Gao Rou law enforcement is heavy

Gao Rou (174-263), ziwen Hui. A native of Zhouyuan County,Chenliu County (present-day Qixian County, Henan). During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei was a chancellor, and the five emperors of Cao Cao and Cao Shi spanned almost the entire history of Cao Wei. Starting from a small official, he has been a long-term judicial officer, an official to the Ninth Secretary, a knight and a prince, and a yuan marquis, known for being good at the rule of law.

The word "soft" is synonymous with "Confucianism", euphemistic, easy-going, with the character of water, amorphous. But softness does not equal weakness, but has the quality of rigidity and softness. As its name suggests, Gao Rou, as a law enforcer, does not distinguish between relatives and the people, and always adheres to the principle of fairness and justice, and the principle of being strong and soft. He is a law enforcer in China's history who can be called a "heavy square circle".

The deterrent and effectiveness of regulations stem from the applicability of regulations. Gao Rou dares to find problems from the implementation of laws and regulations, amends and improves regulations, and thus improves the effectiveness of laws and regulations. During Cao Cao's lifetime, due to years of conquest, soldiers were tired of war and often had escapees. For this reason, Cao Cao formulated severe torture penalties, and any soldier who fled could be tortured and tortured. Despite this, it did not help. As a result, Cao Cao advocated more heavy punishment. On one expedition, a trumpeter named Song Jin took the lead and a few soldiers took the opportunity to escape. Yuji captured his mother, wife, children, and brother, and suggested that Cao Cao kill them all to kill the chickens and scare the monkeys. Gao Rou knew that the use of heavy texts was Cao Cao's original intention, but he still frankly disagreed: "The soldiers fleeing is indeed a problem, but I think it is inappropriate to impose heavy punishment on their relatives." I have heard that there are many regretrs among the fugitives, because in the past soldiers punished their relatives as soon as they fled, so that they had no hope of returning, and as a result, they went all the way to the end. In my opinion, their relatives should be lenient and not prosecuted. First, it can make the fugitives not believe in the instigators, and second, it can make more repentants return to the army. If the old law continues to be followed, so that it is aggravated, I am afraid that one person in the army will flee, and the others will inevitably flee with fear of harm to themselves, and their families will also panic, resulting in a large number of escapes regardless of whether they are true or false. Isn't this stopping flight, but promoting flight? Cao Cao listened to Gao Rou's words and nodded frequently, ordering the order to repeal the order to pursue the families of the fugitive soldiers. After the implementation, it won the support of the vast number of soldiers, the morale of the army was greatly encouraged, and the problem of soldiers fleeing was well solved.

There was a period when "folk numbers have demons, emperors are sick, there are demons that kill, and rewarders." Gao Rou cited the history of Zhou Gong, Han Taizong, and others in rectifying slander and demonism, arguing that "this law is easy to expand the scope of attack," "even if it is wrong, there is no road to anti-goodness," and it encourages the trend of false accusations. He suggested, "It is advisable to remove the method of slander and reward, so as to honor the benevolence of the Heavenly Father." Emperor Wen did not comply, and as a result, "those who falsely accused each other were aggravated." Facts proved that Gao Rou's words were justified, and Emperor Nai issued an edict: "Those who dare to tell each other with slander will be guilty of crimes by those who are accused." "The brilliance of Gao Rou lies in its deep understanding of the history of governing the country, insight into the negative impact of improper appreciation, and then timely and correctly put forward suggestions for adjusting regulations."

Gao Rou attaches great importance to and pays attention to farming, and he dares to put forward different opinions on any policy that is not conducive to the cause of farming and the people's living and working in peace and contentment, no matter who formulates it and whose interests are involved. Emperor Cao Pi of Wei liked to drink and write poetry and besiege and hunt. At that time, due to the war, the population of the north was greatly reduced, and there were barren mountains and wasteland everywhere. Emperor Wendi of Wei circled many mountains and grasslands throughout the country as his own hunting grounds, and enacted extremely strict laws prohibiting anyone from entering and poaching. All poachers shall be executed and their property confiscated. Gao Rou thought that this was an obstacle to the development of the economy, so he wrote to Emperor Wen of Wei, Chen Yi pros and cons. He pointed out sharply: "Since ancient times, there has not been a holy monarch who has ruled the world, not based on farming and supplemented by thrift and diligence. Farmers starved to death if they did not cultivate the land, and women had no clothes to wear without weaving. Now His Majesty has encircled many mountains and forests, and does not allow peasants to cultivate the fields, and does not allow hunting. Isn't this robbing the people of their source of food and clothing? The monarch of the Holy Ming would not do this. Emperor Wendi of Wei felt that Gao Rou's opinion was very reasonable, and gladly accepted it, so he reduced many hunting grounds, and distributed the land and mountains and forests to the people to cultivate and breed, and the peasants who could not plant them were handed over to the army to cultivate the fields.

The majesty of laws and regulations stems from the fairness of law enforcement, everyone is equal before the law, there is no distinction between relatives and alienations, and there is no distinction between officials and the people. In this regard, Gao Rou never favored those in power. Once, a farmer in charge of Tun Tian, Liu Gui, accidentally broke into Emperor Wei's hunting ground in pursuit of a hare that had been shot. At that time, the person in charge of managing the hunting ground was Zhang Jing, a close confidant of Emperor Wei Ming, who did not find Liu Gui forbidden. Afterwards, Zhang reported to Emperor Ming of Wei. According to the regulations, Zhang Liudu should be punished. Emperor Ming of Wei favored his own cronies, but ordered Gao Rou to punish Liu. After gao rou figured out the cause of the matter, he sent a message to Emperor Wei Ming: Liu violated the prohibition unintentionally, and once he found that he had mistakenly entered the forbidden area, he would withdraw on his own, so he could be dealt with lightly. At that time, when Liu mistakenly entered the restricted area, Zhang was not present and committed malfeasance. Emperor Wei Ming was very angry after seeing Gao Rou's shangshu, and criticized Gao for "letting you punish Liu, you punishIng Liu is enough, do you suspect that You have a partial heart?" Gao Rou calmly explained: "Your Majesty asked me to be a court lieutenant, and the court lieutenant is in charge of the state law like a scale in the world, and everything must be done according to law, impartial and selfless." In this case that Your Majesty has entrusted to me, there are only defendants, not plaintiffs, no investigations, still less confrontations, and even the facts of the case have not been clarified according to law. Besides, there is also a difference between the severity of the offense and the good or bad attitude of dereliction of duty, so how can I break the laws of the whole country according to His Majesty's momentary mood? Gao Rou's words silenced Emperor Wei Mingdi, so he asked Gao Rou to try the case according to normal procedures. Both Liu and Zhang were dealt with fairly. Emperor Wei Ming was also satisfied. Afterwards, Gao Rou said: "The law is fair, and no matter who breaks the law, they should be responsible for their own crimes." ”

Column Editor-in-Chief: Wang Duo Title Image Source: IC photo Photo Editor: Xiang Jianying