Chapter 135: Law is nothing but human nature, and reason is nothing but human heart

At the border of Anren County and Yaoyuan County, when Wang Haoba was watching Wang Chenger and Yin Yongshi happily selling braised pork rolls at the stall, he felt that the yam glutinous rice cake in his hand was no longer fragrant.

He walked over, and before he could say anything, he heard Yin Yongshi say cheerfully, "Sorry, the braised pork rolls are sold out today. Please come back tomorrow."

"Do you think I look like I'm going to buy braised pork rolls?" Wang Haoba asked back with a cold face.

Wang Chenger and Yin Yongshi looked up at their brothers, but before they could say anything, a soldier came over and asked, "Officer Wang, are you planning to make an appointment for the braised pork rolls tomorrow?"

"Yes, that's right!" Wang Haoba nodded with an awkward smile.

"Hey, I said that those who can become officials must be smart. Why didn't I think of making a reservation? Boss, I will also reserve one tomorrow, and put more fat!" As he said that, the soldier took out a few copper coins and put them in the basket, and added: "My name is Zhao Ganer, I will give my name tomorrow to get it!"

“good good”

After watching Zhao Ganer leave, Yin Yongshi looked at Wang Haoba and asked, "Do you still want to reserve?"

"I'm going to kick your grandma!" Wang Haoba raised his foot and wanted to kick him, but he held back. Military regulations did not allow them to bully civilians, and if they were caught, they would be beaten with a stick.

"Second brother, second brother, second brother, calm down!" Wang Chenger quickly comforted his brothers and said with a wry smile: "Aren't we just collecting intelligence?"

Wang Haoba pointed at the empty basin and said in a low voice: "You guys collected intelligence but didn't even think of leaving any for me!"

"I'm sorry, I'll leave one for you tomorrow."

"I won't take this line tomorrow!"

"The day after tomorrow?"

"." Wang Haoba let out a breath and looked at Wang Chenger speechlessly. He was almost led astray by this idiot.

"Brother, what are you thinking now?" Wang Haoba looked around and saw that the soldiers were resting or eating, so he asked in a low voice.

"Um"

Wang Chenger's expression suddenly became serious. He silently observed the market and the school for half a month, and then dragged his third brother to set up a stall. It was really easy to make money.
wrong!

The soldiers led by Lord Ou are truly a righteous army. If they were to lead the troops to fight against these guests now, not only would he be unable to do so, but anyone who has made money at the market would also be unable to do so.

Moreover, during this period, Wang Chenger also felt that as an insurgent army, they were very excited to fight against local tyrants and gentry.

When they are asked to manage the place, it is such a mess!
They had occupied Yaoyuan County for more than half a year, and they didn't even know how many people and how much arable land there were in the county. Before, they were able to maintain the overall situation purely because of the pressure from the court, which made everyone work together.

Now that Ou Zanghua has done this, the rebel army has begun to leave in large numbers.

After all, he is obviously stronger than you. Not only does he not hit you, he also takes care of your business. Do you have the nerve to pick up a sword and chop him?
It can't be!

"Brother." Yin Yongshi looked at the silent boss and said slowly, "How about we surrender?"

Wang Chenger and Wang Haoba looked at the third brother at the same time, and motioned for him to continue.

"Lord Ou is really different. He gives lectures to the people every day, and anyone can raise their hands to ask him questions. He has never been impatient. And it's good to set up a stall like this now. My ancestral braised pork recipe is selling so well, I'm happy."

While packing up his stall, Yin Yongshi said cheerfully, "If it were anyone else, I would definitely fight to the end, but if it's Lord Ou, I will obey him."

The eldest brother and the second brother looked at each other. Neither of them expected that even the straightforward third brother admired that person.

"Brother, think about this carefully when you go back!"

Wang Haoba looked at Wang Chenger and said seriously, "I'm worried that if we delay for too long, the court will punish Lord Ou and transfer him away. The next official may not be so easy to deal with. Does Big Brother really want to fight to the death with his brothers?"

Wang Chenger looked at Wang Haoba speechlessly, as if he didn't want to surrender. The main reason was that he had deceived Chen Jin by pretending to surrender, and he didn't know whether Ou Zanghua would believe that he surrendered sincerely.

After closing their stalls early, the two brothers followed the group of rebel vendors along the mountain road to Anren County.

He first went into the city to have a meal, and then followed most of the people to the outside of the parade ground, ready to listen to Lord Ou’s lecture on the "Great Ming Law".

At this moment, many people have come to the scene, and various vendors on the roadside are shouting hard. They know very well that Lord Ou will start to speak soon, and they can't shout anymore, otherwise they will be expected to have their stalls overturned by the people and be driven out of Ren'an County!

After all, this has happened before.

As soon as the You hour arrived, the scene immediately became quiet, and even the most naughty children knew that they could not make any more noise.

As Ou Zanghua entered, everyone stood up. Officials bowed and those without official status knelt on the ground, saying together: "Greetings, Lord Ou!"

"No gift."

Ou Zanghua's voice was very gentle and reached the ears of everyone present: "Today we are going to talk about Volume 12 of the Great Ming Code: Violations of the Clothing and Housing Rules."

Many people have a misunderstanding that the clothing regulations for different classes began in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, in the "Book of Rites: The Royal Regulations", it is stipulated that people of different identities should wear different clothes.

In the Western Jin Dynasty's legal code "Jin Ling", there was a separate chapter on clothing called "Clothing System Order", which stipulated that only those of the second rank and above could use prohibited clothing items. These prohibited items included mountain deer, white boa, free-haired fox, white sable collars, yellow sable, pure gold and silver utensils, etc.

Regarding the act of making strange clothing, the law stipulates: "Those who make strange clothing will be punished according to the law."

The subsequent Tang and Song dynasties continued to improve this set of laws. The 26th volume of "Tang Law Commentary" has "Houses, Vehicles, Clothes, and Objects Violating the Order", which clearly stipulates that those who build houses, vehicles, clothes, objects, tombs, stone beasts, etc., and violate the order will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane.

The 26th volume of the Song Dynasty's "Song Xing Tong" followed the provisions of the Tang Code and made some improvements, stipulating that if the clothing violated the order, the person would be caned 100 times. Even if there was an amnesty, they were ordered to change it.

But my Da Meng did reach his peak. Lao Zhu was so energetic that he even made detailed regulations on dressing, shoes and hats.

One of the reasons why Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was so strict even about clothing was that the Han people did not wear conspicuous clothing.

The "Veritable Records of Ming Taizu" recorded that the Chinese system was completely changed to suit the customs of the barbarians. The scholars and common people all had braided hair and wore topknots, deep-brimmed barbarian hats, and their clothes had narrow sleeves with pleats at the hips and braided waist pleats. Women wore short tops with narrow sleeves and no skirts. The old Chinese clothing was no longer used.

This is what is called using severe punishments in times of chaos.

"Farmers are allowed to wear fine clothes, gauze, silk, and cloth. If one of the farmers is a merchant, he is not allowed to wear poor clothes or gauze. Officials, civilians, and infantry are prohibited from wearing double-breasted clothes. Only knights are allowed to wear them, so that they can ride horses more conveniently. Anyone who wears them when they should not be will be punished."

"If someone violates the rules and accepts an appointment, if he is an official, he will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane and dismissed from his post without being reappointed. If he is not an official, he will be punished with 50 strokes of the cane and the crime will be committed by the head of the family."

Following Ou Zanghua's explanation, many merchants outside the parade ground subconsciously tightened their clothes. According to Lord Ou, they had now violated the "Great Ming Law".

At this time, a young man was jumping around in the parade ground with his hands raised, looking like he had a problem.

Ou Zanghua didn't notice him until Zuo Lengchan discovered him and reminded him.

After getting permission, the young man asked loudly: "Master Ou, what if I don't know this law and wear it wrong?"

As soon as this question was asked, everyone pricked up their ears, wanting to hear how Lord Ou would come back. Even Chen Shan became attentive.

Ou Zanghua replied calmly: "I believe that the law is nothing but human nature, and the truth is nothing but human heart. Those who are ignorant are innocent, and those who are aware are punished. How to judge whether someone is aware is the key, and this is what officials should consider."

When Chen Shan heard this, he couldn't help but think about it. He felt that what Ou Zanghua said made some sense. The so-called county magistrate was in charge of the government orders of his county and was responsible for rewards and punishments.

After all, the magistrate could not expect a peasant who could not even read to understand a fine of fifty taels for wearing clothes of a certain material or style.

In the crowd, Wang Chenger and Yin Yongshi looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh. If every county magistrate was as reliable as Lord Ou, how could there be so many uprisings?
(End of this chapter)