This is because when Shang Yang reformed, it happened that the prince broke the law. However, the history books do not record the specific legal provisions that the prince committed. However, when the prince broke the law, Qin Xiaogong was only 24 years old, which means that the prince was only four or five years old.

So Shang Yang punished two teachers of the Prince and sentenced him to death, which was executed by the public. What punishment did Gong Ziqian receive? It is not recorded in the history books. However, considering that Gong Ziqian broke the law again more than ten years later, Shang Yang only slapped him (cut off his nose). Therefore, when the prince breaks the law, the punishment given to Gong Ziqian must be much lighter than cutting his nose, and it should be better than that.

Extended data

Shang Yang, a statesman, thinker and famous representative of Legalism in the Warring States Period. Due to the rejection of Confucianism, Shang Yang, who used violent means to carry out rapid reforms, was not well evaluated in history, so that thousands of years later people even called A Qin a country of tigers and wolves.

Shang Yang's first political reform took place in the sixth year of Qin Xiaogong (356 BC). The main contents of this reform include: promulgating laws and regulations and formulating the conference system. Shang Yang brought the legal classics formulated by Li Kui to the State of Qin and promulgated them for implementation. And changed "law" to "law", and added the method of "sitting together", thus changing the Tenth Five-Year Plan system implemented in Qin Xiangong into a sitting system of mutual supervision and mutual correction.

According to Shang Yang's law, there should be "sitting with the Ministry of Pastoral Affairs", that is, one family is guilty and nine families expose it. No exposure, ten families sit together. The crime of sitting together is very serious. According to the law formulated by Shang Yang, if beheading does not expose the report, the whistleblower will get the same reward as beheading the enemy's head, and those who harbor the guilty will be the same crime as surrendering to the enemy. The punishment for the crime of defecting to the enemy is beheading, and the whole family is punished with hard labor.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Shang Yang