To many people, forcibly seizing commoners' land did not seem particularly important. Why was Zhang Yan so nervous?
Why had Marquis Liu's Residence gone straight to the palace to plead with the Empress Dowager after its deeds came to light, rather than relying on its privileges to commit violence?
Because this matter really was far from ordinary.
During Liu Bang's reign, it indeed would not have counted as a major offense. Nobles who committed such acts would, at most, have been fined and ordered to reflect on their conduct behind closed doors.
But things had been different under Lü Zhi. Luo Chen had explained to her that the people the law truly ought to protect were those who could pay taxes to the court.
Small landowners and independent farmers were the foundation of the Great Han dynasty, so Lü Zhi had elevated their importance to an extremely high level.
Although their political privileges could not compare with those of the powerful nobility, they were protected under the law.
In particular, the court resolutely cracked down on nobles who bullied small landowners and independent farmers.
Luo Xin was still alive, yet Marquis Liu's Residence had dared to offend in the teeth of the crackdown. That was why Zhang Yan was shocked.
Zhang Yan felt somewhat apprehensive. She did not know how this matter would ultimately turn out, nor what the future held for Marquis Liu's Residence.
Hearing Zhang Yan's frank admission, Luo Xin actually felt somewhat troubled as well. Naturally, Marquis Liu's Residence could not simply be let off for this. He had to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.
If institutions could be corrupted without punishment only a few decades after the founding of the state, that would truly be absurd.
But he still had to take care with