Preface
During the Tang Dynasty, there was an emperor who once made a seemingly rash decision, but it turned out to be a truly clever move. This emperor is Li Shimin, and his move not only aroused heated discussions, but also made people re-examine his wisdom and ruling ability.
At that time, the rapid increase in the number of death row prisoners should have aroused the vigilance and panic of the imperial court, but Li Shimin made an unexpected decision: Let them all go! What kind of wisdom and strategy was hidden behind this decision?
The haze of the prosperous age
In the six years of Zhenguan, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty has become stronger and stronger. Li Shimin eliminated the old enemy of the Eastern Turks, and the dragon heart was happy, and he personally inspected the two states of Longqi. However, when he "recorded prisoners", he discovered a shocking fact - the number of death row prisoners had reached 390, an increase of more than ten times from two years ago.
This is simply a great irony! Didn't Li Shimin just announce the arrival of the "Zhenguan Prosperous Era"? How could there be so many prisoners on death row? He immediately decided to go to the prison in person to find out what had happened.
In prison, Li Shimin saw a 16-year-old prisoner named Wang Xuanba. This name reminded him of his half-brother Li Xuanba, so he stepped forward to ask Wang Xuanba about the charges. It turned out that Wang Xuanba's home suffered a flood and there was no harvest.
However, those ruthless officials still forced them to pay money and food, and even arrested him and his father to repair the palace. If the family misses the farming time again, I am afraid that they will starve to death. Wang Xuanba was furious and beat the official to death, so he was sentenced to death.
After listening to what happened to Wang Xuanba, Li Shimin couldn't help but be moved. He flipped through Wang Xuanba's case file, and he really should be beheaded. Li Shimin thought that when Zhenguan was four years old, there were only 29 prisoners on death row, but now the number has skyrocketed to 390, and this is inevitably a manifestation of the intensification of social contradictions.
Instead of punishing severely, it is better to resolve the conflict in a forgiving way and prevent a repeat of the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty. Li Shimin's decision is a huge political risk. During the Sui Dynasty, the law was extremely strict, even to the point of "beheading if you steal a penny", resulting in prisoners blocking the road and the people are often to blame.
However, the harsh punishment did not make the Sui Dynasty stable for a long time, but the second died. Li Shimin was well aware of this lesson, and he hoped to reflect on the practices of the Sui Dynasty through the method of "arson", and reduce social contradictions in the way of forgiveness.
However, as soon as this decision came out, the government and the opposition were in an uproar. The eldest grandson Wuji, Chen Shuda and others objected one after another, believing that this was a return of the tiger to the mountain, which would endanger the safety of the people. They believe that there must be no shortage of extremely vicious criminals among these prisoners, and if they let the tiger return to the mountains, will they not let them continue to plague the people? Chen Shuda even said that although the emperor is kind-hearted, the law does not tolerate mercy.
Li Shimin smiled and said nothing, only Wei Zheng was silent as if he didn't understand. Wei Zheng was one of Li Shimin's most trusted ministers, and he seemed to have some understanding of Li Shimin's decision. Perhaps, Li Shimin's move is not simply "arson", but has another profound meaning.
Expectations and doubts
In this way, 390 death row inmates were unshackled, left the prison and returned to their hometowns. Has Li Shimin made a correct decision? Will these criminals just run away? The people in both the government and the opposition are panicked, and expectations and doubts coexist.
Some people believe that Li Shimin's practice is just to create his own image of "Shengde" and is a kind of political show. Ouyang Xiu once argued in "The Theory of Imprisonment" that this is not in line with human feelings, but just to "plunder the beauty of the city and favor the inferior". Zhang Yanghao also believes in "Non-armature Prisoner" that this is "the law of the Son of Heaven to plunder the beauty of the city and favor the inferior".
However, some people believe that Li Shimin's move reflects his ideal of surpassing the previous emperors and is the pursuit of Yao Shun's rule. He hoped that through the method of "arson", he would prove the existence of the "Zhenguan Prosperous Era", highlight the prestige of the Tang Dynasty, and promote the development of Chinese civilization.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it is the autumn equinox of next year. On this day, the prison in Chang'an City was crowded, and everyone was waiting for the 390 death row inmates to "report for duty". People are anxious for fear of a political joke. After all, Li Shimin is about to go to Mount Tai to seal Zen, and if something goes wrong at this time, I'm afraid it will be very unsightly.
Miracles happen
Just when the people were in a hurry, a miracle happened! All 390 death row inmates returned to the prison as agreed, and not a single one escaped. The jailers counted exactly 390 people.
What a miracle this is! Not a single of the 390 condemned prisoners escaped and all of them returned to prison with confidence. The government and the opposition were all shocked and praised Li Shimin's wise decision.
It turned out that when making an agreement with the prisoners, Li Shimin had already hinted at the "benefits" of "reporting to the prison after the autumn" - reporting to avoid death. From the perspective of game theory, reporting to the imperial court is undoubtedly the best choice for prisoners, and it is also the most likely choice for survival.
Li Shimin's move is undoubtedly a kind of political show. But this show is necessary. First of all, there were only 29 death row prisoners in Zhenguan four years, and the number of death row prisoners reached 390 two years later, which inevitably embarrassed Li Shimin, who had already declared "Zhenguan is prosperous", so he had to "get back to the field" in another special way.
Secondly, Li Shimin's "arson" is a reflection on the harsh punishment and harsh laws since the Sui Dynasty. The laws of the Sui Dynasty were extremely strict, even to the point of "beheading if you steal a penny", which led to the intensification of social contradictions. Li Shimin hoped to reduce these contradictions in the form of forgiveness and prevent a repeat of the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty.
Finally, Li Shimin's "arson" is also related to his ideals. He often compares himself to the Ancient Saint Kings, hoping to at least match the Three Kings, or even surpass them. Even Emperor Wen of Han, who had the name of "Shengde", did not do it, but this was a kind of transcendence of the previous emperors.
Forgiveness and Praise
In the face of this miracle, Li Shimin was deeply touched. He believes that the death row inmates have been "sanctified and reformed." So, with a wave of his hand, he pardoned all 390 death row inmates.
The ministers bowed to the ground, the mountains shouted long live, and even the envoys knelt on the ground, and they would spread the prestige of the Tang Dynasty in all directions. Li Shimin's move not only proves the existence of "Zhenguan Shengshi", but also reflects his ideal of surpassing the previous emperors, and is the pursuit of Yao Shun Zhizhi.
This incident was a highlight of Li Shimin's reign. He resolved social contradictions in the way of forgiveness, demonstrated the virtue of the Tang Dynasty, and promoted the development of Chinese civilization. This is not only a reflection on the strict punishment of the Sui Dynasty, but also a kind of transcendence of the previous emperors.
epilogue
The arson of the prisoner seems to be a political show, but it contains Li Shimin's far-reaching intentions. He hoped to resolve social contradictions in a forgiving way to prevent a repeat of the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty, and he also hoped that through this measure, he would demonstrate the virtue of the Tang Dynasty and promote the development of Chinese civilization.
In the end, his decision was a great success, and all 390 death row inmates returned, which is undoubtedly the best footnote to the "Zhenguan Prosperous Era". Li Shimin's move is a perfect combination of wisdom and benevolence.
He resolved social contradictions in the way of forgiveness, demonstrated the virtue of the Tang Dynasty, and promoted the development of Chinese civilization. This is not only a reflection on the strict punishment of the Sui Dynasty, but also a kind of transcendence of the previous emperors. This incident is enough to prove that Li Shimin is a wise and benevolent monarch.