Chapter 47 138 Zhao Chuo Acts According to the Law

After Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty unified the country, he took various measures to consolidate his rule, such as reforming the official military system, establishing an imperial examination system, selecting competent officials, and strictly punishing corrupt officials.After his rectification and reform, the political situation was stable, and the social economy showed prosperity. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty also sent people to revise the criminal law and abolished some cruel punishments.This was originally a good thing, but Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty himself did not fully follow the criminal law. He often ordered to kill people in a moment of anger, regardless of the criminal law.

This situation is very difficult for the officials of Dali (the official office that manages the judiciary).Dali Shaoqing Zhao Chuo felt that it was his responsibility to uphold the criminal law, so he often contradicted Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty once ordered the ban on the use of substandard coins.Once, someone on the street of Daxing (the name of the capital city in the Sui Dynasty, today's Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province) exchanged bad coins for good ones, but was discovered and arrested in the yamen.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty learned about this incident. When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty heard that someone had dared to violate his prohibition, he was so angry that he ordered the beheading of the two people who exchanged money.

Zhao Chuo received the order and hurried into the palace to see Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty.He said to Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty: "These two people have violated the ban. According to the criminal law, they can only be punished and should not be executed." Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said impatiently: "This is an order from me, and it is none of your business." Zhao Chuo said: "Your Majesty doesn't think I'm stupid, so he asked me to be an official in Dali. Now, when you encounter a murder that is not in accordance with the criminal law, how can you say that it has nothing to do with me?"

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said angrily: "Do you want to shake the big tree? If you can't shake it, go away!" Zhao Chuo said: "I just want to persuade His Majesty to change his mind, not to mention shaking the tree." Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said again: "Do you want to offend the majesty of the emperor?" No matter how intimidated by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Zhao Chuo still insisted on his own opinion.No matter how much Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty scolded him to drive him away, he would not leave.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had no choice but to go into the inner palace very unhappy.

Later, because other officials also issued memorials to dissuade, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty finally canceled the order to kill. Another time, an official Xin Yan (sound dan) was accused of engaging in illegal superstitious activities.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered Dali to execute Xin Yu. Zhao Chuo said to Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty: "Xin Yu has no capital punishment, so I cannot accept this order." Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty trembled with anger and said, "If you want to save Xin Yu, you will lose your own life." As he said, he ordered his attendants to drag Zhao Chuo down from the palace.

Zhao Chuo didn't change his face and said, "Your Majesty can kill me, but you shouldn't kill Xin Yan." The left and right attendants really turned Zhao Chuo down from the court, stripped off his official uniform, took off his official hat, and prepared to beheaded.At this time, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty also thought that killing Zhao Chuo was too unreasonable, so he sent someone to tell Zhao Chuo, "What else do you have to say?" Zhao Chuo knelt on the ground, straightened his waist and said, "I am dedicated to law enforcement, and I am not afraid of death."

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty didn't really want to kill Zhao Chuo, so after dawdling for a while, he calmed down.He thought that Zhao Chuo's loyalty to law enforcement would be beneficial to his rule after all, so he let Zhao Chuo go. One day later, he sent someone to visit Zhao Chuo. In the Dali official office, there was an official named Lai Kuang. He heard that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was dissatisfied with Zhao Chuo and wanted to cater to Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty read the memorial and thought that what Lai Kuang said was very pertinent, so he promoted him to an official position.

Lai Kuang thought that he was appreciated by the emperor, so against his conscience, he falsely accused Zhao Chuo of favoritism and fraud, and released the prisoner who should not be pardoned. Although Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty felt that Zhao Chuo's affairs did not go his way, he was a little skeptical about Lai Kuang's appeal.He sent trusted officials to investigate, and there was no such thing.When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty found out the truth, he was furious, and immediately ordered Lai Kuang to be executed. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty handed over the case to Zhao Chuo, thinking that it was Zhao Chuo himself who had falsely accused Kuang this time, and Zhao Chuo would not disagree.Who knew that Zhao Chuo still said, "Lai Kuang is guilty, but he should not be executed."

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was very upset. With a flick of his sleeves, he withdrew to the inner palace. Zhao Chuo yelled loudly from behind: "I won't talk about the matter of coming to Kuang. But I have other important matters, so I ask for an interview." Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty believed it to be true, so he agreed to let Zhao Chuo enter the inner palace. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty asked Zhao Chuo what was the matter.Zhao Chuo said: "I have committed three serious crimes, please forgive me. First, as the Shaoqing of Dali, I failed to manage the officials below me well, causing Lai Kuang to violate the criminal law; second, Lai Kuang should not be executed. thirdly, the minister asked to enter the palace, it was nothing serious, but he deceived His Majesty just because he was anxious."

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty couldn't help laughing when he heard the last few words.Empress Dugu (Lonely is the surname) who was sitting next to her also admired Zhao Chuo's integrity, and ordered the left and right to give Zhao Chuo two glasses of wine.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty also agreed to pardon Lai Kuang's death sentence and change his sentence to dismissal and exile. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty learned the lesson of Chen Houzhu's subjugation and paid more attention to frugality. When he found that officials were corrupt and extravagant, he would punish them severely, even his son was no exception.Prince Qin Yang Jun built a gorgeous palace outside behind his back. When he found out, he immediately withdrew Yang Jun's title and imprisoned Yang Jun.

The ministers said: "King Qin didn't make any big mistakes, but he just spent more money and built some houses. He should be tolerated." Prime Minister Yang Su also thought that the treatment of Yang Jun was too severe.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said: "I am the lord of a country, not just the father of several children. I can only act according to one criminal law. According to your statement, do you have to formulate another criminal law for the prince?" The ministers were speechless. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty found that the crown prince Yang Yong lived extravagantly and paid attention to ostentation. He was very unhappy and taught Yang Yong very severely: "Since ancient times, the fate of all emperors who like extravagance has not been able to grow. You are the prince, you must pay special attention to frugality. what!" The prince Jin Wang Yang Guang is more cunning than his two brothers. He sensed his father's temper and pretended to be very simple and honest on the surface, which won the trust of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty and Empress Dugu, and Yang Su spoke for him.As a result, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty abolished Yang Yong and made Yang Guang the prince.It wasn't until he was seriously ill that he discovered that Yang Guang was a person of very bad character.He wanted to recall Yang Yong again, but it was too late. Yang Guang killed his father and seized the throne. This is the famous tyrant Emperor Sui Yang in history.