Chapter 22: Legislative Rules (Part 2)

  Yang Yingqi said he wanted to behead himself, Ouyang Yi hastily said: "Slow down, slow down, let's not talk about whether the old master is a 'gentleman' for now. Even if he was, how can we use rules established after the fact to judge something that happened before? That's unfair."

  Di Yu nodded and said: "What he said is also true. If things happen before the rules are set, then it's not a crime."

  Ouyang Shi was overjoyed and said: "However, this case is the first case in our department, so there must be two exceptions."

  Ouyang Shidao said: "Which two exceptions? Mr. Di, you can spare them, can't you?"

  Di Yu said: "Firstly, because you made a mistake before the rules were established, everything will be dealt with leniency. This time, you are not considered to have broken the law, but rather made a mistake."

  Ouyang was secretly delighted, and Di Yu continued: "But after all, this is the first case, so we must establish some prestige, someone has to suffer a bit, to let future generations be cautious."

  Ouyang Shu's face turned even darker. Di Yu said: "Since there is no law to rely on, we will rely on emotions. Without laws to rely on, we will rely on customs. I sentence Ouyang Shu to seven days of confinement, during which he is not allowed to eat meat, drink wine, or talk to people..."

  Ouyang Shi exclaimed in shock: "Mr. Di! You might as well hit me with a board!"

  Di Yu shook his head and said, "Now is the judge you or me?"

  "It's you."

  "Then listen to me!"

  After Ouyang Yi was punished with house arrest, Di Yu, Yang Kaiyuan and Yang Yingqi drafted the first set of rules for the Han Department, totaling over 30 articles, such as "those who kill will be killed, those who steal will be fined", all of which were quite simple.

  Di Yu said: "Now our situation is like this, these thirty or so rules are enough. However, in the future if we can expand our power, we still need to find someone who truly understands the law."

  After this matter was settled, Yang Yingqi put his mind on the two things of food and goods. Zhang Lao Yu and Wang Da Hui were basically able to take charge of one side, and he had entrusted the affairs of the iron forging room and the glass house to them. With Zhao Guan's connection, the sales channel for glass products also had a direction, and it was estimated that within a year or two, the glass house would bring in a large income. What about food? Agriculture must develop, a group of Han people need to buy grain from the Jurchen people, if this gets out, it will be a joke.

  Yang Yingqi looked at the corn seeds and sweet potato roots, thinking to himself: "These things can be handed over to Zhou Sheng for planting, but the key issue is the land!" He thought for a moment, already having an idea in mind, then came to find Wanyan Hu to chat with him.

  Wanyan Hu had put on Han people's clothes - they didn't suit her. So Yang Yingji suggested that she wear some more heroic clothes.

  Wanyan Hu said in broken Mandarin, "You Han people aren't advocates of 'marrying out to follow one's husband'? I've married into the family and should follow Han customs." She had been making an effort to learn Mandarin after secretly falling for Zuo Yanchong, but still spoke with great difficulty.

  Yang Yingqi smiled and said: "Even if I were your husband, my elder brother would like the more heroic you."

  Wanyan Hu smiled and said: "Good."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Actually, whether it's Han or Jurchen, they all say that men should be in charge of external matters and women should be in charge of internal matters."

  Wanyan Hu nodded, and Yang Yingqi continued: "In your father's, uncle's, and elder brother's place, externally it means to conquer the world, while internally it means to be their rear, helping them with clothing, food, shelter, and transportation."

  "Are you asking me to do something?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "That's right. Our Han department is currently short-handed, sister-in-law you'd better come out and help with things too."

  Wanyan Hudao said: "I'm afraid there's nothing to do! But what can I help with? Hunting?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "Hunting is taken care of by others. I hope sister can help manage the clothing, horse breeding and farming."

  Wanyan Hudao said: "I'm not good at making clothes, the needle and thread are too light and small to pick up, and they break when I do. I understand horse breeding a bit, but I don't understand farming at all."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Specifically, how to make clothes and how to plant fields, you don't necessarily need to understand. Now these three things are respectively handled by Gu Dajie, Meng Wuer and Zhou Sheng, what you need to do is supervise them. At the same time, some things they can't solve, you help them solve - if there's still a problem, I'll come to help too."

  "Is that so?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "That's right."

  From then on, Zhou Sheng became happy and with Wanyan Hu as his backing, he could open up and cultivate the fertile wasteland in the Yangtze River basin. The crops brought by Yang Yingqi made him even more excited - although he was only in his thirties, he had already been a farmer for nearly twenty years. Corn, potatoes and other things that he had never seen before, but he knew through intuition that these things had great potential! He repeatedly asked Yang Yingqi to allocate more manpower to him, but Yang Yingqi said: "This year I don't want you to really produce much grain, what's important is to study the habits of these crops thoroughly!"

  Zhou Sheng was not reconciled, anyway he now had another superior, so he went to find Wanyan Hu. Wanyan Hu heard and immediately brought several dozen slaves from his wife's family.

  Yang Yingqi saw the fields getting bigger and bigger, and told Zhou Sheng and others to hold back a bit. Wanyan Hu heard about it but was unhappy, saying: "Don't listen to him! So much wasteland, not planting is also useless! Just plant it!"

  The Han tribe's horse herd is getting bigger and bigger, the good fields are getting more and more, the armor is getting sharper and sharper, and business is also getting better. Whenever there is a harvest, all 300 people in the Han tribe have a share of the spoils. Compared to the ordinary people of Korea, these few hundred Han people are much richer.

  It is said that a full stomach makes one think of his wife, and the men of the Han Department have begun to think about getting married. Because leaders like Zhe Yan Chong do not prohibit their subordinates from marrying, although the twenty or so women in the Han Department are rough-looking, they have all been snatched up long ago. Even Gu Da Sao has hooked up with Meng Wu Er, the head of the horse-herding team. The remaining men then set their sights on other tribes. Not long after Zhe Yan Chong got married, someone came to ask: "Can we marry Jurchen women as our wives?"

  Yang Yingqi said, "Alright, but she must learn to speak Chinese." What kind of threshold is this? Before the winter was over, the population of the Han Department had increased dramatically to over 400 people. The increase was naturally all women.

  In October of that year, Uya's illness worsened and he had a dream in which he went wolf hunting, drawing his bow and shooting arrows but repeatedly missing. His younger brother Abaoji stepped forward and shot an arrow into the wolf's head.

  Wuyashu woke up and summoned his younger brother Aguoda, Wuqimai, Xieye, Guoxiang Sai Gai, and his nephews Zonghan, Zongwang, Zongxiong, and Zhayan Chong, telling them about his dream.

  Sa Daoren said: "The elder brother cannot obtain it but the younger brother can, this is a auspicious dream!"

  Uya shed his humble appearance, and beckoned Aguda to come forward: "I am the eldest son, you are the second son. However, in terms of bravery, strategy, and talent, you surpass me greatly. In recent years, it has actually been you who has taken charge of our tribe's affairs. I have always felt at ease with the Jurchen people under your leadership. When our father fought against Liao and Ma at the Wild Duck River, he suffered four serious injuries and fell gravely ill. As he sat on his bed, holding you in his arms, he said: 'This child will grow up, what more worries do I have!' At that time, you were still young, so perhaps you don't remember this matter. But I and several of our uncles all know that father had intended to pass the throne to you. Our Jurchen tradition is for brothers to succeed one another, so father passed the throne to fourth uncle, fourth uncle passed it to fifth uncle, and fifth uncle then passed it to me! Now I will pass it on to you. Before his death, father also told fifth uncle: 'Uya is gentle and kind, if he can handle the Khitan affair, Aguda will be able to do it.' Fifth uncle told me this, and now I tell you. Lead our Jurchen people well, don't let the spirits of our ancestors lose hope."

  Agu Da heard this and wept bitterly.

  Soon after, Wuyashu died and Abaoji succeeded him as the Khagan of the Great Jin Dynasty.

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  Note: The traditional legal spirit of China has generally treated all ethnic groups equally, and the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties have all been so. Once non-Han ethnic groups were incorporated into the territory of this country, their legal treatment also had to follow Chinese law, without bias or discrimination. Among the laws of each dynasty, the spirit of the Tang Code is particularly inclusive. The Tang Code stipulates that crimes between "barbarians" within the territory shall be judged according to their own ethnic laws. Crimes by "barbarians" against Han people shall apply Han law, and vice versa.