In the ninth year of Chenghua (1473 AD), the Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen issued an edict to the wife of Wu Jintong, a citizen of Haikang County, as a martyr's wife, especially pointing out the issues of rewarding good and punishing evil, and the great politics of the country, believing that the two should not be abandoned. Since it is a martyr's watch, it should be a reward for good, so who is evil? How can a martyr woman be associated with the great politics of the country?
In the early years of Chenghua, a rebellion broke out on the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong, gathering more than 20,000 people at one time, attacking the county seat, looting everywhere, and the imperial court sent heavy troops to suppress it. In the event of war, the most unfortunate are innocent people. When the rebels kill people and oversell their goods, the people will be killed if they can't escape, and their families will be destroyed; the officials and troops will extort money, the people's property will be robbed, the women will be raped, the children will be sold out of the country, and their wives and children will be scattered. When war breaks out, the people's only choice is to escape, those who have relatives have relatives, those who have friends rely on friends, and those who have no relatives and friends will blindly go into exile, and life is difficult to guarantee.
In Haikang County, the capital of Leizhou, there is a county resident named Wu Jintong, who is twenty-two years old, married to his wife Zhuang Shi, who is twenty years old, and has a daughter, which is very cute. The couple ran a rice shop in the county town, and the business was good at first, but they didn't want to fight for a long time, and people fled. At this time, not only was it difficult for them to do business, but their lives were also difficult to protect, so the couple discussed the matter of escape.
At this time, Liu Ming and Liang Dog, rice sellers from Xinhui County, who had been buying from Wuji Rice Shop, came to Haikang, and these two people came by boat. Xinhui was too peaceful, so Wu Jintong consulted with them, and the family first took a boat to Xinhui to take refuge, and then returned to their hometown after the war subsided. They are all old acquaintances, this matter can still help, Liu Ming and Liang Dog agreed, and Wu Jintong decided to take his wife and daughter to take a wooden boat to Xinhui.
A wooden boat is not large, Liu Ming uses wooden planks to separate the cabin, so that Wu Jintong's family lives on one side, and he and Liang Dog hold the boat separately and live on the other side of the cabin. When Wu Jintong's family boarded the boat, Liu Ming and Liang Dog saw Zhuang Shi, but when they saw her holding the baby, they bowed their heads and did not speak, and they couldn't help but look at it a few times and found that Zhuang Shi was beautiful and virtuous, and very polite.
Zhuang Shi saw Liu Ming and Liang Dog looking at him, and he was a little embarrassed, so he gave a blessing and thanked the two of them for letting their family take refuge in a boat. It was such a blessing, in the eyes of Liu Ming and Liang Dog, it was like a fairy descending on the earth, and the two immediately became enthusiastic.
Although the sea route from Haikang County to Xinhui County is not far away, it takes seven days for wooden boats to sail. Wu Jintong has never been to the sea, so seasickness and vomiting, Zhuang shi has to take care of the children, but also to take care of her husband, it is very hard. Liu Ming and Liang Dog saw that Zhuang Was beautiful, always wanted to come forward to help, take the opportunity to talk to her, Zhuang Clan politely refused, Rin Zhen was righteous, so that the two were also afraid of three points, plus with Wu Jintong, they were also difficult to get close to Zhuang Shi, so all the way was still safe and sound, and arrived at Xinhui safely.
Leaving home and reaching a completely unfamiliar place, wu Jintong rented a house with the help of Liu Ming and Liang Dog. Wu Jintong was thankful for his kindness, thinking that he had met a good person, but he did not know that the two of them had a covetous heart because of the beauty of the Zhuang family, so they were enthusiastic to help. Although Wu Jintong brought some softness from Haikang, he could not sit in the mountains and eat the sky, so he asked liang dogs to find some work for him to cope with daily life. Liang Dog introduced Wu Jintong to the dock and carried fish and shrimp to the market for fishermen every day, in addition to earning a few wages, he could also get some variegated seafood, enough for a family to eat. It is reasonable to say that Wu Jintong's family can still get by, but after all, they are in other places, so they always inquire about the war situation in Haikang, do not want the war to get bigger and bigger, and expect that it will be difficult to go back in a short period of time, so they are at ease living in Xinhui.
However, it is said that Liu Ming and Liang Dog saw the beauty of the Zhuang family and became possessive. The reason why they are enthusiastic about helping Wu Jintong is to win the favor of the Zhuang clan in order to see the opportunity to start. Wu Jintong went out to work as a domestic worker, leaving early and returning late, Liu Ming and Liang Dog had the opportunity to approach the Zhuang family, came to the house several times, tried to tease the Zhuang family with words, and were all rejected by the Zhuang family. After that, as long as Wu Jintong was not at home, zhuang closed the door tightly, no matter who knocked on the door, she did not open it, so that Liu Ming and Liang Dog could not start.
Liu Ming and Liang Dog tried their best not to get close to the Zhuang clan, so they discussed together, how to make the Zhuang clan obey them? The two people thought about it and agreed that there was Wu Jintong, Zhuang Shi had to rely on, naturally he couldn't look at other men, if Wu Jintong was gone, who else could she rely on? We helped his family from Hikvision to Xinhui, took care of them along the way, rented the house to them at a low price, and found a job for Wu Jintong, which can be said to be the best of benevolence. If Wu Jintong is gone, then the orphans and widows will have no way to live, and she will not ask us, who else can she ask? Since they thought of this layer, they planned to get rid of Wu Jintong.
In addition to selling rice, Liu Ming and Liang Dog also go into the river and the sea to fish on weekdays, so they discussed taking Wu Jintong out to sea at night to fish in order to get rid of him at sea. So they found Wu Jintong and said: "There is less harvest during the day, if you go fishing at night, light a horse lamp, the fish will gather when they see the light, and then fish under the net, harvest more, how about we go to the river tomorrow night to fish?" ”
But Wu Jintong had scruples, he said: "At night, my wife and daughter are alone at home, I am afraid that they are afraid, and I still have to discuss this matter with the insiders." Wu Jintong went home to consult with the Zhuang family, did not expect the Zhuang family to disagree, and persuaded him to have less contact with Liu Ming and Liang Dog, and not to go fishing with them.
Wu Jintong talked to Liu Ming and Liang Dog, saying that the insiders did not agree to go fishing in the river at night, but they did not expect that the two of them laughed at his wife's strict management, a manly husband, he could not be the master, he listened to his wife in everything, what could he do? If you don't fish, it is difficult to just carry things for others, and it is difficult to support your wife and children, and in the future, When Haikang is pacified, where will you have to go back to your hometown? We kindly took you from Hikvision to Xinhui, took care of you along the way, didn't collect money for your ship, and helped you find work, what do we do to you? Now that there is a way to get rich, you don't go, so you still keep your wife and eat and wait for death!
This remark aroused Wu Jintong's manliness, and he did not tell the Zhuang family, and went fishing with the two of them on the river that night.
Sure enough, the night fishing effect was even better, a few nets down, the harvest was already full, and by the time dawn arrived at the riverside pier, the fishmongers were already there waiting to collect the fish, and all three of them took the money and went home.
Wu Jintong returned home, but saw that Zhuang Shi had not slept all night and had been waiting for him. Wu Jintong gave the money to the Zhuang family, saying that fishing at night was indeed a great gain, and now the money obtained was ten times that of the income earned by a domestic worker. However, Zhuang Shi was not happy, saying that the risk of fishing at night was too great, in case the black wind rose in January, accidentally fell into the river, you will not be able to water, will not be drowned, or do not go, make less money there is less money to live, make more money there is a harm in making more money, peace and security is a blessing. Wu Jintong saw that Zhuang Shi was dissatisfied, and did not speak, so he fell asleep on the bed, after all, he had been busy all night and was also very tired.
The next night, Wu Jintong wanted to go out again, but Zhuang Shi stopped him and told him not to go again, to rest well, and to wait for the next day to go to work as a maid, which was safer than fishing in the river. Where Wu Jintong listened, despite the obstruction, he still went out to fish on the river with Liu Ming and Liang Dog.
This day and moon black wind is high, the sky is cloudless, it is a good weather, but I did not think of the second half of the night, suddenly the wind rose, the fishing boat swayed, Wu Jintong fainted, lying on the boat to help vomit. At this time, Liu Ming came over and put Wu Jintong's arms behind his back, and Liang Dog stepped forward and tied Wu Jintong with a rope. Somehow, Wu Jintong shouted for help, the vast night, the vast river, who can hear it? When Liu Ming saw Wu Jintong shouting, he used an axe to directly split Wu Jintong's head, and as soon as the axe went down, Wu Jintong's brain had already burst open and he cried out for his life. Liang Dog pushed Wu Jintong into the river and then rowed the boat away.
After dawn, Liu Ming and Liang Dog came to Wu Jintong's house to report the funeral, saying that last night the wind suddenly rose, the fishing boat swayed, Wu Jintong stood unsteadily, fell into the river, the two of us could not help, he was washed away by the river, we looked along the river, and did not see, presumably it was more fierce and less auspicious, so I came to inform before.
Zhuang Shi listened, cried loudly, and counted how Wu Jintong did not listen to advice, had to go into the river to fish, and now drowned, did not know whether to live or die, leaving behind an orphan girl and widowed mother, how to live. Liu Ming and Liang Dog comforted them, saying that they could take care of the orphan girl and widow. Where the Zhuang clan could hear it, they complained to the two of them, saying that they lured their husband into the river to fish, and they could not save them when they saw death, and they dispersed unhappily.
Liu Ming's family lived in Jiangbin, and for several days in a row, the Zhuang family came to the river to look for the whereabouts of their husbands, but they did not see anyone alive or dead. Liu Ming came to comfort him, and began to use words to tease him, so that Zhuang Shi would marry him, and then he actually used his hands and feet, and Zhuang Shi was furious and scolded: "You usually say that Wu Jintong is your best friend, and now his life and death are uncertain, but you are flirting with his wife, and there is no conscience." This verbal scolding made Liu Ming's face blush and white, and he had to wait for the opportunity, forgiving them that the orphan daughter and widow mother had nowhere to go.
A few days later, on August 15, the Tide of the Pearl River rose, and suddenly a corpse appeared, and Zhuang Shi looked closely and saw that the clothes on the corpse had been washed away by the tide. Zhuang Shi was worried about her husband, and she couldn't care less about her fear, so she went over the body and found that it was her husband Wu Jintong, and there were crack marks on his head, so he knew that her husband was not drowned, he must have been killed. At that time, women were not allowed to go to court, the Zhuang family had no relatives in the new society, nor could they find relatives and friends to complain for her, the orphan daughter and widowed mother did not have the ability to avenge her husband, and the enemy family was coveting her, and it was very likely that she would be bullied by the enemy family in the future. Zhuang Shi was short-sighted and could not think of any way, so he tied himself and his children to her husband's corpse with a rope, walked into the river and drowned herself. It is also strange to say that the tide is soaring, and the three corpses are not going away with the tide, but wandering around Liu Ming's house.
Seeing this tragic situation, the neighbors and others really couldn't see it, so they pooled some money, bought a coffin, and buried the three people together. But the next day, the grave was dug up and the coffin was missing. It turned out that Liu Ming was afraid of leaving evidence, so he teamed up with Liang Dog to dig out the coffin at night, put it on a boat, and then discarded the body in the sea.
There is no impermeable wall in the world, that night there were fishermen who saw Wu Jintong on the boat, and vaguely heard the cry for help, at that time thought that it was windy, but now I think of Wu Jintong's body missing and flying, this must be a thief's heart, obviously they killed Wu Jintong. And now that Zhuang clan has committed suicide with his daughter, it is equivalent to Liu Ming and Liang Dog killing the three members of Wu Jintong's family, although Wu Jintong is a foreigner, they can't let them die unjustly in Xinhui!
The fishermen could not read and did not know how to file a complaint, so they found Li Qi and Li Fan, the county's students, to complain. After Li Qi and Li Fan heard this, they were filled with righteous indignation and immediately wrote down a complaint and filed a complaint in the county. Zhixian immediately accepted the case, strictly interrogated Liu Ming and Liang Dog, and asked the truth. According to the provisions of the Great Ming Law:
"Whoever murders man-made intentions shall be cut off." Thus the inductive person hangs. ”
Xinhuizhi County proposed Liu Ming as a beheading sentence and Liang Dog as a hanging sentence, and declared it for approval by superiors at all levels. The students Li Qi and Li Fan believed that just executing the murderer could not comfort the dead, and that Zhuang's behavior was the work of a martyr, and that they should apply to the Ministry of Rites for a table. However, Xinhuizhi County refused this request because the Zhuang clan was a Haikang person, not a member of the county. Unexpectedly, the students of the county did not agree, they gathered together, and finally formed a resolution, and all the students and the gentry of the county signed and reported the matter to the inspector. The patrol played the matter.
The Ministry of Punishment sent a foreign minister to verify that the situation was indeed true. Yuanwai Lang believed that this matter was related to persuading the good and punishing the evil, and the case could not be closed hastily, so he played the matter. After the Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jian read the sonata deeply, he immediately gave instructions to Yun:
"Reward the good and punish the evil, and the great government of the country must not be abandoned, and now there are two things and two righteousnesses."
He ordered Yousi, that is, Jie Ming and Dog, to still show his head to the public, and to watch the Zhuang clan. In other words, rewarding good and punishing evil are the major policies of the country and must not be abandoned. Today's case is a big deal, but it has both the meaning of rewarding good and punishing evil. Ordered the relevant departments to immediately behead Liu Ming and Liang Dog, still show their heads to the public, and make a watch on the Zhuang family. The beheading of Liu Ming and Liang Dog is based on law, because the mother and daughter of the Zhuang family also died because of this, which belongs to the killing of three members of a family, that is, beheading everyone regardless of the head.
The Punishment Department sent Wai Lang to behead liu ming and Liang Dog to show the public. The Ministry of Ceremonies also sent a foreign minister to preside over the ceremonial affairs. At the beginning, Li Fengchun and others buried Wu Jintong's family, while Liu Ming and Liang Dog stole the coffin at night and abandoned it in the sea, and the bones did not exist, and they did not know where to look. After deliberation, it was decided to build a tomb where the neighbors originally buried them, bury the remaining clothes of the Zhuang clan, set up a crown tomb, and then carve the deeds of the Zhuang clan on the stone stele, and the names of Wu Jintong and his daughter were written in large characters on the sunny side of the stele, so as to hang on for a long time.
Because of the War in Haikang, Wu Jintong and his wife were forced to take refuge in Xinhui. Although it was because of the beauty of the Zhuang clan that Liu Ming and Liang Dog coveted, Wu Jintong credulously trusted others and did not listen to the advice of the Zhuang clan, which was also the cause of the disaster. When Zhuang Shi saw her husband's body, she knew that she had been framed, but she only lamented that she could not avenge herself, and finally chose martyrdom, which seemed foolish, but the judicial system at that time did not allow women to go to court, she had no relatives and no reason, how to let the government file a grievance for herself?
The Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jian deeply understood that rewarding good and punishing evil was a major state policy, believing that the martyrdom of the Zhuang clan for her husband was a great good, and gave it a big show with great fanfare, although it was to persuade people to be good, but this kind of goodness was based on women's lives, vigorously publicized, and also contrary to the ruler's propaganda of the supremacy of human life.
Of course, the reward of good and the punishment of evil must not be abandoned, but the good rewarded must be conducive to social development, conducive to the better survival of mankind, conducive to social atmosphere, and cannot be based on sacrificing others. It can be seen from this that Zhu Jianshen's intention is good, because he knows that rewarding good and punishing evil cannot be abandoned, but the effect is bad, and commending women's martyrdom is to hurt lives, and it highlights the inequality between men and women.