Disclaimer: The content of this article is written with authoritative information combined with personal opinions, and the source of the literature and screenshots have been marked at the end of the article, please be aware.
In the history of the Southern Song Dynasty, there is a name that is thunderous, and that is Yue Fei. This victorious general once made the Jin soldiers frightened and regained a large amount of lost territory for the mainland.
However, it is such a national hero, but in the end he ended up in a tragic end. Yue Fei's death is not only a tragedy for one person, but also a pain for the entire nation.
When Yue Fei was executed, the prison officer in charge of the execution was a descendant of the Yang family general, and he was also a famous general in a hundred battles, who was he and who arranged it like this?
1. The rise of Yue's army: from a border general to a national hero
Yue Fei's life can be said to be synonymous with legend, he came from a humble background, but with his talent and courage, he reached the military peak step by step. In that era when the Jin people trampled on the Central Plains, Yue Fei led the Yue family army and became the mainstay of the mainland's resistance to Jin.
In 1140 AD, Yue Fei led an army of 100,000 and launched the Fourth Northern Expedition, which can be said to be the pinnacle of Yue Fei's military career.
In this battle, Yue Fei showed outstanding military talent, he used flexible tactics, gave full play to the advantages of Yue's army, and caught the Jin soldiers off guard, and his prestige spread throughout the Central Plains.
However, at the critical moment when Yue Fei was about to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun and completely defeat the Jin army, a gold medal disrupted all plans, and Song Gaozong Zhao Gou issued twelve gold medals in a row in one day, recalling Yue Fei from the front line.
2. Game of Thrones: The Conspiracy of Zhao Gou and Qin Hui
After Yue Fei was recalled, the attitude of the Southern Song Dynasty court underwent a 180-degree change, the original anti-Jin court, suddenly began to negotiate peace with the Jin State, in 1141 AD, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin State reached the "Shaoxing Peace Conference", the content of this peace agreement, can be said to be extremely humiliating: the Southern Song Dynasty not only had to cede a large territory, but also to pay tribute to the Jin State.
Such a transformation makes one wonder: Why? The answer lies in the power game between Zhao Gou and Qin Hui.
Although Zhao Gou is the emperor, his position is not stable, when the Jin people went south, it was Yue Fei and other generals who protected him, Zhao Gou was very grateful to him, however, with Yue Fei's military achievements, Zhao Gou's doubts in his heart also increased day by day, he was worried that Yue Fei's achievements would be high and threaten his future rule.
At this time, Qin Hui grasped Zhao Gou's psychology, he immediately offered Zhao Gou a "peace discussion" strategy, and at the same time secretly planned to frame Yue Fei, Qin Hui knew that only by getting rid of Yue Fei, the backbone of the anti-gold resistance, his "peace discussion" policy could be implemented smoothly.
In the whirlpool of power between the two, Yue Fei's fate was thus decided, in 1142 AD, Qin Hui arrested Yue Fei on the charge of "unwarranted", many people don't know what "trumped-up" means, in fact, this "unwarranted" means "probably there", which shows how ridiculous this crime is.
However, with the acquiescence of Zhao Gou, Yue Fei was finally publicly executed, and the Southern Song Dynasty lost a hero.
3. Yang Cunzhong: History's helpless choice
In the tragedy of Yue Fei's murder, there is another character worthy of our attention, that is, Yang Cunzhong, this name may not be familiar to many people, but his identity is very special - he is not only the descendant of the Yang family general, but also the executive officer who supervised Yue Fei.
Yang Cunzhong's original name is Yang Yizhong, is Yang Ye's great-great-grandson, Yang Cunzhong as a general, since he was a child, he has shown extraordinary talent, he could have chosen the road of civil officials, but in the end he gave up the civil service and embarked on the road of joining the army.
During the Jingkang Revolution, Yang Cunzhong and Zhang Jun joined Zhao Gou's army to protect Zhao Gou's southward escape, and it was in this process that Yang Cunzhong was appreciated by Zhao Gou, and later Zhao Gou not only appointed him as the commander of the imperial right army, but also entrusted him with important tasks many times.
Yang Cunzhong also did not live up to Zhao Gou's expectations, in the Battle of Jiaxing, Lotus Pond Victory and many other battles, Yang Cunzhong has made great achievements, he gradually became Zhao Gou's confidant general, and many times at critical moments to turn the tide of the war.
However, when Yue Fei was framed by Qin Hui on "trumped-up" charges, Zhao Gou asked Yang Cunzhong to supervise Yue Fei in order to prevent an uprising among the people, which was undoubtedly a difficult choice for Yang Cunzhong.
We can imagine how much struggle Yang Cunzhong must have felt in his heart when he stood on the execution ground and looked at the general who had fought side by side, however, as a general, he could not resist the order, he could only do this thing against his will.
Fourth, the legal system of the Song Dynasty: complexity and progress coexist
Yue Fei's death not only involved political struggle, but also was closely related to the legal system at that time, and the legal system of the Song Dynasty can be said to be complex and progressive.
The laws of the Song Dynasty were deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty, but combined with the political, economic, and cultural characteristics of the Song Dynasty to form their own characteristics, and the Song Dynasty had a wide variety of criminal laws, including the death penalty, exile, imprisonment, and flogging.
In terms of trial procedures, the laws of the Song Dynasty were divided into two stages: investigation and trial, which focused on procedural fairness and required conclusive evidence, which protected the rights of the defendant to a certain extent. This can be said to be a great step forward in the development of ancient Chinese law.
The enforcement of the laws of the Song Dynasty was also quite standardized, and the management of prisons and execution grounds was very strict, so that even prisoners could be guaranteed basic rights. This practice can be said to be quite advanced at the time.
However, it is such a seemingly progressive legal system that cannot prevent unjust cases like Yue Fei's from happening.
5. The Development of Law: From the Song Dynasty to the Present
The development of law in the Song Dynasty had a profound impact on the Chinese legal system, first of all, Song Dynasty law focused on procedural justice. This point is very advanced in feudal society, which requires that the trial must have sufficient evidence, and cannot be convicted on the basis of speculation or hearsay, and this evidence practice also laid the foundation for the development of law in later generations.
Secondly, the laws of the Song Dynasty also had strict regulations on the execution of punishments, which required that prisons and execution grounds must be managed in accordance with the regulations, and that prisoners should not be abused at will.
Thirdly, the laws of the Song Dynasty also focused on protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups. For example, the law provided for special protective measures for minors, the elderly and the disabled, which was rare in the world at that time. Similar to our current "Law on the Protection of Minors and the like", it can be said that it is quite advanced.
However, there were also some problems with Song dynasty law. For example, it still retains some cruel punishments, such as Ling Chi, which are extremely cruel, and at the same time, the enforcement of the law at that time was often interfered with by power, resulting in unjust cases like Yue Fei's.
In general, the development of law in the Song Dynasty made an important contribution to the improvement of the legal system in the mainland, and many of its advanced concepts are still relevant today, and at the same time, its problems and limitations have also provided valuable lessons for later generations.
epilogue
Yue Fei's death is a microcosm of an era. It not only reflects the complex political ecology of the Southern Song Dynasty, but also reflects the progress and limitations of the legal system at that time, and the story of Yang Cunzhong allows us to see the helplessness of personal fate in the whirlpool of power.
The development of law in the Song Dynasty made an important contribution to the improvement of the legal system in the mainland, and many of its advanced concepts are still relevant to this day.
Yue Fei's spirit and deeds have been passed down through the ages, he is our eternal hero, what do you think about this? Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area.
References: [1]Xia Yang. Big Science & Technology(Encyclopedia New Theory),2011,(04):38-39.