Han Khan

Chapter 93: Judicial Hundreds

Yes, Zhang Sheng now treats the Jinhan tribe as a country and carries out institutional construction. After all, there is no order without rules.

At this time Zhang Zhongxian said:
“Your Highness is wise. This classification of personal ranks will allow all people under the Jinhan tribe to clearly understand their own identities, so that everyone can stay in their own position and perform their duties.

It’s just that the corresponding punishment and reward measures, as well as the legal aspects, need to be improved!”

Zhang Jinda, who was familiar with the law, nodded and said:
"Of course it needs to be improved, otherwise how can the treatment between different classes be reflected?"

He continued:

“It is particularly important that any rules have clear rewards and punishments.

For example, what kind of contributions must a slave make to become a subject.

What kind of punishment will a slave receive if he escapes, and what kind of punishment will the person who receives the escaped slave receive?
Depending on the merits a subject has made, he will be promoted to a warrior, and depending on the crimes he has committed, he will be demoted to a slave.

What kind of treatment did the warriors, officials, nobles and dukes receive, and how were they punished if they committed crimes or broke the law?

There must be corresponding laws for all these, as well as how to punish tribesmen who believe in other pagan religions.

Different punishment standards should also be formulated based on laws and regulations and the degree of violation of the law.

At the same time, these aspects require a special judicial institution, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate. If we start all over again, it will be too difficult to build a tall building on a pile of sand, Your Highness! "

Hearing this, Zhang Sheng nodded. This was indeed not an easy task. If Jin Han was ruling an agricultural area at this time, it would be easy according to previous laws.

But now the Jinhan tribe rules the prairie, where the population is composed of a nomadic society that changes its campsites throughout the seasons. Such a society is completely different from an agricultural and settled society.

The customs are different, and the laws are also different. Of course, with the escape of the Uighurs, there are no laws to speak of on the grassland today. At this time, the grassland does not even have the written words to write the laws, it is a blank sheet of paper.

Thinking of this, an idea suddenly occurred to Zhang Sheng. Yes, the grassland is now a blank slate, and there is plenty of room for him to play.

Judge Zhang Jinda, from now on you will no longer be responsible for the position of priest. I have decided to appoint you as the Grand Sikou of the Jinhan tribe, and reward you with the title of Zhong Daifu of the Jinhan tribe, which will be hereditary.

My cousin Li Shaozong will be your deputy, serving as the Junior Sergeant and the Senior Sergeant, also a hereditary title. You will inform him after the meeting."

"Your Majesty, I obey your command!" Zhang Jinda bowed and thanked the emperor with a look of joy on his face.

“You two will jointly form a judicial hundred households. For this purpose, I will allocate fifty households of warriors, fifty households of civilians, as well as one thousand sheep, two hundred cattle, and one hundred horses. All these resources will belong to the judicial hundred households.

From now on, the two of you must devote yourselves to the construction of the Jinhan tribe's legal system and be fully responsible for the compilation and construction of the laws.

You have the right to consult several chief priests to learn about the legal records in the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty, Mobei and other places. You can also conduct in-depth research on the relevant legal provisions in Nestorianism, Buddhism, and Confucian classics, select the most suitable ones for the current situation of our Jinhan, and edit them.

In addition, slaves and subjects should be asked about the customs and habits of the grassland herdsmen, the Hu people, in order to better revise the laws of the Jinhan tribe.

Remember, the role of the law is not only to punish sin, but also to guide people towards justice and kindness.

We must let every Jinhan person know what can be done and what are the red lines that must not be crossed.

After it is compiled, bring it to me for a review. Then we will discuss whether the law is appropriate or not. After it is approved, it will be made public for all Jinhan people to abide by. "Zhang Sheng said to Zhang Jinda with a firm look in his eyes.

Zhang Jinda asked, "I wonder what your Highness thinks of this law?"

Zhang Sheng thought for a moment and replied: "This law is used to regulate the behavior of all tribe members and to maintain the stability of the upper and lower levels of Jinhan.

Protect the rights and status of people of all ranks in the Jinhan tribe, as well as the rights enjoyed and obligations assumed by each rank.

We will also try to protect the weak, and at the same time punish illegal and criminal acts such as theft, robbery, murder, and failure to fulfill obligations. The specific provisions still need to be discussed by you all. "

Hearing this, everyone looked at Zhang Jinda with envy. He was the first high-ranking official in the Jinhan tribe to be granted a title. Then they all knelt and bowed to Zhang Sheng and said:
"Your Highness is wise and wise. We, the subjects, will obey your order and assist the Grand and Junior Ministers of Justice in compiling the laws."

Zhang Sheng remembered something and continued:
"In addition, the revised laws may only be applicable at present, and the Jinhan tribe will certainly continue to grow and develop, and many new problems and contradictions will surely arise at that time. Therefore, we need to constantly update and improve the laws to adapt to new changes." This is to prevent problems before they occur. The laws cannot be rigidly stipulated from the beginning, otherwise it will be difficult to make new changes in the future.

Hearing this, everyone's expressions became more serious.

Since today, His Highness has issued a status hierarchy system to the Jinhan tribe, followed by laws. Everyone wonders what surprises are waiting for them in the future.

"This level, it sounds like, is used to establish the personal levels of everyone in our Jinhan tribe, right?" someone asked in a low voice.

"That's right." Hearing someone say this, Zhang Sheng nodded and said:

"There are a total of twenty levels of human rank, including slaves and subjects. Each level represents a different status and power, and also determines the resources and treatment each person enjoys."

"Zhang Xibao, Yin Shanxiong, Koza, and Boniek." Zhang Sheng, who was sitting on the main seat in the tent, said at this time.

"Chen is here!"

"You four are loyal, brave in battle, and devout in your faith in God's will! I hereby confer upon you the title of Zhong Dafu, which shall be hereditary.

You have the right to participate in politics and hereditary rule over the people and slaves of Jinhan. Of course, you four don't have any people yet, but you will in the future. I hope you will continue to work hard for me." Zhang Sheng looked at them with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the four were overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Later, Yan Zhi, Hun Ziji, Hun Ziying... and others were also granted the hereditary title of sergeant, and had the hereditary right to govern the Jin Han subjects under their command.

From Zhang Sheng's perspective, the hierarchy does have many advantages.

First of all, this system greatly consolidated his sacred authority as the leader of the Jinhan tribe and the first priest.

Through strict hierarchical division, Zhang Sheng, who is at the top of the Jinhan tribe and the Holy Religion pyramid, can use the supreme power and lofty status granted by the system to make all the Jinhan people under his command feel awe and obey him.

In this way, the orders he issued could be carried out smoothly.

Secondly, this system helps Zhang Sheng to allocate various resources more efficiently.

For example, the wealth captured in each battle, such as slaves, livestock, gold and silver, would flow into the hands of the ruling class and its supporters in order of their rank.

This would undoubtedly make the upper echelons of the entire Jinhan tribe support his rule and consolidate Zhang Sheng's ruling position.

Most importantly, such a status hierarchy system allows all levels of the Jinhan tribe to behave themselves and perform their duties.

This orderly state is not only conducive to reducing conflicts and frictions between different classes, but also to maintaining the stability of the Jinhan order.

For Zhang Sheng and the slave owners in his account, this is obviously more conducive to their effective governance.

Those who were scattered among various hundreds of households, battalions and regiments, who came from different origins, whose tribes were broken up, and who were conquered by the Jinhan tribe.

There will also be different levels of identity, which are now assigned to various organizations and occupy different levels.

Not only that, even among slaves there were different levels of division.

This phenomenon led to an interesting consequence - slaves began to look down on other slaves who were lower in status than themselves.

How can they unite as one?

Zhang Sheng's series of arrangements made the entire Jin Han structure complex and diverse, while also strengthening the control of the upper-level conquerors over the lower-level conquered.

Through this classification and hierarchical management of people, the Jin Han people, who spoke elegant language and wrote sacred texts, could better safeguard their interests and authority as rulers, thus ensuring the stability of the Jin Han order.

Of course, this did not completely block the path for the lower class to move up. As long as they made contributions, they could get a change in status. Even if they died in battle, their descendants could be promoted because of their merits.

(End of this chapter)