without leniency?

What is he trying to do now?

The Third Prince was also completely bewildered.

Grand Eunuch Zhou also looked over in confusion.

Could it be...

That there is still a turning point?

But...

This law...

They only heard Liu Zheng laugh: "Therefore, the Zheng Family shall be executed according to the law, but, cutting hair in place of the head, as a warning to others!"

Once these words were spoken, the whole scene was confused.

Cutting hair in place of the head?

Seriously?

There is such an operation?

"My dear mother..."

Grand Eunuch Zhou sat on the ground with a thud, laughing and crying at the same time. In his heart, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

The Third Prince Xie Ling also smacked his lips, and in the end, said nothing, just let out a cold snort.

The people at the scene finally looked at each other in dismay.

"Young Master is wise!"

"Prefect Liu, Great Good!"

The entire crowd knelt down, shouting one after another.

The people of the Zheng Family were also weeping with joy.

"My Zheng, you scared your father to death!"

Liu Dahao also secretly wiped away cold sweat.

No one had expected this.

The Method Liu Zheng finally thought of was simply brilliant!

Why?

Cutting hair as a substitute for the head is the most classic example in ancient times, namely Caocao. Because his soldiers trampled on crops, he wanted to punish himself by execution, but after being dissuaded, he cut his hair as a substitute for his head.

Many people evaluate this as a sign of Caocao's cunning.

Actually, that is not the case.

According to ancient clan ideology, filial piety is supreme; since the body, hair, and skin are received from one's parents, under this ideology, hair is given by parents, and cutting it off is an even greater humiliation than cutting off their heads.

Therefore...

Cutting hair as a substitute for the head is actually not unacceptable when it comes to punishment. At the very least, in terms of the trampling of dignity, it is almost no different from the execution of an entire family.

And for the people of the Zheng Family...

It was another way of thinking entirely.

Cutting hair as a substitute for the head, let it be cutting hair as a substitute for the head; only when truly facing death does one know which is more precious, hair or life!

As long as one is alive!

Only then is there everything else!

The entire scene was filled with words of praise.

Ying Rong...

At this moment, had completely fainted.

The trap he had set had already been broken.

"Execute!"

Liu Zheng gave the order.

Liangzhou.

The smell of blood began to spread.

【Author's Note】

Some reader brothers asked, since Liu Zheng is a transmigrator from later generations, why does he still use collective punishment? This chapter gives you an explanation. There is no Method, I am a person who pays more attention to the opinions of readers. I also hope that everyone will not easily give bad reviews, thank you.